To Paradise and Bel-Ishûn

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

[Handwritten copies of a lengthy poem find their way onto the shelves of libraries and bookstores. More common, however, is their appearance and distribution in farther-removed places. A few copies are left with an herbalist beyond the Well, to give guidance and inspiration to the Kulamet.]

To Paradise and Bel-Ishûn

Sister Amélie of the Sisterhood of the Sibylline Vine
Speaker for Kula

Second Edition

Verse One: Kula comes into Bel-Ishûn.

On blasted sands, Her path was known; Warad had marked the pious course;
The turning of the Wheel, thereon; Through lifeless days and nights along;
But here, She stopped, and cast her eyes; A river wide and there, to flow;
Through canyon's great unmark'd course; Down into Bel-Ishun, below;
And then, she Spoke! A thunderclap; All eyes, looked swift, and there to see;
Her Garden grew upon the banks; Her mandate there, was set to be:
"This Garden here is Known to Me; And Mine shall keep it true, and so;
Let not its verdant banks beset; Its waters, great, shall ever flow;
And neither great corruption know; Nor dwindle through their base misuse;"
This She did speak, and Hers did hear; Commandment given form, and light;
Warad shall spread the missive, Word; That of Bel-Ishûn, Paradise.

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

Verse Two: Kula gives Names to all that Live, and all those that Live give praise to their Gardener.

And there She dwelled in harmony; As long the Ages turned without;
Her Garden grew, it multiplied; Into the desert sands it spread;
With Waters, Mercy, of B'aara; O there, to flourish, Life began;
And Life, in triumph, then arose; And called, did plead, unto Godhead;
"What now, great one," Her children spoke; Around Her they did stand at once;
And pleading there, for purpose strove; To meet their lofty chieftain, Crown'd;
She spoke once more, command again; And all about did start to hear;
Their Names, there-giv'n, with purpose bound; Rejoiced, them then, through field and fen;
But one Name then was left to give; One Name for them to know, revered;
Their Gard'ner there was yet-unnamed; Though great works, she was humble still;
And said she then, "Kula, am I! and all of me are 'Kulamet.'"

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

Verse Three: The Djinn, with unwholesome names, cannot strike at the Divine Wheel, and so pursue Life out of jealousy.

And all the Garden did rejoice; For Bel-Ishun, its Goddess named;
But not all there were pleased, it seems; The shadowed Djinn did rage and feign;
For they had names, unwhol'some things; And jealousy now stirred therein;
For Kula's names were mercies giv'n; while Djinni chafe in strife and pain;
But what could they, in secret do; Against the power of the Wheel;
All strikes, all blades, to nothing there; The Goddess' fury, there array'd;
But one among them rose and spoke; Of meager court, and nameless then;
And cunning there it did propose; To strike at those of meager strength;
To Life, the Djinn, would hearken then; Corruption there, their lowest aim;
Ashfolk, Man, and Stonefolk tall; And Elf, and Dwarf, all Kindred folk;
Of them, the Djinn, would hunt for sport; The Kulamet to ward them off.

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

Verse Four: The worst depredations of the Ninth Spoke and Pra'raj are kept in check, and Kula guides Life to flourish.

As all the ages then went by; From Colossi to Caliphate;
Though Darkness sought then at the door; Pra'raj cast down Its scorching light;
Their ways were barr'd, by Kingly power; Be-Ringed as they once were, all;
Still Kula looked upon the world; Her restless eyes would not be still;
In peace the focus of the Wheel; Attended Life, in all its flower;
The greatest Cities here arose; Upon the sea, Qadira sang;
Il Modo shone atop the waves; Baz'eel enthron'd, a diamond keen;
The greatest gardens there to build; Save Bel-Ishun in Wyld's ways;
Where ten-and-one Kalihlah stood; To tend the vines and flocks in praise;
And Kula looked upon the growth; And saw that Life did flourish there;
She smiled, blessing unto all; Who give the World their gracious care.

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

Verse Five: The Wheel foresees a great calamity and creates the Chalice, trusting the world's salvation in part to mortal effort.

But in that age of mighty works; Foreboding shadows did appear;
By star-lit dreams, Gellema's Sight; She looked upon triumphant night;
By subtle Art she shared this doom; That all the Wheel would swiftly know;
The Age of Glory, not to last; The deserts drown'd in poisoned Ash;
B'aara, wept ever, for the world; The Warrior, his axe gripped close;
Izdu chiseled upon the rock; Fierce Wyld sowed Life far and wide;
Gellema masked our dire state; Warad marked all the coming ways;
The Martyrs stood there to receive; All that would Curse these bitter trials;
But here the Wheel took one more step; To mortals, trusted, widening world;
In Prophecy they did portend; A Pilgrim wrought in tapestry;
And gave the world a shining Cup; That we shall end calamity.

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

Verse Six, and the Last: The Promise of the Chalice is there to be realized, and we must go forth and make it so.

Now here the Krak des Roses stands; The Cinquefoil banners proud aloft;
For Ibthial, we've overthrown; And now keep safe this Garden last;
To Chalice, yearning oaths are named; And Answer to Wheel's prophecy;
That Pilgrim, promised, shall be known; That Waters, pure, again shall flow;
From Well-spring here, Eudtu too; As Life in Bel-Ishun will grow;
Our desert grand, no more a waste; As Wyld's Life shall cleanse the ash;
And all the sacrifies dear; Known there upon the Martyrs' brows;
Now answering their lofty call; Remember we unto the dead;
Our purpose named: the World Redeemed; As Kula stirs the soul to sing;
That sanguine blood, our hearts beat true; Prepare, O World, for spirit's toil;
For now we sound the Pilgrim's path; To Chalice, then, and promise kept.
 

[Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi]

[A second edition of this work is published, with varying changes from the first, though the original is still available in certain locations.]