Greetings and Salutations!

This so called Destroyer … I wrote about this in my letters. Very well. A recap. Apologies if this comes out of order.

We now have four separate incidents where prophesies have been spoken in the last two years. Here they are. First from Illirite monks from Khitani and then from the Tear of Larissa:

“My brethren were gifted with a vision, a
terrible one which showed unto us the image of
the God-Emperor, who would stride out from the
Hidden Lands and be welcomed as Liberator only
to take the Holiest of Holies by shedding the blood
of the most innocent.
“The very mention of his name shall make
kings tremble, stop the heart of an Emperor and
cause that which was endless to end. In his wake
an entire people shall be liberated, their curse
lifted but at the cost of their brother; while
another is damned forever more in the eyes of all.
“And about his head floated twelve keys that
shall unlock that which it most craves.
“But beware – though called savior by many
and his followers legion, his true name is the
Destroyer! The Enslaver of Humanity! None may
stay his hand but the ember that is bereft of fire
and even then it may not be enough, for when
faith fails in one, faith will fail in us all!

Well, the hidden lands could be almost anywhere – the Vastwoods are closest. But that seems unlikely since later prophesies speak about this Destroyer coming from the West. Dhar Zhan Var fits the bill best in my opinion, and is closest, but it could also refer to the Andai Ascendency or the lands of the Godless which lie beyond Khitan. The ones damned seem to be a possible reference to the Tultipetans who have been ravaged by the Dragon.

It seems clear to me the curse mentioned must be for one of the dwarven enclaves. I’m surprised they aren’t more up in arms about this. The 12 Keys are almost certainly a reference to the Twelve Keys of Man which might be used to unlock the Throne of Man from the First Imperium. The Holy of Holies. The Throne is an artifact of incredible power and was Illiir’s Gift to the Imperium. Not only were the seated Imperator’s words said to be irresistible according to legend, but the words were still irresistible when first repeated by his messengers! This is in large part how the Imperium expanded to such immense size and remained stable for over a thousand years.

If you want to get hysterical or apocalyptic then you might interpret the “endeless to end” to be a reference to “Time” or the “Universe.” I am hoping something more symbolic turns up to satisfy that stanza. If you want to be helpful that’s a good place to start looking.

I am guessing that the final notes of an ember bereft of fire is a reference to the Andai, and their belief in a single God who they maintain our Pantheon is but facets of.

Okay, the second prophesy came from the Vault of Larissa and its possibly self serving “Eye of Larissa”:

“Out of the west, thousands of pounding feet
Rush towards our beloved city
They shall first be saviors, then conquerors
He shall wear the crown of many kings
And Emperors will fall dead before him
The last was first and lost to us before she was found
Only the invisible knew her name
Until the god emperor stood on this ground.”

The First 3 lines have not happened yet, but it seems to me that the Destroyer will come to the First City and “save” it from some terrible threat. I personally fear this threat is the Dragon which laid waste to Tultipet based on our recent battle there and the death of the Queen which we now know was the Dragon’s pawn. But it is not really clear what the threat is. Maybe its some one else. What is clear is that after they save the city, they seize power.

“The last was first” could be a reference to Princess Maxima Valeria who was the first person Calemnon killed. Assuming Calemnon is this Destroyer…but the later reference to the invisible does not make sense in this context. Another possibility I am heavily researching is that “The last was first” instead references the Thirteenth Goddess who was killed by the OTHER at the dawn of the Godswar. But that leads to the terrifying possibility that the gods themselves are in danger from the coming events. This takes us back to the Apocalypse. I don’t like this interpretation because if such power is being harnessed I despair of any actions I might take in a remedial direction.

I assume the heart of an emperor refers to the aged Scippio. I’d like this to be wrong since by most reports he is a wise and just ruler. But it seems much more likely than a scenario where the Sleeping Emperor dies. Do you know the story of his step-son Calemnon? He disappeared into Dhar Zhan Vor with an army years ago. Since Dhar Zhan Vor is to the west I see a possible connection.

A former scribe of the Imperial Court of Coryan allegedly suffered terrible prophetic, dreams. I was able to track this scribe down. Though the scribe wishes to remain anonymous I persuaded this person to share his or her dreams. This is a third source of what was seen:

From the far west a storm roils, a storm of vengeance against treacherous souls.
They sought to wash their hands of them and send them to their deaths. Where others found death, they survived; where others fell into thralldom they prospered. They shall return and exact their vengeance upon those that cast them aside as if they were bitter fruit worthy only for the garbage heap.

Again this seems to me like a reference to Calemnon and his lost army.

The final prophesy I heard from the Seer at Tultipet, but I do not think the time is ripe to write those words down here.

-Tukufu