The Book of Evil

Introduction

This book was produced to bring together a number of ideas as to the often

misunderstood subject of Evil. It shows the three major schools of thought upon

evil. That is how most people choose to act under the auspiciouses of evil,

and then some supporting evidence of how One might choose to live under the

principles of 'Reflection' or 'Singularity'.

The Will and the Way is the best known source of 'Reflection', but the main

reason for this tome was to show the power of Singularity - The Principle of

Self.

Ibiza le Toad.

The Three Major Schools of Thought on Evil

After walking the world for many years, I have observed three prevailing

yet differing stances of Evil. Ta'plak the Heretic wrote that Evil may have

free will, so any may choose their own path, but ought to be aware of the

consequences of their choice.

Anti-thesis

This approach is to consider the position of Good and then act the opposite.

If Good tells the truth, then Evil must lie. If Good is honorable, then

Evil must show dishonor. Take any tenets of good or virtues, then the polar

opposite would represent this approach. This encompasses doing evil for

evil's sake, but neglects reason. For example, a Malician might torture a

kender for the sake of being cruel, rather than doing it for their own

pleasure. The limitation in this dogmatic approach is that it is

reactionary, shows little creativity and it becomes defined by (the opposite

of) what is good.

Reflection

The reflection approach is to be a 'greater' good under the auspices of

'darkness'. Those who believe in reflection do not consider themselves to

be Evil. This has roots in the legend of San Gohdam and the founding of

Eclipse. San Gohdam came from Knighthood to form his own knighthood of

Evil, yet retaining all the principles of Good and using them to the benefit

of Evil. The Will and the Way represents this approach. Ta'plak the

Heretic wrote that the 'three eternal were brought to the High God ... None

of them were good, evil, or neutral. They were beyond being classified. '

At any rate, if they were not considered in this light then, they are now.

Under reflection, they consider the Prophecy to define the moral code, so

they do not consider what they are doing to be wrong, rather that they are

doing the right and moral thing because the outcome will bring Necrucifer

to Algoron.

The Shadowknights of Necrucifer certainly prescribe to this position,

surplanting the position of Eclipse based from the Knighthood of Serpantol.

Although there are minor differences in some ethical positions, the moral

principles of the "Will and the Way" remain the same to the Virtues of

Knighthood. This position raises the question, "If Evil and Good are the

same, that is trying to be of a better moral position than the other, then

why is there conflict?" Certainly there appear to be real differences

between Austinian and Necrucifer. However in the absence of the personality

of the Gods, would good and evil be the same?

His Will

Known they are as His Will and His Way. His Will doth guide the Spirit

and Mind of His Chosen. His Way doth guide the actions of His Chosen. Mark

well and remember His Will and His Way, for so shall His Chosen bring forth

His Return.

1. Live only to Serve Him in all ways.

2. Give Praise unto Him in daily devotionals, upon waking, daily activity,

and return to rest.

3. Show respect unto those higher, equal, and beneath thee. All who do stand

to follow the Lord, do stand provided for by His blessings.

4. Never demean Him by boasting, whining or taunting unto His Enemies. Show

unto them the truth of His Dominion, not the falsehood of those that

would defy it.

5. To Honor the Lords of Darkness is to Honor Him for They are of Him.

6. Never speak ill of Him, His Chosen, or any of His Darkness to the Public

or to the Clan.

7. Seek Always to build Unity in His Darkness. As One, His Return shall be

made present. As One, His Dominion shall come upon His Realm.

8. Never involve knowingly or unknowingly be party to treachery that

tarnishes His Glory.

9. Never covet the possessions of others for personal gain.

10. Never speak or use words written to confer an air of impoliteness unto

others.

11. The Honorous are judged by the company they keep. Associate with those

of Honor, limit thy associations otherwise.

12. By His Will shalt thou seek to fulfil His Prophesized Return.

His Way

1. By His Way shalt thou seek to fulfil His Prophesized Return. Above all

things placed before yae, none holds more importance than thy desire to

further the cause which shall bring forth His Return. All duties that

thou dost go forth upon, all laws that thou dost uphold, should bear in

mind that the mandates of the prophecy do come first.

2. Slay only those whom have refused to or no chance of coming unto His

Darkness and who refuse to surrender otherwise. Know within thy soul

those which thou dost battle against, for some may hide well their

defiance of Necrucifer's Will.

3. The flesh may perish but His Darkness is Eternal. Honor Him by thy

sacrifices of thyself for His Chosen. Know that all things from within

thy mortal form do attest to the Dominion of His Will.

4. Allow the surrender of His Enemies and take prisoners if deemed

redeemable unto Him. Understand that there do stand those upon the realm

that shall hide their true purposes to thee, and know that surrender for

some may mean only an increased chance of defeating those of His Chosen

that fight for His Cause.

5. Announce unto His Enemies thy intentions of combat before thou dost

engage thus. Do not allow that His Enemies may strike thee down unwarned.

The shadows around are makings of Him, and should be made use of

accordingly at such times as thou does deem such worthy of the Cause.

6. There is no Honor in stealth. There is no truth in Necrucifer's faith for

those that do not use the shadows to further His cause. Thus, a balance

shall be defined, for the Knight to decide. The use of shadows shall be

determined by how best the Knight feels His cause shall be brought forth.

7. There is no Honor in a poisoned blade. The blades by which all Knights of

His Faith do stand shall be untarnished, so as to better provide that thy

slain enemies are given unto His Dark Will with the blessings of His

Chosen.

8. There is no Honor in the heating of the metal His Enemies. The items

which an enemy does hold upon themselves have no worth to His Chosen

beyond the abilities to keep those enemies from returning to battle.

Should any items be found which may give an enemy of Him greater ability,

such should be removed in battle and scarified to Him.

9. Slay not thy Brethren. Only as One can His Chosen be strong. Only as One

can the Prophesized Return come forth. To turn upon one another damns

thee in the eyes of the Lord.

10. Fight along side those only deemed Honorous in His Darkness. To place

beside thou those that would fight with the same ideals, and the same

paths forward that would bring forth His Prophesized Return, His Chosen

shall grow ever stronger. As well though, should any need arise in which

an individual, or group of individuals, be found useful to further that

Cause, His Chosen shall make efforts as needed to see such accomplished.

11. Fight only one blade to one blade with His Enemies lest they call more

blades to their aid. His Chosen shall judge the place before them of

duels and battle within the realm. Should conditions upon the field

dictate that an enemy must be defeated in due haste to further His

Prophesized Return, then all means shall be come to bear to see such

defeat occur, be they singly, or otherwise.

12. Remain to protect the corpse of those slain in Honor, from the honorless

who would defile it otherwise. The fallen do fall with the blessing of

Him, and their forms before them shall be given such blessing as well. A

true Chosen of Him, shall, by providing the corpse a return to those

defeated, show those of His Enemies the truth of the Cause.

13. Pray for the souls of those slain by thy hand, for may their souls be

consumed by His Darkness. In Darkness only can truth be seen, and only

through the blessings of Prayer before Him can those of His Enemies be

shown the path to that truth.

It is By His Will and His Way that His Chosen shall find Honor In Darkness.

Singularity

The principle of the self is less of a doctrinal approach and stems from one

thing - motivation. The 'Higher/Lower Principles of Evil' represents this

approach. Lower Evil wishes the self to advance at the expense of all in

the short term. For example, a Bloodluster seeks an item from another, so

he steals it. The self gains, and others are not considered. Higher Evil

forsakes the immediate advance to self, and seeks to advance the position of

their God in the hope that should they be successful the favor of their God

and the reward received will be a worthy advance of their self. For example

of a Knight of Necrucifer assists in the delivery of Algoron to Necrucifer

for His coming. This results in the knight rewarded with great power in the

new order. This approach allows the lowest common denominator of Malician

evil to thrive and distract Good, while providing the framework for a Higher

Evil to go about working towards the will of Necrucifer.

The Question of Evil

There are feeble insulting positions which call the majesty of Evil, "darkness"

or attempt to pass it off as a pathetic trinket of Good. Make no apologies, we

are Evil. Be proud of the fact that you serve Necrucifer and do not disrespect

Him with a moral position. We who hold red auras have chosen our path and we

stand true to that affirmation.

The question of Evil is best defined by motivation.

Good is Altruistic, the others come first. Good offers in the spirit of

giving. Good takes its pleasure from virtue, morality and Nadrik's expected

honor.

Evil is Egocentric, the self is greater in importance to everything else.

Evil takes with little regard for consequence. Evil ought to seek out no

principle which Nadrik nor any God of good offers.

Lower Evil is the lowest common denominator which all might conform to. The

egocentrism is immediate and self-serving.

Higher Evil is no less self-serving but it is more ambitious and risky.

Those who follow Higher Evil subject themselves to service to the Evil Lord

forsaking their immediate selves. The reward for this service is magnified many

times when Necrucifer comes again to Algoron and rewards His chosen.

The Principles of Lower Evil

Lower Evil adheres to the singularity of the Self with no restriction. All

benefit is derived towards the self at the expense of others. Necrucifer will

bless those taking this lower road as followers in His evil as they tax Good,

but his higher honors are not for the egocentric, but those offering themselves

to Him and his evil purpose. When the time comes for Necrucifer to return to

Algoron, the call for Unity will require all to follow Higher Evil till this

goal is attained.

1. Self interest - When making any decision, the question of benefit lies

only with the individual and others are disregarded. The Self may claim what it

wants, when it wants it.

2. Self preservation - Good may call it cowardice and argue for honor, but

it offers little to the Self where preservation is key to survival.

3. Hatred - The rage of emotion which accompanies Mencius is a powerful

weapon which serves the passion of the Self. To let the Self give in to hate

will drive the Self forward intensity and perseverance.

4. Wrath - Any target which has aggrieved the Self becomes the target of

furious anger till it feels placated. Once the outburst of anger is abated, the

Self may feel fulfilled.

5. Falsehood - A well placed lie may cause more damage than a sword.

Spreading Devion's deception towards the enemy is a powerful weapon.

6. Pride - The Self is proud of accomplishment, which builds more

confidence to the ego making the Self more powerful.

7. Prejudice - Disrespect for the beliefs and rights of others, as the

beliefs and rights of the Self are paramount.

8. Apathy - The spirit of hopelessness retards positive action. The Self is

entitled to sloth should it wish.

9. Ruthlessness - The Self is entitled to take actions without regard to

the wants or needs of others.

10. Anarchy - Chaos serves Evil rather than Good. Those who survive and

succeed will regard the Self as paramount. A lack of standards of conduct in

law degenerates towards Evil, and ties the hands of Good.

11. Wantonness - Acting without self-restraint and goal. The Self may

express itself capriciously for its own pleasure towards any earthly desire.

12. Avarice - The Self desires to keep all they possess for their disposal.

There is no gain to an Evil Self for despised charity.

13. Envy - The Self desires and believes itself entitled to the possessions

of another, which the Self may set about gaining by any means.

The Principles of Higher Evil

Higher Evil adheres to the Self but with restriction, as Necrucifer has imposed

discipline for His purpose. Necrucifer has offered great reward to those

motivated enough who give up their Self for Him. Followers of Higher Evil serve

Necrucifer in fear of His wrath and eager for His reward to the Self in his

service.

With regards to the Knights of Necrucifer, the Prophecy from drak'Martys offers

the preparation of Algoron for the coming of Necrucifer. Shadow holds itself to

the standards of Higher Evil, and does not to mingle with the moral and

virtuous misnomers of Good. The Principles of Higher Evil are the path to

enlightenment, unification, the end of anarchy, the end of chaos, the end of

balance in service of Necrucifer who will bestow his divine reward upon each

Self.

1. Discipline - The Self must be disciplined and ignore desire to see the

work of Necrucifer done.

The Evil Lord will give unholy reward to those who have shown discipline

greater than what the Self could attain without His assistance.

2. Diligence - In the service of Necrucifer the Self must be unswervingly

committed to Necrucifer both body and soul.

3. Control - The end of anarchy, the end of chaos, the end of balance.

Extensive preparation is required to create the new world order with Necrucifer

on high. Submit and be strong.

4. Order - Structure is essential to the hierarchy of control. Necrucifer

will place Algoron in his tight fist and bend it to His will. Those who have

prepared Algoron for his coming will become His favored lieutenants.

5. Unity - To bring all from Algoron under His domain will require unity.

This will require discipline, diligence and persistence from both the Lower and

the Higher Evil to achieve.

6. Obedience - Know the place of the Self in the His order. Those above are

to be feared and respected, those below you may bend to your will.

7. Strength - Submit and be strong. Join those who have come to Necrucifer

and serve Him together as the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Evil

has no place for the weak.

8. Fear - Be motivated by both fear of His wrath and the reward that His

blessings will bring to the Self. Should Algoron be delivered to Him, then His

blessings will be without number. The fear of failure will make us succeed.

9. Persistence - Never give up. Never give up. Never give up, whatever the

cost. Our mortal shells are weak, but our souls and faith in Necrucifer shall

be our crutch.

10. Vigilance - Be vigilant and skeptical of all in the absence of trust.

Let not your guard down, for a moment of weakness may be the undoing of the

Self and Unity.

11. Conformity - Upon choosing the path of Higher Evil, the Self concedes

its authority to Him and His Order, where role is strictly defined.

12. Ambition - To aspire to Higher Evil requires the Self to forsake Lower

Evil and aspire to greater rewards at greater risk.

13. Devotion - To follow the evil Father, the Self expires and gives full

devotion to Him whatever the cost.

The Tenets of Necrucifer

At the Celebration of Unity and Symbolism, a Symbol was given by each Dark

God to Their followers. Each of the children of Necrucifer attended to hear the

words of Their chosen speakers. Necrucifer Himself came down to bless the

Psalms of Necrucifer as they were read out by His Bishop Anastormia Taba -

Miete and Necrucifer was instrumental in the creation of the last Tenet formed

at His command. He gave His blessing upon the conclusion of the Bishop's

address.

The Tenets of Necrucifer reference the Principles of Higher and Lower Evil in

accordance of explaining to His followers a basis for their actions in His

name. The Tenets themselves simply focus around the path towards the ultimate

goal, His coming to Algoron and how His followers ought to act to achieve this.

The Psalms of Necrucifer

1. Loyalty to Necrucifer is paramount.

And only to Him. Neither His wife nor sons rise higher. His rewards are great,

but do not stray or vengeance is terrible.

2. Let Evil manifest itself in a way that it is true to the Evil of

Necrucifer.

In following The Tenets of Lower and Higher Evil we seek to please Necrucifer.

Those seeking to walk in the way of His enemy will suffer His divine wrath.

3. Necrucifer grants those who follow Him the free will to choose a path.

As is written by Ta'plak the Heretic in the "History of the Gods" this is why

Necrucifer suffered to give His blood to the lands of Algoron. He suffered to

bring His gift to Algoron, do not disrespect it.

4. Fear Him and seek immediate material reward and He will bless you with

it.

Those who are the lowest common denominator follow the path of Lower Evil for

themselves alone. Necrucifer blesses this behaviour as it is a focus for His

enemy leaving Higher Evil to do His work.

5. Love Him and seek something greater than immediate material reward if you

dedicate your soul to Him.

For those who seek a more ambitious, but riskier reward or loss, Necrucifer

will bless with both earthly and divinely spiritual rewards. Upon His return to

Algoron Higher Evil will assist in administering His domain.

6. Assist His servants in preparation for His coming to Algoron.

The Knights of Necrucifer are His chosen assisted by His followers of the

Cloth. Hearken unto them for they are His messengers. With failure will come

pain.

7. When time is ripe, Necrucifer will call for Unity to assist in His

coming.

Hear the Call and do your utmost to fulfil your contract to Necrucifer.

Dreadful will be the suffering of those who fail in this most important of

tasks. Put aside your petty desires and He will bring you great reward.

8. To assist in His coming, serve, unite, and conquer.

Serve those who lead those who would see Necrucifer come again to Algoron.

Unite those willing and unwilling to see the task done. Conquer those would

would stand up to Necrucifer and His followers.

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Jezebeth: Reflections on the Book of Evil

Sun Apr 24 12:40:25 2011

To: Ibiza

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The following are my initial thoughts on the "Book of Evil."

Evil

I would first like to touch upon the subject of Evil, and the meaning of

Evil.

The problem with using this word - "Evil" - is that is a subjective term.

Let us start with the definition of the word, as most of us have learned it.

Evil - morally bad or wrong; immoral; wicked; sin; characterized or

accompanied by misfortune or suffering

Most everyone lives by what they believe to be the "right" way to live.

Their own set of standards for how they chose their path in life. Their own

morals. Does this not mean that anyone who chooses to not follow that same

path through life is, to that person, evil? They believe that person, and

how they are living their lives, is immoral. Wicked. Sinful.

As for suffering, we are all capable of inflicting suffering upon others.

Even if it is not done directly, or physically.

Who among us seeks out to live a life contrary to what we believe? Who

actively seeks to be "evil" in their own eyes? Not a sane man. So,

insanity aside, we all actively choose the path that we believe to be the

correct one. A path directly opposite what each of us considers "evil."

Evil for some may be a lack of order. A lack of leadership or purpose.

Pure chaos. While to others, evil may be someone else telling them what to

do. Evil can be peace. It can be war. It can be love, or hate. It is

entirely dependent upon whom you ask.

Therefore, to call ourselves "evil," is it not suggesting that we are living

a life contrary to what we believe to be the right way to live? And that is

simply not the case with any sane man.

Others have defined selfishness as evil. Every being upon Algoron is

selfish, albeit perhaps in varying degrees. Why does the Knight of Gareth

help someone? Because, in his heart, he believes it to be right. To help

that person. But what are the motivations behind it all? Behind it all,

he's doing it because it also makes him feel good, to be following a path he

considers righteous.

It is in our very natures to look out for ourselves, and to serve ourselves.

The only truly selfless act is to sacrifice ones own life without believing

that they will be rewarded for it somehow in the hereafter.

If Austinian is the God of Good, and Kwainin the Master of Neutrality, it

certainly stands to reason that Necrucifer would be the God of Evil.

Therefore, I can see why some have chosen this term. I believe both "Evil"

and "Good", however, to be misnomers. As I said before, it is all relative.

The Book of Evil writes of the Antithesis approach to Evil. In this

approach, one considers the position of Good, and acts the opposite. As

explained by the book's author, the problem with this approach is that it

both lacks creativity and is defined by the opposite of what is Good.

Ironically, is it not this very approach that even leads us to the word

Evil? If the followers of Light are defined as Good, we must be Evil - the

opposite of Good. However, as the author so aptly put it, we're letting

ourselves be defined by being the opposite of Good and lacking creativity -

and in this case, we're doing it to define our very philosophy.

It is for this very reason that I believe so many of us have characterized

our beliefs with the word "Darkness". It is not people trying to skirt

around calling themselves Evil - which, truthfully, is an understandable

enough reason. It is all of us seeking to be defined by a new standard.

Using creativity to identify ourselves not merely as the antithesis of

so-called "Good".

In the end, however, the word we use to describe it is just that - a word.

Call it Darkness, call it Evil... In the end, it means the same to each of

us.

Within this writing, for the sake of uniformity and understanding, I will

continue to use the term Evil in reference to Higher and Lower Evil, as

mentioned in the Book of Evil.

Reflectionism

According to this text, I would be a reflectionist. Obviously, I do not

believe myself to be "Evil", and have explained why it is incomprehensible

to me that anyone should ever choose to do so.

At the end of the "Reflection" section, the author asks us a question. "If

Evil and Good are the same, that is trying to be of a better moral position

than the other, then why is there conflict? Certainly there appear to be

real differences between Austinian and Necrucifer. However in the absence

of the personality of the Gods, would good and evil be the same?"

I have been asked this same question, and it is absolutely an appropriate

question, given that the Knights of Storm live their lives much the same as

the Knights of Gareth.

Magus Vadol recently asked it to me thusly: "But is it even a good idea to

adopt an identical system of leadership to your enemy? What advantage do

you offer, then, instead of what the opposition stands for? The issue

becomes philosophical only."

Certainly, there are philosophical differences. But the true difference

lies in intent (as well as capability, which I will touch upon later). The

purpose behind our beliefs and actions. You can have an identical system of

morality, but an entirely different purpose. Your morality is merely the

path that you take to serve that purpose.

Our intent could not be more clear. We seek the fulfillment of the

Prophecy. To see Necrucifer walk the face of Algoron, and change it as He

sees fit.

The issue of what exactly He sees fit is where many of His followers differ

in opinion. And rightfully so. None of us can truly know or understand His

purpose or His plans.

The Knights of Storm and those of what the book terms "Higher Evil" believe

that His coming will herald a time of unequivocal peace. An end to chaos.

A time to unite those willing to bend to His will, and to conquer those who

will not.

His followers within Bloodlust perhaps see His coming, or at least the

transition period of His coming, as a time to lie, deceive, and steal to

their heart's content. But what happens after this transition period, when

everyone is at peace? Subverted to His will, or perished. How will their

chaos continue? Will they turn on others of His followers, only to continue

their lies, deceit, and stealing? This is unknown to me. Thankfully, most

of them seem to have not considered this.

His Will, His Way, The Psalms, and His Tenets

These were obviously written specifically for what the book's author terms

"Higher Evil". Which makes sense, since they are the only ones likely to

truly strategize the fulfillment of His Prophecy.

The logic behind them all seemed quite sound, and lie along the same paths

as what I believe. The actions defined within will serve to either convert

others to His will, or do away with those that cannot be convinced to sway

their path.

These make use of honor as a tool to achieve these goals. The difference

between "honor" VS "chaos" and "good" VS "evil" can be a very thin, hard to

understand line for many.

But it is only with this honor and this sense of structure and order that we

can truly bring unification under His Eternal rule.

The real reason behind its use lies again with intent, and also with

capability. These so-called "Higher Evil" are the only real source capable

of the unity that we seek.

Consider the Knights of Gareth. Consider also that Austinian wishes to

unify all upon Algoron, under His rule. Such a thing would never be

possible. There would come a time when a Knight of Gareth, a member of

arguably the strictest and most rigid order upon Algoron, would simply not

be able to do what would need to be done to achieve this unity. Killing an

innocent, young child that refused to bend to Austinian's beliefs, for

example.

Consider another follower of Austinian, one who does not live by any set of

rules other than to "do good". They could be convinced to kill this child,

possibly. But they would not have the strictness or the order to keep chaos

from running rampant. Algoron may be under Austinians rule, but one could

not call it "unity" in any sense.

The same would hold true with persons of "Lower Evil" who were seeking to

bring about the fulfillment of the Prophecy on their own terms. Chaos would

run rampant, bringing no sense of unity.

Worst of all, consider a follower of Kwainin. For them to even conceive of

the concept of unity is against their very belief system. They

strive for eternal conflict. Without this eternal conflict, there

is no balance. Unification would be against everything they believe.

"Higher Evil" are the only group capable of conceiving and implementing this

unification under one God.

All followers of His Darkness certainly have their own view of the Prophecy

and what it shall bring forth. Indeed, all followers of a God or Goddess

must have some kind of ultimate goal in mind for those of their faith. But

it is His Prophecy, and the beliefs of the "Higher Evil" that truly set us

apart from the rest.

Acolyte Jezebeth Ryann