Abramelin
by @ethanaphex______
A dark glow suffused Abramelin's face as he sat in the wadi reeds, listening to the susurrations of the river beside the camp. Abraham stared into the ineffable eyes of Abramelin and wondered aloud, "Who holds the eyes of the world?", to which Abramelin responded, "God, and no one. Which is which?"
Slowly, darkness became light, and a deep blue dawn unfolded over the craggy desert cliffs overhanging the wadi where they sat. The entire night has passed in silence, with the brief exception of the aforementioned words. The cryptic intent of these words had distilled in Abraham's mind into pure mystery. There was nothing Abraham valued more than the inimical riddle of mystery, and so he mulled over these words in satisfaction; They became an elixir which he would now savor like a draught of golden liquor.
As it was becoming late in the morning, both men stood and walked back up the wadi and into the steep arroyo where Abramelin's cave was located. Once sequestered within, they lit lamps of oil and began the daily rituals of asceticism that would elevate the mind of Abraham, coalescing his intellect with the heart of mystery. This grand task was not taken lightly, and though the men had become habituated to the repetitive tasks of self purification, never did they complain or drop the aspect of piety in their dispositions. To do so would endanger them both.
"Abzulius, Qathar, Sondel, Lœphaelus…" began the chant. The names blended together in the echo-chamber of the cave, becoming a vast and wonderful chorus of arcana. A thousand times they had repeated this litany. It was an appeal to unseen spirits, a plaintive cry that would go unacknowledged for uncounted days, but at the end of a long period of obsequiousness, their calls would be answered. As the gods would have it, the harkeners would be no angels, no cherubim or seraphim, but instead the call would be heeded by a darker sort: the hierarchy of fallen spirits known as demons. These intelligences would appear in the cave and, if properly annealed to the conjurer's will, answer any questions put to them and obey any commands.
Images generated with Midjourney by @d-pend
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