When men came forth from their hiding places and refuges, the world their fathers had known was gone forever. The face of the land was changed and Earth was littered with rocks and stones which had fallen when the structure of Heaven collapsed. One generation groped in the desolation and gloom, and as the thick darkness was dispelled its children believed they were witnessing a new creation. Time passed, memory dimmed and the record of evens was no longer clear. Generation followed generation and as the ages unfolded, new tongues and new tales replaced the old.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE AFFLICTION OF GOD
This comes from the scroll of Kerobal Pakthermin who wrote, “The forbears of all the nations of man were once one people, and they were the elect of God who delivered all the Earth over to them, all the people, the beasts of the field, the creatures of the wasteland and the things that grow. They dwelt through long ages in lands of peace and plenty.”
“There were some who struggled harder, were more disciplined; because their forefathers had crossed the great dark void, their desires were turned Godward and they were called The Children of God”. “Their country was undulating and forested. It was fertile, having many rivers and marshes. There were great mountains to the East and to the West, and in the North was a vast stony plain.”
“Then came the day when all things became still and apprehensive, for God caused a sign to appear in the Heavens, so that men should know the Earth would be afflicted, and the sign was a strange star”. “The star grew and waxed to a great brightness and was awesome to behold. It put forth horns and sang, being unlike any other ever seen. So men , seeing it, said among themselves, ‘Surely, this is God appearing in the Heavens above us’. The star was not God, though it was directed by His design, but the people had not the wisdom to understand’.
“Then God manifested Himself in the Heavens. His voice was as the roll of thunders and He was clothed with smoke and fire. He carried lightings in His hand and His breath, falling upon the Earth, brought forth brimstone and embers. His eye was a black void and His mouth an abyss containing the winds of Destruction. He encircled the whole of the Heavens, bearing upon His back a black robe adorned with stars”.
“Such was the likeness and manifestation of God in those days. Awesome was His countenance, terrible His voice of wrath, the sun and moon hid themselves in fear and there was a heavy darkness over the face of the Earth”.
“God passed through the spaces of the Heavens above with a mighty roar and a loud trumpeting. Then came the grim dead silence and black red lit twilight of doom. Great fires and smoke rose up from the ground and men gasped for air. The land was rent asunder and swept clean by a mighty deluge of waters. A hole opened up in the middle of the land, the waters entered and it sank beneath the seas”.
“The mountains of the East and West were split apart and stood up in the midst of the waters which raged about. The Northland tilted and turned over on its side”.
“Then again the tumult and clamour ceased and all was silent. In the quiet stillness madness broke out among men, frenzy and shouting filled the air. They fell upon one another in senseless wanton bloodshed; neither did
they spare woman or child, for they knew not what they did. They ran unseeing, dashing themselves to destruction. They fled to caves and were buried and, taking refuge in trees, they were hung. There was rape, murder and violence of every kind”.
“The deluge of waters swept back and the land was purged clean. Rain beat down unceasingly and there were great winds. The surging waters overwhelmed the land and man, his flocks and his gardens and all his works ceased to exist.”.
“Some of the people were saved upon the mountainsides and upon the flotsam, but they were scattered far apart over the face of the Earth. They fought for survival in the lands of uncouth people. Amid coldness they survived in caves and sheltered places”.
“The Land of the Little People and the Land of Giants, the Land of the Neckless Ones and the Land of Marshes and Mists, the Lands of the East and West were all inundated. The Mountain Land and the Lands of the South, where there is gold and great beasts, were not covered by the waters”.
“Men were distracted and in despair. They rejected the Unseen God behind all things for something which they had seen and known by its manifestation. They were less than children in those days and could not know that God had afflicted the Earth in understanding and not willfully, for the sake of man and the correction of his ways”.
“The Earth is not for the pleasure of man, but is a place of instruction for his Soul. A man more readily feels the stirrings of his Spirit in the face of disaster than in the lap of luxury. The tuition of the Soul is a long and arduous course of instruction and training”.
“God is good and from good evil cannot come. He is perfect and perfection cannot produce imperfection. Only the limited understanding of man sees imperfection in that which is perfect for its purpose”. “This grievous affliction of man was another of his great tests. He failed and in so doing followed the paths of unnatural gods of his making. Man makes gods by naming them, but where in this is the benefit to him?” “Evil comes in to the midst of mankind spawned by the fears and ignorance of men. An evil man becomes an evil spirit, and whatever evil there is on Earth comes either from the evil of spirits or the evil of men”.
CHAPTER FIVE IN THE BEGINNING
Now, the Children of God were moulded by the Hand of God which is called Awen, and it manifested according to their desires. For all things which have life are moulded by Awen. The fox, shivering in the coldlands, longs for warmth and so its cubs have warmer coats. The owl, clumsy in the dark, longs to see its prey more clearly, and in generations of longing the desire is granted. Awen makes everything what it is, for all things change under its law.
Men, too, are moulded by their desires, but unlike the beasts and birds their yearnings are circumscribed by the laws of fate and destiny and the law of sowing and reaping. These, the desires, modified by the laws, are called Enidvadew. Unlike the beasts and birds, this, in man, is something relating to him rather than to his offspring, though they are not untouched by it.
Destiny may be likened to a man who must travel to a distant city whether or not he wishes to make the journey, the destination being his destiny. He may choose whether to go by way of a river or by way of a plain; whether across mountains or through forests, on foot or horseback, slow or fast, and whatever befalls because of this decision is fate. If a tree falls on him because he chose the forest path, it was fated, for luck is an element of fate. Destiny leaves no choice, fate gives limited choice which may be good or bad, but it cannot be averted. What is fated must be, for at no point can there be any turning back.
The circumstances, Enidvadew, of the traveler conform to the law of sowing and reaping; he may travel in comfort or pain, happily or sorrowfully, with strength or weakness, heavily burdened or lightly burdened, well prepared or ill prepared. When the destination is set according to the degrees of a former life, then the circumstances of the journey should conform with the desire. For what use is it desiring a great destination when the law of sowing and reaping decrees that an intolerable burden must be carried on the way? Far better to have lesser aspirations. The decrees of fate are many, the decrees of destiny are few.