The Descent Into Darkness

CHAPTER 8

Noah and his people disembark from the Ark and settle upon an island they name Salatis (known to us today as the fabled island of Atlantis). There they build a magnificent city named Kamari, employing many of the advanced technology they learned from the Oolarians. They spread out upon the land, populating areas beyond the island of Salatis. Building technologically advanced communities far away from more-primitive populations, they prosper greatly, living many generations in peace and tranquility. However, there begins to be contentions between the different cities, and over time, an angry schism is created, leading many down a path of darkness and the conversion of peaceful technologies into those of war.

 1 And it came to pass that the Children of Light descended from the Ark and came down upon the great island which, in honor of their benefactors of the last forty years and the hope they had for the new Earth, they named Salatis, meaning promise in Oolarian.

 2 And the people of Noah and the Oolarians who had come to Earth with them lived and prospered on the island of Salatis, and many generations were born and passed away in peace and prosperity.

 3 They built a magnificent city named Kamari, meaning “one with God” in the ancient language of Noah and Adam, and it was here that Noah was buried when he died at 636 years.

 4 Noah was succeeded as prophet by Valanjara, who was called by the Elohim at the young age of 170, and became the new prophetess, after confirmation by revelation to the Council of Twelve Elders. Her selection was acclaimed by the citizens, for she was loved deeply by many because of the numerous good works she had done to benefit the people.

 5 During the time of Valanjara, the people of Salatis went forth to many places around the world; for being directed by God, she was determined that the light of Elohim should be brought to the barbarians who were the descendants of the survivors of the Great Flood.

 6 Now the Children of Light of Salatis and Kamari had brought with them from the Ark much of the knowledge of the Oolarians, and from the time of their landing upon Salatis, they began to build their civilization according to the engineering and expertise of the advanced Oolarian knowledge.

 7 So it was that Kamari rose to become the most beautiful city, with walls made of stones of various types and colors that were liquefied and poured into wonderful curving shapes and then solidified in place as natural stone. And many smaller communities were built upon the island and adjacent islands and even floating upon the sea.

 8 When the Kamarians were called by Valanjara to go forth into the world to bring the light of Elohim to the barbarians, they did so in marvelous airships patterned after the technology of the Oolarians.

 9 There were four basic types of ships from the large double-decked domed saucer [Ce1] that held over one hundred people, which was called Vimi and appeared as a bright, luminous cloud when it flew, to the small, pointed cylindrical craft that carried one to five people, which were called Jatals.

 10 All of the sky ships were both lifted and powered by the same gravitational drives that had been used by the Ark, and the engines of the Vimi were large enough to lift it into Earth’s upper atmosphere.

 11 To not frighten the barbarians they encountered, each craft employed some form of invisibility. The Vimi simply looked like a brilliantly glowing cloud, while the Jatals actually were cloaked in such a way that they could not be seen by the human eye, and others appeared merely as small bright lights in the sky.

 12 In contrast to the choices made when Salatis and earlier outlying communities were begun, it was decided that the new enclaves would be established near large concentrations of the barbarians so they could be used for the manual labor that the people of Salatis had come to disdain. The largest group of barbarians was located in the valleys of the high mountains of Tibra, which were the highest on Earth, and had been the final refuge of many of the survivors of the Great Flood.

 13 Seven towns were founded in the valleys of the Tibran Mountains and each was initially settled by one hundred families from Kamari and the communities of Salatis, and in the generations that followed, these seven communities each grew into beautiful cities known collectively as the “Seven Cities of Tibra” and the people known as Tibrians. And the capital city of the Tibrians became Retiashi.

 14 Four other communities, also founded by one hundred families, were placed at other high-mountain locations around the world where many barbarians had escaped the flood, and a fifth was located on an isolated island in the western ocean that it might become a remote and protected repository of all knowledge.

 15 Many of the Kamrians and Salatisians had reservations when the new communities had been built with the intent to have daily interaction with the barbarians. But the barbarians who lived near the new Cities of Light were blessed to be there, for the Children of Light came among them and uplifted them with the teachings of Elohim; many of the barbarians became one with the Children of Light, and they were barbarians no more and the cities grew and prospered.

 16 But beyond the trading area of the Cities of Light, where the barbarians still had little contact with the Children of Light, the life of the people was still very primitive.

 17 And many more generations passed away, and Earth continued to blossom with new life in many and varied forms springing up by the design of the Elohim.

 18 Every thousand years, there was a great millennial celebration among all the Children of Light upon Earth. At this time, a ship of the Oolarians, similar to the Ark, would come to Earth to renew the bonds of the Oolarians with the Children of Light upon Earth, and this was the only direct contact the Oolarians maintained with the descendants of the Noahites.

 19 For one week upon the island of Salatis, there was a great feast and celebration, and the Children of Light from all over Earth traveled by every airship available to attend the festivities and greet the Oolarians, the Children of Light from the stars.

 20 And so did time pass upon Earth, and among many generations, there was bliss.

 21 But beginning at the time of the prophet Gartan Kul, the bliss began to vanish and was replaced by strife and descent into darkness among many of the Children of Light.

 22 The Seven Cities rose in power so much so that they outshone the grandeur and majesty of Kamari. And the people of the Seven Cities began to think and act differently than their forefathers, and they disavowed the supremacy of the prophet at Kamari and the Council of Twelve Elders and named their own prophet and Council of Twelve.

 23 But having been called by man and not by God, when the prophet and Council of Elders of the Seven Cities inquired of the Elohim, they heard only their own imaginations in return.

 24 In the land of Salatis, the people were most disturbed by the schism with the Seven Cities, and there arose a great anger among many that the Seven Cities would dare break away.

 25 The prophet Gartan Kul and the Council of Elders tried to reason with their people, to convince them that they were overreacting, but their words only further angered the populace.

 26 In their unrighteous anger, Dlamraka, self-styled “the Great,” arose to power. He was a man of glib tongue, and he incited the people in their anger toward the citizens of the Seven Cities so much so that he convinced them that only by force could justice be rendered and the traitors be punished.

 27 And Dlamraka, who was a very wealthy man, raised an army to mount an offense against the Seven Cities and capture their leaders. He marshaled the knowledge and abilities of many of the great minds of Salatis and Kamari to turn the peaceful technology of their cities into engines and vessels of war and violence that retribution might be rained upon the Seven Cities.

 28 Seeing this, the prophet Gartan Kul spoke as a prophet in the name of Elohim to the people of Salatis and Kamari and plainly told them that they were straying from the path of Elohim and must not make war upon their brothers or upon anyone except in self-defense of their lives.

 29 Dlamraka argued that they were defending their lives and way of life, which by the very act of succession, the people of the Seven Cities were threatening.

 30 Back and forth went the conflicting words of Gartan Kul and Dlamraka for many months. And the Council of Twelve also went out among the people each day to counter the persuasions of Dlamraka and remind them what it meant to be a Child of Light.

 31 But each day, the people listened with boisterous agreement more to the words of Dlamraka and hissed in rejection at the words of the prophet.

 32 Feeling their unwavering disdain, Gartan Kul prayed often to the Elohim that he might be shown a way to bring his people and the people of the Seven Cities back into the light.

 33 One night while he slept, Elohim the Mother came to him in a dream in answer to his faithful prayers, and seeing her, he kissed the hand that she offered and asked, “Dearest Mother of Light, a great schism grows between the Children of Light, and many are turning to ways of darkness, not in depravity, as in the days of Noah, but in their machinations and thoughts of violence against their brothers afar. What can I say or do to avert the tides of war and reconcile and heal the rifts?”

 34 The Mother answered him, saying, “You have said well and with truth, all the words that must be said, as have the Council of Twelve. If the Children of Light will not hearken unto your words, they have by their choice thrown off the halo of light that was upon them and chosen by their freewill to walk a path that will lead to their destruction.”

 35 Hearing this, Gartan Kul was distraught, and he pleaded with the Mother of Light, saying, “Surely I can do something, exhibit some great power to show the majesty and truth of Elohim, or even I pray that you would do something, such as send a great wave or darken the sky or show some mighty sign of displeasure that the people will see the error of their ways before it is too late.”

 36 The Mother shook her head and said unto him, “When we created the Earth, we put all things upon it that men and women could show by their actions the extent of their light or the depth of their darkness.

 37 We gave a mortal life to the immortal soul that men and women could have a time of weakness and temptation, but also a time of great learning and expansion, to allow them to become one with the energies of eternity in which they found the greatest resonance that they could determine by their own choices the world of their eternity.

 38 We understood that sometimes they would give into their weaknesses and partake of their temptations and be pulled further into darkness.

 39 Therefore, we left inside all men and women the spark of divinity that is our light, that they might always know right from wrong, that even when they chose the darkness their soul would still be calling them to the light.

 40 That the errors of their mortality might be redeemed and men and women become greater than their weaknesses, we offered the path of repentance, whereby the sins of their past can be forgiven and forgotten, and they can live once again fully in the light, drawn to an eternity of fulfillment in resonance with their illuminated, immortal soul.

 41 All this we have created that men and women might fulfill the destiny they make for themselves, that on the day of judgment, when they will be pulled to the world of their eternity, be it light or darkness, that all of the actions and choices of their lives will be upon their shoulders, and they will not be able to say, ‘It is because of this circumstance or this person that I gave into temptation and walked a path of darkness.’

 42 Beyond this, we are Watchers only, Watchers with sadness whenever we see our children make the wrong choices. But also Watchers with love, confident we have given our children the best path and sufficient opportunities to create an eternity for themselves worthy of the greatness they each have within them.”

 43 Hearing the words of the Holy Mother, Gartan Kul nodded in understanding, but still he pleaded for her help, saying, “Good Mother, I understand all of the words you have spoken, and I ask you not to compel my people to the light, but merely give them such a great sign of your majesty that they will remember who they are—Children of Light—and return again to the path of light.

 44 If I may be so bold, in the days of Noah, you acted not as Watchers only, but intervened in the lives of all men and animals and plants upon the Earth, and a very great event the cataclysm was. Do I ask too much to beg you to intervene in a much smaller way with my people that they may be awakened to the errors of their choices and return again to the light?”

 45 The Mother answered him again, saying, “In the days of Noah, we intervened only because the Earth had become perverted from our design by the fallen angels of Heaven and not solely by the actions of man.

 46 Such is not the case in your time, when men descend into darkness by their own choice.

 47 You fear, my son, for the tribulations your people may bring upon themselves, and you are wise to fear, for the very Earth itself shall become their enemy if they become wells of darkness.

 48 This would not be a punishment from us, but the energy of destruction man calls upon himself by his own choices of needless violence.”

 49 And the Holy Mother opened the eyes of Gartan Kul in a vision, and he saw the future destruction of the entire island of Salatis as it sank into the sea in a great eruption of fire and explosion of the land into many pieces that sank into oblivion deep in the ocean.

 50 The Mother said unto him, “This is the fate of Salatis and Kamari and all the people of this land if they turn to violence as a way to force their will upon their brothers of the Seven Cities. And this is not by our hand, for we are Watchers only, but the doom they call upon themselves by their actions of destruction.

 51 Nor shall the fate of the Seven Cities or the other cities established by your people fare better if they too walk the path of senseless violence. Each in their own way shall call destruction upon them and only the Library of Guache will survive, for only upon their small, isolated isle do they have nothing to do with the foolishness of the rest of your people.”

 52 Gartan Kul was shaken by the visions the Holy Mother had shown to him, and in a faltering voice, he asked her, “Is what I have seen a vision of destiny or possibility?”

 53 The Mother answered him, saying, “You know that all men and women are called to greatness. That is the destiny we have prepared for all of our children. But each is given their freewill and a portion of darkness to tempt them, but also with a greater portion of light to ever draw them to the ways of truth and light.

 54 Whether their destiny of greatness is fulfilled depends upon the choices they make by their own free will; for only they are the masters of their destiny.

 55 When many people unite in a common cause, be it good or evil, they call the forces of light or darkness upon them with great power by their choices, and their destiny is written by their actions, be it blessings or destruction.

 56 The visions you saw are only that which shall occur if your people pursue a path of senseless violence, even to the killing of their brothers and sisters of the Seven Cities. If they turn from that path, you need only look to the days of glory of this land, to see the greater destiny of peace and prosperity they shall inherit.”

 57 Again Gartan Kul nodded his head in agreement, but once again, he questioned the Mother of Celestine Light, asking, “Holy Mother, clearly I understand the words you have spoken, but still I return to my original questions. Is it too much to ask that you imbue me with some marvelous ability to manifest your power that I might turn the hearts of my people back to you or that you or the Father would manifest mighty deeds yourself that my people would remember and return to the pure ways of the Elohim which you have taught us?

 58 In this quick way, how great a multitude of lives might be saved? For if the words of war escalate into action, many shall perish, including many innocent women and children, even to the destruction of our entire island and all the life upon it, much of it innocent, especially the animals and plants who are completely without a part in the befuddled actions of my people.”

 59 Elohim the Mother answered him, saying, “Do not lose your perspective of eternity, my son. Your life and the lives of all the animals and plants upon the Earth are but a single breath in eternity, a single blink of your eyes.

 60 A most important breath and blink it is, but the sadness of death, even the most horrible, must be tempered with the unfailing conviction and understanding that life is eternal, as are the relationships of the innocent and the virtuous, be they man or beast.

 61 Mortality is merely the brief, fierce wind that blows away the chaff of facade and falsehood that the wheat of truth and light may grow in grandeur in eternity. And every living thing is promised the fullness of mortality, be it in one life or more.”

 62 With those words, the Holy Mother disappeared from the vision of the prophet. When he awoke, he was greatly disturbed by what he had seen and called a meeting of the Council of Twelve to share with them all that he had seen and heard.

 63 After hearing his words, the council made haste to redouble their efforts to turn back the rising calls for war. But despite all of their actions and words, the people heeded them not at all; nor did they listen to the prophet. Instead, falling further into the darkness, they turned their backs upon all things having to do with God and church and religion and became very worldly in all that they did.

 64 And save for a handful, they no longer gathered together on the holy day of Elohim each week to celebrate all of their blessings and be edified and uplifted.

 65 In the Seven Cities, the people walked down the same dark path, turning their backs upon all things of Elohim and living in the ways of the world, gluttons of gold and all the things gold could buy, for their cites were exceedingly wealthy.

 66 And the schism between the people of Kamari and the people of the Seven Cites grew into such a great gulf that even trade was greatly curtailed between them, and threats of war flew back and forth with greater stridence and frequency.

 67 In the twenty-ninth year after the vision of the prophet, the great millennial celebration occurred. And it was with wistful and expectant hearts that the prophet and the Council of Twelve and the few others who kept the faith with them hoped for a reconciliation with their brethren in the Seven Cities, as all of the descendants of Noah would be coming to Kamari to celebrate and greet the Oolarian ship that came every thousand years for the occasion.

 68 And so they came, from all parts of Earth where the descendants of Noah had settled. Most came by airships, but many also by ships of the sea.

 69 But there was a tension between the people of the different cities, and it was not mollified by the many feasts or sporting games or celebrations. And there were numerous fights and brawls among the men of the various nations over trivial arguments and puffed-up vanities.

 70 By the last day, as all the people gathered on the great lawn of the Holy Temple to await the coming of the Oolarian ship, it was all most could do to restrain themselves from yelling and fighting with the people from other lands, for great did they each perceive their grievances.

 71 But the day turned to night, and the Oolarian ship did not appear. And that night, there were many fights among the people of the various nations and cities as they released their pent-up anger toward one another, and 123 people were slain that evening in many incidents of anger and violence around the city.

 72 On the morning of the next day, word was sent out that the prophet would address all the people at noon at the Holy Temple concerning the Oolarians. People no longer cared to listen to the words of the prophet, but they did wish to know about why the Oolarians had not appeared, so when noon arrived, the great lawn was once again teeming with people from many lands.

 73 And the prophet stood upon a high balcony atop a minaret that he could be seen by all the people, and his voice and image were cast mechanically throughout the entire city. And he said unto them, “Oh, you who should be Children of Light, you who are loved so greatly by Elohim, our Holy Father and Mother, and elder brother. How have you strayed so far from what you know to be true?

 74 Why have you turned away from love for one another and embraced violence? What can violence bring you but more violence? What have you gained by turning away from the light of Elohim? What is your reward for giving your brothers and sisters of other lands a painful blow instead of a brotherly kiss?

 75 Verily, the Elohim have given you freewill and have not compelled you to walk their path. But your choices have consequences, greater and more deleterious than you have realized.

 76 When you tend a fire, it grows or shrinks depending upon how much wood you feed it. And the fire can do good or evil depending upon how you are applying it.

 77 You could use it for evil and burn down your neighbor’s house, or you could use it for good to melt and fashion gold and silver and create beautiful jewelry and art.

 78 If you use it for evil and burn down your neighbor’s house, you can continue to add fuel to the fire and burn down many houses or even an entire city. But what is gained by such foolishness? Smug pride, that you put your insulting neighbors in their place?

 79 Perhaps, seeing the destruction you have wrought, you will have a feeling of satisfaction, but will that feeling last once you realize that you no longer will be able to obtain that exquisite wine you so savor because you have burnt the vineyards? Or that special fish you like for the Jartera celebration because you have sunk the fishing fleet?

 80 Do not think to yourself that you can bring forth violence and not have it snap back and strike you an even greater blow. Violence begets violence, even as love begets love.

 81 If you burn your neighbor’s house, do you think that those that survive will leave your house unscathed? If you destroy your neighbor’s vineyard, do you think that yours will somehow be spared? If you sink your neighbor’s fishing fleet, do you think that yours will somehow survive?

 82 If you beat or kill your neighbor, do you not think that your neighbor’s friends and family will not now look to ways that they might beat or kill you and your family?

 83 Violence only begets more violence, and if you continue to travel upon the road, you have embarked upon, painfully evidenced by the deaths that came to some last night, then you may consider what I have just spoken of, not mere stories, but prophecies from Elohim of what shall come to pass in your lives in the days to come.

 84 And more than this, my brothers and sisters, much more than this, so hear my words well. Verily, I speak to you as the prophet of Elohim, and my words are the visions the Elohim have shown to me.

 85 With words of soberness, I say unto you that if you persist in talk of war instead of words of peace, that you shall find that which you seek. But in it, you will lose more than your houses and your vineyards and your fishing fleets. You will lose your very lives, all of you. And the great cities you have built will be no more.

 86 The world will survive. The barbarians will still be upon it, but you will not. The violence you beget will come back to hurt you hundredfold, even thousand fold, even unto your deaths. Your land shall be laid waste, and your cities shall be completely annihilated.

 87 You who are great upon the Earth, you who have built majestic cities that rival the mansions of Heaven, shall be as if you never were. Your cities shall be utterly destroyed so much so that the generations of the barbarians to come will have no memory of the Children of Light that came from Noah or that the magnificent and wonderful cities they built ever even existed.

 88 You consider yourselves enlightened men and women, people of intelligence and knowledge. Yet you speak with hatred toward those who are different than you and initiate violence against those who do not agree with you, simply because they do not.

 89 Are you using violence as a tool to achieve that which you cannot gain by reason or a worthy and just pursuit?

 90 I beseech you! Remember who you are and the light of Elohim that has guided our people for generations upon generations.

 91 It is not in violence or war that you will find peace or justice, but only in love and agreement, with a gentle eye and a forgiving heart for differences.

 92 Violence only brings destruction. Your passions become inflamed, your sorrows increased, and your hatred multiplied.

 93 Today, we gaze upon the sad sight of over one hundred of our people from all parts of the world, murdered in a night of senseless violence. What comes next, a retaliation and escalation of what was brought in the night? Do not give into that temptation.

 94 More killing will not bring back the dead. It will only deepen the darkness. If you create more darkness, it will not take away the night that has occurred; only greater light can accomplish that miracle.

 95 If you are motivated by revenge to increasing your hatred, it will not do away with the hatred that also motivates your opponents. Only love can bring that new dawn.

 96 And I love you still, as do the Elohim, and I implore you to remember who you are and how greatly you have been blessed and live up to your highest potential, not descend down to your lowest.

 97 You are not Kamarians or Tibrians or Celians. You are all brothers and sisters. You are not black or white, or yellow or red, you are simply the children of the most high, each given a beauty of your own.

 98 The more you separate yourselves by the country you live in, the differences of your customs, or the color of your skins, the more you are inviting violence into your lives.

 99 It is for this cause, because of your separation instead of unification, because of your desires for war instead of peace, for violence instead of reason, that the Oolarians have not come, nor will they ever again, save you become once again Children of Light, who live by the light.

 100 But I perceive that I speak to the air. You see my lips move, but your ears hear not my words.

 101 I will have no more to say to you, for you have hardened your hearts toward me and the words I speak, which come from Elohim.

 102 You are in the last minute of the last hour before your destruction. But even now it is not too late to turn from hate and embrace love, to refute violence and propagate peace.

 103 Your fate is in your hands, as are the fates of your children and your animals and your homes and your cities.

 104 Hear well my words. When you stand before Elohim, as you one day will, you will not be able to say you were ignorant, for I tell you plainly that on the road you travel to violence and war, there are no winners, nor will there be victors, for your mutual destructions shall be total and final.

 105 Knowing that, can you be so blinded by foolishness that you would give up everything for nothing?”