The Madigan Research Journals
"The Madigan Research Journals" A series of writings by Flame Protector and Theosophy researcher Hendrick Madigan complied for the faith of Aetheris Pyrism on the subject of the divine beings that watch over the world. The research began with the discovery of a series of documents detailing an encounter with an otherwordly being - one alternatively identified as divine, infernal, malicious, or non-existant.
First Passage
Research Journal of Hendrick Madigan, Flame Protector and Apprentice of Theosophy
The Study of the Divine is a field unlike any other. To know the face of God, it was said, is to know the face of madness. Can one truly understand the beings that watch us humans? We can but try. I, for my part, am honored to be allowed to follow this path of scholarship. I bore my correspondence with his holiness to the temple of Grodno and they admitted me to every part of the achieves. So many writings untouched for so long. I will write here what I learn.
The Holy Spirits are the divine beings who inhabit the Celestial Sea. They dwell as intermediaries between the Great Gods and the world of Men. On solar winds and ships of stars they travel, keeping the Lighthouse Stars that orient and guide the world. I have read the tomes of old and memorized the tenants and myths of faith and through all, the Holy Spirits remain elusive and ephemeral. Their mentions are brief, their presence insubstantial, their thread hard to follow. I have contemplated contacting them, but I am but a youth and their ears will not be turned towards me. Perhaps they know I seek to understand them and stay hidden from my sight. My flame burns to know them, to question the unknown, but it seems I am yet unworthy..
I have unearthed in the temple archives of Grodno, however, a series of writings by an anonymous predecessor to my research. The first words on the page are directed as such: "To all who follow where I tread, I beg you turn back". Undeterred, I poured over his notes. He had, it seemed, successfully communed with a holy spirit through dreams, a being which called itself Nethezim of the Outer Seas - words which meant nothing to him and mystify me. This anonymous follower wasted no time in asking questions of the being, which replied in what is called a "lilting and flowing voice". He gleaned little from the words, but enough to provide a starting point for my studies.This man had learned the following: That the Celestial Seas flow in a perfect circle around the core of the Solar Realm, the home of the gods, and that the Holy Spirits, or as Nethezim called his people "TABELLARIUS", traverse these seas and maintain the Heavens. He further says that certain members of his kind commune directly or indirectly to humanity, who dwell in the world Nethezim calls "PRAESIDIUM". Finally, the Holy Spirit hinted that there was a hierarchy of his kind, before vanishing from the dreams of this man.
I am mystified. The words used by this being Nethezim are not found in any other text of our records and I am almost tempted to believe that Nethezim is a deceitful and unholy being. It is easier to swallow than the alternative, that this anonymous man successfully communicated with a formerly elusive being and learned facts that are revelatory to the study of Theosophy. If this is true, then it is essential I record my findings and deliver them. These words cannot be lost again.
In Reply
As Torpius prepared to descend from the horse, with the aid of his servants, a messenger announced his presence. He awaited patiently until the Fire Prophet reached the ground and imparted orders both to his personal escort as to the temple men, and then finally delivered it, bowed respectfully and departed.
Torpius saw the sender and smiled. He was tired from all the work in Shinnen Purlieus, in where he had been delivering justice day and night to fix the mess left by the monsters, and he was still not satisfied. On the other hand, his preaching on the peasants was finally giving fruits, and a shrine had been erected. But now it was time for him to retire into the solitude of the temple of the Smokey Hills, a much quieter place. And what would be better for resting his mind than the theological studies of the faithful Hendrick? "A man with certainly a brilliant future" Torpius thought.
After taking a room in the temple, and a scribe ready, he started dictating:
"Brother Hendrick,
Your letter is a candle in these dark times of political unrest and monster invasions. Your understanding of the theology is impressive, and your research very interesting. There are some matters about the text you have found that I feel I must comment.
The being who called himself Nethezim is certainly not a Higher (or Holy) Spirit, but a Lower one, which does not in any way make him less dangerous. In fact, I suspect this one to be of colossal power. The point in where we can cast no doubt about his essence is when he introduces himself.
You see, the Higher Spirits are beings of another order, and while we mere mortals try to categorize, name and describe them, we are always left lacking the words to do so. The Higher Spirits are entities of the Spiritual Realm, which we are not yet able to clearly perceive, or even understand, and the way we notice and interact with them is not through their presence, but through their absence and their effects on reality. In order to better understand it, we can say that we do not see the wind, but we do feel it in our skin, and see as the leaves are carried by it, or the trees move. In the same sense, we can notice the Higher Spirits by perceiving the void in where there should be something, and receiving their occult messages in our world, subtle as the flight of a bird or the pattern formed by accidentally dropping some coins in the ground. Of course that 'void' is not a suitable word, but once again, in such abstract matters the worlds used to describe the mundane reality are not sufficient.
In such way, a Higher Spirit would have never named himself, a need we inferior beings have for communication purposes, but they do not. There was an interesting representation I found made by a monk in Maf, a wise man, in which a Higher Spirit was represented as a masked man. It was a small wooden statue, and the symbolism it contained was truly inspiring.
But I digress.. Regarding Nethezim, he seems to be among the few Lower Spirits, half-spiritual and half-material beings paradoxically present in either or both Realms, that attain such power that can afford to proclaim themselves Higher Spirits. While such is not true, their power allows them to defend their claim against their peers, and their insignificance frees them from the Gods' attention. This particular individual could be the spirit of one of the great outer seas, or another force of not at all trivial might.
His claims, however, are not necessarily lies, and may be as well mostly true. It is no secret that the Lower Spirits have a much more direct access to the Spiritual Realm, and incomparable better understanding of it. Depending on his agenda, the knowledge he shared could be the literal truth, a symbolic account of matters of his own reality, or simply lies. Which one of them is, I cannot tell, and it will be up to you to discover through your research, as well as his true nature and mundane links with the world.
Should you be interested in a deeper account regarding the Lower Spirits, or any other matter, do not doubt in contacting me. I would also recommend extreme caution when dealing with them, and either aid from a spiritual brother versed in the arts of Demonology, or the possession of said knowledge.
With your permission I shall make this letters public to our brothers-in-faith, so they can partake with the knowledge you are bringing forth, and perhaps feel inspired to begin their own researches.
Dei te incolumen custodiant,
Torpius d'Arricarrère Earl of Shinnen Purlieus"
