Negative Plane
The Pact...
1. A Work to Stand a Thousand Years
The story of the architect and how he built his church
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Part 1 - The Vision
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I have seen it in a dream
A palace to exalt the angels
A monument to the God in Heaven
with spires that seem to touch the clouds
Upon the hill where the martyrs fell
A place of worship will stand
The steeple's shadow across the sky
A spear for the hearts of the unbelievers
Scores of the young and old must break their backs and be crushed beneath the wheels.
But the Lord is good and merciful and the work will stand one thousand years
A blessing from the Scarlet One
Rejoice and give thanks!
But the first of those across these steps must perish in the flames
Part 2 - The Work
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Piling the dead and filling the trenches
Grinding their bones to make from them mortar
Brick upon brick and stone upon stone
Whatever the cost the work must continue...
Forty years of endless toil
By the Grace of the Holy Fiend
This cursed place of worship and
horror will stand therein a thousand years
2. Poison and the Crucifix
The story of how a faithless clergyman met his end, as the doors of the church were opened for the first time.
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On an overcast day in the month of May, the winds that came
were the first of many
The church was to open upon the hill and the archbishop came to bless its seal.
But the architect of the cathedral's design, went suddenly missing
like a thief in the night
And then what followed, could not be explained
except by the presence of an unnatural aid
Many say that the architect
was in league with the Evil One…
For it was written, by his hand
"The first to enter
will be surely damned..
Except if one has a perfect faith
He'll not fall into the snare
But any doubt and he will surely be
lost forever for all eternity "
It has been said
by the many who'd seen
that it was not His Eminence
but rather his beast,
who crossed the threshold
into the church, instead of his master who was to be first..
The coward gave up the soul of his pet for the Prince of Fire to burn instead but the Father of Lies could not be deceived, and turned the hound's anger on the arrogant priest
The creature lunged
and tore the throat
of the bishop,
who had known,
he had not faith
enough to cross
into the church
And would be lost
And from his neck
it tore the crucifix
And ran like lightning
deep into the crypts
The others followed
but it was as if
It had simply vanished
Into the air
All of those who’d seen what had happened there that day
Believed it was the influence of the Archfiend holding sway
Who had turned the beast against the Messenger of the Holy church
And drove it down into the depths of the Holy Sepulcher
But from there, where would it have possibly gone?
A hidden way into the catacombs where the martyrs lay their heads
A door that had not been there before was suddenly standing open
Quickly returning with the others to show them what he had seen
But the door that had been there just moments before would never be seen again
Then a sudden howl that seemed to shake the stones
High above the rafters, it seemed, that the beast had flown, like a winged bat to the top of the steeple's tower, by the aid of some unseen infernal power
And with a sudden leap from the edge of the precipice,
it impaled itself on the iron churchyard gate!
The corpse was flung down deep into a hole to rot in the earth by the church's cornerstone
But no one saw cloaked in scarlet vestments
The vial of poison and the missing crucifix
3. Three Turns to the West
The story of how a monk of the Capuchin Order was led astray, while searching for the hidden sanctum below the church.
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The holy man asked the angels for a miracle
and asked the Lord Above how to show his faith
In cloister walls, cloaked within the blessed silence
"Do not put the Lord your God to the test!
Obey His law, kneel before the King of Kings"
Was it a voice heard from somewhere above?
Or perhaps only a whisper from a dream (that said)
"The angels and saints are deaf to thoughts and prayers alone.
But in the sanctum below, you will find the answers that you seek
Follow the steps ... the wait will not be long.."
Three turns to the west
Another to the east
Stand within a circle
By the Altar of the Penitent
It will be there...
The Light in the Darkness
The Dark in the Light
As Abraham offered up his only son
A test of faith, "The Lord will surely stay your hand"
Weathered robes and habit, wooden crucifix
Trembling hands plunge the knife into the chest..
"I am deceived... now there can be no turning back"
Three turns to the west
Another to the east
Blessed is the sacrifice
By the Altar of the Penitent
Three turns towards the north
And another to the south
A black dog will appear to thee
To lead into the sanctuary
It will be there...
The Light in the Darkness
The Dark in the Light
What has just been done can never be undone
Denied forever entry to the mansions above
But the entrance to the sanctuary lies just beyond...
"Conceal all your actions and leave not a trace.
Quickly for your absence has already been noted!"
Too late, they return....
"At the hour of Vespers
You were not amongst us.."
The knife still in his hand..
His habit stained with blood...
And the deed is known…
Writhing in the agonies of the Auto da Fe
Burned without the benefit of strangulation
The Devil and Saint Peter cast lots for his remains
The secret below the chapel dies upon his lips...*
“There was another way inside”
4. The Wailing of the Immured
5. Even the Devil Goes into the Church
The story of a mysterious visitor, who asks the church's caretaker to spend the night in the chapel and claims to have firsthand knowledge of events from centuries past.
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Traveler:
"I am merely but a weary traveler seeking rest
inside the Holy Chapel's walls as a single evening's guest.
In return, my knowledge will be given freely as the air.
Both the known and the hidden,
are mine to be shared"
Caretaker:
"What brings you here to sleep within the Chapel of Our Lord?
Your face, it seems familiar, have I not seen you here before?"
Traveler:
"An endless search for the Garden of Eden by the way of the setting sun, only to return to the very same place in which my journey had begun.
I have heard it said this place is not of Our Lord, but instead signed to another by a written accord.
For I once knew a holy man who found beneath our feet
A dark place of worship none who live have ever seen."
I can still remember
The words that he had spoke ...
'Three turns to the west..
'And from the east open the door'”
Caretaker:
"You must be mad,
for the one of whom you speak
was burned alive for his crimes
fifty years and one century before"
Traveler:
"Nonetheless
I saw him then,
just as I see you now
You, of little faith, why not listen to my words?
For I come from a time when the prophets walked the earth
I have been blessed with an unnaturally long life,
just as once were Adam's offspring
whose centuries numbered nine
When the first bricks here were laid and the mortar not yet set
Something was concealed by the cunning architect.
Just look behind the Altar and there you will see
An entrance has been hidden
By the stone of the Penitent’s feet.
Caretaker:
"Madman, Demon , leave at once, go back from whence you came!
Whether a fiend or a charlatan, you will leave here just the same."
But the visitor just laughed, and said in a great voice filled with mirth:
"Now even the Devil himself goes into the church!"
6. The Other Door
The story of the church's caretaker who found the chamber of the architect, but then fell into a trap and was then left to slowly die in the pit below the church by the one known as “The Traveler.” These are his last words and thoughts just before he joins the others below in eternal sleep.
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Can anyone even hear me?
Or are the words that pass my lips,
forever sealed inside the walls
of the catacombs below the crypts?
I can feel with my hands
But my eyes see only darkness
and illusions
Or are they real?
I do not know anymore...
While the hours turn into days
how much longer must l wait
to be found or to die?
I can't endure another moment
in the dark…
How did I come to be
lost within the bowels of
the Holy Church ?
A fiend, who walks with the shape of a man who calls himself, "The Traveler"
He told me of something hidden,
Something I was supposed to find down below
And like a fool I listened,
at the cost of my earthly life
and my own immortal soul
Right behind the altar,
just as the Traveler had said,
an entrance was revealed that led to a chamber deep within..
An inscription was etched upon the wall next to a single iron door
and on the iron handle marked were the four compass cardinal points.
"Whomever desires to enter,
Light and Faith are not the same.
For one to leave this chamber, a simple choice must then be made..."
One door leads to Heaven and the other leads to Hell,
but if Three times your Weight in sin is Empty, you have already chosen well."
What was it that the Traveler had said? What did he mean by, "Three turns to the West…?"
I did not know...
But with a rightward turn of the handle, I learned the meaning of those words, as below my feet then opened up a chasm in the earth...
The Other Door…
Looking over the edge, the Traveler said:
"How far you've fallen, my friend!
But if you have still faith enough, the angels will surely then raise you up!"
Caretaker:
"Let the Lord now save his servant, let his prayers not be in vain!"
Traveler:
"Perhaps you should ask the Devil instead for this is His Domain…"
Caretaker:
"Then I beg of Lucifer to raise me up from this pit!"
Traveler:
"So wait here for your new master to come to your aid,
For I must leave and close the door as the hour is getting late..."
Caretaker:
"This cannot be!! You must not leave me down here to die!"
7. And So It Came to Pass
The story of a man who murdered his own brother in order to inherit his family's estate, and how he then discovered what had become of his ancestor, the architect, and his church.
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Part 1 – The Manor
In the summer of a year that has long been forgotten since,
the wheel had turned again to the darkest time of past events.
A man of wealth had died, and left to the younger of two surviving sons, the family manor passed down through seven generations.
The younger, his father had favored, as for the older he'd felt nothing but shame, and so the eldest son was denied then his rightful claim.
But later that evening, while the younger brother stood at the top of the steps, a fatal blow was struck and he fell to his death.
A tragedy was staged to conceal his mortal sin
And as the only surviving heir, his father's manor then went to him.
Without a living witness, the eldest’s claim was not denied.
Although he was suspected, none could prove otherwise.
Just like Cain and Abel,
The older and younger
The past becomes the present
As it was before, it now must be again...
As it was, it now must be
And once again, the past repeats
As it was, it again will be
Until the last one is complete
Something was amiss,
the eldest turned back to meet the gaze
of the portrait of a man hanging just above the fireplace,
whose cruel features seemed almost to reflect his own,
the one who had built the church, upon whose ruins
now stood his home.
He had vowed that the work would stand throughout the centuries,
but his vision was destroyed with the blessing of the Holy See,
who had washed its hands of the blood spilled within the walls
of the corrupted chapel of horrors, whose infamy had betrayed them all.
And so the church was set ablaze and razed down to the ground, but its steeple would not fall, and the flames would not reach to the tower.
The cursed land was then returned to the family in disgrace
who built on the ruin around the tower a manor in the church's place.
Just like the worm divided that doubles in length and size,
The past becomes the present
As it was before it now must be again...
As it was, it now must be
And once again, the past repeats
As it was, it again will be
Until the last one is complete
The brother could hear, it seemed, another's thoughts inside his head...
Speaking with his voice, but with the language of the dead
"My thoughts are now your thoughts for my blood runs deep
throughout your veins
You are my descendent, and through you,
I will now live yet again…"
What you are now,
I once was too,
and what I am now,
you soon shall be.
The Door to Heaven,
one may pass through
with a permutation's key.
Three turns to the West,
One towards the East,
using Faith, and not Light, to see.
I am waiting there in the steeple's tower.
You must now come and walk with me"
Part 2 – The Steeple’s Tower
As if in a trance, he walked right through the iron door.
And a black dog led him up the winding stairs,
through an opening in the floor, to the steeple's sunlit chamber where he saw still sitting at his desk, mouth and eyes still open,
the preserved remains of the missing architect
"Now continue my work
Undo this disgrace
Let the righteous flames consume this place,
So that I may then
begin again
And my church will stand
One thousand years"
And so he stood engulfed in flames
dressed in the raiments of his ancestor
while laughter filled the burning tower
In the place where clouds dwell
And to where the angels fly...
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