Beyond Redemption (Manifest Delusions, #1)

by Michael R. Fletcher

The old gods were broken by wars and plagues of the mind, left reeling like the most bloodied veterans. Infected with horror at the cost of their actions, they retreated into dementia. Insanity as escape. Seeking to free themselves, they fled to a world of delusion, a world uncorrupted by jealousies and psychoses. And yet, in the end, even this they would pollute. So deep was their need, so desperate their flight from their bitter past, that they ignored the one truism all must bow before. Belief defines reality. The twisted fears of the old gods wormed themselves into this creation and became real. Their darkest thoughts took on life. The inhabitants, at one time mere characters dreamed to entertain, became substantive and entertained delusions of their own. Dreams became nightmares, and nightmares became reality, stalking the earth as albtraum, manifestations of man’s earliest fears given flesh. And the cycle continues. Creatures birthed by the delusions of such imperfect gods can hold no hope for sanity. These nightmares define new tomorrows, and the gods look on in mute horror at what they have wrought. —NEBRILE GHAST, WAHNVOR HIGH PRIEST

If our world is defined by delusion, there can be no truth. If there is no truth, how can there be lies? —WAHRHEIT ERTRINKT, PHILOSOPHER

Most only dare tread the waters of insanity at night as they lie dreaming. Cowards. Dive deep into your psychopathy. Let loose the demons of delusion and know, in the end, when they finally devour you, you swam with sharks. —VERSKLAVEN SCHWACHE, GEFAHRGEIST PHILOSOPHER

Delusion is the food of the gods and they never go hungry. —HALBER TOD, COTARDIST POET

“A fire?” Gehirn grinned maniacally at the three Krieger, who had all frozen in their various tasks upon her disembarking from the carriage. “I love a good fire. Camaraderie. People drawn together to share in its light and heat.” She gestured at the wood and it burst into flames. In the brief moment her hand was exposed to the moonlight it reddened as if sunburned. Gehirn giggled. “Play with fire and you’ll get burned. That’s what Daddy always said.” Yeah, and Daddy burned just fine. The Krieger, hardened warriors all, ignored her, continuing in their tasks. Gehirn watched. Insanity, she supposed, in those with power wasn’t a comfortable conversational topic; it was a simple fact. If a single sane person ever shaped the world in any meaningful way, Gehirn hadn’t heard of them. The Krieger, she knew, suffered their own delusions of grandeur. To have volunteered for this position, they must. They knew the Geborene would create their god and they knew the Krieger would play a critical role in his Ascension. These were the last words Konig spoke to them before they were ritually deafened to prevent another Gefahrgeist from infecting their faith. The force of Konig’s faith defined their reality. Gehirn Schlechtes felt drawn to the fire and stood before it, rapt and lost in the flickering tongues. Flame spoke to her, loved her, and made her whole. The three Krieger sat around the fire, legs crossed, weapons laid out and lovingly polished. A pot of thick soup simmered on an iron ...

Power corrupts and a corrupted mind becomes more powerful. You ask if there is a ruler—a King, an Emperor, a Governor, a Lord—who is sane? I think the answer clear. —HOFFNUNGSLOS

I thank the gods the common man is such a dull creature, so lacking in imagination and drive. I’ve seen how tenuous our grasp on sanity can be. When within each of us lies the unborn wyrm of demiurge, creativity is a plague to be feared. —ZWEIFELSSCHICKSAL, MEHRERE PHILOSOPHER

Febrile minds dream monsters. There are monsters. The Hassebrand dreams fire. There is fire. The Gefahrgeist dreams of worship. They have admirers. All humanity fears death. There is the Afterdeath. We fear responsibility and worship gods. There are gods. They are creations, we the creators. United in purpose, we are the single most powerful force in all creation. —KEIL ZWISCHEN, FOUNDER OF THE GEBORENE DAMONEN

The hand-plucked rose loses meaning as life is leached. Red love, once clutched to breast, putrefies and is thrown to the midden. The hand leaked life as meaning was plucked. Putrefaction clutched love and was thrown to the midden. —HALBER TOD, COTARDIST POET

I don’t see what I want to see, I see what I need to see. If you don’t like it, see something else. —ANONYMOUS HALLUZINIEREN

The Gefahrgeist must first fool themselves. After that, everyone else is easy. —VERSKLAVEN SCHWACHE, GEFAHRGEIST PHILOSOPHER

Getting rid of a truth makes us wiser than getting hold of a delusion. —NICHT LUDWIG BORNE

Insanity is the only reasonable response to such a responsive reality. —WAHRHEIT ERTRINKT, PHILOSOPHER

What is faith but delusion without the power to back it up? —VERSKLAVEN SCHWACHE, GEFAHRGEIST PHILOSOPHER

In a mad world, only the mad are sane. —AKIRA KUROSAWA

Damn this cursed sanity. How is being a helpless prisoner of reality sane? —GEISTIG GESUND

“Why didn’t you want your fingers back?” the boy demanded. “I could heal all your scars. You won’t be ugly anymore. Well . . . less ugly.” Ah, the brutal honesty of children. “I am my scars.” “Removing scars won’t change your past.” “It will make it easier to forget.” “You think you’re the actions that caused the scars?” Bedeckt nodded without saying anything. “You’re wrong,” said Morgen, examining his pristine fingernails and rubbing at something Bedeckt couldn’t see. “We are our beliefs.” “Only the beliefs of the insane define reality.”

When faced with a Gefahrgeist, set aside your honesty. Truth will be turned against you. Today’s truth will be tomorrow’s lie and you will be left questioning your own sanity. This too is manipulation. When faced with a Gefahrgeist, set aside your emotions. Your emotions will be turned against you. Even the Gefahrgeist’s most heartfelt apology is manipulation. Unlike other Geisteskranken, Gefahrgeist often wear the mask of sanity. This makes them dangerous. This makes them successful. —WAHRHEIT ERTRINKT, PHILOSOPHER

Solitude is indeed dangerous for a working intelligence. We need to have around us people who think and speak. When we are alone for a long time we people the void with phantoms. —GUY DE MAUPASSANT

The delusions of the elder gods gave birth to man, the mad animal. Though we struggled against our legacy of insanity, civilization is anathema to creatures thriving on worship and fear. United, we grew mighty and the gods knew fear. They toppled us from the pinnacle of our achievement, laid us low. The Menschheit Letzte Imperium shall forever be humanity’s first and last true empire. —VERMÄCHTNIS DES WAHNSINNS

You can lead a horse to water, but drowning it is surprisingly difficult.

He said I would never know what tender emotions lurked hidden beneath his fragile sanity. So I peeled him like a grape. He was right. I still don’t know. —WAHNSINNIG GEMAHLIN, OTRAALMA