Collected sayings, chants, prayers and sermons from the Mechanists.
Chants/Sayings[]
- Use the tools that the Builder hath given thee, and pester not the worker, for his toil is pleasant to the Builder's eyes!
- Remember, the gear asketh not why it turns, but keeps its faith and turns day and night, never failing. Be thou the Gear in the Builder's Plan.
- Let the Builder's faithful turn their eyes to a task, and lo, it shall be done.
- And Karras said, "Let us give thanks to The Builder, for He hath formed my hands with fingers. And behold, my fingers interlock like cogs on a gear. I am part of His unbeholdable machine, and therein lies my salvation.'
- Into position weld, thee, thy plate, matching A unto A, and B unto B, such that complete is thy seal, a barrier true that blocketh dust and dirt--the enemies of the goodly gear.
- Loyalty is the fuel that burns away the writhing jungle...that lies beyond the house of Karras.
- And behold! A man will come unto thee, and he will be a leader of men...and he will be a wager of war, and he will be a shedder of sap, and he will be a spiller...of blood!
- Forge thou not the hammer, but be fortified with The Builder's knowledge and let then the higher things be wrought. Then shall thou prosper.
- The saplings did so unnatural prance that we feared of the forms...most unholy-wrought, and did falter and take flight...'til he that is Karras did raise us up against them, that we, one and next, did raise us up, too.
- And Karras said, 'Lay down thy hammer, friends, 'tis yesteryear's trappings.' And so we laid them down, and seeing this, Karras spoke again: 'Now raise up thy mace, The Builder shall fuel thee...and all the followers of Karras.'
- The piston connected to the spiral valve, the spiral valve connected to the step gear, the step gear connected to the steam jack. O! hear, thee, the word of Karras!
- Yesterday I built my home from brick and stone. A childish dwelling for childish times! Now I am a man and I have built my home from iron and steel. Blessed be The Builder for this and all His gifts!
- And there cameth an oxen and Karras smote it. And there cameth a sycamore and he did rain blows ‘til it, too, was sorely smoted. And two lamblings came, that he, one and the next, did smote bravely and well.
- And Karras said, 'Hear ye, the rustling of the leaves. Raise ye up and smite ye down the trees. Verily we hacked and bled. Lo! 'til the last chestnut fled and then knelt we down and wept for the dead.
- The bellows are burnt, the lead is consumed of the fire, the founder melteth in vain, for the wicked are not plucked away.
- The coal is the fuel, the fuel is put in the furnace, the furnace gets the lit, when lit it maketh the heat, the heat warmeth the forge.
- I am a cog in The Builder's gear. He hath conceived the world and its workings are unimaginable. I am a vapor in The Builder's steam. He hath breathed light into the world, and its vastness is unbreachable. Praise be to Him.
- Make haste when thou can, that thou shall prosper o'er them that sloth. Make numbers when thou will'st, that thou shall prosper o'er them that are few.
- Beware the foul one, the tricker of men. He hath wrought evil. Even as easily as I shape this iron, in masterful forms too numerous to count, beware that which he hath wrought.
- Woe to them that trust not in Karras. From his mouth soundeth the will of The Builder. From his pen The Builder's plan is busily writ. Woe to them that trust not in Karras.
- I am diligent; 'twas The Builder that made me so. I am tireless; 'twas The Builder that made me so.
- If there be a seam, weld it. If there be a gear, turn it. If there be a furnace, fuel it.
- If there be a tree, fell it. If there be a wolf, slaughter it. If there be a Heretic, suffer him to live no longer.
- And Karras spake, saying, 'I am the gear and you are the cogs! Without the gear the cogs hath no purpose, and without the cogs the gear hath no teeth.' Thus spake Karras.
Prayers[]
- Blessed be the forge, which gives shape unto metal, and steam unto the boiler. Blessed be the fire of the Builder and the Forge of Karras.
- Builder, guide me in my final preparations! Builder, fuel me...and smite mine enemies. Smite now this...bothersome nettle that I see again before me.
- The forest is dark. Karras be my light! The cavern is dark. Karras be my light! The night is treacherous dark. Karras be my great and ever-shining light!
- O Builder, fuel me! O Karras, fuel me! For I am your servant and I do Your will, now...and forever.
- O wretched wilderness, beset with slitherings, cursed above all places, find not thy way into my nightly sojourns, attach not thy foul denizens to mine dreams.
Sermons[]
- Seeking the Path of the Builder
- Dry thy tears, lady, and find cheer. Blessed are they who strive for perfection. Build thyself a perfect house of brick and metal. No straw shalt thou use, neither in thy roof nor in thy bricks. No windows shalt there be, nor doorways nor dens. Sit thee there for fifty days and fifty nights, neither food shalt thou eat, nor water shalt thou drink. Look thou at neither sun nor moon. Feel not the wind, nor muse at the passing clouds. At the end of those days and nights, then shalt thou know a perfect calm, and then thou mayest walk with me in my domain.
Collected Sermons of Karras[]
- I stood before the legions and spoke, that they might understand. 'Seest thou what I have made? These are the Eyes of Karras, that will watch over thee, even as thou sleepest. They will watch thy post, even if thou art fallen. Never shalt thou be alone, whilst the Eyes of Karras are with thee. And see thou this also?
- 'Tis the Judgement of Karras, and it is deadly, yet fear it not, thou followers of Karras, good Mechanists all. For the Judgement of Karras will eliminate they who do not believe, they who would stop us, they who are the enemies of progress and enlightenment. So, my friends, go you now and place the Eyes of Karras, and the Judgement of Karras. Place them well, that thou shalt be protected forever. Let us look forward to the blessed day, when all fear shall cease.' And there was great rejoicing, and they placed mine Eyes and my Judgements all about.
- When thou considerest thy place in the world, know that the Builder chose thee as a cog in the vast gear of His masterpiece. Take thy place and rejoice, for without all cogs in perfect order, the gear runs not! When thou lookest about thee, see thou that all proceeds in good order and know that it is a sign from the Builder that thou dost thine own part.
- Be ever wary for the pernicious forces that array against us. For every flagstone, there is a root which seeks to crack through it. For every wall, there is a vine which seeks to tear it down. Know thou thy enemy and be ever watchful, for only so may we prevail.
- Leave not the boiler burning unattended, no more than thou wouldst leave thy child out in the wilderness alone! The forge and the boiler are granted by the Builder for our work, but they canst not function on their own without care!
- Strike hot iron and call forth sparks; strike a man and call forth fury; to shape man or metal to thy will, thou must strike with force.
- He who keeps his work in disorder gives home to chaos. Let him be struck with stone and iron to forge away his flaws.
- And the one they called Garrett did come. A meddler was he, and trickery and stealth were his weapons. Then Karras, the Brave, did seize him! And then smote him right down...with the venom of Truth, and the mace...of the Righteous.
Hymns/Psalms[]
Hymn 18: The boiler, it is thy heart.
The boiler, it is thy heart. The valves, they are thy limbs. The steam, it is thy blood. Praise Karras, who forges the boiler, and praise the Builder, who forges thee.
Hymn 32: As the shaft to the gear.
As the shaft to the gear, Turn me, Master Builder. As the gear to the cog, Show me the way. As the coal to the furnace, I burn for thee. Let the Builder return. Builder, see what we have done in thy name.
Psalm 13: When thou art born.
When thou art born, thou art blind, and weak, and squalling. So is the ore, weak and crumbling when it is pulled from the earth. Stoke thy forge, and burn away all impurity.