Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad the path that leads to destruction and many go through it. But narrow is the gate that leads to life, and few find it.
Dogmatic fools, the Teacher retorted. They think that power is inherently evil but fail to realize that it is not the power itself that is evil but the wielder.
The entire class nodded in agreement except for a lone hand in the back that was infamously well known.
What is it, Silas!? What is your objection now? Surely you agree that power itself is neither good nor evil but rather fashioned into whatever means the wielder intends! the Teacher was more than upset as Silas had interrupted him for the sixth time today, a new record.
No, Teacher, I have no objection to your remark. That passage it speaks of life and destruction in the same breadth and sets them against each other yet we are told to believe that power and destruction are necessary and good. Who is correct? the young prodigy asked.
Interestingly enough, the Teacher was more than happy to alleviate the confusion. Young Master Silas, the fault lies with the passage and not our teaching. Power and destruction are indeed vital to the maintenance of order and life. Duality, if you will. Neither good nor evil, life nor death, not even the Gods nor the Old Ones are any better or worse but rather, equal and opposite. You will eventually come to master this absolute truth. Pleased with his answer, the Teacher resumed his lesson.
But Silas was not convinced. He knew that there was something more to the nature of good and evil and why the Society and the Institution were loathe to admit it. He was keenly aware that good and evil were not equal and opposite but rather at war with each other. Silas father told him that very thing many times before bed and before he was murdered. Ever since then, Silas was branded an outsider and a threat.
Whether he was, in fact, a conspirator remained to be seen for all he knew was that he was the most gifted mage in the whole of the conclave. The Institution for the Arcane and the Society of Mages that backed it were more than happy to let such a bright young man enter their hallowed body of magi. In fact, they believed that Silas was not only perfect to become a very powerful mage but predestined to do so. He knew all of this, of course, and was more than happy to use it to his advantage. He was treated with special favor throughout his years at the Institution and now, in his last, 9th term, he was about to be taken under the wing of the most prodigious arcanist that had ever went through the Institution.
That night, Silas lay awake pondering over the nature of good and evil trying to delineate the two in a fashion that was not blasphemous to the Magi Order but still fit his own, and his fathers, beliefs. While he stared out at the celestial bodies hovering in the void of space, his body began to tremor. Light flooded into the room and everything around him was bathed in an incandescent glow. Silas tried cupping his eyes to shield himself enough to see what was going on and before him was the silhouette of a robed figure.
Mark and remember, boy! a voice bellowed from amidst the light. It sounded like thousands of different voices together, speaking in unison with harmonies and dissonance simultaneously. You have been chosen to bear witness to the End of Days, you who are most favored among men! That day of wrath shall leave no mountain intact, no island above the seas, no blade of grass unscorched and no mortal being alive, so terrible will the sundering of the world be. Then, as the sun sets on the final day of this blue sphere, the blackest of nights will descend like a veil upon the surface of the cosmos. Even the Immortals shall quake in fear as this Blackest Night unmakes all of Creation. You have been chosen by the God of this Age to stand fast against this great doom and usher in not the Blackest Night but the Age of Glory to which all that has breath of life within them shall rejoice and be glad for all eternity. Therefore, from this very moment, you shall be imparted with immortality and this Seed of Power to which only the divine has thus far been given. Grow it well and over the course of your unnatural life, you will become more powerful than you can possibly fathom. Go, and deliver the mortal world from the Blackest Night!
Silas woke up with a strange feeling in his chest and the memory of that vision was scorched into his mind. He knew with all of his being that what transpired the night before was real and that he had been imparted with power beyond what was known to him already. However, the strange feeling began to fade as the days drew on and while he believed he had been given this revelation, telling anyone, save his Mentor, would have labeled him a heretic and destroyed any chance of coming out of the Institution with the title Magus of the 9th Order the highest that can be achieved by anyone alive. (There were some accounts of undead Magi returning from the grave to continue in the arcane arts and their power was of a level that simply could not be achieved in the lifespan of mere mortals. These Timeless Ones were revered and feared but also looked upon as the ultimate resource in the study of pure magicks. Silas Mentor was among them.)
After graduating at the top of his class, Silas was paired with the benevolent and wise Saint Thomas Agnew, a man that lived from 45 A.D. until 84 A.D. He was executed for his belief in The Good during a time when the Dark Ways of Icthulu became the official path to dark power among the enchanted. Saint Agnew was a disciple of the Way and was privy to the secrets of resurrection and while the rest of his contemporaries were killed and remained in the afterlife, St. Agnew made a decision before his death to live on to teach others about The Good. In April of 84 A.D., he let himself be killed by the Grand Master of the Icthulu Order to prove that not even the darkest of magi could keep him from becoming immortal. In front of the entire Icthulu Order, St. Agnew was resurrected and no dark force in the entire assembly, Grand Master included, could affect him whatsoever. He became one of the Timeless Ones by sheer will alone. To that end, he became the most powerful wizard the world had known. 300 years later, he received word of an upcoming Institution being built to focus the power of the worlds magi. Alarmed at what such a body of arcanists could do, St. Agnew enrolled under the guise of a wealthy duke to keep an eye out for strange behavior and went through the motions to graduate at the top of the first class of the Institution. He has since been on the Board of Elders and the immediate mentor to every valedictorian that graduates. Silas became his 104th apprentice and from what everyone has been saying, he may be most gifted among them.
Silas first encounter with St. Agnew was a cordial dinner when he was still a 2nd Order Elementalist. (Every student within the Institution goes through basic magic studies so that may have at least a basic understanding of every form of magic in the known world. The order of their learning are as follows: 1st year: Elements, 2nd year: Light. 3rd year: Physical. 4th year: Astral. 5th year: Necromancy. 6th year: Dark with the last 3 years being further courses on the subject that the student was most proficient at. If a student is exceptional at any one practice early on, they begin these more advanced classes immediately. Silas was extraordinary in all of them but his manipulation of the Dark magicks was peerless. As such, he was labeled an Elementalist to begin with but when his instructors learned that he was just as good at the other forms, they werent sure what to do with him. Ultimately, Silas became a 4th Order Mage in every form of magic and a 5th Order Mage, the highest, in the Dark Arts. Since a mage can only have one primary art, the highest anyone can achieve is a 5th + 4th Order standing which has its own special designation: a Magus of the 9th Order. Their numbers are few but not excessively so. At the time of Silas graduation, there were over one hundred of them. Timeless Ones are not held to this code because they can become 5th Order Mages in every art and hence become 10th Order Illuminati to which St. Agnew was one of four known.) St. Agnew had more than just a premonition about the boy eating bread before him, he knew that he would truly become something out of this realm. He told the Board of Elders immediately that Silas would become not only the most powerful mage that would come out of the Institution but would border on becoming the most powerful mage ever.
Thus, Silas story begins when the revelation given to him by the Heavenlies was told to St. Agnew and the mystery behind it began to be revealed.
Mentor, the narrow gate, why is it so hard to find? Silas asked during a cool afternoon in A.D. 412. Silas had been studying with St. Agnew for three months now and was in the prime of his life. The amount of learning St. Agnew possessed was astounding and even with a thousand years, Silas didnt think he could know it all. However, a thousand years is exactly the time Silas had and more, being immortal now.
Why is a four leaf clover hard to find? the Mentor answered with a question. Like many teachers of old, St. Agnews preferred response to a question was with a question and it frustrated Silas to no end. The answer to your question and mine are one in the same.
Thinking for a minute, the answer became clear. Because there are so many look-alikes around it, Silas responded. There are many broad gates, many paths but they all lead to the same end: destruction. Its hard to find the narrow one when there are so many paths to take.
Precisely, Silas, precisely! St Agnew actually jumped to his feet with excitement. Do you know that Ive asked that exact question to all my students and none of them have gotten it right? I was beginning to despair that no one could. So many of my students couldnt relate the gates to the clovers and they were stuck at an impasse of broken reason.
How do I find this narrow gate? Silas continued.
Now that is the question weve all been trying to answer, St. Agnew explained. For many years, I thought that the Gate was some form of true path that only an elect few could attain. But, the more Ive dwelled on the subject, the more I believe that anyone can enter through it. It is a universal Good. That very idea got me killed so many years ago! Anything that makes the average man equal to the mage is heretical nowadays. I fear that if it continues, the mages will take over and well all suffer the consequences.
You speak of a universal Good. Everything taught to me said that there is no such thing but rather that the good you speak of is just a relative term designated by a subjective author. There is no good, just mere existence that happens to support a particular viewpoint, Silas added with a matter-of-factness that would bring a tear to the Teacher of his past.
Ah, but there is Good! Agnew laughed. There is a Good that is unfathomable and an Evil that is unmentionable. Both exist and both are battling for supremacy. However, their weapons are not swords or arrows nor are they glyphs or incantations, no, they inflict damage upon each other in more subtle ways. Take, for example, the injustice in society. That is a weapon of Evil. As long as the innocent are repressed and those that deserve justice go unpunished, Evil is winning in that battleground. However, whenever a man takes joy in his work, whenever lovers unite, whenever the sun rises, Good overcomes. You tell me, whom do you believe is winning the war?
Silas answered, That is difficult to ascertain. How am I to know all victories for Good or Evil considering that there are so many constantly happening? The scales must be huge to determine the balance of power!
Simplicity is the answer. Do you see more corruption in the world today than yesterday? Or do you see society getting better by the day? St. Agnew replied.
Mankind is evil, Mentor. There is no way we could possibly be getting better. Dark days are coming I know this for a fact.
Do you now? How do you know? Agnew asked with intrigue.
I have not told this to anyone for fear of not graduating but there came a revelation to me some months back foretelling the Blackest Night. Silas hesitated with the last phrase.
St. Agnews face dropped instantly and his demeanor sank into hopelessness. He sat silent for many minutes before starting, So it is true then. The Blackest Night is coming. I too have felt its looming shadow slithering into the world. For all my powers of foresight, I cannot tell when it will happen for it seems some distance away, yet far closer then I want to imagine. Even the Timeless Ones will perish under its cold embrace. To help me press on, I simply shut it out of my mind but now I simply cannot.
Silas divulged the facts of the revelation to St. Agnew, who immediately knew who the messenger was, It is said that a great Prince of the Hosts would appear to mortal men when the Gods would try to prevent this calamity. They have chosen you in their infinite wisdom and have no doubt guided you thus far. How they will try to stop the Blackest Night is the stuff of legend but I believe you should be more acquainted with this prophecy if you wish to combat it.
Silas was lead into the hollowed grounds of St. Agnews Study, a wealth of knowledge and lore that was unequaled among mages. Within its dusty and crowded labyrinth of books, scrolls, artifacts and relics, St. Agnew managed to find the oldest book Silas had laid eyes upon.
It was given to me as a gift from another Timeless One, the Adjutant of Horus, which you have some familiarity with, Im sure, Agnew started. Even the early Mesopotamians were looking toward the End of Days and trying to discern its time and purpose. The first prophecy came to a simple farmer back in 4351 B.C. He claimed that a god came to him and told him that there would be a great upheaval and all of the created order would perish under everlasting darkness. Later, an Egyptian High Priest wrote in one of his temple records that the Sun God, Ra, had asked for a body to inhabit so that he may become mortal and die before a night infinitely dark consumes me. To think, a god wished to escape annihilation by succumbing to Death!? Finally, just before the death of Christ, it is said that around the 6th hour, darkness overtook the sun and many tombs were broken and the dead roamed free. I see that as a taste of whats to come, as the death of Creator would have that kind of effect. It was short lived, however, due to his resurrection and his restoration of order. There may come a time when that order cannot be restored and that, my dear Silas, is when the Blackest Night is upon us.
So The Good loses. Silas said hopelessly.
Our destiny is not set yet, my young friend, but if we continue on our current path, I fear that we may indeed fall to the Blackest Night.
I understand it now, were on the path that leads to destruction and we have to find the narrow gate, but how? Silas searched for answers.
That is what you are to find out. That is your commission by the gods. Not even they know what path to choose. So many are offered and only one is the true path. Find it and you will save this universe. Fail, and everything that you hold dear will be destroyed. I believe it is time to set you off on your journey. I will be with you as a guide and mentor but my essence to the mortal plane is diminishing daily. I estimate another few hundred years before I will be too ethereal to be able to help you anymore. In the mean time, I will teach you everything I know and will help you become the most powerful mage this world has ever seen.
What about this Seed of Power that the Messenger told me about? Silas asked.
Indeed, the Seeds of Power are bestowed only upon celestial beings and their potential is limitless. They were forged before the first dawn and only a few of them remain. Supposedly, their true power lies in the ability to alter destiny and fate and to change the course of entire universes. Ultimately it comes down to a decision of freewill. However, it can also be used to expand your own power to that of the gods. Even they quake before the Blackest Night so I dont know if you can outright overpower whatever force is behind it. But, if the Blackest Night is indeed many millennia away, who knows? Maybe you will become so powerful that you will be able to engage the Great Evil head on and defeat it outright. Only the Creator has ever done that, in the beginning during creation. What He could do is far beyond the scope of even the gods, however. Exiling the Blackest Night is no small feat and while I believe the Creator could do it again, I believe He is watching to see to see what we do.
So I must simply wait and see. What a terrible suspense! Silas exclaimed. What do I do now?
That is simple, Silas. Start learning everything you can about the Blackest Night and is origin and who is behind it. This prophecy was not given in vain for the gods knew that you have the potential to do something about this cataclysm awaiting us. I, too, was placed in this very position for a reason and I believe I know it now. Remember, young Silas, there is no such thing as coincidence. Purpose is behind everything.
Hundreds of years passed and the corporeal form of St. Agnew did, indeed, diminish until late in the 12th century when he ceased to be entirely. Before his crossing over, St. Agnew gave this charge to Silas and that was to change his name into the very thing he was fighting against. It will be a constant reminder of what is at stake and the doom that may befall us. Your name will be among your greatest weapons as those of all walks of life will sense that you bring tidings of misfortune and calamity. You will be shunned, exiled, and be made an outcast the rest of your days on this planet. Few will understand you, many will fear you. Use this power to your advantage and your name will go before you like a plague that silences all enemies. Keep practicing the arts and increasing in knowledge and someday, I believe you will find what you are looking for. Good bye, Blackest Night. I have been honored by your presence. And with that, St. Agnew faded out of existence.
Blackest Night wandered many decades, very much lost and alone. He feared trying to build relationships that were destined to be cut short by death. Marriage was out of the question and children that would grow up and die before his very eyes was too painful to think about let alone attempt. Instead, his life would be one of isolation and study and discipline. Devoted to the searching of answers and the seeking of a power that can disrupt the great darkness, Blackest Night began to believe that it was not in the powers of Light that salvation was held but rather in the very power that was seeking to destroy this universe. Blackest spent the next thousand years learning, creating, focusing and improving upon every Dark Power that was known to man and it was with the power of the Blackest Night that he hoped to combat it.
This delving into the Dark Arts had consequences that even he could not foresee. First, his physical appearance began to change and while his body remained in its prime (as an artifact of his immortality) his skin began to glow a light blue. His eyes lost most of their normal vision and instead shifted into spectral sight. As his power increased, he could sense the ebb and flow of magic as it localized and pooled in certain locations and people. This 6th sense allowed him to determine the life force within all living beings and their magical potential. It also allowed him to home in on this power within life and steal it for his own manipulations.
As with all the Dark powers, power is not created by the wielder but taken from his surroundings and as Blackest Night refined his abilities, he could use the very life forces around him to mend wounds and even resurrect the dead. Further and further he searched and began to unlock powers from beyond the grave. Demonic power was among the most powerful but also the most dangerous to the wielder but as an immortal, he had nothing to fear from the demons he was summoning. These Dark Servants were offered existence in the mortal plane as long as they were subservient to their Master and harmed no innocents. However, Blackest Night limited their power and their time in this world in order to keep the supernatural balance intact. Too many Dark Servants at once would have called down the Heavenly Armies and Blackest would be at odds against the gods. Instead, he limited himself to a handful at any given time and all would be given the same power and the same form.
The years rolled on and technological advances caused the widespread use of magic to diminish. Blackest saw the rise of the Industrial Revolution and marveled at the unequaled growth of mankinds dominion over the planet. Resources were stripped and lands conquered in order to plunder even more. The Institution fell into ruin after some of the Eldest Magi became the slaves of money and the whole estate was sold to the highest bidder. Magic was being inadvertently wiped out because people didnt need it anymore. Science won the secret war and Blackest became the last Magus of the 9th Order (although he attained a level that was even beyond the Timeless Ones).
World War I and II forced Blackest out of hiding and he became personally involved during the fighting in the Eastern Front between Stalins Russia and Nazi Germany. Rumors of a powerful shadow and Death in the wind spread like wildfire throughout many of the forces stationed in the East. There tales where Death himself descended upon the battlefield and slew hundreds of men that were performing inhumane acts to their fellow man. Truth be told, Blackest Night only participated in two battles but he saw something he hadnt seen before in the last one. A single man stood against an entire army and defeated it using nothing but his bare hands and obvious superhuman strength. Curious to see if perhaps this man was magical, Blackest investigated but found no trace of magic within the single-starred hero. His power came from an outside source or was inherent within him.
Blackest Night followed the exploits of the man and his subsequent founding of the Freedom Phalanx. Statesman, as he would later be called, became a vital member of Paragon City and the heroes that began assembling there was akin to the Institution Blackest was once formerly involved in. However, what as even more exciting was the resurgence of magic within that city as magical heroes were coming out of the proverbial woodwork to help restore order. However, such a nexus of magical activity was bound to catch the eye of the force behind the Blackest Night. The former Silas knew that if the Blackest Night would come in this age, ground zero would be Paragon City.
Even more alarming were the whispers of an ancient and powerful magi order that were actually trying to bring about the end of the world. The Circle of Thorns, as they were known, were actually descendants of the Order of Icthulu that killed St. Agnew. Echoes of their magic resounded out of their underground lair and Blackest Night picked up on it immediately. While they too performed Dark Magic, Blackest knew they would be no match for him. His mission was to stop the Circle from prematurely launching the End of Days and figuring out what they knew about it.
It is time to come out of hiding and fulfill my destiny, Blackest Night said as he flew into the city. I may be the harbinger of Death to these people but I will not forget The Good that still compels me. Let the Blackest Night come I am ready.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad the path that leads to destruction and many go through it. But narrow is the gate that leads to life, and few find it.
Dogmatic fools, the Teacher retorted. They think that power is inherently evil but fail to realize that it is not the power itself that is evil but the wielder.
The entire class nodded in agreement except for a lone hand in the back that was infamously well known.
What is it, Silas!? What is your objection now? Surely you agree that power itself is neither good nor evil but rather fashioned into whatever means the wielder intends! the Teacher was more than upset as Silas had interrupted him for the sixth time today, a new record.
No, Teacher, I have no objection to your remark. That passage it speaks of life and destruction in the same breadth and sets them against each other yet we are told to believe that power and destruction are necessary and good. Who is correct? the young prodigy asked.
Interestingly enough, the Teacher was more than happy to alleviate the confusion. Young Master Silas, the fault lies with the passage and not our teaching. Power and destruction are indeed vital to the maintenance of order and life. Duality, if you will. Neither good nor evil, life nor death, not even the Gods nor the Old Ones are any better or worse but rather, equal and opposite. You will eventually come to master this absolute truth. Pleased with his answer, the Teacher resumed his lesson.
But Silas was not convinced. He knew that there was something more to the nature of good and evil and why the Society and the Institution were loathe to admit it. He was keenly aware that good and evil were not equal and opposite but rather at war with each other. Silas father told him that very thing many times before bed and before he was murdered. Ever since then, Silas was branded an outsider and a threat.
Whether he was, in fact, a conspirator remained to be seen for all he knew was that he was the most gifted mage in the whole of the conclave. The Institution for the Arcane and the Society of Mages that backed it were more than happy to let such a bright young man enter their hallowed body of magi. In fact, they believed that Silas was not only perfect to become a very powerful mage but predestined to do so. He knew all of this, of course, and was more than happy to use it to his advantage. He was treated with special favor throughout his years at the Institution and now, in his last, 9th term, he was about to be taken under the wing of the most prodigious arcanist that had ever went through the Institution.
That night, Silas lay awake pondering over the nature of good and evil trying to delineate the two in a fashion that was not blasphemous to the Magi Order but still fit his own, and his fathers, beliefs. While he stared out at the celestial bodies hovering in the void of space, his body began to tremor. Light flooded into the room and everything around him was bathed in an incandescent glow. Silas tried cupping his eyes to shield himself enough to see what was going on and before him was the silhouette of a robed figure.
Mark and remember, boy! a voice bellowed from amidst the light. It sounded like thousands of different voices together, speaking in unison with harmonies and dissonance simultaneously. You have been chosen to bear witness to the End of Days, you who are most favored among men! That day of wrath shall leave no mountain intact, no island above the seas, no blade of grass unscorched and no mortal being alive, so terrible will the sundering of the world be. Then, as the sun sets on the final day of this blue sphere, the blackest of nights will descend like a veil upon the surface of the cosmos. Even the Immortals shall quake in fear as this Blackest Night unmakes all of Creation. You have been chosen by the God of this Age to stand fast against this great doom and usher in not the Blackest Night but the Age of Glory to which all that has breath of life within them shall rejoice and be glad for all eternity. Therefore, from this very moment, you shall be imparted with immortality and this Seed of Power to which only the divine has thus far been given. Grow it well and over the course of your unnatural life, you will become more powerful than you can possibly fathom. Go, and deliver the mortal world from the Blackest Night!
Silas woke up with a strange feeling in his chest and the memory of that vision was scorched into his mind. He knew with all of his being that what transpired the night before was real and that he had been imparted with power beyond what was known to him already. However, the strange feeling began to fade as the days drew on and while he believed he had been given this revelation, telling anyone, save his Mentor, would have labeled him a heretic and destroyed any chance of coming out of the Institution with the title Magus of the 9th Order the highest that can be achieved by anyone alive. (There were some accounts of undead Magi returning from the grave to continue in the arcane arts and their power was of a level that simply could not be achieved in the lifespan of mere mortals. These Timeless Ones were revered and feared but also looked upon as the ultimate resource in the study of pure magicks. Silas Mentor was among them.)
After graduating at the top of his class, Silas was paired with the benevolent and wise Saint Thomas Agnew, a man that lived from 45 A.D. until 84 A.D. He was executed for his belief in The Good during a time when the Dark Ways of Icthulu became the official path to dark power among the enchanted. Saint Agnew was a disciple of the Way and was privy to the secrets of resurrection and while the rest of his contemporaries were killed and remained in the afterlife, St. Agnew made a decision before his death to live on to teach others about The Good. In April of 84 A.D., he let himself be killed by the Grand Master of the Icthulu Order to prove that not even the darkest of magi could keep him from becoming immortal. In front of the entire Icthulu Order, St. Agnew was resurrected and no dark force in the entire assembly, Grand Master included, could affect him whatsoever. He became one of the Timeless Ones by sheer will alone. To that end, he became the most powerful wizard the world had known. 300 years later, he received word of an upcoming Institution being built to focus the power of the worlds magi. Alarmed at what such a body of arcanists could do, St. Agnew enrolled under the guise of a wealthy duke to keep an eye out for strange behavior and went through the motions to graduate at the top of the first class of the Institution. He has since been on the Board of Elders and the immediate mentor to every valedictorian that graduates. Silas became his 104th apprentice and from what everyone has been saying, he may be most gifted among them.
Silas first encounter with St. Agnew was a cordial dinner when he was still a 2nd Order Elementalist. (Every student within the Institution goes through basic magic studies so that may have at least a basic understanding of every form of magic in the known world. The order of their learning are as follows: 1st year: Elements, 2nd year: Light. 3rd year: Physical. 4th year: Astral. 5th year: Necromancy. 6th year: Dark with the last 3 years being further courses on the subject that the student was most proficient at. If a student is exceptional at any one practice early on, they begin these more advanced classes immediately. Silas was extraordinary in all of them but his manipulation of the Dark magicks was peerless. As such, he was labeled an Elementalist to begin with but when his instructors learned that he was just as good at the other forms, they werent sure what to do with him. Ultimately, Silas became a 4th Order Mage in every form of magic and a 5th Order Mage, the highest, in the Dark Arts. Since a mage can only have one primary art, the highest anyone can achieve is a 5th + 4th Order standing which has its own special designation: a Magus of the 9th Order. Their numbers are few but not excessively so. At the time of Silas graduation, there were over one hundred of them. Timeless Ones are not held to this code because they can become 5th Order Mages in every art and hence become 10th Order Illuminati to which St. Agnew was one of four known.) St. Agnew had more than just a premonition about the boy eating bread before him, he knew that he would truly become something out of this realm. He told the Board of Elders immediately that Silas would become not only the most powerful mage that would come out of the Institution but would border on becoming the most powerful mage ever.
Thus, Silas story begins when the revelation given to him by the Heavenlies was told to St. Agnew and the mystery behind it began to be revealed.
Mentor, the narrow gate, why is it so hard to find? Silas asked during a cool afternoon in A.D. 412. Silas had been studying with St. Agnew for three months now and was in the prime of his life. The amount of learning St. Agnew possessed was astounding and even with a thousand years, Silas didnt think he could know it all. However, a thousand years is exactly the time Silas had and more, being immortal now.
Why is a four leaf clover hard to find? the Mentor answered with a question. Like many teachers of old, St. Agnews preferred response to a question was with a question and it frustrated Silas to no end. The answer to your question and mine are one in the same.
Thinking for a minute, the answer became clear. Because there are so many look-alikes around it, Silas responded. There are many broad gates, many paths but they all lead to the same end: destruction. Its hard to find the narrow one when there are so many paths to take.
Precisely, Silas, precisely! St Agnew actually jumped to his feet with excitement. Do you know that Ive asked that exact question to all my students and none of them have gotten it right? I was beginning to despair that no one could. So many of my students couldnt relate the gates to the clovers and they were stuck at an impasse of broken reason.
How do I find this narrow gate? Silas continued.
Now that is the question weve all been trying to answer, St. Agnew explained. For many years, I thought that the Gate was some form of true path that only an elect few could attain. But, the more Ive dwelled on the subject, the more I believe that anyone can enter through it. It is a universal Good. That very idea got me killed so many years ago! Anything that makes the average man equal to the mage is heretical nowadays. I fear that if it continues, the mages will take over and well all suffer the consequences.
You speak of a universal Good. Everything taught to me said that there is no such thing but rather that the good you speak of is just a relative term designated by a subjective author. There is no good, just mere existence that happens to support a particular viewpoint, Silas added with a matter-of-factness that would bring a tear to the Teacher of his past.
Ah, but there is Good! Agnew laughed. There is a Good that is unfathomable and an Evil that is unmentionable. Both exist and both are battling for supremacy. However, their weapons are not swords or arrows nor are they glyphs or incantations, no, they inflict damage upon each other in more subtle ways. Take, for example, the injustice in society. That is a weapon of Evil. As long as the innocent are repressed and those that deserve justice go unpunished, Evil is winning in that battleground. However, whenever a man takes joy in his work, whenever lovers unite, whenever the sun rises, Good overcomes. You tell me, whom do you believe is winning the war?
Silas answered, That is difficult to ascertain. How am I to know all victories for Good or Evil considering that there are so many constantly happening? The scales must be huge to determine the balance of power!
Simplicity is the answer. Do you see more corruption in the world today than yesterday? Or do you see society getting better by the day? St. Agnew replied.
Mankind is evil, Mentor. There is no way we could possibly be getting better. Dark days are coming I know this for a fact.
Do you now? How do you know? Agnew asked with intrigue.
I have not told this to anyone for fear of not graduating but there came a revelation to me some months back foretelling the Blackest Night. Silas hesitated with the last phrase.
St. Agnews face dropped instantly and his demeanor sank into hopelessness. He sat silent for many minutes before starting, So it is true then. The Blackest Night is coming. I too have felt its looming shadow slithering into the world. For all my powers of foresight, I cannot tell when it will happen for it seems some distance away, yet far closer then I want to imagine. Even the Timeless Ones will perish under its cold embrace. To help me press on, I simply shut it out of my mind but now I simply cannot.
Silas divulged the facts of the revelation to St. Agnew, who immediately knew who the messenger was, It is said that a great Prince of the Hosts would appear to mortal men when the Gods would try to prevent this calamity. They have chosen you in their infinite wisdom and have no doubt guided you thus far. How they will try to stop the Blackest Night is the stuff of legend but I believe you should be more acquainted with this prophecy if you wish to combat it.
Silas was lead into the hollowed grounds of St. Agnews Study, a wealth of knowledge and lore that was unequaled among mages. Within its dusty and crowded labyrinth of books, scrolls, artifacts and relics, St. Agnew managed to find the oldest book Silas had laid eyes upon.
It was given to me as a gift from another Timeless One, the Adjutant of Horus, which you have some familiarity with, Im sure, Agnew started. Even the early Mesopotamians were looking toward the End of Days and trying to discern its time and purpose. The first prophecy came to a simple farmer back in 4351 B.C. He claimed that a god came to him and told him that there would be a great upheaval and all of the created order would perish under everlasting darkness. Later, an Egyptian High Priest wrote in one of his temple records that the Sun God, Ra, had asked for a body to inhabit so that he may become mortal and die before a night infinitely dark consumes me. To think, a god wished to escape annihilation by succumbing to Death!? Finally, just before the death of Christ, it is said that around the 6th hour, darkness overtook the sun and many tombs were broken and the dead roamed free. I see that as a taste of whats to come, as the death of Creator would have that kind of effect. It was short lived, however, due to his resurrection and his restoration of order. There may come a time when that order cannot be restored and that, my dear Silas, is when the Blackest Night is upon us.
So The Good loses. Silas said hopelessly.
Our destiny is not set yet, my young friend, but if we continue on our current path, I fear that we may indeed fall to the Blackest Night.
I understand it now, were on the path that leads to destruction and we have to find the narrow gate, but how? Silas searched for answers.
That is what you are to find out. That is your commission by the gods. Not even they know what path to choose. So many are offered and only one is the true path. Find it and you will save this universe. Fail, and everything that you hold dear will be destroyed. I believe it is time to set you off on your journey. I will be with you as a guide and mentor but my essence to the mortal plane is diminishing daily. I estimate another few hundred years before I will be too ethereal to be able to help you anymore. In the mean time, I will teach you everything I know and will help you become the most powerful mage this world has ever seen.
What about this Seed of Power that the Messenger told me about? Silas asked.
Indeed, the Seeds of Power are bestowed only upon celestial beings and their potential is limitless. They were forged before the first dawn and only a few of them remain. Supposedly, their true power lies in the ability to alter destiny and fate and to change the course of entire universes. Ultimately it comes down to a decision of freewill. However, it can also be used to expand your own power to that of the gods. Even they quake before the Blackest Night so I dont know if you can outright overpower whatever force is behind it. But, if the Blackest Night is indeed many millennia away, who knows? Maybe you will become so powerful that you will be able to engage the Great Evil head on and defeat it outright. Only the Creator has ever done that, in the beginning during creation. What He could do is far beyond the scope of even the gods, however. Exiling the Blackest Night is no small feat and while I believe the Creator could do it again, I believe He is watching to see to see what we do.
So I must simply wait and see. What a terrible suspense! Silas exclaimed. What do I do now?
That is simple, Silas. Start learning everything you can about the Blackest Night and is origin and who is behind it. This prophecy was not given in vain for the gods knew that you have the potential to do something about this cataclysm awaiting us. I, too, was placed in this very position for a reason and I believe I know it now. Remember, young Silas, there is no such thing as coincidence. Purpose is behind everything.
Hundreds of years passed and the corporeal form of St. Agnew did, indeed, diminish until late in the 12th century when he ceased to be entirely. Before his crossing over, St. Agnew gave this charge to Silas and that was to change his name into the very thing he was fighting against. It will be a constant reminder of what is at stake and the doom that may befall us. Your name will be among your greatest weapons as those of all walks of life will sense that you bring tidings of misfortune and calamity. You will be shunned, exiled, and be made an outcast the rest of your days on this planet. Few will understand you, many will fear you. Use this power to your advantage and your name will go before you like a plague that silences all enemies. Keep practicing the arts and increasing in knowledge and someday, I believe you will find what you are looking for. Good bye, Blackest Night. I have been honored by your presence. And with that, St. Agnew faded out of existence.
Blackest Night wandered many decades, very much lost and alone. He feared trying to build relationships that were destined to be cut short by death. Marriage was out of the question and children that would grow up and die before his very eyes was too painful to think about let alone attempt. Instead, his life would be one of isolation and study and discipline. Devoted to the searching of answers and the seeking of a power that can disrupt the great darkness, Blackest Night began to believe that it was not in the powers of Light that salvation was held but rather in the very power that was seeking to destroy this universe. Blackest spent the next thousand years learning, creating, focusing and improving upon every Dark Power that was known to man and it was with the power of the Blackest Night that he hoped to combat it.
This delving into the Dark Arts had consequences that even he could not foresee. First, his physical appearance began to change and while his body remained in its prime (as an artifact of his immortality) his skin began to glow a light blue. His eyes lost most of their normal vision and instead shifted into spectral sight. As his power increased, he could sense the ebb and flow of magic as it localized and pooled in certain locations and people. This 6th sense allowed him to determine the life force within all living beings and their magical potential. It also allowed him to home in on this power within life and steal it for his own manipulations.
As with all the Dark powers, power is not created by the wielder but taken from his surroundings and as Blackest Night refined his abilities, he could use the very life forces around him to mend wounds and even resurrect the dead. Further and further he searched and began to unlock powers from beyond the grave. Demonic power was among the most powerful but also the most dangerous to the wielder but as an immortal, he had nothing to fear from the demons he was summoning. These Dark Servants were offered existence in the mortal plane as long as they were subservient to their Master and harmed no innocents. However, Blackest Night limited their power and their time in this world in order to keep the supernatural balance intact. Too many Dark Servants at once would have called down the Heavenly Armies and Blackest would be at odds against the gods. Instead, he limited himself to a handful at any given time and all would be given the same power and the same form.
The years rolled on and technological advances caused the widespread use of magic to diminish. Blackest saw the rise of the Industrial Revolution and marveled at the unequaled growth of mankinds dominion over the planet. Resources were stripped and lands conquered in order to plunder even more. The Institution fell into ruin after some of the Eldest Magi became the slaves of money and the whole estate was sold to the highest bidder. Magic was being inadvertently wiped out because people didnt need it anymore. Science won the secret war and Blackest became the last Magus of the 9th Order (although he attained a level that was even beyond the Timeless Ones).
World War I and II forced Blackest out of hiding and he became personally involved during the fighting in the Eastern Front between Stalins Russia and Nazi Germany. Rumors of a powerful shadow and Death in the wind spread like wildfire throughout many of the forces stationed in the East. There tales where Death himself descended upon the battlefield and slew hundreds of men that were performing inhumane acts to their fellow man. Truth be told, Blackest Night only participated in two battles but he saw something he hadnt seen before in the last one. A single man stood against an entire army and defeated it using nothing but his bare hands and obvious superhuman strength. Curious to see if perhaps this man was magical, Blackest investigated but found no trace of magic within the single-starred hero. His power came from an outside source or was inherent within him.
Blackest Night followed the exploits of the man and his subsequent founding of the Freedom Phalanx. Statesman, as he would later be called, became a vital member of Paragon City and the heroes that began assembling there was akin to the Institution Blackest was once formerly involved in. However, what as even more exciting was the resurgence of magic within that city as magical heroes were coming out of the proverbial woodwork to help restore order. However, such a nexus of magical activity was bound to catch the eye of the force behind the Blackest Night. The former Silas knew that if the Blackest Night would come in this age, ground zero would be Paragon City.
Even more alarming were the whispers of an ancient and powerful magi order that were actually trying to bring about the end of the world. The Circle of Thorns, as they were known, were actually descendants of the Order of Icthulu that killed St. Agnew. Echoes of their magic resounded out of their underground lair and Blackest Night picked up on it immediately. While they too performed Dark Magic, Blackest knew they would be no match for him. His mission was to stop the Circle from prematurely launching the End of Days and figuring out what they knew about it.
It is time to come out of hiding and fulfill my destiny, Blackest Night said as he flew into the city. I may be the harbinger of Death to these people but I will not forget The Good that still compels me. Let the Blackest Night come I am ready.
D3 Bible I6/ED
Bots /FF Guide