Praise be to the Lord!

The following is the text of a sermon that I delivered at the North of
Thera on the 8th of Miraman, 384 AF.

I pray that reading these words brings you the same measure of
understanding and strength that writing them brings to me.







Mhaldorians, like mortals everywhere, struggle with our inborn
weaknesses. The blood in our veins is tainted and flawed. Through our
faith in the Malevolent One, we are given the singular opportunity to
transcend this mortal shell of flesh and bone, leaving behind the
fetters of our world for the glories of His. This is our aim, this is
our goal, and Lord willing, one day each of us shall enter into His
refining fire, dwelling forever in the purest pursuits of Advancement
and Strength.

However, there is only One who is completely Evil, completely free from
these mortal restraints. The rest of us suffer from sadness,
disappointment, petty jealousies, and - the topic of this sermon - love.
Indeed, love is not a concept that we find ourselves discussing publicly
in the City of Evil, with good reason. Achaean love, as it is generally
understood, is both a weakness and a threat to our unity that the Lord
will not abide.

We in Mhaldor place a special emphasis on hatred, the emotion that the
heathens understand least and could benefit from most. Yet, this is not
to say that Mhaldorians are limited to feelings of bitter outrage. After
all, does not the Apocrypha begin with two chapters dedicated to praise
and admiration? Are we not commanded in Chapter Five, verse nine to
'take good heed therefore unto ourselves, that we love the LORD?'

But I ask you, what does it mean to 'love' the Lord Sartan? Is it loving
the Lord Himself? The Evil that He stands for? Indeed, to love the Lord
is to devote yourself to His Malignity and the path of True Strength.
Yet why do we feel drawn to one another? Perhaps we recognize the Evil,
the Strength, that of the Malevolent One in each other, and we come to
feel something approaching this same affinity.

In some ways, this phenomenon is unsurprising - after all, is not
Mhaldor home to the strongest, bravest men and women in all of Sapience?
Do we not walk amongst the most valiant heroes, the most humble
servants, the sharpest minds, the cruelest wits? But what to make of it?
How should we approach this emotion that is inherently mortal, decidedly
natural, and thus dangerously at odds with our spiritual ideal? How can
we direct this mortal love in a way that is both true to our faith, and
in accordance with His will?

We begin by addressing the most dangerous element of mortal love, that
miserable tendency to place one's lover above all else, including
family, friends, and indeed - even the Master. The Vertani, Mhun
Keepers, Death Knights - these foul cretins might lay us low, but yet we
return to service, our hearts inflamed with a burning desire to overcome
the challenges set before us. But how many Mhaldorians, how many
otherwise honest, loyal servants have we lost through the machinations
of mortal love? How many citizens have followed foolish lovers into
weakness, leaving behind the Strength they once held dear?

The single most important concept that your humble vicar would like you
to walk away from this sermon remembering, is that you must -always-
keep your mortal affairs beneath and subservient-to the Lord Sartan. For
no man can serve two masters. He will either hate the one, and love the
other - or else hold to the one, and despise the other. You must serve
Strength above all, now and forever, if you are to join with us in the
final victory of the strong o'er the weak.

Mortal love, for all its faults, does present opportunities to grow in
strength for them that are spiritually and mentally tough enough to keep
their emotions beneath their obligations to the Master. This is because
as two individuals deepen their affinity towards one another, drawing
closer in friendship, they are better situated to view each other as
complete persons, observing the strengths and weaknesses that are hidden
from strangers.

From there, the individuals have a unique opportunity, nay, an
obligation, to assist each other in drawing out these hidden strengths,
purging these secret weaknesses. In this way, two can join together,
glorifying our Lord above each other, purifying one another that each
might become a stronger vessel for His Malevolence.

It must be stressed that the love between two Evil people can never,
should never be that mindless, enabling routine practiced by the
heathens of this world. For it is written that 'pain, terror, sorrow,
torture, horror, sadness, madness, grief, frailty, and anguish shall
befall ALL whom stand before the Lord.' You and I, living beneath His
guiding hand, know that He shall show us no mercy - nor should we show
such mercy to one another. Where heathen lovers might choose to ignore
the failings of their partner as a mere 'quirk', this has never been our
way. You must be strong enough to look your partner in the eyes, never
forgetting that they are but wretched creatures, servants to be shoved
headlong into Strength under the crack of His whip.

This closeness between two people presents opportunities for weakness
that I have not yet addressed, and I speak of Infidelity. I cast no
judgment on those who wish to structure nontraditional relationships
amongst themselves, but where an understanding exists between two humble
servants of the Master, each has a responsibility to proceed with
honesty, however painful that walk may be.
Striking at the mental and spiritual well-being of your fellow
Mhaldorians is as criminal and counterproductive as any physical attack.
And know that I take a very dim view towards those who would attempt to
cloak their unprovoked attacks on their Evil brethren behind the Seventh
Truth of Evil.

Indeed, we all grow stronger through the suffering inflicted upon us by
others - but to truly understand the Lord's Truths, one must understand
the purposes behind them. The strength that the Tyrannus or a viceroy
might draw from an unprovoked attack will not mitigate the withering
retribution that the attacker would receive in return. Likewise, the
Malevolent One did not set down the Seventh Truth of Evil that you might
rationalize your unfaithful loins and look yourselves in the mirror. The
Truth that adulterers must look to is the Fourth, as it is this lack of
discipline that leads the weak to avoid the brutal honesty that all
successful mortal relationships entail.

In conclusion, to the extent that you are unable to completely transcend
the mortal impulse that is love, it remains your sacred duty to see that
this mortal failing is made to serve the Master in all things. May
Strength and Evil guide you until that glorious day when the strong
shall transcend mortality altogether, joining in Eternal Malevolence
forever and ever.

Amen.

Penned by my hand on the 10th of Miraman, in the year 384 AF.