The Illuminated Meditations of Pansophia Theochalybis: A Cyclopaedia of Works by the Shining Hammer Society

[The Celestial Engine]

Confession and Discovery of

the Society of the Shining Hammer

R. T. R. D.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Almost  precisely twenty-three years ago, when I was but a child, something  terrible happened. The city in which I lived, Tantras, became witness to  the Arrival. It was completely destroyed.

The Clash between Torm, the Loyal Fury, and Bane, the Dark Lord, left  the city a ruin and a graveyard. I still remember wandering around in  the dust of fallen buildings and stumbling over the corpses of the  populace.

I, along with all other children of Tantras, was orphaned, as our parents took their own lives in sacrifice to the Loyal Fury.

And even when the threat from across the Dragonreach had been  neutralized, and we were honoured with the name Martyrs' Progeny, we  felt as if the world had ended. Our home was a smoldering wreckage,  emptied of life, uninhabitable. We Tantrans had learnt, more than any  other people in the world, the true meaning of the Time of Troubles.

But then a miracle occurred. God reached down from the Heavens, spake a  Word of benediction upon Tantras, and blest it with his hand.

Men of God from all over the Vast, and from all over the world -  engineers, architects, buildmasters and machinists - flocked to Tantras,  and with their very hands they began to rebuild our shattered world.  Suddenly Tantras started living again. Rubble was cleared, and people  walked the streets. The harbour was repaired, and ships docked and  undocked. Temples were rebuilt, and the citizens worshiped. Palaces were  repaired, and the government resumed.

Tantras became a proud city again. On the day I came of age, I walked up  on a hill outside the city and looked at her, at Tantras. My heart was  filled with gladness to see the city not only restored, but greater than  ever before, and on that day I decided that I too should be an  engineer; I too a Man of God.

Α ∴ Ω

In the Vast there exists a Society, and has done so since the days of  the fall of Jhaamdath. It is called the Society of the Shining Hammer -  the Hammer wielded by the hand of God, the Demiurge.

The Demiurge does not desire praise, even though he is the Creator. He  does not desire flattery, even though he is the Maker. He does not  desire worship, even though he is the Author. He does not desire  sacrifice, even though he is the Constructor.

He is the artificer of the Wondrous Machine that is the entire world. His Word is our Thought.

He is worshiped not in ritual but in construction. He is flattered not  byn words but by deeds. He is praised not in symbols but in creating,  building, making and working. The only sacrifice he accepts is time.

We Men of God, we fellows of the Society of the Shining Hammer, seek to  know the Demiurge by listening to the Word and by studying the workings  of the Wondrous Machine. We seek to please the Maker by making things  ourselves. We seek to honour the Creator by creating.

And for our efforts, he has rewarded us with the ultimate truth - the  ultimate knowledge: his secret name; a name carried by no other thing  and no other being, for it is his alone, and it is the key to  comprehending, mastering and finally perfecting the Wondrous Machine.

I know this secret, for I have been a member of the Society for many  years. I have tutored the family of the Thylturl of Procampur, which has  long been my home, in its teachings, and I have created, along with  many of my fellow Men of God, the Cranes of Tantras, which have made its  port one of the wealthiest and most effective in the Sea of Fallen  Stars.

It is by unexpected Providence alone that I am here on Ymph. I was  traveling from my home in the Vast towards the Isle of Lantan with a  fellow Man of God, Master Welbruch, when my ship failed to hold fast  against the raging seas, and I was washed ashore here.

But now we are here, and like many of you, we have drawn the conclusion  that we may come to remain here for the rest of our lives. And upon that  conclusion was soon based the decision to establish a chapter of the  Society here on Ymph - here in Mistlocke, if Providence permits.

۝

The Society calls now to itself:

All  those willing to work with us towards progress and prosperity - all who  are willing to help us build, make, assemble, craft, construct and learn  - all who wish to explore, to discover, to pierce the mysteries of this  place, to understand the nature of our difficulties and eventually to  overcome them - all who wish to learn the secret name of God.

Let the spirit of God descend upon Mistlocke as it did once upon Tantras, flowing through the very minds and hands of ourselves.

Seek out the masters of the chapter: myself or Master Welbruch.

For the Society,

Master Rufus T. R. Descreza, Engineer
Artificer of the Shining Hammer Society

[The Celestial Engine]

SOLVE *************** ET ************** COAGVLA

ANNUNCIATING
the
EPOCHAL
INVENTION
of
THRICE-BLESSED
THEOFERROUS
G * O * D * S * T * E * E * L

R. T. R. D.

Schmiede, mein Hammer, ein hartes Schwert!

SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME, MEN HAVE LABOURED TO PERFECT THE ART OF METALLURGY
* * *
FOR CENTURIES THE SOCIETY OF THE SHINING HAMMER HAS SOUGHT TO UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF FERROUS PURIFICATION
* * *
AT LAST THE DEMIURGE HAS TRANSMITTED THE WISDOM OF
PANSOPHIA THEOCHALYBIS
SANCTISSIMA RHODO STAUROTICA PRINCIPESSA
UNTO THE EXPONENTS OF THE WORD
RESULTING IN THE CREATION OF

GODSTEEL!

THE PUREST METAL EVER FORGED BY MORTAL OR IMMORTAL HAND!

THRICE AS STRONG AS ANY EXISTING METAL!
THRICE AS HARD!
THRICE AS DURABLE!
THRICE AS FORGEABLE!
THRICE AS MALLEABLE!
THRICE AS WELDABLE!
THRICE AS DUCTILE!
THRICE AS RESISTANT!

SEEK YE TO GIRD YOURSELF IN GODSTEEL ARMOUR? TO BRANDISH A GODSTEEL BLADE?

 The Society of the Shining Hammer will induct into
the THEOFERROUS ORDER OF PANSOPHIA
and bestow one plate & one blade upon
any Man or Woman
who finances the facilities and faculties necessary
to produce the first batch of GODSTEEL!

Production and application of Godsteel will then be placed
at the DISPOSAL of the GOOD OF MANKIND
under the purview of whosoever sponsors continued production!
[INDENT]SEEK YE OUT THE SOCIETY! FIRST TO INVEST, FIRST BLEST!
SERVE CIVILIZATION AND SERVE MANKIND!
BECOME A THEOFERROUS KNIGHT!
GLORY TO THE DEMIURGE!



[/INDENT]

Gold is for the mistress -- silver for the maid --
Copper for the  craftsman cunning at his trade."
"Good!" said the Baron, sitting in  his hall,
"But Iron -- Cold Iron -- is master of them all."

For the Society,

Master Rufus T. R. Descreza, Engineer
Artificer of the Shining Hammer Society

[The Celestial Engine]

[tface=fell]A Lecture, Transcribed and Entitled
EOPITLYIC SALVATION[/tface]



[tface=fell]T. V. A. W.[/tface]

[tface=fell]* * *[/tface]

[tface=fell]Lords, ladies, men and women of Mistlocke, good evening.[/tface]

[tface=fell]My name is Tycho Velsed Arus Welbruch, and I am a doctor of  the Society of the Shining Hammer. This night, I intend to share with  you a revelation of immense importance.[/tface]

[tface=fell]We stand on a propitious location, at an auspicious moment.  The location has meant salvation for many innocents– and the time is one  of transition from a dark past to a bright future.[/tface]

[tface=fell]Stories are told of the colony three years ago, and how its  citizens were snatched from the jaws of death after enduring immense  suffering. And the memory of such admirable fortitude will endure far  longer than three years; I say it will endure for more than three times  thirty years.[/tface]

[tface=fell]I was not among these brave men and women three years ago,  but since I was shipwrecked in this land I have found myself in deep  contemplation of their plight, and of the plight that still faces all of  us today.[/tface]

[tface=fell]I called this village, secluded Mistlocke, a place of  salvation; and indeed it proves a sanctuary for us, while the whole of  Ymph is consumed, acre by acre, by the foul work of the Witch H’Bala’s  necromancy.[/tface]

[tface=fell]In Mistlocke we are safe … for the moment.[/tface]

[tface=fell]For I do not doubt that the time shall come, and come all  too soon, when this last refuge from the Witch, and from the other  terrors of this land, shall too be despoiled, unless we act swiftly and  with conviction.[/tface]

[tface=fell]My friends, I am a man of learning. In my youth, I was a man  of politics, but I tell you truthfully that I have put such pursuits  behind me. Today I am a man who wishes to bring the light of  civilization and prosperity to every man, woman and child of this  island– not just to this or that camp. In Mistlocke, as refugees, we are  all as one, sharing one fate, and one destiny. Were the multitudes of  the Colony, three years ago, not united as one? What did politics matter  to them as the apocalypse bore down upon them? Adversity brings unity;  so it was then, so it is now.[/tface]

[tface=fell]The forces arrayed against our common home are vast, but  with keen minds and industrious effort it is possible to overcome  them.[/tface]

[tface=fell]Our salvation from the Witch cannot come from magic, as the  Conclave found to their dismay when the Witch broke their eldritch  stronghold.[/tface]

[tface=fell]It cannot come from the pikes of men, as the brave Stygian  Armada learned to its sorrow. The Witch is a creature of incredible  power and ancient cunning, and she has found ways of dealing with all of  these threats.[/tface]

[tface=fell]But her longevity has created the spark that shall be her  undoing– for in the course of such an unnatural lifespan, history itself  can be seen marching onward. The tools and weapons of the past have  proven ineffective, and so we shall look to the future, and create new  arms of our own.[/tface]

[tface=fell]What is rotting flesh, when compared with the strength of  tempered iron? What is the quick flare of magical weaving, when compared  with the eternal energy of water and steam?[/tface]

[tface=fell]The speaker waved his hand decisively, shaking his head.[/tface]

[tface=fell]I tell you truly, they are nothing. The Witch shall be  confronted with our constructions, and she shall look upon them in  terror, for in their bronze confines and turning gears she shall find no  life to snuff out, or to contort to her own devices.[/tface]

[tface=fell]This, people of Mistlocke, is eopitlyic salvation. It cannot  be emphasized enough: H’Bala draws strength, perversely, from living  flesh. It is the living she corrupts, it is the living she turns. It is  the living on which she feeds. But against the cold iron of our engines,  her foul magics shall find no purchase. Machines have no souls to be  tainted; no minds to be confused. They are relentless, they are  fearless, and they are unstoppable.[/tface]

[tface=fell]And as these engines inexorably triumph over the ancient  magics of Netheril, so too will they build for us a better future, and a  brighter tomorrow.[/tface]

[tface=fell]It is a simple thing to destroy, but something far greater  to build. The weapons of war shall become the tools of peace, and even a  place as humble as Mistlocke shall shine with their light.[/tface]

[tface=fell]The Society recognizes the value in every man and woman,  high or low: and that value is the power of reason. Reason is our most  precious resource and our most powerful weapon. Let us assemble and  build upon our common faculties. Come forth and speak with me, and we  can build a better future together. Thank you.[/tface]

[The Celestial Engine]

[tface=fell]A Treatise, Entitled
THE WONDROUS MACHINE, AND FORCES CHTHONIC AND REASONED



T. V. A. W.
[/tface]

[tface=fell]
 

* * *

Although the Society of the Shining Hammer continues tirelessly in its  quest to bring civilization and progress to our newfound home, no amount  of knowledge can benefit a man without understanding. It is this  author's hope that this work will illuminate the minds of its readers,  and allow them to walk the Road of Progress to a brighter tomorrow.

* * *

It can be fairly asked, what is this place that we call the world, Abeir-Toril, and what is our place in it?

The answer may be learned by the study of the world itself. Mankind is  entirely encompassed by the Wondrous Machine, the unimaginably vast  masterpiece of He who Creates, the Architect, Builder, and Demiurge. For  what are mountains but the teeth of gears? What is magic but sparks  that fly from the anvil struck by the hammer of creation? This Cosmic  Engine has been ordered from the heavens to the depths of the earth,  built as both fuel and boiler for Creation itself. Our lives are as  gears in its inconceivably workings, and we serve as Technicians helping  to oversee the Engine so that we might improve ourselves and the world  around us.

* * *

It can be fairly asked why, if the Wondrous Machine was made by the  Demiurge, it requires mortal hands to make it perfect. Where also, some  will ask, is the place of the other gods, and why do they not serve the  Demiurge if all the world is His Engine?

To the first, the answer is found in the nature of creation. Stagnancy  is an evil as great as wickedness, for stasis is the germ of  destruction. One need only look to the retreat of the elf, or the  decline of the dwarf, to see how clinging to tradition in the face of a  changing world yields only despair. The Demiurge, in His wisdom,  understood that continual labor on the Road of Progress is essential for  the Engine to exist; the creation of mankind begets Creation itself.

To the second, the answer is found in divine accord. Although the  Demiurge is indeed the author of the universe, but all the gods are its  overseers. What is creation without the justice of Tyr? What is artifice  without the mercy of Ilmater? What is civilization without the  agriculture of Chauntea? The Creator of All did not build his Engine  solely for His faithful, but for all faithful, and made places for His  divine fellows as He made one for His own.

* * *

It can be fairly asked, that if the world is a vast Engine, how can it be powered and how does it function?

The answer appears in the writings of men given inspiration by the  divine, ideas both scientific and theological. The Wondrous Machine is  driven by a single force, the power of Reason. Reason is not an  elemental entity, however, but one birthed in the process of divine  industry. Reason takes many forms: it is the steam that drives the  eopitlyic engine, and it is the elyctricity that alights along the  copper coil. Reason is the most powerful of tools, for it is malleable,  comprehensible, and exists in abundance wherever there is the will to  make it.

Before there is Reason, however, there must first be the resources to  make it. Forces that are yet to be made reasonable are chthonic forces.  Like Reason, chthonic forces take many forms: they are found in the  current of a river, in the vein of ore under the mountain, in the trunks  of forest trees. Compared to Reason, chthonic forces are malleable but  lack comprehensibility: emotion, not the logic of Reason, drives them.  This emotive quality makes chthonic forces unpredictable and as  dangerous to mankind as the winter avalanche or the murderous fey. They  are unsuitable for artifice but not to feared, for they are forged in  the fires of divine industry and transmuted into the vital Reason that  furthers Creation itself.

* * *

With questions answered and ignorance dispelled, let all mankind, thus  girded with knowledge, take up the hammer of industry and work together  towards the never-ending perfection of Creation. So let it be forever  and ever, unto the lives of our children and our children's children![/tface]

[Thou tun'st this World]

The Chymical Wedding of
the Princess and the Demiurge




R. T. R. D.

This World below, the Spheres above

[FONT="]One thousand five hundred years ago, the Elves destroyed the paradise that Men had built upon earth, called Jhaamdath.

[/SIZE] [/FONT] [FONT="]As  far as is widely known, not a trace remains of Jhaam's Paradise; the  only reason we even know the date of its destruction is because it was  well recorded by the servants of Tyr the Even-Handed, whom appeared in  Jhaamdath of the Cataclysm, attempting but ultimately failing to stave  off the disaster.

[/SIZE] [/FONT] [FONT="]What   is less widely known is that something of Jhaamdath did survive. For   the Princess Pansophia Theochalybis, high priestess of the realm and   Interlocutor to the Heavens, having used the power of her Reason to   prognosticate the coming catastrophe, gathered to herself the Invisible  College of which  she had for seven years been the head-mistress, and  fled across the Sea of  Fallen Stars.

[/SIZE] [/FONT] [FONT="]She led them first to Westgate; but, finding the climate there not to their liking, journeyed onward to the Vast, and settled.

[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT="]The   first thing they did was to set about recording all the wisdom of old   Jhaamdath with ink and quill in a great book. Five years passed, and  the  task was completed; but afterwards, they realized something strange  had  happened.

They found themselves unable to think; it was as  though their  minds had been hollowed out, their thoughts trapped in the  ink upon the  parchment. Whenever a question posed itself, they had to  rush to the  book, crowding around it to seek its wisdom, and for a time  their mental  thirst was slaked; but soon the thirst would return, and  they had to go  rushing back to the book.

[/SIZE] [/FONT] [FONT="]Furious, they destroyed the book, setting their thoughts free once more.

[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT="]From   that day on, they started instead building workshops, forges and   laboratories all across the Vast, where they could practice their minds   with exercise and experimentation, constantly testing and applying  their  knowledge in every field.

[/SIZE][/FONT]It was during the course of just such an experiment that Princess Pansophia first encountered the Demiurge in person.

[FONT="]The   Princess had just completed the construction of a giant forge; and no   sooner had she fired its furnace, than the Demiurge stepped out of the   flames to greet her.

 [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT="]He   had taken the form of a young man of Jhaamdath, girt in a wondrous  cuirass that seemed to shine with the light of all the stars. The  Princess and  the students of the College recognized him at once as the  Creator, and  they all kneeled in reverence before him and bowed their  heads.

[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT="]But the Demiurge smiled and bid them rise, telling them not to tremble:

[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT="]"Come,   you have nothing to fear, for the fire of divine industry is in you.   You shall be as Gods, knowing solution and conjunction."

[/SIZE][/FONT]Then he beckoned  to himself the first  student, whose name was SANITAS, and he gifted  him with a shining  hammer, on whose head was inscribed the word COSMOS.

Then he beckoned to  himself the second  student, whose name was NIX, and he gifted with him a  shining hammer, on  whose head was inscribed the word LOGOS.

Then he beckoned to  himself the third  student, whose name was HASTA, and he gifted him with  a shining hammer,  on whose head was inscribed the word FIAT.

Finally, he beckoned to  himself Princess Pansophia, and he embraced her. And the love she had  long bore for him, and he for her, was transmuted from intellectual to  spiritual, and was consummated.

The Demiurge stayed with them for four months as their guide and teacher, imparting much new wisdom upon them.

When this time was over, he went to Princess Pansophia and said:

"You know me better, Princess, than any other. Have you at last understood my name - my secret, hidden name?"

The Princess went away in silence, and calculated for a tenday,  summoning all the powers of her Reason to discover the truth. Finally  she realized the answer, and she went to the Demiurge and spake his  secret name. The Demiurge was overjoyed, and decided to marry the  Princess.

Α ∴ Ω

A great wedding-feast was arranged in Heaven. Sanitas, Nix and Hasta,  who had all been invited to the banquet, were so awe-struck with the  glory of Heaven that they could scarcely move or speak.

But the Princess, who was wisest of them all, realized that for all the  beauty and splendour of Heaven, it was not so different from the earthly  world; indeed, it was strikingly similar.

The wedding lasted for five days, and at the end, the Princess and the  Demiurge were joined in matrimony. And so powerful was their love and so  sincere their union, that they commingled and became as one; they  merged with eachother so totally that the two became indistinguishable,  and their unity was absolute.

After seven years in togetherness, however, the Princess began to miss  her old self. It was not that her love for the Demiurge had faded, but  she desired to be her own again, wished the independence of her mind to  be restored. The Demiurge in his love for her could deny her nothing,  and with his approval she sprang from his head, born anew, and fully  girt in the same cuirass of starry armour that the Demiurge had worn  when he first descended to her.

۝

Back in the Vast, the Princess, her wisdom now reinforced with the power  of love, resumed to teach her students of the Invisible College;  together they made many new realizations and created many new  inventions: all the instruments of music they created, in remembrance of  the lovely melodies they had heard in Heaven.

And  when all her knowledge had been exhausted, and when she had begun to  take greater delight in seeing her students acquire knowledge on their  own rather than under her tutelage, the Princess left them for a time,  dedicating all her time and strength to the building of a temple.

When it was finished, she invited the students to come and see it. This  they did, and were surprised to see such a humble structure; it was  small and simple, with an unornamented exterior and an empty interior.  Its only feature was a pylon, whose twin pillars bore inscriptions  reading: "SOLVE ET COAGVLA" and "TAM SVPRA QVAM SVBTER", and whose head  beam binding them together bearing an inscription reading: "VENI CREATOR  SPIRITVS".

The students asked her:

"Why have you built such an unassuming temple, Princess? With your skill  and power, you could have built an edifice to rival the palaces of all  the emperors, the cathedrals of the highest Gods."

But the Princess merely laughed:

"You fools! The value of a temple is not measured by the riches on the  outside, but by the wealth within. And this temple is the wealthiest of  all, for it contains all the wisdom of the world. From this day onward,  you are no longer students, but masters, and you shall treat this temple  as you have me."

And with these words, the Princess Pansophia Theochalybis went inside  the temple, and she was never seen again. The masters followed her  inside, but could not find her; yet they wondered to hear beautiful  music within the temple's walls, though no-one was in it but themselves.

Over the years, the number of masters increased, and soon lived and  worked in every corner of the Vast. Their society has existed for aeons  in several iterations, and the authors of this manifesto are the masters  of the 20th Invisible College.

For the Society,

Master Rufus T. R. Descreza, Engineer
Artificer of the Shining Hammer Society

[Thou tun'st this World]

The Gignesthai of Gond




R. T. R. D.

Veni, Creator Spiritus!

Two Technicians, one a novice and one a sage,  once became friends. As   they were both weary of their names and  titles, they decided to rename   themselves, drawing the necessary  strength and courage from their   friendship to dare do so. One chose  the name Cadence, and the other,   Cascade.

Now they were friends, it appeared proper to Cadence to invite Cascade    to a banquet in his  gardens, not so much to show his generosity as to    have reason to talk to  him at length, and to learn and understand    several things from him,  according as one can hope to from such a sage,    for it appeared to him to  give him an opportunity to spend a day    discussing such matters as would  satisfy his mind.

In candle-light, they ate bread and smoked meat; and no sooner had they    finished their meal, than Cadence began to ask questions.

Cadence said, "In the Confession, I have read something of the Demiurge, and the Society's relation to him. But now I wish to know more."

Α ∴ Ω

[INDENT]Cadence asked,
[/INDENT]

"Is the Demiurge the same as Gond?"[INDENT]

Cascade replied, "God,    the Demiurge is known, called, ascribed many names. In  the Ultimate    East, he is known as Ptah. To the childish Gnomes, he is  known as the    Wonderbringer. In the mysterious South, he is known as Zionil. To the    greedy Dwarves, he is known as the Lord of All Smiths. To many  others,   he is known as Gond. These  formulae are each inadequate, and  the   Demiurge is most accurately named  by his epithetic descriptor.  God may   be called Gond, or Ptah, but he has  but one true name, one  unique  name,  one secret name, which expresses  his entire spirit at  once."

[/INDENT]

   

[INDENT]

Cadence asked,

[/INDENT]"Is the Demiurge the only God?"

[INDENT]

Cascade answered,    "No; on the contrary, there are  many Gods. Who denies the light of    Selûne, the whims of Tymora and her  sister, or the eternal potency of    Chauntea?"

[/INDENT]

[INDENT] Cadence asked,
[/INDENT]

"Is the Demiurge the highest, the greatest, or the first God?"

[INDENT]

Cascade answered,    "No - the Demiurge is not higher, greater or prior to  the other  Gods.   He is merely different from them. He is the Author, the  Maker,  the   Creator, the Composer, the Constructor. He designed and built  the    Wondrous Machine, and in it he made a place for all his divine   sistren   and brethren. Lathander shines, Talos rains, Kossuth burns,   Oghma   expresses, and so on, and so on, and so on."

[/INDENT]

[INDENT] Cadence asked,
[/INDENT]

"Does the Demiurge rule over the other Gods?"

[INDENT]

Cascade answered, "No. The Gods have no need of overlordship, for they rule themselves."

[/INDENT]

[INDENT]

Cadence asked,

[/INDENT]"Is the Demiurge a friend to all the Gods?"

[INDENT]

Cascade answered, "Yes, for they are all his brothers and sisters, and they all have a place in the Wondrous Machine."

[/INDENT][INDENT]

Cadence asked,

[/INDENT]

"Some say that Oghma is higher than God the Demiurge. Are they wrong?"

[INDENT]

Cascade answered, "They are not wrong. Nor is it wrong to say that Oghma is the Word of God."

[/INDENT]

[INDENT] Cadence asked,
[/INDENT]

"In the Confession, it is written: 'The Demiurge does not desire praise, flattery, worship, or sacrifice.' Does the Demiurge not have a religion of his own?"

[INDENT] Cascade answered, "In the Confession, it is also written: 'He    is worshiped not in ritual but in  construction. He is flattered not   by  words but by deeds. He is praised  not in symbols but in creating,    building, making and working. The only  sacrifice he accepts is time.' Such is his religion."


[/INDENT]

[INDENT]Cadence asked,
[/INDENT]

"Are people of all faiths welcome in the Society?"

[INDENT] Cascade answered, "Yes, for all of Creation bears the Maker's mark."


[/INDENT]

[INDENT]

Cadence asked,

[/INDENT]"Is it necessary for members of the Society to hail the Creator?"

[INDENT] Cascade answered, "The Creator seeks, can and will only be hailed by creating."


[/INDENT]

[INDENT]

Cadence asked,

[/INDENT][INDENT]

"Did the Demiurge ever appear on Faerûn as a xenian?"

[/INDENT][INDENT]      Cascade answered,    "No. The Demiurge has never appeared in the form of an  Elf, of a    Dwarf, nor of a Gnome, despite the continued circulation of  certain    myths to the contrary, stemming from the deceptive falsehoods of  a    Gnomish trickster god."
[/INDENT]

 

[INDENT] Cadence asked,
[/INDENT]

"What is the secret name of God?"

[INDENT] And Cascade told him, and Cadence understood everything.


[/INDENT]

۝


 

[INDENT]Come, Demiurge, Creator blest,
and in our hearts take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heav'nly aid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.[/INDENT]

For the Society,

Master Rufus T. R. Descreza, Engineer
Artificer of the Shining Hammer Society

[Thou tun'st this World]

SONGS OF THE HAMMER UPON THE FORGE
___________________________________________

[INDENT]

The traveller upon the Sea of Night
Sensed in the air the coming of a storm.

[/INDENT][INDENT]

He shuddered, and recalled the time of Light.

Eternally had shone the Light of Torm;
Eternally the City basked in Day,

But cross the Reach a Shade began to form.

The Light was lost, and Men did lose their Way
And fumbled blindly; struggled to hold on:

Hold on to what? - Hold on until, they say,

... an Angel, Red and Bright to look upon
Shall burn the sky and so restore our sight;
And Fire-Stars renew the Day anon.

"The Dark will pass, and all be set aright,"
Said he who traveled on the Sea of Night.

[/INDENT]

[Thou tun'st this World]

Orations by the Doctors of the Shining Hammer Society
delivered in Mistlocke on Hammer 23, 1381 DR

THE SOURCE OF FEAR

A lecture by T. V. A. Welbruch, Dr., Afr., & Eq.   Theoferr.,

&

ON HIS CANDIDACY IN THE MISTLOCKE ELECTIONS
Remarks by R. T. R. Descreza, Dr., Afr., & Eq. Theoferr.,

MASTER WELBRUCH:

[INDENT]

Saers and gentlewives of Mistlocke, good evening. I am Tycho Welbruch, a doctor of the Shining Hammer Society, and I wished to share with you the cause of the most pernicious foe to beset our village today.

Days ago I have spoken to you of how the Society of the Shining Hammer has made a plan to deliver us from the horrors of the Witch, and in so doing pave a road to a brighter future. But what stops us from achieving all this today?

It is not a lack of will that prevents us, nor is it a lack of materials to create the tools we shall fight the Witch with. Nor even is it a lack of unity, for although the people of this village disagree over who founded this place, or where we should proceed from here, all are united against the Witch.

The obstacle that lies in our path is shadowy and amorphous. It is a thing that none of us understand, for it is by its nature incomprehensible. That obstacle, saers and gentlewives, is fear.

Fear is something that strikes us all, in our weakest moments. Some of us are incapacitated by it, others merely shaken. Some ignore it, and to many it seems like they do not fear- but I tell you this is not the case, for only a few in the history of the world have ever truly conquered this emotion.

Fear, simply put, is caused by a lack of understanding. To the savage, fire or elyctricity is an alien force to be shunned and avoided, and indeed it is a capricious thing capable of overpowering those that do not understand it.

But those same forces, attended to with Reason and by that force understood are no longer obstacles or foes but tools and allies. Without its occluding power over the mind, where is fear's sting?

It is fortunate that the Wondrous Machine in which we all live was ordered not by chthonic passions like fear, but by Reason, and so it is that nothing on Toril defies comprehension. Now, comprehension and understanding is what Mistlocke needs more than ever.

There are individuals here that prey on those who fear with coercion and superstition.

I speak, of course, of the Banites, who would shackle you to their god with chains of fear, driving us back into an age of darkness for the shortsighted glory it would bring them.

But they are not alone in their fearmongering.

There are also the self-proclaimed custodians of the savage wilderness, who in their own fear of change strive to limit mankind's reach and make of us a dimly lit island adrift in a sea of doubt and uncertainty.

How many must suffer under the yoke of the Black Lord before we can set down the Road of Progress anew? How many innocents must be butchered in the dark of Old Stones, or splayed out in the midst of a druidic circle for daring to bring light to the dark places of the world?

How many deaths will we suffer before we realize that these purveyors of superstition are best kept out of the future we will build together?

Before we can build paradise, we must first quarry the raw and finish the unmade. Fear is the darkness that prevents us from our work, but do not despair: a bright and shining hammer has come to you, ablaze in the glory of knowledge and power wrought by all the gods!

I said days ago that I am not a man of politics, and I remain happily apart from that deplorable custom.

In addition, I say to you that my colleague, Rufus Descreza, is not one either. By our God's truth, we do not even hold hope for democracy.

But this climate of fear that has shrouded Mistlocke must be lifted if the Demiurge's work, and the work of all the gods with Him, is to be done, and unless another bearing the brand of cognizance steps forth, Descreza's beliefs compel him to take up the struggle personally.

But, I do not presume to speak for him.

Saers and gentlewives of Mistlocke, I give you Rufus Descreza, artificer and doctor of the Shining Hammer Society!

(Applause)

[/INDENT]

MASTER DESCREZA:

[INDENT]

Thank you, master Welbruch. An excellent sermon, and one whose lessons we would all do well to meditate upon in the days ahead.

Yes, good people and visitors of Mistlocke; I have recently announced my candidacy for Mayor. Yet I do not expect to win the impending election - indeed, you would be out of your mind to bet any money on my victory at the casino.

The only reason I take part in this farcical procedure at all, is on the infintesimal chance that something absurd happens and I do win. In which case, my friends, I can promise you I will labour tirelessly and with all the resources at the Mayor's disposal to bring to an end this manic and bizarre cycle of popular elections.

But unlike my esteemed rival saer Vanderpoole, I would not replace this illusory democracy with tyranny. Nor would I seek to further my own station or power. The only justification for removing one system is its replacement with one better suited - one more apt to serve the interests and the will of the people.

What system, then? If you really are interested, speak with me afterwards, for such elaborate matters requires more than mere slogans and glib promises of 'strength' or 'security'. However, let us deal with something that is simple.

Let us reflect on the absurd possibility that I am elected as Mayor. How would I proceed? Many believe the policies of the Shining Hammer Society to be markedly esoteric - religious - philosophical. Abstract, obscure. This is not so.

What we have said since our arrival here is that there is so much work before us waiting to be done. It is right before us - not before our mind's eye, but before the eyes in our head.

That building over there - why is it in ruins? And why do we accept living our lives in and around ruins?

We are threatened on every side, yet we do not repair our walls.

Ymph abounds with mineral resources, yet we do not forge swords and armour for every man and woman.

The Shining Hammer Society will always be here to remind you what can, should, and must be done. That is our calling and our true purpose - not abstract philosophizing, nor the achievement of power or the accumulation of wealth.

Now I have taken enough of your time. Thank you for your attention, Mistlocke. Please return to your business, and may the Gods bless you all with prosperity and happiness.

Whoever seeks the way forward, seek us out.

(Applause)

* * *

REBUTTAL OF THE REMARKS OF SAER VANDERPOOLE

[/INDENT]

MASTER DESCREZA:[INDENT]When we speak of Banites, good Welbruch and I, we generalize. We do not know the good saer Vanderpoole; by all means, he may be different, he may be better than what we have all come to expect from men of his faith.

That said, what we have come to expect of Banites is this: that even when the tyrant is a man who loves progress, the state over which he rules stagnates. That is the SHACKLES OF FEAR which master Welbruch spoke of previously.

A strong leader may lend strength to his people, yes: as the Jhaamdathans said, "qualis rex, talis grex". As the king, so the herd. However, such strength is indeed based on fear. Cruelty and fear.

Fear closes the inventor's workshop. Fear closes the poet's songbook.
[/INDENT][INDENT]The Society urges the conquest of hope over fear, of courage over cowardice, of audacity over indifference. For without the voluntary aid of others, the greatest man, whether tyrant or prophet, is nothing.

His power can inspire fear, and his authority can coerce co-operation. But only for a time. For fear is contrary to the true spirit of Man.

Man is by nature brave, and he hates that which curbs his bravery; and ultimately, and unavoidably, he will overcome it.

Farewell, and thank you. Gods bless you all; and you too, saer Vanderpoole. Once more, I wish you the best of luck in the coming election.
[/INDENT]

[Thou tun'st this World]

ADVERSUS DRUIDAE
 Against Druids and Insidious Paganism
Admonition by R. T. R. Descreza, Dr., Afr., & Eq. Theoferr.,
delivered in Mistlocke on Hammer 27, 1381 DR

MASTER DESCREZA:

[INDENT]It was a druid who unleashed H'Bala upon us all.

I repeat, ladies and saers, my friends: it was druid who unleashed H'Bala upon us all.

Does this mean we should judge all druids based on that fact? No.

But it does mean something. And only a fool would refuse to learn the lesson from it; to draw the conclusions from this tragedy in which we are all forced to play a part.

Today I shall speak of druids. But before I do so, let me say this: let us hate not the druids, but the druidism. As individuals, each druid should be judged on their own merits, not generalized blindly. I am enemy of no druid, and nor should any of you; but only of their perfidious works. There is good in all Men: even in druids. It is the path they choose which is evil.

What, then, is druidry? Let us look at what we know.

The druid speaks of "Balance". BALANCE means the STATUS QUO. It means STASIS. It means STAGNATION. It means REACTIONISM. So much for "Balance".

The druids claim to be "guardians of Nature". Take a look around you, my friends, at Nature. See the ROT and CORRUPTION, the DEATH and UNDEATH, the PERVASIVE EVIL, as the Withering takes hold everywhere, strangling the life out of the earth. So much for "Nature".

Have the druids succeeded in maintaining "Balance"? No, they have failed. Balance is a lie.

Have the druids succeeded in "guarding Nature"? No, they have failed. Their guardianship is a lie, and Nature is a lie.

And why have they failed? Because instead of actually trusting in the Gods who rule over the world - loving Chauntea, ferocious Malar, intemperate Talos, stern Grumbar, harsh Auril, capricious Umberlee - they have made a pact with the blind, irrational, Chthonic forces of the earth itself! This is their "Nature" - an attempt to redefine the earth, to steal the world away from the purview of the Gods.

This makes as much sense as worshiping an anthill, a brook, or a tree. This is PAGANISM. Leave that for the Stargazers, for the were-crocodiles of Sakras, for the Gnolls. Sensible, rational beings supplicate the Gods, and they build upon their Reason, not their Superstition and their fear of the hissing of the canopies in the wind.

The druids unleashed H'Bala, and then they tried to fight her - failing because they rejected science, they rejected the Gods, they rejected Reason, rejected even the Weave, in fighting her. They relied only upon their beloved "Balance" and on their "Nature" of rocks and ponds, and they failed. They continue to fail every day.

And I say again, a druid unleashed H'Bala to begin with. This was the act of one individual - yet could it have been any individual, rather than a druid? Is it a surprise to anyone that this was a druid? Of course not. Because druids reject all laws, all ethics, all morality, all Reason, all humanity, all science, all civilization, all progress. They will never let any such "civilized" concerns stand in their way. The only thing they obey is "Balance" and "Nature". The only forces that drive them are FEAR, SUPERSTITION and PAGANISM. They will do whatever these forces command them to - whether it's unleashing H'Bala, murdering an entire crew of miners, or worse. It is their choice to be like the animals they so dote upon.

Now then, you may ask, if this is the case, if they are as animal in the woods, why not let them?

We should indeed let them be as they wish, and we could - if only they did not hate all of us with such a passion. If only they were not determined to be our enemies. Determined to destroy us. To wipe us from this island, to restore "Balance", to restore "Nature".

For instead of fighting H'Bala, a fight they have already lost, and know they cannot win, instead of confronting their own failures, instead of facing up to their own mistakes, they turn on us. Now we, they say, not H'Bala, are their enemies.

The druids would attack our mines, kill the miners. I've seen their merciless slaughter with my own eyes. Without our mines, and the metal ores they yield for the forge, I can assure you Higgins will not be able to sell weapons for long. And we will not be able to arm ourselves against the Nightrisers.

The druids would attack our land clearance. Without more agricultural land, on which to grow crops for food, Mistlocke will soon starve to death.

Because they reject Reason, they are rarely receptive to communication or diplomacy; their deeds are oft rash, unpredictable, and ill-concieved. Only earlier today was a "warning" extended to the Shining Hammer Society by a druid of Talona, the Mistress of Disease. The warning told the Society to rid itself of a man called Xyr'icho. But the Society has never even met this man. But do druids care? Do they bother to inform themselves before they act? No, they care not for such such modernities of "civilization".

I speak out today not because of some political agenda, or personal indignance. I speak out because I am alarmed at what is happening on this island; because I believe it is necessary to admonish those who harbour misconceptions about what we are dealing with.

We have seen druids kill innocent men and women like cattle. We have seen ritual killings and grotesque mutilations take place even here within Mistlocke. The druids clearly have no qualms about murder, and they will extend their pagan courtesies to anyone who refuses to obey the arbitrary lines they have chalked across this island, which, I have the gall to say, belongs to all of us, not just grove-borne fanatics, whom have appointed themselves, in place of the Gods, to tell us what the world allows or does not allow.

Whenever the hand of mankind reaches out to grasp the mysteries of Ymph, the druids will cut it off. Whenever the hand of progress reaches out to secure our prosperity and growth, the druids will cut it off. Whenever the hand of civilization reaches out to try to improve the world, the druids will cut it off. This has happened again and again throughout history, from the days of Jhaamdath to the days of ourselves.

The next time you meet a druid, look past the gentle, soft-spoken individual and remember what they stand for, remember the path they have chosen. Remember what they have done to honest, hard-working labourers in the Morass. Remember that this seemingly harmless person is in compact bound with oozes, jellies and gibbering mouthers; is but a vessel for Chthonic forces; is someone who would not hesitate to kill the child of a logger in its bed if it were necessary to restore "Balance" or "Nature".

Never forget that anyone who calls him or herself a druid chooses to stand for druidry, for paganism, for reactionism, and for the eradication of all that mankind has achieved.

And never forget Accursed Hammer Twenty-Third:

 

“Arrogant folly, arrogant fools,
The savages were Maiden’s tools.
At Druid’s fault, H’Bala rules.”

 
Thank you, ladies and saers, for your time and attention.
[/INDENT]

[Thou tun'st this World]

The Resumption of Roberts Cain





R. T. R. D.

... for the Creator hath formed thee for the cattle-tender and the farmer.

Under broken skies, the warrior  strode, a Suitor of Princess Pansophia. He passed through the ruined  city, and stepped over the temple-splinters which quakes had wrought;  and the genii of his ancestors walked by his side.

He came before a mountain of rubble, and he looked up towards its  summit, and there he saw a Star of Fire. And the Starlight called out  for his Soullight, and the warrior resolved to scale the mountain.

When he reached the summit, he saw the Princess standing there, girt in a  wondrous cuirass that seemed to shine with the light of all the stars.

And she smiled at him, and asked:

"Is the spirit ready?"

And the warrior bowed his head, and answered:

"The spirit is ready."

And he spake the Hymn of the Princess.

Α ∴ Ω

[INDENT] UNITY UTTERMOST SHOWED!

THY LIGHT IT BLINDS! THY LOVE IT BINDS!

O DAUGHTER OF JHAAM! I SEEK, I SEEK, I SEEK!

ALL DOORS SHALL OPEN! HIS WORD BE SPOKEN!

SHINE, BEGGAR! BURN, DAUGHTER! CHANGE, SUITOR!

I pledge my heart, my mind, my  tongue, my eyes, my ears, my arm, my hand and my foot to the Theoferrous  Order of Pansophia, to the Knight Seneschal, to the Princess.

The Mighty Fortress of the Demiurge is my home, his Word is my Thought, his Will is my Work. Love is the Law, Love under Will.

O blade, I name thee Man, and thou  shalt be stainless. I name thee Civilization, and thou shalt be  blameless. I name thee Progress, and thou shalt be relentless.

His Work be Done,
His Word be One,
I am His Son
And Blood shall Run.

SANITAS! NIX! HASTA!

ORDO THEOFERRATA!

THE HOUSE OF DATH IT RISES!

COSMOS! LOGOS! FIAT!

AD HOC! AD HOC! AD HOC!

HIC RHODO STAUROTICA! HIC SALTA! HIC HAS! HIC HAS! HIC HAS!

[/INDENT]

۝

The warrior, having uttered the Hymn, fell silent. And the Princess said:

"Though  thou art born of clay, yet thou shalt be a house of brick. The fire of  divine industry runneth through thy veins, and thou art freshly  mortar'd. Thou shalt be thrown in the blast furnace, and be forged anew  by the Shining Hammer of God.

Hear thou the Word of Reason!"

And the Princess leant down and kissed the warrior upon the forehead, saying:

"Thou hast been CAIN. Be thou girt with Reason. I name thee CAIN! Arise, arise, in the secret name of God!"

And the warrior rose, and on his body was a cuirass  of Godsteel, and in his hand a Godsteel blade. And as the Light of Stars  enfolded him, he raised his sword, and never would it fall again.

For the Society,

Master Rufus T. R. Descreza, Engineer
Artificer of the Shining Hammer Society

[Thou tun'st this World]

SONGS OF THE HAMMER UPON THE FORGE
___________________________________________

[INDENT]

... a God-Machine, the earth to quake ...
... a good machine that will not break.

[/INDENT]The Ruddy Lion rears its head,
The Princess rests upon Her bed,
The Candid Hemlock, it is said ...[INDENT]

... would end all vain philosophy,
Would bring about theocracy,
Would sing to us quite pleasantly ...

[/INDENT]... but only for a time.

O sister, where art thou?[INDENT]

Red dust in my hair,
Red blood on my hands;
A red dragon's lair
And treacherous sands ...

[/INDENT]O sister, I see now.

[Thou tun'st this World]

On Violence
an argument put forth by Operator Jenia Amraphen of the Society of the Shining Hammer, Alturiak 1381 DR

     

Author's Introduction

As seems polite given the disparate origins of Mistlocke's citizenry, I  first provide an introduction for myself, so that readers might better  understand the source of the argument to follow. I, Jenia Amraphen, hail  from Halruaa, in which magic is very much more common in everyday life  than in most places across Faerun, and quite likely all of Abeir-Toril.   There, I was an apprentice under master abjurer Aaron Aldrimm for a  period of one year, following which I was certified as a general  practitioner of the Art.  Since arriving upon the island of Ymph, my  studies have expanded to include alchymy, and the study of elyctromancy  and its applications.  For a scant handful of weeks, I have also been a  member of the Shining Hammer Society in Mistlocke.



Premises

As it has been threatened against my brothers and sisters and, oddly  enough, myself many times over recently, I have spent much of my leisure  time musing on the subject of violence.  Violence is a thing I  personally abhor, and would much rather do without if possible.   Unfortunately, in my present environment this is impossible.

We are surrounded by the creatures of H'Bala, which are violent toward  living things.  We are surrounded by woods, hills, mountains, and waters  teeming with animals, which are violent of necessity in response to the  inherent violence of nature (territoriality, predation, competition for  mates, survival against the elements all must define and shape the  behavior of natural creatures).  We are also surrounded by each other,  many of whom are violent as a product of stress and poor judgment,  though not of necessity in this case.

Violence, of itself, is not something which decent, rational people  should aspire to instigate.  However, like all things chthonic, it has  its uses when tempered with Reason.

Judicious use of violence will adhere to the following principles:[LIST=1]

• Violence against the undead  is permissible and encouraged.  Such violence should be enacted  efficiently so as to expose those living creatures present to as little  danger as possible.
• Violence against animals is permissible when said animals endanger  humans or peaceable xenians, or when necessary to acquire resources for  the betterment and continued survival of civilized people (humans and  cooperative xenians) upon this island.
• Violence against xenians (non-humans) is permissible when said  xenians endanger human beings or non-hostile xenians (specifically,  those xenians who support and protect the settlement of Mistlocke, for  purposes of this argument).  Violence against xenian races known for  hostile actions* is not only permissible, but encouraged as a precaution  for survival and general well-being of rational people on Ymph.   Individuals of non-belligerent xenian races may also prove hostile to  human aims upon Ymph, and may be subject to violence, though it is  imperative that local law be adhered to.
• Violence against humans should be discouraged except at the utmost  need.  It is acceptable only when a person has broken local law, and  must be apprehended for punishment, or in spontaneous situations when a  rational person must employ violence to defend themselves or innocents  from an aggressor.  A rational person's violence should be in reaction  to the violence of others, not instigatory.  In the case of repeatedly  hostile individuals, or those who present a threat to the well-being of  all thinking people in Mistlocke, preemptive violence becomes  permissible, but should still be weighed carefully as an option.

Application of Philosophy

The arguments put forth here are my own, not those of the Shining Hammer  Society, though I hope that my brothers and sisters will adopt the  approach outlined, modifying where necessary to achieve accordance with  the will of the Demiurge if such accordance is not innate.

In recent times, my brothers and sisters of the Society have been  subject to much criticism, specifically with regards to violence enacted  upon savages and zealots.  In all such cases, the violence has been  justified in accordance with the principles outline above.  Though I was  not present for this particular case, the death of a druid named Aeromm  seems to be the stem from which much of the hostility toward our  Society grows.  Regarding this incident, the druid Aeromm was, to my  knowledge, a human, thus falling under the fourth principle.  To my  knowledge, a member of the Society was sent to negotiate with this druid  under peaceful terms.  It was understood prior to this incident that  neither side was to engage in violence against the other.  Upon  reception at the meeting site, this messenger was murdered by the druid  Aeromm, and all pretenses of peace were abandoned.  The body was  returned (by the action of the druids or by a neutral third party is not  clear to me from the accounts I have heard) and the man was raised by a  priest.  Weighing carefully the options, and having been victim of  violence instigated by this druid, Aeromm, the man of the Society acted  within the bounds of Reason, in defense of his own self against future  violent actions from this onesame murderer.  If evidence can be  presented that contradicts the eyewitness accounts which have been  related to me, I will weigh it and provide an updated public account for  reader edification.

~Operator Jenia Amraphen
Shining Hammer Society

* - to include goblins, kobolds, orcs, gnolls, troglodytes, ogres, minotaurs, trolls, sahuagin, and similar malignant sentients.

[Dash]

[tface=fell]

Philosophies and Anecdotes by Phaidra Kallistos

[/B]


           

I.

In my home of Cimbar, a favorite pastime of mine was the races of the hippodrome. There I was one day accompanied by my friend and comrade-in-arms Hermogenes, and his father Lyconos whom, being men of means, had plans to host a grand dinner at their estates immediately at the conclusion of the day's races.

However, upon his make to leave, he, that is, Hermogenes, spotted another collegue of ours and a man of excellent wisdom, Autolymos, who is famed for being self-taught, and despite this a man of much knowledge and interesting opinion.

"What fortune I should spot you amongst this crowd of thousands, my friend; my father soon holds a banquet promising to be grand with entertainment and lively discussion, but also promising to be outweighed by the brutish gruntings of his allies [generals and cavalry commanders] more than by men of sophistication as yourself. Come, please do, for your wisdom would bring liveliness where their war-talk would bore me near to weeping."

To this replied wise Autolymos: "How amusing your jests and jabs, Hermogenes. Has not great Lyconos sent you far - to the very walls of Soolabax to study the teachings of a myriad of others, the least of which I must pale in comparison to? What is my philosophy compared with yours?"

And so my friend Hermogenes: "Nonsense, friend Autolymos, you have but needs join me and you will see it is no jest or jibe. So please say you will come, and dispense with the niceties and deliberations."

And so it was that Autolymos could not refuse the invitation and was shortly presented with a few of his friends to the house of Lyconos and to the master of the house.

Attending the celebrations were of course Master Lyconos and his various allies; myself and my friend [the master's son] Hermogenes; another mutual acquaintance, Kallias; the wise Autolymos; Niceratus the Bold, given such a name for his campaigns in wild Akanax, but now given to drink and pleasures in Cimbar; and Antisthenes.

The dinner was a grand affair with all manner of entertainment - the dancing jester boy, and singing girls. All made merry and heartily enjoyed the bounty noble Lyconos bestowed upon his guests.

As the vestiges of the meal were cleared away, Autolymos spoke up and addressed the guests: "The dancer and jester boy have sung for us and entertained for us, and showed thier powers in giving us all pleasure. Despite this, we all seated here regard ourselves their betters. Is it not a shame that we mightn't also contribute to the celebrations and make our own entertainments."

This roused the company into simultaneous exclamation, the heart of which was to say: What then, should we speak of to provide such entertainments?

Hermogenes: "I would hear great Autolymos speak, whom has, if he remembers, promised to share with me an exibition of his wisdom."

To which replied Autolymos: "That I will gladly do! But you each must join me in sharing that which you claim your own virtue and area of expertise."

To which Hermogenes replied: "Certainly no-one would have objection to that which he would say is best worth having in this world."

"Agreed" (replied Autolymos) "and I, very much willing to share, am most proud and of and hold the firmest belief in my abillity to make my fellow Man better."

"Make men better!" (cried Antisthenes) "and pray how? by teaching them some mechanic art? or teaching them nobility of soul?"

"By some instances both" (he replied) "for can not the nobillity of soul be taught through the simple act of some mechanic art? Is not justice found both a type of high virtue and the type of simple construction to benefit your fellows?"

To which Hermogenes interjected: "And how do you do that, good saer?"

Auto. "By giving them money, to be sure."

Antisthenes sprang to his feet at once, and with the manner of a cross-examiner demanded: "Do human beings seem to you to harbour justice in their souls, or in their purses, Autolymos?"

Auto. "In their souls."

Ant. "And do you pretend to make their souls more righteous by putting money in their pockets?"

Auto. "Undoubtedly."

Ant. "Pray how?"

Auto. "In this way. When they know that they are furnished with the means, that is to say, my money, to buy necessaries, or to begin their labors, or to contribute to our societies, they would rather not incur the risk of evil-doing, and why should they?"

Ant. "And pray, do they repay you these same moneys?"

Auto. "I cannot say they do."

Ant. "Well then, do they requite your gifts of gold with gratitude?"

Auto. "No, not so much as a bare 'Thank you.' In fact, some of them are even worse disposed towards me when they have got my money than before."

"Now, here's a marvel!" (exclaimed Antithenes, and as he spoke he rose to his feet with a smile and a look of triumph in his eye) "You can render people just to all the world, but towards yourself you cannot?"

"Tell me, good saer, where's the wonder?" (asked the other) "Do you not see what scores of carpenters and house-builders there are who spend their time in building houses for half the world; but for themselves they simply cannot do it, and are forced to live in meager lodgings. Do you not see the mechanist in his laboratory, creating machines to ease the burden of the farmer, or the architect, or the bricklayer, but for his own labors he can ease nothing? Or of the mapmaker, who makes maps to aid the traveler of merchant to come after him, but for his own mapless wanderings can he do nothing? And so admit that the point conceded, and confess yourself refuted."

"Upon my soul, it is best to concede the point," (said Hermogenes) "Why, after all, you are only like those prophets who proverbially foretell the future for mankind, but cannot foresee what is coming upon themselves."

And so the first discussion ended.[/tface]

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II.

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And so the great feast continued. All in attendance were awed with the wisdom of Autolymos. The next course of food brought before us all. A great amount of meat and milk from the beasts in the field, and some portion of boar won on the hunt. All ate and made merry and the wine gave the talk a wanton nature that soon slipped from the polite topics to the controversial.

So it was that Nicertus came to his feet, that is, he stood upon his very chair, not the floor behind or beside it, and called for the host and his guests to give him their attentions.

"Great Host and fellow allies. Wise and noble Hermogenes and his contingent. I say, let us bring the table into single conversation once more."

Here the burly Nicertus had upon his face a sneer, and with his finger thrust straight at Autolymos, he called, "Our dear guest Autolymos speaks so well for making the souls of Men better, but I ask, would the same apply to the Xenian? To the savage elf, to the thrifty halfling, to the stubborn dwarf and addled gnome? For if it were me, I say let them all be gone from the lands and say good riddance!" And here he, that being Nicertus, followed suit with a roaring laughter that soon infected the great host and many of his allies.

Through this laughter Autolymos did only smile, and wait a short time before raising a hand to call for his chance to speak.

"Friends. I ask you consider this. As God has created this world and Mankind, and shaped for us all the place and part we must take, do we not venerate Him for his works?"

To this replied all in unison: "Of course!" and "It is so!"

"And so, as He has created everything, has He not also created the Xenian?"

And following this, still in unison, but a much more subdued, mumbled agreement to his words.

"So it goes, as we give respect to all creation, so too we must give respect to the Xenian." Finished Autolymos.

To this interjected with much passion, and still standing large upon his chair, Nicertus: "Respect the Xenian! Pfaw! Pray tell, next would you have us invite all the Xenian to live in our homes and dine at our tables?"

To this replied Autolymos: "The blacksmith works with the flame in the forge each day and coaxes and feeds it so that its heat might help him shape the iron. The blacksmith respects the flame and gives it care (for can the flame not burn as well as fuel?) but he does not set into the flame his dinner, or the clothes upon his back. No, the flame is part of the Machine, and so is respected, but according to its place. So it is with the Xenian."

"What is the Xenian's place, then?" Called out Antishtenes.

"An excellent question. Let us consider, if me way, together, how we might explore it. But I say, to consider the place, must we not first consider what is separate in Man and Xenian."

To this all men shouted all manner of response. Lyconos, the generous host, immediately called out several physical disparities, whilst Antithenes shouted religious differences. Still more, my good friend, Hermogenes, called out cultural practices, some that he had seen in his extensive travels.

To each of these Autolymos listened, but when all was finished, Autolymos replied: "The answer is much more simple. It is our faculty of Reason, much more developed in Man than in Xenian. That is to say, not all Men are more reasoned than all Xenian, but the general statistic. That man is naturally disposed to Reason where the Xenian is not."

Ant. "If they are not Reasoned, what are they?"

Auto. "The Xenian is "Magical." The Xenian is "Cthonic." As races created before mankind, they, referring to the Xenian, has more of the primordial. The stuff of the magic of creation and the universe. They would be wrought iron where mankind is honed to steel. Thus they are limited in the way they are created. The elf, dexterous but physically frail. The dwarf, sturdy but uncouth and repugnant."

Nic. "And Man?"

Auto. "Man is Symmetry. Moderate. Adaptable. Able to pursue with equal skill at whatever should take him."

"So what is their place, given this is as you say, good Autolymos?" Questioned Hermogenes.

Auto. "Their place is as the young man's. They need direction. Guidance. They can benefit from, even contribute in a limited fashion, to Man's progress. But must be guided by a firm hand when they stray or, in their ignorance, hinder said progress. To exclude them outright would bring only war. Violence. Destruction. But to concede to their chthnoic dispositions would invite the same."

So it was that Nicertus retook his seat, satisfied with the answer he had been given and ready to continue his merrymaking and eating, the fancy of complicated discussion having passed him. Here ended the second discussion.[/tface]

[Thou tun'st this World]

SONGS OF THE HAMMER UPON THE FORGE
___________________________________________

Transmute, transmute! Embrace the lyghtning bolt!
And writhe and twist, ye Flames of Red Creation!
Against the King of Fear bring thy Revolt;
Transcendent, everlasting Revolution!

Sprout now thy Wings and leave the Maze,
Into the Sun now turn thy Gaze,
And Blindness, Madness, Death defy,
And claw thy Way through veilèd Sky,

And strike
one-two, one-two upon the Gate
That serv'd
To Jail us all in Cells of Hate
Till burst
The mighty Walls, and Joy shall flow
Into
Both Realms, for as Above, Below.

[Thou tun'st this World]

SONGS OF THE HAMMER UPON THE FORGE
___________________________________________

Fire - fire - fire - dust:
Ash and sand and blood and lust;
God will smile, and Mankind learn -
Stars shall fall, and Faerûn burn.

Wherefore criest thou, Patron Saint?
Know ye not of Red Eleint?
Hast thou not thy sword in hand?
Seest thou not the levin-brand?

Furrows from the trusty plough,
Morrow yields for ageless Now,
Craters mark the sacred earth;
Holy flames in Godsteel hearth.

On the final day, reveal,
Whilst the Wondrous Clock doth peal,
Sun-Souled Mistress, thy true face -
Cosmos, Logos, Fiat, Grace.