Esteemed scholars studying, dear peoples who are wary,

Without being properly initiated into an attending mystery, it is hubris and folly to my eyes for the many to seize upon or copy a folio from the Grimoire of Souls left behind by my late Lord, an Elder God -- readily enticing readers through curiosity alone. Dare I say, a snare from the Dark Lord? It troubles me. Baleful ,mad ramblings from an old hermit, quite possibly entertaining after this sentence!

Who among you is esteemed by Thoth to entreat upon His property? Oh but you say, "He's dead and demised." By what manner do you establish or find yourself worthy to partake of such things? Perhaps, a tsol descendant of a qui'anar who rode against Prince Slith upon a great spider, under the aegis of Thoth might yet be found among you, immune to such misfortunes, and in theory have better success against it's primary designation? who is so wise to know the ends of such things? Why out of all the gods was the Endbringer chosen for the Genesis when so many gods before Him died with far less pomp and circumstance? Questions like these often keep me awake at night. Is this the end He truly sought or just the beginning?

For what it's worth, even a bearer of a soulstone, such as I, would not willingly tread upon such a domain as the Grimoire of Souls, being the meekest of my brethren without good reason.

It is the only talisman understood by His Divine Order capable of retrieving and anchoring a soul and body from cosmic exposure and sundering caused by traversing such gateways and paths within His realms.


Hereby, I recollect the following memories and articles for your betterment, as bewildering as they might sound, but were experienced by the forerunning disciples of Death in the time before the Obelisk was raised, since few know of such estoeric things as revealed to us until now:

"The Sundering" is a colloquial term used to express a phenomena encountered my late teacher Grom Defaron each time he ventured past the Gate of Souls from the Dream: aided by the Nightmare Siren Alp who forewarned him of many dangers, which he bravely faced. Deit, the gatekeeper, was there each time, as Grom surrendered a tithe of his soul to the Styx. Where this river goes we do not know, but many streamlets merge into it. Some of you might understand the nature of soulbleed and that might aide you. These experiences beyond the banks of Styx were archived by one of Thoth's attendants, Nazoul, a scholarly and venerable figure we've lost all contact with after "the Demise."

This testament of Grom was one of many; yet only a single volume known as GROM IX was discovered in the mists beyond the Styx by our Order. These induced comas and phantasmagoric journeys were written down by his hand under the watchful eye of Nazoul, and no sooner than they were written down, that he would awake, having no recollection of such events, leading to a worsening of his symptoms, as his body began to reflect the malaise of his soul by the 9th chronicle. These experiments took place between the years 320-340 A.F.



As an occultist, Grom Defaron saw himself as Xylthus the Outcast's disciple. Who in those days could often be found wandering near Lorewarden Candlemas in Azdun's underground. If a young reader does not know, the Occultists once practiced Necromancy, which led to the use of adenochrome harvested from orphans.. I know some of you scholars out there might have already read the Shakti experiments attending to these things. Forgive me, but I digress.

For fear I've already lost you, the somniloquys and such Grom experienced through induced comas, a venom known by Serpents, resulted in his own lichdom from these wanderings into the Soulrealms. It wasn't until 345 A.F. that his soul was retrieved, thereby anchored by the soulstone given to him by the Endbringer, Master of Souls.

As Grom's lichdom retreated, his soul returned to him gradually at first, and the stink of undeath and formaldehyde left after awhile, as did his ghoulishness, but the fractures to his psyche remained. Deep wounds though they heal, left their mark, but nonetheless his soul was restored from what I can tell... for it is beyond my knowing.

This soulstone pendant was a wondrous thing to behold, suspended on a mithril chain, which allowed all Qui'anar of His Divine Order safe passage beyond the font within it's Obelisk of Souls and journey's mercy without tithe, toll, or fear of sundering by the River Styx, the likes of which Grom experienced through the Little Death in the Dream.

As many are being enticed to their Demise, I would recommend leaving well enough alone, not to read it, because I fear we all are vulnerable just as Grom was even though the dangers did not concern him then, fore we know more fully now the consequences of cosmic gates because of his phantasmagoric experiences, which manifested upon his flesh from the exposure and anguish he experienced in due time.

It would be wiser still, I fear, to seek the counsel of the Somnolent One, under whose graces the Memory of Thoth might relent, suffering the Little Death of Sleep and any phantasmagoric nightmare first, from the Mask that fell and was shattered at the Throne under His own blade..


My soul's prepared, how's yours?


Dr. Antreus Atreide | Institute of Thanatology, Delos


" Is HE one or many, merging --
Name and fame in One,
Likened to a living stream, to which, converging,
Many streamlets run ?

Who shall call His dream fallacious ?
Who has searched or sought All the unexplored and
spacious Universe of thought ?

Who in His own name confiding,
Shall with rule and line
Glorify His chosen ones,
Mortal and Divine "




Penned by my hand on the 4th of Lupar, in the year 949 AF.