Library of Londarios: The Abiding Book (1999)

The Abiding Book is the Malkioni Bible.

“There is no God but the Invisible God, and Malkion is His prophet.” — Motto of the Return to Rightness Crusade

Background

In mid-seventh century Jrusteli two score cities existed, each of varying origins and importance. Nothing united them, except their location on that large island. Troubles and rivalries between cities, between religions, and between sects separated them from each other.

In 646 the Abiding Book appeared, and by 650 Jrusteli society was reformed, and the Jrusteli Confederation was formed. The revelations of the Invisible God provided the unifying factor for the people of Jrustela.

The unified vision of the Invisible God, encompassing all the peoples there, swept the island, bringing peace among the many peoples. They built many large temples, which they called churches, to their new God.

They claimed that the Invisible God was the one true God, the One Mind, and the Ultimate Being, and that Malkion had selected the Righteous alone to bear His Word and Law. By 680 they sent out the Return to Rightness Crusade to prove it, and did. Their objective became the motto of the empire: “There is no God but the Invisible God, and Malkion is His Prophet.”

Of Divine Creation

At the frontispiece of every copy of the Abiding Book appears the story of its appearance:

“On Kaltan’s Day, 646, a hand materialized from nowhere, holding a quill. A call came, and the command was ‘Write!’ And the Pen, in obedience of That which is Most High, obeyed without stint. It wrote upon indestructible paper which appeared when needed, and bound itself to a book with covers of leather from no known animal.”

It is a supernatural work, created by the Will of Malkion, to give guidance for humankind in a dangerous magical world. It is the most impressive piece of Creation which has been witnessed in human history.

The Witnesses saw it, and attached their seals and signatures to the original copy. Their names are listed, as if in anticipation of their Lineage Survival Stories, which are given later. (Some of them are also authors whose work was actually quoted in God’s Book.)

The Abiding Book has several parts to it.

Frontispiece
Credo
The Chosen People
The Gospels of Malkion
Prayers to Malkion
Proper Forms of Address for Clergy

The Credo

One-line Version

I believe there is no God except the Invisible God, in the True Prophets, the Holy Books, and the Sanctified Legacy.

Full Version

I believe in the One God, Invisible, Creator of the Universe. He separated Matter from Energy and Nature from Divinity. He made the Kingdom for the Chosen People and lived among them called Malkion. Malkion suffered, failed, was murdered by Zzabur, rotted. Through separation He opened Solace and released the resurrection of the world. Malkion protected the Secret Keepers to the Witnesses of the Abiding Book. He revealed the Tests of Faith, the Mastery of Will, Solace through Obedience, and the Paternal Keepers. He promises that through my repentance and His Grace I shall rise above this mortal world to perfect life in the paradise of the Invisible God. Amen.

Explanation

The Credo is a succinct and quite abstracted version of the Malkioni beliefs. Much of the Abiding Book itself explains it in more detail, and subsequent exegeses have added volumes more.

I believe in the One God, Invisible, Creator of the Universe.

Many divine beings are known, and before the Abiding Book many were worshipped alongside Malkion. The uniqueness of God is asserted, his Invisibility indicates his essential transcendent character, and the primal act of Creation is recognized as His action.

He separated Matter from Energy and Nature from Divinity.

Matter and Energy are the essential ingredients of the Universe, according to the earliest Malkioni practices. Inherited knowledge, painstakingly gathered through sorcerous experiments, proves that Matter and Energy were further separated into their parts, and those parts mixed and mingled. At the end Nature, which was the created world, was separate from Divinity, which was the uncreated Creator.

He made the Kingdom for the Chosen People and lived among them called Malkion.

The Kingdom was named Danmalastan, and called the Kingdom of Logic. It had many tribes resident when Malkion selected the Chosen People from among them. They were chosen for the closeness to him, to be examples for others. At that time the pagan gods also existed, such as Worlath and Ehilm.

Malkion suffered, failed, was murdered by Zzabur, and rotted.

To suffer and fail are to prove Malkion’s humanity. This proves that He is like us and hence, we are like Him. His murder by Zzabur is a key event in the religion. Zzabur was also responsible for the Ice Age, the Darkness, the Devil, and other evils. Rotting is important, because it proves that he was separated into initial components, releasing his immortal soul.

Through separation He opened Solace and released the resurrection of the world.

Separation, or death, had hitherto been only a forlorn nothingness, but Malkion overcame it by releasing this vision to all his Chosen People. Understanding Solace depends on the worshipper’s capacity to understand. To the simple and uneducated, it is a happy heaven. To many religious people it is a state of mind and being. To many people, it is a hopeful promise of any of those.

Malkion protected the Secret Keepers to the Witnesses of the Abiding Book.

The Secret Keepers were those of the Chosen People who did not submit and abandon their faith in Malkion’s teachings. A portion of the Abiding Book relates many of the miraculous stories of these Secret Keepers who were saved from monsters, evil wizards, hostile pagans, avalanches, ice tsunami, demons, the Devil twice, despair, starvation, exposure, and disease. The Witnesses were the last of the Secret Keepers, after which they were exposed by the Abiding Book which they watched be written.

He revealed the Tests of Faith, the Mastery of Will, Solace through Obedience, and the Paternal Keepers.

These are all actual practices of the Malkioni Church. Tests of Faith are indeed examinations, but also includes practices to strengthen personal experience with the Invisible God. Mastery of Will was an ancient concept used to execute sorcery spells, and here was applied further to the life of non-sorcerers. Solace through Obedience is a treatise on humility before God, including instructions and practices. The Paternal Keepers were the teachers of the Invisible God’s new faith, and predecessor to the later Clergy.

He promises that through my repentance and His Grace I shall rise above this mortal world to perfect life in the paradise of the Invisible God.

A synopsis to remind the penitent of his long-term benefits.

Amen.

A closing phrase common to western prayers.

Greg

last update: Sun, 16 Jun 2013

Page Last updated: 2020-08-16 15:21:41