cakes and a chalice containing the blood, wine and water were passed through three sacred horns before being given to the chiefs present. Then, youths danced around the fire over the sacrificial pit. BRT:4:9 Then, priests of a lower order prepared tables for a feast while the common people sat around on logs made smooth at the top. The sacrificial beast, having been first offered to the gods of this place, was eaten by the common folk. All except the liver, which, being the seat of blood and life was kept for the diviners. These found that the right wing of the liver was broken, so they prophesied that no enemy would enter the land. BRT:4:10 Now, the king called together a great conclave of the people, and the Druthin were there. The king said to our father, "Speak now before the people. Tell us of your ways, and we will judge whether they be worthy." Joseph spoke a tongue understandable to these people, but he spoke slowly
and not after their fashion. BRT:4:11 Our father said, "As the light came first and called the eye into being to see it, so it is with God, who is the already existing light. The heart does not create the thought, but the thought produced the heart. This, so it could manifest, for the heart is created to serve thought in the world of effects. The world of causes lies in another kingdom." The Druthin said, "The light we know and have, these things are not strange to us. All light comes from an original crystal, which is always virgin, and we say the behaviour of light is the fore-ordained symbol to man. BRT:4:12 Joseph, our father, said, "I have not come to batter down your house of hope, for it has many pleasing features, even as ours. So let us not
disagree, but take the best from both and, discarding what is less good, fashion something of value to all. Let us weigh one thing against the other, rejecting that, which less clearly shows the way." BRT:4:13 The king said to the Chief of All Druthin, "Do we not have the source of light in a grail egg?" The Druthin replied, "The sun shines not, and the Esures (servants of Light) will not come without the presence of the Great Gleamer, which provides their sustenance. There can be no incarnation of light on Earth unless there be, behind it, a greater light." BRT:4:14 Joseph said, "When I was shipbound, I had a vision of God; the eyes of my spirit were opened, and I saw Him in all His glory. Then, I understood that there was no difference between the nature of His Spirit and
the spirits of men, only that His was of an infinitely greater purity. This I knew for sure: God and man are of the one essence. I knew we are all rays of the One Light, sparks from the One Flame. Yet, the flame is not the fire, for
what flame can call itself into being?" BRT:4:15 Joseph said, "If fire can be contained in wood, to leap forth when two pieces are heated through rubbing together, yet remain hidden within the wood, then surely it can be so with the soul within man.
BRT:4:16 The Chief of All Druthin said, "Often have I thought on this. All men are alike in nature and all aspire to the same goal. All seek to make the same journey's end; only the route differs. Therefore, let us not argue whether men should follow your road or mine, but find between us a path
better than either." BRT:4:17 One priest said, "What of the worlds within the ever moving circles?" Joseph replied, "The hidden worlds are numbered as sands on the seashore. If a man concerns himself with many things, he benefits none and derives no benefit, himself. Let us concern ourselves with this world first."
BRT:4:18 The Druthin said, "Who can change the natures of men, for these are fixed by the gods." Joseph answered, "All things can be changed, but not always for the better. Change and life are inseparable." BRT:4:19 Joseph went on to say, "Because you are folk who work the land, bringing it to fruitfulness, you are not to be despised. Let the newcomers with their armed might say as they will; you are workers with God. Were not the Sons of God also called the Sons of the Plough? Did they not fight against the Sons of Men who were hunters eating raw flesh like the beasts and worshipping serpents, which crawl on their bellies? Always there
have been some who worship things of insensitive wood and stone, grovelling in the dust at their feet, and those who worship the highest they can see, the sun and the stars. Others reach out even beyond these." BRT:4:20 One of the Druthin asked, "What know you of the Eye of God in men?" Joseph replied, "What is written in the heart is the Eye of God in men; this sees everything. Knowing right from wrong, it puts things in instant perspective. Men, in whom this eye is closed, are little better than the beasts of the field and forest. I come as one who opens the eyes of such as these." BRT:4:21 In the beginning, the king had listened in silence and was tolerant, because he felt he could indulge these strangers. Now, as he saw that their teachings might prevail, he became angry and unreasonable, as it happens in instances such as these. He said, "Who gives you authority to speak in this manner? Who sent you, and do you come to spy on us? To
whom do you make report?" BRT:4:22 Joseph said, "Know this, great king. I am a servant of The Great God of Light. I am sent in order to build a church here, where it will serve your people well. I will establish a place of light unto them. I come to teach the perfect commandments. Ask among your own about me, for I am not unknown to them. I have no human teacher, from whom I learned the wisdom, from whence I got these things. I lived in the light of Christ but learned tardily. Then I had a message from God Himself, 'Go preach to those
who dwell at the edge of the Earth.'" BRT:4:23 The king said, "How comes it that these things have been revealed to you, while the same God who reigns here has not revealed them to us, even though we were the lords of this land? Are you a man of
significance this side of the wide waters?" BRT:4:24 Joseph answered, "Those who are established in The God of Light need no mentors, and they take pride in their insignificance, for it is said, 'The first shall be last and the last first. The lowly shall be raised up and the haughty cast down.' We do not seek after gold or worldly possessions. Of myself, I have no power, but I have power from God. It is God who
commands, and it is He who makes a true man of God." BRT:4:25 There was much talking and long discourses on the nature of God, and the Druthin challenged Joseph to produce Him, saying, "Though you decry our images, yet we do have likenesses of our gods, while you lack even these. Your words are mere puffs of wind." BRT:4:26 These things and more were said, and the Druthin believed, but tardily. Then, at the midsummer festival the Chief of All the Druthin collapsed on the processional walk, denying himself the reviving draught prepared by Islass, his daughter. He died in the arms of Joseph our father. It was he who received the moon chalice and the light of Britain. The Druthin held the secrets of the Great Temple of the Stars, and theirs was the royal isle
in the Kingdom of Kevinid.
Chapter Five - The Writings of Abaris
BRT:5:1 I write in terrible times. My people have been driven to black despair, and the most cruel of foes has taken our fair land. The wisdom which
flows through my pen, tutored by Isbathaden the Younger, is as set into writing by our father Aristolas and by the great ones who gave us the Annals Romanorum which we hold in part, clinging like the thundervine to what is
left.
BRT:5:2 I am no weaver of words and if fine phrases bedeck what I transcribe, they are the work of better hands than mine. I am not as a teller of tales who sits before the hallfire, a waster of words like women over the fuller's tub. Those who wear the red robes of nobility have passed over the misty seas, and the land lies barren of learning. The Firthreig have taken over the dwellings of the wise, and the three pillars of progress - wisdom, courage
and beauty - no longer stand against Maermagic. BRT:5:3 I speak of one named Jesus who was Hesus come to Earth as a godling, the much abused One, but does not the lawman whose case is bad abuse his opponent? I speak of those who followed Him and suffered in the dark days of oppression. The anger of the people smouldered against the just ones, as Jesus had foretold while still in the body. Then, the time came when the dragon of disaster awoke, thirsting for blood, and it began to stalk its prey while liemongers fanned the smouldering embers of hatred into flame. BRT:5:4 The king of the land was stirred up to anger, and the hatred of the people became an all consuming fire. The wolves came out of their dark forest and suddenly fell upon the flocks of innocent sheep and rent them apart. Wild bears burst among the sheepfolds and ravaged them. Evil- motivated ones came and cut down the apple-bearing trees, and the starglint nights were woeful. Beasts trampled the flower gardens while eaglehawks swooped down among the dovecotes. The earthen ones broke. BRT:5:5 The culled-out servants of The High God entered the arena of vile entertainment, like children before their teachers. They were thrown into the path of the lions. Some, they equipped with weapons and forced to fight with bears. Women were scented with the smell of heat-angered beasts, and children stood frozen with fright. Their bodies were shredded like the paper