Chapter
Headings
Sleep is unfair because I
must close my eyes to your beauty and
depend on the gossamer strands of my
dreams to hold you in my arms and you are
so much more than my dreams....
From
Book of Batfi, Praise to Aria from He who
has no Name
I would say a
challenging mind is as important as a
beautiful body. Although I believe I could
enjoy a beautiful body whether the mind is
challenging or not, this would be short
lived but usually worth it. I can
also say that the pleasure received from a
challenging mind is more lasting than that
of a beautiful body but that has it's own
drawbacks too. Regardless, I would
leave if either didn't improve some
measure for any prolonged period of time.
Heard
in a conversation in a Kodian Bar
I hate to think we are
self destructive, but if this isn't so,
why do we try so hard to find new and
better ways to kill ourselves. I can
think of no other animal, created by Aria,
which puts so much energy into creating
new ways of killing it's own kind.
Footnote
from Batfi, Katmay the Librarian
Car Nac, myth has it that
he rose from the dead and impregnated the
queen of Kothos with a male heir.
Reports of his death were made public as a
means of answering questions about what
had happened to him when he ignored his
vows of celibacy and had a lover from the
queen's court. When this was
discovered he was dismissed in disgrace
and exiled from Kothos. He returned
two seasons later with prophecies of great
danger for Kothos. When his
prophecies started to come true he was
again accepted into the Sect of the
Unknown and was part of the impregnation
of the queen. It is believed that he
impregnated the queen with a male child
which explained his leadership of the
Civil War which nearly tore Kothos apart
between the sexes. Men of Kothos
finally had a chance for a king. If
not for the death of the male child and
the birth of a female heir, the history of
Kothos would have been very different
indeed. There are still rumors of
assassination in some versions of the
Batfi.
The Study of the Batfi, Historical Analysis of the Car Nac
Incident
The MIND is the aspect
of ARIA. It is self-contained and is
the equivalent of everything in the
universe. As stated before, without
the MIND (ARIA) nothing exists. All
things living or non-living have
MIND. For instance, a rock, a tree
and a WOMAN all have MINDs and are the
creation of ARIA; but each have a
different perspective of MIND and what it
means to have one.
From
the Book of the Universe
How can I question the
being God? I will question anything in my
universe, as the flea would bite me for
being in his universe, I would question
God for being in mine.
A
portion of the speech given by Berl when
he was sentenced to death for blasphemy in
Batin.
Batin Judicial
Archives
Note:
Berl escaped before the sentence was carried
out...
Worship of the gods
allows you to compete against nature and
chance by virtue of your god's
protection. It satisfies the need to
forget that a large rock could fall from
the sky and make you worthless in an
instant, or an insect could choose your
blood to sup and you waste from the poison
it leaves in it's wake. If you
worship correctly, you have someone to
blame and someone to explain.
Unknown
Priestess of Karpa
Women carry the
blessing and pains of the goddess.
She rewards us with the ability to feel
her power run through us for prolonged
periods of time, longer by far than a man
going through the same passion. The
man will burst his seed inside you and be
done with his communion with Aria.
But you, made in the image of Aria, under
the right circumstances, can make that
feeling come multiple times increasing the
intensity and blessing us for
participating in the process of
procreation. However, we are also
burdened with the price of giving birth
with our cycles of blood. Thus we
share Aria's blessing and pain.
From
the Kothian rite of Womanhood
Is it my imagination or
does man have a negative preoccupation
with death. I am under the
impression death is an eventuality that
all of us must endure. Why should we
not spend life enjoying life, not trying
to stay off death. It seems
fruitless to put so much energy into
something we have no real control over.
From
Words of Cain the Philosopher
The universe is a
constantly changing miasma of energy and
vibrations that come together in the minds
of life to create reality.
Description
of Reality by He Who has no Name
Remember old fable
about a man who changed gods because he
wanted? The god failed him in the
end because all gods want you to need and
worship them, not want something of
them. The moral of the story is that
gods are just beings with different
needs...
Anonymous
Priest
One's dependency on a
practice or being has a direct relation to
one's obedience to the laws of that
practice or being.
From
the Journal of Marta
Don't conspire with
spirits you don't know for they tend to be
as jealous as gods.
From
a speech from the High Priest of Karina
after the invasion of Kothos
(Note: He
was killed soon after this speech)
The practice of your
faith has degenerated into rhetorical
despotism. You mouth the words,
demand tribute for them, but don't live by
them, so they have become nothing but
words that force acceptable behavior
instead of the insight of the
goddesses. The rituals have become a
necessity to remind you of the faces of
whom you are trained to respect, trust and
praise regardless of their worthiness,
taking worship away from the goddesses
themselves. Power is concentrated
into the hands of the untrustworthy
because you have developed the habit of
faith instead of studying the path of your
faith. You walk blindly to where you
are led without question because you have
been taught to love and obey without
question. The goddess doesn't
require blind faith. But who
does? The dwellers of the Blue
Temples, to justify their wars in your
name. Is this the way of your
goddesses or is this the way of the rich
and powerful elite who have become bored
with the motherland and instead seek power
and use your blind faith and strong bodies
to garner this bounty?
Speech
by Vagrant Voice
A woman studying the
stars with her daughter one night
explained the many different descriptions
of the little lights in the sky.
Some described them as little sisters of
the sun, others describe them as the same
as the sun, just at a greater distance, so
smaller. The little girl looked up
at her mother and said that they were all
wrong. The stars were the eyes of
Aria admiring her work.
Stories
of Kothos
Man says that the power
of a beautiful woman is unrelenting and
hard to let go of once held. It is a
good thing for women that men are less
aware that the power a beautiful man can
be just as devastating.
Words
from a Speech of Wen Ta
Two people met on a
path not seldom traveled and spoke of
their travels. One day they
eventually became gods.
Quote
from the diatribe of Karina
They cannot destroy
what they cannot hold. Keep our gods
in your mind and heart. Remember
them to your children and admonish them to
pass it on to their own. You know
what these witches do by destroying our
temples. They are bringing in false
gods. Women gods! They want to
change the-
The
start of a speech by a Karinian priest before
he was impaled for blasphemy to
the Kothian Pantheon.
He was suddenly
cut off before he could finish by a Kothian
witch.
Not all spirits have
malicious intent.
From
the speech given to all ne-Priestess upon
graduation
Drib: A flying
lizard. Pet in many circles of the
Hcrat Empire. Originated in the Land of
Nov (See Enchanted Lands) Used as trade by
the Land of Nov until it was discovered
that the Dribs multiplied very quickly on
their own and soon lost any real
value. Also used as messenger
carriers.
Extracted
from the Books of Learning
A sorcerer's journal
contains all of their experiences, spells,
mistakes and life. Most go through
great lengths to hide them for if someone
were to actually find it, for that which
it contains could kill, make supreme or a
fool of both the thief and the luckless
victim of theft.
Sorcerer's
Apprentice Manual
If the gods are
offended by my beard, then they should say
so instead of sending these cowardly
priests. Am I not important enough
for the gods to speak too? If not
then damn them to their own hells.
Last
words of a condemned prisoner in TAR
The moon has powerful
magic. It causes people to act
differently than the norm. A
sorcerer who knows how to use this power
can control a city with the right
manipulations. An example of this
power was when I became the head
spiritual/magical adviser
of the city of Brota on the western
continent who the King was entirely
subjective too so I was in effect the
leader of the city. Granted I lost
the position soon after, but that has
nothing to do with the use of the moon to
gain the position in the first place.
From
the Journal of Berl the Sorcerer Supreme
There has been a fish
discovered with a head shaped like a horse
where the male gives birth to the
offspring of its species. Given that
the Book of the Universe is based on the
premise that the female is the giver of
life to this world, how does this fit into
the scheme of things?
Words
of the heretic 'Amos'
Always consider the
messenger!
Dal
Thos I
There is a curse on the
magic of Kothos which cannot detect a
Kothian male consecrated in the Unknown
Sect, which is the fleshly aspect of the
Unknown Man, nor any male in the presence
or company of a member of the Unknown
Sect.
From
the Magic of Kothos, Chapter
452. Volume I, pg. 4008, Footnote 3
I will tell you what
you have forgotten. With my eyes I
see what Aria sees and with my heart I
feel her pain and you have forgotten how
to see and feel for the goddess. You
forget that you serve as the senses of the
gods yet you pretend not to see or feel
the injustice that your senses
present. Blinded by your lust for
power and acclaim you blaspheme the
birthright of Aria. She no longer
uses you as holy vessel to transmit the
message of reality. Cry tears with
those eyes as it is the only purpose they
serve now that is connected to Her being.
From
a Speech from the Vagrant Voice
Insanity is that
knowledge or behavior that the general
public refuses to accept. Genius is
the ability to get the general public to
accept your brand of insanity.
Hcratian
Saying, Circa-Thos II
Reality is simply your
imagination fooling your senses.
from
the Book of the Dead, 2nd edition
I know that I am mocked
as a pretender. The voices in the
streets say that I am insane wraith who
claims commune with the goddesses, my
actions garner disgust from the warriors,
scorn from the priestesses and confusion
in the people. I hear the questions: What
is the purpose of this voice that pretends
to speak for Aria? Does it speak for
Aria when she tells us to throw down our
weapons? Should we follow the words
of this prophet? Why does the Queen
let it continue when a spell or spear
could rid us of this voice defiling the
goals of our elite? But the question
should be does your elite have the goals
of Aria? Do the ruling councils mock
the goddesses and make a fool of
you? I will answer one of your
questions so you will know my truth.
I speak not for Aria but to you.
From
a street speech of the Vagrant Voice
May you and all that
you love exist within the design of
incompetent gods
Ancient
Hcratian Curse
To see through a mask
you must observe more than the mask...
Coda
45782, Guild of Magic
The Emperor has
different ways of communicating his wishes
and desires. A smile can mean that
you have pleased him or it could mean that
he has ill intent to your person all in
the curl of the lip. You must be aware of
every aspect of the royal image from the
expressions of his face to the idle
movement of his fingers. Pay
attention to these details while you are
at court. Not being aware of the
emperor's moods can destroy our family out
of ignorance. Remember that his
father died an unusual death and some
attribute it to the rhythmic drumming of
his son's fingers as a signal to his
assassin. Some have even said that
they have decoded the signals that he
uses, but who knows for sure.
From
the diary of Mal Kos, cousin of Dal Thos II
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