For the glory of Lord Sartan, and the wisdom to be found in His words.

The following text is a sermon that I delivered at the start of the
Mhaldorian Bloodfestival at the Stygian Crossroads on the first of Ero,
374 AF. This lowly slave sought after and received the requisite
authorization prior to making this post.

I dedicate this sermon to my father, Rhadamanthys, who provided me with
the inspiration to complete this work.

May these words bind us one to another as they further your religious
education.



Praise the LORD and greetings to you my dearest brethren, esteemed
leaders, and aspiring youth. Take a brief moment to look around at one
another. What do you see? Are we not blessed to be here among our
faithful friends, toiling together as loyal servants of the Lord Sartan?
Today's sermon is about this Iron Fist that binds us one to another in
service to the Malevolent One. Aye, today we speak of the strength of
unity and the threat posed by the treacherous whispers of Darkness. The
world wonders why we've joined together in Mhaldor. Just why did we come
here to offer ourselves into slavery for the Lord? One need only look to
the First Truth of Evil to understand our motivations. We're here for
strength! We're here for power! We're here because working together,
with the Lord's blessing, we are going to force real progress upon
Sapience.

By keeping to the LORD's Truth and minding His words, we will shove
Sapience headlong into His refining fire and purge our world of its vile
weaknesses. Has not the LORD already given us the City of Evil? Is not
Baelgrim Fortress silent testimony to His strength and power? Shall not
the LORD expel the heathen before us, driving them out of our sight? Do
they not flee before our mighty warriors? Is it not the God of Evil that
fighteth for us?

However, I have not called you all together to stroke egos or exchange
pleasantries. There is war on the wind. Look around at one another once
again and ask yourselves, "Are there traitors in our midst?" Friends, we
are under attack from an unseen force. The treacherous whispers of
Darkness creep under our doors and fester in the deepest recesses of the
soul. To best explain this heretical philosophy we should begin with one
of its most basic tenets, the Principle of Cause and Effect.

As stated by the Qadeshai, "Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has
its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for
Law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing
escapes the Law."

Darklings fancy themselves to be "Causers", rising above their peers
through sheer manipulation. According to their principle, "The masses of
people are carried along, obedient to environment; the wills and desires
of others stronger than themselves; heredity; suggestion; and other
outward causes moving them about like pawns on the Chessboard of Life.
But the Masters, rising to the plane above, dominate their moods,
characters, qualities, and powers, as well as the environment
surrounding them, and become Movers instead of pawns."

How do these traitors seek to "move" us, you ask? There is no single
answer to that question. Darklings seek to ingratiate themselves into
our ranks, rising to positions of respect and trust, not for the glory
of the LORD, but to satisfy their own appetites for power. A trained
Darkling will not bounce along the bottom but will make careful efforts
to rise in strength so that she is better able to "move" her colleagues.
Do not make the mistake of assuming these heathen to be stupid animals
like the crawling mhun that infest our sewers. Twilight's disease spares
our young ones as it strikes down the old. A Darkling novice can only do
so much damage, given the limited responsibility we entrust them with.
Nay, friends, and I say this with all humility, the threat of Darkness
forces us to question our dearest friends, our beloved leadership, in a
way that other threats do not.

The Darklings may indeed be evil. But they will never be Evil so long as
they refuse to dedicate their lives to the God of Evil. The Lord demands
our absolute devotion. We are commanded to love the LORD, His teachings,
and that of the Lord in one another. In stark contrast with the codes of
Darkness, we are not to view one another as pawns to be moved in a race
for power. When you begin thinking of yourself as a "mover" and your
peers as prey, you cease to serve the Lord alone, cease to be Evil, and
become yet another weakness for the Lord to tear asunder.

It comes down to where your loyalties lie. You've all sworn the oaths,
you're all on the record as putting your full faith and support behind
the Malevolent One. The Lord Sartan has raised you from the disgusting
weakness of youth into the strong, accomplished leaders I see before me.
His city of Evil has given you shelter, protected you from thieves and
would-be crusaders, and has given you the opportunity to seek true power
and glory in His name. Do you dare repay this favor by indulging in
self-important power mongering?

You might be thinking to yourself, "But Herenicus, isn't it only natural
to think in terms of personal advancement? Doesn't that lead inevitably
to manipulation and infighting?" My answer is *absolutely* not. We are
*all* laboring for the LORD and does not the Lord make each of us the
same promise in exchange for our efforts? Is there one among us who
doubts that his or her hard labors shall go unnoticed by His eyes? Do
you dare to question whether He will uphold His end of His covenant with
you? Do not fall victim to the weaknesses of petty jealousy and false
pride. Support one another, encourage one another, and see to it that
together we do our utmost to render service to the Lord.

Should you find yourself feeling threatened by a fellow Mhaldorian, you
must push past the weaknesses of backbiting and grudge-holding. Seek the
strength to speak directly with one another. Brutally honest, direct
communication can be painful. Suffer that we may purge the weakness of
infighting from our midst and bring strength to the Lord and His city.

When we all work together to accomplish His divine plan, Mhaldor becomes
an extension of the Lord's will in Sapience. This can only be done
through our absolute loyalty to the chain of command. Our LORD commands
us in the fourth verse of the Covenant, "Be ye therefore very courageous
to keep and to do all that is written in this book and that is spoken by
the mouth of His prophets, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right
hand or to the left."

In turn, our wise leaders are commanded to follow the will of the
Malevolent One above all else. Chapter Six of the Apocrypha speaks of he
that came and told the people all "the words of the LORD." This same
prophet proceeded to write "the words of the LORD." Our leaders are to
model this behavior and strive to become perfect vessels through which
Lord Sartan's malice shall pour out over Sapience.

In this way, through strict obedience to the chain of command, our
glorious city operates like a living, breathing conduit of the Lord's
searing fire. Is it possible to describe the feeling of the Lord's
strength coursing through your veins, of his black malice smoldering in
your heart of hearts? Can you feel the power moving through you as you
labor for Him? Battling in the Coliseum, do you burn with the knowledge
that with each blow you are refining your being into a more perfect
instrument in His divine plan? When you're conducting research, writing
sermons, or training novices, reach down deep and seize hold of the heat
roasting just under the surface of your skin.

It goes without saying that our enemies are legion. Even now, we are
under the threat of attack by Shallamese dogs and their sympathizers.
Does not the Church seek to eradicate our way of life from the face of
Sapience? Hardly a week passes that the heathen do not mount some
weak-kneed raid against our mighty city. To face these threats, must be
able to trust that we are all fighting the same enemies, towards the
same victory, for the same LORD.

It is only by working together that we shall ever achieve complete
victory. Indeed, it is only by standing shoulder-to-shoulder in His Iron
Fist that the Malevolent One shall continue to tread down our enemies
and bless us with His might and power. One mortal could never have slain
the Leviathan. Alone I shall never force the progress that this world so
desperately needs. Nay, in this war we shall achieve our collective
victory through our collective labor. We have no choice. We shall either
hang together in service to the LORD, or hang separately from Shallamese
gallows.

Penned by my hand on the 23rd of Lupar, in the year 374 AF.