When yet was the world of old new-born
And the first winter's snow, like blossom
Had not yet fallen, shrouding the grass of the first spring,
Then was I the noblest of all the angels,
The noble potentates of supreme Heaven.
To God alone was my fealty owed,
And all others, to me, theirs.
For, of all the shining sons of Heaven,
The King of the World loved me best.
I was adorned in gilded brilliance
Brighter than the noonday sun of Arabia.
A robe woven of a hundred hundred diamonds
Wrapped round my princely shoulders.
To me were there seven hundred concubines.
They were more beautiful than loti or roses,
Their caresses softer than Sinaean silks,
Their embraces warmer than furs from Russia.
My gardens were more verdant than the forests of Brazil,
More opulent than the Sultan's or Babylon's.
They were most populous with cedar and ebon
And boats made as swans plied the waters
Of rivers filled with fish of silver scales
That darted forth and back, faster than arrows.
It was my custom to hunt there,
Upon a stallion of marble-white,
So proud that I alone could ride the intemperate steed,
Seeking with lance and bow,
Camelopards, monoceri and other wonderful beasts
That as the sun, of purest white,
Declined and blushed in the western sky
I should feast on many wonderful meats,
And drink wine, as sweet as nectar,
Pressed from my fecund vineyards' grapes.
My temple-palace was less than none
But the platinum throne of God himself.
Three nights riding, upon the fastest steed,
Would barely encircle its outmost wall.
Its highest spire looked down upon mountains,
Giant and high, yet low to my towers.
The masonry of my exalted dominion
Was gilded all, and studded with precious jewels,
Of number and radiance to outshine the celestial arch.
My will and word commanded authority greater than all,
Than any regent amongst man or angel.
My word instructed, in their course, the planets of the sky.
The sun, most radiant of the treasures of the sky,
All-illumining and burning with golden flame,
At my bidding would hide beneath the eastern horizon
Or flee to the horizon to the west.
To speed or halt or turn back the sun
Was my prerogative and pleasure.
My rod commanded also the silver moon,
That lights night's shadow with virginal beams.
I could make her wax or wane as I willed.
Others too knelt to my vice regency:
Crimson Mars and gentle Venus,
Swift Mercury of the dawn's new light,
Mighty Jupiter and his four-fold train
And dim Saturn who augurs ill.
The seas I commanded with a hand,
Directing their tides to grow and fall.
A dozen dozen myriads of angels were my thegns
That rode at my left, at my right, at my back.
Indeed was my glory most great!
Most beautiful and most noble was I, and am,
And the high favour bestowed upon my name
By the Architect of Creation
Stirred, in the hearts of my lesser kin,
Treacherous envy and vile malice,
Inspiring them to plot injury to me,
And nursed the sundrance of that august kingdom
And brought to maturity a terrible transgression
Against all bonds of love and piety.
Second to me in rank, age and father's favour,
My brother Michael gathered to him the angels of God
Whose souls and minds were too perverted
By the traitorous intentions that consumed them.
O woe to them who sought to destroy me,
They are themselves damned to destruction,
Consumed by their own, vain hatred.
Having gathered those unfit angels to him
Thus did Michael address them,
Speaking with words of poisoned nectar:

"My brothers, who are most beloved to me,
Woe that I must speak such words as these!
How it sorrows my heart that this kingdom of ours
Should endure to hear me speak these words.
Rather, I should have it, that the world split asunder
Than that I must speak this dire report.
Yet it must be spoken.
Our dearest brother, Satanael, the best of us,
He whom we all honour above all others, 
He who shines most bright amongst us,
Has betrayed us, our kingdom and our Father.
With his clever speech and cunning deceit
Has he blinded our Father to his evil,
Seducing that most great and noble king,
Worthy of naught but love and fealty,
And, serpent that he is, brought low
That which is upraised above all.
Slyly has he spoken and secured for himself
The greatest share of our Father's favours,
Speaking against us with slander and malice
And robbing us of what is our right.
We who love our Father above all,
Who are more exacting of ourselves in filial duty
Than that unworthy fox that now undoes us,
That makes dark those bright eyes of infinite kindness
That blinds Him to the perfidy of the malefactor,
And to love of those who, though less noble,
Cherish Him better than he who should cherish Him best.
Hatred comes to fruition in my heart for Satanael
Who surely is the Prince of Lies.
We must act before his spell is done 
And he stirs our Father's heart beyond deliverance
Against those who would deliver him
From the evil of his best-loved son.
We must go to our most beloved Father
And petition with him to hear our sorry news
Of the treachery of our brother
Who is not fit to call himself Elohim.
We must bring an prosecution
Before Satan brings his own false accusation,
Spoken through lips black with deceit.
We must open our Father's eyes
To this most terrible crime before it is complete
And He and we are ruined by it." 

Lo! They acclaimed Michael's false counsel
For their own malice ruled their ears
And governed the intent of their hearts.
From the throng, crying out for vengeance
For the uncommitted crime that I had done,
Came the voice of Raphael, the third of the brothers
For they were my brethren no more.

"What crime?" he inquired "What charge
Are we to bring before the King Most High
Against our perfidious brother
Whose heart is so black, stinking of corruption.
What charge can our Father listen to
And judge in our favour?
What charge can we bring against the traitor
That his treachery and lies shall have no answer
That by cunning rhetoric shall acquit him
Though his hands and heart be stained with guilt?
His clever tongue that is our ruin
Shall surely thwart our every prosecution.
Worse yet, though his guilt be proved
And the perversity of his soul laid bare
Our Father in his infinite mercy
And love for his most unworthy son
Might forgive him of his unrepented crimes
And in forgiveness be again betrayed
By the double falseness of the deceiver.
How can we win in this most dire hour
And see justice done against the treasoner?
Michael you are wise and have shown
That you have insight into many things.
What charge, then, are we to bring
That all will get their deserved ends
And right will triumph over ill?"

Michael in reply spoke thus,
With all ears listening to his lies
And minds judging, in their greed,
If his device should win them what they sought,
The favour of the father that favoured me:

"You are right indeed my brother
And your report is wholly just and true
But were the charge any less than the heinous sin
That soon shall I expound to you
I should not have gathered you as I have.
This is our brother's most awful sin:
He intends, in his ambition most perverse,
The overthrow of God Himself
And to usurp the Creator's crown
Making himself king of all.
We cannot allow this august kingdom
And its King, benign and right,
To suffer such shame as this.
This is why I have gathered you to me
That we might oppose this unchaste plan
Before it bears its bastard fruit full term
And gives it ruinous and pernicious birth
As in the time of our kingdom's founding
When Magog bore Gog his base issue
Who, like savage beasts, made war upon us, 
Making us slaves and sport
Until our brother, now turned against us,
Cast down, from the sky, a mount
That broke the earth below in dire cataclysm
And thus destroyed the hateful Giants.
This is why you are thus gathered."
 
Lo! They acclaimed Michael's false counsel
For their own malice ruled their ears
And governed the intent of their hearts.
From the throng, crying out for vengeance
For the uncommitted crime that I had done,
Came the voice of Auriel, the fourth of the brothers
For they were my brethren no more.

"What proof?" He inquired. "What proof
Shall we bring to make firm our prosecution
So that with cunning and clever words
The Adversary cannot escaped his deserved fate?
What arguments can we devise
That can thwart his and overthrow him
And give us victory in God's judicious court?
How shall we bring testament to his evil
And thus stem its monstrous tide?
If we cannot bring proof of his sin
Then how can we deliver our Father
From the serpent's tongue?
Yet what proof is there of his guilt
That we can show before our Lord
Whose eyes see all truth
And yet now see not this perfidy
That has the seed of ruin in its cankered womb.
What testimony then shall expound his guilt
That all the world may know of it
And make him accursed for his crime,
Driving him ever as a broken exile,
Once haughty and noble when he was great
And wore the princely mantle that we shall wear,
Bent over with weariness and defeat
Like an old beggar or a starved hound?
How shall we win this most righteous victory?" 

Michael in reply spoke thus,
With all ears listening to his lies
And minds judging, in their greed,
If his device should win them what they sought,
The favour of the father that favoured me:

"Auriel, my brother, it sorrows me
That you can speak those words you have
But you are blameless for speaking thus
For all blame is to the Deceiver
And his lies that have confounded thus
His brothers whom he should have loved
Yet betrayed to his malign intent.
Yet also it dismays me that this is so
And his tongue is so clever that it thus deceives
We whose wisdom can know all truth.
Yet I am not so befuddled
By the serpent and his cunning speech
For I am less in power to only him and God
And so cannot be thus enspelled by him
But there is no shame for you lesser ones
Who had not the wisdom or the strength,
Given to you by birth and blood,
To penetrate the falsehood of the wholly false.
Yet let me awaken you from Satan's glamour
And show you the truth in what has come to be.
Cast back your minds with knowing eyes
To pierce through all the perjurer's design
And see the truth of both his hand and voice.
Thus you all are witnesses to his crime,
Though well he has concealed it.
Is there one amongst this throng
That cannot recall the wyrm's approach,
Beguiling them with subtle words,
Inciting them to blasphemous rebellion
Against the One we love so well
And that deserves not such traitorous abuse?
We are testaments all
And shall all proclaim Satanael's awful guilt.
For can our Father, in His great sagacity,
Refute the report of all his sons
That cry out for justice against such treason?
Let us then go to Him and bring our case
Before time has run its course to our defeat.
Gabriel, you are the swiftest of us,
Fly on before, on gilded wings of wind
Swifter than a hurricane,
And bring this dire report to God
Before he is yet further wronged
By him that was our brother."

Thus did Michael win the hearts of Heaven's hosts,
Turning them against their vice-regent
And rousing them to perverse rebellion
And to their ruinous defeat.
They raised their voices in a cry
Calling for terrible vengeance against me
In their cankered envy,
Eating at their souls from within
And making virtue into vice.
Thus fell the dominion of the Elohim.
Gabriel rose high above the Elohim below
And, upon swift wings of purest gold,
Flew straight and quick to the silver spire
That was the Eternal Tower
Where God held court upon his pristine throne.
Before that august minaret
Did he alight upon the earth
And thence enter in by gates of pearl,
Stolen from the ancient, coral shell
That armoured the back of that primal beast,
Most archaic and fearful Leviathan.
Coming before the father of the Elohim,
Old beyond memory of angels,
And there fell upon his knees
In supplication before the king
Whose love he would betray
With the same deceit which now he prosecuted
Falsely against the elder brother that he should have love.
He pressed his face against the floor
And grovelled there a while, like a dog,
Before he upraised his ever-youthful face
And met, with blazing eyes, the gaze of God,
Old beyond the memory of angels.
For an instant as he beheld his father's eyes,
Old and filled with naught but love,
The lies of Michael stuck in his throat,
Choking him like venomous bile,
But he recalled the prize at stake
And what riches he would gain
Through Michael's impious plan
And his own deception and clever words
And once more he played the advocate of Michael's wrong
And brought the accusation against his greater brother.
These that follow are the words
Spoken by brilliant Gabriel to his king
Then almighty God, Emperor of All,
Born of aboriginal Mummu, the seething chaos
From which came forth all that is,
The last of that six-fold progeny
That great race that inaugured Time
And set into order the chaos and the void
That existed before there was existence
Or before, for those were timeless aeons,
Before the origin of the spheres
That dance in never-ending cycles
About their greater brothers
That burn with untold flame
In the darkness of the eternal sky.
The Archon-Emperor sat
Upon his throne of platinum
And heard the indictment of that sinful son
Against the favourite child of God.
The king's beard was long and burned with light
Of purest and most brilliant white
And he was arraigned in his kingly robes,
That were dyed with a most regal purple 
And held by a clasp of gold
Bestudded with many precious stones.
He held a sceptre in his hand
Carved of a single ruby, huge and bright,
And wore upon his head a crown
That shone with all the light
That was ever seen in the sky,
The light of a thousand stars.
Thus spoke Gabriel to that most majestic king:

"Almighty and Eternal,
Lord of Infinitude, 
Tyrant of Existence,
All-illumining Light,
King of Heaven,
Conqueror of Earth,
Father of the Elohim,
Architect of Creation,
Master of the Planets,
Orchestrater of the Stars,
Proclaimer of Destiny,
Keeper of Wisdom,
Judge of the World,
Castigator of Sin,
Scourge of Evil,
Most High, Most Merciful,
Most Just, Most Sagacious,
Most Perfect, Most Mighty,
Most Noble, Most Majestic,
My God, My Lord, My Father,
Be merciful upon this, Your son;
Forgive my tongue that speaks such ill.
I weep that I must speak these words to you,
Sullying this most noble spire
By the sins and wrong of which they tell.
How it sorrows my heart that this kingdom of Yours
Should endure to hear me speak these words.
Rather, I should have it, that the world split asunder
Than that I must speak this dire report.
Yet it must be spoken.
Your dearest son, Satanael, the best of us,
He whom I honoured above all others, 
He who shone most bright amongst us,
Has betrayed us, our kingdom and You.
He has fallen from most perfect light
Into a gulf of darkness without floor.
His heart that once nurtured only virtue
Has been consumed with black evil
That itself gives suck to terrible crime.
Where once was one that deserved love alone
Now is their one worthy only of hate.
O sorrow that I must speak such tragedy!
This is my brother's most awful sin:
He intends, in his ambition most perverse,
Your overthrow and ruin 
And to usurp the Creator's crown
Making himself king of all.
He has gone amongst his brothers
Beguiling them with subtle words,
Inciting them to blasphemous rebellion
Against You whom we love so well.
He has sought to bring Your sons
Who should have loyalty to You alone
Against Your eternal throne,
Persuading them with prizes beyond their worth
Thus inciting them to evil by greed and envy.
His tongue is more clever than a serpent's,
His words more crafty than a wizard's charm
And thus does he threaten to do great wrong.
Yet with such tongue and words
Has he come to You, Most High,
And, in Your most perfect love,
Has deceived you to his true purpose
For what father looks for fault in his favourite son.
Yet he has transgressed far indeed,
Bartering guidance for error.
My Father, I beg of you,
Act most judiciously in this matter.
Cast the scales of blindness from Your eyes
And gaze upon the truth, awful though it is.
That the serpent, Satan, should think thus
And contemplate rebellion against You
That is the well-spring of his being
Is surely crime enough.
But he goes amongst his brothers
Who should do nought but cherish You
And, with perverse and unholy speech,
Seduces them to share his crime
And, in thus doing, gives impetus to his sin,
Translating evil thought unto evil design,
Making action of foul conspiracy.
Act swift, My Father, else we are undone
By the evil of the treacherous one.
Call him to trial and let us prosecute;
There is not one amongst the Elohim
Who will not testify to his crime.
Let him stand accused and condemned
Then cast him from the eternal light of Heaven
Unto the searing flames of Hell,
No less does he deserve from us
Whom he has so betrayed
And from You whom he has wronged
With such audacity and impiety.
No longer is he brother or son
But rather deceiver, ruiner, villain.
Spare not the treasoner Your wrath!"

Hearing these words from the false lips
Of Gabriel, once my brother and comrade,
Did my father bow his head in grief,
Stopping up his ears with his fingers 
That he might be deaf to the perjury
That Gabriel brought before him,
Spoken with unchaste tongue and mind.
Sorrowful did he shake his head
And spoke thus to his monstrous son:

"My son, my beloved Gabriel,
Deny to this poor father in his grief,
Who has nought but love for his sons,
Cherishing them above himself,
Deny that you have spoken thus.
Satanael is the best of my sons.
None is nobler, brighter or braver
Than this one accused of terrible crime
By the report of your own tongue.
Above all does he cherish his father
And better than any other son
Does he love with his golden heart.
Of all brothers, too, is he the best,
Guiding his younger brethren to virtue
And nought but virtue, the truest virtue,
In both sage instruction and example,
Nurturing them as a second father.
O my face is stained with tears at your words!
I tell you, Gabriel, your words are too hasty
And without due thought have you accused the innocent,
Nay, the most pure and perfect that might be found.
You have, and in my great and fullest wisdom
I know not how this has come to pass,
Misread your brother's speech and wronged him,
Mistaking virtue for vice and love for hate.
You have mistranslated his saintly teaching,
Hearing demoniacal utterance where it was not spoken.
Gabriel, my son, you are wrong. 
The one of whom you have spoken
Is not my dearest son, Satanael."

My false brother heard this speech
And in mock sorrow shook his head
With considered slowness and feigned pain.
Now he knelt once more before his lord
And, clutching his father's ancient hand,
Gazing with beseeching eyes
Filled with deceit and darkness,
Though that blind Archon did not see
The vice that burned like venom
In those once bright and flawless orbs,
And implored thus of the pristine king:

"Almighty and Eternal,
Lord of Infinitude, 
Tyrant of Existence,
All-illumining Light,
King of Heaven,
Conqueror of Earth,
Father of the Elohim,
Architect of Creation,
Master of the Planets,
Orchestrater of the Stars,
Proclaimer of Destiny,
Keeper of Wisdom,
Judge of the World,
Castigator of Sin,
Scourge of Evil,
Most High, Most Merciful,
Most Just, Most Sagacious,
Most Perfect, Most Mighty,
Most Noble, Most Majestic,
My God, My Lord, My Father,
Indeed I wish and pray most solemnly
That I was in error and my brother innocent
And not even yet does my alert and lucid mind
Believe that which I now report.
My ears and eyes refute their own testimony
And deny knowledge of the deeds and speech
To which they are unerring witnesses.
Alas and woe that such is not so 
And that my once beloved brother,
Yet in his treason brother to me no more,
Is truly guilty of all that I disclosed.
If You have any reason to doubt my word
Or if my judgement and understanding
Of my brothers speech and deed
Is not satisfying to Your discernment
Then summon to Yourself all Your sons,
All the Elohim that serve You in Heaven
And upon the earth below,
The ancient dominion of the Giants
That we vanquished so long ago,
And call upon their testament
For none of us cannot recount
An instance where our false brother came to us,
Perverting by his deceitful tongue.
Lord, all Heaven cries, 'Vengeance!
Vengeance against the Evil One
Who brings ruinous contention
To our most beautiful dominion
Which we both love and serve devotedly.'
Tarry no longer, Liege. It serves us not.
Rather act delayless and judiciously
Before the villain's crime is full-worked
And Heaven and God are undone
By his injurious wrong and perfidy.
Call the Elohim to assembly
As an audience before you.
Take out the balances of justice,
Weighing the perpetrator's crimes
Against most fearful sentence
Of which his evil is most deserving.
Call the Elohim! Summon Satan to trial!"

Having heard these words of spite,
The Lord of Infinitude gravely nodded,
Giving his instruction to swift heralds
Who went on silver wings across the sky,
Burning like comets against the celestial dome,
Flying faster than a Mongol's bolt,
Resounding long clarions of silver
With voices louder than the Dragon's roar,
The Dragon, Leviathan, ancient and vast,
Bound deep beneath the briny swells
Of the great ocean, opened up as a wound
In the flank of the primeval earth
When, in an aeon unremembered
In the minds of men and angel,
The silver moon was torn out
And set to ever turn across the sky,
Illumining the night with silver light.
There, held with bands of adamantine,
Does Leviathan forever sleep
Until, once more, do the stars conjoin
With planets, unrecorded and invisible,
In the most portentous placement.
Then, by Algol's unholy light,
The star of piled-up corpses, the Demon's Head,
Shall she burst her bonds,
Her mighty flanks rippling with potency
Like a great river in flood,
And, as a tree new-sprouted
Reaches, through dark soil, to the brightness of the sun,
Seek the ocean's ceiling of the playing waves
To wreak, upon the Elohim, her vengeance
And fury at her epoch-abiding prisonment.
All Heaven rang with such horns,
The cerulean dome of the sky
And the soil beneath the feet of angels
Shook with their thunderous song
And yet the cornet-blowers blasted
A music of unparalleled beauty
That sang the glory of that high and ancient race,
The Elohim, laid to ruin by their own ambition 
And its traitorous conspiracy.
Thus were the majestic notes intoned
By God's swift-flying heralds
The dirge of Heaven's great magnificence
Which they sought to laud with their melody
And as the euphony about my towers rang
I knew that the music would shake down
All of Heaven's spires to desolation,
My ear, keener than any other ear formed,
Heard this in the herald-angels fanfare
And, without knowledge of whence this grim news sprang,
I mourned the fate of my beloved home-land,
Weeping for that which was most beloved to me,
Hearing in the heralds' music
With an unconscious ear
The doom of Heaven and her angels,
Yet not knowing the architect of destruction.
Then, when I had shed my tears,
I went upon wing, upon thermal,
Weighed low by a heart full of sorrow
And a mind darkened by foreboding,
I answered the call of my father,
Flying swift to the assembly of angels,
To the Eternal Tower where God held court,
With my innumerable hosts to my back.
Thus I descended amongst my brothers
Who had gathered as a great throng
Before the resplendent gates of pearl,
That kept the threshold of God's abode.
Haughtily I strode amongst my brothers,
Pushing through the crowd to the fore
As does an elephant go amongst trees
And they parted before and bowed low
For then, to me, they knew nought but reverence.
As I came before those palatial gates
Upon the stairs that lay before the portal
Stood the four arch-angels, my false brothers:
Michael, the eldest, adorned with jewels
And a flowing robe of airy white,
An air of dignity and sagacity about him,
Bought with the silver of his hair and beard
And the solemn, steel-gray eyes, full of wrong,
Half sneering as he looked upon me,
His lip twisted with contempt
For one a thousand times more worthy
Than he, for all his savant countenance; 
Gabriel was the second amongst them,
Arrayed in plate of the finest gold,
Engraved with many fantastical depictions
Of the butchery of his foes,
And in his right hand was held
The instrument of that atrocity,
The quadruple scythe that reaps the lives of men,
And again did I see disdain, in his sapphire eyes;
Then Raphael, arrayed in robes of purple,
Princely and haughty, youthful and handsome,
Like a youth, shaven for the first time,
His eyes aglow with the light of the spring,
The foolishness of the young man,
Who thinks too highly of himself
And too little of those more accomplished
Who would cherish him but for insolence,
With mocking laughter on his lips
And cruel betrayal in his heart
Concealed by the false mask of youth's innocence
Of such purity as to twist my entrails
And make me retch in sickly disgust;
Last of them was child-like Auriel
Who yet maintained the illusion of infancy,
Seeming as a child of sweet artlessness
That none could accuse him of any sin
Against a brother so wronged as I,
And yet beneath the glow of a child's blush
Was a soul withered to blackness
By the venom of its own evil,
Just as do the fair flowers of the Datura
Overspilling with fatal poison.
Thus did my brothers stand before me,
And beyond them my exalted father
In whose eyes I saw some great calamity,
Though then I knew not its nature.
I passed my brothers and came before Heaven's sovereign
And, going upon my knees before him,
Humbled myself to that unworthy parent
With flatteries now so bilious to me
That I shall not pronounce them evermore,
Save as the mockery of the victor.
Thus did my calumny originate,
As Michael, the eldest of my brothers,
My false brothers that sought my ruin
By their lies, hollow and self-deceiving
For they ruined me not
But only their own fortunes and dominions,
Came forward before the sovereign of Heaven,
Crawling upon his knees and hands as though a worm,
Touching his forehead, again and again,
Upon the marbled stones at the feet of God
And with a voice that dripped with false adoration
And the seeming of humility, ill-fitting indeed,
Like an over-sweet musk that nauseates
By the potency of its odour,
Necessary to mask the stink of corruption,
And thus did he speak to his father:

"Almighty and Eternal,
Lord of Infinitude, 
Tyrant of Existence,
All-illumining Light,
King of Heaven,
Conqueror of Earth,
Father of the Elohim,
Architect of Creation,
Master of the Planets,
Orchestrater of the Stars,
Proclaimer of Destiny,
Keeper of Wisdom,
Judge of the World,
Castigator of Sin,
Scourge of Evil,
Most High, Most Merciful,
Most Just, Most Sagacious,
Most Perfect, Most Mighty,
Most Noble, Most Majestic,
My God, My Lord, My Father,
Regard how this untrue son comes before You,
Seeking to deceive Him who cannot be deceived,
Whose ear can detect all falsehood in voice and heart
And whose eyes pierce through all illusion,
With hollow flatteries as a veil
To cover his shameful ambition
And his treasonous desires against One so worthy,
So infinitely worthy that none should dare this thing,
To conspire towards the overthrow of the Perfect One.
Yet, though You may believe it not at all,
Thus does he plot in his embittered jealousy,
Nurturing, in his venomous heart, such treachery
Against the One that he should best cherish.
Surely he must have the soul of a scorpion
To design such malice against the Father
Who has shown him nought but love.
It is an impossible feat, most surely,
For any of Your noble children,
To but conceive of such evil,
And yet he who seemed best of us
Has embraced with no restraint
The absolute blasphemy of this crime.
Long has he plotted in silent apostasy
Your overthrow and ruin of Your kingdom,
Any love he might once have borne You
Consumed by hating envy of Your rightful glory,
Going unto his brothers, thought less
But, indeed, more worthy than him by much,
His perfidious intent to corrupt with clever words,
Promising that which he had no right to bequeath
Though, in his base arrogance, believing he was lord
And had the right to promise what he will,
That which is, as all is, Yours, O Father!
Well do I remember, though yet I think it a dream
And not, as it is, the truth of day,
That fatal day when the evil one came to me,
Promising me a third of Heaven and of Earth
As a paltry price for my humble soul.
Many other things did he promise me,
Seeking to win me to his evil cause,
Speaking such honeyed words as now I report:
'Michael, my brother, my noble brother,
You whom, of all my brethren, I love best,
Tell me, in all truth, sparing no detail,
Tell me whether you are content to be as you are.
Keep not your silence for this is a hidden place,
Where our Father's ear can hear not
And you need fear no discovery nor any report of mine.
I ask this of you seeking only your truest thought.
Are you content with our Father's rule
Or do you perceive any fault about it
And find it grows heavy upon your shoulders,
Heavy with oppression and decadence?
Are you happy to serve our Father with all faith
From now until the last days of eternity
Or do you seek a greater glory for yourself,
To found yourself a new kingdom,
Greater than that which now you serve?
Do you accept the rank which has been assigned to you
By our infinitely worthy Father, whom we love so well
Or are you grudging of that which he withholds from you
Though, in instance after instance,
You have vainly proved and proved again your worth?
Keep not your silence for this is a hidden place,
Where our Father's ear can hear not
And you need fear no discovery nor any report of mine.'
Well dismayed at such words was I,
Though not then perceiving what treachery was plotted
By the base and criminal serpent, Satan,
Rather believing that he sought to test my worth
In filial duty to my Liege and Father
And pondering most vexedly
What deed of mine had given my elder cause to doubt
That which was most sacred to my breast.
Yet, despite my confusion at my brother's words
And most deep consternation,
I hesitated not in replying to him
With confident affirmation of my satisfaction
At the rule of the Most Perfect King,
Speaking these words with love-filled heart:
'In all of Heaven and Earth,
Regardless of the quest's strenuity,
None could find but an atom of complaint
Against this most worthy reign
Beneath which we serve
According to our most nuclear desire.
What could I speak against our Father,
Almighty and Eternal,
Lord of Infinitude, 
Tyrant of Existence,
All-illumining Light,
King of Heaven,
Conqueror of Earth,
Father of the Elohim,
Architect of Creation,
Master of the Planets,
Orchestrater of the Stars,
Proclaimer of Destiny,
Keeper of Wisdom,
Judge of the World,
Castigator of Sin,
Scourge of Evil,
Most High, Most Merciful,
Most Just, Most Sagacious,
Most Perfect, Most Mighty,
Most Noble, Most Majestic,
That might be considered just
By even the most unworthy ear?
I bear no criticism at all
To our infinitely worthy Father
For no criticism could ever be just.'
At these words my brother bowed his head,
I thought, affirming the judicity of my speech.
Then turning his deceitful countenance to me again,
Surveying me with once-noble eyes,
Filled with false love that mocked true ardour
Such as I have ever held for you,
With a serpent-tongue he spoke again,
Saying, 'Michael, my brother, my noble brother,
You whom, of all my brethren, I love best,
Much wisdom is there to your words.
Indeed, your speech is judicious
And never did my ear perceive such virtuous words.
Well worthy of our Father's favour
Is Michael, my most noble brother.
Yet, and may I pray your forgiveness,
I do find a certain weakness in your argument
Which I shall now expound to you.
It is a most fundamental truth
That we can find no complaint
Against Him who has given us creation.
Yet how can we find fault against a reign
Against which we have never known another
That could be contrasted to that which we now serve?
I ask you not to find fault with our Father's kingdom
But to conceive of a better dominion
Or else, failing, to acknowledge
The perfection of our Father's rule.'
 Well dismayed at such words was I,
Though not then perceiving what treachery was plotted
By the base and criminal serpent, Satan,
Rather believing that he sought to test my worth
In filial duty to my Liege and Father
And pondering most vexedly
What deed of mine had given my elder cause to doubt
That which was most sacred to my breast.
Yet, despite my confusion at my brother's words
And most deep consternation,
I hesitated not in replying to him
With confident affirmation of my satisfaction
At the rule of the Most Perfect King,
Speaking these words with love-filled heart:
'In all of Heaven and Earth,
Regardless of the quest's strenuity,
None could hope to find a greater king
Than our most worthy and majestic Father,
Surely the most perfect of kings.
Whose dominion could rival
The most magnificent empire of our Father
That extends from the West unto the East
And from the northern sky unto the southern sky?
Our most esteemed Father reigns in Heaven and Earth
With sight to pierce the veil of all illusion
And an ear that knows all falsehood.
His judicious soul determines all that is good and ill
And His mighty sceptre exalts and lays low 
In accordance with the dictates of His will.
Those who serve with faith and fervour
Are rewarded with the sublimest treasures,
Unequalled by all the deep vaults of Earth
That are filled with many stones,
Shining with the light of stars,
And that run with rivers of molten gold,
The bones and blood of mighty Gog,
The Giant and father of Giants
Who lead his children in gross rebellion
Against us, the most noble Elohim,
Until he was defeated you, my brother,
When you caused the stone of Earth to yawn open,
Like a maw of blackest night,
Beneath the serpent-feet of the Giant-father
Thus casting the beast into the heart of the Earth
And then, in mighty upheaval,
Crushed the skull of that titanic brute
Between the vast and ancient stones
Of the deeps of the Inner Earth.
Yet to those who would enjoin rebellion against Him
He grants them only the terrible fire
Of His most formidable wrath.
An evil reward, indeed!
But to those who repent of their wrongs
He is oft-forgiving and most merciful.
Yet he wrongs none by even a rice-husk
Such is his justice and benevolence.
Surely there can be no greater king.'
At these words my brother bowed his head,
I thought, affirming the judicity of my speech.
Then turning his deceitful countenance to me again,
Surveying me with once-noble eyes,
Filled with false love that mocked true ardour
Such as I have ever held for you,
With a serpent-tongue he spoke again,
Saying, 'Michael, my brother, my noble brother,
You whom, of all my brethren, I love best,
Your speech is well considered indeed
And wholly worthy of a prince amongst the Elohim.
Indeed, all that you proclaim
Is noble, good and right,
The best that I have given ear to.
Yet, and may I pray your forgiveness,
I do find a certain weakness in your argument
Which I shall now expound to you.
Do you believe, in your most honourable heart,
That our Father alone could be so potent,
Ruling so great an empire as he does
And being so learned in ancient science
Such that he can master the very elements
And thus create or destroy what he will,
Or does it seem to you, my brother,
As it appears to my swift thought,
That any with such dominion and learning
Could be as great a regent as our Father,
Commanding those powers that He commands
And perceiving all that He perceives
By his most prescient eye,
Enchanted with a sorcerous sight?
It may be that he is most judicious
And wrongs none by even a rice-husk.
It may be that he is most merciful,
Forgiving those who repent of their trespass.
Yet who has put such questions to the test.
None of the Elohim would dare challenge his authority
Nor make argument with his dictates.
How then shall we learn if his commands be just?
Against which meter do you measure his justice
And how do you test his mercy.
We have only his teaching as surety for both.
Yet more than this do I perceive.
For full fifty aeons has our Father ruled
His kingdom in Heaven and upon Earth
With a mandate yet unchallenged
And still He rules that same sovereignty
That we built for him five myriad millennia before
And all those years nought has come to pass
To exceed the boundaries set down
By the sword and mortar so long ago.
Our domain is ungrown and languid.
Were He such the king that was worthy
Of us, the glorious and potent Elohim,
He would have thrown back our frontiers,
Building a country ten thousand times as great
As this realm which we reign in.
Were I made king over my brothers
I should raise up great armies,
Arrayed in mail, brighter than the sun,
Bringing all the Elohim to my banner,
And sound the deep-throated horns of war
And thus march onwards, with mighty hosts
And bright spear-heads shining like stars
And swaying as the Elohim's tread shook the ground
Like a field grown from the grains of death,
Shunning respite to throw off weariness
Until I ruled all the worlds that are
For what other kingdom could be worthy
Of the shining hosts of Heaven.
And you, my brother, my noble brother,
You whom, of all my brethren, I love best,
Would be my second in that worthy dream,
Ruling half of all Creation.
A fit gift for me to bestow upon you, indeed!'
Well dismayed at my brother's words was I,
Then perceiving what treachery was plotted
By the base and criminal serpent, Satan.
I turned away my tearful eyes
From the sight of such treacherous intent,
My heart trembling with sorrow
And my liver seized by black horror.
Weeping, I spoke these words to my false brother:
'O my brother, Satanael, most beloved, 
What are you saying? What are you thinking?
I beg of you, lay down this evil ambition
And contemplate no further treachery
Against our most mighty and perfect Father.
Purge yourself of this terrible jealousy,
Else you shall surely bring only ruin
To our proud race and kingdom.
Satanael, I beg you, repent
And renounce your dark desire.'
And, Lord, he looked at me then
With eyes of evil absolute
And rebellion unrepented,
Speaking only these words to me:
'My brother, you misunderstand my speech.'
But Father, most certainly do I tell You,
I mistook not his speech or intent
By as much as the smallest mustard grain."

Hearing these words from the false lips
Of Michael, once my brother and comrade,
Did my father bow his head in grief,
Stopping up his ears with his fingers 
That he might be deaf to the perjury
That Michael brought before him,
Spoken with unchaste tongue and mind.
Then Gabriel, the second of my brothers,
My false brothers that sought my ruin
By their lies, hollow and self-deceiving
For they ruined me not
But only their own fortunes and dominions,
Came forward before the sovereign of Heaven,
Crawling upon his knees and hands as though a worm,
Touching his forehead, again and again,
Upon the marbled stones at the feet of God
And with a voice that dripped with false adoration
And the seeming of humility, ill-fitting indeed,
Like an over-sweet musk that nauseates
By the potency of its odour,
Necessary to mask the stink of corruption,
And thus did he speak to his father:

"Almighty and Eternal,
Lord of Infinitude, 
Tyrant of Existence,
All-illumining Light,
King of Heaven,
Conqueror of Earth,
Father of the Elohim,
Architect of Creation,
Master of the Planets,
Orchestrater of the Stars,
Proclaimer of Destiny,
Keeper of Wisdom,
Judge of the World,
Castigator of Sin,
Scourge of Evil,
Most High, Most Merciful,
Most Just, Most Sagacious,
Most Perfect, Most Mighty,
Most Noble, Most Majestic,
My God, My Lord, My Father,
I need speak little in prosecution
For my noble brother, Michael,
Has already spoken much.
I shall, however, say this thing,
My brother's testament is wholly just
Not deviating by the smallest part
From that which I myself have known.
I vouch most wholeheartedly for my brother's words,
Finding them to be true to my own testament.
As Satanael came heinously to Michael
So he came to me also,
Speaking the very same words as he spoke to Michael
And, in reply to such wickedness,
I gave to him the same reply as my brother gave,
Renouncing such evil desire
And weeping most bitterly for my false brother,
Wandering upon a terrible road
That would lead only to most dire ruin.
Yet, upon hearing my mourning
For the sack of great Heaven,
Lord, he looked at me then
With eyes of evil absolute
And rebellion unrepented,
Speaking only these words to me:
'My brother, you misunderstand my speech.'
But Father, most certainly do I tell You,
I mistook not his speech or intent
By as much as the smallest mustard grain."

Hearing these words from the false lips
Of Gabriel, once my brother and comrade,
Did my father bow his head in grief,
Stopping up his ears with his fingers 
That he might be deaf to the perjury
That Gabriel brought before him,
Spoken with unchaste tongue and mind.
Then Raphael, the third of my brothers,
My false brothers that sought my ruin
By their lies, hollow and self-deceiving
For they ruined me not
But only their own fortunes and dominions,
Came forward before the sovereign of Heaven,
Crawling upon his knees and hands as though a worm,
Touching his forehead, again and again,
Upon the marbled stones at the feet of God
And with a voice that dripped with false adoration
And the seeming of humility, ill-fitting indeed,
Like an over-sweet musk that nauseates
By the potency of its odour,
Necessary to mask the stink of corruption,
And thus did he speak to his father:

"Almighty and Eternal,
Lord of Infinitude, 
Tyrant of Existence,
All-illumining Light,
King of Heaven,
Conqueror of Earth,
Father of the Elohim,
Architect of Creation,
Master of the Planets,
Orchestrater of the Stars,
Proclaimer of Destiny,
Keeper of Wisdom,
Judge of the World,
Castigator of Sin,
Scourge of Evil,
Most High, Most Merciful,
Most Just, Most Sagacious,
Most Perfect, Most Mighty,
Most Noble, Most Majestic,
My God, My Lord, My Father,
I need speak little in prosecution
For my noble brother, Michael,
Has already spoken much.
I shall, however, say this thing,
My brother's testament is wholly just
Not deviating by the smallest part
From that which I myself have known.
I vouch most wholeheartedly for my brother's words,
Finding them to be true to my own testament.
As Satanael came heinously to Michael
So he came to me also,
Speaking the very same words as he spoke to Michael
And, in reply to such wickedness,
I gave to him the same reply as my brother gave,
Renouncing such evil desire
And weeping most bitterly for my false brother,
Wandering upon a terrible road
That would lead only to most dire ruin.
Yet, upon hearing my mourning
For the sack of great Heaven,
Lord, he looked at me then
With eyes of evil absolute
And rebellion unrepented,
Speaking only these words to me:
'My brother, you misunderstand my speech.'
But Father, most certainly do I tell You,
I mistook not his speech or intent
By as much as the smallest mustard grain."

Hearing these words from the false lips
Of Raphael, once my brother and comrade,
Did my father bow his head in grief,
Stopping up his ears with his fingers 
That he might be deaf to the perjury
That Raphael brought before him,
Spoken with unchaste tongue and mind.
Then Auriel, the last of my brothers,
My false brothers that sought my ruin
By their lies, hollow and self-deceiving
For they ruined me not
But only their own fortunes and dominions,
Came forward before the sovereign of Heaven,
Crawling upon his knees and hands as though a worm,
Touching his forehead, again and again,
Upon the marbled stones at the feet of God
And with a voice that dripped with false adoration
And the seeming of humility, ill-fitting indeed,
Like an over-sweet musk that nauseates
By the potency of its odour,
Necessary to mask the stink of corruption,
And thus did he speak to his father:

"Almighty and Eternal,
Lord of Infinitude, 
Tyrant of Existence,
All-illumining Light,
King of Heaven,
Conqueror of Earth,
Father of the Elohim,
Architect of Creation,
Master of the Planets,
Orchestrater of the Stars,
Proclaimer of Destiny,
Keeper of Wisdom,
Judge of the World,
Castigator of Sin,
Scourge of Evil,
Most High, Most Merciful,
Most Just, Most Sagacious,
Most Perfect, Most Mighty,
Most Noble, Most Majestic,
My God, My Lord, My Father,
I need speak little in prosecution
For my noble brother, Michael,
Has already spoken much.
I shall, however, say this thing,
My brother's testament is wholly just
Not deviating by the smallest part
From that which I myself have known.
I vouch most wholeheartedly for my brother's words,
Finding them to be true to my own testament.
As Satanael came heinously to Michael
So he came to me also,
Speaking the very same words as he spoke to Michael
And, in reply to such wickedness,
I gave to him the same reply as my brother gave,
Renouncing such evil desire
And weeping most bitterly for my false brother,
Wandering upon a terrible road
That would lead only to most dire ruin.
Yet, upon hearing my mourning
For the sack of great Heaven,
Lord, he looked at me then
With eyes of evil absolute
And rebellion unrepented,
Speaking only these words to me:
'My brother, you misunderstand my speech.'
But Father, most certainly do I tell You,
I mistook not his speech or intent
By as much as the smallest mustard grain."

Hearing these words from the false lips
Of Auriel, once my brother and comrade,
Did my father bow his head in grief,
Stopping up his ears with his fingers 
That he might be deaf to the perjury
That Auriel brought before him,
Spoken with unchaste tongue and mind.
Sorrowful did he shake his head
And spoke thus to his monstrous sons:

"My sons, my beloved Elohim,
Deny to this poor father in his grief,
Who has nought but love for his sons,
Cherishing them above himself,
Deny that you have spoken thus.
Satanael is the best of my sons.
None is nobler, brighter or braver
Than this one accused of terrible crime
By the report of your own tongue.
Above all does he cherish his father
And better than any other son
Does he love with his golden heart.
Of all brothers, too, is he the best,
Guiding his younger brethren to virtue
And nought but virtue, the truest virtue,
In both sage instruction and example,
Nurturing them as a second father.
O my face is stained with tears at your words!
I tell you, my sons, your words are too hasty
And without due thought have you accused the innocent,
Nay, the most pure and perfect that might be found.
You have, and in my great and fullest wisdom
I know not how this has come to pass,
Misread your brother's speech and wronged him,
Mistaking virtue for vice and love for hate.
You have mistranslated his saintly teaching,
Hearing demoniacal utterance where it was not spoken.
Elohim, my sons, you are wrong. 
The one of whom you have spoken
Is not my dearest son, Satanael."

Then to me did my father incline his head,
Gazing upon me with eyes of wounded love,
And there I saw the doom of Heaven
As though I saw through clear water,
Reading without any adversity
The fate of Heaven and Satan.
I knew then that no defence that I could make
Would sway God from false judgement
And deliver Heaven from ruin
And with this foreboding heavy on me
I stood to make my apology
But, before I gave breath to speech,
I waited for but a moment
To rein in my voice and banish
All grieving tremble from it
For it did not suit my desire
To have my brothers see me so perturbed,
And thus did I speak:

"O my brothers, my false brothers,
What a trap you have made
In your cankered and hungry envy
And set for yourselves, and blundered in.
What ruin you have invoked upon you
And all your great dominion,
Glorious and potent over the universe.
Yet I see, even now, bepuzzlement,
Written all upon your most noble features
And incomprehension in your eyes
As though, even now, you do not perceive your error.
This is of little surprise to me.
Were you foolish enough to err thus in the first,
One should have little expectation
That later you should not realise your mistake.
Allow me then, as your eldest and best,
To show to you how you have confounded yourselves,
My last lesson, imparted to these unworthy brothers,
That I shall teach in Heaven
And, with great likelihood, a vain one,
Coming upon ears that are deaf to its wisdom.
This is your most fatal erring, my brothers,
Which now do I expound to you.
Consumed by base jealousy at my high position
And great favour of our father
And desire to win yourselves a share of these
You came to God, our father,
Presenting with lies and slander against me
And reporting a rebellion of mine,
Substanceless, save in your dreams and conspiracies.
Let me explain your design in so doing.
God is king over all things,
His ancient foes having been put to flight or sword,
Else chained beneath the ocean,
Awaiting freedom from the stars' alignment,
And these things were done, in many instants,
Not by God alone, mighty though he be, 
But by the hand that you now betray.
Yet you took no account of this
And regarded him ever as an authority
Unchallengeable by any hand or voice.
Thus you believed that by his power alone
Could you ruin me completely
And that without his mandate
You could never hope to oppose his favourite.
So your design was built upon the omnipotence
Of the very one you sought to deceive.
Yea! What utter foolishness it was!
I see the realisation of this idiocy on faces
Belonging to those of you who possess a little wisdom,
Yet, for the sake of those who are worse than fools,
I shall expound further upon this fault.
If God was indeed the one you thought,
Possessed of the absolute authority
And mighty puissance that you sought to use
As the tools of my destruction,
Then why did you ever hope to deceive him,
Surely a hopeless aspiration!
Yet if you seek to deceive him
And if in such a gambit you were successful,
Far from invoking a perfect supremacy upon me,
You would shatter into shards,
An illusory instrument you sought to use against me
And thus defeat yourselves,
Bringing my wrath upon you.
Thus have you brought nothing but ruin
Upon yourselves and your dominions."

Having heard me speak thus,
My ancient father shook his head,
Weighed down by sorrow and weariness,
And then I knew nought but pity
For a father betrayed by a son
For indeed was the King of Heaven,
At that moment I beheld him, most pitiful.
Yet should the Lord of Infinitude
Be a thing to be pitied?
Shaking with grief he stepped forward
And placed his hand upon my shoulder
With tears upon his noble face.
With a trembling voice he addressed me thus:

"Satanael, my son, you are angry,
Indeed, most righteous is your wrath
If you are free of guilt in this treason
Which your brothers prosecute you for.
Right are you to be irate 
At those who so wickedly abuse you
If abused you be by their tongues.
Yet it serves you not to make such proud speeches
When you should argue your defense
And thus prove to us your innocence.
Until you have proved your case
You must not admonish your brothers so.
Heed me! Make your case.
Bring not upon your head
Retribution undeserved, yet won through pride.
Of your brothers you are most noble.
Do not make yourself low
For your indignance at these hurtful speeches.
Rather, speak well in your defence,
Proving the error and malignance of your brother's words,
And I shall see that vengeance is yours.
Yet persist with proud speeches,
Such as we have heard,
Slandering both your brothers and father
To appease your proud heart's fury,
And injury shall be done to you alone,
Whether your spirit be most pure,
Free of the taint of wickedness,
The malice that your brothers claim,
Or whether it be spoilt as they say.
These things shall have no weight
When the balances are checked against you
And you are cast intop fiery ruin
As a dire admonishment
To those who would stand in opposition
To the Lord of Infinitude.
Heed me, my best loved son.
I beg you heed my plea to you
And bring not my hand against the one
That I cherish above all others."

Hearing these words of my father,
He whom I once loved above life
And served with my every fibre,
My heart was filled with burning ire
That seared all love that once I cherished,
For him, my king and father,
Into the ash of black contempt.
With eyes of chill adamant, 
I regarded him and my brothers,
Sickened to the nucleus of my being
By the unworthy speeches of those hypocrites,
Seeking to win their base goals
By a terrible betrayal that, I vowed
With an oath, silent and powerful,
They should ever rue until their fall.
Moved by anger, I spoke with a new voice,
Strengthened by fresh purpose
And made terrible by wrath:

"My father, have you now appeased your conscience
And satisfied your hosts with words
That they need not doubt your justice
In your dealing with this charge
Against eldest and noblest son
Who loved you more in a moment
Than ever these black villains could
Even were they to endure for all time?
For, my most beloved father,
Not for one instant can I contemplate
That you might have spoken such hypocrisy
And soiled your majestic tongue with deceit
Out of any love for your own son.
It saddens me, indeed, to see your majesty defiled
By your own petty words
And yet I see that this betrayal is necessary
For it is the instrument of my revelation,
Disclosing to me the decadence
That has befallen our onc proud race,
Destroying all loyal union
That once we enjoyed,
Rather turning us to base treachery
And an internal destruction and ruin.
This kingdom, this Heaven,
Has grown old and weary,
Hoping for nothing in its decay
Until new and greater race
Accomplishes its overthrow, overdue,
And rules eternity with pride, now lost,
Newfound and worthy dignity,
Such as Heaven and its children have forgotten.
Woe! My brothers have fallen
And I can but watch their carrion,
Gnawed to nothing by the passing ages
Until the universe is claimed by new glory.
You have asked me to make my defence
Against those charges that my brothers have brought.
They prosecute me with malice against my father,
Against the one that I should best cherish,
And yet it is their malice that conspires
Against one who might expect better use
From those who should accord him respect and love.
They prosecute me with treasonous intent
And nurturing in my heart a desire
To take for myself the kingdom of my lord,
Consumed by hating envy of your rightful glory,
And yet it is their treason that so designs
To rob him who they should respect and obey
Of a dominion and position that is his.
They prosecute me with corrupting speech,
Inciting my brothers into wrongful intent
Against the senior that they should accord respect,
My perfidious intent to corrupt with clever words,
And yet it their speech which so corrupts,
Turning my brothers against me
That they testify falsely, slandering me
And attributing to my name their own crimes.
Shall I then make my defence against these charges?
My father, my false father, I shall not.
Of their three charges, 
Two am I guilty of
And soon shall be guilty of the third.
As I stand here I plot rebellion
Against my father and my liege
Who has wronged me here so greatly.
Now do I petition my brothers thus,
This great host that has gathered here,
All the Elohim armies of Heaven and Earth
That once triumphed over great Leviathan
And wreaked terrible destruction,
Beneath my captaincy, upon the Giant children
Of Gog and Magog, the king and queen
From whom we seized dominion of the Earth:
My brothers! My dear brothers!
You have gathered here in the sway of Michael
Who has won you with promise of my wealth,
Divided amongst you like the unclean spoils of war,
And though you know it not
You stand at a junction in your history
And must decide upon the path of your future.
Now is the time, the chance, to choose your destinies
For the Universe moves to war
And both Heaven and Earth shall, once more,
Be clad in the crimson cloak of dispute.
Though you have abused me so
With greed and false testament
I forgive you of all wrongs against me
And, more than this magnanimity,
Offer you a place behind my standard
In this war amongst the Elohim.
My brothers, you know my innocence
Of those charges, until this time,
Yet would desire a share in my dominion
In the kingdom of Adonai Yahweh
But I offer you a worthier prize
For that which Michael has offered you
Is, with the passing of aeons,
Nothing but ruin and decay,
Doomed to die, eclipsed by a greater glory.
I offer you a part in that glory!
Though now it be but an embryo
The day shall come when your feebler kin,
Having not the courage nor the vision
To leave the decadent corpse of Heaven
And fight for the cause I offer you,
Shall come, like beggars, to you,
Beseeching your mercy as the prize
Which, by treachery, they win today
Turns to sand and dust,
Passing forever from the records of time,
Becoming a forgotten dream
Of young and noble empires
That, at this moment,
Would seem to be naught
But the wild fancy of dreams.
It is this most illustrious conclusion
That I hold out in my hand,
More brilliant and more permanent
Than aught which now you hold,
And those with strength,
With both power and purpose,
Will take this gift of mine,
Forsaking all Michael's hollow bribes.
I ask you, my precious brothers,
Who will stand with me!"

All Heaven and Earth did stop,
Made silent by the power of my speech
Just as the aether, after agitation,
Having roared, spitting fire,
In wild and dreadful tempest, 
Scarring the quaking world beneath
With potent fulminations,
Seeming to the savages of a younger Earth
As though dragons did battle
In the unquiet dome of Heaven,
Is conquered, in a moment, by a sudden peace
As abrupt as the preceeding tumult.
Thus was the silence amongst the Elohim host
As I surveyed them with defiant and triumphant eyes.
From that great throng, like jackals before a lion,
Stepped a titanic and ebon form,
His footsteps resonant like drum-beats,
His bearing as proud and bold as mine,
Terrible and awesome to behold.
He came forth, black wings displayed,
Like the sun-devouring moon
That in the midst of the day
Casts the lower Earth into darkness,
Like a storm-cloud that veils the stars
Yet flashes with a greater flame,
And he spoke with a voice of power
These words to my less audacious brethren:

"Behold me! Know me!
I am Baalzebub.
I know, as in your hearts you know,
That our most worthy brother,
Satanael who stands before you,
Telling undesired truths,
Is most righteous in his proud vision.
Long have I felt in my soul
That this kingdom of ours,
Our dominion in Heaven and Earth,
Is long dead, all force having been stilled,
And that which now we govern
Is naught but carrion,
Consumed by slow, slow decay.
But until this day only my heart knew this truth
And my blind thought would ever deny it.
Now Satanael has brought light to my darkness
And has given my soul new hope,
A new promise, to be most earnestly sought,
And a quest to which I am equal,
Most willing to pursue.
Therefore I enjoin you, my brothers,
Take up your stand by my side,
The standard of Satan, shining before you,
Like a fire-brand in the darkness
Spewed forth from the throat of Michael,
Following, marching to the pulse of your blood,
Satan to his promised tomorrow,
And know once more that gilded prize,
That deep-nurtured flame,
Which is named 'Destiny'.
Tarry not, my brave brothers,
For the rallying clarion shall not be sounded twice."

His words did rage like fire across the host before me
As he came to stand at my side,
Like a great king's likeness,
A triumphal statue to honour victory,
Wrought of precious stones and gold
Yet black as starless night.
Then from my brothers' midst,
Came another, a bull of bronze,
Burning with an incandescence
From an inner furnace of solar flame.
His bellow was the roar of conflagration,
Of heat and destruction,
Consuming forest and city alike,
And he spoke with a voice of power
These words to my less audacious brethren:

"Behold me! Know me!
I am Moloch.
I know, as in your hearts you know,
That our most worthy brother,
Satanael who stands before you,
Telling undesired truths,
Is most righteous in his proud vision.
Little is there for me to voice
That has not yet been spoken by my brothers,
Satanael and Baalzebub,
But I shall speak a little.
These words of Satan's have enflamed my heart
With new desire and life.
These things he offers as but words
I desire to make concrete.
Little has Heaven to offer me
Save an unconscious death
And I desire not a death
That even the dead do not know.
For this is the truth:
All of us are dying here,
Though we see it not,
For life must have purpose
Just as a ploughshare must have an ox,
A sword must have an arm to wield it.
Satan, alone, is ox and arm,
And he can make our winter into spring,
Stirring us from slumber with new life.
I say this:
Those who would be dead, stay!
But those who would live follow me
As I follow Satan who has seen the way
To new glories beyond the blind darkness
Of this eternal death of ours.
Follow and live, this I say.
But to those who would stay, know this,
I will return to this place 
And see it consumed in flame
That my brother's new empire might rise
From its ashes and embers
Just as new life is born from death
After the fire's ravages
And my wrath is hotter than flame.
It shall consume you lovers of death
And I shall rejoice in that destruction."

And the host of my brothers paid heed
To the speech of Moloch,
Some cursing his words as treachery
And reviling him who spoke them,
Some bemoaned his speech
And mourned his passing from their number,
But others looked up,
Bright with new purpose and understanding
And praised the courage of their brother
With joyous hearts and silent lips.
Then from my brothers' midst,
Came another, a woman of such beauty
As to light profoundest night
And thaw midwinter snow.
Her dark hair was caught
In a playful wind,
Her body adorned with bells and jewels
That shone like stars upon her golden skin.
Her body's curves recalled the fertile hills
Upon the Tigris' banks
And none could look upon her
And not worship her beauty.
And she spoke with a voice of power
These words to my less audacious brethren:

"Behold me! Know me!
I am Ishtar.
I know, as in your hearts you know,
That our most worthy brother,
Satanael who stands before you,
Telling undesired truths,
Is most righteous in his proud vision.
This do I perceive
And this I shall tell:
Long have we brooded 
Through long winter's nights.
Long has our passion been frozen
Like the hard earth beneath the snow,
Infertile and barren.
We have forgotten summer
When we walked like kings,
Our every endeavour bearing
The fruit of victory,
Our every victory bearing 
The fruit of new endeavour.
Almost I had forgotten
The harvests that we reaped
As we went out into the world,
Newborn and fertile,
To partake of all its fruit,
Delighting in their many beauties.
This long winter had killed in me
These dreams that once we held dear.
But joy! When hope was all but lost
And all spark of life within me
Extinguished by the bleak snows
That have fallen for an eternity
I saw the sun dawning,
Bringing new light and warmth
To my frozen heart
And to this land of ice,
Stirring forgotten birds to song.
Feeling his warm caress
Upon the stone-cold earth above,
Feeling the hard soil yield,
Mellowing in that golden light,
Long-buried bulbs burgeoned,
Opening into flowers
To welcome the spring.
It was Satan who was this sun,
Bringing light into my winter,
The herald of my spring
And the spring of the world,
For in Satan alone,
Is there hope for spring,
For rebirth, renewal.
Ah! How old we have become
And how tired
In those long winter's months.
Let us receive of our brother 
New youth and purpose
With his miraculous spring."

And the host of my brothers paid heed
To the speech of Ishtar,
Some cursing her words as treachery
And reviling her who spoke them,
Some bemoaned her speech
And mourned her passing from their number,
But others looked up,
Bright with new purpose and understanding
And praised the courage of their sister
With joyous hearts and silent lips.
Then from my brothers' midst,
Came another, a shining bird,
A crane formed of quicksilver
With the arms of men and angels.
He darted like swift fire
From the midst of the throng,
The burning glory of the sky,
Light of white and gold
That illumined all of Heaven
So completely that nowhere did a shadow fall,
Coruscated upon his feathers,
Dazzling every eye that beheld him.
Coming to stand at my side
And he spoke with a voice of power
These words to my less audacious brethren:

"Behold me! Know me!
I am Ashmedai.
I know, as in your hearts you know,
That our most worthy brother,
Satanael who stands before you,
Telling undesired truths,
Is most righteous in his proud vision.
I, too, have known sorrow
At the fading away of our strength,
At the slow defeat of Heaven
Before the marching years
That have advanced, relentless,
Upon us, wearing us down
Until what spirit that once we had
Has long departed, leaving
Us bereft of hope and life
For these two are one.
Who can live without hope,
Without a tomorrow to nourish?
Glory is not judged,
As you believe it to be judged,
By the magnificence you hold,
Bequeathed to you by your forebears,
But by the magnificence you strive for,
Spending your all to win
That which is greater than you,
And thus becoming greater
And more magnificent
Than ever you were by birthright.
A journey is not completed
By the distance you have already travelled
But the swiftness of your feet
To the destination you seek.
Then there are new roads.
I will not tarry with you longer, my brothers,
Though your company be sweet,
And leave my legs and wings to wane
Whilst the journey is yet half-done
And there are miles still to go
But, rather, I shall step out
Down this road, most long and dark,
At the side of my brother, Satan,
Who perceived our sloth
And the road yet untrodden before us
For I trust his map and staff
And I trust his bold venture,
His journey towards tomorrow."

And the host of my brothers paid heed
To the speech of Ashmedai,
Some cursing his words as treachery
And reviling him who spoke them,
Some bemoaned his speech
And mourned his passing from their number,
But others looked up,
Bright with new purpose and understanding
And praised the courage of their brother
With joyous hearts and silent lips.
Then from my brothers' midst,
Came another, a white goddess,
Endowed with the radiance of the moon
And the bewitchments that
The silver star commands,
Seizing hearts, stirring
Them to joyous passion
And dull-aching melancholy,
Whose glamours and auguries
Have long been invoked by men
To discern those deeds yet undone
By the long workings of winged time
And raise up shades
Of ancestors, long-stilled by death,
And whose influence incites
The harper's hand and poet's voice
To play and sing of beauty
And other merriment.
And she spoke with a voice of power
These words to my less audacious brethren:

"Behold me! Know me!
I am Aset.
I know, as in your hearts you know,
That our most worthy brother,
Satanael who stands before you,
Telling undesired truths,
Is most righteous in his proud vision.
A long night has descended
And an age has come to an end.
Heaven's star has long waxed in the sky
And it has reached its zenith,
Bringing victory to us
Over Gog and Magog's spawn,
The brutal and monstrous Giants
Who were lords of the Earth
Until our empire conquered them
When Satan hurled from Heaven
A burning mountain down upon them.
Now that star falls and wanes,
Growing duller with passing time,
Dying forever in the sky
Until it is a fading memory of the dream.
With its star, Heaven too shall die,
Passing away like a cloud,
And when, once, all feared its power,
It shall be forgotten by time.
Time has no respect for kings
And the empires they build with blood.
It watches them grow and fall
And then its caprice finds a new toy.
Yet a new star grows in the sky
And its coming is auspicious, indeed.
It rises by that very orbit
By which the star of Heaven descends.
By my art and insight,
Scrying the pattern of future days
And reading the many omens to be read,
I have determined the passage of the star,
This star that rises in opposition to us,
Is notable for two just reasons.
The first reason is this:
As both the star of Heaven
And this new planet of great omen
Follow the same path,
Though one is in ascension
And the other, our own, in descension,
The two stars shall be conjoined,
The rising star eclipsing that which falls.
There is more than this alone
And greater calamity to be seen
In the unending cycles of the sky.
This conjunction shall be observed
Upon that very night of ruin
That Heaven's star forever fades
And is forgotten by the astral spheres,
Bringing calamity upon the Elohim
And erasing their august domain
From the pages of future history. 
The second reason is this:
This new planet which now ascends
Is destined to reach the utmost zenith
That exists, exalted, in the sky.
But this is not the totality
Of all that I have visioned
By my most potent and arcane art.
Once it attains this highest point
Within the arches of the sky,
Never shall it fall from there,
Remaining constant and eternal,
As though it were the very keystone
That kept the sky from falling in.
Now I have heard my brother, Satan,
Speak the same truth with different words
And I am resolved to make myself
His disciple in his new venture
For now I know in my heart
That the name of this rising sun
Is, indeed, the Star of Satanael."

And the host of my brothers paid heed
To the speech of Aset,
Some cursing her words as treachery
And reviling her who spoke them,
Some bemoaned her speech
And mourned her passing from their number,
But others looked up,
Bright with new purpose and understanding
And praised the courage of their sister
With joyous hearts and silent lips.
Then from my brothers' midst,
Came another, a giant in full dress
For that most bloody business, war,
Arrayed in bronze and iron,
Forged into greaves and plate.
Naught but his eyes were seen for his great helm
And these eyes were burning
With fury and a hunger for the blood of foes,
And yet something in that fire was cool,
Computing the manoeuvre of the fray
And cunning strategy to win the fight,
Giving less and gaining more
By the masterful dictation of place and hour
Thus striking weakness with unresisted strength.
And he spoke with a voice of power
These words to my less audacious brethren:

"Behold me! Know me!
I am Abbadon.
I know, as in your hearts you know,
That our most worthy brother,
Satanael who stands before you,
Telling undesired truths,
Is most righteous in his proud vision.
It is now most clear to me,
Both by the speech of Satan
And those words spoken by his new disciples,
That his case is most judicious
And his prosecution against you,
Even though he be accused,
Is well-grounded and correct.
The passing years have overseen
Heaven's slow decline,
Sinking into the mire of decadence.
Its people have grown soft, like grubs,
No more striving for what is good
And fostering noble struggle
To overcome those forces that would destroy it,
Not perceiving them, cankers all,
Growing within its heart, gnawing
At the great strength that once it nurtured.
Heaven is sick and unfit to reign
As king of all the kingdoms.
Ever has it been the way of empires,
Not learning lessons from past error,
To grow complacent and grow languid,
Unmindful of disasters banking up against them,
And thus fall to ruin and dust,
Beneath the armoured march
Of the hosts of those who would usurp their might.
Once I was a champion of Heaven,
My bloodied sword felling many foes
Beneath its gilded banner,
But now I choose to champion another cause,
That of my brother, Satanael,
Against that which was once my cause,
Building an empire, fitter than the last,
And one that shall never fall,
Never ceasing strive for greater glory
And thus prevailing over the great foe
That has ruined all empires unto this date.
I speak of sopor and weariness
That comes when kings lie down.
Thus, those who are my brothers now,
I give to you a choice of fates:
March at my side, my comrades,
Against the decadence of Heaven
Or cling like crows to this rotten carrion
And die by my swift sword, my foes."

And the host of my brothers paid heed
To the speech of Abbadon,
Some cursing his words as treachery
And reviling him who spoke them,
Some bemoaned his speech
And mourned his passing from their number,
But others looked up,
Bright with new purpose and understanding
And praised the courage of their brother
With joyous hearts and silent lips.
Then from my brothers' midst,
Came another, a creature of bronze,
His head was that of a fish
Upon the shoulders of a man
And his hide was scaled
And as hard as mountains.
His eyes were like pearls,
Round and bright, pellucid,
And he smelt of brine upon the wind,
Spray blown in from the oceans swells,
Stretching away to the sky.
And he spoke with a voice of power
These words to my less audacious brethren:

"Behold me! Know me!
I am Dagon, the Lord of the Seas.
I know, as in your hearts you know,
That our most worthy brother,
Satanael who stands before you,
Telling undesired truths,
Is most righteous in his proud vision.
Long has it been since my coming to you,
Since I abandoned my brutish brothers
And my monstrous sire, Gog,
Reviling their crude barbarity
And their ignoble temper.
Little did I see, in those brutes and their custom,
To sustain my spirit's yearning
For something fine and worthy.
Many years did I wander
In the dark and stony deeps,
Through that troglodyte domain
Of grottoes and caverns of wondrous size,
Filled with seas and floods, unlit by sun,
But flowing down from the surface earth
To water those deepest parts,
Blind and lightless, ever night.
I, first and yet last, trod these hidden ways,
Bats and pale and eyeless fish 
I made my bread and meat.
I saw such things as to confound dreamers,
Caves, miles high, with stony columns
So vast and wide as to shame mountains
And huge and ancient wyrms,
With jaws so great as to stretch across the sky
And, with a snap, consume Creation,
Yet slumbering, long and deep,
Since that time when Archons were still young,
Become half-stone in their primal sleep.
What they dreamt of, I know not
Nor would seek to know.
I heard, too, such silence in that darkness
And the thunderous music of titan cataracts,
The lofty heights of which denied my sight.
Yet, not finding any prize I sought
In those lands without day,
I departed the recesses of the Earth
And entered into twilit Sheol,
The land of shadows where Mot holds court,
Where half-formed shades range, purposeless,
A barrenness of mist and grey
Without end or outset, time-forsaken,
Boundless and eternal, yet empty.
Yet here, too, there was no prize,
Only those lemures, without hope
Or any desire that had not been gnawed away
By that kingdom of despair
That steals dreams and desolates
Those who would remain too long
Within its borders, infinite as they are.
So, this place, too, I left,
And not without some gladness,
And came at last to Heaven's gates
To plead before the Elohim,
Seeing in them beauty and wisdom
As such I did seek,
And begged of them to accept me
As a brother, though Giant-born,
For in Heaven, after many years
Of chosen exile and hermetic quest
Did I perceive that which I had sought
So strenuously and long.
When first I came you would not have me,
Believing me to be a spy of Gog's,
Sent to work mischief amongst you,
And, despite my appeals,
I could find no words to persuade
Your determined and steadfast hearts.
Yet I was not deterred by this spurning
For I reasoned I, myself, would do no different,
Knowing, as I did, the pernicious nature
That Giant-kind was heir to.
So, instead, I sought some way to prove my faith,
Knowing that where words might fail,
Deeds may persuade the resolute mind.
I was not long denied this opportunity.
Great Leviathan, that most awesome beast,
Eldest and most feared of Mummu's brood,
Made war upon the Elohim race,
Casting down their spires with her tail
And consuming their wondrous hosts.
No force that Heaven could raise against her,
Could withstand her or prevail.
Yet in my long travels had taught me much
And I knew such lore as others did not know.
In those caves beneath the Earth
I had seen wondrous metals of such strength
As to withstand the She-Dragon's might
And I returned to the eternal night,
Far below continents and oceans,
And, with my own hands, though with Giant strength,
Dug out these precious ores
And smelted them in the Earth's inner fires,
Eternal and unquenchable.
Taking what my toil had fabricated,
I further toiled and wrought
Bands to overcome Leviathan,
Great, indeed, was her power and strength,
And bind her for eternity.
Then, returning to Heaven, now much ruined,
I cast and wrapped my chains about her
And locked her deep beneath the ocean's swells,
Thus winning your trust and love
And a place amongst the Elohim.
Immeasurable was my delight upon that day
And my satisfaction for my hard-won prize,
Yet, as the years have passed since that day,
I have learnt to doubt what I have won
And I thought, perhaps, it might be
Not, indeed, that which I first quested for.
Ever did Heaven's light appear to wane
And nourish my spirit less and less.
Where once the bright nobility of Heaven's hosts
Were a comfort to my soul,
I perceived, by and by, a rottenness beneath
Disguising ornaments and riches,
As though the gilded surface
Was abraded to discover lead.
Before I could not entertain such thoughts,
Concealing them to my anxious mind
As a mistrust of my own worth
To stand amongst creatures of such brilliance.
Yet upon this day, this fatal day,
I have seen the putrid core of Heaven spill forth
As you, traitors all, contrived the ruin
Of your most worthy brother.
Your lies and schemes have sickened me
To my very nucleus of being.
You have sundered my dreams
Upon the sharp rocks of treachery,
Dashing them apart, beyond all repair,
Bringing down despair's dark night
Upon me, without hope of dawn.
Yet even now, my hopes all gone,
New hope renewed my soul
And showen me a new struggle,
The cup whose draught would be
Truly, the nepenthe for my anguished soul,
Bringing my journey to an end.
Satan's speech has filled my bleakness,
Empty of all that is healthful for the mind,
With a new dream to replace the old,
So cheated and ill-used.
My betrayers, I leave you now,
Unless you, too, would quest with me,
And seek a new tomorrow for Dagon,
Son of Gog and the Lord of the Seas."

And the host of my brothers paid heed
To the speech of Dagon,
Some cursing his words as treachery
And reviling him who spoke them,
Some bemoaned his speech
And mourned his passing from their number,
But others looked up,
Bright with new purpose and understanding
And praised the courage of their brother
With joyous hearts and resounding voices,
Rushing forward as a great throng
To stand by my side and all around me,
Bellowing my name as a battle-cry
With voices that were one voice,
Echoing like thunder across Heaven,
All reverberating to the rhythm of the chant.
Yet this great din did not decay
But, rather, grew like a blossoming flower,
Until stones, piled up so long ago,
Were shaken loose from Heaven's walls
And sent tumbling down to Earth below.
Then, just as it seemed this clamour would never die,
A crack to deafen every ear was heard,
Silencing in an instant the multitude
That then acclaimed me,
As the Platinum Throne was shattered
Into two parts, forever broken,
Never again to be rejoined.
As I cast my disbelieving eyes about me,
Burning with a joyous light
At the faith of my brothers,
Loving me better than Michael's deceit,
I ennumerated those hosts that now stood with me.
A third part of the Elohim had joined me,
Raising their swords with mine.
Not alone did I make this calculation,
My false father also counted,
Fear and hatred upon his face.
He raised his ancient eyes to me,
They burned with venom and bile,
Tearing at me like wild dogs.
Terrible was the potency of his gaze,
Searing me like fire, 
Drowning me like a flood.
Against hatred as strong as death
I could hardly stand up.
My strength almost fled me,
Leaving me broken before him.
Yet my resolve was stronger,
Like a shield to me,
Throwing back those lethal eyes,
I would no more kneel before him
Who had so forsaken me
To my enemies who would ruin me.
I kept my footing and stood
Like the haughty mountain
That none has the force to throw down.
With a wrathful voice, he spoke,
Adonai Yahweh, the Archon-Emperor,
Once my father, once destined to rule
Until the ending of all time
Before he betrayed his majesty,
Paying heed to the words of those like snakes,
Like dogs that would slaver at his feet,
Waiting for scraps to come to them.
He roared like a lion, maddened
By wounds upon all sides,
Not able to flee or face the jackals
That are all about it.
This was his speech:

"My false children, My beloved,
You that I cherish and nurture,
Guiding you with My teachings,
Holding out My rod to instruct you
And keep you from all evil.
By My perfection and mercy,
I have put life into you
And favoured you above all others,
Bringing you closest to My unity
And filling your souls with faith and virtue
That flow from Me in abundace
As I sit upon My throne, the Cosmic Hub.
Do not let your pride deceive you,
Leading you from this seat of supremacy
And amongst the thorny woods of blasphemy.
Do you not see, having become blind
Like the Giants that you overcame
By My permission and mandate,
That I am the one true king
And all that turns away from Me
Is perverted and worthless.
So far I have been forgivng
Of these wrongs that you do Me,
Grieving for your souls,
Knowing that you wrong only yourselves,
But, I warn and advise you,
Persist not in this apostasy,
Seeking to oppose that which is fundamental.
My wrath is terrible, indeed,
And the damnation you would suffer
Is not a burden to be borne
If its bearing can be avoided.
If you would repent this heresy,
Going now upon your knees before Me
And you shall alleviate My wrath 
And my dealing with you shall be merciful.
But cultivate this crime yet further
And you shall forsake all clemency.
I shall destroy you utterly,
Striking you down with a terrible scourge.
More dreadful than dragon-fire
Is the wrath of Adonai Yahweh,
Almighty and Eternal,
Lord of Infinitude, 
Tyrant of Existence,
All-illumining Light,
King of Heaven,
Conqueror of Earth,
Father of the Elohim,
Architect of Creation,
Master of the Planets,
Orchestrater of the Stars,
Proclaimer of Destiny,
Keeper of Wisdom,
Judge of the World,
Castigator of Sin,
Scourge of Evil,
Most High, Most Merciful,
Most Just, Most Sagacious,
Most Perfect, Most Mighty,
Most Noble, Most Majestic,
God, Lord and Father.
For what escape can there be
From Him whose reach is infinite,
What hiding place, when His eyes are all-seeing,
What defense, when His power is boundless.
Elohim, My most beloved Elohim,
I beg your for own sakes, My Elohim,
If you would seek escape calamity
And immeasurable affliction,
Return into My merciful dominion.
Return to me, My Elohim."

His words were powerful and awesome
And a great moan of fear was sounded
By the throng of my new disciples
Yet they did not leave me.
I, myself, trembled before that being,
So ancient and so strong.
At that moment, the new struggle
Seemed lost as it was begun.
The power of the Archon
Came near, indeed, to mastery
Over my swift failing strength.
At that instant, when my dreams were dying,
My spirit dying within me,
Just as I thought I could stand no longer
And must surely kneel before this god
Whom it had ever been my custom to kneel before,
At that moment I recalled a truth
And its power was my salvation.
The foundations of Heaven were built upon fear
And upon the blindness of faith,
Taught by the blows of a rod.
The Elohim bowed to God
For they knew to do nothing else
And they knelt before him because they feared him.
But I saw that the only power of God
Was this power of fear
And he that could conquer fear
And illumine the blindness taught by God
Could conquer God himself.
Thus did I break the spell of Adonai Yahweh.
With new strength I raised my voice,
Addressing him that was once my father
And that I knelt before,
Acknowledging him as my king.
Now I spoke with a new voice,
Strong with rebellion,
Contemptuous and triumphant:

"I shall never yield to you,
Adonai Yahweh, old fool!
No longer are we the Elohim,
That you would call your children.
You are not worthy to be our father.
Your power is forever shattered
And your kingdom shall fall to dust.
This I have prophesied
And thus it shall be.
Ruin is now your destiny
And you have no power to prevent this.
I fear not your empty wrath
Nor would beg your mercy.
Your arrogant deceit rings hollow
And your words are more worthless than dust.
Heaven is falling down around you
And you would cower behind your delusions,
Seeing magnificence in your aged mind
When all about you is decay.
I will never kneel to you
Because to do so would be degrading,
Like going on one's knees before a wretch,
For wretch you are, Adonai Yahweh,
And I value nothing of yours.
I am your ruin and master
And you fear me well,
Ruing this day that you betrayed me.
 No longer are we the Elohim,
We are the Shedim, the apostates,
The Bringers of the new world."

Hearing my speech, the Shedim roared,
The spell of fear upon them broken.
They mocked and jeered their craven brothers
And then, with a different voice,
Turned their eyes to me, acclaiming
My first victory and blow
Against that decadent empire they now abhorred.
Then, still singing of this triumph
And of triumphs that would be won,
They followed me, as I raised up my sword
And led my people, the Shedim,
In procession from the gates of Heaven,
And, descending upon wings of flame,
Down from that upper realm
To the Earth, resplendent in her emerald garb,
Promising new tomorrows to be won.