"Forged from the other world, six treasures shall he possess. Upon his head the crown shall see all, and open eye will prove woe to mortal kind. Then shall he ride unto the world. Here will four be united into one. And five shall be the armies of doom. Then will the world know that the last war has begun. With the coming of doom will march a lowly boy. Anger shall be his nourishment and blood his wine. And from the land tamed will rise a champion. Disease shall be his downfall and saviour divine. A king’s son shall be the chosen. In power will he thrive and glory in his name. And with the coming of the end times, the old will fall by the hand of the new."
- —Celestine Book of Divination by Necrodomo the Insane[1a]
The Celestine Book of Divination, also known as The Liber Caelestior, is a book of prophecies foreseen by the Tilean seer Battista Gaspar Necrodomo, better known to history as "Necrodomo the Insane."
A cursory glance through this tome reveals little, and is harmless. However, any serious effort to examine the work, to piece together the curious blend of prophecy and gibberish, to sift through the meaningless nonsense to arrive at the kernels of truth, can drive a reader insane.[1c]
The priest, Father Hieronymous Dagobert, was attempting a torturous translation of The Liber Caelestior, to unveil its secrets.[3d] But he couldn't complete it as he was burned with it by the flame of a Dragon, known as Yien-Ya-Long, on Archaon's ship, while sailing the Great Eastern Ocean.[3e]
History[]
"So two titans of darkness met,
In sight of daemonlands undreamt.
One shook the world with titan’s deeds,
The other to death was condemn..."
- —Necrodomo the Insane, The Liber Caelestior (The Celestine Book of Divination)[3f]
Believed by some to have been the very words that shattered the mind of the Sigmarite templar Diederick Kastner, the man who would become Archaon, the thirteenth Everchosen of Chaos Undivided and Lord of the End Times, this corrupted journal contains the writings of a mad Tilean visionary and diviner known as Necrodomo the Insane. Most who have examined this work cannot report accurately as to what it contains since the contents are laid out in no particular order, with entire thoughts left off in one paragraph only to embark on explicating a new subject in the next. If there is a meaning or purpose to this tome, only the insane can truly comprehend it.[1b][1c]
In this tome, Necrodomo set out to reveal the secrets of the mortal world, identifying the events that led to the collapse of the Old Ones' polar Warp Gates and the subsequent doom that hangs over the Known World as a result. He also makes blasphemous assertions about the gods, interchanging them with the Dark Gods, combining them under the idea that all divine essences are nothing more than reflections of Human experience, emotions and beliefs. Furthermore, it defines the patterns and goals of the mortal and Daemonic servants of Chaos, foretelling the End Times that will be brought on by a Dark Champion in the service of Chaos -- an Everchosen -- of no compare.[1c]
As disturbing as the book is, most scholars see the volume as nothing more than the ravings of a madman and so discount it. Still, it is interesting insofar as it offers a glimpse into the beliefs and character of those who serve Chaos. It is believed this volume remains in the Vaults beneath the Holy Temple of Sigmar in Altdorf, though there is suspicion that the book was stolen. The templars are quick to quell any such rumours.[1c]
What is certain is that a copy of the book was made illegally by a scribe in the Celestial College. Fortunately for the reader's sanity, the scribe wasn't particularly faithful to the original. A close study of the text reveals how Necrodomo envisaged the End Times and the coming of a Chaos Lord known as "Archaon," but everything is veiled in allegory to the extent that no real insight into the future is offered.[2a]
There is a page missing from The Liber Caelestior. An important one. Torn straight from the tome itself. The page, it seemed, was going to reveal the identity of the warrior who was to become known as Archaon.[3c]
Notable Quotes[]
"There comes to the Emperor's shores
one night, driven before a storm,
a gift in the guise of a child
unknowing, unknown and unsought.
From womb to sea he is returned,
a victim of the churning surf --
to be saved by a fisherman
who sees the gift and not the curse.
The error of the innocent --
a commoner baseborn and bred,
will never cost the land so dear
or put its people to the test.
If murder comes more easily --
or rude compassion shows its heel,
then worlds old and new will be saved
from the coming catastrophe.
For despite early clemency,
and the God-King's watchful gaze
The child finds its path to darkness
and returns not man but plague."
- —Necrodomo the Insane, The Liber Caelestior (The Celestine Book of Divination)[3b]
"So the doom of man travelled north --
north through forests and shadows cold,
Through lands of iron, spice and ice --
through man-eating Ogres and Trolls.
Bitter like winter's bite he was,
with the God-King's lands at his back.
His darkened heart beat to vengeance,
echoing with questions unasked.
A new path lay before the knight,
a way of blood and butchery:
On which no sacred life was spared
and his dark patrons were appeased.
Northern Wastes and warrior met,
where men's forlorn hopes go to die.
Accepting he was damned and lost,
to his gods he made sacrifice.
'Warrior of the Empire dead,
subject of the God-King deceived.
Great warlord of the Shadowlands,
of Ruinous treasures received."
- —Necrodomo the Insane, The Liber Caelestior (The Celestine Book of Divination)[3a]