Summoning The Guardians Of The Astral Gate - Bal-Sagoth
It is written in the ancient legends... that high amidst the moon-swathed peaks of the great Mountain of Shadows, hides the aeon-weary threshold of the Astral Gate... the portal from our world, to beyond... It is said that one who holds the key and knows the empyreal incantation may stand within the ancient ring of stones atop the mountain when the stars are correctly aligned, and unlock the mystic gate, summoning its sidereal sentinels, thereby attaining ultimate enlightenment and wisdom unparalleled... [Part 1: THE INVOKING] [The Aspirant Reaches The Summit] Keepers of the cosmic threshold, my ascent has been fraught with terror, deathsteeped, storm-hammered. (These grim mountains are strewn with the bones of the ill-fortuned dead.) O' Guardians of the Astral Gate, the spheres blaze at last in trine... I hold the Key! (The trinity of stars shall touch the circle of stones once more...) The incantation of Xuk'ul is known to me, the Orb of Summoning earned with bloodshed! (The crystalline key to the Outer Realms and the arcane rite to empower it are at last mine, Seized at swordpoint from the citadel of the Black Templars. Enlightenment awaits!) Many years ago, the mystic Orb of Summoning was seized by the mysterious Black Templars,a band of sombre, plunder seeking knights from the kingdoms to the east of the Great Sea. They wrested the sorcerous gem from the ancient shrine of Azaimedes, where i t had lain hidden for countless centuries, its true power and purpose known only to the dour shamans who tended to the elder place of worship. It is said that the tapestry of slaughter woven that day was unparalleled in its ferocity, and that the marble walls of the ancient shrine were, and still remain, stained vivid crimson with the spilled blood of the Orb's keepers. Ka-kur-ra, I summon thee, Zul'tekh Azor Vol-thoth. Mighty Xuk'ul arise, Kur'oc Gul-Kor, come forth. I hold aloft the pulsing orb, astral spheres, empower t
Artist: Bal-Sagoth