Part 11 - The Destroyer
The Lived Religion - Book 11 - The Destroyer
Chapter 1
1 The day of the Destroyer will come again! and the land shall be laid waste!
2 it will strike out of Heaven at a time when there is prosperity and plenty, though the minds of men shall be perplexed,
3 it will be a time when men worship the works of men, and say, “There is nothing greater than these!”
4 when women are as men and men as women,
5 when the hearts of men are in turmoil and all men seek pleasure and gain,
6 when craftsmen are inefficient and workmen are idle, and all men seek ease and comfort,
7 be alert and strong my friends! be ready for the day of the next visitation! when doom reaches down from the skies and man is blasted with irresistible power!
8 then, elohim and men intermingled will do battle, and there will be great carnage on that catastrophic day! when war is waged in the red-hued darkness amid mighty blast!
9 that is the time of which it is written, “Fire shall leap forth from the heart of a stone!”
10 in a scroll of the past in our keeping, it is said, “The generations passed, and a vast amount of knowledge and wisdom was accumulated and preserved in purity, it was the heritage of mankind!
11 but though man had learned to cherish the light of Truth and walk wisely with it, nevertheless, then as now, false priesthoods flourished,
12 they pandered to the carnal desires of the undeveloped, and exploited the weaknesses of the ignorant,
13 their iniquity built up a vast weight of evil in the Netherworld, which projected itself into the material of Earth, so that the powers which upheld it became unstable,
14 this caused all the southern part of the Old Land to sink down into heaving waters!
15 the disaster was brought about through the ascendance of evil, rites which awakened the dead were rife among the carnal-minded and ignorant,
16 while those who remained steadfast on the harder road of ruach-ual development, had fixed their eyes on the light ahead, ignoring the pitfalls at their feet,”
17 it was then even as now, will men ever learn?
18 this was the aspect of the disaster, as written in the scroll:
19 “There were openings in the land from which evil vapours poured forth as a mist, descending upon the people like a mantle, these spread out and covered the whole face of the land,
20 the tongues of the people were stopped, and they became dumb with fear,
21 the ground trembled beneath them, and great tongues of flame shot up! the whole land heaved and rocked like an ocean wave!
22 as it rose and fell, groaned and shook, the fires which strove beneath burst forth to be met with shafts of lightning striking down from Heaven!
23 a thick black cloud of smoke filled the land, and men were smothered in dust,
24 as the setting sun rested on the horizon, it could be but dimly seen beneath the cloud as a fiery red ball, when it had gone, a grey dense darkness prevailed, lit only by great sheets of lightning,
25 before the dawn, waters broke heavily over the land, sweeping it clean!
26 the plains and cities were covered! and new shores formed around the mountains,
27 the waters mounted up until all that moved and lived was covered! the south land was submerged! mountain tops alone remained above the rush of uplifted torrent,
28 whirlwinds blew and brought cold winds which cleared away the dust and debris,
29 mudbanks were formed, and a mountain mouth remained open to spew forth vile vapours,
30 during one long, awful night, the doomed land was torn apart, and the southward land sank out of sight forever!
31 behold, in the days long gone down into dust, the Destroyer came to Earth and poured out his wrathful breath so that men were burnt,
32 the evildoers were swept away by the waters, and the wicked ones were swallowed up in the fires!
33 the days of the years were shortened and the times of all things altered,
34 the seasons were turned around, so that the seed rotted within the soil, and no green shoots came forth to greet the day,
35 all buds withered upon the vines, the land lay dead under its grey shroud!
36 the moon changed the order of her ways, and the sun set himself a new course, so that men knew not where they were and all were afflicted,
37 the stars swam in a new direction, and the whole order of things was changed!”
38 perhaps nations, like men, grow old and decay?
39 my land is old, a hundred and twenty generations have passed through it since the Great Adon brought light to men,
40 four times the stars have moved to new positions,
41 twice the sun has changed the direction of his journey,
42 twice the Destroyer has struck Earth,
43 and three times the Heavens have opened and shut.
Chapter 2
1 It was the Wildland Cultivators who gave this tale to our Housebuilding Forebears, but the generation of its happening is lost:
2 In those days, harvest followed winter without change, but, it came about, that looking up into a darkling night sky, they saw a strangely formed moonchariot overhead! which passed away into the rosy dawning of a new-born day,
3 but then, at the night end of the skyroof, appeared the dread figure of the Destroyer! revealing itself to the eyes of wondering men!
4 then as it crawled out into the brightness, the foul breath of the nightcomer newly sprung from the dark depths of its unearthly lair, spread across the brightening face of Heaven, like an evil grey veil,
5 and even the ever-fearless sun withdrew to gird himself in red war armour,
6 the fastbeating hearts of men first shrivelled with despair at the fearsome sight, then rose, while their throats responded with glad cries! as the moonchariot came back over the dim horizon!
7 there, riding the battlebar, flaming sword held high, was the bright beloved figure, its fair hair strung out behind, as it flew towards the hellfigure!
8 they met in an awful, hell-echoing clash with the noise of ten thousand rolling thunders, and men bold enough to look were stricken with blindness! and uncovered ears were deafened forever!
9 cold moontears were shed by the fang- and claw-torn champion of mankind,
10 while the hellish Destroyer drooled white cinders, which, if they touched the skins of men below, raised evil weals,
11 the unearthly foemen fell apart, and hurled great self-created rocks at each other, as onlookers below dashed for protective shelter as they howled down out of the sky above!
12 the very Earth, herself immovable, was sickened with fear, and her bowels became loosened with dread, her belly trembled before the awful sight,
13 and men, looking anxiously to the sun, were dismayed to see his constant change of garb, from red to blue, then to yellow, then green, then brown!
14 Earth opened her groundmouth and roared earcracking protests, while her whole comforting body shook in fear under the gloomy battle of the shadowforms above,
15 men and beasts were drawn together in a strange brotherhood of fear, none doing harm to another,
16 those hardy enough to maintain a watch on the combat saw the flashing chariot crush the writhing body of the nightcomer! selah; and then saw its vile black blood, thick like resin, fall upon the bosom of Earth,
17 where the blood fell, flames sprang up!
18 then, the fear-heated, blood-despoiled body of Earth was cooled and refreshed by soothing moontears, shed in comforting relief, as she drove back towards her hidden abode in the recesses of Heaven!
19 this is the tale of the skyfight, but whether it happened before or after the generation of the floodtale, none now truly knows,
20 it concerns the Doomdragon, which has come more than once, and will come again!
21 and the last music mankind will hear, is the shrill, throbbing notes of the Doomsong.
Chapter 3
1 Men forget the days of the Destroyer,
2 only the wise know where it went, and that it will return in its appointed hour,
3 it raged across the Heavens in the days of wrath! and this was its likeness:
4 It was as a billowing cloud of smoke, enwrapped in a ruddy glow, not distinguishable in joint or limb,
5 its mouth was an abyss from which came flame, smoke, and hot cinders!
6 when ages pass, certain Torot operate upon the stars in the Heavens, their ways change, there is movement and restlessness, they are no longer constant, and a great light appears redly in the skies;
7 when blood drops upon the Earth, the Destroyer will appear, and mountains will open up and belch forth fire and ashes!
8 trees will be destroyed and all living things engulfed!
9 waters will be swallowed up by the land, and seas will boil!
10 the Heavens will burn brightly and redly, there will be a copper hue over the face of the land, followed by a day of darkness,
11 the people will scatter in madness! they will hear the trumpet and battlecry of the Destroyer, and will seek refuge within dens in the Earth,
12 terror will eat away their hearts, and their courage will flow from them like water from a broken pitcher,
13 they will be eaten up in the flames of wrath! and consumed by the breath of the Destroyer!
14 thus it was in the days of heavenly wrath, which have gone, and thus it will be in the days of doom, when it comes again,
15 the times of its coming and going are known unto the wise,
16 these are the signs and times which shall precede the Destroyer's return:
17 Men will fly in the air as birds and swim in the seas as fishes,
18 men will talk shalom one with another, hypocrisy and deceit shall have their day, women will be as men and men as women, passion will be a play thing of man,
19 a nation of soothsayers shall rise and fall, and their tongue shall be the speech learned,
20 a nation of torah-givers shall rule the Earth, and pass away into nothingness,
21 one worship will pass into the four quarters of the Earth, talking peace and bringing war,
22 a nation of the seas will be greater than any other, but will be as an apple rotten at the core, and will not endure,
23 a nation of traders will destroy men with wonders and it shall have its day,
24 then, shall the high strive with the low, the north with the south, the east with the west, and the light with the darkness,
25 men shall be divided by their races, and the children will be born as strangers among them,
26 brother shall strive with brother and husband with wife,
27 fathers will no longer instruct their sons, and the sons will be wayward,
28 women will become as the common property of men and will no longer be held in regard and respect,
29 then men will be ill at ease in their hearts, they will seek they know not what, and uncertainty and doubt will trouble them,
30 they will possess great riches, but be poor in ruach!
31 then will the Heavens tremble and the Earth move! men will quake in fear, and while terror walks with them, the heralds of doom will appear!
32 they will come softly as thieves to the tombs, men will not know them for what they are, men will be deceived, the hour of the Destroyer is at hand!
33 in those days, men will have the Great Book before them, wisdom will be revealed, the few will be gathered for the stand, it is the hour of trial!
34 the dauntless ones will survive!
35 the stouthearted will not go down to destruction!
36 Great Adonai of All Ages, alike to all, Whose wisdom sets the trials of man, be merciful to our children in the days of doom!
37 man must suffer to be great, but hasten not his progress unduly,
38 in the great winnowing, be not too harsh on the lesser ones among men; even the son of a thief has become your scribe;
39 O you, who watch for the Destroyer, how long will your enduring vigil last?
40 O mortal men, who wait without understanding, where will you hide yourselves in the dread days of doom? when the Heavens shall be torn apart? and the skies rent in twain?
41 in the days when children will turn grey-headed?
Chapter 4
1 Hearken to the history of the great flood of waters, when the salt seas rose and covered all the land:
2 Men were warned beforehand by the shortening of the days of the years, and the five days now added to the days of the year are days of sorrow for the alteration of things;
3 it is said that seven days before the coming of the waters the sun appeared in a different quarter,
4 then, with the dawning, men saw an awesome sight!
5 there, riding on a great black rolling cloud, came the Destroyer, newly released from the confines of the sky vaults! and it raged about the Heavens! for now was its time of judgment!
6 the beast with him opened its mouth and belched forth fire, hot stones, and a vile smoke!
7 it covered the whole sky above, and the meeting place of Earth and Heaven could no longer be seen,
8 in the evening, the places of the stars were changed, they rolled across the sky to new stations, then, the floodwaters came,
9 the floodgates of Heaven were opened and the foundations of Earth were broken apart!
10 the surrounding waters poured over the land and broke upon the mountains,
11 the storehouses of the winds burst their bolts asunder, so storms and whirlwinds were loosed to hurl themselves upon the Earth!
12 in the seething waters and howling gales all buildings were destroyed, trees were uprooted, and mountains cast down!
13 there was a time of great heat, then came a time of bitter cold,
14 the waves over the waters did not rise and fall, but seethed and swirled, and there was an awful sound above,
15 the pillars of Heaven were broken and fell down to Earth!
16 the skyvault was rent and broken! the whole of creation was in chaos! the stars in the Heavens were loosened from their places, so they dashed about in confusion!
17 it appeared as a revolt in the Heavens, and a new ruler appeared there and swept across the sky in majesty! selah;
18 those who had not laboured at the building of the great ship and those who had mocked the builders came quickly to the place where it was lying,
19 they climbed upon the ship and beat upon it with their hands, they raged and pleaded, but could not enter inside, nor could they break the wood,
20 as the great ship was borne up by the waters, it rolled, and they were swept off, for there was no foothold for them,
21 the ship was lifted by the mighty surge of waters and hurled among the debris! but it was not dashed upon the mountainside because of the place where it was built,
22 all the people not saved within the ship were swallowed up in the midst of raging confusion! and their wickedness and corruption was purged away from the face of the Earth!
23 approaching that day, all things became still and apprehensive, for Elohim caused a sign to appear in the Heavens, so that men should know the Earth would be afflicted, and the sign was a strange star,
24 the star grew and waxed to a great brightness and was awesome to behold, it put forth horns and sang! being unlike any other ever seen,
25 so men, seeing it, said among themselves, “Surely, this is El appearing in the Heavens above us!”
26 the star was not El, though it was directed by His Design, but the people had not the wisdom to understand,
27 then, El manifested Himself in the Heavens! His voice was as the roll of thunders, and He was clothed with smoke and fire!
28 He carried lightnings in His hand! and His breath falling upon the Earth, brought forth brimstone and embers!
29 His eyes were a black void, and His mouth an abyss containing the winds of Destruction!
30 He encircled the whole of the Heavens, bearing upon His back a black robe adorned with stars!
31 such was the likeness and manifestation of Almighty El in those days, awesome was His countenance! terrible His voice of wrath!
32 the sun and moon hid themselves in fear, and there was a heavy darkness over the face of the Earth.
Chapter 5
1 This is the thing which will be seen,
2 this is the terror your eyes will behold,
3 this is the form of destruction that will rush upon you:
4 There will be a great body of fire, with a glowing head with many mouths and eyes ever-changing,
5 terrible teeth will be seen in formless mouths, and a fearful dark belly will glow redly from fires inside,
6 even the most stouthearted man will tremble! and his bowels will be loosened! for this is not a thing understandable to men,
7 it will be a vast, sky-spanning form, enwrapping Earth, burning with many hues within wide open mouths,
8 these will descend to sweep across the face of the land, engulfing all in the yawning jaws!
9 the greatest warriors will charge against it in vain, the fangs will fall out, and lo, they are terror-inspiring things of cold hardened water,
10 these great boulders will be hurled down upon men, crushing them into red powder!
11 as the great salt waters rise up in its train and roaring torrents pour towards the land, even the heroes among mortal men will be overcome with madness,
12 as moths fly swiftly to their doom in the burning flame, so will these men rush to their own destruction!
13 the flames going before will devour all the works of men! the waters following will sweep away whatever remains!
14 the dew of death will fall softly, as a grey carpet over the cleared land,
15 and men will cry out in their madness, “O whatever being there is! save us from this tall form of terror! save us from the grey dew of death!”
16 the dark times began with the last visitation of the Destroyer, and they were foretold by strange omens in the skies, all men were silent! and went about with pale faces.
Chapter 6a
1 The leaders of the slaves stirred up unrest, and no man raised his arm against them!
2 they foretold great events of which the people were ignorant, and of which the temple seers were not informed!
3 these were days of ominous calm, when the people waited for they knew not what, the presence of an unseen doom was felt, and the hearts of men were stricken,
4 laughter was heard no more, and grief and wailing sounded throughout the land, even the voices of children were stilled, and they did not play together, but stood silent,
5 the slaves became bold and insolent, and fear walked the land,
6 women became barren with terror, they could not conceive, while those with child aborted, and all men closed up within themselves;
7 the days of stillness were followed by a time when the noise of trumpeting and shrilling was heard in the Heavens!
8 the people became as frightened beasts without a herdsman, as asses, when lions prowl without their fold,
9 the people spoke of the Elohim of the slaves, and men said, “If we knew where this Elohim were to be found, we would sacrifice to Him!”
10 but the Elohim of the slaves was not among them, He was not to be found within the swamplands or in the brickpits,
11 His manifestation was in the Heavens for all men to see! but they did not see with understanding, nor would any of their elohim listen, for all were dumb because of the hypocrisy of men!
12 the dead were no longer sacred and were thrown into the waters,
13 those already entombed were neglected and many became exposed, they lay unprotected against the hands of thieves;
14 he who once toiled long in the sun, bearing the yoke himself, now possessed oxen,
15 he who grew no grain now owned a storehouse full,
16 he who once dwelt at ease among his children now thirsted for water,
17 he who once sat in the sun with crumbs and dregs was now bloated with food, reclined in the shade, his bowls overflowing!
18 cattle were left unattended to roam into strange pastures, and men ignored their marks and slew the beasts of their neighbours,
19 no man owned anything,
20 the public records were cast forth and destroyed, and no man knew who were slaves and who were masters,
21 the people cried out to the Pharaoh in their distress! but he stopped his ears, and acted like a deaf man;
22 there were those, who spoke even before Pharaoh, saying it was their Elohim Who was hostile towards the land,
23 therefore the people cried out for their blood to appease It!
24 but it was not these strange priests who put strife in the land instead of shalom, for one was even of the household of Pharaoh, and walked among the people unhampered.
Chapter 6b
1 Dust and smoke clouds darkened the sky and coloured the waters upon which they fell with a bloody hue,
2 plague was throughout the land, the river was bloody, and blood was everywhere,
3 the water was vile and men's stomachs shrank from drinking, those who did drink from the river vomited it up, for it was polluted,
4 and the dust tore wounds in the skin of man and beast;
5 in the glow of the Destroyer, the Earth was filled with redness,
6 vermin bred, and filled the air and face of the land with loathsomeness,
7 wild beasts, afflicted with torments under the lashing sand and ashes, came out of their lairs in the wastelands and caveplaces and stalked the abodes of men,
8 all the tame beasts whimpered, and the land was filled with the cries of sheep and moans of cattle,
9 trees throughout the land were destroyed and no herb or fruit was to be found!
10 the face of the land was battered and devastated by a hail of stones! which smashed down all that stood in the path of the torrent!
11 they swept down in hot showers, and strange, flowing fire ran along the ground in their wake!
12 the fish of the river died in the polluted waters,
13 worms, insects, and reptiles sprang up from the Earth in huge numbers,
14 great gusts of wind brought swarms of locusts which covered the sky,
15 as the Destroyer flung itself through the Heavens, it blew great gusts of cinders across the face of the land!
16 in the gloom of a long, restive night, spread a dark mantle of blackness, which extinguished every ray of light,
17 none knew when it was day and when it was night, for the sun cast no shadow,
18 the darkness was not the clean blackness of night, but a thick darkness in which the breath of men was stopped in their throats,
19 men gasped in a hot cloud of vapour! which enveloped all the land and snuffed out all lamps and fires!
20 men were benumbed and lay moaning in their beds, none spoke to another or took food for they were overwhelmed with despair,
21 ships were sucked away from their moorings and destroyed in great whirlpools,
22 it was a time of undoing!
23 the Earth turned over as clay spun upon a potter's wheel!
24 the whole land was filled with uproar from the thunder of the Destroyer overhead! and the cry of the people!
25 there was the sound of moaning and lamentation on every side as the Earth spewed up its dead!
26 corpses were cast up out of their resting places, and the embalmed were revealed to the sight of all men!
27 pregnant women miscarried and the seed of men was stopped,
28 the craftsman left his task undone, the potter abandoned his wheel and the carpenter his tools, and they departed to dwell in the marshes,
29 all crafts were neglected, as the slaves lured the craftsmen away,
30 the dues of Pharaoh could not be collected, for there was neither wheat nor barley, goose nor fish,
31 the rights of Pharaoh could not be enforced, for the fields of grain and the pastures were destroyed,
32 the highborn and the lowly prayed together that life might come to an end! and the turmoil and thundering cease to beat upon their ears!
33 terror was the companion of men by day! and horror their companion by night!
34 men lost their senses and became mad! they were distracted by frightfulness!
35 on the great night of the Destroyer's wrath, when it's terror was at its height, there was a hail of rocks, and the Earth heaved as pain rent her bowels!
36 gates, columns, and walls were consumed by fire, and the statues of elohim were overthrown and broken,
37 the people who fled outside their dwellings in fear were slain by the hail, and those who took shelter from the hail were swallowed when the Earth split open!
38 the habitations of men collapsed upon those inside, and there was panic on every hand!
39 the land burnt like tinder!
40 as those watched upon their rooftops, the Heavens hurled wrath upon them and they died!
41 the land writhed under the wrath of the Destroyer! and groaned with the agony of Egypt!
42 it shook itself, and the temples and palaces of the nobles were thrown down from their foundations,
43 the highborn ones perished in the midst of the ruins, and all the strength of the land was stricken,
44 even the great one, the first born of Pharaoh, died with the highborn in the midst of the terror and falling stones,
45 the children of princes were cast out into the streets, and those who were not cast out died within their abodes!
46 there were nine days of darkness and upheaval, while a tempest raged such as never had been known before,
47 but the slaves, who lived in huts in the reedlands, at the place of pits, were spared!
Chapter 6c
1 The people were weak from fear and bestowed gold, silver, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and copper upon the slaves, and to their priests they gave chalices, urns, and ornaments,
2 as the slaves spared by the Destroyer left the accursed land forthwith,
3 their multitude moved in the gloom of a half dawn, under a mantle of fine swirling grey ash, leaving the burnt fields and shattered cities behind them,
4 many Egyptians attached themselves to the host, for one who was great led them forth, a priest-prince of the inner courtyard,
5 fire mounted up on high! and its burning left with the enemies of Egypt, it rose up from the ground as a fountain, and hung as a curtain in the sky!
6 in seven days they journeyed to the waters, they crossed the heaving wilderness while the hills melted around them! and above, the skies were torn with lightning,
7 they were sped by terror, but their feet became entangled in the land and the wilderness shut them in, they knew not the way, for no sign was constant before them,
8 they turned before Noshari and stopped at Shokoth, the place of quarries, they passed the waters of Maha and came by the valley of Pikaroth, northward of Mara they came up against the waters which blocked their way, and their hearts were in despair,
9 that night was a night of fear and dread! for there was a high moaning above, and black winds from the underworld were loosed as fire sprang up from the ground!
10 the hearts of the slaves shrank within them, for they knew the wrath of Pharaoh followed them and that there was no way of escape,
11 they hurled abuse on those who led them! the slaves disputed among themselves, and there was violence! selah;
12 Pharaoh had gathered his army and followed the slaves; after he departed, there were riots and disorders behind him, for the cities were plundered,
13 the torot were cast out of the judgment halls and trampled underfoot in the streets,
14 the storehouses and granaries were burst open and robbed, roads were flooded and none could pass along them, people lay dead on every side,
15 the palace was split, and the princes and officials fled, so that none was left with authority to command,
16 the lists of numbers were destroyed, public places were overthrown, and households became confused and unknown;
17 the host of Pharaoh came upon the slaves by the saltwater shores, but was held back from them by a breath of fire!
18 a great cloud was spread over the hosts and darkened the sky,
19 none could see, except for the fiery glow and the unceasing lightnings, which rent the covering cloud overhead,
20 a whirlwind arose in the east and swept over the encamped hosts, a gale raged all night, and in the red, twilit dawn, there was a movement of the Earth, the waters receded from the seashore, and were rolled back on themselves!
21 there was a strange silence, and then, in the gloom, it was seen that the waters had parted, leaving a passage between!
22 the land had risen, but it was disturbed and trembled, the way was not straight or clear,
23 the waters about were as if spun within a bowl, the swampland alone remained undisturbed,
24 suddenly, from the horn of the Destroyer came a high, shrilling noise, which stopped the ears of men!
25 the slaves had been making sacrifices in despair, their lamentations were loud,
26 now, before the strange sound, there was hesitation and doubt, for the space of a breath all stood still and silent,
27 then, all was confusion and shouting! some pressing forward into the waters, against all who sought to flee back from the unstable ground,
28 then in exaltation, their leader led them into the midst of the waters through the confusion! yet, many sought to turn back into the host behind them, while others fled along the empty shores!
29 then, all became still over the sea and upon the shore, as behind, the Earth shook, and boulders split with a great noise!
30 the wrath of Heaven was removed to a distance, and stood upwards of the two hosts,
31 stern faces were lit darkly by the fiery curtain, then, the fury departed, and there was silence,
32 stillness spread over the land while the host of Pharaoh stood without movement in the red glow,
33 the curtain of fire rolled up into a dark billowing cloud, which spread out as a canopy,
34 then with a shout, the captains went forward! and the host rose up behind them!
35 there was a stirring of the waters,
36 they followed them past the place of the great whirlpool,
37 the passage was confused in the midst of the waters and the ground beneath unstable,
38 then the stillness was broken by a mighty roar! and through the rolling pillars of cloud, the wrath of the Destroyer descended upon the hosts!
39 the Heavens roared as with a thousand thunders!
40 the bowels of the Earth were sundered! and Earth shrieked its agony!
41 the cliffs were torn away and cast down, the dry ground fell beneath the waters, and great waves broke upon the shore, sweeping in rocks from seaward!
42 the great surge of rocks and waters overwhelmed the chariots of the Egyptians who went before the footmen,
43 and the chariot of the Pharaoh was hurled into the air, as if by a mighty hand, and was crushed in the midst of the rolling waters!
Chapter 6d
1 Tidings of the disaster came back by Rageb, son of Thomat, who hastened on ahead of the terrified survivors because of his burning,
2 he brought reports unto the people that the host had been destroyed by blast and deluge, the captains had gone, the strong men had fallen, and none remained to command!
3 therefore because of the calamities which had befallen them, the people revolted,
4 cowards slunk from their lairs and came forth boldly to assume the high offices of the dead,
5 comely and noble women, their protectors gone, were prey,
6 the broken land lay helpless, and invaders came out of the gloom like carrion,
7 a strange people came up against Egypt, and none stood to fight, for strength and courage were gone,
8 the invaders came up out of the land because of the wrath of Heaven which had laid their own land waste,
9 there, too, had been a plague of reptiles and ants, signs and omens and an earthquake!
10 there, also, had been turmoil and disaster, disorder and famine, with the grey breath of the Destroyer sweeping the ground and stopping the breath of men!
11 deserted by the elohim above and below, their dwellings destroyed, their households scattered, they were as men already half dead,
12 their hearts were still filled with terror, and with the memory of the wrath which had struck them from out of Heaven,
13 they were still filled with the memory of the fearsome sight of the Destroyer, and they knew not what they did!
14 when it passed away, brother buried brother throughout the land,
15 men rose up against those in authority, and fled from the cities to dwell in tents in the outlands;
16 Egypt lacked great men to deal with the times;
17 but good times came again, even under the invaders, and ships sailed upstream!
18 the air was purified, the breath of the Destroyer passed away, and the land became filled again with growing things!
19 life was renewed throughout the whole land!
Chapter 7
1 This is the Doomshape, called the Destroyer in Egypt, and all the lands thereabouts:
2 In colour, it was bright and fiery,
3 in appearance, changing and unstable,
4 it twisted about itself like a coil, like water bubbling into a pool from an underground supply, and all men agree it was a most fearsome sight!
5 it was not a great comet or a loosened star, being more like a fiery body of flame,
6 its movements on high were slow,
7 below it swirled in the manner of smoke, and it remained close to the sun, whose face it hid,
8 there was a bloody redness about it, which changed as it passed along its course,
9 it caused death and destruction in its rising and setting,
10 it swept the Earth with grey cinder rain and caused many plagues, hunger, and other evils!
11 it bit the skin of men and beast until they became mottled with sores,
12 the Earth was troubled and shook, the hills and mountains moved and rocked!
13 the dark smoke-filled Heavens bowed over Earth, and a great howl came to the ears of living men, borne to them upon the wings of the wind,
14 it was the cry of the Doomshape! The Master of Dread!
15 thick clouds of fiery smoke passed before him, and there was an awful hail of hot stones and coals of fire!
16 the Doomshape thundered sharply in the Heavens and shot out bright lightnings,
17 the channels of water were turned back unto themselves when the land tilted, and great trees were tossed about and snapped like twigs,
18 then, a voice like ten thousand trumpets was heard over the wilderness, and before its burning breath, the flames parted,
19 the whole of the land moved and mountains melted! the sky itself roared like ten thousand lions in agony, and bright arrows of blood sped back and forth across its face!
20 the Earth swelled up like bread upon the hearth!
21 this was the aspect of the Doomshape, called the Destroyer, when it appeared in days long gone by, in olden times, it is thus described in the old records, few of which remain,
22 it is said that when it appears in the Heavens above, Earth splits open from the heat, like a nut roasted before the fire,
23 then, flames shoot up through the surface and leap about like fiery fiends upon the fallen black blood,
24 the moisture inside the land is all dried up, the pastures and cultivated places are consumed in flames, and they and all trees become white ashes!
25 the Doomshape is like a circling ball of flame, which scatters small fiery offspring in its train,
26 it covers about a fifth part of the sky, and sends writhing snakelike fingers down to Earth,
27 before it, the sky appears frightened, and it breaks up and scatters away,
28 midday is no brighter than night, and it spawns a host of terrible things!
29 in the days of visitation, do not pray that the El of Judgment be on your side, pray rather, that you be on the side of the El of Judgment!
30 these are things said of the Destroyer in the old records, though they speak of things in the past, they tell of things to come,
31 read them with solemn heart, knowing that the Doomshape has its appointed time and will return,
32 it would be foolish to let them go unheeded!
33 now, men say, “Such things are not destined for our days!” may the Great Adonai Above grant that this be so!
34 but, come the day surely will, and in accordance with his nature, man will be unprepared.