THE EPISTLE OF SAINT VELIUS TO THE KINGDOM OF LIONEL: CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

¹O King Radras, chosen of thy people, crowned by sword and sovereign light, hear now the words of thy servant Velius, Apostle of Saint Ajora, who hath seen the Heavens opened and beheld the throne of the Almighty.
²Let not thy heart be lifted up in pride, neither let thine eyes turn aside from the path, for the Lord is a jealous God, mighty in justice and swift in recompense.
³For thou knowest the commandments, and the teachings of the Saint, who spake with the voice of the Most High, whose hands brought forth healing, whose words rent asunder the veil of ignorance.
⁴These sayings were given not for a season, nor for a people alone, but for all generations, yea, even unto the end of the age.
⁵Forget them not, neither diminish thou their weight, for each precept is a stone in the foundation of Paradise, and whoso removeth one shall find himself cast down into the Pit.
⁶The seven great commandments stand as pillars of fire before the throne, and the eyes of the Lord are ever upon them that transgress.
⁷Consider now, O King, the fate of the city of Bel, which turned its back upon the teachings of the Saint, and walked in the vanity of its own mind.
⁸Did not fire rain down upon its spires? Were not its altars overthrown, and its gardens turned to salt?
⁹So too shall it be for all who heed not the Word, and who mock the prophet of the Lord.
¹⁰Let the people remember, and let the kings proclaim, that Hell is not a tale told to frighten children, but a place prepared for the disobedient.
¹¹It is cold, and the frost thereof biteth deeper than steel; it is ruled by he who is called Amphisbaena, the twice-mouthed serpent, the devourer of light.
¹²He is the adversary, cast down from the heights, who seeketh ever to draw souls into his coil, and to whisper lies into their hearts.
¹³Woe unto them that harken to his tongue, for his voice is as honey on the tongue, but his teeth are as swords.
¹⁴The souls of the unrepentant he chaineth in ice, and they are forgotten beneath the shadow of Ivalice.
¹⁵O Radras, be not as the kings of old, who clothed themselves in silk but denied justice to the poor, who filled their treasuries and emptied the cup of righteousness.
¹⁶For their names are blotted out, and their thrones are dust, and the songs of their minstrels are as ashes on the wind.
¹⁷Instead, be thou a king after the Lord’s own heart: humble in thy power, vigilant in thy commandment, and zealous in the faith.
¹⁸Let the law of the Lord be upon thy lips, and let thy counselors be men of wisdom and truth.
¹⁹Set watchmen upon thy walls, that they may cry aloud at the coming of deceit; and let no flatterer find a place at thy table.
²⁰For the deceiver loveth praise, and seeketh to lead the king astray by soft speech and hidden knives.
²¹Keep thy court clean, and thy judgments pure, and the Lord shall not depart from thee, but shall walk with thee as with the saints of old.
²²Call to remembrance the day of Ajora’s martyrdom, when the world was darkened and the Heavens mourned.
²³He died not for his own sin, for in him was found no guile, but for the sake of them that would be saved.
²⁴His blood crieth out, not in vengeance, but in mercy, and his death is the seal of the covenant between God and man.
²⁵If thou wouldst honor his memory, then walk in his way, and cause thy people to do likewise.
²⁶Establish schools where his teachings may be read, and sanctuaries where his name may be praised.
²⁷Let every child know his miracles, and every elder teach his parables, that no soul may grow in darkness.
²⁸For the darkness is full of snares, and the enemy layeth traps in every shadow.
²⁹The Lord hath given thee the staff of rule — use it not to wound the innocent, but to guide the erring.
³⁰Be as a father to the widow, and a brother to the orphan, and the Lord shall enlarge thy days and make thy name great in the land.
³¹Beware the merchants of false doctrines, who sell comfort in exchange for truth, and who build their temples upon lies.
³²For their end is ruin, and their worship is an abomination before the Most High.
³³Let thy altars burn with pure flame, and let not the rites of the ungodly find root in thy realm.
³⁴For the Lord seeth all things, and there is nothing hidden from His gaze, neither the thoughts of the wicked nor the secrets of the proud.
³⁵He shall weigh the hearts of men as with a balance, and shall judge according to their works.
³⁶Let every subject of thine know that they live beneath the eye of judgment, and that the time of reckoning shall surely come.
³⁷As it is written in the scroll of Ajora, “The fire shall prove each man’s work, whether it be gold, or chaff, or dross.”
³⁸Therefore prepare thyself, O King, and prepare thy people, for the day draweth nigh when the Heavens shall shake and Ivalice shall groan.
³⁹Let none say they were not warned, neither let them blame the silence of their rulers, for thou art charged to be a herald of truth.
⁴⁰Proclaim the commandments in the public square, inscribe them upon the gates, and teach them in the houses of judgment.
⁴¹And if thou doest this, the Lord shall hedge thy kingdom about with glory, and thy enemies shall fall before thee.
⁴²Thy storehouses shall be full, and thy fields shall yield increase, and thy people shall rejoice in peace.
⁴³But if thou turn aside — if thou allow corruption to enter thy gates, or permit the proud to trample the poor — then shall the Lord contend with thee.
⁴⁴He shall send drought upon thy lands, and confusion into thy councils, and the sword shall not depart from thy borders.
⁴⁵Let this not be, O King, but incline thine ear to wisdom, and turn thy face to righteousness.
⁴⁶For the mercy of the Lord is great to them that seek it, and His wrath swift against them that mock it.
⁴⁷Think not that thy crown shall shield thee in that day, nor thy armies deliver thee from His hand.
⁴⁸For He judgeth not by stature nor by strength, but by the measure of the heart, and by the works thereof.
⁴⁹Therefore, cleanse thy hands, and purify thy court, and let thy kingdom be as an altar unto the Lord.
⁵⁰And peace shall dwell in thy walls, and thy name shall be remembered among the righteous forever.

▷THE SEVEN SCRIPTURES OF THE CHURCH OF GLABADOS
    ▷THE EPISTLES OF SAINT VELIUS TO THE NEW KINGDOMS
        ▷THE EPISTLE OF SAINT VELIUS TO THE KINGDOM OF LIONEL
            ▶1—2—3—4

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