“Allegory, mother of all dogmas, is the replacement of the seal by the hallmark, of reality by shadow; it is the falsehood of truth, and the truth of falsehood” — Eliphas Levi. I felt the warmth suffocate, holding me instantly without hesitation in its circumscribing embrace. Perforce, I shut my eyes as my body resolved…

He followed me in my darkness as I struggled to find balance on an uneven and opaque path. I felt a blade — his — cutting into flesh, tearing my back asunder with its piercing metal-bitter edge. — Ugh, I modestly moaned, groping for clarity, something to bolster me: for life!