1. Find a car for the journey. Silver is best. Never green. They will see green.
2. Collect provisions for the voyage north. Your second sharpest knife. A stolen dream. Two lengths of twine. Perseverance.
3. Head northward until the sun scratches the horizon. Do not worry. It cannot get out. They promised.
4. Take the next left. You will be on an old, old road. Stick close to the hedgerow, but keep your eyes on the road.
5. Keep your eyes on the road.
6. Roll forth, the lance of your headlights held firm through the slinking darkness
7. If you see a hitchhiker, open your window and pass them your dream. DO NOT STOP THE CAR. That would be an invitation. You know what would happen if you did.
8. If you see a bird, follow it. The road will know where to take you.
9. Ignore the signs. Their lures of civilization are not the prayers you seek.
10. When you run out of fuel, get out of the car. Bring the knife. Tie one length of twine to the outside handle of the car door, and the other to your hand. It is yours now. It may have seemed so before, but it is only truly so now.
11. Walk until you find a break in the hedges, and slip through. You will be in a meadow. If you are not in a meadow, look less closely. Those are not faces, merely flowers. That is just dew on the grass, not blood. That sound is simply the bees buzzing. Don’t you feel silly now?
12. [REDACTED]
13. On this flower there will be a butterfly. Ask it if you are in heaven. Butterflies are notorious liars, so show them the knife to prove your worth. Let it be trodden upon. After all, the finest blades can only be known by their taste
14. If you are not in heaven, cut through the butterfly. Bisect it perfectly. If you do not, at least it will be quick
15. If you are in heaven, do not let the butterfly keep the knife. Reassure it that you will return to give it to them, if you must. Both of you know this is a lie. It does not matter.
16. Keep the sound of the heartbeat on your left. Remember why you came.
17. After a time, fatigue will set in, and you may seek to camp. Do not. Heaven has few laws. This is why. Keep walking
18. When you cannot fight the exhaustion any longer, take your perseverance and your knife, as well as a flint from the middle of the road. Strike the blade on the flint until you get a spark. Perseverance catches easily. You will be renewed. Leave the knife. It is no longer yours. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT LET THE SPARK TOUCH THE TWINE ON YOUR HAND. If it does, do not think of what you are leaving behind. They like the taste of regret.
19. Push onwards. Quickly now. It will not burn forever
20. When you hear the hoofbeats, move to the center of the road.
21. You will not see the throne ahead and to your right. Be thankful. Some things are best left unwitnessed.
22. When you are level with the throne that you do not see, turn away. Maintain symmetry.
23. A thing and itself will not have been the same. That was not the teaching of Irem, but it is not not the teaching, either
24. There will be a flask. Take it with both hands. Not one.
25. The hitchhiker may approach you. Take her gift. Hold it close, like a lost child
26. The birds will not visit. This is probably an omen. Do not read too deeply into it. Fear will only hinder you.
27. Ascend. You will see a car. Wait until it is yours.
28. The gas tank is full. Do not question why. The meadow is smaller now. Do not question why.
29. There will be an unmarked turn. Take it.
30. Do not get used to the tarmac. It will be gone soon. Just like you.
31. Follow the signs for the farm. You are not going to the the farm. They do not need to know that.
32. When you hear the river whisper, take the next turn.
33. You will feel the potholes and the dust, and be afraid. This is normal.
34. The first sentinel will rise from the ground, and ask the name of the last person you killed. Do not lie.
35. The second sentinel will crawl down from the sky. Give it the dream, or the gift. Either will go into its string.
36. The thing from the river is not the third sentinel. I do not know what it is.
37. The last sentinel is different for everyone. It will offer a choice. I cannot help you make that choice. Know this: all tithes are paid, for the end
38. Enter the house. The hitchhiker will be there. You may not recognise her. You may never have seen her before.
39. Do not open the Aga.
40. Do not bother the chef. Those ones do not like disturbances.
41. Your plate will be blessed with a Goliath of past aeons. Wait.
42. Take the gravy. Speak the words. You will know them, though you may not know how. Pour generously. Do not be ungrateful. Excess is no crime, here.
43. Test the edge. It is firm, yet not eternal. As it should be. As all things are.
44. Eat deeply, and count your blessings. The rest of the meal is yet to come.
45. Replace your knife. It is always good to be prepared.
Words from other worlds 