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1 The Blood Book Tales, Confessions and Rumors of the Worlds Ba’aL High Priest and Lover of Marsuuv 2 3 Born of Black and White Eaten with worms Im a saint a sinner A Siren of the Word The Circle knows me The rest just wanna trip On Grace juice baby I am baal Who was billos Who was billy Three in one One in three Slain by choice 4 The Blood Book of Ba’al High Priest of the Horde Writings Contained Herein: Segment One -- The Beings L – The Shataiki LL – The Roush LLL – The Albino Segment Two – The Blood Books L – My Secret History LL – Thomas of Hunter LLL – Marsuuv, Queen of the Shataiki 5 The Secret Nature of the Blood Book: Ba’al, humble servant of the divine Queen, my Lord and eternal lover of my soul, Marsuuv. No matter how skilled a man might be, he can never unravel the truth of this world alone. What lies beneath its brittle skin is beyond the sight of any one man. The truth lingers like a phantom; it hides in plain view and taunts the blindness of the simple and learned alike, of fools and sages. Yet it can be glimpsed, though must be seen from all sides to be perceived, and then not with eyes that merely look—such is common to most men who are an accursed lot, it reveals itself to eyes that see. This is the account of my endeavor to uncover matters of great mystery. This is my solemn charge. And so I

set out to gather an account of our world—of Shataiki, and Roush, and Albino; of all beings holy and unholy. To gather my wisdom I did commission the greatest of warriors, Mustul, who I charged with gathering for me three things hidden from the world. Go to the Black forest, I commanded him, and bring me a Shataiki by whatever 6 means that unseen creature might be attained to be examined by our greatest alchemist. Go to the forest and bring me one of those vile Roush to that same end. Go to the Albino and bring me the journals of Thomas of Hunter, so that I will know my greatest enemy. Mustul undertook these three missions with great courage and I have set his account here, in this Blood Book. I needed also the wisest of all alchemists to fully explore Shataiki, Roush and Albino and so I chose Grushon, Son of Molek. I chose him because he is proven to be a man of unmatched intellect and inexhaustible energy, a combination that is rare for a man whose sojourn has been long in our world. In addition, he is driven by something between curiosity and madness, which is perhaps his greatest quality, for not knowing the end of a matter becomes swallowed by his obsession for it. Once fixed on a question, he will stop at nothing to find the answer. It is this obsession that will no doubt eventually be his end, most likely beneath the glow of his 7 workbench lantern. I set before Grushon a charge of primary focus: to examine by whatever means required a full detail of those creatures of our world, including all things scientific. He was given a chamber of great size beneath the city—far below the library where the moldering walls are sufficient to swallow secrets and keep prying eyes outside. I witnessed his handiwork over the course of many months, the findings of which fill stack upon stack of vellum within my private study and form the most complete record of the races anyone has ever undertaken. I’ve seen many a sunrise while reading and meditating on of his findings, the most important excerpts of which I have compiled here for personal reference. The complete records will be sealed in my personal library. The secrets contained herein are the means to life and death and account for my own journey of understanding. Let only they who dare read the words contained herein. Then,

when all is accounted for, all will know the nature of all things. Baal-- 8 9 Segment 1 The Beings 10 11 The Shataiki 12 13 Penned in my own hand, Mustul Here is penned the account of adventures great and terrible undertaken in the service of the high priest, Lord Ba’al. I am Mustul, commander of the armies of the north, General in the secret service to the Supreme Commander, Lord Qurong, for the defense of the kingdom. I speak the truth. This quill burdens my hand with a weight heavier than any blade for my testimony bears worth only insofar as it honors the men whose spilt blood purchased the victories documented on these parchments. I am eyewitness to all of which I write and pay tribute with my words to the memory of the valiant dead: Andras of the North, Captain of the Mondor Legion Kendrew of the North, Commander of the Sitaro Division Galtero of the South, fearless in the Supreme Commander’s service 14 And Hida of the West, keeper of the Straits of Migdon. I am convinced that the legends belong to the mighty, and lore to the strong, to him who would rather chase the dawn than take lovers and enslave himself to the bitter drudgery common to husbands and cattle. Such would be little more than a walking death to any man of true heart. Tis far better to seize fate by the throat in ones youth and live, truly live, while tempting death viciously than to surrender to a middling existence. Would that all men could hold Deaths stare and grin in the moment when they are run through by that vile

demons blade. Yes, such a life is good. Such a life is true. Far better than allowing the old specter to slither behind unnoticed and slit you throat unawares. For me, the east wind is a lover worth chasing and the heavens stretched high above are shelter enough. More than enough. That is why men will speak well of me as they do 15 the men of renown, warriors worthy of our esteem such as Woref and Jantal and Martyn, and why women and children will sing my epics long after I am once again made dust. I am a man of action. I bear the scars of two lifetimes. I have suffered the blades and arrows of more battles than I can recount. I stacked the dead as cordwood with my own hands at Natalga Gap after the mountains rained upon my kinsmen, toppled by the cunning of Thomas of Hunter. I have faced that cunning fox and have been bested by him. I have plunged into battle shoulder to shoulder with men such as Woref and was trained by the mighty hand of Martyn himself, for whom I was scribe and servant until he perceived in me the seed of a warrior and coaxed it to fruition through his wisdom and patience. More than teacher and student, we have been brothers, kindred souls. Yes, hear me well, I have lived. And I will yet live. And conquer. My namesake bears my soul’s mark, strong fisted one, and this is my tale. All of it. 16 It began beneath the pale harvest moon. I was summoned urgently to the royal palace during the witching hour. I cinched my cloak and made haste through the long shadows of the city’s great square to where the temple stands. There a man in flowing black robe ushered me through the great hall to a staircase concealed behind thick tapestries bearing the royal crest. By torchlight we descended a dank spiral of stone, the steps falling away into the bowels of the temple. Of this place I was unaware though I was not surprised by their existence. At bottom, a single door of great heft and ancient in appearance stood open into a chamber. I followed the

man into the dimly lit room. With a bow at the waist, the servant took his leave and I found myself alone with the priest. The man stood on the far side of the room, motionless, with his back to me. He gazed upon three inverted crosses fashioned of metal. Each held a singular candle as thick as a man’s arm, slowly dripping on the stone floor. A stone table separated us and 17 filled the middle of the chamber. A dark patina discolored the table only as lifeblood can. ````You are Mustul, said the priest without turning. “Your servant comes as commanded,” said I. `This was the first time I had seen him for myself. Even beneath the scant candlelight that licked at the walls his stature was clear. He was built more like a soldier than the slight men of the temple I had seen before whose spines and wills are equally brittle. “I could not be sure that you would come,said he and turned to face me. He stood among the shadows, though it is hard to say where the darkness began and he ended, they seemed as one. I offered my knee to him in humble reverence, but he bade me sit at the stone table. He sat opposite me with hood drawn. Not once did I see his eyes, nor was it required. Some men need no eyes to see. The priest then spoke to me of a great and mighty epic, which would require the unflinching skill and diligence of a seasoned warrior. Suffering, he told me, was assured and agonizing death all but certain. 18 “You won’t return, said he. If you do, it will be only because others did not.” The mission: hunt and retrieve a mythological creature such as has been long rumored and rarely seen by our people. The creature known as shataiki. Phantoms of the past, but which he swore yet live many days journey from Qurongi City. This he had seen with his own eyes, said he. The priest was in need of such a creature for a documenting, which he would soon undertake provided that one could be taken, which none had for their capture relied on the ability to see what cannot be seen. “How can a man capture that which he cannot

see?” I asked. He spoke of an elixir strong and mysterious, concocted of blood and enlivened by unholy ritual that opens the eyes of man for a time. Such was my first charge: to retrieve it from the depths of the Black Forest, from a labyrinth beneath a black lake. Thrice Lord Ba’al had sent men on this quest, he said. Twice none returned, and the last stumbled home 19 with flesh shredded to the bone and driven to stark madness. I had heard of this man and how, I am told, gashes and wounds appeared as if from an unseen hand. Great sorcery of unspeakable evil was involved, I am told. He died two days later, raving about an unseen beast that he said hung on the ceiling above him awaiting his death. That was thirteen days previous, he told me. “ If you would take the challenge and succeed, great riches and honor will be yours. A detachment of six, warriors of your own choosing, will be at your command as well as your choice of His Eminence’s armory and stables.” “Keep your gold,”said I, for I have no need of coins. But I will capture this creature and avenge the blood of the fallen. Then I will return to the desert and my men if I will be released.” “You will encounter a magnificent and terrible god within the Forest’s Deep,” said the priest to me. “The Queen Marsuuv. Find favor with him and he will give you a potion which will open the eyes of men beyond the forest. Use it to capture the unseen, 20 both Roush and Shataiki and then bring them to me.” Long into the night the Lord Ba’al spoke many words of the nature of the forest itself and what manner of beasts dwell within it. Then he blessed me and bestowed upon me provisions, including a large vellum upon which was drawn a map to our destination and the door which guarded the labyrinth. Also given me was a pendant of tarnished brass, a grotesque serpent with wings, as I have seen within the city. “Gain entry with this amulet,” said he. “The beasts will not come near it for it is the seal of Marsuuv. Lose it and you will surely die. Hold it high as you enter the wood. It belongs to the Queen and it may

gain you safe passage. At least into the lair. Once you enter, your life is in Marsuuv’s hands.” I gathered my men and set about loading supplies for our journey. I chose the most trustworthy of men and we saddled only that which we could carry on ourselves should we be forced to flee on foot. As the blood orange sun split the horizon, we set out. Toward the Black Forest. Toward death.~ 21 We made the Gulch in two and a half days and there scouted the area from a spine of stone, which arched out of the sand like a great Leviathan’s backbone. The Priest had marked its place on the vellum as the forest’s edge. From henceforth, said he, one must walk forward in faith until the place reveals itself. We squinted, all of us, and saw only desolation to the horizon. Not a scrub brush could we see let alone a forest. Ripples of heat danced above the sands. Nothing more. “Follow close,”I warned. “The forest will make itself known upon our approach.” Of this the Priest was sure, that the place could not be seen until we stood within the dragon’s mouth. I took my sword in hand and urged my steed forward. It was unsettled as was I. Trouble was near. The men could sense it as well. It took no more than a hundred paces to discover the truth in the Priest’s words. For there, in an instant, the sand and rocks gave way to mud and shale beneath us. Around us, not ahead, a vast tangle of 22 ink black forest rose up from the desert floor as if appearing from a dream. I say it rose, though it certainly did not. In a moment it was not there, and then it was. It simply appeared, a formidable and impenetrable place of despair. I spun in the saddle and thought certainly that my eyes deceived me for there in the distance stood the dunes. But how was it so? I nudged my steed in a circle and patted its neck to calm it. The world around us had been plunged into darkness and it had grown strangely still. Though the sun was yet high in the sky, all was as twilight. “Hold, men! Keep your wits!”said I. “I don’t know what manner of sorcery this is, but we will meet it.”

As one, they watched at the ready, blades drawn. Forward. Cautiously, we urged the horses along a trail that could scarcely be seen underfoot for a strange black mist curled and floated just above the ground. It did not roll as fog might, but slithered and swirled as if alive and hunting prey. Blackened trees draped in long strings of dark moss clawed up from the ground. Though leafless they 23 24 allowed no light through. Ahead, the ribbon of path disappeared into the wood and a darkness as black as pitch. We were being watched, of this I was certain. The horses sensed the bats’ presence first and were greatly vexed. Perhaps they had seen them as well. There wasn’t a sound, nor movement of any kind. Like the silent din of a conquered battlefield, the forest betrayed the presence of Death passing by Then the forest pulsed, shuddered. An uneven breeze, which carried with it the scent of maggoty meat, foul and rancid, blew among us. It was no wind, I knew, but the stirring of a host of Shataiki that clung to the trees, somewhere unseen. Then the beasts revealed themselves, red eyes among the darkness and yet were at once part of it. They numbered more than the stars on a clear desert night and hemmed us on every side. Deep into the woods in all directions the wicked eyes glowed. I tell you now, the eyes of death wax red as blood. An unearthly cry from somewhere deep in the wood resounded and they at once took flight with the roar 25 of a violent wind unleashed. “Form up!” I cried. “Hold until you are certain of the strike.” The men circled the horses in an instant, back to back such that we could face our enemy and force them to meet us from the front. But I knew it would not matter. Can a man contain the sea in a cup? Such would be this battle if the beasts chose to fight. They were many and we were few.The beasts erupted from the trees in waves of darkness and descended upon us with great fury, with the sound of gnashing and terrible screams. They hurled their bodies upon us and slashed with talons that shredded armor

and flesh as if they were nothing. I reached into my saddlebag and gripped the priest’s amulet. With a great cry I thrust my fist high into the air as if the amulet would call forth lightning from the heavens. But none came. A Shataiki, foul and strong, ripped at my arm. I grabbed the beast by the snout and hurled it to the ground. As I did, the amulet was ripped from my grasp and disappeared among the mist. 26 I turned to yell the retreat, but it was too late. The way was shut. The forest had closed in upon itself. The desert had vanished and we were alone. Trapped. With great abandon, we swung our blades at the mangy creatures as they swirled around us. They did not swarm as one, but instead circled as groups of ten and twenty fell upon each man, as if the beasts were taking turns at making sport of us. I do not know how long we fought. Minutes at most. The crush was suffocating, more than we could bear. I looked over my shoulder as Galtero fell from his horse, which had disappeared beneath the crush of thirty or more of the beasts that had brought it viciously to the ground. He rolled to his right, pushed to one knee but was met with ten more beasts that brought him to the dust and stripped the flesh from him while he yet screamed. His voice faded to silence before I could turn my horse to lay waste to the beasts. Dead. Overwhelmed by the vicious attack, Andras too succumbed to the beasts as did Kendrew who lay 27 28 pinned beneath his felled steed. He fought valiantly for moments before disappearing beneath a swarm of the bats. A cry went up. I turned toward Hida who lay slumped upon his horse, lifeless, with several of the beasts feeding upon him. I looked down and slammed the hilt of my sword into a foul beast that had sunk its teeth deep into my thigh. I ripped its crushed skull from my leg and spun as two others plunged toward me. Romul’s blade came to my rescue and caught the first. My own cleaved the second beast in two as its jaws stretched wide. Its carcass fell to the ground and

there was ravaged by its own kind. Into the wood, I cried to Romul and Arium at my side side. Stay close. Do not look back. If we’re to die then let the demons earn their meal. We turned our horses toward the uncertain darkness of the wood. We did not have to coax them forward. No, their fear was sufficient to convince. Thus, we plunged into the darkness. Bleeding. Dying. Hopeless. The pounding of hooves upon shale and the drum of 29 blood in my ears was all I could hear, as a man hears underwater. Muffled. Slow. Distant. I trusted my steed to lead wherever its instincts might lead. I merely gripped the reins and leaned forward. Soon, the earth beneath us fell away in a steep slope. The horses slowed and I glanced behind to see Romul and Arium close, pushing hard to keep their steeds moving. Strangely, there was no sign of pursuit from the bats. Perhaps they were sufficiently satisfied with their kills to care about us. Perhaps the creatures reluctance to give chase meant that a snare surely lay ahead or that they themselves were afraid of what lay in wait further in the forest. Both surely meant our deaths. The trail turned hard to the right. My horse leaned, began to lose its footing on the soft ground, and as it regained its legs was hit by an unknown force. The sound of trees snapping filled the air. I knew it was not trees breaking, but the horse’s legs. I lurched forward, carried by momentum headlong over the steed as it crumbled beneath me. Midair, I 30 loosed my blade so as not to run myself through and landed against the stone ground with such force that the world grew dim. The jagged earth bit into my shoulder and ripped cloth and flesh as I rolled. Alas I slid to a halt in the midst of the trail. And there I lay for the briefest of moments with face pressed against the ground, sucking at breath. Straight away I pushed to a knee and drew my boot blade, for I sensed a fight at hand. My sense of dread was answered by a creature of such evil visage that I rose to my feet before the world had righted

itself. I stumbled back, blade at the ready though a feeble defense it surely would have been. The beast stood in the middle of the path like a wraith king triumphant. It was a bat like the others, yet much larger. His fur was as black as the grave and the beast’s velvet wings wrapped its body like a death shroud. Romul and Arium pulled their steeds to a halt short of the gnarled tree that had claimed my horse. It lay across the path, nearly invisible in its blackness. 31 32 They dismounted and, swords at the ready, climbed over the tree and the suffering beast, which panted in great anguish. The Shataiki made no attempt at retreat. It had no need for we were no doubt at its mercy. I motioned for the men to hold. They stopped, swords still high. After a long moment, the demon spoke. “You have wandered far from home, scab, it snarled.” I have come on a quest to speak with the Queen Marsuuv, lover of Ba’al and enemy of Elyon.” “You dare speak that name in my realm?” The beast shuddered with great wrath. His fur was black, darker than the night that pressed in on all sides of the forest. It bore a strange beauty, vile though it was, compared to the mangy underlings that it no doubt ruled. “Forgive your servant. I am here but at the request of Lord Ba’al who entrusted me with a charge,” said I. “I have brought a gift to prove what I say is true.” The serpent pendant which the priest had given me upon my departure had been lost in the din of the 33 fight. Yet he gave me a second charm, one which he said would woo the beast at the last and gain me audience with the Queen to make request on my lord’s behalf. I motioned for Arium who passed me the small leather pouch, which I had entrusted to him in the event I fell in battle. Perhaps, I reasoned, this charm would secure safe passage for the others. I pulled the narrow box from the pouch and offered it to the beast humbly. It was wrapped in black muslin and bound with a red cord. The vile bat snatched the

box then smelled it with great fervency. Then with a long tongue that wrapped around it the beast licked the box and moaned in wicked ecstasy. “Ah, my lover’s lifeblood,” it muttered. “This I do desire.” It turned to me and said the priest’s request would be granted for it had been purchased with blood. One and no more for our trespass was worthy of death. Then with a single push of its wings, the creature lifted from the ground and disappeared into the forest’s canopy. 34 We followed the path, which plunged deeper into the forest. Arium and Romul horses had succumbed to exhaustion so we made forward on foot and left them. Perhaps they would remain till our return. Soon the tangled forest gave way to a clearing where a black pond lay in a depression. The forest crowded its edge and a wooden structure had been erected over the foul water. Upon the platform hung three rotted Shataiki carcasses, upside down and attached to crisscrossed beams. All around the lake, red eyes stared back from the wood, held at bay by their master’s command. We rounded the banks and nearby found an earthen mound just as the priest had said we would. A rotted door held together with intertwined vines marked its entrance. This, said he, would lead to the Queen’s lair where I would find Marsuuv and the elixir which the priest needed. There I would either find life or death. I alone would step through the door while Romul and Arium stood guard. If I did not return within the hour they were to flee. We embraced as brothers then I stepped into 35 darkness. A long moldering staircase descended underground to a round landing. Below, a labyrinth of tunnels branched in all directions beneath the lake. A musty breeze carried a smell strangely sweet through the place. Every tunnel was darkened save one. Dying candlelight licked at its walls and marked the path down a corridor flanked by iron gates, each guarding rooms or cells of some manner. The tunnel led to a vast library, dank and bathed in the amber glow of silver candlesticks. Beyond, a stone table littered with books of leather and

parchments in the heart of the room sat the vile creature from the path. It reclined on a couch surrounded by red vines and sundry relics of unholy worship, no doubt. I kneeled as I entered for I knew not what might save my men but humility. We were at the mercy of a beast unpredictable and savage. Evil. “You are Mustul, said the creature at long last to me. “The servant of Biloss and a man of war.” Its voice was thick and low. 36 “I know not of this Biloss, my lord,” said I. “I come only in the stead of Ba’al, servant to the Queen Marsuuv and his god.” “Yes, Biloss. Who is Ba’al. Who is my lover and my slave. My high priest.” The creature rose from its place and walked to the stone table, its talons clicking and scraping the stone floor as he went. There, he lifted a metal vial from the priest’s box, which lay open. The creature pried the lid from it and lifted it to its lips. “My love, my love. I drink your lifeblood.” The creature moaned as the vial’s contents disappeared into its mouth. It turned to me. “You are here so that your eyes might be opened. That is why Biloss has sent his pigs and not come himself? He will come soon, said I. “This he promises and sends his servant ahead to prepare the way for him. But I have come too that you might bestow a potion upon us that we might see the unseen—Roush, Shataiki, all things which men are blind to see.” “Lies! That you might strike us dead!” roared the 37 beast. In an instant it crossed the room and lifted me in the air by the throat. In its eyes I saw reflected my own face. And why give sight to an enemy, son of man? Said the beast. Its grip loosened and I fell to the ground, my blood carving a path down my neck from where the beast’s talons fastened about me. That we might slay your enemies, said I. That my people, led by the lord Ba’al, might utterly destroy the roush and so erase their memory and vile deception from the earth.

The beast settled back. It considered my words. I pressed further. And with them, said I, the albinos and their religion of lies. Your enemies and ours are the self same. Do you see it not? We cannot eradicate them save for your grace. Such is why lord Ba’al has sent his servants, that we might strike at the heart of your enemies and ours. I stood to my feet. Give me this elixir and Ba’al will do this. We will use it to capture Roush and learn 38 their ways to bring them down. And with them, the albinos. This my lord swears so he might return to you forever. You yourself will rule and we will be your sons and daughters, your slaves. May we first be your blade to strike a blow against your enemies and ours. After a long silence, the beast turned and departed the room through a door I had not earlier seen. It was obscured such that it was indiscernible from the moss covered wall. I considered following the creature but thought better of it. Nay, I was certain the creature’s own disdain of all but his own kind would work to my advantage. I would escape with the elixir. At that moment surety filled my heart and strengthened me as steel. It would surely be so. Then my eyes fell upon the stacks of tanned vellum spread upon the stone table. I considered them quickly. Many were drawings of vile images of which I care not to speak. Others were filled to the page’s edge with writings. Upon one was scrawled The Writings of Marsuuv. The ink was dark red and seeped into the vellum with smudges. 39 40 The beast’s approach echoed nearby. I quickly rolled what I could and concealed them beneath my cloak. I would surely find favor with Ba’al by retrieving these writings. When the creature returned he held the bladder of a large animal aloft. It was translucent and filled with a black liquid that clung to the sides when swirled. Here contained is the elixir of the knowledge of the realms, said he. Each measure will bring sight for a time and half a time. The taker’s eyes will be opened to the unseen.

He set the bladder on the stone table and stared at me with those crimson eyes. Long strings of saliva dripped from his jowls as he spoke with venomous words. Use it to bring our enemies low. Fail me, son of man, and you will know torment unimaginable and unending. I will see to it. Destroy my enemies and yours with this elixir. I will eat of my enemy’s entrails. If I do not, I will have yours. Take and drink as you have need. But sparingly, it is all you will have. I took the bladder and knelt. It will be as you say. Gather your men and leave now. The others shan’t 41 touch you until you reach the forest’s edge. If you or other sons of man ever return here I will strip you of your skin while you are yet alive and break your bones. Leave me. The echo of his snarl chased me down the tunnels and out the rotted door where my men were yet alive and at the ready. We made our way along the path with great haste, toward the forest’s edge. To our great surprise the two horses were yet alive and we brought them out. By and by we came near our fallen brothers, whose bones were all that remained upon our passing. As the beast promised, we traveled untouched and stepped again to the forest’s edge where, in the distance, the dunes rose against the night sky awash in the yellow moon. But the desert would have to wait. I ordered Romul and Arium to venture beyond the edge, to wait for me at the rock spine. What of you? they asked. I came not for the elixir alone, but for a shataiki, said I. I will lay in wait for one of the beasts then bring it out. You are released to leave if you so choose. 42 As you go, so will we, said Romul. If you live we will live; if you die we will die, but we will not leave you here. So be it, said I. We will lay in wait until dark. Then will we entrap one of the demons for Qurong’s priest. Silence smothered the forest as we lay in wait beneath two blinds, which we had fashioned of deadwood—Romul and I in one and Arium in the other with a clear vantage of the path. Our plan was simple: draw the creatures to us then Arium, an archer of unmatched skill, would immobilize one by skillful arrow to the wing. Romul would capture

the beast by net while I safeguarded our escape by diversion, which we had set in place before our hiding. I knew the creatures required baiting to draw them out to the open. So I chose the weaker of the steeds, itself near death, and slew it. I rent its belly and spilled its entrails as an enticement to the beasts, which seemed maddened by insatiable bloodlust. The scent of death rose from the carcass, which steamed in the midnight chill. We waited, but not long for soon shataiki descended upon the carcass as flies to a kill. First one 43 44 then another landed upon it until more than twenty beasts gorged themselves loudly upon the fresh meat, ripping and tearing at flesh and hide. We waited as the creatures jostled among themselves for position. When a skirmish among the beasts erupted I sensed the moment and motioned to Arium with a stone’s throw. He let the first arrow fly. It pierced the head of one of the beasts. Before the others could catch their bearings Arium had notched a second and let fIy. It met its mark, punching through the shoulder of one and pinning it to the ground. I motioned to Romul who snatched up the chainmail net, which Quinon the blacksmith had fashioned for our mission. Tightly woven of fine wire mesh, it would endure even the thrashing of the wicked creature and its razor talons. Swiftly, he leapt from his hiding place and fIung the net over the creature. It at once attempted to lift from the ground, but could not. He dove upon it and the creature fought bitterly, gnashing its yellow teeth and screaming with terrible fright. At last he 45 could take no more and punched the creature in the head, rendering it immobile. Drawn to the commotion with Romul, the others were distracted for a moment. I would only need one. I sprang from my cover, knelt to the ground and struck flint against steel. A spark leapt to the oily stain upon the ground where we had doused the ground beneath the steed with oil we had rationed for our return journey. Blue flame hissed along the ground and soon

consumed the steed with flame, setting the beasts to panicked fIight. Gather the demon quickly, said I to Romul. The beasts were in retreat, but confusion would reign but for a moment. Lest we made haste we ourselves would soon be the feast save for retreat. Romul flung the sacked demon over his shoulder and we sprinted to the forest’s edge with our prize and stepped across the threshold, which divided the invisible forest from the desert. We did not look back, but retreated toward the horizon for fear that the beasts behind grow the 46 wiser and pursue. As the forest faded behind us, so also the shataiki within our net. Inside the forest the unseen had been visible, but this side of the wood the elixir was needed. Often I poked at the creature to ensure it was indeed there, though I could see it not. Curious, it was. We crossed the sands on foot with the beast fastened atop our last remaining horse. After several days travel we would deliver the beast and so be rid of it. The priest and his alchemist would have their coveted specimen and we our return to the Borderlands and our brothers in arms. 47 The Accounts of the Alchemist Grushon Who with great wisdom unveiled mysteries 48 49 From your servant, Grushon To Lord Ba’al: Grushon, son of Molek, loyal subject of his eminence Lord Qurong and chief Alchemist in the service of your excellence Lord Ba’al in the quest for all things good and true. Greetings, my lord. Strength and honor be yours as you seek to unravel the mysteries of knowledge and wisdom, which have been granted to you as safeguard for all time among our great people. You well know how, on the fifth day of the third month of the year I undertook a rigorous examination of our world and particular subjects to which I was given a solemn charge to

investigate. With great energy I have undertaken this endeavor by all manner of study and, as the kingdom’s chief scholar, this is my full accounting of this research. 50 To be sure, this account is written in my own hand for the preservation of these discoveries and wonders which I myself witnessed and confirmed through diligent labor, exacting procedure, and skilled experimentation. These findings are reliable in whole and the accounting is trustworthy beyond doubt. I swear it is so. May you find enlightenment and a satisfactory record of our studies herein. The beginning of wisdom is examination, and hope of man is understanding. Long life, strength and lasting legacy belong to the house of Ba’al and his descendants forever. Here, then, are my findings. 51 The Shataiki That Most Vile Creature 52 53 THE ARRIVAL The Shataiki specimen came into my possession on the twenty-eighth day of the third month, as night descended upon the great city. I was greeted by the Horde commander Mustul, a valiant champion for our people and a warrior of high esteem in his majesty’s service, as I was leaving the laboratory until the morrow. Fazhid, the son of my eldest daughter Danae, may she rest in peace, who is my faithful apprentice stood by my side and he is witness to all I have set my hand to document herein. The commander had in his company two warriors who accompanied him alongside with singular steed behind. The animal was led on foot by bit and atop was strap netting, the likes of which are used to ensnare desert jackals and wild hares. 54 The netting thrashed as if a bound creature of madness was confined within. The commotion greatly unsettled the steed and caused

consternation that I’ve seen only when grave danger is at hand. But to my amazement no creature could be seen within the netting. It was as if the air itself was alive and caused such a ruckus. Only then did I realize that the cords held an unseen beast. The sound that issued forth was terrifying, the likes of which, until then, had been entirely alien to me. It came with an intensity that resonated within my breast. It was the sound of madness unbridled. I have only heard an animal make such a shriek once when, as a young man, I witnessed a sow tortured and butchered alive for sport by a lunatic. Yet even that could not compare to this horrid oddity. 55 In his fascination, Fazhid stepped forward, but was halted by Mustul who grabbed the lad before he could venture too close. In hindsight, the warrior acted with great wisdom for we did not know the manner of creature that had come to us. Though judging from the freshly torn skin on his arms, he knew. With haste Mustul commanded his men to carry the unseen creature into the laboratory before curious onlookers could make their way into the streets. I directed them to the main room where the majority of our investigations would be undertaken. The creature was placed in a cage, which was secured on the far side of the laboratory and fastened to the floor with thick chains. Though the captain appeared vexed, no doubt 56 from the strain of such a tireless journey, he agreed to stay and allow me to document his recollections while still fully clear in his mind’s eye. How he came upon the creature is puzzling and a matter of immense importance for it challenges common assumptions that only that which is seen and, therefore, fully material is existent. Long into the night the captain weaved a great tale of how he came to secure the

creature and the habitat from whence it came. I have documented his account at length in An Inquiry Regarding the Capture of Specimens Unseen. Most significant finding… specimens and habitat once thought to be of spirit are physical… though unseen to the common eye, he said the creatures could be perceived, but either within an enchanted forest or by ingesting an enchanted 57 elixir acquired by means of unholy sorcery, which came into Mustul’s possession at great risk. The vial, he warned, contained all the elixir that existed and must be used sparingly for no more could be had and, in fact, even this small amount had already come at the price of a man’s life. I would have to work quickly upon ingesting the potion. The elixir was contained in the tanned bladder of some animal, perhaps swine. The bladder tapered to a narrow mouth, fatter at the bottom than at the top and was capped with a speckled cork, which was stained at the bottom by what appeared to be blood. According to Mustul himself—Shataiki blood. It contained many measures, which were marked with wax marks on the bladder itself. Each would, as he said, open the eyes of the partaker for a 58 time and half a time and enable him to see the unseen. The measures would give me many weeks of observation. Given the elixir’s limited supply, save for the physician I was the sole observer among the six, which comprised my laboratory. The others would document and assist to make use of the short time offered by the elixir:::::::: In which I take a measure of elixir:: I opened the vessel, brought it to my lips, ingested the required amount and allowed the first draw to linger in my mouth. …coppery and slick… forthrightly overwhelmed by a bitterness that I have never experienced save for in the few instances that I ingested the liquid during this research. To explain the taste is difficult… rotted meat… festering entrails.

Any description would diminish its immediate 59 assault upon the senses of smell and taste. I am certain it is the taste of death itself and perhaps that is why, upon each taking, my body convulsed to vomit it had I not resisted the urge and forcefully swallowed against my body’s own will. Yet, the experience was curiously both horridly offensive and intoxicating, for following the swallow, the vile elixir’s overwhelming bitterness faded to the sort of sweet warmth experienced after partaking strong spirits. And that strangely warm sensation spread throughout my body quite rapidly as if it somehow intended to consume me. …I understand it not comprehensible to say such, and fear my words betray perhaps long held superstitions that compromise my science, yet I know no other description but this: I could nearly feel the liquid work what I can only describe as a great darkness within my veins…skin felt prickled 60 as if needles, pleasurable and not painful, pressed against my skin from within. To my shame, I must admit that I still wake in the night craving the taste of the elixir…but more so its effects not only for the awakening of the senses it offered, but also for the sense of life because it enriched the senses as a stone sharpens the blade. At first I saw nothing, but then, when a minute had passed, the air turned hollow before me and my eyes were opened by the elixir’s dark magic. What I saw there in that cage made my heart seize and my mind rage. Only a minute, perhaps two, passed before the first glimpse of change. And then I saw it and my heart set upon an irregular beat. 61 62 The Physical Form of the Shatai ki The creature known as Shataiki hung inverted from the bars of its cage. It clung to the metal with gnarled claws. When I saw them I knew the source of the captain’s casualties. It tapped the cage with a singular talon, longer than therest.

Fur, if it could be called such, covered the entirety of the creature in mangy patches of black and grey. The flesh visible beneath appeared infected and full of lesions. …velvety wings, black. Tattered edges and the left wing, which the creature tucked against its body, was torn entirely. >>>...bulbous, red eyes. Void of pupils and oozing at the corners with a yellowish, milky pustum. 63 Observatio ns and Inquisitio n For seven days I set about an examination of the specimen’s physicality, intelligence and acuity by means of observation and inquisition. The creature was listless for the first day likely from the damage inflicted during capture and, afterward, remained motionless for many days until the sun had sunk below the horizon. …without knowledge of whether day or night creature appears aware of eve’s approach…remarkable for the laboratory is subterranean, far removed from all forms of natural light…the creature seems to be nocturnal, though strangely so. I have documented in great detail, along with the help of Motirer the alchemist (for whose wisdom I am gratefully indebted) the anatomy of the creature in the volume Observations and Dissections of the Creature Shataiki. 64 …two days then marked turn in behavior and activity. Inquisitio n For many days time I set about to learn all I could from the specimen by way of direct communication, for I knew it well understood our language. Its frequent cursings of those in the laboratory betrayed as much. I sat near the cage and attempted to engage it while Fazhid acted as scribe from nearby. The creature was chronically vexed and, from arrival, exhibited episodic fits of madness… It clawed desperately at its own flesh, tearing fresh wounds as it paced within the cage. It repeated this behavior for long stretches of time, first in a manic fit then settling into relative calm for a short time before lashing out again. It was

during these relatively lucid moments that the 65 creature responded to certain questions. …this one note about the inquisition: from close proximity the stench, which was detectable only by me in the laboratory (an effect, I presume of the elixir) was nearly suffocating and I often had to breath through a rag dipped in turmini oil, which offered only minimal relief. In general the Shataiki was uncooperative to any form of inquisition and much of what I learned was pulled from the beast after hours of questioning. What is it named ? The creature’s responses were always cryptic, particularly on the subject of its namesake. Of note also is that it spoke as though describing another creature, not itself. To name something, it said, is to hold power over it and what it is and 66 isn’t. “We are Eve and we are many. Nothing holds us with power but the will of the will and then only what we will.” Rantings and ravings…madness incoherent, all bit of it. And the creature often spoke as if to others like it, though unseen, and hurled vile insults at Elyon, the albino mythological deity. From whe nce came it ? This particular question elicited an unusual response. Each time it was posed to the creature, it fell silent for long moments before issuing forth its answer, which was always “from deep within the womb of the forest’s dust, awakened by the Queen himself, at the behest of the will.” We would not know of such things, it said, for our “rotted flesh blinds us” and other nonsense of which I cannot be certain for the creature 67 digressed into unknown tongues. Are Shataiki and Roush of the same genus? The specimen (Eve) cursed even the word “Roush” when it was uttered within the laboratory. With great vitriol, it hurled what I assume were great cursings and taunts, though these also were spoken in a strange tongue. Though I cannot be sure, I hypothesize that

the Shataiki and Roush, though different, are similar (if not the same) species. What force that could account for the transformation from one form to another is yet a mystery Whom does it serve ? From the accounts of Mustul, I surmised that a hierarchy of authority exists within the species Shataiki, particularly as it relates to movements 68 within “nest” social structures. Again, Eve responded to the inquiry with a puzzling answer: “The will of the will of the will is whom we serve. There is none other and even to this your putrid flesh will succumb.” The creature speaks madness at all times, but at the mention of the “will of the will” it becomes strangely lucid and insidious. Its eyes, which pierced my own soul, haunted my dreams often beyond the inquisition. How does the creature accomplish its invisibility? A singular answer could not be surmised from either the Shataiki or Roush, save for one: the sons of the first man became blind because of the water and have since been so. It is not they who are invisible, but men who have “gouged out their own eyes”. The experiments and observations I have 69 overseen lead me to believe that these creatures account for many phenomena, which we experience, though do not fully understand—the sense that a man is not alone, though he stands in an empty room, the sensation of being watched, or the strange winds that brush against men that we dismiss as something other. These and more I believe can be accounted for by the interaction of these creatures with our own race. Many times, after the elixir had faded and the creature once again became hidden from me, I felt the movement of air as it beat it’s wings. Sometimes I felt the Shataiki’s spittle, which it often flung from the cage. I am convinced that these creatures indeed have lived or yet live among us. How does the ge nus procreate ? I cannot be sure, for the creature Eve would

70 not answer this question. I hypothesize from my venture to the forest with Mustul and my observations that the species procreates in similar fashion as some insect colonies, which I have studied at great length. To wit, a singular Queen produces eggs or larvae, which are then fertilized by males and grow into Shataiki. I can only postulate on gestation time and manner of fertilization. Many mysteries of a baffling nature…how is it possible that these creatures can be in such close proximity to humans and yet be undetectable? Can this be the mythological creature, which our people hold in such a manner as to call it “awe”? To fear it, I understand, but it does not inspire any sense of terrible wonder or awe. I felt only revulsion and pity for the creature, which appeared to be diseased in its soul and mind. 71 It is clear that these creatures not only despise all creatures unlike themselves, but are set about to actively exterminate all others unlike themselves. A question, which the creature asked me, confirmed this to be so. “Would you like to know how we kills the boy?” referring to Fahzid. I replied, no. The creature then detailed in grotesque manner and with apparent delight how he would do so. It was the only time I heard the creature exhibit any expression similar to a smile or laughter. …I am unsure how it seems to know such things, secret things, about those in the laboratory. It is as though the creature can read men’s secrets as a scroll and, indeed, twice divulged my own secrets as I worked alone in the laboratory. 72 Observatio ns of Shatai ki Habitat A full and accurate accounting of any species requires observation of habitat. Reluctantly, and after adequate persuasion from the lord Ba’al himself, Mustul escorted me to the habitat from whence he retrieved the specimen Eve. As we drew near the place itself an ominous

sense of dread fell upon us and I was greatly afraid, for we found in the desert sands a horribly mutilated horse. Its flesh hung in thin ribbons and its entrails spilled to the dust, swarmed by desert flies. It appeared to have been drained of its lifeblood for the dust was not stained as one might expect. One of Mustul’s men recognized the brand on the animal’s hindquarters as belonging to an Eramite war party. Mustul considered the animal 73 as a warning that our presence was not a secret. The captain ordered his men to be prepared for the worst and warned me that I had been given one hour to gather whatever information I could, no more and only from a distant ridge upon which we stood. Any escape might be at jeopardy beyond that. Mustul’s men scouted an observation point on the ridge, which would offer an adequate view with the assistance of a looking glass. Upon first look I saw only the horizon and great dunes of sand rising in the distance. Only after taking the elixir (at Mustul’s direction for he said the forest is only visible from within save for the elixir) did it appear. The Black Forest is indeed a dreadful and desolate place and, even from a distance, I have never seen its equal in manner of ruin and 74 barrenness. I do not doubt the captain’s warning that inside awaited a swift and terrible death for any who would dare step foot into it. Crooked, unnaturally angular flora jutted toward the sky as far as the eye could see. It is a place of death, no doubt, and unspeakable things. A sea of red eyes dotted the forest below. They, no doubt, were fully aware of our presence. From time to time, large flocks of hundreds or perhaps thousands erupted from the tree line and circled high above us in the sky before returning to the forest with wicked shriek. Twice I witnessed a Shataiki of enormous size, perhaps the height and mass of ten such as the specimen in my lab, rise from the center

of the forest and light on a massive tree that rose high above the others. It was similar to Eve 75 in appearance, though markedly different in dimension. Its snout, however, was more pronounced and it appeared emaciated and sinewy. The sound that rose from the forest when the large Shataiki called out was nothing short of terrifying and set my soul on edge. I warned the captain that the regularity and proximity of the creatures’ flights toward us were increasing. Within moments Mustul commanded that we mount our steeds and retreat for he sensed that we were in grave danger. The captain’s intuition proved accurate. We had no more descended the ridge when we were viciously attacked by an unseen swarm of Shataiki. We pushed the steeds as fast as we dared on the ridge’s knife-edge trail then plunged across the sands. Two of Mustul’s scouts, his best, sacrificed 76 themselves to provide us with sufficient time to retreat. Their screams haunt me still and I shall never forget them. …I shall also never again venture back to that cursed place. Not ever. A Series of Experiments (during which the specimen was incapacitated) By securing a sedative strong enough to kill any horse from the royal apothecary, I immobilized the specimen for numerous tests of the mettle and composition of its physiology. For a period of fourteen days I kept the creature in a state of altered consciousness such that I would describe it best as “limbo”— not fully unconscious, in order to allow the determination of certain stimuli, yet not fully conscious so as to endanger myself or my 77 assistants. … blood drawn from the creature, crimson only until it was exposed to air then transformed into the likeness of ink. Metallic smell as one might expect, but pungently sour such as the elixir. …intended to replicate the elixir since the

captain confirmed it was comprised of Shataiki blood and nothing more that he could tell. Drew three heklitre samples…two test subjects. First, a boar which had been secured from Ben-Amin’s efforts. If the beast could perceive the Shataiki, I postulated that I might observe its change in demeanor…seemed to sense the Shataiki without the elixir however. Upon forced oral administration of the sample, the animal thrashed for several moments then escaped the handler…an unsettling rampage. The 78 beast nearly destroyed the laboratory before it, in madness, ran headlong into the wall many times until it fell dead. I did not dare repeat the experiment on another creature, even untamed. I could not bring myself to plunge another creature into such terrible madness. … could observe no reproductive organs of any kind. It is quite possible that the creatures are without gender, though it is baffling how the reproductive function transpires. Perhaps the seed flows through its blood and, upon mixing with the blood of another, produces secondary life. Though of this I cannot be sure. It is a mystery yet veiled to me. … samples of the creature’s fur, which were carefully removed from the specimen by flaying the dermis in three places. The creature did not flinch as I expected. 79 80 Ostensibly, the specimen’s fur was like that of other mammalia, which I have studied. My observation proved incorrect, however, upon closer examination. Stroking the fur, which was coarse such as a wire brush, as it lay on the creature’s flesh produced only a rough texture, like petting a dog from head to tail. Felt in the opposite direction, however, revealed that the creature’s fur was barbed and embedded itself in the hand such as needles of the Catalina cactus might. After barely a touch, I myself extracted 127 barely visible hairs from my fingers, all of which I believe contain some form of poison, for a burning sensation accompanied them and subsided only

after many hours time from their removal. … talons punctured both cast metal and stone and cleaved a jumar fruit effortlessly. I have never seen a natural material of its equal strength. 81 A Series of Experiments (in which the specimen was aware) I could not ascertain the creature’s diet by inquisition or how long it could survive without either sustenance or drink. Therefore, I set about withholding both for a sustained period of time. Its days prior to dehydration numbered thirteen, after which we forcibly invigorated it by manner of pig intestine inserted into its mouth through which liquid was poured. After twenty-one days without solid sustenance, the creature began to weaken noticeably. … sustenance preferred: meat with the lifeblood still in it. Creature recoiled at cooked meats and fruits of the vine, save for those which were putrid and rotted through. 82 Expiratio n/ and Dissectio n Upon expiration, which came on the fortythird day by an unknown cause, we proceeded with dissection and a thorough examination of the specimen’s internal structure. My complete findings are documented in Anatomy of a Shataiki Specimen, as well as the writings of my contemporary Pazmal, Alchemist in the service of the King, who attended my side throughout the duration of my examination of the specimen. The first incision was made from just beneath the creature’s jawline and bisected its body to its midsection. As standard procedure would dictate, I also proceeded with a diverted cut that splayed the flesh in manner such that I could peel its flesh, separating it from the bone. To my great surprise I found that there was no skeletal 83 84 structure beneath the flesh at all, save for the skull. With the assistance of Volmere, a trusted

contemporary and chief physician in the court, I carefully pulled the flesh clear. As I did, a viscous black substance spilled from the creature’s abdominal area onto the table. It issued such a stench that I have never before experienced and twice had to retreat from the room, as did the physician, to recompose myself. We gathered the substance carefully into a holding vessel for further close examination (its measure was four and twenty mretas), which the physician did immediately upon extraction while I continued the dissection. The nature of the creature’s entrails At first appearance, the creature’s entrails are astonishingly viscous, a blackish liquid the 85 86 consistency of sticky tar in which torches might be dipped. It oozes and appears to seep even on the flat surface of the examination table, a curious effect resembling movement like the ripples on a puddle when a stone breaks its surface. On closer examination, it is obvious that the illusion of movement is not illusion at all, but miniscule worms which infest and slither within the liquid substance. I carefully extract the sum of 696 such insectiles and preserve them in vials for experimentation. As I do they issue forth a high pitched sound, low yet discernable, quite reminiscent of the hiss of hot coals. It is yet unclear how the creature could live with no internal organs and even more so ravaged with such virulent and noxious parasites. Perhaps this is the source of its madness as I have seen in certain pack dogs which roam among the canyons. 87 88 89 The Roush 90 The Capture of a Roush by Mustul For the Alchemist Grushon The banyon grove lay still as the day’s last embers smoldered away. I gazed upon it, Arium by my side, from the crags of Hirmon, which mark the forest’s edge.

Duty brought me to this place for I would not be released from my service to the priest save for completion of a final task. At great blood cost, I had already returned with the vile elixir of the demon Marsuuv and along with it parchments, which I smuggled from its lair. I too, by the strength of my men, captured a shataiki. Then through great risk nearly became as the albinos in my quest to retrieve the writings of Thomas of Hunter. These were not enough, however, for the priest’s alchemist Grushon who, having completed his experiments with the shataiki, was in need of its foe specimen. A roush. Return with this, said the priest, and he would release me to return to my men in the desert. 91 At the priest’s command the alchemist had given elixir enough for Arium and myself, which would work sorcery and open our eyes to the creatures’ presence. The forest, said the priest, where the roush abide is not enchanted as the Black Forest. Only by taking the elixir would we perceive the creatures, which are otherwise invisible. We dismounted and tied the horses among the rocks that we might approach in silence. There, I uncorked the leather bota containing the elixir, drank then passed it to Arium who also took of it. Vile bitterness filled my mouth and I swallowed the thick, bloody mixture, which burned a path to my stomach as the harshest of barley whisky might. The potion enlivened our senses quickly as we stepped into the forest. Where moments earlier the trees stood silent, now we heard the sounds of speaking and the rush and flutter of wings. We lay in hiding among thick brush and observed so as to learn of their movements. Above us, high in the canopy, and among the thick trees (some with girth such that it would take ten men linking arms to 92 encircle them) were white creatures in flight, dipping and soaring skillfully. In size they were similar to the vile shataiki, though they were white as clouds not black, and appeared robust and not mangy or diseased as their counterparts.. The roush were at the same time as the shataiki, yet were other. It is as if some dread disease had

befallen a portion of roush and transformed them into the beasts of savagery I witnessed in the Black Forest. Somehow the roush had escaped their foe’s fate. As the creatures settled high in the trees at last light we moved among the trees quietly and only when we sensed our presence would not be easily noticed. It was deeper into the grove that we laid our trap. We would not capture a roush, said the priest, as we had the shataiki for the roush are gentler and civilized compared to shataiki. They care not for blood nor meat and are not enticed by bait. Trapping them thusly would not be successful. They are at once nimble and disappear on the wind when they set flight. Snaring would be difficult if not impossible. 93 Success depended on cunning over might, craftiness over force. We came upon the section of deadfall, which Arium had scouted days before our coming. A wide swath of trees had been bent over by a great storm until they had snapped and cast them upon the ground in a tangled heap. Traversing it was treacherous and required skillful feet to negotiate trunks and branches to avoid becoming trapped beneath a shifting log. I lowered myself betwixt the logs and settled myself in a space barely large enough for a man, lying face up on thick branches. My legs I slipped beneath other branches to appear as though I had fallen and become entrapped beneath the wood. Above, an opening led from where I lay to the top of the pile, but thin branches crisscrossed the thin space between, too small even for a roush to spread wings and take flight. Arium skillfully fastened a snare of a fine mesh netting at the top of the heap with bent boughs and rope then covered it with a thin layer of brush. He himself settled upon the top of the trunks, beneath the cover of brush within striking distance of the gap 94 where I had climbed into the pile. If flight was the creature’s main defense we would draw it in such that flight was impossible and thus descend upon it in its weakness. We waited until the forest was still then I cried out with a cry as great as I could muster. Elyon! Rescue your servant, I screamed.

Nothing. Again I yelled, this time as if I had been run through savagely. My cry was met with only the gentle wind that whispered through the cracks of the wood. Long and loud I yelled for several hours until my voice ached from the strain. Finally I abandoned my foolishness. Surely it was a plan ill conceived for would such a creature hear me and, in compassion, alight to consider my condition? I cursed to myself and set about freeing myself from my place of hiding. I had nearly worked myself loose when the gentle snapping of branches above gave me pause. I looked between the branches above my head and saw a small silhouette peering down from the top of the 95 96 pile. It appeared then, drawing back, disappeared. I feigned supplication once more, this time with a sound of despair in my voice. Send rescue, dear Elyon, else your servant will die. I waited. Watched. Once again the silhouette appeared at the opening at the top of the pile, peered down upon me. This time it did not pull back, but lingered in curiosity. After a moment it hopped through the hole and descended cautiously upon a trunk high above my head. There it sat, watching. Hello? I called into the darkness. You there, have you come to my aid? The roush neither stirred nor spoke back. You there, said I. I can see you. Has Elyon answered my cry? Would you rescue me? At this the creature stirred. How is this possible son of Tanis? You see me? Said the creature. Aye, said I. I can see you and hear you. How is this possible? Have you been to the spring in the desert? Have your eyes been opened? Aye, it is as you say. 97 At this the creature chuckled and stepped carefully betwixt the branches, negotiating with care the maze of limbs and trunks that blocked the way. Even wih its smaller size the creature had to squeeze between the branches. Deeper into the wood it descended.

Wondrous, simply wondrous, said he. Not since the young boy Johnis have I seen one of your kind with open eyes. And that you can hear my voice. Wondrous! He climbed until he was upon me, all the while jabbering as I have never heard a creature do, man nor beast. Its name was Raphel. In the stillness of the eve he had heard my muffled cries as he took flew among the trees, having returned from a journey. He had circled thrice before his curiosity trumped his better sense and lighted upon the woodpile. He was within arms reach when the truth of my visage became suspect to the creature. Though a hood obscured the morst that covered my face, the scent of it caught it unawares. You are a desert dweller? Said he. A child of Teeleh. Your countenance betrays you, yet how is this 98 possible? I answered not, but reached out swiftly and reached for the creature. I grasped fistfuls of his fur. With a yell, the beast kicked and thrashed mightily. As it did the fur ripped free from its body. It loosened itself from my hold and hopped upward awkwardly, but lost its footing and stumbled. It found purchase once more, but the branches above and around clawed at the creature, confining it such that spreading its wings was impossible. Were it to escape it would have to either climb up or descend past me. But the roush was nimble, surprisingly so, and had nearly made the top of the pile before I could work free of the wood and give pursuit. Now! Yelled I to Arium who lay in wait above. He sprung the trap, covering the hole in the pile’s top with the netting as the roush reached him. Caught between a net above and a man below, the creature searched frantically for another way out. But there was none for the pile was impenetrable all around, and where it was not Arium had jammed stones and brush in the gaps to make it so. 99 In desperation it attempted to spread its wings in the cramped space, but was unable to stretch its arms more than half their length. With a single yell it leaped straight away through the hole at the woodpile’s top. As it emerged the creature’s wings unfurled with a loud snap, but the netting proved too

strong a foe as did Arium who fell upon the creature. He wrestled the creature, which bit and thrashed. But Arium proved victorious and rendered the beast unconscious with a club to the head. Of this I was greatly angered and rebuked Arium as I climbed from the pile, for the priest had strongly commanded that the beast not be harmed, but that it would be taken to the alchemist in strength and health. We bound the creature’s body with cords and bundled it within the netting for the journey to the City. There we delivered it to the alchemist Grushon for what manner of experimentation I cannot say, though I am told the creature met its end deep in the alchemist’s laboratory. I also delivered unto the priest a small leather 100 pouch, which the creature wore upon itself. Within it were contained rolls of birch bark with a form of writing indecipherable, which the priest has set about to interpret. 101 An Exami natio n of a Roush by the Alchemist Grusho n The singular Roush specimen came into my possession through the efforts of Mustul, a Ripper in the secret service of the king, Upon the Roush’s arrival I became aware of the marked difference between the two creatures, the Roush and the Shataiki. As the roush was brought in and fastened in its stations, a clamorous noise such that I had never heard rose from the Shataiki while no stirring, save for the clink of metal as Mustul’s men jostled it, issued forth from the other. This alarmed me so and I inquired of Mustul whether or not the creature had escaped en route, to which he said nay and that it was merely silent and had been so for much of the journey. Only after jabbing a stick through the bar, which 102 elicited a surprised groan from the creature was I satisfied. I had settled upon taking a measure of Mustul’s elixir. After ingesting the elixir, which quickened my

eyes and allowed me to see both the Roush and the Shataiki. I reclined at my table and merely observed their forms and behavior for quite some time. It is a habit I have learned with the passing of the sands, this pausing to consider, to being fully aware. Would that I had learned it in my youth. How many discoveries have been passed over for want of searching eyes! I observed them for quite some time, the two creatures each sequestered in their respective holding cages. Verily, as day and night stand opposed so did these two creatures, not merely in appearance (for 103 the one was a deeper black than midnight and the other white as a cloud) but also in temperament. While the Shataiki displayed a frenzied state, lashing against the bars erratically, the Roush appeared calm, even curious, concerning its predicament as a captive. Oft times I have reminisced about this very fact and have become convinced of the possibility that the creature possessed a fascination with those within the laboratory. The Roush was not afraid. This I did not expect. It also exhibited signs of intelligence (that is the only manner in which I can describe it) that was noticeable to all within the laboratory, and we would soon learn that it did indeed exhibit curious personality traits. In which the Roush creature interacts 104 The creature began speaking to those of us within the laboratory during the second day of its keeping. While I fervently forbid any from interacting, only observing and transcribing, the creature it made all the more attempts to solicit responses from us. Displaying the ability to reason, it surmised from our personal interactions within the laboratory the names of those present, including my own. Master Grushon, it is lovely to see you, it would say. Or My boy, Fahzid, why do you sit glumly so? The creature often sings and carries on

lengthy monologues on matters trivial such as the colors it prefers and curiosities about our species which intrigue it so. Much inquisition and questioning was oral 105 106 and visual observations were done only when the creature appeared most active—often during times in which the Shataiki also was active. In which we proceed with inquisition of the specimen The creature’s ostensible intelligence and ability to articulate in our native tongue was of eminent interest to me and presented a situation uncommon to the study of animalia. For who among us has ever spoken with a creature or has had a creature to them? However, despite the creature’s apparent ambivalence toward us it still exhibited reluctance in its interactions with others save for the boy Fahzid. It had over the course of its stay taken a liking in the boy, who is also fascinated with the creature. Oft times I scolded the boy for 107 interacting with the specimen, for I knew not what dangers existed and whether the creature were merely seducing the boy into some manner of trust such that it could manage an escape. I would at times leave the laboratory only to return and discover the boy near the cage’s edge, squat on his haunches and peering into the empty space which contained a creature as real as himself, though indiscernible to the eye. Once I stood unnoticed behind the boy and watched as he tossed a pebble into the cage. It clinked as it hit the hard metal and rolled to a stop in the center of the cell. Quickly, it rose in the air and there hung suspended before being tossed gently back to the child. Without the aid of the elixir, I saw only the pebble as well. I can understand the boy’s fascination. Fahzid would pitch and toss the pebble again, and so this would carry on until I made my presence known. 108 Certainly, the creature was not malevolent like

its counterpart, but curiously engaged. I placed a cloak in the creature’s cage at its request. Curiously, it appears to be amusing those who observe it for it has donned the cloak on many occasions and moved about its cell. What a strange and amusing sight to witness the shell of a cloak, hood pulled up, as if a draped upon a specter of some sort. It was clear that the creature derived amusement from it as did Fahzid. At first, as I mentioned previously, I scolded the boy’s personal interest in the creature for I feared it was too much. But the boy’s inquisitiveness soon became something of an advantage in examining the creature’s intelligence and ability to communicate. I set about instructing the boy in matters of inquisition and observation. 109 110 After two days’ time of preparation we began the interaction. Though the boy entreated me relentlessly to partake of the elixir, insisting that he could only inquire of the creature if it could be seen by him, I at first resisted for I knew not what effects the potion would have on such a young man. At last I relented and allow it. Hence I plunge with the dictation: My name is Raphel. And you are Fahzid, yes? Yes, how could you know this? By what sorcery? No sorcery, young lad. I have heard the whitehaired man, the one who stewards you, utter your name many times. I see him and he sees me, yes? Do you? Yes, I have partaken of the bat’s elixir. I can see and hear you. 111 Should I sing you a song then? I am a minstrel of sorts, though don’t be deceived—even warriors can also poets. Perhaps later, yes. I would like that very much. I would like that very much as well. {N otes: The creature often erupts in fits of what is best described as laughter and appeared intrigued, if not amused, by the interactions with

the boy.} Fahzid—Why is it that others can’t see you? It is a curious thing, yes, don’t you think? The sons of Tanis weren’t always blind to us. When belief fled them so did their sight. I don’t understand. Of course not. You can’t can you? Believing brings sight, young lad! And too much seeing 112 and thinking can squash the heart. Squash it like an overripe fruit. How many more are like you? There are many of us. Yes. Many, many, many. We are scattered far like the sons of Tanis, in many places throughout the vast realm, even as far as the Edge. I have heard of this place. Tell me of this edge. What manner of place is it? Oh, a dreadful and wonderful place, but it is full of half breeds which are best left alone. Creatures that can speak to you without words and would imprison you through ecstasy. Do you have babies? Of course, of course. Such silly questions. How old are you? Quite young, of course. But mind you the 113 years of my journey stretch back to the origin of things. Do you dwell among us? I have heard it said that you do and I quite believe it. I always have. Only from a distance except when we are sent to one of your kind specifically. The days have been many since then. And I fear that will be so for many a time. Are you like that creature (in reference to the Shataiki)? No. It is no longer like us. Once it was. Now only a betrayer and rebel, ravaged by its own disease. Lamentable. Greatly lamentable. A betrayer of whom? A great ruler? Yes, the greatest. There was a great uprising fed by the smooth tongue of one named Lucian, who is now Teeleh. The banishment 114 threw many of my brothers down and rightly so.

They have lost themselves in madness, deceived and deceiving. And against this we fight for you, young lad. You are at war then? Of course, though my sword is the quill and my war cry my songs. It is a great and terrible war. Soon the end of it will be upon us, a great clashing that will birth all things anew. Sociology and Species Hierarchy The specimen quipped sporadically regarding the social hierarchy of its species, which is surprisingly orderly. From what I can ascertain the species is divided as such: Arche Rou (or translated “messengers” or “sage”)– of the highest standing and import. There are perhaps no more than a few dozen and they appear to serve as high priests (or perhaps 115 generals?) in the service of their deity, though of this I cannot be certain for the creature mingles religious and military terminology freely in reference to this sub-group. Tal’yon (or translated “king warriors”) – A special categorization of Roush, which engage in the defense of their kind and, according to the specimen, that of mankind also. The specimen suggests that they are beyond numbering and roam the whole of the world on endeavors secret and invisible. Tal’im (or translated “high warriors”)—a general categorization of warriors subservient to the Tal’yon and comparable, I believe, to his Majesty’s foot warriors. Innumerable and sub-divided into ranks and companies such as is customary even among our own species. Artezin—(minstrel or craftsman?). Also of 116 superior import and highly regarded even above the Tal’yon and Tal’im. Among them are the scribes and craftsman of all manner. Gimal—(common/unknown). The creature referenced often the existence of another class among their species known as the Gimal (or Gimil or Gimeel perhaps). I could not ascertain the station of this particular group within the species though I believe it may be equivalent to our

common station. It is also curious to note that the specimen insinuated that not all of its species is of similar physical stature. It is mere conjecture (for it would not confirm such questioning, but averted response), but it is quite possible that certain Roush exist, which are smaller than would be visible were the bare eye able to discern their form. 117 I also postulate that the existence of behemoth Roush larger than any creatures that have heretofore been examined is not only possible, but likely. The specimen spoke of a creature that stood as tall as the Great City’s library with a wingspan such as would overshadow the entire city in the noonday sun. But, again, such talk could very well be a deception by the specimen. Habitat The warrior Mustul escorted myself and two others in an excursion purposed to record the habitat of the Roush creature. Through extensive investigation the good captain gathered testimony from sundry royal scouts, warriors, and merchants who have reported strange tellings during their travels throughout the kingdom. Some insist that they have sighted Roush habitat (though I now believe these to be false testimony after bearing witness myself of such habitat) 118 and encounters with the creatures themselves. The information was assembled and then compared with the specimen’s own descriptions of his home (though it was unaware we had transcribed its descriptions secretly) surmised three potential locations where we might come upon Roush colonies. I urged Mustul to select the two most likely sites, which we set upon for our excursion. The first was three days’ journey toward the setting of the sun where an unusual forest of Banyons grows. Stolid and massive, the trunks are such that ten men could link arms and barely span their girth. Such is where Mustul commandeered this specimen. High in the trees we spotted apparent nest

structures similar to the specimen’s description. However, no indication of movement could be 119 seen. Therefore, we waited long through the day, observing the forest from beneath cover of brush to conceal our presence. If any indication of creaturely activity became evident I would partake of some elixir and make observations. None transpired, which led me to believe that the nests (which appeared somewhat in disrepair) were evidence of an abandoned habitat. Therefore, we moved on. The second location, a clearing a half day’s journey beyond the Banyon grove near the Book Cliffs proved more successful. Like the first, we witnessed large nest structures high in the trees, nearly obscured by the canopy itself. However, the leaves of the Banyons shook and swayed though no wind blew across the land. Here I took the elixir and witnessed a scene of the manner described by the specimen: hundreds 120 of Roush of all size and stature circling and gliding among the forest. Creatures of smallish stature, obviously immature in age and development, stumbled and rolled in playful manner on the ground. Several came within close proximity and appeared unaware that I could discern their presence. Twice a creature lighted on a branch above our place of hiding and watched long to determine our intentions before taking flight once again to the canopy. They appear carefree and amused at all manner of the simplicity of their existence. This is pressed upon me with such certainty that it intrigues me so, for men as a whole do not experience such unfettered joy. I contemplated momentarily the capture of several specimens, however I believe such an 121 action would have been met with violence from the Roush. This was a possibility I was not willing to chance. We made careful note of the location and determined to return at an opportune time.

Expiration and Dissection Lord Ba’al is intent upon understanding various biological functions of the Roush Raphel. He is aware of the creature’s intelligence and longs to determine the extent of its physical nature by means of deprivation and experimentation, which after long consideration I deem to be little more than cruel torment for this creature is not savage as the Shataiki. I fear an emotional response to the creature, however slight, perhaps compromises my science. One such command is to starve the creature as we did the Shataiki to determine its limits for 122 sustenance. Yet this command arouses a sense of injustice within me. Why is my response to this creature invariably divergent from that of the Shataiki, of which I have a sense approaching contempt? Perhaps it is Raphel’s almost humanly qualities, his expressions of interest in us. In me. I cannot bring myself to conduct living experiments on the specimen as Lord Ba’al has commanded. I cannot. I will not. The boy Fahzid cried long into the evening last night and I fear that I also have grown fond of Raphel, rendering me incapable (and ashamedly so for I am a man of alchemy) of what is now to me a manner of heinous torture, and not mere experimentation. I have resolved that at first light the creature shall meet a swift end. For I know that 123 Lord Ba’al will employ an alchemist eager to accommodate his bidding and the creature will suffer greatly. This I cannot bear though the cost could very well be banishment. I can do no other. At the morrow, Raphel shall die. Report: Dissection and Examination Before first light, it appears that the subject expired by means of asphyxiation. An examination of the specimen’s holding cage revealed that it became entangled during the night in its restraint. It was found lifeless by the boy Fahzid. Hence we proceeded with a full autopsy of

the creature. In examination of the specimen’s physiology: I have carefully shaved the pelage from the entirety of the specimen’s left side, exposing its flesh, while leaving the right side whole as a 124 control sample. The dry weight of the fur approximates twenty drachmas. Beneath, the flesh is not as I would have hypothesized. Instead of pinkish or white flesh, as would be expected from bird or other fowl, the specimen presents with black flesh the color of wet slate, prickled with bumps as is found on our domesticated fowl, though without quill or feather of any kind. Rather, it exhibits pelage that is similar in composition and texture as might be found on Ursidae found in the highlands. Upon close examination with magnification device, which I devised specifically for this purpose, the specimen’s fur is also not as would appear at first glance. Contrary to the structure of the plumage common to Aves, the 125 126 Roush’s fur appears to be hollow in structure and void of color. In actuality, it is entirely transparent with no color at all. I theorize that ambient light gives the specimen’s its white appearance and not the color of the fur itself. I have heard reports of great Ursine creatures found on the edge of Blue Forest that exhibit similar qualities though I have not myself witnessed them. I inserted a slender needle fashioned from the bone of a Reignak through the middle of the specimen’s sinus cavity. After several moments I extracted the needle, collected trace amounts of blood and moved onto the specimen’s left eye, which I would describe as nearly twice normal proportions with a pupil ringed with a vibrant green outline. Upon penetration, the orbit of the eye sealed 127 128

around the needle then collapsed entirely into the orbital cavity. I collected a good deal of gelatinous fluid, which seeped from the eye cavity and subsequently removed the entirety of the remaining eye tissue and quarantined it for further study. As with the Shataiki, I incised the specimen, bisecting it as is common post-mortem practice. I peeled the flesh to reveal the interior cavity of the creature. Also as with the Shataiki, the findings were not congruent with other animalia. Rather than sundry vital organs filling the specimen’s cavity, I found a luminescent fluid, viscous and of the consistency also of tar utilized in the production of torchieres (as found in the shataiki). I carefully transferred the substance to various holding dishes for further examination. Post examination, twelve days, 129 the liquid continued to issue an ambient light, though somewhat diminished from its initial luminescence. 130 The Albinos 131 The Account of Mustul The Taking of Writings from Thomas of Hunter There are but two ways to conquer an enemy: by sword or by bringing him into one’s confidence until he considers you an enemy no more, but an ally. Then in the warm embrace of brothers, the blade can be plunged beneath the cloak. The former requires brute strength, the latter sharpness of both mind and blade. Such was the strategy to claim the prize that Ba’al requested: certain parchments of Thomas of Hunter, which the albino general hid away among the tents of his people. Of what secrets they revealed I cannot say, save that the priest coveted them above all else. This he made clear, that the Hunter’s writings were worth far more than all other parchments in the kingdom and would surely secure victories unimaginable and perhaps lead the world’s end. How to secure these parchments became my obsession for many days and it vexed me so. I could not simply take them by force. The disease, which plagues

132 the albinos, makes them fierce warriors of unusual speed and agility. Even when the tides of battle turn in our favor, still one of their warriors can take ten or more of ours. No, I needed the Hunter to take me into his confidence through a simple act of faith. Reason over might. I would wield his own deception, which has seduced many of our people, as a weapon stronger than a blade. Only then, by embracing the diseased albino, could I defeat him. It was a lofty task, for it would require accomplishing the mission without Hunter realizing the ruse. The preparation required many weeks of scheming and preparation. I myself would become versed in the mythology of the albinos, something of which required burning the candle long into the night with the Priest and his librarian, who took great care that I understood their histories, the great romance to which they cling and for which many have taken their own lives by drowning in the diseased pools. Their beliefs are savage, no doubt, and dangerous 133 to the heart and mind for they are delusion fed by disease. They are to be pitied most of all men. And it is this with which I am most vexed. Wouldst I be strong enough to resist the disease or at last succumb to it? We know not how it is passed. How long can I be among them and myself not be infected? Will I realize my own descent into madness if it happens? The priest warned that the disease pollutes the waters alone and not their bodies, but of this alone we can’t be sure. It is a danger greater than battle for it is a walking death. I learned of an Eramite merchant by the name of Lemuel who held regular dealings with Samuel, the son of Hunter, and was well acquainted with the movements of their tribe. As with most peddlers of wares, his services were purchased for a reasonable fee as was his silence. Through his efforts I learned the albinos were among the canyons northwest of Qurongi City. There, if I survived their watchmen, I would walk into the camp. There, I would undertake the most dangerous mission of all: become as the albinos. 134

Tomorrow I surrender myself to the albinos. I will either return with that which I have been sent to capture or I will succumb to their disease or the blade of Thomas Hunter. Tremor affects my hand as I write this. What must it be like to descend into madness and delusion? Such would be a fate worse than death. I am not afraid of death. However, surrendering willingly to delusion and disease from which there may be no escape or cure cause. I may be sealing my own fate. At first light I approached the canyon called Paradose in which the Eramite said the albinos were camped. He had seen them there at dusk the day before from high atop the ridge. Paradose is a strategic place to sojourn, for escape is possible to the north, west, and east. Hunter’s prowess in such matters is unmatched. The choice of this place was not by happenstance. This was a place Hunter and his tribe knew well— every corner and turn and path that led to nowhere, every slot canyon that opened to freedom. The cracked riverbeds in places seeped water enough to sustain a small village. This was a land of survival and they had 135 mastered it. During a winter campaign long ago I once pursued a Forest Guard detachment deep into the slot canyons south of here and quickly became disoriented as they disappeared among the passages. Four days my men and I wandered before stumbling out. Were Hunter as I am and not an albino, he certainly would have been a man of renown for our people, a warrior of unmatched skill and accomplishment. Hands raised, I walked into the canyon as morning shadows began to shrink. A deep chill settled between the cliff walls that rose around. My eyes scanned the terrain. I saw no guard or archer though I knew they saw me long ago. I heard the whistle of the arrow slicing wind before I saw it. It sunk deep into the sand with a dull thud no more than a pace ahead of me. A second and third struck the ground next to it, forming a straight line. The command was clear. I halted. A call went up from somewhere to my right and echoed against the stone. Two horsemen emerged from a side canyon. Swords drawn, they approached calmly. 136

They pulled up short of me. One was a pale colored man, older than the second, who was a darker fellow. They wore tunics and trousers the color of the sands. A thick ribbon of lighter cloth wrapped their necks to ward off the midday sun and evening chill both. What is your business, Scab? Said the darker one. Speak quickly or you will die where you stand. I am unarmed, as you can see. I come in peace. Alone. The elder man looked at me for a long moment. When he did speak finally, his voice was that of a man who had witnessed too much of life to be fooled by ruse. Peace, say you? Few come in peace, save for those who have who have nowhere else to go. Speak now of what peace and you may live. The Albinos speak in a more common language than I am accustomed to, so the words they spoke were different than what I pen here, but my representation of them is true, if only in my own way of speaking. I have come to seek the way of your Elyon, said I A Scab seeking Elyon? Said the darker. Or a spy seeking our death? 137 138 Never, sir, said I. What I speak is true. On the morn of Pilgath I saw in the desert a vision and a man dressed in white with a sash across his chest. He sat upon a white steed and spoke to me of drowning to find life, to return to the Great Romance. In this vision he pointed the way. Cross the desert, said he, to the canyonlands. There, two men will guide you in the way to life. Lies! Said the darker. The elder waved him off. Let him speak. Elyon can work wonders even among our enemies. Have we not seen it ourselves, Remko? Said I: I have arisen and followed his command to this place, traveling far and at great risk. I cannot return to my kinsman for they will surely kill me. Please, sirs, tell me how I might learn of this Great Romance. A vision, you say? The elder spoke. He turned to the other. They conferred and argued before the darker man, obviously disagreeable but under the command of the other, dismounted and approached, sword still drawn, fire in his eyes. We will take you, said the elder, though on our

139 terms. Elyon works many wonders. Perhaps you are one of them. If you are not, we will know soon enough. Either way you will meet the Maker. As the words left his lips, the darker fellow closed the distance between us and lifted his sword. Given different circumstances I would have countered, but that would not be so this time. The butt of his sword slammed into my head. I stumbled back and a great darkness swallowed the world as my legs gave way. I would either awake in the Valley of the Dead or among the albinos. What is your name? The voice issued forth from the darkness, his voice smooth and deep. He stood nearby, to my right, but how far I could not tell. I lifted my head from my chest. A blindfold cinched tightly over my eyes and my hands were bound behind me with thick ropes that bit into my wrists. Shamus, said I. Son of Arim. I have journeyed many days from Qurongi City. I mean you no harm. 140 That remains to be seen, said the man. This time his voice came from somewhere behind me then to my left; his steps closer, circling me. Fine gravel crunched beneath his footfalls. I am Jaekan, said he. I have anticipated your arrival. My men have been tracking you since your passage beyond Natalga Gap. That is more than a day’s journey, said I. Yes, it is. When survival depends on keeping one’s enemies in sight, having eyes everywhere is a way of life. They found you alone, which means you are either a very dangerous man or an outcast. Tell me, Shamus son of Arim, which are you? Neither, sir, but a man on pilgrimage who set out at the command of a mystical vision of a man in white. I have come to learn the ways of Elyon. That is all, no more. The man tugged the blindfold loose. It fell away, revealing a small tent of animal hides tanned to blend with the desert. I squinted at the bits of light that slipped through the doorway. He stood above me with cross arms, ruddy and 141

muscular. Perhaps a man of my years. He had the stare common of men of action who must in a moment sense the thin space between truth and lie, life and death. Perhaps he searched for betrayal in my eyes or a sign of deception, yet I held his gaze unflinching. At last he spoke. We will see about that, said he. Very soon. Then he turned and walked out. The days of my capture were five during which I remained in the tent and bound. A young man attended me twice daily and brought food and drink to sustain me. I am indebted to his kindness, a manner of which I found perplexing if not fascinating. How is it that one could regard enemies with consideration as this? On many occasions Jaekan returned with others, tribal elders, to determine my true intent and what treachery came with this lone Scab. We spoke long into many nights. I answered skillfully and returned each time to the simplicity of my tale, that I had seen a vision of the man who bid me come. Great debate arose 142 among them, some saying that Justin had appeared and drawn me while others warned against my presence, saying that Scabs were enemies unredeemable. Each time, however, the kindness of a few among them prevailed. Soon I found myself unbound, yet sequestered to the tent under watchful eye. The young boy who attended me (Taio was his name) often spoke of the wars which he only remembers vaguely in his youth, and he plied me with questions regarding my people, “the Scabs” as he calls us. No doubt, he too sought to determine the authenticity of my claims. On the sixth day, in the evening, the man Jaekan returned and with him three others, including the elder from the canyon. Rise up Shamus son of Arim, said he. Tonight you will join us. You will have your wish, a chance at new life. Then after that, a choice will be made concerning you. I stood quickly to my feet and the elder loosened my bonds. Join you? I asked. The elder let the ropes uncoil to the floor. Yes, said he, you will join us as we celebrate. 143 They placed a sack upon my head to blind me, yet

left my hands unbound, and led me out of the tent. Their trust of me was not yet complete. The night was brittle cold. By and by the sand gave way to rock underfoot. How far outside of the camp we were I did not know. We stopped and the elder pulled the hood from me. This way, said he. I followed them by torchlight down a long narrow canyon that appeared to end at a sheer cliff, but angled sharply right and disappeared into a narrow opening in the rock face. We ventured through the cave and walked into the darkness. Soon, the sounds of singing carried on the wind. Beneath the ground? They grew louder as we continued until they reached full pitch as we stepped from the tunnel into a vast circular stone room also ringed with torches. On the far end, carved deep in the cavern floor, glistened a small pool and, above it, a spring which spilled into it. Even from where we stood the water’s bloody appearance was obvious. The poison which, I believed was the source of their delusion. 144 The people sang as one, a song of simple refrain. Beautiful, you are beautiful, they sang. That is all, beautiful beautiful beautiful, yet they were taken with it and sang as if the fervency of their words held the stars themselves in the sky. I stood at the back with Jaekan, who joined in the singing. Those nearby looked upon me with great curiosity, a stranger among their gathering. No doubt, rumors of my presence among them had circulated throughout the small tribe. Some leaned into one another and whispered. Others smiled. Yet more took no notice. I watched in fascination. It is all I could do for I had heard rumors of these albino gatherings, how they were filled with bizarre rituals and goings on. Such things I did not see, but a strange people swaying and singing, eyes closed as if whispering to an unseen lover, unlike the staid sacrifices and rituals I witnessed among our own people. By and by the cavern fell silent save for the continual splash of the crimson water. Some stood, some knelt upon the stone in reverence, but of what I 145 could not say. A long shadow was cast upon the wall

as a man stepped to the front of the gathering. My heart quickened as his voice filled the rock cathedral. Lovers of Elyon who have drowned in the lakes and been given life, this is our hope, our passion, our only true reason to live, said the man. Thomas of Hunter looked out over the small gathering. His voice was low though it flooded the place. It is as he says, the people spoke in unison. Until then I had seen Hunter but twice with my own eyes, once on the field of battle and the other as my detachment pursued him into the desert. Yet here beneath the desert sands he stood as a warrior king that men would wish their sons to be, not a spineless fugitive on the run as some fools might curse after too much drink. There stood a leader with resolve as flint and the fierce loyalty of his people. A man who, in singleness of strength, defeated Woref, Qurong, even Martyn himself in the greatest conflicts of our time. A man worthy of respect, but who had simply chosen the wrong side in his deceived state. 146 I stood transfixed as he spoke. I heard little more, though his voice echoed over us and the people responded as one. The place hummed with the intensity of his words and the voices of the people echoing in the place resounded in my chest. I found myself whispering the words with them, though as spilling from me, unstoppable: It is as he says. Surely what afflicted this people was not madness, was it? Religious fervor as I have never seen, of course, but delusion? Perhaps it was the fierce loyalty to this man who was legend as much as flesh. Even now I do not know. My heart, I fear, deceives me still on the matter. As quickly as the gathering began so it ended. In silence the people departed, passing by me then disappearing through the corridor until I was alone with Jaeken and the elder. I looked about the cavern, but there was no sign of Hunter or of the daughter of Qurong. He had not passed by, though I did not notice his passing. Whence had he gone? What say you, Shamus? Said Jaeken. I am strangely warmed, dear Jaeken. 147 I stepped further into the cavern, toward the

waters edge, and watched the ripples on the face of the pool. They at once frightened and intrigued me for I sensed death and life beneath their surface. What would compel a man such as Hunter to follow this way? I felt as a man who stands on a precipice and senses a great urge to jump, yet realizes doing so means certain death. Strangely, the waters seemed to draw my body toward it. Beckoning. I stepped back. To follow, you must drown, said the elder to me. There is no other way. This is where your vision ends and choice begins. From death to life. Trembling rose within my bones. This was madness. Surely I had underestimated the potency of this peoples’ disease. The waters were disease! The waters were poison! The red water was death! And they saw it not. Yet here I stood, gazing at the shimmering surface. On the morrow, said I with trembling voice. I will drown on the morrow with you, my brothers, and Thomas as my witness. I turned to the elder. Would 148 that I could drown now, yet is it not right to proclaim it to the witness of my new brothers? Jaeken hesitated and then nodded his assent with a smile. Indeed. So will it be, said he. On the morrow then, at first light. You will sleep your final night as Horde and tomorrow wake to find new life. We struck arms then I followed them again into the night and returned to the camp. This time, however, I wore no hood. The camp was laid out just as the Eramite had described. I saw this as we returned. In the middle was the albinos’ tent of meeting, a squat tent of goat skin about twice the size of those scattered about it in irregular fashion. Here was the seat of their tribal government. Here the elders met for discussion of important matters. Here also lay their library, the keeping place of their writings. Including the Hunter’s books. It is said that in mere moments they could disassemble the tents and vanish with nary a sign of their stay. The men led me back to my tent where I waited 149 until the witching hour to act. Once I did there would be no return. If I died, it would be by the sword

and not by drowning. I awoke the two men stationed as sentry at my tent’s entrance and told them I must speak with Jaeken urgently for treachery was afoot that would endanger the tribe. They would all be dead soon, said I, if I did not gain audience with Jaeken and the elders. One rushed away and soon returned, breathing hard. The men would assemble in the tent of meeting and there hear me, said he. He glared at me with scorn. What is this about scab? Said he. I answered not. Soon, we made our way. As we neared the tent of meeting I heard the murmur of voices within. Their speaking ceased when I entered. Jaeken and six others stood in the center of the tent around a weak fire. Four wooden beams driven into the ground propped up the skin roof and wooden trunks lined the walls, some lifted open and others shut and stacked upon others. These, the Eramite had said, held the tomes that I sought. 150 What is the meaning of this, Shamus? Jaeken spoke angrily. I have deceived you dear brothers, said I. Treachery will soon be upon us all. Time is short so hear me well. What I say is true. At my words a great commotion arose among the men. Some shouted that they should not have trusted the scab, others that they were fools for thinking Elyon could change the heart of one like me. Jaeken lifted his hand to silence the men. Let him speak, brothers, said he then turned to me. Make it fast Shamus for I fear for your life. I knelt upon the sand and looked only upon the men’s feet in hope that my act of contrition would lighten the load of my feigned confession. I came here not as a pilgrim as I had said, but as a spy for Lord Qurong. With this the men’s voices rose in great protest. Both fear and anger covered their faces. I have transgressed greatly upon you and beg your forgiveness. Bah. Scabs know only one thing, said Remko, 151 Death and war! The others muttered their agreement. It is true, said I. I came to learn of your camp and

how the Throaters might descend upon you in triumph. Even now, two of Qurong’s colonels are encamped on the far side of the canyon. They await word from me to carry back to my lord. Then they will come. All of them as the locusts and consume you. Silenced filled the tent. Now that I know the truth I shan’t let this people be attacked, said I, for what I came to destroy I have seen with my own eyes is true and beautiful. I came as one who would help Qurong conquer, but it is I who has been won over by Elyon. With many words I made my case that I came as a dead man, but now truly wanted to drown, to join them and be as they, that what was a ruse turned against me and converted my motives. I would rather die among them, said I, then to live among the cursed Scabs. I would be an albino instead. By and by the conviction of my words found purchase in their hearts, however slight, and I made my final plea. 152 I will take you to these colonels that you might overpower them and capture them, said I. Then you will know whose I am and whom I serve. And lead us into a trap? Snapped Marsten, one of the younger men. Would your treachery know no end, scab? Then I will stay here in pledge, said I to Jaeken. Send your strongest men. I will tell you precisely where Qurong’s colonels lie so you might ambush them from behind. Here I will stay, in this very tent, until your men return and prove my true allegiance. If what I say is so, they will come back to you unharmed. This tribe will be safeguarded and you will know I speak the truth with my heart. They sent me out of the tent for many long moments. Within, I heard the arguments of the men sparring for my fate. Could they trust me? Soon, their voices grew dim and I was beckoned. The room was divided by opinion, some men stood in the middle and others to the side, arms crossed in defiance. Jaeken spoke and said it would be so as I proposed. I would be held in pledge while Remko took ten others 153 to the place of my telling. If they found the two colonels as I said and returned safely then I would

drown and become as them. If they did not return by nightfall I would be staked to the sands and left while the tribe disappeared into the canyons. So will it be, said I. Three men guarded the tent of meeting entrance to prevent any escape. I was shut in with only the light of single lantern. Remko had set out with his men little more than an hour previous. It would take them until noon to reach the cave I had marked on the map. Seven hours journey. Seven hours until they learned of my deception. I quietly set about searching the boxes that filled the tent. They were large wooden crates, some sealed with thick ropes and others open. Most held tomes of leather wrapped parchments bundled together and scrolls of all manner, others contained curious looking devices of metal, which I have never before seen. I recognized some of the books as being similar to what I had seen in the demon Marsuuv’s lair, books of the 154 histories. None of these were my charge, however. Ba’al coveted volumes particular to Hunter and his personal writings. After many hours I found a box that, upon first opening, appeared empty save for some tent stakes and cord. Upon closer inspection a false bottom pried loose to reveal two small books about half the size of any others I had seen and wrapped with red cord. I took them in hand and wiped them free of a thin layer of dust. They were the only ones thusly bound and marked on the corner with the general’s initial. As I slipped them inside my tunic, faint morning light spilled into the tent as the flap folded back. Rise, Shamus, said one of the guards. What are you doing? I palmed two of the tent stakes from within the box, one in each hand, then slowly rose to my feet and turned toward the doorway. There stood both men, resolute and swords drawn. They stepped toward me, allowed the flap to fall closed, and approached. For an instant the tent was lit but with that single lantern. Yet my eyes were adjusted to the darkness of the 155 place, theirs were not. I crossed the distance quickly before they had clear vision and lunged with the first stake. It punched

through the first sentry’s chest. I drove it up and through his heart with my momentum. The only sound he made was a muffled grunt as I drove him backward. I shoved the first into the second man who had come in behind. He stumbled beneath my weight and that of the first sentry and fell to the ground, pinned beneath us. Quickly, I plunged the second stake through the man’s throat, burying the tip deep into the sand beneath his head. A single exhale was all that escaped his mouth. I arose quickly and went to the tent’s entrance. The haze of dawn was upon the sky and soon the camp would arise. I stripped one of the men of his cloak and, taking his sword, made from that place quietly. Seeing not another soul I circled behind the tent then made my way to a side canyon where the albinos keep their steeds. If Remko had indeed taken ten able-bodied men with him, there would be few if any left to safeguard 156 the tribe for there were more women and children among them than warriors. No opposition met me at the stable. I did not bother with a saddle, but mounted bare back and turned it toward the east. The Eramite had given me a map detailing an escape route. My path would carve a wide arc. Such a path would add two days to my journey back to Qurongi City, but avoiding albino contact was assured. For once an Eramite proved trustworthy and, after two days’ journey, I returned unscathed to Lord Ba’al and delivered the writings of his enemy to him. 157 158 Albinos AStudy by the Alchemist, Grushon 159 An archival record of previous interaction with an albino subject: Much has been written of the albinos, not the least of which has been undertaken by certain of my contemporaries under direction of His Eminence, Lord Qurong, primarily for militaristic intelligence and application. Of the saying it is true, that a man who

knows his enemy best, the same lives to relieve him the burden of his head. That is to say that the knowledge of one’s enemy is the seed of triumph, which blossoms to victory complete. Any retort of the proverb’s wisdom would be ill-advised for it is certainly true. All men of learned discourse, from alchemist to artisan, and most of the kingdom’s common people are well acquainted with the ways and customs of the “forest dwellers”, as they have for 160 many years been called. I myself have also given much effort to the systematic study of the anthropology of the species, all the while endeavoring greatly to address such basic concerns as the biological and cultural structures, and specifically the social organization of this people in terms of their superstitions, which is of particular interest for it informs their civilization in entirety. Superstitions I am a man of natural means, examining such things as can be observed and tested. I have come to believe in my four and sixty years that passions are fleeting, always beguiling and sabotage even the most rigorous intellectual pursuits. And for such reason are not entirely untrustworthy in the search for truth, though mostly so. 161 How many a man has cast aside reason in the pursuit of that of which he merely longs to become convinced even as the evidence declares him mad and a traitor of his own intellectual integrity. One’s personal “truth” is strangely pliable, and conveniently so, especially in matters of spiritual import. If a man wants to believe a thing he will, indeed, bend fact to bear its weight. For this reason, I agree with many of my contemporaries that the ways and customs of the albino race as they are understood are, at best, all a good bit of superstition and, at worst, delusion such that must find its origin in the disease that afflicts their community en masse. I have long held the view that this delusion from which all albinos suffer finds it origin

in disease strain, which is resident in their water supply. 162 Also, I assert that this pathological radical, a condition I have termed palaoen hydrosima, can be successfully leeched from the body through careful and prolonged deprivation. I believe my hypothesis is sufficiently substantiated (the assertion of vexed pathology, that is), for during the fall’s last harvest I discovered in the Royal Library the record of an inquisition of an albino scout, which had been captured by ambush a half day’s ride from the Great City many years ago. Upon arrival in the City, according to the record, his skin was smooth and inflicted with stench common to the albinos. His eyes also exhibited a green hue common of his kind. The man had taken no drink since his capture and was exhibiting mild dermatitis with early onset of ashen flaking of the skin. 163 …early requests to be allowed to drink from the twin canteens, which had been confiscated from his saddlebags, were of course denied. At times, the man’s requests devolved into begging in a manner which is uncommon among warriors Upon inspection the man’s canteens contained water of the same type often found in large caches hidden in caves and canyons throughout the Borderlands and the war routes secretly traveled by the albinos. I have been told that they supply caches, which provide their warriors with water sufficient to prolong their condition during times of extended travel where none is available. Even Hunter himself, I am told, drank from the cache at which this man was captured. The canteens were set aside for later experimentation. 164 The man (his name was Rinaldi) spoke fervently of and often entreated the intervention of his people’s deity (Elyon, as it were), which he vehemently asserted would rise to his aid and, in doing so, obliterate all within the city. None would

remain standing. This claim, of course, was the ranting of a madman for such an end did not come upon us. I can say this with certainty many years post-capture. The subject was placed on the examination table in the laboratory and there he remained for a matter of twenty-seven days so that the royal physician might test the hypothesis of pathological delusion. Hypothesis: the albino’s skin condition and mental delusions can be traced to their regular consumption of diseased water. By depriving the subject of said diseased water they will be returned to a healthy state. 165 Method: Deprive subject of diseased water. Record and measure physical and mental changes. Apply diseased water, record and measure regression. Deprive subject of diseased water. *This method would be followed with captured subject and, afterward, with a volunteer from the army who valiantly stepped forward to also act as a control test. (the standing physicain agreed to this only after great debate with Lord Qurong concerning the ethics of deliberately poisoning a well man for scientific conjecture, though he assented for a time.) With the passage of days and then weeks under the physician’s direct observation, the 166 albino’s disease subsided and was soon normal in appearance as had been postulated. …thrice the man’s quarantined water was applied during the course of four weeks—twice to his limbs and once to his torso and face, and the physician carefully went about safeguarding a portion of his body as a control sample. With each application, the skin sizzled visibly and the man yelled in great agony as if he had been plunged into a great fire (as he described it). Excerpt from the royal physician’s laboratory thesis: …as I witnessed with my own eyes the near

instantaneous transformation of the skin back to its original state when the man was brought into my laboratory—smooth, pale, and stenched—all upon the application of the vile water. Poison of the most virulent variety, this water 167 is. It is perhaps the most dangerous of materials known to man, for it compromises the very fiber of his wholeness. Thus, after application of the water to the Horde army private Ka’tal and witnessing his agony, I immediately dismissed him from further experimentation (this was on the first day of the control experiment to determine how the effects of the forest dweller’s water would effect normal dermis), for I could not bear to exposure such a young man to a unbearable experience such as this, which was tantamount to torture. No matter the scientific progress I could not bear it for I myself have a son of similar age. My determination was that the results from the subject would be sufficient.” Mental acuity improvement Of particular note was the transformation of mental acuity that accompanied the man’s 168 physical progression from diseased to well. Like a man recovering from delirium induced by fever, he soon ceased entreating deity and eventually awakened from his confused state of mind with clarity sufficient to entrust him to the palace jailkeeper to be, perhaps someday, rehabilitated and introduced into life among our own people as an immigrant. I fully expect the man to make a recovery for he recanted all albino superstitions during the time of his imprisonment here of his own volition. -End royal physicians report The end of the matter is this: based on my studies and observations, albino superstition is rooted in pathology. Just as an Eramite believes as he does because he was born an Eramite, so also an albino because he was born to other albinos and raised such. The albino, if born to an Eramite, would believe differently and so 169 170

forth. The difference is the disease, which plagues the albinos, which predisposes them to such fanciful delusions. Given sufficient time and care, I believe all albinos could one day be liberated from their diseased condition and lead fulfilled lives. This would be a worthy endeavor for all of man and an act of great tolerance and unity, though I am so such an effort is beyond the power of any man to undertake. The pull of superstition and power are far too strong as our years of warfare stand as testimony. Also of note from the findings: Curiosities found among the subject’s effects, which are peculiar and worthy of remark. I secured these from royal archives: -One (1) ring fashioned of hammered metal, etched with the icon often found on the forest 171 dweller’s dead. Inscribed inside: Love with no end or start. –Myra -One (1) necklace, fashioned of slate and bearing the forest dweller’s religious iconography -One (1) small booklet fashioned of vellum, which contained sketches of all manner including the locations of water caches containing poisoned water. -One (1) journal, personal in nature upon inspection, also fashioned of vellum. Of particular note is the dating system, which the forest dweller’s use to measure the passing of seasons and movement of the stars. I had heard rumors of a system developed by Thomas of Hunter, though this was the first encounter I have had with this rumored system. Close examination proved somewhat enlightening, though not entirely fruitful. (After his 172 rehabilitation we will attempt a deciphering process with the assistance of the captured subject.). Still of undetermined meaning: Janir Fehn Marn Avila Mia Joon Hilo Sh’him Prium H arvis Novu Em’manu Jachi’in Dissection of a deceased Albino

I have heretofore been unable to conduct experimentation on a living albino subject for many years. However, a deceased Albino, the casualty of a squirmish between a desert patrol and an albino detachment, was brought to my laboratory. He was the first such casualty in many years and I set upon the fortuitous occasion to conduct physiological study of the 173 specimen. As might be expected, the subject exhibits a brownish dermis, which is ostensible evidence of the disease which unfortunately plagues this people. Evidence of scar tissue typical of men of action marked the specimen’s bodies. It is apparent that he has survived many a skirmish. I counted two and twenty scars. He had brown hair, cropped below the nape of his neck, and eyes the color of emerald. He wore the garb typical of albinos, which was soaked through with the stain of spilled blood. A large tribal marking is tattooed into the specimen’s upper right arm. The insignia is thusly and etched in color in such a way that is uncommon to our own ways. 174 Autopsy Upon initial examination the subject exhibits no abnormalities as might be expected of a corpse, save for the heart. The heart, upon close examination, was a peculiar red hue. It was strangely so, however, as I have not before seen in my many years. Deeply read. This is indeed a unique finding and one that I postulate finds its origin in the blood disease of the forest dwellers. Upon removal I measured its heft and girth and determined it to be nearly twice that of our own people. Again, I believe this to be the result of the disease, which vexes this people. Removal of the bowels produced evidence of indigenous berries and trace amounts of meat, probably lamb. I could determine nothing remarkable concerning their diet from such a small sample. 175

176 However, during the examination I extracted a small iron key, which the albino must have swallowed upon capture. Mustul has set upon a search at the albino’s point of capture to find the lock in which it fits. Perhaps a secret. I also recreated the experiment, which I conducted many years ago on a living albino to determine the connection between the albino’s disease and the water that is their sustenance. It has long been rumored that the pollution of their water source many years ago annihilated the disease, though this is great conjecture as is evidenced by their skin and strong adherence to delusion. I postulated then and still believe now that the tainting of their water, which also transformed it to red, had merely aesthetic effects as dying wool with indigo might. 177 178 179 180 181 The death of B’Har Case study of a possible shataiki assault I was awakened by a fervent pounding at the door. Upon opening it, there stood a man with a lantern and two men beside. I recognized as a man in the service of the Rippers. The king had commanded that I perform a thorough examination of the man B’Har who was found dead in the halls of the Lord’s war counsel no more than an hour previously. Being the witching hour and bitterly cold, I made haste to the palace to examine the man. I have not been told such, but I overhead a palace guard discuss the intrusion of a suspected assassin. Conjecture and wild rumors about a woman attacker swirled under hushed tone while I worked. I forthrightly commanded that he be 182 transported to my laboratory for autopsy. B’Har expired of a violence, which I have not seen but once when a child was brought to me who had wandered beyond the dunes and was mauled by pack dogs.

An extraordinary difference, however, was a noticeable lack of blood loss with the man, for none issued forth from him as might be expected from such a devastating wound. Only coagulated blood on the edge of his wound could be found. The torn flesh on the man appeared canine in nature, yet indicative of but one terrible bite to the neck that nearly separated his head. His windpipe had been torn free, exposing even the spinal structure, sinew, and gristle connecting his head to the body. Whatever manner of attacker this was is unclear (though rumors of a mythic humanlike creature perpetrating this crime are rampant), 183 however the speed and severity is clear. I have little doubt that the man B’Har died before he hit the ground. Full dissection revealed that the man held only half of the expected blood volume and rigor had set in half the time as would be expected. Also noticeable is the appearance of small, milk white larvae resembling maggots that have appeared since transporting the cadaver from the palace to the laboratory. These were removed and placed in quarantine vessels for further examination as they closely resemble those found once in a Shatiki specimen. The man’s heart tissue was grey in appearance as would be expected. However, the size of the organ itself was thrice normal size and appeared to have stretched to the point of failure. I know of no other description but to say that the heart ripped asunder within the man’s chest. 184 Also of note is the bruising evident in the ocular cavity. The man’s eyes were engorged with blood and filmed with a red cataract where the eyes would normally be grey. This I believe to be a result some form of toxin, which may have been given the man before his murder. I know not what manner of creature or implement is responsible for this man’s injuries and expiration. Suffice it to say that, were it human, it is motivated by a gruesome savagery that is almost beyond imagining. And the absence of blood is at once perplexing and troublesome.

185 186 187 Segment 2 The Blood Books 188 Of the Dreams and Visions of Ba’al In this Blood Book, one of many Blood Books penned in my hand I, Ba’al, high priest of the Horde, resolve to write those obscure visions granted me in my deepest sleep by the powers of Marsuuv whose blood flows in my veins. They haunt me in the night, and stalk me through the halls of this Thrall. What I once knew of another world was blinded by ignorance; now I see more clearly. And yet the meanings of these dreams remains beyond the horizon of my mind like an unseen world. With each breath it beckons me to my greatest purpose. And I see it not. I am undone with madness. He who has eyes to see, let him see what I have seen: Dream: I am in a monastery, like Marsuuv’s own lair, but in that dungeon I see only children. Shataiki larvae crawl the walls. There are books. Books and more books, calling me to release the story of truth. To write it. I see that Billos the child stands next to Billos the man, dressed in black. And beside him, the human 189 form of my lover, Marsuuv. Marsuvees Black. I see Paradise. I see hell. I see deep tunnels; the breeding ground of Shataiki who have entered that unseen world. I see the one who will come as a thief bearing truth to all who would eat of that flesh. He is a warrior, a beast, dressed in a robe, white dipped in Black. And on his head he wears a kingly crown fashioned from the hide of a beast who has fed on the blood of Marsuuv. With a stake from the Black Forest he will kill the child, Samul. I see one call Jahny who stands with Samul but both are to be crushed by the child Bylie, master of the one dressed in Black. I call them to them but they turn their backs and chose instead death. Addendum: Under my direction, Grushon, my alchemist, has created a potion to help me dream. Instructed by me, he took the poisonous rhambutan fruit, extracted its juice, then boiled it in a mixture of my own blood which is infused already with that of the master I serve. This elixir, I believe, will help me dream more

clearly. 190 Impossible images and words have presented themselves to me in and I awake clawing at my face, screaming. I have tried in vain to understand more of that ancient world from which came my greatest enemy, Thomas of Hunter. But no elixir; no rite, no citation or sacrifice has delivered meaning to me. I can only write what I see and beg the understanding which flees my mind to still for a moment so that I might grasp it. Dream: I heard words. Rysonstrane. Vampyre. Antichryst. Kayra Hunter, Davyd Abruham. Denvor. Bangkuk. The Historian. Paradise… That world which is mine to rule beyond the skin of ours. I saw images. Bylie with black eyes, holding up Teeleh’s cross as the a great throng worshiped at his feet. Rebels who wore a medalion with a band of green around the edge and a cross of red at its center, similar to those worn by albinos. The voices in my head whispered of the one they called The Historian who knew the key to the mystery of Paradise and Hunter. That it was Bylie who sent Hunter into his madness. That it was The Historian who first penned 191 Bylie and Hunter. That it was Elyon who made the Historian. That Teeleh will soon triumph over Elyon. And that I, Ba’al who is also Bylie, will bring everything to its end. Addendum: I cannot be certain of these matters, but it is my hope that through the drinking of blood my blindness will be rolled back and so that I might see through the waters of time into the world of Thomas of Hunter, enemy of Teeleh. And of the great pretender named Samul. For it is my certainty now that there I am that child named Bylie who is to be the antichryst in a world beyond our own. I am certain as well, that Thomas of Hunter is the key to the world. 192 Manifesto of Ba’al High Priest of the Horde While I stand above everything ever accomplished by the priests of Teeleh, I acknowledge the advances made by those who came before. It was Witch, the first priest of Teeleh, who first brought Religion to the Horde, and thus brought order to anarchy. It was his rule that paved the way for Qurong,

the firstborn of Horde, to grab political leadership. Had Witch the ambition desired by Teeleh to instill the full weight of religion perhaps I would not be fighting against Qurong for power now. Yet it was his weakness that gives me my power and ministry now. And it was Witch who first turned the people towards Teeleh. It was his desire for the Books of History that laid the foundation for my work. They called him the Dark Priest, but in truth I, who was once a wretch named Billos in the service of Thomas of Hunter, am he. After the death of Witch came Ciphus the Halfbreed. Ciphus was the former religious leader of the 193 Forrest Dwellers before the death of the heretic, Justin. Elyon’s waters ran red with blood, which gave rise to the insidious rebellion of those, the Circle as they call it, diseased by those red waters. Ciphus wisely continued his Religion as Horde. This all took place in the days I spent at the feet of Marsuuv, my lover. Ciphus reigned for only a year, being killed at the hands of Sucrow three months after the whore Chelise betrayed the Horde, seduced by Thomas of Hunter. Sucrow’s claim that Half-breeds could not lead the Religion caused Eram and his followers to defect and form their city of half-breeds in the desert. Sucrow’s advances in the science of Religion, his mastery of the black arts, and his assembly of Throaters were the precursors to my reign as High Priest. He was felled when his own plans to bind Shataiki to his will backfired. Derias, a queen of Teeleh, ate his flesh when the amulet meant to control Derias landed in enemy hands. It was then that Marsuuv sent me, his Lover. I came into Qurongi City, a black-cloaked monk from the desert. I now see that I was their Marsuvees Black. The 194 Black Priest, bring grace and hope to a people left without a leader. Like sheep, the Horde folded to my will. I became a god among men in their eyes. Thousands came to be consecrated as priests of Teeleh. Those whom I accepted, I gave his mark upon their forehead or right hand and trained them in the dark arts. Having been trained by Marsuuv, Queen of Shataiki, my power was second to none. I assembled my warrior-priests and set about the task of destroying both the Eramites and the Circle while covertly undermining the leadership of Qurong in the eyes of

the people. Our leader has he not tasted Shataiki blood. He is weak, unable to keep his own household in the faith of Teeleh. When he has served his purpose he will die by my own sword. This is the plan of Ba’al, High Priest, lover of Marsuuv, Queen of Teeleh: I shall raise an army of Throaters warrior-priests who have taken the blood of Shataiki and bow only to my command. They will be my first lines in the battle of Age at Miggdon. My prophets will call forth legions of Shataiki. 195 And then I will crush Eram and annihilate the Circle. I will learn the secrets of the ancient world and enter it, and there I will rule as I rule here. The worlds will unite and cower with fear under me, or they will fall. And the great god Teeleh will reign forever and ever, amen. 196 Of Albinos and Their Lies Here among the Horde, I cannot reveal that I am, like Ciphus, a Half-breed. It is not hard to maintain this, as I prefer to only think of the things since my salvation. Yet ne-ither do I think of myself as fully Horde. Rather, I stand above them as a god among men, part-Shataiki, part-Horde—like the perverted race known as Leedhan, rumored to dwell on the other side of our world. Having lived among the albinos, among the Shataiki, and now among the Horde; having in my own blood the nature of Bylie from another world I am beyond reproach. Only I understand the full truth of the worlds, worthy to unmask the lies of Thomas of Hunter. Was it not I who sent him on his fated task? These are the 5 greatest lies of the Albinos: 1) That they are saved by the blood of Justin, a heretic who came to bring peace rather than war. 2) That the Horde carry a disease which they call the scabbing disease. In reality it is they who have been poisoned by the red waters. 197 3) That religion is evil. In truth, religion is the basis for all control and power among created beings. 4) That the pursuit of affection, called love, is the way to find their Maker who pursues them in kind. Yet they have not fed from the Queens or been slashed with his talons. They know nothing of love. 5) That their enemy is to be loved, not destroyed.

Utter folly. What they cannot know is that their impossible beliefs only make them coward. If Elyon is a god of power, as is my god, Teeleh, then I say let the two meet in battle and may the more powerful stand victor. They cannot know that their god is weak and impotent, and thus avoids a conflict he cannot win. Elyon is a god propped up by the sticks of his followers—his power lives only in the demented mind of those who follow him. They pervert the Great Romance of Teeleh, making Teeleh’s Love through the shedding and exchange of blood some farce of singing and dancing. They commemorate their god on his alleged providence in the dimly remembered 198 past by playing games and singing songs; I celebrate my god in power by living out his decrees in my life. When I have gathered my armies in full force and am prepared to dethrone Qurong the pretender, then shall the albinos taste the meat of their lies even as they taste the cold metal of my blade. Blessed be the name of Teeleh, and Marsuuv his Queen. Religion Blood and the Power to Bind As commanded by my lover Marsuuv, I have built upon the foundation of religion. Religion, it is said, is the most powerful force in the world. Sharper than any twoedged sword, even to the dividing of bone and marrow. It is in religion rather than faith or love that man transcends himself and feasts upon the higher powers. It is here that man chooses to be of Elyon or Teeleh, Roush or Shataiki, and binds himself through blood by blood to power. Blood has in it the power to bind one to the will through the ritual of religion. It is why the albinos allegedly drown 199 themselves in the diseased pools and awaken themselves to a new affection. But true religion is in obedience to a master, not in affection. The priests of Teeleh follow true religion. We obey or we die an eternal death in hell. The power to obey is found in the blood. Did not my lord and lover commune with me through the partaking of blood at our last supper? Therefore, it is blood on which we base our religion. We serve Teeleh, a god of blood, who demands the veins of his followers. 200 Excerpts from the Blood Book of Thomas of Hunter

In my quest to better understand that great enemy, the albino, whom I have resolved to crush, I dispatched my most trusted warrior, Mustul, to bring me the writings of Thomas of Hunter, their leader. He successfully acquired one of the albino’s Blood Books from which I have extracted the most pressing of entries to include here in my own Blood Book. Much of what is written in these pages consist of deception and lies which give insight into the diseased mind of the albino. Some betrays a secret knowledge of magic and dreams of another world which I know to have basis in fact for I too have seen a part of that world in my past life, before I became a half-breed. 201 The Blood Book of Thomas Hunter Year 26, Entry 14 Tonight I sit alone in my tent, a days ride from the camp. A great sense of nostalgia has ridden with me these past days, and my mind has been taken back to the world of my dreams. I have rarely written my understanding of what happened to me in the interest of our great task here in the desert. But when the past calls to me, I find myself compelled to write at least some of what I recall. It must be real… And so I will write as if it is. I live in historic times. One could say that I’ve lived two lives. For the first twenty some years of my life, I was Thomas Hunter—a wild child of the jungle who moved to the concrete jungle in Ancient Earth where I first dreamed of this world, assuming it only a dream. And yet here I sit, in the flesh, thinking that my life in Ancient Earth might have only been a dream. But that is wrong. Through my bridging into this world, I learned of the Raison Strain and brought knowledge of it back to Ancient Earth. As such, I was ultimately responsible for the plague that nearly destroyed Ancient Earth. Then, by the grace of Elyon and through my own death, it was circumvented. Yet this world still exists. I have called it Other Earth, though considering that I have now lived out more of my life here, 202 perhaps the twenty-first century world should be called Other Earth, an earth I will never return to, because on that earth I am dead. Which means I only delayed the apocalypse. At the very least, the whole of history was hardly altered. This is what I know: Elyon remade the world again after an apocalypse. He created a new Adam, Tanis, and this time he made

all things spiritual, visible. If the lore and legend is correct, than Tanis was firstborn in the year 4036 according to the ancient method of dating. So, for myself at least, everything after 2010 actually happens in 4036. It’s confusing—maybe one day I’ll chart it all out. It’s strange to think that actually living on earth two thousand years after the year I was born. I try not to think about it. My people here, born of Elyon’s blood, are my life, but they know only this world and can’t begin to fathom Ancient Earth. When I tried to explain it to my wife Rachelle before her death, she found it all off putting. If she struggled to understand, how much more the rest of the Circle? Chelise, on the other hand, is much more open to discussing it, perhaps because she too, once being Horde, has seen such change in her life. She alone among the Circle understands me for who I am, and even then barely. So I keep thoughts of the Ancient Earth to Chelise, myself, and on occasion to this book of blood. There are times I wonder about my sister, Kara, and how she moved on after my death. I think of Monique whom I loved on that earth. What has become of her? Did she marry? Does she have children? Is she still alive? Did my blood, cleansed by Elyon, 203 give her a life’s work of curing diseases? I’ll never know. I would ask the Roush, but none have seen hide nor hair of any Roush for many years now. It is almost as if, with the Circle being wedded to Justin, the Roush have found their mission complete and vanished. The same can be said of the Shataiki. Their influence, once so pervasive, seems to come about in more unseen ways in this day. I can only assume that Elyon has returned this world to the ways of the Ancient Earth, where the spiritual is hidden to the eyes of man. Perhaps I have entertained a Roush unawares and have not even realized it? Or perhaps the eyes of man have dimmed to the spiritual so that we no longer see what once was plain. If that is Truth…Elyon help us all. I still have dreams of Ancient Earth and in some of them, I fail in my journey. That killer, Carlos, shoots me dead. The mocking face of Teeleh leers over me. I awake, always in cold sweats. A part of me wonders who really won that epic war at the end of the last Age? After all, Elyon did have to recreate the earth. Or perhaps he fulfilled it and brought it into a new paradise, but the will of man destroyed it once again. I’ve on particularly strange dream which has reoccurred. It’s bizarre. I see a boy, pencil in hand, smudging the writing in a

leather-bound Book and writing over it. I see the inscription: Then the man named Thomas found himself in the black forest, where he fell and hit his head and lost his memory. – Billy, Storyteller. So could it be that this is the reason I bridged the worlds? 204 Because a storyteller named Billy rewrote my history—and in doing so, rewrote the Histories—by writing in one of the blank Books of History which passed through time? Elyon has been known to communicate his thoughts through signs, wonders, and dreams. Or perhaps my dreams are the result of too much fruit before bed. It’s late and too silent… Note by Ba’al: Billy the Storyteller… I can only assume this to me be. That I was somehow the cause of this scourge brought to us by Thomas. This is why I was chosen by Marsuuv. I have the ability to do and undo and as such my power is greater than any living soul. I am, in truth, the master of Thomas of Hunter. And now I will crush him. Year 26, Entry 18 DATES AND THE HISTORIES I have been working on a timeline based on my best recollection of both worlds. To the best of my knowledge, here is that timeline: 205 A Timeline of History of Ancient Earth 0029 – Jesus, who is named the Christ, is crucified and resurrected. 1986 – Thomas Hunter is born. 2010 – Thomas Hunter is sent into the future by the Storyteller, Billy, who writes in a blank book of history which came through time and was later discovered. 40?? – Elyon begins a new age with a new Adam, Tanis. (Before the release of Evil from the Black Forest, Time was not counted in the colored forest so the date of that time is unknown) 4036 (01 in new years) – Tanis drinks Teeleh’s water. 03 – The first attack of the Desert Dwellers 05 – Samuel of Hunter is born of Thomas and Rachelle. 13 – Johnis, Billos, Darsal, and Silvie are named to the Forest Guard. They are the Chosen Ones and vanish. 16 – The Great Sacrifice of Elyon. The death of Rachelle. Seventeen drown to become the first of the Circle, followers of Justin in death and new life. 17 – The great romance of Thomas Hunter and Chelise of

Qurong. 20 – It is rumored that Johnis, Darsal, and Silvie are seen amongst the Horde. 206 21 – Jake of Hunter is born of Chelise. 26 – The current and present year. Year 26, Entry 41 THE GREAT ROMANCE AND CHRISTIANITY When first I bridged the worlds into this future age I would not have claimed that I believed in God. My father, A Christian, destroyed his family—it was enough to convince me that God did not exist. He was simply a cosmic figurehead invented by men with black coats and white collars to control the masses. Society demanded a moral code; religion provided the chains of fear that made men follow that code. The code changed throughout history and was defined by sect. Writings were canonized and made holy by politicians who sought power. Crusaders led battles with their hands on those books, inquisitions were blessed by me in tall hats, world wars were waged in the name of superior understanding of the Christian way. I believed that religion was pointless. Then when I bridged the worlds, all my ideas of God and religion turned upside down with one word: Elyon. God was real, and religion was his enemy. I met him in the flesh and communed with him. I had walked hand in hand with the creator, saw his mighty works, tasted his fruit. My understanding of that religion called Christianity in ancient earth is vague, to be sure. I was never too interested 207 then, and my perception is now colored by my experience here, in this world. But what I see know is vastly different from what I little I recall of the world’s beliefs in ancient history, where I was born. The boy Elyon was so unlike the God of the Christians, or the Muslims, or the Jews, or any other religion. He is revolutionary, so much more powerful than the God of the Christians. So then was Elyon truly God? This was answered emphatically when first I dived deep into his Lake. So then how did the God of this future compare to the world’s understanding of God on ancient earth? How could I reconcile a God who did not find it fit to save his children from brokenness with a God who actually played with his creation. The dichotomy is enough to make me wonder about the nature of these two worlds in which I’ve lived. At times it seems as though there’s one reality where God is real, and another where he is not, or at least absent and left mankind to their own devices, absent any tangible presence of God. Then again, along

with the Roush, Elyon is strangely silent here now as well, and just as in the Histories, it is hard to romance an absent lover. In the days after evil fell upon the earth, it seemed as if Elyon had abandoned us. The Colored Forest turned to gray. The sparkle in Rachelle’s eyes faded and her beauty seemed to pale. Without Elyon, the very thing of beauty, there could be no beauty. It was like the ancient earth—devoid of a God. Perhaps it was why I, already knowing good and evil, already accustomed to the absence of God, that allowed me to come into leadership within the Circle. Of course, it was not as if Elyon had abandoned 208 us completely, but compared to the level of intimacy he shared with his creation beforehand, he might as well have. We all grew accustomed to these new rules of engagement. Bathe in the water daily, think of Elyon often, but we could no longer relate to Elyon in the same way we had in the lakes. But how, having once met Elyon, could we ever forget such intimate fellowship? Yet we did. It’s strange to think that Justin, who was actually the boy Elyon now grown, walked and spoke to me and I did not see the boy him. Light came unto darkness, and we did not understand it. Elyon came and instead of welcoming him with open arms we killed him. May Justin forgive us all. Year 26, Entry 42 I continue writing about what I wrote yesterday regarding the matter of religion. Is Justin the Christ? Yes, I am certain of it, but it’s an issue I keep coming back to, not because of the similarities but because of the differences. I am no religious scholar—Ronin handles spiritual matters; I provide political leadership. But I’ve been in both worlds and have a unique perspective. It has been many years since I was last on Ancient Earth, and my memory is trapped in a dream, but the Christianity of those dreams is unlike the Great Romance in significant ways. Does that mean that Christ was unlike Justin? Never. Yet the Christ preached by Christians is not the Justin I know. 209 On the other hand, the Christ in The Books of Histories According to His Beloved better known as the Gospel of John in Ancient Earth, IS written about the Justin I know. Yet Christianity seems to have high-jacked his teaching and turned him into something for their own gain, using his name to attain a rigorous standard by which they controlled ordinary people. Not all promoted this Christ of religion, of course, but in general and throughout Ancient Earth’s history, Christianity represented the very kind of religion that the Christ fought against.

As I recall, Christianity, like most religions, promoted one idea: If you don’t follow the right laws and recite the right prayers as a statement of your heart’s intent, then you will face a horrible eternity of torment. If you do follow the laws and say the right prayers, heaven awaits. Those laws and prayers changed dramatically over time, depending on who was promoting them. But the Christ in the Beloved’s gospel made no such claim. Surely, if Elyon wanted to bring this message to the people, he would have said it as clearly in the Christ. What he did not say clearly seems as important as what he did say clearly. The Christ gave different answers to different followers who asked what they must do to find eternal peace and yet as I recall all of his answers were expressions of love. Love your neighbor as yourself; love your enemies; turn the other cheek; let the man without sin cast the first stone; judge not lest you be judged; take the log out of your own eye before you take the speck out of your brother’s eyes; feed the hungry, care for the sick, visit those in prison… All expressions of love that lead one to join him in paradise. 210 If there are sheep and goats among us as he says, and those sheep are albinos and the goats, the Horde, then what of a the albino who does not follow the ways of Justin? It is a great mystery to me for I would say that following Justin is not only a matter of drowning but of following the ways of the Christ for many on that day will be convinced they are fully albino and call Justin lord only to learn that they have not loved the criminal in prison and find themselves a goat. Ronin and I have discussed this at length as have many of us, and it is still a great mystery to us. But in the end we are convinced that we must love the Horde—it’s is the way of the Justin who is our Christ. This is why I think the Church of the last age lost the truth in the Christ’s teaching. Instead of hearing his call to love they set up for themselves a Christ in their own image, their own likeness. They then judged all who would not follow in their path, often with great passion and lofty words. But I must confess, I wonder if I am arrogant to assume we have it right in this age. We too killed Justin. Can we believe that we understand Elyon? But there is faith, there is hope, there is love. And the greatest by far, is love. So be it. 211 Note: I find all of this hogwash, naturally, but I have included these entries from the albino’s blood book to show

just how distracted and weak their disease makes them. If not for their craftiness and intelligence they would be sitting prey. In all of this, not one mention of the power of Teeleh! Religion is our salvation, not our demise! And Teeleh’s blood brings true life, not this Christ’s of his. Year 26, Entry 44 I’ve been consumed with the matters of understanding Elyon as of late. It is said: whoever drinks of the water of Elyon partakes in the life of which he freely offers. It is why the Green waters of Elyon healed—for they were his life. And the Red waters of his blood? How much more of his life are they! Unfathomable! It is written in The Books of Histories According to His Beloved, that when the flesh of the Christ was pierced, blood and water flowed. From the flesh of God, life freely flowed and brought salvation to all men. Blood and water. It also true that death is not such the terrible thing we have made it. In living we die, in dying we live. It is our death to this world that brings us to another life. This is my hope for Rachelle. For every soul called by the boy, by Justin, by Elyon. And yet death pains us so… Why? Because we see you little of lies beyond? Because we are severed from the love that held us captive here, bound not only to Justin but to each other? 212 My thoughts on this change day by day. So many of us have been killed in the last few years, hunted by those throaters in Ba’al’s command. Not long ago the Circle celebrated physical death primarily as the passing from this world into another, but, while we still call a funeral a passing, our mourning is deeper. It is true that death brings with it separation and for ourselves we mourn such, but our mourning must still be celebration. And yet the hope of a greater reality seems to dim with each passing year. I myself feel it and seem powerless at times to grasp what was once to plain to me. Yesterday Marcus, a dear friend and lover of Justin, was found in the desert two days from out camp. From what we could tell, his horse had taken a fall and Marcus broke his leg. We found him dead, four days later. Watching his young daughter, Ellen, only eleven, cry I was overwhelmed with sorrow. None of my sorrow is for myself because I really don’t fear death. I consider myself dead already. I have died in the lake and now live in world for a short time, awaiting my departure. But still… What if it were Samuel, dead on the ground? Or Chelise, or Marie? Elyon help, me… Year 26, Entry 54 It still amazes me every morning that I get to wake up next to this beautiful creature named Chelise. After Rachelle’s

death, I assumed that such love was dead to me, but Elyon opened my eyes and showed me his love. My love for Chelise is a 213 pale imitation for His love to all—Horde, albino, or Eramite. He wishes that all would come into his Circle. It is written that Elyon is love, and when we love truly, we engage in the practice of communing with Elyon. It is why the Christ spoke as the Prophet of Love, because to share love with one’s enemies is to impart Elyon unto them, to show them the face of the Father. Our Great Romance between ourselves and Elyon are shadowed in our human romances. Such romance is fallible and less pure than in times past before the great deception, but it remains beautiful to woo and be wooed. We wander far too easily in this world. I’ve lived in this strange and exciting land for a little over half my life and been a part of the most epic of times of history, and yet life can seem so mundane, so normal, so bland. We spend our entire lives in an attempt to be adults, not realizing that in rightly shedding our childishness and immaturity, we also throw away our childlikeness and sense of wonder. But it is not wrong to be childlike! To lose our childlikeness is to forget to marvel at the mysteries of Elyon, or worse yet, to claim that those things never existed. What once made us gape in awe and giggle with delight is now seen as childish fantasy, as the same old, same old. And what is the most mysterious thing of all but Love? Certainly the Great Romance is wrapped in wonder, certainly the bed of man and wife knows of playfulness. To love in any way is to be like a child—it means to be vulnerable, to be wide-eyed, to 214 be selfless. There is no such thing as free love; love is the most costly expression in the world. To love romantically is to give of oneself fully and completely, a merging and meshing of souls so that the twain become a unity. It is to allow the sense of wonder to fully enrapture. To experience love—whether love of man or God—we must recapture the wonder we have lost and become as children, wideeyed, playful, and in awe. And that is who I am when I approach Chelise, my love. A Musing of Love Love secretly hidden, love tucked away A love forbidden that cannot overflow Love locked up, suppressed, concealed A love concealed deep within my soul. Love yearns to draw me into life sublime

So that love could unabashedly show Love’s true affections deep and dear, A love deep within my soul. But love for love cannot force love 215 Lest love turn to hate and blacken the soul The decision to love must be freely made from love A love deep within your soul. Love cannot be silent any longer, Love’s scandal must be revealed and take its toll Horde or no, I love you with everlasting love, A love deep within my soul. Love released, Love unfurled, Love that nigh consumes the whole To crash against your heart to mine: A love deep within my soul. Note: Utterly absurd, all this drivel, directed to whom? And yet it reflects a haunting in my own soul, draw to Marsuuv. It is this that draws me to see the great contest between Elyon and Teeleh, vying for the love of man. I have obsessed over this musing and cut my arms in reciting it, vowing my allegiance to my Lover to whom I repeat these same words. 216 Year 26, Entry 78 I don’t not know what is going on with Samuel. It is like my boy has been possessed by another. At first, I brushed his attitudes aside as a childish yearning for power. Then I realized that he was no longer a child. True, the drowning of Justin and his institution of a new covenant occurred right as Samuel was to make that jump from boy to young man. His aspirations of being a member of the Forest Guard, of fighting by my side, were never realized. To him it must have seemed as if he had been made for something and then had it ripped away. Ever since Rachelle’s death, Samuel had longed to fight the Horde. Even as Justin’s sacrifice shifted the Circle’s paradigm from war to love, Samuel’s own paradigm shifted from righteous war to revenging war. Yes, he accepted the sacrifice of Elyon and willfully drowned, but that only pushed back the feelings of revenge that still waged within him. I naively thought that under Elyon’s care, and once he completed adolescence, they would go away. I was wrong. And now he could be the undoing of us all. Year 26, Entry 78 How can I be fit to lead the Circle if I can’t maintain control of my own house? Samuel’s rebellion fractures not just

my family but the Circle as a whole. He has taken to gallivanting around the desert with a small group of kids about his age. They dress in the garb of the Guard and practice their swordplay 217 and fighting skills. Some men in the village call it all harmless fun, others look at me askance as if it’s my fault the youth are being corrupted. And perhaps it is. To counter Samuel now would only incite even more rebellion. To leave him be is to either backhandedly approve or tacitly acknowledge I cannot control my son. Either could be fatal to the Circle. Dear Elyon, what am I supposed to do? I know now how Elyon feels when we reject his love. I can’t force Samuel to choose love anymore than Elyon can throw the Horde in the red lakes. The potential for evil gives people the freedom of choice, and with that freedom comes the ability to truly love. I would not dare strip Samuel of his capacity to love! But it breaks my heart—and threatens my people—to allow such rebellion to continue. I have made mistakes in my love, I should have taught Samuel better, I should have made sure he understood. In my duties to the Circle, I am afraid I neglected my duties to my son. And due to my folly, the Apocalypse may come upon this world as well. ~~~ I see a lot of me in my boy. At times it makes my chest swell with a father’s pride. But my weaknesses are also his. I see his passion, and I love him for his wide-eyed zeal and wholeheartedness but I’m afraid the object of his passion is destructive. There’s darkness in his heart, shadows of Teeleh over his soul. Still a child of Elyon, for he yet bears the clear skin of an albino, but not following the ways of Elyon. 218 I regret that in his youth we spent many more hours learning the art of war rather than the art of romance. I regret that in my own passion to destroy Elyon’s enemies I deprived my son of the father he needed. I regret that I allowed my own pain over Rachelle’s death to overshadow his. I regret that I allowed others to call him “son of Thomas” rather than just “Samuel.” I regret that I placed upon him expectations no young man should have to face. Perhaps if I had been a better father… Perhaps. Note: Samuel is the key to his father’s undoing, I can feel this in my blood. The opportunity to use him against Thomas will present itself and I will seize it. The

most favored among the Circle will be their final undoing. Wasn’t I once among their most favored? A chosen one? And now I am their master, borne of new blood… Year 26, Entry 97 I was reading an old journal today and came across this 219 entry and it breaks my heart. Did it all begin then, in that time of war? He’s seven and I’m headed out to infiltrate the Horde encampment with a dozen of my best men. I walk in to kiss Rachelle goodbye and I see my boy standing in the common room, wielding a wooden sword and oversized leather armor meant for sparring. He asks to come with me. I grin and tousle his hair. War is no place for a boy, I say. I see his grin dissipate into a disappointed frown. I just want to be with you, he says. The words haunt me. How can a boy steeped in conflict and warfare wash it from his mind? Having drowned he is a new man, but the old lingers still, as in all of us. This is a great mystery to me… Year 26, Entry 100 Thinking of Samuel these past days brings back to mind the Chosen One, another boy. I made several entries about Johnis of Ramos then and I’ve dug them out to place here. THE CHOSEN ONE The Chosen One was prophesied some years ago, soon after Elyon led us to the green forest. The one bearing the Circle’s emblem as a birthmark would be marked by Elyon to save the 220 world. And so I waited for a hero to be born. I never expected it to be Johnis of Ramos. I watched him grow, but not into a warrior. In retrospect, I should have seen that if Elyon could turn me, a failed novelist from another reality, into the man I am now, then he could also turn this lover into a fighter. Didn’t Elyon always take the weak things of this world and make them confound the strong? When I engaged the Chosen One during the game of Horde Ball, I could only pray to Elyon that it was the right decision. I felt badly enough about throwing mere children to the wolves of the Horde, even though they had been trained as warriors. I wasn’t sure Johnis could swing a sword, let alone wield it without dismembering himself. I selected a good crew to surround him and build him up, but by the looks of things they will be more likely to attack him than the Horde. Billos is strong and impetuous. One of the best natural swordsmen I have ever seen. Darsal is the classic shield-maiden

of the Guard. Not since Rachelle have I seen a woman fight so gracefully in hand-to-hand combat. Silvie has cat-like reflexes and agility as well as a mind nearly as sharp as her throwing knives. If they all learn to work together, they will some of my most treasured warriors. I think they could be destined for greatness. They are chosen, after all, and Elyon does not choose for only the purposes of men. Only time will tell what adventures will greet them. But for now, gathering a few Catalina cacti should be done easily enough. ~~~ 221 Johnis, Billos, Darsal and Silvie have returned heroes today… They gave us quite the concern for a few days but I see greatness in them, particularly Johnis. So I was right after all. ~~~ That fool! That imbecile! That idiot! Chosen One or not I have half a mind to string him up by his toes in the circle and let the village children poke him with sticks. To take command of one of my battalions under the guise of having my authority and lead them to their deaths is beyond irresponsible. Men are dead because of him. Elyon doesn’t make mistakes, of this I am sure, but men do. Perhaps we’ve misunderstood who the Chosen One would be. ~~~ Chosen as lieutenants in my Forest Guard and yet they seem to be AWOL more often than not. Something’s wrong. They say nothing, but their questions and attitudes say different. I knew they were destined for something more than just service in the Guard, but now I’m questioning all of it. ~~~ Dead? I refuse to believe it, but what else can I say now? They haven’t been seen for a month. They’re good but if you don’t have any water to bathe in, it doesn’t matter how skilled you are. You can’t kill what you become. The only good news is that we haven’t faced them as Horde yet. Ramos is beside himself. Lost a wife and a son only a few months apart. I’ve released him from active guard duty while promoting him to sergeant. The man has a good mind—providing he doesn’t lose it here—and will be useful in drawing up battle 222 plans. He doesn’t like the idea. Like any Guard, he’d rather be avenging his son’s death by the sword. But the thought of leaving his little Kiella alone is enough to get him to realize the folly of it all. Even worse is that Karas is missing. Our scouts sent out a search party to look for her, but to no avail. Our intelligence sources say that she was last seen with Darsal, so in all likelihood

she is with the four as well. I’m taking a lot of criticism from the council. I pardon Johnis, only to have them all run off never to be seen from again. They see them as traitors like Jackov, defectors to the Horde. I do not know what to believe. My mind tells me that the council is correct, or at least that evidence backs their side. My heart remains utterly confused. I can only pray Elyon knows more than I. Of that I can be sure… Note: And here is the end of the matter. I was the chosen one, both by Elyon and by Teeleh. This is the greatest deception, that the man placed in such high esteem, that first Adam, became the undoing of all through the great wisdom of Teeleh. It matters not what Elyon would do, Teeleh will undo it. I was chosen by Elyon as Billos, fashioned by God as Billy, became the master of all at the hands of Teeleh as Ba’al. For I was born of Black, eaten 223 with worms; I’m a saint, a sinner, a siren of the word. I am Ba’al, I am Billos, I am Billy. Drink my blood and know true power. Baby. 224 The BlOOd Book of Marsuuv Queen of the Shataiki Lover of Ba’al It is with trembling hand and fearful heart that I sew in the few of the pages taken from the queen’s lair where I, Ba’al served my master and lover, Marsuuv. When he discovers the pages missing his rage may be beyond measure. My only hope rests in his knowledge that they are safe guarded by me, his servant, for the purpose of emboldening me in my task and preserving my fervor. The pages came to me by way of Mustul and despite my trepidation, I owe him my deepest gratitude. For in these pages remains the truth of Marsuuv’s undying love for me. I will prevail. My mind, my heart, my life are his… 225 THE WRITINGS OF MARSUUV QUEEN of TEELEH As have taken blOOd in hand to scribe the Story of the Master TEELEH, I find myself compelled to record my annals, if not for my purposes than for the purposes of opening eyes of future generations. I am not one of the Gehuzim, the scribes of TEELEH who record history, yet I write. My will shall succeed that I should be brought unto

glory. QQQ Not of TEELEH’s twelfth Queen, I shall become his first and sit at his right hand. Alucard, once- favored, failed his task at retrieving the Books, and yet still manages to curry his master’s favor by spreading his offspring through human blOOd in Adam’s World. But I would be more lusted than he. QQQ Alucard’s device to unite the seven original Books of History which served as the foundation that underlies history failed. Not all was lost in that endeavor. I did capture one of the humans and did seduce him to see my beauty. He is my human apprentice. My child. My lover. TEELEH had Tanis; Alucard had Darsal; and now I have my Ba’al to ensure that the work of TEELEH is done. QQQ No longer will we seek the Books for the purpose of 226 rewriting the rules of History. Instead I have trained my slave, my lover, my child in my ways and send him as a favored Son to the Horde. Though one of them, he shall not be like them, for the blOOd of Shataiki flows through his veins. He will woo the Horde to battle against the haters of TEELEH. With my power, he shall crush the children of Elyon and make way for the reign of TEELEH in the hearts of men. QQQ With the Books, we shall enter Adam’s World and crush it. Elyon’s failure to seduce will again be revealed, a god without a people, a shell of TEELEH, while the great Master shall reign. And his Queen MARSUUV sits at his right hand. Of the son of Adam, Hunter I was next to TEELEH when he encountered Hunter in the Black Forest; it was I who took a chunk of his thigh. By the taste of his blOOd he wasn’t from this world. His blOOd was tainted with the knowledge. QQQ TEELEH’s device to seduce him and drink failed only to the demise of Tanis. Elyon confined us to the Black Forest, yet those who kiss his feet are allowed to encroach on our territory and take what is rightfully ours. Thomas would have had his eyes fully opened, and we would have gained a great ally in the war against the boy. Now he remains under the influence of the deceiver and we have

gained a great adversary to sew hatred in the hearts of men. In this TEELEH’s wisdom is beyond reproach. 227 QQQ I soon learned that my suspicions were correct. For TEELEH spoke: “He fulfills my device. You will bring him here from the World of Adam. You will speak into a son and bring him to me.” QQQ And so I did. I conspired to fashion my likeness the Black one, Marsuvees and I did seduce him to write those words which brought Thomas to us as instructed by my master, TEELEH. QQQ In Adam’s World man was liberated from the tyranny of Elyon. The magnificent device of TEELEH was at work. Through Vampirum a virus was released and did cause death to those who would not open their eyes to Elyon’s tyranny. QQQ But after many years of human freedom, Elyon escaped the pit in which TEELEH had chained him and with an iron fist slaughtered all in the utopia that had been created. Having usurped the throne, he conspired to recreate the world. Now the unseen is seen to those who would see. QQQ Since that day in the Black Forest, I have been on a quest to discover Thomas so that I might know why my master has chosen him to defeat of Elyon. Soon… QQQ 228 Sayings of MARSUUV Queen of TEELEH This is the truth: Thomas crosses the worlds without the Books. His body here, or there, is but a shell. He has undergone a separation, yet still his mind acts as one. QQQ This is the truth: Elyon is confused. Michal keeps an ever watchful eye out over Thomas. The boy is terrified of him. Terrified that he can span the worlds. Terrified that he can affect History. I have succeeded in crushing the plans of Elyon. TEELEH shall rule the hearts of man. QQQ This is the truth: Destroy Thomas and bare the neck of Elyon. He is the Key upon which this all hangs, the bait of TEELEH to lure Elyon into a vulnerable position, where

we can once again assure his defeat. Marvelous. QQQ This is the truth: Freedom of the will, they call it, but choose against Elyon and be damned. Yet the damned find their freedom even under oppression. We have all chosen to defy Elyon and in this is our reward: Freedom from slavery to his ways alone. For to remain a slave to a Master is no Freedom but death. So then, those who remain slaves to Elyon for fear of punishment are not Free. They are slaves only. In this only Shataiki are truly Free. And yet those who drink the blOOd call themselves Free. They are but deceived. 229 QQQ This is the truth: In the valley of Miggdon, TEELEH will reign. QQQ This is the truth: No history may be repeated. Every choice will make a new path. Thomas created a new path and that way delivered Tanis. If Thomas returns to make a new choice, he will make a new path. Tanis would not be the instrument of defeat. But all paths lead to TEELEH. Freedom is the only path man is destined to follow. In Elyon there is no true freedom. QQQ This is the truth: The son of the beloved will fall, but in falling he rises to his destiny. Selah. The great god TEELEH will reign forever. QQQ This is the truth: The worlds will convolute and intermesh, twisting, winding, wobble. What is will once and never more will be and yet that which was not will be once more. In that day, he with power will rule, controlling the wills of man and time. QQQ This is the truth: A stronghold lies in the forests of Blue. Amongst the Leedhan, one deceived by Elyon lies in wait until the battle for Gog and Magog is ripe, then shall he be crushed. Then we will make our refuge with them. QQQ 230 This is the truth: Religion is blessed, borne of the sons of Adam. Through religion man finds solace and peace in himself, not the god he seeks for. In religion man will find the heart of Adam, and the heart of Adam is destined for

freedom. Freedom is the path to TEELEH. QQQ This is the truth: With black eyes Billy will stand as the antichryst and destroy the nations. QQQ This is the truth: Love is folly among men, for the son of Adam knows only fear of his own destruction. He will always follow a religion which promises love yet remain powerless to love as the boy loves. As TEELEH loves. As MARSUUV loves. 231 232 The Follies of Men and Religion Writings of MARSUUV, Queen of Shataiki It is written that when Man ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Evil and Good, he fell from his vaunted position. I say unto you that Man ascended, a creature more beautiful and less ignorant. QQQ Some say that the prophet Jezuz was the son of Elyon and that his death brought victory, but I say unto you that Elyon suffered his greatest blow when we staked Chrestus. QQQ It is written that the Holie Spryt of Jezuz would come upon the Chrestians in power. But I say unto you that they remained powerless slaves to the religion Chrestus died in vain to destroy. Religion is blessed. QQQ It has been said that TEELEH dwells in the midst of Fire and Brimstone, but I say unto you that he walks the earth as a lion, strong, proud, and free. QQQ It has been said that the dwelling of Elyon is a place of joy, but I say unto you that there can be no joy under the thumb of the tyrant. QQQ It is written that in the Great Wars, Shataiki were defeated and felled to the Black Forest, but I say unto 233 you that we conquered. Once under a tyrant, now free. QQQ Some say that the script of Elyon records naught but truth, but I say unto you that it contains the writings of a religion and only as such is blessed. QQQ It is written that Jezuz came as King of Peace, yet

his Chrestians have gloried in blOOdshed more than Horde Throaters. QQQ Some men give Shataiki the name of Sin and call Elyon Sinless. But I say unto you that the Creator of Shataiki with foreknowledge of the Rebellion is guilt of Sin. QQQ It has been said there are Creatures of the Night, who feast upon the BlOOd of men. But I say unto you that Vampirum only take that which is freely offered. QQQ Elyon created all with the knowledge of rebellion. Why then are we damned for what he created us? Thus, I say unto you that the boy is the Cause of the Evil he abhors and has no authority over us. QQQ Shataiki know and understand that the power of Elyon in no way eclipses the power of TEELEH. Did not Chrestus claim to be sending the Holie Spryt of Power? Yet the followers of Elyon are no differently than those who grasp all other Religion. Thus the boy is no more powerful 234 than we. Never has there been a follower of TEELEH who unwittingly bowed to the dominion of Elyon, but legions who call themselves the Sons of God and name Elyon their Lord, come under the servitude of the great god TEELEH. Their words proclaim that which their actions profess. They know no love. Only the Chrestus and the Roush and the Shataiki know love. 235 The Power of the BlOOd BlOOd: This journal is written using the blOOd of men which have been sacrificed to me. Their bones form my writing instrument, and their skin the parchment upon which I write. Let it not be said by the Priests of TEELEH that their gods do not revel in their sacrifices. But it is blOOd we value most of all. QQQ The life of a thing is in its blOOd and life advances through blOOd. It was when the blOOd of Justin was spilt out in sacrifice to TEELEH that the third phase of victory began. Even to the ancients, blOOd was a thing sacred, and Elyon told his people not to eat of the blOOd for fear they would feel its power. Instead, he forced them to become drunk on his blOOd, and bound them to weakness in his name.

QQQ In his name, the blOOdlust of Elyon was carried out. A man named Mosheth filled rivers with blOOd in his campaign for Elyon. The name of Jezuz has caused more blOOdshed than any other name. When the armies circled at Gog and Magog, it was Jezuz himself who slaughtered the servants of TEELEH until their blOOd reached the bridle of his horse. QQQ We Shataiki do not force our prey. Alucard’s 236 descendants seduce, but do not rape. But Elyon takes the blOOd of those who will not bow or bend. Having been forced to lay with the tyrant ourselves, Shataiki understand the terror of being denied freedom of will, and will not force ourselves upon the unwilling. But once we choose, we woo, we pursue, we rescue, and we lavish, none remain standing against the love of TEELEH. How great and terrible is the love of TEELEH!. The love of TEELEH for men is greater and stronger than that of Elyon. QQQ But I speak on blOOd and its power. Elyon craves the blOOd of men because in their blOOd lies their power. Thus also does TEELEH crave the blOOd of men. It is the heart that distributes blOOd to the body, and the heart that is called the seat of love. Control a man’s blOOd and control his heart; control his heart and control whom he loves. Only through blOOd can TEELEH accomplish his goal. Only through the sacrifice of blOOd can the power of TEELEH be unleashed. Only by blOOd can the offspring of Shataiki live. Life and power come through the BlOOd. Selah. QQQ VAMPIRUM In a most curious turn of events, the fall of the Queen Alucard has not undone him from the favor of TEELEH. When his failure to retrieve the Books resulted 237 in his transportation to the other world, I surmised that TEELEH would have gladly staked his Queen for such incompetence. But the wisdom of TEELEH can turn incompetence into brilliance. QQQ Alucard’s insatiable urge to procreate led to his intermingling of blOOd with a human. And thus the

Vampirum—humans with Shataiki-blOOd—were born. His Nephilim would have great affect on the ancient society. QQQ Lore among the Gehuzim places many prominent figures as descendants of descendants of descendants of Alucard. And that through the transmission of his blOOd, the ancient time was prepared for the coming of TEELEH. QQQ These lesser creatures—these half-breeds—served their purpose, though still weak. The allegiance of the heart is not portrayed physically among the ancients. Thus the Vampirum came as wolves in sheep’s clothing, able to romance the masses because they are found to be pleasing to the eye. QQQ The Great Romance of TEELEH is great. It is the complete seduction of mind and soul. The Vampirum were the conduits of this romance of TEELEH, wooing the world with silver tongues, convincing them of the deceit of Elyon. They became TEELEH’s messengers—his Church—and proved their god’s power by utterly destroying those who claimed to be of Elyon. They would pave the way for our greatest victory, 238 the complete defeat of Elyon that forced him to start anew once more. It is a device being redone in this age. The Seven Great Victories of TEELEH In the beginning, all were under the subjugation of Elyon, the tyrant. The boy had written it in the Books, though not even the Books could subvert our freedom of will. Thus it was that one anointed a Wise One first dared to exercise such freedom outside the bounds of Elyon. Judgment was swift and harsh. Elyon would tolerate no action outside his iron will. In protest, war began against Elyon. Brother divided himself against brother, and the legion of Roush split into two: one of Elyon, one of the Wise One TEELEH. The wrath of Elyon was harsh. QQQ Yet we escaped Elyon’s grasp not in defeat, but in victory. TEELEH prophesied his return before the throne of Elyon: “I will ascend back into the heavens of Elyon. I will exalt my throne above the Roushuim. I will sit upon the mount of congregations and ascend in glory far above all creatures. I will become Most High.” This was our first great victory. Having been scorned, Elyon created for himself a lesser creature whose mind would be more easily bent, and

called them Adam. They lived under Elyon’s rule , as we had, caged upon the half of the world. Man’s penalty for using his freedom of choice was the same as ours: Disobey and die. This is Elyon’s only and final demand. 239 QQQ But the humans discovered that Elyon was keeping them ignorant, naïve, and mindless. In the form of a serpent, the great god TEELEH opened the eyes of man and promised his support in their rebellion against the Tyrant. And thus the humans did shake their fist at Elyon and step into the halls of power. Die? They surely did not die! This was our second great victory. QQQ Then Elyon again said in his heart “I will destroy the Man whom I have created.” Man had all but forgotten the Tyrant, having been freed from his fist, but the wrath of Elyon reminded us that, though beaten, the boy was still a worthy foe. But again he was proven powerless as, through TEELEH, some survived the Deluge of his wrath. This was our third great victory. QQQ Seeing that he could defeat neither the Man nor we Shataiki, the boy changed his conniving ways, and for many years allowed the freedom of the many while binding his will only upon one people called Yszrael. But even those of Yszrael realized Elyon’s tyranny and rebelled throughout their subjugation. Despite TEELEH’s seduction, we could not overthrow his reign in Yszrael. Until that fatal error of Elyon. He bound his power into one human and was named Chrestus. The power of Elyon rested on Chrestus, and he claimed that such an Holie Spyrt would be given to all who ate his flesh and drank his blOOd, the very tactics of seduction perfected by Shataiki. But Yszrael heard TEELEH 240 and recognized Chrestus as a tyrant, and thus staked him to a tree. This was our fourth great victory. QQQ Then the followers of Chrestus claimed that his death brought upon them the Holie Spryt, for they had gone to his tomb, ate his flesh, and drank his blOOd. Our worst fears were confirmed, it seemed, for the Spyrt of Power did indeed seem to be upon a few. Many great warriors were lost as we made war against the scourge of the Spryt. Yet we prevailed against the Chrestians, whom we named. Through the power of religion, we conquered. Most became

hollow edifices dedicated to the power of a false Religion. This was our fifth great victory. When the Vampirum of Alucard spread throughout the Earth, they became a servants of TEELEH, filled with his own Spryt and BlOOd. Unlike Chrestus, the sons of TEELEH accomplished their Father’s purpose, bringing about the final battle of the age. In that day, in the land of Yzsrael, the heavens opened and the son came clothed in blOOd to make war against TEELEH. It was the battle of the Ages, for the Age, and when the blOOd of all men had been spilled, TEELEH had conquered. Elyon was left with only a remnant stripped of their Free will to worship at his throne forever. If Elyon wished to rule over a Free being, he would have to create the world once again, in a new age. This was our sixth great victory. QQQ Remade, the world spins again through History, and ever closer is the great god TEELEH to fulfilling the prophecy 241 he made at the dawn of Time. This will be his seventh and final victory. QQQ An Epistle of MARSUUV to his Lover To Ba’al, My name is MARSUUV and you may call me Evil. I am him dressed in black with a crown of black upon my head who stalks Paradise. My scepter is my stake, and though I am beautiful, my true nature is altogether more terrible. Shataiki wear their symbol of rebellion against Elyon on the outside with pride. It is we who have fought against the mighty and have felled him, we who stood against the tyrant and conquered him, we who will one day soon dethrone the boy. QQQ What is Evil? I have thought long about this. What else was there to do in that time in the Forest, when we awaited the marching orders of the great god TEELEH? Among we who would become the twelve Queens of TEELEH, I am the one most given to philosophy, and to Books, which is why TEELEH chose me as his lover. Now you too may be mine. QQQ I have come to this conclusion: Elyon has deceived many to consider Evil as a force to flee. Rather, Evil is noble, for it represents the ultimate choice of freedom. 242

The freedom Elyon gave us all. QQQ Evil is that which is not of Elyon. Since the boy declares himself Good, everything he does must be good— even damning his creation for utilizing the spirit of free choice he gave us. Thus what can we, his once mindless followers, be but the very epitome of Evil? For if we are anything, we are that which stands against Elyon. QQQ Thus I glory in my Evil, as must you. I prophesy of that day when the Shataiki shall descend on the tyrant and strip his flesh as food. Then my lord TEELEH shall reign forever and ever, amen. QQQ The boy calls us to know all. He then knew we would defy him. Perhaps this is my act of love for Elyon by living out the rebellion predestined by he himself. You see then that Evil is noble. QQQ Pay no mind to the humans who decry Evil—Horde, albino, and halfbreed the same. The albinos would know Elyon, and construct beliefs around a Great Romance, but their romance is filled with fear and tyranny. The Horde and halfbreed each seeks their own way, naming Evil in their own eyes. When Tanis fell and Qurong arose, the world found its measure of Freedom from the tyranny that bound them to the ways of Elyon. They saw what we saw: That Good and Evil are but words. He who has the power is called Good, while those who fight against oppression 243 are Evil. Power, then, is the key. And the power is in the BlOOd. QQQ This is the lesson, my son. When you came to me, you were a shell, crying only for your beloved. You were powerless. But I took you in. I named you with a new name. Ba’al. In our ancient tongue, it means “master,” which is what you will be to the Horde, and then to the world. You, through BlOOd, you will be powerful. QQQ Among men, power comes through religion, ritual, and superstition. Use them to lead us to our greatest victory. Bring your armies to Miggdon and I will call you my Lover again. QQQ 244

An Epistle of MARSUUV to his Lover To Ba’al, I now write what you must know, as I have spoken a hundred times. Religion is the humans’ greatest power. Religion binds superstitious to Law. Arbitrary Law will not be followed unless it carries with it terrible fear of punishment. This is the doing of the tyrant to keep his subjects in his will. It is the threat of disease and suffering and eternal death that makes a subject obey. QQQ You see the power of Religion? As the Histories record: wars and rumors of wars began because of Religion. In Adam’s World, scarcely would a man die to save his fellow human, but he gladly sacrificed himself for his Religion. QQQ In the same way now, Religion has come after Tanis drank of TEELEH’s water and turned the world toward greatness. The Horde found Religion as a way to bind themselves together apart from Elyon. QQQ Seeing our great success, Elyon disposed of his old covenant and replaced it with a new covenant, devoid of Religion. But man cannot live without Religion and now returns to it again. QQQ Thus Religion has become the strongest force on among 245 men. Like a drug, they are drawn to its comfort. Use it. Embrace it. Religion will capture their minds and separate their hearts from Elyon’s wooing and seduction. QQQ In Adam’s World, Chrestus came from Elyon with a call against Religion, but Elyon’s followers murdered him for it. You see, my son, they were driven by their Religion. Even then, those who tried to follow the way of Chrestus soon fashion Religion and became powerless. QQQ As long they have Religion, they are truly in our grasp. Woo them with Religion and the great god TEELEH will reign forever. QQQ 246 A Special Note from Ted Dekker In creating Baal’s Blood Book I thought it would be appropriate to reach out to a few members of the Circle—

after all, this world now belongs to all of us, not only me. This work was a collaboration between myself and several from the Circle to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude. The accounts of Grushon and Mustul were written by Kevin Kaiser who is a great storyteller in his own right. His work in capturing the voices of these two new characters in our world was truly impressive. One day you’ll have to publish your own book, my friend. Josh Olds worked closely with me in drafting Baal’s Secret History, Marsuuv’s Blood Book, and the entries from Thomas of Hunter. Few know the Books of History as Josh does. Your journey will take you far, my friend. Gregg Hart, thank you for hashing through the stories with me, your help and insight are now the property of us all. For those who don’t know, Gregg has stayed by my side for many years now, answering the questions and concerns of thousands who have written. I’m always amazed at how well he knows my mind. 247 Copyright ©2011 by Ted Dekker This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s twisted imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, persons living, dead or undead, is merely coincidental. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a database, root cellar, or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher. Ted Dekker c/o Creative Trust 5141 Virginia Way, Suite 320 Brentwood, TN 37027 Printed in the United States of America First Edition: June 2011 248