LUX IN TENEBRIS

[AndrewTech 2816]

LUX IN TENEBRIS

 

 

 

A SERMON

Given in the Ruins of St. Edmond’s Abbey

1965

 

 

There comes a time when we all must face the darkness of the night.

 

Although that darkness comes in many different forms, it is nonetheless something that we have all had to face. Be it a journey down an unlit road, the death of a loved one, or an ongoing struggle within one’s very soul, we have all struggled at one point or another with the grim realities of our world.

 

Today, a very real and tangible darkness lurks in the crevices of Canondom. Liches, the cursed, necromancers, the undead, and vampires abound every which way. The worst of these is the vile Gashadokuro, a foul creature that has already inflicted endless pain and suffering. 

 

Each day, they grow more restless. Every day, they seek to further their schemes against the realms of Man. And now, the Vicar of God has fallen at the hands of the Undine, the penultimate atrocity in a string of ghoulish tragedies engineered by the Deceiver and his minions. Although the wrechful creature which committed this vile act has been slain in righteous vengeance, and may God's divine agent Raguel be praised for it, the problem remains.

 

Many have come to lose hope as the world bleeds. I speak of this bleeding quite literally, for these past decades of war have taken countless lives from their loved ones. Yet this bleeding is also spiritual, and it brings me great sorrow to admit that the humanity that we have inherited from our fathers is now but a shadow of its former self.

 

The realms of man have reeled from a sickness of the heart which has festered for the longest time. Many have been loath to diagnose it, while others have simply swept it under the rug. We have lost our confidence, as a people. We have lost our pride, as a race. We have lost the ambition to better ourselves. We have lost our way.

 

Today, we find ourselves completely and utterly divided. Even before the time of Exalted Godfrey, humanity was never so splintered as we now find ourselves. We have blamed each other for our troubles, and we have not risen to the challenge as our forefathers did.

 

We bicker about love, and we bicker about war. We bicker about the Exalted and the Saints. We bicker about the direction of mankind and yet have done nothing to correct our flagrantly wayward path. And we bicker about who is our friend and who is our foe. Indeed, it might be said that we bicker about everything under the sun. 

 

In doing so, we have neglected our common enemy, those creatures which lurk in the night. But what is worse is that we have neglected the darkness which has consumed our own very hearts.

 

Like a traveler lost on a moonless night, we have lost ourselves. And yet, despite it all, there is still hope. For within every heart, there is a light. A flame, which all the virtuous carry within them.

 

In the Scroll of Virtue, Exalted Owyn says,

 

 

“Verily, brother, the Lord GOD is the wisest GOD, and he knows all things, in darkness, in light, in the din of the market, in the silence of the mind.” -Gospel 3:16

 

 

This, of course, means that God is omniscient and knows all things. But I believe that this passage is also a warning that in these trying times, we must not succumb to our ignorance. We must not be quick to make new enemies where they did not once exist.

 

Verily, I tell you the truth, the Deceiver delights when we are wayward. He rejoices when the faithful are at odds. He loves when that flame which resides within every heart is snuffled by our own hands.

 

But in darkness, there is always a light. And we must never forget that each of the Exalted sought to bring humanity together, in common purpose. Within each human soul is a candle that burns, with the potential to be stoked and fostered into a torch.

 

And when brought together as one, that light can never be undone.

 

Let our common purpose be the repulsion of this ignorance. Let Canondom join together to dispel the great storm which has overcome us. Let us set aside our differences and unite to drive away the enemy at our gates, that which is truly foul.

 

Help your brothers where you can, and do not be afraid of the dark. For together, we are strong. United, we are powerful. But divided, we shall fall. This is what Exalted Godfrey understood so well, and it is what we must understand now as we rise to face the challenge before us.

 

May the light of our Lord guide us, be it found in the fire of our hearths or in the stars of the night sky. And may he lead us to victory over the darkness, that humanity might not be lost unto us.

 

 

Written and Delivered by

Rhosyn Cardinal Casica