THE TESTIMONY OF THE MAD
ARAB
THIS is the testimony of all that I have seen, and all that I have
learned, in those years that I have possessed the Three Seals of MASSHU. I have
seen One Thousand-and-One moons, and surely this is enough for the span of a
man's life, though it is said the Prophets lived much longer. I am weak, and
ill, and bear a great tiredness and exhaustion, and a sigh hangs in my breast
like a dark lantern. I am old.
The wolves carry my name in their midnight
speeches, and that quiet, subtle Voice is summoning me from afar. And a Voice
much closer will shout into my ear with unholy impatience. The weight of my soul
will decide its final resting place. Before that time, I must put down here all
that I can concerning the horrors that stalk Without, and which lie in wait at
the door of every man, for this is the ancient arcana that has been handed down
of old, but which has been forgotten by all but a few men, the worshippers of
the Ancient Ones (may their names be blotted out!).
And if I do not
finish this task, take what is here and discover the rest, for time is short and
mankind does not know nor understand the evil that awaits it, from every side,
from every Gate, from every broken barrier, from every mindless acolyte at the
alters of madness.
For this is the Book of the Dead, the Book of the
Black Earth, that I have writ down at the peril of my life, exactly as I
received it, on the planes of the IGIGI, the cruel celestial spirits from beyond
the Wanderers of the Wastes.
Let all who read this book be warned thereby
that the habitation of men are seen and surveyed by that Ancient Race of gods
and demons from a time before time, and that they seek revenge for that
forgotten battle that took place somewhere in the Cosmos and rent the Worlds in
the days before the creation of Man, when the Elder Gods walked the Spaces, the
race of MARDUK, as he is known to the Chaldeans, and of ENKI our MASTER, the
Lord of Magicians.
Know, then, that I have trod all the Zones of the
Gods, and also the places of the Azonei, and have descended unto the foul places
of Death and Eternal Thirst, which may be reached through the Gate of GANZIR,
which was built in UR, in the days before Babylon was.
Know, too, that I
have spoken with all manner of spirit and daemon, whose names are no longer
known in the societies of Man, or were never known. And the seals of some of
these are writ herein; yet others I must take with me when I leave you. ANU have
mercy on my soul!
I have seen the Unknown Lands, that no map has ever
charted. I have lived in the deserts and the wastelands, and spoken with demons
and the souls of slaughtered men, and of women who have dies in childbirth,
victims of the she-fiend LAMMASHTA.
I have traveled beneath the Seas, in
search of the Palace of Our Master, and found the stone of monuments of
vanquished civilisations, and deciphered the writings of some of these; while
still others remain mysteries to any man who lives. And these civilisations were
destroyed because of the knowledge contained in this book.
I have
traveled among the stars, and trembled before the Gods. I have, at last, found
the formulae by which I passed the Gate ARZIR, and passed into the forbidden
realms of the foul IGIGI.
I have raised demons, and the dead.
I
have summoned the ghosts of my ancestors to real and visible appearance on the
tops of temples built to reach the stars, and built to touch the nethermost
cavities of HADES. I have wrestled with the Black Magician, AZAG-THOTH, in vain,
and fled to the Earth by calling upon INANNA and her brother MARDUK, Lord of the
double-headed AXE.
I have raised armies against the Lands of the East, by
summoning the hordes of fiends I have made subject unto me, and so doing found
NGAA, the God of the heathens, who breathes flame and roars like a thousand
thunders.
I have found fear.
I have found the Gate that leads to
the Outside, by which the Ancient Ones, who ever seek entrance to our world,
keep eternal watch. I have smelled the vapours of that Ancient One, Queen of the
Outside, whose name is writ in the terrible MAGAN text, the testament of some
dead civilisation whose priests, seeking power, swing open the dread, evil Gate
for an hour past the time, and were consumed.
I came to possess this
knowledge through circumstances quite peculiar, while still the unlettered son
of a shepherd in what is called Mesopotamia by the Greeks.
When I was
only a youth, travelling alone in the mountains to the East, called MASSHU by
the people who live there, I came upon a grey rock carved with three strange
symbols. It stood as high as a man, and as wide around as a bull. It was firmly
in the ground, and I could not move it. Thinking no more of the carvings, save
that they might be the work of a king to mark some ancient victory over an
enemy, I built a fire at its foot to protect me from the wolves that wander in
those regions and went to sleep, for it was night and I was far from my village,
being Bet Durrabia. Being about three hours from dawn, in the nineteenth of
Shabatu, I was awakened by the howl of a dog, perhaps of a wolf, uncommonly loud
and close at hand. The fire had dies to its embers, and these red, glowing coals
cast a faint, dancing shadow across the stone monument with the three carvings.
I began to make haste to build another fire when, at once, the gray rock began
to rise slowly into the air, as though it were a dove. I could not move or speak
for the fear that seized upon my spine and wrapped cold fingers around my skull.
The Dik of Azug-bel-ya was no stranger to me than this sight, though the former
seemed to melt into my hands!
Presently, I heard a voice, softly, some
distance away and a more practical fear, that of the possibility of robbers,
took hold of me and I rolled behind some weeds, trembling. Another voice joined
the first, and soon several men in the black robes of thieves came together over
the place where I was, surrounding the floating rock, of which they did not
exhibit the least fright.
I could see clearly now that the three carvings
on the stone monument were glowing a flame red colour, as though the rock were
on fire. The figures were murmuring together in prayer or invocation, of which
only a few words could be heard, and these in some unknown tongue; though, ANU
have mercy on my soul!, these rituals are not unknown to me any
longer.
The figures, whose faces I could not see or recognise, began to
make wild passes in the air with knives that glinted cold and sharp in the
mountain night.
From beneath the floating rock, out of the very ground
where it had sat, came rising the tail of a serpent. This serpent was surely
larger than any I had ever seen. The thinnest section thereof was fully that of
the arms of two men, and as it rose from the earth it was followed by another,
although the end of the first was not seen as it seemed to reach down into the
very Pit itself. These were followed by still more, and the ground began to
tremble under the pressure of so many of these enormous arms. The chanting of
the priests, for I knew them now to be the servants of some hidden Power, became
much louder and very nearly hysterical.
IA! IA! ZI AZAG!
IA! IA!!
ZI AZKAK!
IA! IA! KUTULU ZI KUR!
IA!
The ground where I was hiding became wet with some substance, being
slightly downhill from the scene I was witnessing. I touched the wetness and
found it to be blood. In horror, I screamed and gave my presence away to the
priests. They turned toward me, and I saw a loathing that they had cut their
chests with the daggers they had used to raise the stone, for some mystical
purpose I could not then divine; although I know now that blood is the very food
of these spirits, which is why the field after the battles of war glows with an
unnatural light, the manifestations of the spirits feeding thereon.
May
ANU protect us all!
My scream had the effect of casting their ritual into
chaos and disorder. I raced through the mountain path by which I had come, and
the priests came running after me, although some seemed to stay behind, perhaps
to finish the Rites. However, as I ran wildly down the slopes in the cold night,
my heart giving rise in my chest and my head growing hot, the sound of splitting
rocks and thunder came from behind me and shook the very ground I ran upon. In
fright, and in haste, I fell to the earth.
Rising, I turned to face
whatever attacker had come nearest me, though I was unarmed. To my surprise what
I saw was no priest of ancient horror, no necromancer of that forbidden Art, but
black robes fallen upon the grass and weeds, with no seeming presence of life or
bodies beneath them.
I walked cautiously to the first and, picking up a
long twig, lifted the robe from the tangle of weeds and thorns. All that
remained of the priest was a pool of slime, like green oil, and the smell of a
body lain long to rot in the sun. Such a stench nearly overpowered me, but I was
resolute to find the others, to see if the same fortune had also befallen
them.
Walking back up the slope that I had so fearfully run down only
moments ago, I came across yet another of the dark priests, in identical
condition to the first. I kept walking, passing more of the robes as I went, not
venturing to overturn them any longer. Then, I finally came upon the grey stone
monument that had risen unnaturally into the air at the command of the priests.
It now upon the ground once more, but the carvings still glowed with
supernatural light. The serpents, or what I had then though of as serpents, had
disappeared. But in the dead embers of the fire, now cold and black, was a
shining metal plate. I picked it up and saw that it also was carved, as the
stone, but very intricately, after a fashion I could not understand. I did not
bear the same markings as the stone, but I had the feeling I could almost read
the characters, but could not, as though I once knew the tongue but had since
long forgotten. My head began to ache as though a devil was pounding my skull,
when a shaft of moonlight struck the metal amulet, for I know now what it was,
and a voice entered into my head and told me the secrets of the scene I had
witnessed in one word:
KUTULU.
In that moment, as though whispered fiercely into my ear, I
understood.
These are the signs carved upon the grey stone, that was the
Gate to the Outside:
An this is the amulet that I held in my hand, and hold to this very day,
around my neck as I write these words:
Of the three carved symbols, the first is the sign of our Race from
beyond the Stars, and is called ARRA in the tongue of the Scribe who taught it
to me, an emissary of the Elder Ones. In the tongue of the eldest city of
Babylon, it was UR. It is the Sigil of the Covenant of the Elder Gods, and when
they see it, they who gave it to us, they will not forget us. They have
sworn!
Spirit of the Skies, Remember!
The second is the Elder
Sign, and is the Key whereby the Powers of the Elder Gods may be summoned, when
used with the proper words and shapes. It has a Name, and is called
AGGA.
The third sign is the Sigil of the Watcher. It is called BANDAR.
The Watcher is a Race sent by the Elder Ones. It keeps vigil while one sleeps,
provided the appropriate ritual and sacrifice has been performed,: else, if
called, it will turn upon you.
These seals, to be effective, must be
graven on stone and set in the ground. Or, set upon the altar of offerings. Or,
carried to the Rock of Invocations. Or, engraved on the metal of one's God or
Goddess, and hung about the neck, but hidden from the view of the profane. Of
the three, the ARRA and the AGGA may be used separately, that is to say, singly
and alone. The BANDAR, however, must never be used alone, but with one or both
of the others, for the Watcher must needs be reminded of the Covenant it has
sworn with the Elder Gods and our Race, else it will turn upon thee and slay
thee and ravage thy town until succour is to be had from the Elder Gods by the
tears of thy people and the wailing of thy women.
KAKAMMU!
The
metal amulet that I retrieved from the ashes of the fire, and which caught the
light of the moon, is a potent seal against whatever may come in the Gate from
the Outside for, seeing it, they will retreat from thee
SAVE ONLY IF IT
CATCH THE LIGHT OF THE MOON UPON ITS SURFACE
for, in the dark days of the
moon, or in cloud, there can be little protection against the fiends from the
Ancient Lands should they break the barrier, or be let in by their servants upon
the face of the earth. In such a case, no recourse is to be had until the light
of the moon shines upon the earth, for the moon is the eldest among the Zonei,
and is the starry symbol of our Pact. NANNA, Father of the Gods,
Remember!
Wherefore, the amulet must be engraved upon pure silver in the
full light of the moon, that the moon shine upon it at its working, and the
essence of the moon incantations must be performed, and the prescribed rituals
as given forth in this Book. And the amulet must never be exposed to the light
of the Sun, for SHAMMASH called UDU, in his jealousy, will rob the seal of its
power. In such a case, it must be bathed in water of camphor, and the
incantations and ritual performed once again. But, verily, it were better to
engrave another.
These secrets I give to thee at the pain of my life,
never to be revealed to the profane, or the banished, or the worshippers of the
Ancient Serpent, but to keep within thine own heart, always silent upon these
things.
Peace be to thee!
Henceforth, from that fateful night in
the Mountains of MASSHU, I wandered about the country-side in search of the key
to the secret knowledge that had been given me. And it was a painful and lonely
journey, during which time I took no wife, called no house or village my home,
and dwelt in various countries, often in caves or in the deserts, learning
several tongues as a traveller might learn them, to bargain with the
tradespeople and learn of their news and customs. But my bargaining was with the
Powers that reside in each of these countries. And soon, I cam to understand
many things which before I had no knowledge, except perhaps in dreams. The
friends of my youth deserted me, and I them. When I was seven years gone from my
family, I learned that they had all died of their own hand, for reasons no one
was able to tell me; their flocks had been slain as the victims of some strange
epidemic.
I wandered as a beggar, being fed from town to town as the
local people saw fit, often being stoned instead and threatened with
imprisonment. On occasion, I was able to convince some learned man that I was a
sincere scholar, and was thereby permitted to read the ancient records in which
the details of necromancy. sorcery, magick and alchemy are given. I learned of
the spells that cause men illness, the plague, blindness, insanity, and even
death. I learned of the various classes of demons and evil gods that exist, and
of the old legends concerning the Ancient Ones. I was thus able to arm myself
against also the she-devil LAMMASHTA, who is called the Sword that Splits the
Skull, the sight of whom causeth horror and dismay, and(some say) death of a
most uncommon nature.
In time, I learned of the names and properties of
all the demons, devils, fiends and monsters listed herein, in this Book of the
Black Earth. I learned of the powers of the astral Gods, and how to summon their
aid in times of need. I learned, too, of the frightful beings who dwell beyond
the astral spirits, who guard the entrance to the Temple of the Lost, of the
Ancient of Days, the Ancient of the Ancient Ones, whose Name I cannot write
here.
In my solitary ceremonies in the hills, worshipping with fire and
sword, with water and dagger, and with the assistance of a strange grass that
grows wild in certain parts of MASSHU, and with which I had unwittingly built my
fire before the rock, that grass that gives the mind great power to travel
tremendous distances into the heavens, as also into the hells, I received the
formulae for the amulets and talismans which follow, which provide the Priest
with safe passage among the spheres wherein he may travel in search of the
Wisdom.
But now, after One Thousand-and-One moons of the journey, the
Maskim nip at my heels, the Rabishu pull at my hair, Lammashta opens her dread
jaws, AZAG-THOTH gloats blindly at his throne, KUTULU raises his head and stares
up through the Veils of sunkun Varloorni, up through the Abyss, and fixes his
stare upon me; wherefore I must with haste write this indeed, it appears as
though I have failed in some regard as to the order of the rites, or to the
formulae, or to the sacrifices, for now it appears as if the entire host of
ERESHKIGAL lies waiting, dreaming, drooling for my departure. I pray the Gods
that I am saved, and not perish as did the Priest, ABDUL BEN-MARTU, in Jerusalem
(the Gods remember and have mercy upon him!). My fate is no longer writ in the
stars, for I have broken the Chaldean Covenant by seeking power over the Zonei.
I have set foot on the moon, and the moon no longer has power over me. The lines
of my life have been oblitered by my wanderings in the Waste, over the letters
writ in the heavens by the gods. And even now I can hear the wolves howling in
the mountains as they did that fateful night, and they are calling my name, and
the names of Others. I fear for my flesh, but I fear for my spirit
more.
Remember, always, in every empty moment, to call upon the Gods not
to forget thee, for they are forgetful and very far away. Light thy fires high
in the hills, and on the tops of temples and pyramids, that they may see and
remember.
Remember always to copy each of the formulae as I have put it
down, and not to change it by one line or dot, not so much as a hair's breadth,
lest it be rendered valueless, or worse: a broken star is the Gate of GANZIR,
the Gate of Death, the Gate of the Shadows and the Shells. Recite the
incantations as they are written here, in the manner this prescribed. Prepare
the rituals without erring, and in the proper places and times render the
sacrifices.
May the Gods be ever merciful unto thee!
May thou
escape the jaws of the MASKIM, and vanquish the power of the Ancient
Ones!
AND THE GODS GRANT THEE DEATH
BEFORE THE ANCIENT ONES RULE
THE
EARTH ONCE MORE!
KAKAMMU! SELAH!