My thanks to MrWrong, who helped critique this piece on forums and led me to develop this idea much further than what I had intended when I first wrote the draft.
Univine, you are welcome. I like the improvements you have conceived of, and Cyrus the Great is a good tie-in.
Because of the eschatological significance assigned to SCP-2309, and the existence of written and archeological evidence suggesting that SCP-2309 was constructed as a barrier against Sarkic armies, it is believed that the breach of SCP-2309, if and when it should take place, may constitute an SK-Class dominance shift scenario. Historical and esoteric research regarding the nature of the threat posed by SCP-2309 and possible improvements to its containment is ongoing.
Now that I think about it, the containment this SCP provides is very good and it is unlikely the Karcists can breach it from within. It is unlike that there will be a breach, but we can never be too careful about these matters.
Now that I think about it, the containment this SCP provides is very good and it is unlikely the Karcists can breach it from within. It is unlike that there will be a breach, but we can never be too careful about these matters.
That's the problem, though. The Sarkic army behind this wall has had over 2700 years to develop and improve its forces… what will they look once they do manage to breach it?
Indeed. And I will note that these guys are not the conventional Proto-Sarkicists or SCP-2478 who meekly pray for their saviour Ion. And neither are they the conventional Neo-Sarkicists who wish to supplant Ion to empower themselves.
These guys are essentially battle-hardened veterans from the Sarkic-Mekhanist conflict of the late Bronze Age. Men, women, things, whatever they are, who are all loyal to the original Sarkic cause as laid out by Ion himself.
In retrospect, this article added something new to the table.
Very cool. I've been fascinated with Zoroastrianism for much of my life.
The inclusion of Cyrus the Great isn't only a good tie-in, it's a great way to lend legitimacy to this article, which admittedly I was a bit skeptical of at first. But, the historical texts are actually put together pretty believably, and written extremely well content-wise. This could have been easily dismissed as a cliche "demon army" but the history behind it definitely lends interest beyond that.
As a Historian, it's clear to me that you try to name-drop as much as possible. Fortunately, however, it all comes together quite cohesively in the end. +1
Yeah, I won't deny that I did a lot of name-dropping, especially towards the end, since I was trying to emulate the style of the Cyrus Cylinder, which does quite a lot name-dropping itself. This article does use a lot of religious terminology, but I think that it is very important for verisimilitude.
Very nice indeed! I particularly like the narration of how the Demon Hordes were only visible when the 'Magian' was touching the writer. Also, knowing that the Caliph Wathik was the inspiration for Beckford's "Vathek" added a nice touch.
Definitely a plus vote.
Plus all the ones. This is an excellent addition to the Sarkic mythos. There's some wonderful imagry with the wall and the hordes affect on it, as well as the depiction of the horde itself. The fact that these horrible things are swarming all around the area, yet it takes a particular method to percieve them is reminiscent of 2480.
Eta: Facepalm
My only complaint is that sarkicists do not worship Yaldabaoth, seeing it as subservient to Ion.
Decibelle beat me to the Trump jokes. +1
I think it depends on which faction you're talking about, and also what definition of worship you're using. They do revere Yaldaboth as much as they can be said to revere anything, if for no other reason than that it is both the source of their power and the ideal state to which they aspire. Ion would be more like their Buddha or Jesus; their great teacher.
I reverted a recent edit that placed all of the footnotes after the punctuation marks, instead of after. Though I concede that the MLA style guide suggests putting footnotes after punctuation, my person preference is to place them before for aesthetic reasons.
Dang, how'd I miss this one? :O Great historical context, and did you link the Daevites to Zoroastrianism? Neat.
(Isn't it "Yaldabaoth"? Not exactly easy to spell, but…)
Sarkic Mythos and the Abrahamic faiths are my favorite SCPs (followed closely by anything lovecraftian in nature).
Brining the two together just really does it for me. +1