Daycryn Family/Rabisu/Epistles

Rabisu had written a number of letters, notes, and various assorted writings which his servants, upon his death, collected and sent to his son Adamir. Those represented here are the ones Adamir has shared with his liege and with enough concerned parties that they are public knowledge.

The Prophecies

This was not addressed to anyone as a letter. I have no idea who my father meant to see these, scrawled on papers in his own hand, kept hidden in his books. -Adamir

The Prophecies Were Warnings

We were all fools. We delighted, in the early days, of interpreting the visions and prophecies, and we secretly prided ourselves on the cleverness of our interpretations. The more elaborate and esoteric the meaning we derived, the better received. We thought up profound spiritual truths, imbued them with connection to the prophet's words, and allowed ourselves to believe that we had unlocked the riddle. What fools!

There was no riddle. There were no grand philosophical truths. The prophecies were warnings. And so we come now to the present crisis. What masters of self-deception we are! Even now, with doom approaching, there are many who say this war is about heresy. The heretics, and the holy warriors, and each side begs that if only the other would be reasonable and give in, then there would be peace.

But there wouldn't be - it is written. Nor will anyone give in - it is written. We are all fools, and we deserve what must come.

The First Prophecy

The crimson lord riding is the Church of Sanguis Astroism. The two brothers are the brotherhood of this Church, arm in arm - before the cataclysm of Niselur. The lost jewel is this brotherhood as well, lost due to political strife and the crumbling of Theocracies. The three armies are the forces of the Aurvandil-Asylon allies, outside of the Church; the forces of Astrum and Corsanctum and their allies, on one side; and the forces of Niselur and their allies. The trap that was sprung is the folly of our own ignorance, sprung by those either hostile to or unmindful of the truth of the Prophecies, which are the eye ... The four flags flying high were the loyalties to the Church on the part of Astrum, Morek, Corsanctum, and Niselur, the latter of which has frayed and fallen. These are the five clouds concealing the Stars; the political machinations are what we see, the Stars themselves are dark or unseen. The realm that is ravaged is the realm of Dwilight itself. The six sheathed in shadows are Asylon, Aurvandil, the Farronite Republic, Niselur, Phantaria, and the Zuma Coalition. The darkened dagger drawn is the Doom that approaches us all. The seven smiling rogues and the queen... that I cannot see. The ships setting sail are those which will carry the Faithful to a new land to escape the Doom; the broken kingdom is the broken Church, which will be won when it is One again in this new land.

The Second Prophecy

The barren heath is Dwilight, doomed to extinction. The man in black armor, with his broken sword, is the Warrior, who after all his battles achieves only death and hopelessness. The tree with its infant elevated upon it is the unstable foundation the Warrior has created; the infant with his cracked cup is the Courtier... and so on. There is no hope for any of these to survive alone, just as there is no hope for the Church or the Faith itself based upon these. The sword, the cup, and the Hand cannot preserve the Church, nor Dwilight itself, against the Doom. The stone under the light of the Stars, however, is the hope, and it is this stone - the foundation of a new Church, in a new land - that provides it. We must set sail from this soon-to-be barren land to find anew the Divine Light.

The Third Prophecy

The Warrior, Courtier and Priest here represent the unity of the Church as it has been in the past and will be in the future. More specifically, these are descriptions of the Three Prophets to come after Mathurin himself. The warrior, attuned to Maddening, fervent and exultant, brings the fire of passion. The courtier, attuned to Auspicious, is just and brings the light of reason. The priest, attuned to Austere, is serene and candid, and brings truth: the truth I am relating even now. With these eyes shining bright, Fire, Light and Truth prevail in the New Church. When this is so, the First Prophet is no more - and even now, he is gone from us, having fulfilled this last part of his Third Prophecy.

The Vision Regarding Daimons

The verdant plain is the plain of Caiyun where the Church was born, and the stone laid is that Church and that Faith. The creature of fang and fear that shunned the Stars was all enemies of the Church - the native Dwili, the Daimons upon occasion, and the realms of nonbelievers and other opponents to the growth of the Church. With the Stars shining bright, the Prophet was given the spear, helm and scroll - the Sword, Cup, and Open Hand - as weapons to defeat these enemies. Yet in this victory, these three aspects were destroyed; and in today's Church they are disunited, fragmented, ineffective and therefore broken. And so the Church today is doomed, just as Dwilight itself is doomed. But in the days to come, a second stone will be placed - a second Church...

Rabisu's Visions

I found no mention of these anywhere else. Again done in his own hand, letters scrawled as if in feverish haste, not a part of his correspondence, found amidst his Desert Scrolls. -Adamir

1

I saw a farmer's field in a rich countryside, but when night fell, all I could see were three torches burning. One quickly dimmed and was no more, while the others burned brighter and darker in turn. Then the two torches flickered out, and there was only darkness. When the sun rose again, the crop was ruined as if trampled, yet the countryside was more beautiful than ever in the morning light.

2

I saw a desolate plain marked only by a hill. Looking closer, the hill was actually a great mound of pebbles and stones piled upon each other, with a smooth ruby barely visible at the very top. The earth beneath shook, and the rocks tumbled down.

3

I saw eleven warriors in rusted armor, each one protected by a shield decorated with three stars. In protecting a village against a swarm of bandits, they were brave and victorious. But then the villagers attacked them, tied them to stakes, and set them on fire. Although they burned a long time, not one of the warriors made a sound, and the fire gave no smoke.

4

I saw five wild boars in the woods. The youngest ate the flesh of the oldest, and each ate the flesh of its neighbor. Huntsmen looked on from behind the trees, eager and amazed, but when they came to harvest their catch, all they found was bones.

5

I saw a great port city in a night that never ended. A mother threw her only babe into a fire; a knight fell upon his own sword; the walls of a ruined temple bled. The ocean rose up and washed over the city in a great wave, and when the waters receded, a field of dandelions grew.

6

I saw a vast city with a thousand temples, each one of them deserted and emptied. The granaries were full, but the people went hungry. Drunkards staggered through the streets, neighbor feuded with neighbor, and brother fought against brother......

7

I saw a glorious city in a distant land, besieged by enemies from all directions. A butcher covered in blood wore a crown upon his head, and when he wandered from the palace the dead rose and danced with him.

8

I see a day of doom. No realm will be spared, no city will survive, and no fortress will withstand it. On that day, the last kingdom will be lost, the last temple will be burnt, the Bloodstars will cease to shine in the sky above. Even the mightiest lord will become as a beggar, and the greatest works of our people will survive only as treasures clutched in the hands of refugees. This is the meaning of the Second Prophecy and the vision concering Daimons. The Church of Sanguis Astroism will perish, though it may be that it will be rebuilt and replaced. This is the meaning of my vision concerning boars. Nothing will be left but bones.