A Copy Of A Journal
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Title: A Copy of a Journal
Author: A Translator
+ An Elaborately Copied Book +
The Translation of the Codex of Oblivion
Inside the Codex of Oblivion is told the history of the Cult of the Skull, the coming of the Arch-Liches, of the Convergence of Unmaking, of the Rituals of Unbirth, of the Deities of Darkness and of the Final Resistance.
The Codex of Oblivion is a book written in an ancient forgotten language, from the first worshipers of Oblivion, thus compiling and translating all the old manuscripts is a task for several years, all of which, I cannot unfortunately spare.
The Codex has been the object of my study recently, and the reason of my ingression in this Order. It is my personal belief that the Codex holds the secrets of the making of the universe, of the seed of all life energy and predicts the arrival of the End, and knowing these secrets would be the source of Ultimate Power in wise hands. There have been several translations of the Codex made by other scholars.
This is my own view of the issues accounted within, and it is somehow contradictory to the vision that built the base of the Knowledge and Teaching of the Order of the Ebon Skull.
Of the Convergence of Unmaking
It is somewhat unclear, even to the ranks of Oblivion, the definition of Oblivion and Entropy, which rest somewhere between real facts, and the creed built upon them, sometimes shadowing the truth behind our history. I was never satisfied with the lack of a precise definition of these concepts. Concepts which erected the Table of Conduct of all Undead, the Conclave and their followers.
I wasn't willing to believe that all ancient documents understood Oblivion and Entropy as being purely matterless forms of incorporeal and conscious energy, a destructive force willing to engulf all existence and itself. From my old experiences with astronomy, and thaumaturgy, I deduced the first step in this research was actually understand the truth about these elements.
It was never clear to me the nature of Entropy, or how the adoration and cult to it could be related to the exact meaning and connotation of the word. Were they the same thing? As per see, Oblivion, the nothingness, the void, and Entropy, the decay and undoing, a process through which all matter eventually is faded to, were not in conjunction a reason for cult and adoration.
They are scientific elements, natural components of the cycle of life and the universe. What reason led this Order to adore them, and through them acquire mystical powers to raise their banners and march their hordes in conviction of their beliefs? Were they just Apocalyptic lunatics?
My first task was to read through all the documents I had and get rid of the devotional notations and all partiality that is typical on any manuscripts written by a cult of fanatics. Little substantial information could be found and used from the creeds and mythological notions.
With the raw information in hands, I could head on to a historical research on the myth of the forces that control the universe, from several points of view and relate them all, to a point in which the folklore and fantasy were reduced to straight facts. A hard task given that the Codex was originally compiled by several hands.
The hardest point in comprehending the Theory of the Convergence and duality of the two natural entities before my research was accepting it's impersonal nature as motive for contemplation. It was a force, and naturally, if not obviously, it was deprived of any personality, will or consciousness.
Had it been regarded as a Deity, a god, or a being, it would not have been so abstracted to the point of doubt. It is known that in the beginning, humans were devoted to natural phenomenons and objects that fled their knowledge of the material world, but then, they used mythology to give them character and feelings instead of abstract form. Was that the case here?
Speaking of the abstract, the theory that is predominant in Britannian is that of Balance, which is kept by the existence of Order and Chaos.
Through which, the world is shaped by opposing forces that must be equal in an ever-going struggle for superiority.
Existence though, would cease to exist if one of the sides prevailed, thus evil is necessary so that humanity can learn to avoid it.
These concepts are present in almost all religions. It intrigued me that the followers of Oblivion did not relate themselves to the Circle of Chaos, but instead, preferred to abstain themselves from this particular conflict, and settle themselves in another ideology. Yet, to achieve their goals, they applied means that were contradictory to those not adept to Chaos, and that could easily fall in the category of chaotic doing.
To understand how the Theory of Balance with the existence of Entropy could coexist, without eliminating one of them, was a challenge. Naturally, the easiest way would be to prove that the Convergence of Oblivion and Entropy would be but a new interpretation of the forces of Chaos. But if Oblivion was to consume everything, what would be made of Balance? This quickly retreated this line of thought.
Evil and Good are opposite forces wishing to prevail over each other and gain control. Entropy desires destruction and return to the initial Oblivion, which then would be also final. Nothingness and ultimate desolation could hardly qualify as balance.
Then I thought, that Oblivion, could be Balance itself, consuming either what is good, and what is bad, regardless of any conscience or Will. But what moved the desire to support the form of Balance that would make us all perish, including the defenders of this very theory? Or are all followers of Oblivion simply slaves to its will, condemned to eternal suffering and the ultimate death because they no longer carry control over their actions?
It was then that I first ingressed in the Order to examine the behavior of the Undead and have access to their documents. I understood how the Order had been put together and how it was structured, and how Chaos was not evidenced in their acts, which were gruesome, but had a share of Law and Order.
Unable to fit them in either side of the struggle of Balance, I started to assume that Oblivion was an overlooked Third Element, necessary to keep Balance, and had always been present in the composition of our universe. While the other forces are conflicting to create, the force of Oblivion is willing to undo.
Acting as a dissipation element necessary to maintain the cycle eternal. The Order of the Ebon Skull is not aligned to the forces of Light, but it does not cause it immediate destruction. It will not align itself with Evil, because Evil that does not serve it, is destroyed likewise.
What the belief of Oblivion was doing was exactly being a Third component in the cycle of Balance, without which, one of the sides would have arose victorious. As death in nature, Oblivion represented not the good or the bad. It represented the end of the Cycle, from which it could start again either in Chaos, or in Order.
But again, something intrigued me. What would come after the End? To Order, Chaos would be the End. To Chaos, Order would represent the End. What about Oblivion? That's when I needed the aid of the Codex, for that part was unclear. The reason, the goal. Destruction did not seem like a reason worth fighting for. So, what would come after? What would be the reward for those willing to believe in Oblivion as a competitive force in the evergoing struggle?
It took me months to finally come up with some concrete theories. Of those, one seemed more coherent, and I decided to develop it further.
My research took me to the Beginning of the formation of the Order, and I learned something about the Arch-Liches and the first members.
The Cult of the Skull was formed when a young man called Nizar, found in the depths of some Ice Caves (what would later become the dungeons of Deceit ) an old tome written in an unknown language and an Ebon Skull. By touching the skull, he gained insight to the writings of the book. Amazed at his new found artifact, it did not take long to attract interest towards it, and soon he was the first leader of a beginning Order, such like the many we have nowadays.
An unlearned man, Nizar quickly grew into a sage of unknown parallels, absorbing the knowledge of the book and practicing many of the rituals described in the book. He grew sadistic, and his soul was twisted and obsessed by death and the spiritual world behind it. His cult brought many diseases and plagues, and gave birth to the Dungeon Deceit, their first Den.
Many were tortured there, for decades, and in those rooms, several calamities were called upon the world of that time.
I stopped at this point, as I had already two questions. Was Nizar driven mad simply because too much power had been granted to him in so short notice? And was the Ebon Skull and that book found purely by luck (Or lack of it) or was something greater involved? It seemed possible that some Divine influence had been involved in the finding of the book and the expansion of the Order.
The killing, the rituals, the disease, they all seem too coherent and ordered now that we commonly accept that Entropy is the tool through which Oblivion engulfs the living forces. But was this concept developed by the sadists that initiated the Order, or were they sadists because they were made so? To learn that, a third question was raised. What was the Ebon Skull?
I have deep knowledge on the ancient and extinct races of Britannia, and the culture that originated the Codex in its untouched newly found version was unique and unmatchable. Some intelligent entity must have written it, but who?
I found references to names that either have been forgotten or omitted from the present teachings of Oblivion, and fragments of texts that indeed confirmed that some conscious being or beings were behind the Dark Religion, but in what degree they were involved, was still a mystery.
Gholad, Ghurlag, Ghorlon, Grahad
These names were a riddle to me, and they were often mentioned in high standards, and it soon became obvious they were not members of the Cult, but the object of their devotion, higher agents of Entropy, and thus, the personality I had been seeking for so long. But how did they get forgotten?
I visited the shrine of the Skull in a cold Saturday evening. The Skull was sitting there, over blood stained pillows in a marble altar. I was not allowed to touch it, but I observed it for awhile (space here). In my parchments, a copy of the 22nd chapter of the Codex of Oblivion.
It described the Skull: "A dark, polished skull it was. It had no imperfections of any kind. Nor was it dirty or rusted, even though it was half sunk in the dust, between dead rats and insects. Only one tooth was missing. And it was ornamented only with a large pentacle, which was carved deep on the forehead."
Odd, I thought. The skull's forehead as smooth and no sign of the mentioned pentagram was to be found. Now the puzzle had really been set before me. I shivered at the thought that the Ebon Skull that we know was not actually the one that was found. I kept translating though.
The leader, Nizar, became the First Lich-Lord after his death. It is unknown if Lich-Lords that followed him are different entities or the same one, and I frankly have no resources on that. It is well known though, that for some periods the Order was led by the High-Priest and the Clergy, and historical references to the Lich-Lord are strangely missing, perhaps suggesting that Lich-Lords spawn only in certain time spans.
After the coming of Mondain though, the Cult had gone through a period in which absolutely no entries have been written into the Codex, and it remained like that until the present time, when Azalin descended into Britannia to restore the Order. The new Cult, the Order of the Ebon Skull adopted the Principles of the Codex, but since it's now written in a dead language, I assume much of the original religion was changed or corrupted, or simply replaced with abstract and vague views.
I went back a little for more study on those names I found. I could not find anything, until I came across something of interest. Doing a preparation for a mass, I was looking into some old engravings and illustrations, when I noticed a reprint of an ancient drawing. The original was of unknown date and artist, and was a rudimentary figure of a spider like creature.
What caught my attention was the name Ghorlon, scribbled faintly in the stone plaque. The spider figure was drawn standing over an altar, and several worshipers waving right below it. I also found references that this particular engraving was taken from a book, an encyclopedia compiled in the First Age of Darkness.
With this new material in hands, I was glad to verify that the other names I had previously researched were also mentioned, and that the Cult of the Skull considered them to be Gods of Darkness, the progeny of Oblivion, and that these entities could manifest themselves physically, and the four of them were considered to be a single being. Entropy.
So I stood correct. Entropy indeed had a conscious mind, and these four entities taught the Cult to run rituals and sacrifice the living, all in favor of Ultimate destruction, in the name of Oblivion, and the end of all. Their personal interest is yet unclear, but it did not matter. I had found the reason and the hands behind the finding and crafting of the Skull and the Codex, and the motivation behind the expansion and power of the Order. Intelligent beings, behind the curtains of an yet unclear path of destruction and its origin.
The gods did not manifest themselves in this Age.
The Codex is for the most part confusing and written in different and complex language. Perhaps they can only be awakened again or brought to existence through certain rituals. Or maybe they watch silently the events of this plane, and have sent themselves the Lich-Lord to start their reign.
Or maybe yet they have turned their back to us and are planting their seed of evil elsewhere.
My thoughts are, what if the Order has not reached yet the full comprehension of the power behind it? What if worshiping these gods is the key to understand their true objective?
What if fulfilling their desire is the key to ultimate Ascension? What have the gods promised the original believers beyond unspeakable powers? Or have they threatened them and bent their will to their evil plots?
And then I needed to come up with an answer as to what comes after the End. Ultimate knowledge? Ascension? Redemption? Or even who knows, the power of a god?
The Lich Lord is the commander of the Forces of Entropy. He is their tool and personification, but in the theory of Deities, one question arises. How much does he know? Perhaps he is waiting for the right time to unleash the power and the with it the knowledge to this answer?
I cannot tell. The Codex may contain this knowledge, but I may be years behind it. I do not know what comes after the End, and what is the purpose behind these Entities' will. I also do not know if the Lich Lord knows, and what part the Ebon Skull plays in this long scheme of events.
Yet, It's told in the Codex, as a prophecy, that the arrival of the Avatar of Death would be a new Age to the Order. Only questions remain as of now...But curiosity asks...Will returning to old creeds be a step forward to discover the secrets of Oblivion?
Is the Avatar of Death the embodiment of all the four entities? Will the Lich Lord become the receptacle for the Avatar, growing in power through the centuries so that it can host the Deities when it is strong enough? Meanwhile its lackeys are to do the dirty job, collecting souls and lives and binding them within the Ebon Skull, which would serve as a key to Outer Planes?
Who knows...
It is too early to tell...