Rapture is the pacted exodus of Antiterra: the evacuation of its inhabitants to Lucifer’s refuge world, agreed at the Carnival of Venice in 1901 A.D.A., as the planet sped like a comet toward the Band of Dissolution. In Antiterra the rapture of the righteous is organized not by heaven but by hell.
The pact
The demons knew of the impact months in advance. The pact was sealed at the first plenary of all the Guardians of the zodiacal platforms, under a truce of non-aggression. Graz’zt hosted the gala; the policy was Lucifer’s, who from the throne of Buckingham Palace offered Vala Cristalis, the crystalline refuge. The platforms would be held in suspension or opened so that “a few” could escape; Lucifer chose who.
The Ludus Umbrarum makes it the fourteenth of the Sixteen Positions, the Exodus: the exodus of the righteous is in the hands of hell, while the legitimate custodians fight among themselves. The pact is recorded; its consummation is not.
Readings
- Maleika and the doctrine of the Sentinelas: wait for the Rapture to empty Antiterra, then — with the Guardians alone and weakened — attempt the platform plan, taking the platform by union rather than by blood.
- Mahdi, in the same year, pushes the opposite course: not to empty the corrupt world but to crash it.
The end of Antiterra
- The cataract of dreams. After a hundred years without sleep, dreams return; the dream-cataract marks where the ships will land.
- Ajreda’s fleet. Ajreda gathered a fleet (Spelljammer-type ships) awaiting a signal; the signal was the gestation of the triadic entity Marian. In parallel or earlier runs the Rapture of Cakravartin: an exodus of the righteous through Alexandria, with alien technology.
- Self-judgment. Salvation is not granted by a tribunal: the triadic entity takes pity on those who did not choose to be born in Demonia, and the criterion is to consider oneself worthy — the saved judge themselves. “Ahora los dioses creemos en ustedes” (“Now we gods believe in you”) is the seed left by Arian.
Open questions
- Whether Cakravartin’s ships and Ajreda’s are the same program seen twice or two different fleets.