The Destroyer
- From: Jojong <jojon@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:20:05 +0800
THE DESTROYER - PART 2
FROM THE GREAT SCROLL
O Sentinels of the Universe who watch for the Destroyer, how long will
your coming vigil last? O mortal men who wait without understanding,
where will you hide yourselves in the Dread Days of Doom, when the
Heavens shall be torn apart and the skies rent in twain, in the days
when children will turn grey-headed? This is the thing which will be
seen, this is the terror your eyes will behold, this is the form of
destruction that will rush upon you: There will be the great body of
fire, the glowing head with many mouths and eyes ever changing.
Terrible teeth will be seen in formless mouths and a fearful dark
belly will glow redly from fires inside. Even the most stout-hearted
man will tremble and his bowels be loosened, for this is not a thing
understandable to men. It will be a vast sky-spanning form enwrapping
Earth, burning with many hues within wide open mouths. These will
descend to sweep across the face of the land, engulfing all in the
yawning jaws. The greatest warriors will charge against it in vain.
The fangs will fall out, and lo, they are terror-inspiring things of
cold hardened water. Great boulders will be hurled down upon men,
crushing them into red powder.
As the great salt waters rise up in its train and roaring torrents
pour towards the land, even the heroes among mortal men will be
overcome with madness. As moths fly swiftly to their doom in the
burning flame, so will these men rush to their own destruction. The
flames going before will devour all the works of men, the waters
following will sweep away whatever remains. The dew of death will fall
softly, as grey carpet over the cleared land. Men will cry out in
their madness, "O whatever Being there is, save us from this tall form
of terror, save us from the grey dew of death."
CHAPTER 5
THE DESTROYER - PART 3
FROM THE SCROLL OF ADEPHA
The Doomshape, called the Destroyer, in Egypt, was seen in all the
lands whereabouts. In colour it was bright and fiery, in appearance
changing and unstable. It twisted about itself like a coil, like water
bubbling into a pool from an underground supply, and all men agree it
was a most fearsome sight. It was not a great comet or a loosened
star, being more like a fiery body of flame.
Its movements on high were slow, below it swirled in the manner of
smoke and it remained close to the sun whose face it hid. There was a
bloody redness about it, which changed as it passed along its course.
It caused death and destruction in its rising and setting. It swept
the Earth with grey cinder rain and caused many plagues, hunger and
other evils. It bit the skin of men and beast until they became
mottled with sores.
The Earth was troubled and shook, the hills and mountains moved and
rocked. The dark smoke-filled Heavens bowed over Earth and a great
howl came to the ears of men, borne to them upon the wings of the
wind. It was the cry of the Dark Lord, the Master of Dread. Thick
clouds of fiery smoke passed before him and there was an awful hail of
hot stones and coals of fire. The Doomshape thundered sharply in the
Heavens and shot out bright lightings. The channels of water were
turned back unto themselves when the land tilted, and great trees were
tossed about and snapped like twigs. Then a voice like ten thousand
trumpets was heard over the wilderness, and before its burning breath
the flames parted. The whole of the land moved and mountains melted.
The sky itself roared like ten thousand lions in agony, and bright
arrows of blood sped back and forth across its face. Earth swelled up
like bread upon the hearth.
This was the aspect of the Doomshape called the Destroyer, when it
appeared in days long gone by, in olden times. It is thus described in
the old records, few of which remain. It is said that when it appears
in the Heavens above, Earth splits open from the heat, like a nut
roasted before the fire. Then flames shoot up through the surface and
leap about like fiery fiends upon black blood. The moisture inside the
land is all dried up, the pastures and cultivated places are consumed
in flames and they and all trees become white ashes. The Doomshape is
like a circling ball of flame which scatters small fiery offspring in
its train. It covers about a fifth part of the sky and sends writhing
snakelike fingers down to Earth. Before it the sky appears frightened,
and it breaks up and scatters away. Midday is no brighter than night.
It spawns a host of terrible things. These are things said of the
Destroyer in the old records, read them with a solemn heart, knowing
that the Doomshape has its appointed time and will return. It would be
foolish to let them go unheeded. Now men say, "Such things are not
destined for our days". May the Great God above grant that this be so.
But come, the day surely will, and in accordance with his nature man
will be unprepared.
CHAPTER 6
THE DARK DAYS
The dark days began with the last visitation of the Destroyer and they
were foretold by strange omens in the skies. All men were silent and
went about with pale faces.
The leaders of the slaves which had built a city to the glory of Thom
stirred up unrest, and no man raised his arm against them. They
foretold great events of which the people were ignorant and of which
the temple seers were not informed.
These were days of ominous calm, when the people waited for they knew
not what.
The presence of an unseen doom was felt, the hearts of men were
stricken.
Laughter was heard no more and grief and wailing sounded throughout
the land. Even the voices of children were stilled and they did not
play together, but stood silent.
The slaves became bold and insolent and women were the possession of
any man. Fear walked the land and women became barren with terror,
they could not conceive, and those with child aborted. All men closed
up within themselves.
The days of stillness were followed by a time when the noise of
trumpeting and shrilling was heard in the Heavens, and the people
became as frightened beasts without a herdsman, as asses when lions
prowl without their fold.
The people spoke of the god of the slaves, and reckless men said. "If
we knew where this god were to be found, we would sacrifice to him".
But the god of the slaves was not among them. He was not to be found
within the swamplands or in the brickpits. His manifestation was in
the Heavens for all men to see, but they did not see with
understanding. Nor would any god listen, for all were dumb because of
the hypocrisy of men.
The dead were no longer sacred and were thrown into the waters. Those
already entombed were neglected and many became exposed. They lay
unprotected against the hands of thieves. He who once toiled long in
the sun, bearing the yoke himself, now possessed oxen. He who grew no
grain now owned a storehouse full. He who once dwelt at ease among
his children now thirsted for water. He who once sat in the sun with
crumbs and dregs was now bloated with food, he reclined in the shade,
his bowls overflowing.
Cattle were left unattended to roam into strange pastures, and men
ignored their marks and slew the beasts of their neighbours. No man
owned anything.
The public records were cast forth and destroyed, and no man knew who
were slaves and who were masters. The people cried out to the Pharaoh
in their distress, but he stopped his ears and acted like a deaf man.
There were those who spoke falsely before Pharaoh and had gods hostile
towards the land, therefore the people cried out for their blood to
appease it. But it was not these strange priests who put strife in the
land instead of peace, for one was even of the household of Pharaoh
and walked among the people unhampered.
Dust and smoke clouds darkened the sky and coloured the waters upon
which they fell with a bloody hue. Plague was throughout the land, the
river was bloody and blood was everywhere. The water was vile and
men's stomachs shrank from drinking. Those who did drink from the
river vomited it up, for it was polluted.
The dust tore wounds in the skin of man and beast. In the glow of the
Destroyer the Earth was filled with redness. Vermin bred and filled
the air and face of the Earth with loathsomeness. Wild beascs,
afflicted with torments under the lashing sand and ashes, came out of
their lairs in the wastelands and caveplaces and stalked the abodes of
men. All the tame beasts whimpered and the land was filled with the
cries of sheep and moans of cattle.
Trees, throughout the land, were destroyed and no herb or fruit was to
be found. The face of the land was battered and devastated by a hail
of stones which smashed down all that stood in the path of the
torrent. They swept down in hot showers, and strange flowing fire ran
along the ground in their wake.
The fish of the river died in the polluted waters; worms, insects and
reptiles sprang up from the Earth in huge numbers. Great gusts of wind
brought swarms of locusts which covered the sky. As the Destroyer
flung itself through the Heavens, it blew great gusts of cinders
across the face of the land. The gloom of a long night spread a dark
mantle of blackness which extinguished every ray of light. None knew
when it was day and when it was night, for the sun cast no shadow.
The darkness was not the clean blackness of night, but a thick
darkness in which the breath of men was stopped in their throats. Men
gasped in a hot cloud of vapour which enveloped all the land and
snuffed out all lamps and fires. Men were benumbed and lay moaning in
their beds. None spoke to another or took food, for they were
overwhelmed with despair. Ships were sucked away from their moorings
and destroyed in great whirlpools. It was a time of undoing.
The Earth turned over, as clay spun upon a potter's wheel. The whole
land was filled with uproar from the thunder of the Destroyer overhead
and the cry of the people. There as the sound of moaning and
lamentation on every side. The Earth spewed up its dead, corpses were
cast up out of their resting places and the embalmed were revealed to
the sight of all men. Pregnant women miscarried and the seed of men
was stopped.
The craftsman left his task undone, the potter abandoned his wheel and
the carpenter his tools, and they departed to dwell in the marshes.
All crafts were neglected and the slaves lured the craftsmen away.
The dues of Pharaoh could not be collected, for there was neither
wheat nor barley, goose nor fish. The rights of Pharaoh could not be
enforced, for the fields of grain and the pastures were destroyed. The
highborn and the lowly prayed together that life might come to an end
and the turmoil and thundering cease to beat upon their ears. Terror
was the companion of men by day and horror their companion by night.
Men lost their senses and became mad, they were distracted by
frightfulness.
On the great night of the Destroyer's wrath, when its terror was at
its height, there was a hail of rocks and the Earth heaved as pain
rent her bowels. Gates, columns and walls were consumed by fire and
the statues of gods were overthrown and broken. People fled outside
their dwellings in fear and were slain by the hail. Those who took
shelter from the hail were swallowed when the Earth split open.
The habitations of men collapsed upon those inside and there was panic
on every hand, but the slaves who lived in huts in the reedlands, at
the place of pits, were spared. The land burnt like tinder, a man
watched upon his rooftops and the Heavens hurled wrath upon him and he
died.
The land writhed under the wrath of the Destroyer and groaned with the
agony of Egypt. It shook itself and the temples and palaces of the
nobles were thrown down from their foundations. The highborn ones
perished in the midst of the ruins and all the strength of the land
was stricken. Even the great one, the first born of Pharaoh, died with
the highborn in the midst of the terror and falling stones. The
children of princes were cast out into the streets and those who were
not cast out died within their abodes.
There were nine days of darkness and upheaval, while a tempest raged
such as never had been known before. When it passed away brother
buried brother throughout the land. Men rose up against those in
authority and fled from the cities to dwell in tents in the outlands.
Egypt lacked great men to deal with the times. The people were weak
from fear and bestowed gold, silver, lapis lazuli, turquoise and
copper upon the slaves, and to their priests they gave chalices, urns
and ornaments. Pharaoh alone remained calm and strong in the midst of
confusion. The people turned to wickedness in their weakness and
despair. Harlots walked through the streets unashamed. Women paraded
their limbs and flaunted their womanly charms. Highborn women were in
rags and the virtuous were mocked.
The slaves spared by the Destroyer left the accursed land forthwith.
Their multitude moved in the gloom of a half dawn, under a mantle of
fine swirling grey ash, leaving the burnt fields and shattered cities
behind them. Many Egyptians attached themselves to the host, for one
who was great led them forth, a priest prince of the inner courtyard.
Fire mounted up on high and its burning left with the enemies of
Egypt. It rose up from the ground as a fountain and hung as a curtain
in the sky. In seven days, by Remwar the accursed ones journeyed to
the waters. They crossed the heaving wilderness while the hills melted
around them; above, the skies were torn with lightning. They were sped
by terror, but their feet became entangled in the land and the
wilderness shut them in. They knew not the way, for no sign was
constant before them.
They turned before Noshari and stopped at Shokoth, the place of
quarries. They passed the waters of Maha and came by the valley of
Pikaroth, northward of Mara. They came up against the waters which
blocked their way and their hearts were in despair. The night was a
night of fear and dread, for there was a high moaning above and black
winds from the underworld were loosed, and fire sprang up from the
ground. The hearts of the slaves shrank within them, for they knew the
wrath of Pharaoh followed them and that there was no way of escape.
They hurled abuse on those who led them, strange rites were performed
along the shore that night. The slaves disputed among themselves and
there was violence.
Pharaoh had gathered his army and followed the slaves. After he
departed there were riots and disorders behind him, for the cities
were plundered. The laws were cast out of the judgement halls and
trampled underfoot in the streets. The storehouses and granaries were
burst open and robbed. Roads were flooded and none could pass along
them. People lay dead on every side. The palace was split and the
princes and officials fled, so that none was left with authority to
command. The lists of numbers were destroyed, public places were
overthrown and households became confused and unknown.
Pharaoh pressed on in sorrow, for behind him all was desolation and
death. Before him were things he could not understand and he was
afraid, but he carried himself well and stood before his host with
courage. He sought to bring back the slaves, for the people said their
magic was greater than the magic of Egypt.
The host of Pharaoh came upon the slaves by the saltwater shores, but
was held back from them by a breath of fire. A great cloud was spread
over the hosts and darkened the sky. None could see, except for the
fiery glow and the unceasing lightnings which rent the covering cloud
overhead.
A whirlwind arose in the East and swept over the encamped hosts. A
gale raged all night and in the red twilit dawn there was a movement
of the Earth, the waters receded from the seashore and were rolled
back on themselves. There was a strange silence and men, in the gloom,
it was seen that the waters had parted, leaving a passage between. The
land had risen, but it was disturbed and trembled, the way was not
straight or clear. The waters about were as if spun within a bowl, the
swampland alone remained undisturbed. From the horn of the Destroyer
came a high shrilling noise which stopped the ears of men.
The slaves had been making sacrifices in despair, their lamentations
were loud. Now, before the strange sight, there was hesitation and
doubt; for the space of a breath they stood still and silent. Then all
was confusion and shouting, some pressing forward into the waters
against all who sought to flee back from the unstable ground. Then, in
exaltation, their leader led them into the midst of the waters through
the confusion. Yet many sought to turn back into the host behind them,
while others fled along the empty shores.
All became still over the sea and upon the shore, but behind, the
Earth shook and boulders split with a great noise. The wrath of Heaven
was removed to a distance and stood upwards of the two hosts.
Still the host of Pharaoh held its ranks, firm in resolve before the
strange and awful happenings, and undaunted by the fury which raged by
their side. Stern faces were lit darkly by the fiery curtain.
Then the fury departed and there was silence, stillness spread over
the land while the host of Pharaoh stood without movement in the red
glow. Then, with a shout, the captains went forward and the host rose
up behind them. The curtain of fire had rolled up into a dark
billowing cloud which spread out as a canopy. There was a stirring of
the waters, but they followed the evildoers past the place of the
great whirlpool. The passage was confused in the midst of the waters
and the ground beneath unstable. Here, in the midst of a tumult of
waters, Pharaoh fought against the hindmost of the slaves and
prevailed over them, and there was a great slaughter amid the sand,
the swamp and the water. The slaves cried out in despair, but their
cries were unheeded. Their possessions were scattered behind them as
they fled, so that the way was easier for them than for those who
followed.
Then the stillness was broken by a mighty roar and through the rolling
pillars of cloud the wrath of the Destroyer descended upon the hosts.
The Heavens roared as with a thousand thunders, the bowels of the
Earth were sundered and Earth shrieked its agony. The cliffs were torn
away and cast down. The dry ground fell beneath the waters and great
waves broke upon the shore, sweeping in rocks from seaward.
The great surge of rocks and waters overwhelmed the chariots of the
Egyptians who went before the footmen. The chariot of the Pharaoh was
hurled into the air as if by a mighty hand and was crushed in the
midst of the rolling waters.
Tidings of the disaster came back by Rageb, son of Thomat, who
hastened on ahead of the terrified survivors because of his burning.
He brought reports unto the people that the host had been destroyed by
blast and deluge. The captains had gone, the strong men hadfallen and
none remained to command. Therefore, the people revolted because of
the calamities which had befallen them. Cowards slunk from their lairs
and came forth boldly to assume the high offices of the dead. Comely
and noble women, their protectors gone, were their prey. Of the slaves
the greater number had perished before the host of Pharaoh.
The broken land lay helpless and invaders came out of the gloom like
carrion. A strange people came up against Egypt and none stood to
fight, for strength and courage were gone.
The invaders, led by Alkenan, came up out of the Land of Gods, because
of the wrath of Heaven which had laid their land waste. There, too,
had been a plague of reptiles and ants, signs and omens and an
earthquake. There, also, had been turmoil and disaster, disorder and
famine, with the grey breath of the Destroyer sweeping the ground and
stopping the breath of men.
Anturah gathered together the remnants of his fighting men and the
fighting men who were left in Egypt, and set forth to meet the
Children of Darkness who came out of the eastern mountains by way of
the wilderness and by way of Yethnobis. They fell upon the stricken
land from behind the grey cloud, before the lifting of the darkness
and before the coming of the purifying winds.
Rageb went with Pharaoh and met the invaders at Herosher, but the
hearts of the Egyptians were faint within them. Their spirits were no
longer strong and they fell away before the battle was lost. Deserted
by the gods above and below, their dwellings destroyed, their
households scattered, they were as men already half dead. Their hearts
were still filled with terror and with the memory of the wrath which
had struck them from out of Heaven. They were still filled with the
memory of the fearsome sight of the Destroyer and they knew not what
they did.
Pharaoh did not return to his city. He lost his heritage and was
seized by a demon for many days. His women were polluted and his
estates plundered. The Children of Darkness defiled the temples with
rams and ravished women who were crazed and did not resist. They
enslaved all who were left, the old, young men and boys. They
oppressed the people and their delight was in mutilation and torture.
Pharaoh abandoned his hopes and fled into the wilderness beyond the
province of the lake, which is in the West towards the South. He lived
a goodly lif e among the sand wanderers and wrote books.
Good times came again, even under the invaders, and ships sailed
upstream. The air was purified, the breath of the Destroyer passed
away and the land became filled again with growing things. Life was
renewed throughout the whole land.
Kair taught these things to the Children of Light in the days of
darkness, after the building of the Rambudeth, before the death of the
Pharaoh Anked.
This is written in this land and in our tongue by Leweddar who,
himself, chose it for saving. It was not seen until the latter days.
.
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