The Canticles of the Damned
'Fear not this new night, my brothers, the terrors of an everlasting darkness are as nothing when compared to the darkness in Man's heart. For, who among you knows what Man might do when Hunger sleeps in his bed and Famine is his child's only playmate?' --Prelude
The Cants, as they are commonly refered to as (a slight misnomer as there are only 3 of them in the entire text) are the work of the Prophet, Ephraim 'First among the bless'd, may the God shine His light upon his soul,' the founder of what would become the Church of the New Sun. Written in the days when the Eternal Night descended upon the world, the Cants recount the sins that led to the punishments that Man is now suffering, and what things might be done so that the God might forgive his wayward creations and lift the Dark.
Composed of 5 books, it is an incredible short religious text, unilluminated versions of the text take up a mere few pages of parchment, and the entirety of it is often carved into the walls of the temples. It is often memorized in it's entirety by those pious souls that live in the Darkness.
Books:
Prelude - The first letter of Ephraim, 'First among the bless'd, may the God shine His light upon his soul,' to the people of the world, a message explaining just why the God has abandoned the world to the Darkness.
'Fear not this new night, my brothers, the terrors of an everlasting darkness are as nothing when compared to the darkness in Man's heart. For, who among you knows what Man might do when Hunger sleeps in his bed and Famine is his child's only playmate?'
'Has Man not fallen greatly from when he walked with the One, are we not wracked now by every depravity imaginable, and some that make even the Night's blood run cold'
'In our Hubris, we sought to undo those chains that the God crafted himself, and because He loved us, he gave us the Keys.'
'But, yea, I say unto you; we walked willingly into this Night, with each sin we crafted another paving stone on our road to destruction'
Book of the Rightous - The laying down of the Laws that Man must follow if he is to be purified in the sight of the God.
'Suffer not the Whore, for she makes her belly a shrine to every wickedness.'
'The improprieties of the flesh are as nothing when compared to the sins of the Soul'
'Raise not your hand against your brother, for are you not of the same Flesh and the Craft of the God?'
The Canticles - Three hymns proclaiming the might of the God, and seeking His comfort and guidance in this Everlasting Darkness.
'God have Mercy on me, a poor sinner;
I see your glory shine through the night.
God protect your servent, a poor sinner;
So that the Darkness shall have no bite.'
The Book of Bones - Regulations for the Clergy, on how to cleanse Man; as well as some prayers to the God seeking His Light and His Power.
'Suffer not the Sorceror, for his is the vilest wickedness; he communes with the Darkness to fulfill his desire for power, and thus chains Man to Darkness Eternal.'
'On the third day of the month of Tayir, you shall bring the wicked out from their cells and purify them, that their sin might not condemn them when they're put to the knife.'
'Our God, we seek only your forgiveness, ask only for your kindness, and desire only your Light.'
The Song of the Coming Light - the Prophecy of Ephraim 'First among the bless'd, may the God shine His light upon his soul'
'And I saw before me the Sun, and as it's first rays stroked the land, the wickedness was driven back.'
'The Dark Mother sat upon her throne, gazing down upon her slaves and said 'Go forth' and a great mass of Darkness detached itself and fought the Faithful.'
'When at last the Day came, I saw in the Sun the face of the God, streaked by the tears of the Faithful.'
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? Responses (6)
Well written, though I want to know more.
So, just what kind of cult is this? Do they eat sinners, or what? If you make it less mysterious and more GM/DM friendly, I will vote for sure!
Oooh, 'Canticles of the Damned'... Sub title of the month, no doubt about it!
I have to agree with AG here - need a bit more detail or subs linked to make more sense of it.
Maybe we need to some discussion about how this text is realized in the world? It is written on walls and memorized, but by who? How is the text interpreteted? If you want to keep it open ended and don't want to give it a more 'generic' utility you could give several examples of how it has been used in your game or in the world you designed it for.
I read the linked subs regarding this post, and they are very promising and peak my interest even more. I like the ideas behind the world. I recognize that it is a formible formating issues to make all those concepts that you have developed for your world into intresting stand alone posts. Good luck.
Its nicely written, and the books themselves are pretty and well-composed enough to bump my vote up to a three. But there just isn't enough content to warrant a higher vote, as my commenting predecessors say. If you ever re-look at this (which I'd say is unlikely, since it's kinda old), then I'll revote, but until then...