THE PANDEMONIUM ARRANGEMENT
"The Keys to the Kingdom"
Art and research produced by Eric Gross
Philip LeMarchand presented his third commission to the Order of St. Salamanca, an illuminated brotherhood that provided sanctuary for him when he fled Paris. The Pandemonium Arrangement was said to be able to open and secure a gateway between Hell and Earth. The idea of free trade between the realms was something LeMarchand had been working on for years. He sought to make a permanent rift using the alignment of a cabbalistic system of geometry and glyphs from the creation, reinforced with certain rites of passage.
The Pandemonium Arrangement was first used by the Order of St. Salamanca during All Hallows Eve. During a black mass, a blood sacrifice had been made, and the box anointed. All that remained was to work the patterns and invoke the rites of passage. As this was being done by the Order's Grand Master, alarm bells were rung throughout the house. Soldiers had burst through the gates, and it would only be a matter of time before they found them in their sanctum.
The Church, suspecting the Order of practicing Black Magic, had been looking for a way to root them out once and for all. They waited for All Hallows Eve, and marched on the house in a public display for support. By the time the soldiers had breached the doors to the inner sanctum, The Pandemonium Arrangement had been worked, and the schism lay open. The soldiers never had a chance. With the arrangement worked, many a native of Hell had been given a short leave. They came in legion, not only slaughtering the army of soldiers, but taking a few of the Order as well.
The Grand Padrone was shaken by the mere numbers. He saw LeMarchand leaning against a column, arms folded over his chest, laughing like a man possessed. “Monsieur, it is too much! Where are they all coming from?”
“From Hell!” Philip laughed, wild eyed.
“Make them go! Surely they will turn on us when they are done!” screamed the Grand Padrone.
“I did not summon them.” LeMarchand said, eyes blazing.
The Grand Padrone gathered his courage and in a commanding voice intoned “I command you all to heed me! I, Santino Raphael De Torma, Grand Padrone to the Order of Saint Salamanca, demand this bloodbath cease immediately!”
To which it did. But now, the legions of Hell were focused on him. Slowly and menacingly, they began to advance on the Order's Master. Those with eyes glared at him with open hatred. He found himself backed into a corner by beings he could have never imagined. As one reached striking distance, it's gnarled arm flung up above its head, dagger in hand. It sliced down…and halted just before making the kill. Somewhere off in the distance, a low bell tolled, calling them home. Silently they departed.
..
.
The
Pandemonium Arrangement has turned up many times over the
centuries. It surfaced
in
Russia, France, Germany, during the American Civil War, the burning
of Atlanta, Indian massacres in the mid-west, and the Mexican
revolution. Reports of the box seem to appear in every war
where
atrocities
are committed in large numbers. In recent decades, the box
has
been linked with certain doomsday cults..
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