Progeny of the Apocalypse

Progeny of the Apocolypse: The Book of Astarte




It was so that I looked, and behold, a door in the earth opened, and the voice
came unto me like a thousand screaming souls and it sayeth, “Hark unto me
Peregrine, for thou art with thy creator.” I looked unto the shadow that
sat upon the throne in the world. And he that sat was to look upon like a
great inferno within the bowels of the earth. And round about the throne
a wreath of flames burned like the scorching furnaces of Hell.
And before the throne there was a sea of embers like unto burning crystal.
And in the midst of the throne and all about the throne, were the eight
princes.

Their eyes fell upon me and they were like the fierce lions that walked the
earth. And they rest not day and night and spoke fire unto me saying,
holy, holy, holy Lord Azaal which was, and is, and is to come.
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written
within and bound in the flesh of man and it was sealed with the eight
seals of the princes.

I saw Ithaca proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book
and to loose the seals thereof, and no man on earth neither under the earth
was able to open the book, neither to look thereof.
And Ithaca sayeth unto me, “You Peregrine, son of Azaal, shall take this book
to the earth of men, and thou shalt bury it beneath the sands of time that
none may look thereof, for none are worthy. The Daemon has broken the
covenant and the earth above and below and within has shattered.”
And I sayeth unto him, “Ithaca oh son of Azaal, thou hast commanded of thy
servant to do thy bidding and I shall, but I know not of the Daemon you speak.”

And it was so that the fires burned beneath the earth as he spoke unto me
“Peregrine, I see you in your wisdom that you do not know of our betrayer.
He has forsaken our father and in so doing has condemned the earth of men
And it will be so that he shall rise again from whence they cast him down.
We call him Baalberith, the ninth son of Azaal. It was so that our father gave
unto man the breath of life and hast made us unto our lord kings and priests:
and we shall reign on earth until the return of the ninth son. ”

And I did as I was commanded by the flames of the earth above and below
and within, and I brought the book unto the earth of men and I buried it
beneath the sands of time. I roamed the deserts for eternity in the light of
our lord and creator, Azaal. And it was so that the ninth day of the ninth
year, he gave unto me, a vision.

And I saw a fire burning in the heavens above, and in the earth below and
within. And it was so that the eight princes came unto men, and the fires
of heaven rained upon the earth. And I saw daemons descend from the
skies above. They held in their arms the fires of the earth, and the winds
of the earth, and the waters of the earth. And they sayeth unto the men
of the world, “Hark unto us men of the earth, for thy creator has
condemned thee. Come unto our embrace that the claws of thy creator
cannot harm thee.”

And it was so that the men of the earth came to their embrace. And
Baalberith, the ninth son, fell from the sky. And he brought with him
the box of the makers. It held within, the fall of the world of men. And
poured it upon the earth and the men of the world fell to their knees as
they looked upon the light of the fires that scorched the ground. And it was
so that he gifted unto their leaders, all the wealth of the world. And he said
unto them, “I grant unto thee oh men of the earth, the fires of the heavens
and earth. And I give thee the power to control the creations of thy lord and
creator, Azaal. And I give thee the army of daemons that his powers and
his sons cannot harm thee. “

And it was so that the daemons rose from the earth below and they had the
heads of horses and the body of locusts. And it was so that they descended
upon the fires within the earth and the two great armies stood against one
another. I saw the flames of the earth raise through the ground and came
unto man and their grass was burned and their grains were scorched.

And it was so that the men of the earth starved in the flames, and their
stomachs were empty with the fruits of the earth. And the fires descended
upon the seas and oceans and they boiled to nothing. And the men of the
earth grew thirsty and their lips forgot the taste of water.

And I saw the world fall to the fires of Hell and the fires of Heaven, and
Baalberith quenched the fires with the winds of the earth. And he poured
the waters back into the world of men. And he said unto them, “Look upon
the gifts that I give thee. Your lord and creator has forsaken thee, and has
punished thee. I have returned thy food and thy water and your stomachs
will not go hungry, and your mouths will not go thirsty.”

And I saw that the men of the earth rose against their lord and creator
and they came unto his throne and they cast him down. And the princes
stood against the men in defiance, and they held their shields high upon the
falling of their swords. And it was so that the eight princes stole away the
powers of men, and they could no longer control the fires of earth, and the
winds of the earth, and the waters of the earth.

And it was so that Baalberith stood against the princes with his army of men
and daemons. And he said unto the men of the earth, “Look upon thy former
masters and know that they do not control thee anymore.”

And I saw that the men again rose to power and they cast down their mortality
and dressed their naked flesh in crimson cloth. They called themselves the
scarlet ones, and they betrayed their mothers and their fathers, and cast them
back to the earth from whence they came. I watched as they felled their brothers
and their sisters and they claimed the world for their own and cast down their
masses into servitude.

And I saw their queen rise to power, and she held in her hands a gold chalice that
within held the blood of the fallen martyrs and the filth of the wicked men. And she
was drunk from the blood and spilled her mysteries forth upon the earth. And the
scarlet ones rejoiced in her glory. And it was so that their faith came to be and they
loved her and worshipped her as a god. And she came to the world and stood within
the depths of its oceans and cried unto the earth and sky, and her voice had called
the dead back to the earth. They walked among the men and were as they were and
did as they did.

And she came unto the mouth of the world and into the fires of hell and held
Baalberith’s hand in hers. Fire shot from her eyes and lightning and thunder
spilled from her voice as she spoke. “I am Azul. Mother and Father of thy daemons
of hell and the queen of men. I cast you down and reject your reign upon the
earth which you created. I am Azaal’s wife and lover and he has betrayed me
and his creations. They come unto me as my servants and do as I command.
And it is so that you shall do as I command or your earth shall be no more.”

It was so that Baalberith stood before the Daemons and he said unto them,
“Hark unto me oh great Daemons, for I am your light. Look upon the world
that men have claimed from their creator. This world is ours. Men are ours.
Your father is weak and denies you your birthright.”

The eight princes rejected the Daemon that stood before them, and Ithaca
said unto him, “Baalberith, great Daemon, like a forgotten god our father is to
be treated? He created this world. He created man. He created us in his
own image. His love brought unto us our power and we will not cast him
down.”

It was so that Ithaca stood in defiance against the Daemon, and Baalberith
sent forth the great army of men. They were young and courageous and
bore the mark of their leader. Upon their right hands the Daemon had
branded them with a five pointed star. Upon its tips circles lay atop the
peaks.

And Baalberith said unto Ithaca, “Behold oh mighty Ithaca, the wrath
of my vengeance. I shall boil the seas and bring forth the rain of flames.
This world shall be scorched of the taint that thee and your kind have
brought unto us.”

It was so that he cast forth his hands toward the sky and fire rained
down upon the lands of Arlia. He placed his finger in the churning
waters and they boiled. And he said unto him, “Your world shall
perish oh mighty Ithaca unless thou surrenders to my wishes.”

Mammon stepped forward and lowered his shield, and he said unto
him, “Baalberith, oh mighty Daemon, we shall not surrender our birth
rights to your betraying ways. Azaal’s wrath shall be eternal unto thee.”

It was so that Mammon threw his shield toward the heavens and
darkness descended upon the army. Their eyes went blind and they
fell over one another as they ran, and he said unto him, “Thou hast
no power here.”

And I saw the queen of men, and mother of the Daemons bring light
to the darkness and water to the fires. And it was as it was before. And
she called unto the scarlet ones and they did as she commanded. And
she raised her hands to the heavens and brought upon them the winds
of the earth. And it was so that the army of Hell was swept away and the
princes stood alone with their wounded father.

I saw the rise of Jezebeth, the mistress of Azaal. And she came unto the
army of men and cast upon them the great pestilence. And their weak
fell, and their strong fell, and their leaders fell. And it was so that the
scarlet ones retreated from whence they came. And Jezebeth said unto
the daemons, “Return Baalberith, ninth son, and return Azul, to the fires
of Heaven from whence you came. It is so that thy power has failed against
thy masters, and the world is no longer yours. The beast within the
furnace of hell calls unto thee for thy flesh. Are we not merciful
for sparing thee from thy fate?”

And the fires returned from the earth as they were before and it burned
their flesh and scorched the land and parched the earth. I saw the queen
and the betrayer retreat from the furnaces of hell and they came unto
the men of the earth and the men rejected them as they had rejected
their creator. And Baalberith left the world to the scarlet ones, and
Azul stole away the powers of the scarlet ones and punished them for
their betrayal. And it was so that the princes came unto her and banished
her spirit and imprisoned her body into the box of the makers.