The Book of Manuscripts

The Scroll of Kamushahre

1In this fertile black land there are those who worship the sun and they call it the greatest and the most bountiful among all gods, the Seer of Heaven, the of the squalid manner in which men dwelt before the Golden One led his people hence.

2He came to this fertile land. Now it is a pleasant place with many great cities and contented villages; there is the great broad river of fresh water which rises and falls in its due seasons. Channels there are and waterways which lead the fertilising waters unto the growing things, the herbage and the trees. There are flocks of sheep and herds of cattle on the green pastures.

3It was not ever thus. In the days before Harekta came all was barren and desolate. Nought divided the wilderness from the swamplands filled with reeds. Then there were no cattle or sheep and the land knew not the hand of man, it lay untilled and unwatered.

4No land was sown, for they who dwelt in it knew not the making of waterways, nor did they know how to command the water and make it flow at their behest. There were no cities and men dwelt in holes in the ground or in places where the rock was cleft. They walked in their nakedness or clothed themselves with leaves or bark, while at night they covered themselves with the skin of wild beasts. They fought with the jackal for food and snatched dead things from the lion. They pulled roots from out of the ground and sought for sustenance among things that grew in the mud. They had none to rule over them, nor had they leaders to guide. They knew not obligation or duty. None spoke to them about their manner of life and none knew the way of Truth. They were truly unenlightened in those days.

5Then came the servant of the Sun and he it was who brought the people together and put rulers over them. He set Ramur up as king over the whole land. He showed them, man and woman, how to dwell together in contentment as husband and wife, and he divided their tasks between them.

6He instructed men in the sowing of corn and the growing of herbs. He instructed them in the tilling of the ground and the manner of cutting the waterways and channels. He it was who showed men the ways of the beasts of the field. He instructed men in the working of gold and silver and the making of vessels from clay. He instructed men in the hewing and cutting of stone and the building of temples and cities. The making of linen and the dying of cloth that forms garments ever pleasing to the eyes, he did not teach. Neither did he instruct them in the making of bricks or the working of copper.

7Then, when he departed he bade the people not to weep, for though he went to his father, the sun would adopt them as his children and all could become sons of the sun. Thus many became sons and servants of the sun and they believed what they had heard, that the sun was their father and the light of goodness overlooking the whole land. It is this light that sustains all living things, but within it is the greater light which sustains the spirit. It is the light that enlightens the hearts of men. There are lesser lights that guide men about their daily tasks and shield them from harm, there are unseen lights that influence men for good or ill, but it is the Great Light that banishes coldness and makes all men warm. The warmth it bestows ripens the harvests of man and makes his herds yield their increase.

8It oversees the whole activity of men on Earth as it journeys the skies from one end to the other, thus it knows the needs of all men. Therefore, be like the sun, be far-seeing and foresighted, be regular in your comings and goings while about your daily tasks.

9When their guide and leader left, the people knew themselves as children of the sun. They were warlike and subdued other people in its name, and brought them under its rule. Then great temples were raised up to it and for a time it displaced the greater gods which the people of this land had set up in their ignorance. The One True God it never displaced, for the True God was ever hidden from the eyes of the profane and ignorant.

10Then some priests among those who followed the rule of the sun stole its spirit and brought it down, so that it enlivened the statues and images of their gods. Thus the spirit which enlivens all the lesser gods is but the one spirit held in captivity, and not many as the people think.

11Then came the Wise Ones from the East and they caused the people to have other thoughts. They were men who knew the ways of Heaven and asked of the people, "Is the sun spirit indeed supreme, is this not a thing requiring much thought? Consider its movements, are they not more like those of one who is directed in his comings and goings? Does it move about freely as it wills, or is it restricted and held to its appointed path, like a yoked ox, or as the ass treading out corn? Does it rise up from the Netherworld as it wills or go down into the cavern of darkness by its own decree? Is its path not more like that of a stone hurled forth by the hand of man? Is it not like a boat controlled by the will of a man, rather than a free-ranging god? Is it not more like a slave under the direction of a master?" These things disturbed the hearts of people, some pondered upon them, but others, in the manner of men, cried death to those who deny the truth of these things.

12However, because of the things said the worship of the older gods grew in strength, for the people had never turned from Usira who was with them before the first water channel was cut. He was not the god of the high born but of the lowly people.

13Thisis a land of two peoples, of two nations, two priesthoods, two streams of wisdom and two hierarchies of gods. It is a land where the light of Truth burns brightly, thought hidden away from the eyes of all but a few. It is the Land of Dawning on Earth.