Aetheris Pyrism/Visions

On Messages

Mysteries of the Divine Words

See, everything related to the gods is at least partially clouded to us. In such way we presume the reasons and manner in which that the Gods act, but are never totally sure. That is because they belong to an order of magnitude much higher than our own, and their words descend to us greatly simplified, as to fit in our limited minds. Each of their actions we describe is actually a much more complex phenomena for which we lack words and concepts to truly understand. Instead we translate them into a narrative that we can work with, never giving up on trying to approach the unreachable goal of fully understanding their true meaning.

Accounts of Divine Messages

First Message

I was camping in the countryside when, during my sleep, some dreams started to trouble me. They started with scenes of my childhood, but they began to be enveloped by a thick and dense dark fog. Slowly the whole world I recognized as mine started to get darker and darker, turning into a void of nothingness. It was in the middle of that pitch-black night surrounding me that I hear a voice, chiller than the night we were facing in the outskirts of civilization. It was a female voice who called me by my name, in a whispering tone that made my spine chill. When I turned around I saw a beautiful milk-white face with a strange cold glow. Its hair and clothes were as dark as the void around us, so much that I could not differentiate one from another, only realizing them as they blocked the exposed skin by moving in front of it. She proceeded to give me detailed instructions of the path I should take, telling me what I would find in it, and finally indicating me that where the frog would die I would have to grab three fruits, smash them and rub them in the in the small animal's skin, and ingest them. When I asked her for details, she simply answered I would know, vanishing and making me wake up in complete serenity in the middle of my tent. I quickly dressed up and, without telling anyone, departed alone into the wilderness. Many signs the dream-woman had given me appeared on my way, guiding me, as a wrecked cart, the remains of an unfortunate adventurer with all his belongings, which I was told not to touch, and a twisted and burnt bush that looked like an owl. Then I stopped seeing signs, and kept walking for a long time, alone and unprotected from any wild beast, starting to doubt of the instructions given to me. Finally I saw a big black raven who made a dive and captured a small green creature in a pond. In a blink of an eye, the raven fell dead in front of me, releasing from its mouth the now dead frog. Fearing the worst I looked around and saw myself surrounded by a cactus, a bush and a tree, each of them bearing their own fruits. I picked the red and inedible-looking greenish fruit of the cactus, a couple of purple berries from the bush and the yellowish soft tree fruits, and smashed them together into a cup, making a somewhat pasty substance. Not with little fear and disgust, I grabbed the frog and bathed it as much as I could in the cup. Right after that I took the cup and drank it all in one go. Things started to spin quickly then, and before I realized, I was in a dream-like world again.

First Vision

"This time I was seeing everything in a third-person perspective. There was a large empire with vast armies. Leading it, an old and wise man could be seen. He was wearing a black armor with red details, the same colors appearing in his banner. With him, a massive red-skinned creature holding a huge blood-dripping axe. "He is Charkh/the Executioner" said two voices behind me, starting the sentence with the same words, but ending it with different ones. The first voice was the same chilling one of my dream, this time sounding much more vividly. The other voice was a new one, powerful and grave, and unlike the chilling voice, it did betray emotions. And those were a mix of anger and pain. I turned around to face them and I found the same shining lady, with a towering giant in an armor made from different metals. His skin was transparent-pale, red and blue blood vessels could be clearly seen, and his eyes were of a fearsome dead ice blue. His hair was not short, and its color shifted with the illumination, movement and angle, ranging from pale straw-yellow to different silvery shades, while sometimes plain gray. His armor, a mix of more metals I could recognize, seemed to show the kind of faint red light the metals emit when placed in the fire by the smiths. "I am Katrina/Korroth" they said at the same time, and while she was still as a statue, he lifted a clad arm and pointed behind me. As I turned back, I saw a child in what resembled a slave camp, with Charkh's banners waving in it. Blood and pain could be seen everywhere, and I saw the child rapidly growing into a young man, slitting the throat of a guard, and leaving the camp. He appeared in flashes dressed with hides, slaying huge beasts and powerful opponents, and finally leading a group of men like himself. Fully covered in scars, holding a rudimentary axe and nothing but hides to protect himself, he fought many battles and became increasingly powerful. "He is Vlander/the Hellborn" my guides said, and before I could say anything, the perspective shifted. It was that of a great battle: nobles and commoners alike revolted against Charkh's rule, promising death to the tyrant. Twenty-eight different banners spread on the huge but disorganized and poorly equipped revolting army, with a mighty warrior commanding it: Vlander. A single banner stood high alongside Charkh's, and when looking at it I saw a familiar figure: Korroth. Alongside him I could see the cleverly disguised Katrina, which my privileged view allowed me to detect, but it was clear that only the Korroth participating in the battle could also see her, for such was her desire. While outnumbered, Charkh's army had a very strong and professional cavalry that teared apart wave after wave of rebels. The situation looked grim to the rebels, so Vlander saw as his only option to charge directly against Charkh. Then, the perspective shifted again. From a place words fail me to describe, the red creature that had stood alongside Charkh earlier walked out to meet the victorious royal army, who had successfully crushed the rebels. His face looked grim, as much as such demonic features could express it, and he held in his hand the beheaded remains of Vlander. "He is Fz'Ar/the Foul" the voices behind me said. The creature said Vlander, against all expectations, had slain the, though exhausted, much more powerful Charkh, but that he had been avenged. Katrina, on the other hand, knew otherwise..." I woke up then and found myself in a weakened state, surrounded by the blood and ingested substances I had vomited during my trance. In the morning I reached the safety of my camp, where I recovered and meditated on what I had just learned.