A quick note:

This is a bit of background material for Book 2 of Turn the Page (which I AM
working on, REALLY).

For those of you who don't remember, a Commentary is more informational than
really involved with the actual plotline of Ttp.

Tell me what you think...and if you have any suggestions...tell me.

Public/Private C&C is OK, I care not.


*****

        Preface by translator:

The Prophecies of the Soul Lords are a curious document that was found in
the ruins of post-Second Impact Japan.  The manuscript was clearly several
hundred years old, yet showed vocabulary several centuries ahead of its
time.

Even more odd was the the fact that the Prophecies seems to have been
written in over three dozen languages, at times switching languages many
times within a given sentence.  Sometimes, the Prophecies cross language
vocabulary boundaries freely, for example Romanizing Arabic words or
vice-versa.  This made translating the Prophecies into a single language
highly difficult.

To aid the reader, several footnotes have been made.


        The Prophecies of the Spirit Lords

Prophecy One:  Ackary Roshu (1)

The first of the Sayshen Daymo (2) will be known by his childhood, which is
marked by the travels she (3) begins on the path to Mastery.  He shall be
separate from others, living, breathing, and knowing nothing the Arts that
she will be defined by.

She will be loved by three, gained by Friendship, Might, and Chance.  Yet,
he will desire a fourth, but while Ackary Roshu and his Other will deny it
with words, they shall defend it with a might that shatters mountains.

The Dragon, the Tiger, the Emperor, and the Thief shall answer her call.
The Dragon shall bow to him, as will the Pheonix.  He shall be at the center
of great things, shall be as weak as a Lamb and as stong as the mightiest
Warrior.  She is a being of the Wind, fleeting and random.

The Universe shall name its Lord of Light when Love is no longer denied.

Prophecy Two: Kuraye Roshu (4)

The Lord of Darkness will be raised by his brother and opposite, and will
battle her from the start.  He will be brought up with hatred and sorrow as
his milk and bread, and the Earth which is his nature will shatter at his
touch.

He shall be cursed with a Wandering Path, and the Darkness which is his
name.  He shall have the strength of legions in his arms, and the armor of
armies as his flesh.

His path shall be known by the Love Longed For, the Love Betrayed, and the
Love Freely Given.  The First shall begin his shrouding in the Darkness that
he is Dominion, the Second shall remove the Last of the Light, and the Third
shall save him from the Doom he would bring upon himself.

When the Lord of Darkness and the Lord of Light battle for the final time,
their melee will be a scourge upon the Land. (5)

Prophecy Three: Kouzomayshen (6)

The Doom of the Land shall be known when the Lord of the Void rises.  He
will be a both Blind and Eagle-Eyed, a man looked upon with scorn yet
respected and feared.

He will be the weakest and the mightiest of the Lords.  He will be a like
the Abyss that swallows all that enters, and like the volcano that roars
with a power and wrath. He is of the Fire, hungry and burning.

The Price of his power is the Pain he will know for all his days.

His path will be known by the Sun that it orbits, and the Seasons of his
year.  His first step to Mastery will be the Refusal of Love, that which
causes his Ascendency will be the Love Endangered, and his Reward will be
the Love that he Rejects.

The Lord of the Void shall save us, and will know Pain for it. (7)

************

(1) It is proposed that many of the terms in the Prophecy are derived from
Japanese.  Ackary Roshu is believed to be a rather poor localization of
"Akari-ryoshu," meaning Master of the Light.

(2) Perhaps "Seishin-daimyo" or Soul Lord.

(3) It is unknown what sex the Lord of Light is supposed to be.  Male,
female, and neuter pronouns are used randomly.

(4) Perhaps "Kurai-ryoshu" or Master of the Dark.

(5) In "Fulfilled Propheciecies" (2821) Dr. Xiao Shu of the University of
Bejing claims that this event was the Second Impact, and was caused or
triggered by the battle between Light and Dark.  A ludicrous claim, but one
that is gaining in popularity.

(6) Perhaps "Kushomeijin" or Master of the Void.  Oddly, this choice of word
also could mean Master of Nothing, implying incompetence.

(7) Again, the popular belief is that the Lord of the Void reduced the
magnitude of the damage of Second Impact, at great cost to himself.

****

Now you just HAVE to know whom I'm talking about.

--
Christopher Angel
c_j_angel@hotmail.com ICQ#: 24411826
http://www.geocities.com/~ca_godboy
Engineer for Hire