This Book, O small one,
Gather round as I
Speak its knowledge
From times far away
It was written by
Forlorn wanderer
Now listen to the
Stories of the past
And learn the ways to
The Dreamlike Future
Before the night rose
Before the beasts spoke
Gold light of heaven
Bestows to the land
Golden light, warmth, life.
But the heavens turned
from brilliant life-light
To cold dust lattice
Still rainbow arrays
Hanging silent in
The starry abyss
In the Endless Night
Countless Beasts stood up
And in the snowy
Wastes, History took its
First slow, frozen Step.
Under the dust threads
Two Beasts stood up and
Acted upon the
World surrounding them
One, the Earthbound Beast,
Worked on the black soil
Made plentiful stock
And a solid house
The other, with the
Name of Sungazing,
Hunted the other
Ate its red raw meat
Entered the abode
The two are alike
Yet great opposite.
Even if they hate
you, love your brethren.
Listen carefully,
For the knowledges of
Salting and Canning
Are key to live long.
For salting, I say :
Slice your fresh produce
To long strips and stripes.
Cook them in steam, and
Do not boil them wet !
A big container
Fill with strong brine. Then,
Lay your stripes and mix,
At all times they drown.
For two week they sleep
Not in cold nor heat.
Then keep them outside,
To sleep in the snow.
To Can safely :
Simply store in jars
Whether raw produce,
Or soup, stew, and sauce.
Close the lid tightly,
Place in a cooker,
Cover with water,
And boil for five hours.
With this, store your food.
Though the night be long,
you will never find
yourself fall hungry.
Maybe, if luck be
A wanderer comes.
Wanderer named Rorhk.
'Tis I, the author,
One who travels and
Shares his deep knowledge.
From all over, I
Learn from the Earthbound,
And to everywhere,
I share what I learn.
Maybe, if luck be
A wanderer comes.
Wanderer named Rorhk.
'Tis I, the author,
One who travels and
Shares his deep knowledge.
From all over, I
Learn from the Earthbound,
And to everywhere,
I share what I learn.
A fleeting Shimmer,
A brief period of
Spring, warm and sunny.
During the long night,
Watch the light above.
A fold of rainbow
Sometimes compresses :
A small star is born.
A cycle will start
Light and abyss spin,
Meld to day and night.
From few days to months,
Heavenly warmth shines.
In this time, plant
Your crops and tend to
Them as fast as can.
Prepare your reserve,
Constitute a stock,
For none know how long
The next night will be.
Place runes in a ring
Make sure to draw well
Defects will stop all.
Put the rune of Yashh,
Then of Edant, and
Of Glikhd and in the
circle, light will be.
Runes of Nigil and
Of Byolkh, on any
Item will prevent
Rust and Corruption.
There is One Grave Sin
Which you must never
Replicate from the
Sungazing demons.
They hunt for good farms,
They pillage and take,
But what they want most
Isn't riches or pickles.
No, what they long for,
Is your hide and flesh.
They kill and murder,
With a silver knife,
They cut out your hide,
And chop up your meat.
With a pinch of salt,
Maybe even two,
They eat Earthbounds raw.
Only white bones left.
Be wary too, of
Travellers, who claim
They eat both meat and
Stalk, for if ever
Sungazing Beasts come,
They too will join them,
And in their big maw,
Your own blood will flow.
Alas, dark omens
Are here, delivered.
Northward, far away,
But not far enough,
Farms are all destroyed.
Black smoke and ashes
Cover the white snow
With a dirty coat.
Not a farm is left,
Earthbound beasts eaten,
Not a life was spared.
And south they advance,
More and more are ruined.
Please, if you hear this,
Flee to safety.
If you can read this, then it means I have died. This book you are holding is the only truly complete Book of Rorhk. While many copies were made and shared, only this one contains this text.
This is a postface, a true conclusion to the book. This book has crossed centuries. It was started long ago by Rorhk. It was started by a lone child who was sent away, and who wandered the world, a child who learned from others, and tried to bring some diversity in this static frozen world.
But now, even this static frozen world has ended. The last psalm in the penultimate version of the book is a warning : it warns of the Sungazing Beasts, who began to hunt so much that no survivor was left. In that warning, I urged people to head south, but what I had not foreseen was that at the south too, the Sungazing had hunted.
Now, I am probably the last Earthbound Beast left. I feel a great sadness at this realization, because something very important happened. As the Sungazing Beasts were hunting, and as the Earthbound Beasts were under such a threat, the Great Nebula converged. Seven Shimmer Spots have appeared, Shimmer Spots so large that the Nebula has entirely disappeared.
I feel a great sadness, but also a great anger. All this effort, over the last centuries, to make the Earthbound Beasts thrive, all ended due to the greed of our predators.
I will keep this book on me, and keep hidden. I still have a final deed I want to see realized, and I will not rest until it is done.
So, if you read this, I am most probably dead.
-Rorhk the 37th, said The Clairvoyant