CORNELIUS AGRIPPA
“What is religion if not love. Through love one sees the heart, where
lies ever hidden the philosopher’s stone."
-Cornelius Agrippa
Although the worship of fire and its corresponding elements has its
roots in the primitive tribal cultures that thrived before the Age of
Entharion, the modern form of the religion traces its origins to the
time of the alchemist Cornelius Agrippa and the long-lived ascetic wise
man
Locksmoore. When
Pseudo-Duncanthrax invaded the
Eastlands in 666
GUE, he was one of the first to establish friendly contact with the
king. Well-versed in the lore and religions of the primitive society,
Locksmoore shared this information with the Quendoran newcomers,
managing to befriend Agrippa, the king's Chief Engineer, during his
visits with Pseudo-Duncanthrax to the east.
One of the most
noteworthy projects in 668 GUE was the Temple of
Agrippa, said to be the roots of the secret alchemical society. When
the armies of Pseudo-Duncanthrax’s conquered
Kivolli (the region
near what would later be known as the “
Desert River Province” and much
later, “the
Valley of the Sparrows”)
the ancient town was little more
than ruins within the bowels of a huge mountain, stacked on
subterranean cliffs at the base of the Temple of the Ancients, both
connected to the surface by earthen tunnels. This underground archaic
temple had once been dedicated
to the
pseudo-god Athena, and later used by Locksmoore for
his experiments and religious dedication.
At
any rate, Pseudo-Duncanthrax gave the entire area to the Agrippa clan
in a land grant that they would hold onto for another two hundred
years. In that year, the mountain was further hollowed out, the inner
sanctum rebuilt, the temple significantly expanded, and the
Frobozz Magic Construction Company connected the temple to the rest of
the underground at Mile 735 of the Southern
Highway. Some say
Locksmoore was responsible for the reconstruction; others claim that
this was highly unlikely. The head of the Agrippa family in the seventh
century was the only person outside of Duncanthrax himself that could
have afforded the job. It appears that Locksmoore heavily imbued the
temple with magical powers—the magical symbols and emblems woven by the
sorcerer into the very architecture and fabric of the temple. Agrippa
erected a unique model of a flat
Zork being held up by the
great
brogmoid, specially noted for the inclusion of stars, as well as the
moon and
sun, represented by a silver and gold ring, respectively.
Cornelius
Agrippa himself seemed to have been the first head of the modern
alchemical order, the first in a direct line of succession that still
survives possibly even today. Perhaps in his exploration for the temple
ruins, he discovered some way to unlock the secret science of the
ancients. Agrippa was one of the few friends that Pseudo-Duncanthrax
kept with him throughout his whole time as king. He was also one of the
first engineers and explorers to accompany Pseudo-Duncanthrax during
his first expeditions into the newly-discovered underground caverns in
the east. Perhaps there, Agrippa too discovered the alchemical truths
that had been revealed to
Yoruk a millennium before.
It
may be that Agrippa was able to unify the beliefs of Brogmoidism and
alchemy into one. For in 949 GUE, in the depths of the Temple of
Agrippa, an ancient
contraption was discovered which seems to have been primitive a
marriage between the Planetary Model and Brogmoidism -- a
representation of the Zorkian universe as conceived by Cornelius
Agrippa. This contraption
consisted of four concentric hoops of steel mounted on
swivels. At the center of the hoops was a flat plate painted green and
blue that bore semblance to a squashed globe. A small figurine
held the plate in the air, and another small figurine stood on the
top of the plate. The small figures were brogmoids, who keep Zork
from falling through the void. The two largest hoops hold two small
jewels which represent the brightest stars in the sky. The other two
held one ring each, silver on the smallest hoop, representing the moon,
and gold on the neighboring hoop, representing the sun. (when the sun
and moon (gold & silver rings) were both placed at
twelve-o-clock on their hoops, the gold ring animated and transformed
into a glowing ball—the light from the ball fell on the silver ring,
which now appeared spherical, and in turn caused a shadow to fall on
the
disk.
Which
Duncanthrax attempted to quietly murder Cornelius Agrippa in 668 GUE is
a matter of much controversy, and is a rather unsolvable puzzle. As
Drespo Molmocker’s impersonation of
Duncanthrax was unmasked that same
year, it cannot be determined whether the homicide occurred before or
after this discovery. A few historians point to the letter from Agrippa
to the king, making note of the overabundant praise in the greeting, as
well as the tremendous insults that were not characteristics of the
second king. One does well to keep in mind that the authentic
Duncanthrax, while having nothing left to conquer, did his best to
finish the ruthless deeds of underground expansion. It also is possible
that Agrippa, residing in the isolated underground temple, had no
recollection of the restoration of the true monarch. This would account
for the heavy feeling of betrayal and the bizarre murder attempt that
would seem to be a rather quick change of behavior. It should also be
noted that the
Unnatural Acts, banning illegal magic were enacted
during the days of the authentic Duncanthrax, and it does not seem
outside of his character to have banned alchemy as an evil practice
from the start.
Whichever
king it was, Agrippa, who had
continued to practice alchemy within, decided that since the temple had
been devoted to the power of love, as well as a barrier to heartless
adventurers, he decided that the art was too
dangerous to be exposed to men devoid of compassion. Duncanthrax sent a
spy with poisoned fruit, hoping to trick Agrippa into consuming it. But
the spy ended up consuming the fruit instead, choking to death on
his own villainous bile. Thus in response to the quiet assassination,
Agrippa carved
a curse near the entrance of the temple, which read, "A pox on
Duncanthrax, a ruler without heart, the greatest evil known to man."
Then he proceded to seal up the temple with heavy explosives so that
the king would never have access to what he sought, and then composed
the following letter:
To King Duncanthrax, My Holy and Exalted
Ruler, The King of Kings, The Emperor of All Both Above the Earth and Below,
More Bellicose Than Mother Hungus Defending Her Young
A greeting to your lecherous soul. I bear
ill news.
Your spy is dead, choked to death on his
own villainous bile. He had consumed the sweet, but deadly fruit you so kindly
bequeathed to me. You stand alone as a soul of pestilence and putridity, a
festering wart on the hindquarters of humanity. Be you assured that I have
sealed off the places that you seek, made certain with your tools of choice,
with powder and with fire, that you shall never find the places that you seek.
I, too, practice more than alchemy.
Nor think you that my secrets are of maps
and words alone. In the black darkness of your heart, there is not room enough
for the smallest inkling of the knowledge that you seek. Nor will your brilliant
scientists avail you. To them, Alchemy is nothing but a principle – the
purification and transmutation of base metals into Gold, the search for power.
The goal of goals, the Quintessence, pure distillate of Human Spirit, lies well
beyond their ken. They have too much in common with your most learned and
thoughtful self; their hearts are black as pitch and bled of any memory of love
or empathy. In all due time, their highest honors and diplomas shall follow you
on your stately journey into Hell. With men such as you, it is better to let
knowledge fallow than curse the world with your brand of benevolence.
With all Humility,
Your Most Insignificant and Smelly Servant,
Agrippa
The Eastlands
668 GUE
Agrippa was buried in the
Steppinthrax Monastery graveyard,
where his tomb would join other members of his society, including
Satchmoz the Incomparable and
Ozmar. Before his death he authored the
famous alchemy book, "Alchemical Wedding, The: Love as the 5th
Element".
Mumboz Agrippa is a descendent of Cornelius.
FAMOUS QUOTES BY AGRIPPA (ENGRAVED INTO THE TEMPLE):"The
greatest achievement in science and medicine, in religion and law, give
us nothing if we have not love, for power without love can only bear
the fruits on infamy. Only the pure of heart and of soul may hope to
enter here and survive."
"Love is like water the bearer of life."
"The heartless scientist knows only hot air."
"What is religion if not love. Through love one sees the heart, where lies ever hidden the philosopher's stone."
| SOURCE(S): Zork Nemesis (Game, Design Documents, Official Website) |