The Second Book of Lem

The Second Book of Lem (see also: Tabe Replace, aka the First Book of Lem) is a deuterocanonical text of the Holy Church of Pem. Like Tabe Replace, it is a mixture of history, theology, and biography. However, whereas Tabe Replace recounts the life of the prophet Equialis, The Second Book of Lem focuses on the life of the banished Hemitus, second son of an unnamed Prince of Lem - archaeological research indicates that said Prince of Lem may be either Qadar IV or Sulaan II.

## Text

LIBER SECUNDUS LEMITICUS

The Second Book of the Tribe of Ancient Lem

I

Yea, and it is written. Do not eat of the birds of the desert, for they are an abomination. Neither the eagle, nor the falcon, nor they that dwell in the sands and feast upon carrion. Do not ferment the fruit of the grain but of only the grape and the vine.

In thy sacrifices, the Gods are merciful. Merely burn your best meats and eat sand in stead, and thou shalt be bless'd. In the sacrifice of fowl or creatures of cloven feet, ye shall offer the best to the Gods for they are the essence of the Land. All fat belongs to the Gods.

Look no further than the chosen boy, Hemitus, who partook of the essence of mak. He stood upon the walls of Hadrabad in wrath and saw this fat and did devour it. Unhinged by lack of learned restraint, his mind thence exposed to greed and the colours, of this he was made unwhole.

In the sacred grove of Sha'lamon, where the yew trees in deep communion with the soil, Hemitus did blaspheme in his madness and was rent unwhole by the reverberations of the Realms. He seized the stones of the house of his fathers and was spurned by those of his bloodline.

And in those days we were ordained with knowledge and wisdom that doth persist. For to eat with the hand and not the spoon is to spurn the scriptures and turn to savage ways as in days of old. If the spoon doth protest then procure the sword and the prong and eat.

Yea, even for the flat bread which is served in communion with the cheese and the sliced meats, it is so. Yea, especially in the expensive restaurants which thou doth frequent with ladies.

II

And Hemitus did walk in the Wastes and was enslaved by they of the lands of Ankh, who are the enemies of the tribes of Lem.

Their pompous kings lacked the wisdom of Lem and were blind to truths well known. They sit upon a throne of lies and eat with depraved claws. Their people slave and offer their blood and flesh to those who are cursed and undeserving.

And Hemitus served in the household of Zakarih, a cleric of the territory of Shahnen. He was one who was kind among the City of the Beasts, and treated Hemitus fairly in the intervals betwixt his ravings. And in his time in servitude, Hemitus did dream of this:

*A starry sky of myriad shapes, cast upon a cloak of glorious colours of specific Hue. Where one touched this space in the folded mind, there an uncloaked chaos did unfurl.*

*Fervent fumes and vapid smoke swirled and danced within him and he learned of the inexorable truth.*

This shape of things, which came upon Hemitus on the Feast of the Mourned Child, transformed the world of the errant youth. The light which was to be came upon him before his time; He, who was unwashed and unloved and who had caused the spurning by his kin and yet was not beyond redemption.

Thus he did wait for the Dawn and at its zenith he did wander to the room of Zakarih whilst he slumbered. Hemitus went with blade in hand, but as he stood before his master he lay down his blade at his feet and strangled him and took his daughter as his wife.

Yea, sons of Lem, do not fall foul of fine cloth, for it is the unrefined cloth which is most fitting for the cladding of thy self. Let it be woven from the wool of the beasts of the land, or of the worms of the leaf, but let it be scratchy, for it is the will of the Gods that it be so.

III

Measure not the grain with the cup, for it is inflexible and uncouth. The way to a more divine path is paved with weights and scales. With this, should the cuttings of flesh be too thin or thick, the truth will be revealed to the masses. Be not swayed by lesser ways of measurement.

And yea, do not let thy will be swayed by the easy ways of the dragon priests of Banagar, for they are those who measure with cups also. They, being southerners, are irredeemable in the eyes of the Gods. No weight is without colour and no colour is without weight, in this the truth of the world reflects yet another hue. No cup can hope to match.

In this and many things, the colours are reflected and thus humble followers are reflected in their wake.

And so Hemitus, the first of his tribe, did stand again in Halamon of the Hadrabad and did weep. For he had returned unlike so many from the shackles of unwept masters, through the death of one who was free of sin and was almost as a Lemmite in his bearing.

Yet the measure of the man was not done with the spirit but with the feet, for that is where the weight that is borne is greatest. And as the holy men of the dust did account to that former prince and former slave, dear Hemitus, the feet are the very thing of creation which do take more as they leave behind.

The Lemmites did not rejoice at his coming, for they did still recall that monotone spectacle that had been banished once before. But borne of him returned, they did see and hear of the hues that he had gathered and thus did their bearings shift and foci change.

And entering the gates of Halamon Proper on the humblest of beasts, he was praised on all sides by those he had not known since he was a youth. "Hail, Son of G'shah! Glory! Glory be to the merciful and most lofty of Anum! Surada, Berath, Hevara! Let thy path be strewn with the honeys of the most excellent!"

So was the approach to the house of his fathers. Yet Hemitus, who had been banished from his ancestral seat, was trepidatious with the vibrance of a true sinner. For this was the house of his fathers and the Seat of Anum, who is the bride of Sha'lamon.

IV

No greater wisdom can bear fruit than that of the land. Nary should the furrow fall fallow, nor the beasts of the field be without their fill, nor the nests of the bee be without nectar. In such a time that this should come to pass, the meek and faithful will hunger.