(Excerpt from an interview with Hassan al-Kardel al-Din Kahbur, citizen of the Ottoman Empire)
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
The Beneficent, the Merciful,
Owner of the Day of Judgement,
Thee we worship, Thee we ask for help,
Show us the straight path,
The path of those whom Thou hast favoured,
Not of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.
This record is the truth as I witnessed and learned it.
Many years ago, when Umar the second ruled as Caliph in Damascus1, Ibrahim Ibn Abdul Zar-ad-Din, an imam of Sanna in Yemen, saw that demonic powers were boldly preying on the sons of Adam. That foolish men had opened doors and made compacts with Satan and Iblis and other fiends. That faith alone was no protection against the powers of evil.
Thus, as it is written, he summoned seven times seven wise men to combat the threat. It is written that it was seven times seven wise men who answered Ibrahim's call, and their number was, indeed, 49, but I am compelled to note that there were 38 wise men and 11 wise women in their number, for Allah calls all to faith and service, and Allah gives wisdom and blessing to whoever he chooses.
Ibrahim and the 49 prayed and fasted and studied and argued for many days until a plan had been made. Four fabulous gems would be shaped into representations of four guardians: a Lion, a Bull, an Eagle, and a Fish. Four Ifrit warriors, condemned by their overlords for great crimes, would be bound for eternity into service; one into each guardian, each to have power over one of the elements, all to protect the sons and daughets of Adam against the dark forces, in the name of Allah the Benificent and Merciful.
When the work was completed, and certain dark hosts were driven from the lands of men, Ibrahim and the 49 rejoiced and praised Allah for his generosity. Then they chose from among their number four custodians who would each take one of the guardians to a far corner of the empire, so that the protection would be available in all quarters of the land of men.
Because Ibrahim and the 49 met in Damascus to create the guardians, the artefacts have often been called by the city's name: The Lion of Damascus, the Bull of Damascus, the Eagle of Damascus, and the Great Fish of Damascus.
The four guardians were thus hidden. For many years they assisted wise men in driving the unclean from the lands of men. Until the European Crusaders came to the lands of the People of the Book. They wrought havoc on the cities of the Holy Land, and they took away many treasures. Among those stolen were the Lion, the Bull, and the Eagle. There they passed from hand to hand. Sometimes those who owned them used their powers for which they were intended. Others with greed and lust for power, and used the guardians for evil and selfish purposed.
Three hundred years ago one of the guardians, the Lion of Damascus, was liberated from the dark sorcerer who possessed it, and returned to the Holy Lands. Not quite a century later, the evil sorcerer, du Nord2, killed the custodian of the Lion, and took it back with him to Europe, where he used it for evil.
In the years since, at least three others of my order have journeyed into Europe in hopes of recoverying the Lion and returning it to the Holy Lands. Each met with death before they had completed their mission.
Not quite two years ago, while I was fasting in the desert during the holy month, Allah sent a vision of the Lion. I saw the city in which it was hidden. I saw the vile uses to which its power was being put. I knew, then, that I was being called to attempt to defeat the evil sorcerer and recover the Lion. I gathered my few belongings and began the journey to Constantinople. There I was able, with the help of several wise teachers, to determine which city I had seen in my visions: Antwerp, in the Kingdom of Belgium, in the Low Countries. The teachers helped me arrange passage into the Christian Lands. It took months to reach my destination, and then only days to find the sorcerer.
Alas, I was not strong enough for the task. I was defeated and captured. I was tortured and questioned for many weeks by the evil sorcerer, who called himself D'Erlette in this land. He bound me with chains and dark magicks, leaving me helpless in his cold dungeons. Many times during my captivity evil spirits came to me and tempted me with freedom, or taunted me in an attempt to make me abandon hope and end my life. But since I still lived, I assumed that Allah wished me to finish my quest. Is it not written that Allah tests us, so that He may know who is faithful, and who is not? So I resisted and hoped for a chance to escape.
Then one night an angel appeared at door of my cell. He told me that help was coming. A woman blessed with the gifts of prophecy and healing would find me. And lo, there were horrible sounds outside my prison. I felt dark sorceries being woven above me, but was powerless to stop them. Yet within them I also felt the power of the Divine, and knew that within the greed of the evil one were the seeds of his own destruction.
The house shook, and the magick was drained away. And the power of the Divine walked among those who had been led astray by D'Erlette. I also heard gunshots, galloping horses, and the clash of weapons. In the height of this, I saw again, briefly, the same light that had accompanied the angel, earlier, and I heard the voice of a woman, speaking in a language I did not know, to the unclean thing imprisoned in one of the other cells. Even from that distance I could feel the gifts in her, and knew she was the one Allah's messenger had fortold.
In my joy, I called out the opening prayer, praising Allah, who pilots the sun and drives the wind, who created man and woman and the beasts and the forests and the mountains and the oceans and all the lies between them.
She came to the door of my cell and called to me. I answered her, first in Arabic, then Turkish, then Russian until finally we both could communicate in Greek. I told her my tale, I warned her that the other creature was a demon and not to be trusted. She told me her name was Missus Cuthbert, and that she had been led to me by a messenger of God.
Her companions soon came, and they unlocked my cell and unbound me, and led me out of the darkness and into the sweet air of freedom once me. There were many people injured. The building had been damaged by the attack. D'Erlette was killed, and also one of his demon servants, the half-ifrit fiend called 'Schmidt,' though it was not the final death for him.
A met another of these European women with holy gifts, a Miss Whitnell with the gift of power, and a scholarly man called Mister Ramsay also with the gift of power. They questioned me and examined me further.
I could sense the Lion was nearby, and I asked if I might look at it, just to be certain that it is unharmed. They led me into D'Erlette's dark temple and there, hidden inside the altar, was the Lion--golden and glorious and blinding with the power of Allah. I thanked Allah that I had lived long enough to see it.
Things remained hectic in the house for many hours. D'Erlette and his followers are attempting several evil endeavors at once. They are fomenting war, and plotting murder and desecration on a grand scale. The evil sorcerer who imprisons the Bull is their ally and commander. A young woman with the gift of healing and sight, Miss Metzger, has been enslaved by the evil sorcerers. She has also been violated by Schmidt and has been forced to bear his child. I fear that, no matter what we may do for her, the road before her will never be an easy one.
But the Lion is no longer under the control of the evil one. These Europeans are not of my faith, but they appear to be good and honourable people who have risked their lifes to stop the evil one. Most of them are English. Fortunately several of them speak French passably well, and we are able to converse.
For many hours there was much scattered activity. Belgian soldiers had taken D'Erlette's allies prisoner. D'Erlette's books and implements had to be examined. The house had to be secured. Schmidt's body needed to be locked away. Another scholar, Baron Von Raalik joined us, and assisted in the examinations of the artefacts. There is also a delicate young girl, Miss Chigwidgeon, whose spirit practically resonates with the power of the divine--though it is the dark, wrathful aspect whose echoes I saw when I met here. She is betrothed to the leaders of this group of Englishmen, a Sir Cosmo. He seems to be a clever and wise man, though he does not possess the gifts of some of his colleagues. Miss Chidwidgeon's bodyguard I, at first, mistook for an Hashishin. He was not dressed as such, but rather as an European house servant, but his spirit glowed with the gifts cultivated by that order. Yet his bearing was different, strong with humility and repentance. I heard he and Miss Chigwidgeon speaking in one of the dialects of the Hindoos (though not one which I can understand), and I realized that I had misplaced his origin by a hundred leagues, at least.
There was at least one other prisoner, an innocent man, a doctor, who had been held in one of the other cells, though I had not seen him and I belief he had been unaware of my presence. He was grateful to be freed and anxious to help the Englishmen. Unfortunately, there were also more unclean ones in the building than I had seen. Ghuls, of that notorious order, the Sisterhood of Jhe, which is not content to merely kill and descecrate the sons and daughters of Adam, but also seek to hasten the Day of Judgement, in a misguided belief that if it comes before Allah is ready, that Satan may prevail.
Being ghuls, prone to picking off stragglers with simple illusions of each victim's greatest desire, they attacked several of the English at once, and underestimated the Englishmen's resourcefulness. Still, Miss Whitnell was greviously injured, and several others less so. There was some damage done to the building, but the Sisterhood was defeated and all of their victims survived. I was able to witness Missus Cuthbert's power in action. The gift of healing is very strong in her.
After that excitement, Baron Von Raalik and I used the Lion to exorcise evil spirits from the building, then most of the Englishmen went to sleep. I also took some rest, though I spent a great deal of time discussing the situation regarding the Lion and the Bull, and the dark sorcerers involved, with Mister Ramsay and Baron Von Raalik.
The unclean creature in the basement is a common blood-sucker, slightly smarter than a ghul, considerably stronger, but with lesser powers of the mind. D'Erlette has been doing things to it. Among his effects we found a copy of the forbidden book of Adbul the Mad. He has perverted its rituals and created a variation of Soloman's Bracelets which protect the blood-suckers from the ordinary means of destruction. Soloman's Bracelets were originally a sign of a pact between the great prophet Soloman and the lords of the Djinn and Ifrit. Those who agreed to wear the Bracelets gave up some of their powers and agreed never to harm the sons and daughters of Adam. In exchange, the Bracelets protected them from some things which normally harm their kind.
We had reason to believe that four or five more blood-suckers bound with D'Erlette's bracelets had been sent on some mission and were expected to return to the estate that evening. They would be especially difficult to destroy because of the bracelets. We also suspected that the sorcerer who controlled the Bull of Damascus had been allied with d'Erlette, and was likely to take some hostile action against us, soon. Schmidt was almost certainly still alive in the land of the Ifrit, and might be summoned back to the world at any time and would almost certainly seek revenge on my new friends. Finally, the woman carrying Schmidt's child is a wise-woman of some power, and is bound to an evil sorcerer allied with our enemies. She was under our protection, but remained a constant danger to us, as she might be used to attack us at a crucial moment.
After many discussions with Baron Von Raalik and Mister Ramsay (and examinations of the Lion and the poor woman using the Gaze on Inner Fire ritual), I was convinced that we could save her soul from its imprisonment, and thus render her no longer a threat, with a variation of the Uniting the Sundered Flame ritual. Also, when gazing on her spirit and its bindings, I saw, distinctly, traces of power which I was certain representing the Bull. The others had reason to believe that the holder of the Bull was a Prussian sorcerer called Hans Bopp, and he might well be the sorcerer holding Miss Metzger in his thrall. If that was the case, then it might be possible for me to render him temporarily helpless to interfere. Because my teacher and his teacher before him and so on have all carried the legacy and knowledge of Gadiel al-Uzza who was one of the 49, I know certain secrets of the ritual which created each of the four guardians. Using the Lion, it might be possible to command the Bull to take certain actions, at least for a time. I could turn the sorcerer's artefact against him.
This would not prevent Schmidt, or some other Ifrit that might owe allegiance to these sorcerers, from attacking us. So I also suggested that we could attempt draw some of Schmidt's power, permanently, into the Lion. This would make the Lion more powerful, and render him much weaker. Since the English have Schmidt's head and body in separate iron boxes, we should be able to perform the Carve the Flame ritual without his cooperation. There would be a risk that attempting to carve off part of his life force would instead simply drawn him to this place, and might allow him to reform a physical body.
Baron Von Raalik, on the other hand, is knowledgeable of a ritual which can make the Night into Day. If we performed this with sufficient power when the bloodsuckers attacked, we might be able to defeat them.
When the others awoke and had had a meal, we discussed the options. Everyone was worried about second plan, as I confessed, was I. However the Baron's plan might not work, either. We determined that we should test it on the imprisoned bloodsucker. The combination of the divine sunlight and ordinary fire did destroy the bloodsucker.
A plan was put into motion. The other English and many of the soldiers set up firing stations around the estate--guns, rockets, and flaming arrows would all be brought to bear on the bloodsuckers if they returned.
Myself, Baron Von Raalike, Mister Ramsay, Miss Whitnell, Missus Cuthbert, and Miss Chigwidgeon would attempt to restore Miss Metzger's soul to its rightful condition and seriously inconvenience the dark sorcerer.
The ritual went off almost perfectly. Miss Chigwidgeon spirit was not in accord with the others, and the energy came more slowly than it should have, though with so many of us chanting and the enormous powers of the artefacts at hand, made it come quickly enough. Miss Chigwidgeon made some sort of spiritual connection to an innocent young woman who was on the grounds of the heretical temple where the Bull is imprisoned. She had a conversation with the dark sorcerer, who is definitely this Hans Bopp the others have spoken of, and the young woman was murdered by Bopp, so far as I could tell, simply for spite and because it would hurt Miss Chigwidgeon's feelings.
He is even more corrupted and sinful than I had imagined.
I was able to call out to the Bull. It answered and at my requested drove the minions of evil from the building. I was then able to reach through the Bull and pluck Miss Metzger's soul free from the imprison (constructed not unlike a Djinn Bottle, I noted), and restore her. There was even power enough left over to obscure our location from Bopp, though I am certain he will guess where we might be.
Then, with Miss Metzger ready to assist us, we awaited sundown and the return of the bloodsuckers. They came. Baron Von Raalik summoned the great light. Before the bloodsuckers could flee, the others destroyed them. From their ashes we gathered the bracelets, which I was to study further to see if I can deduce what other means d'Erlette may have put his knowledge. There was also a dispatch box with a coded message addressed to d'Erlette.
The war being fomented was progressing. Bopp wished the ruler of the opposing army murdered. The English were going to attempt to stop the war before thousands are killed. I would have liked to journey to Prussia immediately and attempt to retrieve the Bull. It was pointed out that Allah sent me after the Lion, and perhaps I should focus my energies on the Lion.
I was asked to assist my new friends in preventing the assasination. It is very possible that Schmidt will be one of the assassins. I have more knowledge of the ways of the Ifrit than my new friends. And Schmidt is precisely the sort of being the guardians were created to protect against. It is my duty, as the temporary custodian of the Lion, to use it for its intended purpose. So I agreed to join the English in their next battle.
We packed and loaded supplies on a train. We were bound for a town called Metz, which I was told was not the home town of Miss Metzger's tribe, but is a fortified city in an area in dispute between France and Prussia. These were the two nations preparing to go to war, which my friends wished to prevent...
Notes:
1. Umar II was of the Ummayid Dynasty and ruled as Caliph during the years 715-720AD.
2. It has still not been determined with certainty whether the Comte d'Erlette is the same notorious sorcerer who dwelt in Avernoige in the 13th century, or if he used that as an alias in part because some of the original du Nord's artefacts had come into his possession.
Proceed to Astonishing, frightening things
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