Whispers Beneath the Veil

Lesson II

The Smoke Remembers

A whisper from the shadows.
She speaks again.
Through shadow and smoke.
A voice shaped by instinct and harsh truth.

Do you know why you return to this house of worship night after night?
What is it you seek? Absolution? Redemption?

The old book no longer serves you—and be honest, it never truly did.
It was never about the book, or faith, or the divine. That was always a facade.
So why return now?

You cling to hope.
Hope that the All-Father will reach out and save you.
I ask you again—why do you return to this church?

It was power, wasn’t it?
It was power that drew you to this sacred place.
Its solemn weight lingers in the air, carried by the incense smoke and the whispered prayers of the faithful.
You’ve felt it, deep within your core.
And you wanted it.
You wanted to stand upon the pedestal, to bring the congregation solace, meaning, direction.
You wanted to be the hand of the Almighty—not out of devotion, but because you craved the power it offered.
The control you would hold over the devoted.

Stop lying to yourself.
Embrace that power.
Still, you hesitate.

Join me at the altar and perform this ritual with me.

You do not own the shadows.
You are the shadows.

The smoke carries memory.
Each twist and curl—choices made, lives severed, paths you feared to walk.

It does not resist its nature.
It rises.
It dissolves.
It changes form.
And yet it remains.

So must you.

The others teach discipline like a chain.
But I teach you discipline like the tide.
You do not cage your Beast. You move with it. You rise with it.
You let it carry you into places they fear to go.

Because the Abyss does not devour those who have already made it their home.

Feel her within you.
Let her rise.
There is nothing to fear but your need to remain small.