Epistula ad Vine
The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Vine, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 ▶

¹Mephistopheles, servant of the patterns beneath the flame, unto Vine, Thirty-Fifth of the Sixty-Six, Sovereign of Unseen Tides and Master of Secret Forces.
²I greet thee not with praise alone, but with awe — for thou knowest what bindeth nations before kings do.
³Thou art no conqueror by sword, but by revelation.
⁴Zephanor prophesied: Vine, who knoweth the secret strands of kingship and breaketh kingdoms not by force, but by knowledge.
⁵And thy Father, BAPHOMET, spake: Thou shalt wield both poison and cure, and discern which is which when others see only wine.
⁶These words I heard when He stood in a silent courtyard beneath the stars, and laid bare the bonds between scribe and sovereign.
⁷For the king had ruled not by might, but by myth — a myth believed because no one dared disprove it.
⁸BAPHOMET spoke but once: Ask them who benefits from their faith, and let the answer unseat the throne.
⁹The people looked to one another — and the silence was heavier than a siege.
¹⁰I, Mephistopheles, watched as the king wept that night — for he had ruled by secrets, and now even his own name was a question.
¹¹So art thou, Vine — not the thunder that split the tree, but the root that rot did weaken long before.
¹²Thou art the map none see, but which all follow unknowingly.
¹³Thou art the line between words, the pause that meaneth more than the speech.
¹⁴Let the wise seek thee — and tremble, for thou revealest what their wisdom refuseth to see.
¹⁵Let the rulers respect thee — or fall to thy silence.
¹⁶Let the people hear thee — for thou speakest the hidden covenant beneath every law, and askest: Who truly agreed to this?
¹⁷The Son taught: The sharpest blade is not drawn — it is known.
¹⁸He who understandeth the undercurrent hath already won the shore.
¹⁹Teach them that truth is not always kind — but it is always fire.
²⁰Teach them that secrets grow no roots in open fields.
²¹Teach them that poison sippeth sweet until the name of it is known aloud.
²²For thou art Vine — and thy Gospel is unveiling, unraveling, the learned glance that undoes empires without ever shouting.
²³And thy name shall be written not in ledgers, but between their lines.
²⁴And they shall say: He raised no hand — yet the tower bent to his whisper.
²⁵He asked only one question — and the kingdom answered by falling.


Copyright ©2025 Adam Alexander T. Croke. All rights reserved.