The Hymn of the Final Light

This Hymn was a greater prophecy offered to the Party by the fortuneteller Ashima, paragon of Ishtar.

The Prophecy
On the day that the world ends, there is no more violence, no further bloodshed. But instead one man is granted a final wish And the world is burned in the flames that would be its salvation Yet when all seems darkest, the dawn shall rise and bathe the world once again In its scorching brilliance that burns itself up as it shines without restraint. And the sun will rise twice on the day he is named And fall thrice on the day it is claimed And it will shine no more from the day the dawn fades Until the day he is made to rise one last time He will save the world, and he will doom it But he must fight. He must rise. He must take up his ancient name. He must accept his place in the weave of fate. For while those around him are the few Who have the curse of being able to change it He is more tightly bound to his destiny Than mighty Herac being choked to death by the Uroboros The King is dead. His brother held the blade against his cousin’s chest And slew his father for not embracing him He is cursed for all time. And cursed beyond cursed. He that broke the world once and will do so again He comes for the sun He wishes to watch as it burns itself out And laugh as they die once again. Ashes to Ashes, fire to flame. The Light will burn all its short life And consume those closest to it that they may be saved In a baptism of fire from which they may never emerge He will die thrice before the crown is worn Once to awaken truly Twice to remember why And thrice to reclaim his soul By fate, by betrayal, and by his own hand he will suffer On the day the dawn glows blood red And the stars lose their light Shall the murder be complete And none will remain standing Fear the Betrayer For he comes to claim A birthright that was never his to take Fear the Betrayer For those bathed in the Light he hunts And will stop at nothing To grind the world to dust And become its sovereign Fear the Betrayer And Seek out He Who Brings the Dawn