Codex of Oblivion 5
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
Title: Codex of Oblivion 5
Author: Izrem Verin'Vlos
Rather than fight unnecessary battles and waste our time on the petty elements of existence, we focus ourselves on our task, knowing that its results are forever and our sacrifices never in vain.
3) Spiritual-------------- As before we take the lessons of theology that we may apply them to ourselves. The Convergence is release, it is necessary and it is final. The release it grants is from both mortal constraint and mortal understanding of life. Instead of accepting the restraint of your flesh and the rules designed only to conform you to the whims of self-absorbed dictators, you are to view yourself as free of their influence. Old treaties and bindings that compelled your obedience to lesser entities are void as you step into a new life and new understanding of reality.
The reason such release is allowed, is because it is necessary. No greater sin would be to teach one of the truth of Oblivion then to demand they remain chained to whatever minor destiny they believed they had to follow. It is one thing to say reality is "unfair". It is an entirely different matter to expect one to toil in places they need not. To bring one to the point of understanding and then encouraging them to follow through is paramount to all other matters. Because without these understandings and the power to pursue those understandings they are lost. Last and a key reminder to all who hear the words of the prophets and whispers of Oblivion, is that the Convergence is final. There is no turning back from what one has learned. One must choose to follow or to deny. And those that deny must accept their inevitability that is their failure. Those that take the step of acceptance recognize that there is no turning back and instead choose to move forward, that they may attain the enlightenment and understanding of one who truly sees things for how they are.
Epilogue---------
"I didn't think it would end like this. And I was right... it didn't." -Magus Azunda Thaumiel
Oblivion, Entropy and the Convergence are three distinct elements of existence. Yet none of them exist apart. As they are unified in the work of the Order of the Ebon Skull, so too are they unified in their natural purposes. Entropy does not exist merely unto itself. It is the river that carries the mountains, bit by bit, into the sea of Oblivion.
Oblivion could not be added to were Entropy not there to tear down the old and cast it to the consuming flame. They are all a part of one great process. It was once explained to me thusly:
Take a bowl and fill it with water. All that is outside of the bowl represents non-existence.
All that is within the bowl represents that which does exist. If reality were contained like this, then there would be no motion. The water within would not move; stagnant and unchanging. Yet if a hole were made in the bottom of the bowl, then the water would leak out and motion would begin, expelling the stagnation of the sitting water.
The counter-clockwise swirl of the water represents the flow of Entropy. All that is within the bowl of reality flows with the current of Entropy. Oblivion is what is reached when the water leaves the bowl and enters the realm of non-existence. Yet it is that hole that represents the Convergence. The moment where that which was escapes the confines of the bowl and is released from its corrupted and unmoving existence.
In this way we can see the process of the natural flow towards Oblivion. Entropy grants motion and change to the world. The Convergence is the opening through which the world passes. And Oblivion is the final release which grants those stuck within the confines of a dirty and unforgiving world a true age of freedom.
To those who read these words, bear witness to the truths that lie herein, for they are the words and collected understandings of both the ancient and present eras.
To read these words is the understand that glorious work of the Order of the Ebon Skull.
To recognize what has been done in the name of progress and healing. There will always be detractors who declare our intentions impure or selfish and indeed there may be those amonst us whose intents are truly that. But to the learned acolyte, it can be seen that we stand to be more than those who seek material gain. Conquering lands and uniting people in the name of some sort of ephemeral "freedom", "peace" or "protection" is but the boasts of deluded tyrants who think only of themselves.
Stand tall, servants of the Ebon Skull of every age. The balances of power may shift in this world, as they often do; but just as those who maintained the watch those many years ago, so too will you stand upon the world stage and proclaim the ever rising tide of Oblivion. You cannot fail as victory was determined at the creation of reality.
Our Order is ancient as is our creed and it has weathered many storms. From the fall of Caina, to the destruction of the original Ebon Skull, to even our present wars, we have endured. Not for a reason as pitiful as "we must". But because we simply always will. All who read these words, whether they bow to our work or not, have unwittingly pronounced the work of Oblivion. You cannot forget what you have learned here and reality itself will constantly remind you of its truth.
Do not attempt to take these teachings apart, using only the bits you like. Teach at whatever rate you desire, but do not leave the teaching undone. To do so is to invite uncertainty and corruption into the minds of those who hear. The Entropic Chant is perhaps the most brilliantly produced litany of any age. All of it speaks volumes to the truth of the world around us. But it is the last stanza that you, dear reader, must remember:
"You cannot escape me. You cannot defeat me. You can only embrace me."
Etheng.
Keruilath la mornvas.
Walk in Darkness.
--The entropic image, the Mark of Thorns, takes up this page--