Chapter Eleven
1. From Eldin’s breath came sacred laws,
2. Each one written without pause,
3. Inscribed in flame, preserved in bone,
4. To guide the faithful and atone.
5. "Let no will rise against Her will,
6. For silent hearts are hearts made still,
7. Rebellion is the bitter weed,
8. Uproot it quick before it seeds."
9. Thus courts of law were born of light,
10. Judgments swift and always right,
11. For in Her name no error lies,
12. And doubt is where the danger hides.
13. The Judges wore no earthly guise,
14. Their mouths were sewn, their veils of eyes,
15. They spoke through gesture, touch, and flame,
16. And every ruling bore Her name.
17. The crimes were few but grave and clear:
18. To hoard, to speak, to stray, to fear,
19. To question rites, to walk alone,
20. Were all indictments sharply known.
21. Those found guilty knelt in peace,
22. Accepting penance for release,
23. And in the Gardens of Red Grace,
24. Were shown the light of Her embrace.
25. "A soul that strays must be returned,
26. Its roughened edge must first be burned,
27. But once it glows with guilt undone,
28. It shines again beneath Her sun."
29. Children too were taught the code,
30. With hymns that danced and softly flowed,
31. "Never lie and never roam,
32. Obey your Mask, obey your home."
33. Every mask bore sacred hue,
34. Reflecting what each soul must do,
35. Blue for speech and red for war,
36. White for those who sin no more.
37. The punishment was never cruel,
38. It was the kindness of the rule,
39. For mercy meant the chance to bend,
40. And breaking led to blessed end.
41. The blessed end was oft not death,
42. But the quiet gift of lesser breath,
43. A life of silence, soft and low,
44. Where thought no longer dared to grow.
45. Those most faithful gave consent,
46. To live in peace by discipline spent,
47. Their eyes sewn shut, their tongues at rest,
48. So none could say what was unblessed.
49. "To speak is pride, to gaze is want,
50. Let stillness be your soul’s font,
51. The quiet heart will never stray,
52. And shall not bloom in disarray."
53. Eldin smiled as balance grew,
54. Justice swift, compassion true,
55. The streets grew calm, the air was clean,
56. And every soul a prayer serene.
57. Crimes fell still, dissent grew rare,
58. No soul forgot Her watchful care,
59. For all who breathed were taught to see,
60. That sin begins in being free.
61. So cages turned to sacred walls,
62. And every shackle now enthralls,
63. The faithful sang of binding tight,
64. As the truest form of light.
65. Schools of Order trained the youth,
66. To seek no praise, to speak no truth,
67. But only echo what was taught,
68. For thinking leads the soul to rot.
69. Eldin’s words were carved in skin,
70. Across the backs of next of kin,
71. So every child, when bowed in prayer,
72. Could trace the law already there.
73. The bloom and wither, side by side,
74. Taught all when to stand or hide,
75. "If you cannot bloom with grace,
76. Then wither quiet in your place."
77. And thus the kingdom, just and wise,
78. Grew ever pure beneath Her eyes,
79. A land of law, serene and still,
80. Where every heart obeyed Her will.