“She never accused them of it, and those prison guards never bragged about it either, and they weren’t the type to keep their mouths shut when it came to roughing up civil rights protestors. No, I think that back then, rape was just too delicate an atrocity for anyone to talk about. But we aim to change that, and visit some justice upon them.”
August 20, 2018
From “Too Delicate an Atrocity” by Anonymous
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August 19, 2018
From “The Forest Goddess” by Dodge Rossfest
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I saw a method in the wind, a face in the trees, an intelligence in the light. Keen thoughts beyond the ken of mortals peered at me from behind the glinting eyes of an owl set high in a cypress. Wood arms spread wide, the scene welcomed me against a cloak of leaves and a staff of straight pine.
“What would you have of me?” I asked.
The answer was in the wet warmth of the ground, the steam of a hot day bleeding into the night, and the chorus of insects that rose above it all: go forth and burn those who would defile me in this place, my home.
August 18, 2018
From “Dual Reflections” by Al Domann
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An old man publishes a book of poetry
Reflections on youth, nature, retirement
He sends copies to local libraries for free
Another old man greets shoppers at the door
Wishing them a happy Walmart experience
His reflections unpublished; no time, no money
In a hundred years, when people look back
Which would they rather have read?
August 17, 2018
August 16, 2018
From “The Book of Death” by Anonymous
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The Book of Life
The single tome
Holding all the
Mysteries ever
Pondered over by
Mortal minds
Sits for sale
On Amazon.com
For one cent
Free shipping
Unknown binding
Unknown language
Great deal!
If it is sold
Jeff Bezos gets
.00001 cents
Has he already
Read the book
Or is he actually
Writing its sequel
August 15, 2018
Canto XVIII
(Retranslated from High Arakeus by Cantor Simuhideen Jox in 137 PCA)
The Light, having set itself upon the world in finite amount, shall recede with the passing of ages. And when the light is so far gone as to be only a speck in the darkness or less, a new Light will burst upon the dark world, bringing with it a new order. Those who aided will be set upon thrones of light, and the task given unto them will be the remaking of the cold stone that is our world.
Commentary
(Written by Arch-Cantor Jadhrumelarin Ix in 589 PCA)
Canto XVIII is the most controversial part of the Hymn, and more of the Concordance is given over to it than to any other of the other eighteen cantos. This is because the ambiguity of the phrase “those who aided” (udunaal in High Arakeus);it is unclear if this refers to people adding others, aiding the Light in persisting, or aiding in snuffing it out and bringing darkness.
The result is that many cults and revival movements have seized on Canto XVIII as the basis for their deviant beliefs. They tend to fall into two camps. The first, “Kindler” cults, believes that by increasing the amount of light in the world, they will be rewarded when the light eventually fades. They are notorious for their acts of arson and self-immolation.
A second, and perhaps more dangerous grouping are the myriad “Dusker” cults. They hold that extinguishing light will bring about the end of the Universal Lightmore quickly, and that by helping to extinguish this “imperfect light” they will be rewarded in the soon-to-come. Duskers were responsible for the shattering of five of the seven Sunstones, for instance, helping to bring about the Dark Age.
“Kindlers” tend to be short-lived cults, as arson and immolationtend to, if one will pardon the pun, burn themselves out before long. “Duskers” on the other hand tend to be larger, better-organized, and far more dangerous. Both, however, are equally heretical.
August 14, 2018
From “The Second Mouse” by Anonymous
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August 13, 2018
From “Dreamthieves” by Deremiah Vest
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When wake ye from a slumber long
But all your dreams have up and gone
A fairies’ visit you have had
The tidings of which are never glad
Each stolen dream they siphon up
From your head into their cups
Then bear them hence, into the home
Of their darkest queen upon her throne
In mortal dreams does she seek
A way to learn the secrets we keep
For when she lays the last one bare
Her fairies’ time had come fore’er
August 12, 2018
From “Burn the Greymold” by Grumney Berthold
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Burn out the Greymold where it gathers and grows. Anywhere you see its distinct color, smell its distinct aroma, begin your search and do not stop until it is destroyed.
Each tendril of the Greymold is like the synapse in a mammal’s brain, fired with energy from the foul slimes and detritus they consume. By the time it is detectable, it already had the quiescent intelligence of a minor beast. If left to grow, it will become a mind capable of functioning, reasoning…attacking.
Perhaps if our own neurons grew as quickly and as desperately as the Greymold we too would be able to act as it does, reaching out to control lesser minds and destroy greater ones. Perhaps it is best that ours do not.
August 11, 2018
From “The Forgetters” by Ester Groft
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“My band specialize in assassinations of a very particular sort,” said Eyrain Gage. “The kind that requires the sort of magicks we possess.”
“And what is that?” Watch Captain Threby said. “Is it also why you don’t have Her Majesty’s writs to allow said magicks?”
“We assassinate memories,” Eyrain continued coolly, her voice still even. “When someone needs something to be forgotten forever. We find those with the memories we seek, and blot them out. If the person is weak-willed, a fool, then a powerful charm is all that is needed. All too often, though, the person will need to be snuffed out to ensure their memory dies with them. Now ask yourself: would such a band, even if they received their orders from Her Majesty herself, carry writs?”
“I ask myself if a liar lies as boldly as you, if only that those who hear will think no one could be so willfully false, and thus believe it,” replied Threby.
“What you should be asking yourself, Watch Captain,” Eyrain purred, “is why you have allowed yourself to be drawn into a situation where an assassin sits opposite you, and why your mind is currently racing to recall if there is anything you’ve ever seen that you…shouldn’t have.”
Excerpts From Nonexistent Books 