I was meditating in an elder forest beyond the seas. All around me the roots of primordial trees formed masses of spiral entanglements as a result of their age old struggle to bore into the ancient stones on which they anchored themselves. Small translucent clouds of quiescent vapor hovered at varying heights above the ground, the lowest of them lighting upon the caps of large, dark mushrooms. Mosses could be seen on just about everything, casting their vibrant green upon the eyes wherever they happened to wander. For As long as I sat there, I neither heard nor saw any creature. What movement there was belonged to the imperceptible realm of the trees. This was a place that almost seemed to escape the subjection of time, forever ancient, forever renewed. As I contemplated the beauty and purpose of all theses things in the order of the Holy Essence, my attention was arrested by a strange energy. Its invisible presence pulsated like that of a slow beating heart. I searched for it, and was led down a winding path hedged by walls of roots and stone on either side, like a trench that was formed with intention, yet without the work of hands. With every turn, I was led deeper into the ground. There was seemingly no end, and I felt the pulse growing in intensity so that it began to weigh painfully upon my mind. I would not turn back, for I had great resolve to know. At last, after toiling amongst the roots in the darkness, I reached an opening, out from which came a light. It was small, and many and various were the symbols carved all around it. I crawled through, and reached a giant cavernous chamber in which were monolithic pillars of bronze jutting out of every side. Their crystaline structures were compounded, growing upon and besides themselves, and they emanated a radiant glow so bright that no crevice or corner was left a shadow. At the center of the chamber, amidst the brilliance, was what appeared to be a well.
And I knew that I had found the source of the mysterious energy. It was as old as the world, and it was pure, abounding in ineffable glory. But my mind was now being crushed under the weight of pain, and, not being able to bear it, I was about to return, when before my eyes appeared the apparition of a creature who’s features were as ancient as they were strange. Its form was like that of a fish, standing erect and as tall as a man, wearing ceremonial robes. Its face was old and sage-like with large, dark eyes that stared out from beneath its hood. They pierced my soul. And the figure, seeing I was in the throes of agony, touched my forehead. The pain subsided that instant, and having regained clarity, I questioned the creature, but it spoke not a word. In silence it led me to the well and motioned me to drink. I took the ladle that was left upon it and drank the glowing bronze liquor. In a quickened moment I began to see visions of an bygone era, when fish-like people moved about a glorious city as priests to the temple of Bronze. Bronze was on the earth, and its presence dispelled the darkness. It was a time of mystery, when the Holy Essence permeated all things. Tears filled my eyes as the vision faded, and I found myself once again alone. Never cease to take up the holy cause, oh Army of Bronze! The Bronze has chosen us to fight for the restoration of the old ways, for the honor and place it once had in this world! Show the fishers no mercy! Thus has it been revealed!
