Epistle to the Celestialists

[Gnomemancy 991]

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

History

Spoiler

Trapped in a storm with his companions, Evander Kuss found himself battling the biting cold. As they huddled together for warmth in a grove of towering firs in Aevos’ far north, their situation seemed dire. Frostbite threatened to claim them.

 

Amidst the chaos of the storm, as Kuss knelt in prayer, clutching a chalice—adorned with the images of the Aenguls Artifai and  Tesion—a sudden calm descended upon the grove. From the chalice emerged a spring flower, an elderflower. Its delicate petals unfurled, calming the storm, and imbuing the area with a soothing warmth, as if spring had touched the land for the first time.

 

The image of the Aenguls upon the chalice vanished completely.

 

An aged man, his presence exuding wisdom, appeared before them. With plain speech, he rebuked them, “Salvation is not tethered to the finite, nor is it found in symbols fashioned by mortal hands. Salvation resides in the Creator, whose presence permeates the soul, whose wisdom exceeds that of mortal minds.” As he spoke, the weight of his words settled upon them like a cloak of reverence. “This, my dear seekers, is both a truth and a charge.”

 

With those words, the aged man hurried toward Kuss, his robes billowing in the wind, his eyes alight with a profound intensity. As he reached Kuss, there was a moment of inexplicable connection, as if the aged man merged with Kuss himself before disappearing entirely. 

 

This unexpected turn of events not only saved the countrymen from the brink of frostbite, Kuss saw in this miraculous occurrence a sign of divine intervention.

 

Kuss and his companions journeyed forth, carrying the transformed chalice with them. They sought out a group of monks to express their gratitude for the education that had equipped them to face such trials. However, they were met with a demand. The monks took an icon from the walls of their chapel and commanded them to give the location so a shrine to the Aenguls could be erected.

 

Faced with this demand and the contradiction between the monks' actions and the message they had received from the aged man, Kuss and his companions declined. Refusing to divulge the location, they rebuked the monks for their misguided interpretation of faith. Determined to uphold their understanding, the Kussites founded an order to enact their belief, the Countrymen of Reverent Spring.

 

Here follows the account of Evander Kuss, who gazed into the sacramental chalice and beheld a vision in tandem with the times of the Visions of Portent, Strife, and so on.

 

Epistle to the Celestialists

Attend, brothers, and heed what God revealed to me: as it was spoken in a similar vein by the Godly Exalted,  I now impart this command. Let not one among you falter in your faith in our Church, nor divert your gaze from the Scrolls passed down from your Fathers. Yet, let all benefit from a glimpse into the future that awaits us, and let it stir your hearts, minds, and arms to serve in the name of God.

 

I stood amidst clouds far more dense than the polished walls of Dwarven caves. The virtuous dead awaited the season of the Creator’s call in one of two cities, each as vast as several realms combined. When the Word of God was spoken, the sound resonated singularly, without a crack to allow even a syllable to slip into inaudibility.

 

The call was heard by throngs of Men, crowned and enrobed with the virtuous merits of their lives: their charity, their forgiveness, and their service to the Creator. They were thus clothed in light, impenetrable as their worth, which was beyond that of adamantine plates.

 

Few within the opposite city heard the call, decorated with quills, rakes, plows, hammers, axes, and all manner of tools forged for celestial messengers and workmen. These tools, intended for the shaping and ordering of the lands below, lay dormant on the ground, pristine and unblemished by the work that was not done.

 

Halls were near emptied of Aenguls and Daemons but inundated with letters on industry, culture, and economy, which were neglected for there were few left within them to descend with the knowledge of higher abilities through which the servants of the Creator below may profit.

 

There were seldom few in the second chamber who had ears to hear. A portion of the inhabitants of that city had long since descended, and with their true descent had forged cities parallel to the Skies imbued with their pride. Within these cities, I saw them united with their own dead thralls, who tended to their own call, in disharmony with the Creator’s.

 

These thralls carried chains adorned with the symbols of service to their masters, each tethered to the thrones of Beasts, of Stags, of Lions. In place of charity, they bore chains of proselytism. In place of forgiveness, they bore chains of obligation. In place of service to the Creator, they bore chains of service to their masters.

 

In my heart, a surge of pity welled for them, yet no tears graced my cheeks. I recalled those ancient words inscribed, "As I have bestowed upon you this blessing of My Word, so too shall you bestow upon your brethren." With this thought, a shiver gripped me, for these cities instilled fear in my soul. None among them bore the duty of transmitting the Creator's Word. They were counted among the iniquitous dead.

 

Out of pure mercy, I found myself whisked away, transported back before a throne among the virtuous dead. I was guided by the faithful Aengul Tesion through the sparsely populated halls of the celestial messengers. From him, a note was entrusted into my trembling hand, to be transcribed upon my return home. 

 

Tesion addressed me, saying, “Evander, document this vision for your kin, offering a glimpse into Auspice. Share your experience not as a commandment, as they already possess the fullness of revelation. However, their constant interpretations and judgments endanger souls, leading to hesitation and faltering in ignorance. This epistle is directed not only to the chained but also to those who support them or overlook the gravity of serving my fallen brethren."

 

I beheld men, once faithful and devout, now following creatures, forsaking their allegiance to the Creator in favor of misplaced piety and empty boons. Their hearts, once filled with true reverence, now bowed before impostors, leading them astray from the path of wisdom.

 

In their arrogance, the celestial craftsmen, a host of Aenguls and Daemons, ensnared their followers with chains of manipulation and falsehood, leading them to sever their connection to the Skies above. I witnessed the anguished cries of the faithful as they were bound by these chains, their souls shackled in servitude to their misguided masters.

 

I saw enforcers of an unjust dominion, complicit in the subjugation of their brethren in ranks. Aenguls who had fallen feuded with fallen Daemons. With pride, they descended from the skies above, their wings tarnished and their radiance dimmed by the weight of their betrayal. Some gathered ranks of thralls and granted boons which mirrored light and thus deceived and some granted boons which produced an obvious darkness.

 

The once harmonious chorus of the Skies was nearly silenced, replaced by the mournful lamentations of Aenguls and Daemons who had witnessed their brethren’s fall from grace. And amidst this turmoil, the Creator's voice echoed, calling out to those who still held faith, beckoning them to rise and reclaim their rightful place.

 

As these thralls, having heard the call of the Creator, frantically sought to break free from their chains, hope dwindled within them, for they knew these calls were meant for the living. They had departed life in service to another master, and their sins were bare.

 

Amidst the despair, a hope emerged. In the lands of my kin, where some lived who wore chains of oppression, I witnessed the righteous actions of holy knights and compassionate churchmen. They approached the shackled thralls, offering redemption.

 

I saw a humble priest whose heart filled with compassion, he gave them the Word of God to break their chains and start anew.

 

A gallant knight took up arms in defense of the faith. With sword in hand and righteousness in his heart, he waged war against these forces, fighting to ensure the thralls who rejected the amnesty of the priest were sent to judgment.

 

Yet, amidst these noble efforts, many sought to maintain the status quo, clinging to their power and privilege at any cost. Among them was a wealthy nobleman whose coffers overflowed with ill-gotten gains. He viewed the liberation of the thralls as a threat to his own interests, using his influence to suppress any dissent or rebellion that dared to challenge his authority.

 

There was a bishop, draped in resplendent scarlet robes, his demeanor exuding an air of authority and piety. However, behind his sanctimonious facade lay a man intoxicated by the wine of hypocrisy, his actions tainted by greed and deceit. Despite his lofty position within the church hierarchy, the bishop turned a blind eye to the suffering of the thralls, his words of compassion hollow and empty. He aided them in their iniquity for his own benefit, seeking to use their boons for his own profit.

 

The fate of the thralls hung in this balance, caught between the forces of sin and redemption. Amidst the chaos, the call of the Creator met all. In its judgment, the thralls and their advocates, bound in their chains, were dragged down into the abyss, their cries inaudible. The false Skies and their masters, constructed upon foundations of deceit crumbled into oblivion, leaving no ash or memory in their annihilation.