The Evil Scroll, or the "Scroll of the Evil Ritual", is a very short, cryptic account of a very infamous incident - the Evil Ritual, also known in those times as the Sacrifice on the Trondash. Both the ritual itself and the scroll are very similar in their dubiousness and unclarity; for instance, none of the expeditions to find the river Trondash ever succeeded, and there is no other evidence of its very existance. It is completely unclear who was the author of the Evil Scroll. His name was not even mentioned in Toghol's decrees, usually very detailed. Most importantly, it is unclear - and very much unlikely - that such a ritual actually took place. Even with the flourishing of semi-heretical philosophies in that time, and the alleged embracement of an eschatological blood cult by the First Toghol-King, this ritual itself seems extremelly improbable and smacks of hostile propaganda. But that latter allegation is unapplyable towards the Scroll, which with all seriousness PRAISES it - not entirely unlike "the Most Evil Man in the World" of Aghol-Chronist. But while Aghol-Chronist was soon elevated and otherwise patronized by the First Toghol-King, the "Scroll of the Evil Ritual" was banned, and only barely survived destruction due to a second copy (but for all purposes it might be considered an apocrypha).
This ban was considered by some radical academic circles to be proof of the reality of the ritual. People have pointed to such facts as the tradition of sacrificing cattle in ways akin to the ones in the Scroll before major campaigns; some also have mentioned other accounts of human sacrifice in the days of the Thirty-Second Cecil-King, when as indeed mentioned Oratheism entered general decay and disagreement, with a variety of movements often-deliberately opposed to the Church appeared. Admittedly it does not seem unlikely that, had he lived longer, the First Toghol-King would have seeked the support of just such a movement, for during the war with the Shalamari he had often deliberately fought tradition and traditionalism in all spheres - from military and political to economical and cultural, seeking "purification by fire" and "general reinvigoration". Having finally ruined his previously-excellent relations with the church, the First Toghol-King would have probably overthrown and forcefully reformed it given time, as he did with the present aristocratic system.
However, it would probably be wiser not to treat the Scroll as a report of real facts, for while there is no real proof that it is not so, neither is there any proof that the rather unlikely incident described therein actually happened. At the same time, one must not dismiss this text as useless and senseless. Whether as an account of an actual, incredible fact, or as an early precursor of malicious propaganda of our own times, or, lastly, as a simple curious document revealing the soul of a desperate nation in struggle against improbable odds, this document is of much interest to us all. Therefore:
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"Scroll of the Evil Ritual", anonymous.
1. By the Twenty-First Year of his reign, the First Toghol-King's plan had entered a crucial phase.
2. On the one hundred twenty-seventh day of that year, he had already gathered most of his new army, and so sent it to the River Trondash.
3. It is not merely on the battlefield that wars are won; far more important is the preparation for the battlefield.
4. To that moment the First Toghol-King's soldiers were already levied, and their weapons were already forged, for with ill weapons one can conquer little.
5. But far more important than weapons is the soul, and it was not yet forged and molded into the fitting shape.
6. Likewise, the First Toghol-King needed to correct the Great Balance, as for evil to become all the stronger, and thus for war to be bloodier and the enemy's defeat more horried.
7. Thus he had ordered that five of the most innocent and good people in our land Gerber be gathered on the River Trondash.
8. Such were rounded up by the wisemen of Trondash, whose assistance the First Toghol-King had sought for the Evil Ritual.
9. The first, a little boy, was burned alive by the wisemen to appease God Fire.
10. The second, a brave and noble man, was strangled by the wisemen to appease God Air.
11. The third, a virtuous old woman was buried alive by the wisemen to appease God Earth.
12. The fourth, a young priest, was killed by the First Toghol-King himself, who cut him in such a way that all blood soiled the ground, appeasing God Death.
13. The fifth, a young woman, was forcefully impregnated by one of the wisemen, but let go, and thus God Life was appeased.
14. Throughout all this, the warriors struggled against themselves and the orders; but those who tried to interrupt the ritual were killed on spot, and thus God Death was the most appeased of all the gods.
15. None have struggled against themselves as much as the First Toghol-King, who barely constrained himself from crying, or from ordering an end to the ritual.
16. Yet he defeated himself and what little good remained, and at the end smiled contently.
17. For the greatest victories are won before the battle, and with this ritual, he had won four victories at once.
18. Firstly he had appeased all the gods, whose assistance is of value in battle.
19. Secondly he had changed the great balance further in the favour of Evil, for while Good must be strenghthened by killing of the vile and commitance of good deeds in times of peace, the opposite is required in times of war.
20. Thirdly he had enforced disciplinne in the ranks of his soldiers, and forced them to kill all pity and mercy in themselves - for at war, these things are useless.
21. Yet none of these victories were as decisive and as important as the fourth; for the hardest enemy to conquer is he himself, the enemy that the First Toghol-King had defeated.
22. Now he had cleansed himself of all that is good and human, and killed his conscience that might have held him back with concepts of honour, mercy and pity.
23. Freedom of conscience is the greatest value on the battlefield - for free of it, the First Toghol-King had enabled himself to commit all the vile and dishonourable deeds possible.
24. And in this manner, he gained a decisive advance over his still-human enemies and allies alike.
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