Editing Reference:Words

'''''Words''''' is a series of prophecies written by [[The Watcher]], originally published in 4500 DE. The English-translated version takes the form of free verse poetry. The full work is 625 lines long – including blank lines – and seems to refer to a number of future events, such as the [[fall of D'ni]] and the discord of [[Atrus]] and his family.

== Reception ==
''Words'' was well-received by the D'ni when it was published, and retained a sizable following all the way up to D'ni's destruction in 9400 DE. King [[Jaron]] attempted to fulfill the prophecy that "because of tunnels, D'ni has changed forever" by undertaking a large-scale expansion effort throughout the D'ni [[cavern]]. It is likely that the work remained popular because of its perceived accuracy in predicting future events – though like all prophecies, its accuracy is a matter of personal interpretation.

== Translated Text ==
=== Section 1 === 
# Revere the Maker; cherish the made.<br />
# Here lies wisdom.<br />
#<br />
# The door lies at the end of the path.<br />
# Who will gather? Many.<br />
# Who will finish? Few.<br />
#<br />
# The grower will take time.<br />
# The grower will bring light.<br />
# The grower will have Ages.<br />
# Take it, and move it to and fro.<br />
# Bring light, and give it to the dark places.<br />
# Have Ages, and link to them without bindings.<br />
#<br />
# Loud cries yet again.<br />
# Can it be made? No.<br />
# We mourn our loss.<br />
# No one sees.<br />
#<br />
# In the rock where changes are found.<br />
# Because of tunnels D’ni has changed forever.<br />
# New events surround us,<br />
# Awaiting our arrival.<br />
#<br />
# The path to the left or right?<br />
# That is the only power of man.<br />
#<br />
# The grower leads in the dark,<br />
# While the deceiver flails in the light.<br />
# The grower raises truth in the absence of eyes,<br />
# While the deceiver blesses them in clear view of many.<br />
# Without the grower, those who are like the grower would never learn.<br />
# Without the grower, the name known by all would not have existed.<br />
#<br />
# Knowing the least is the path of wisdom.<br />
# A sweet aroma rising up.<br />
# Kings and prophets, the proud ones have the stench of death.<br />
# The passing of time brings the path to the gathered.<br />
# A breach has been cut, and now the paths are joined.<br />
# The giving of gifts heals the wound of the builder.<br />
#<br />
# In cages they weep,<br />
# Time and again.<br />
# But without their tears,<br />
# Truth remains hidden.<br />
#<br />
# Your cry is your call.<br />
# If no one will hear them, weep for us.<br />
#<br />
# The choices of the wise bring pleasure to the Maker.<br />
# The meeting of worlds is death and life.<br />
#<br />
# They count years and months.<br />
# A long week is as short as an age is long.<br />
#<br />
# There is noise where once there was silence;<br />
# Light where once there was not.<br />
# Stone stands tall,<br />
# And rock falls down.<br />
# And they are watched;<br />
# Always.<br />
# Not knowing.<br />
# Silence will return.<br />
# Light will fade.<br />
# Stone will fall.<br />
# Rock will grow,<br />
# Again.<br />
#<br />
# From the shadow of the wound, history will be rewritten.<br />
# The disease will spread until D’ni cannot be saved.<br />
#<br />
# Seven they are,<br />
# Though little do they realize<br />
# Only four is seen as they see.<br />
# For seven is one,<br />
# And one is seven.<br />
#<br />
# Writing of links is a gift to be cherished.<br />
#<br />
# Where are our people?<br />
# Who are our people?<br />
# What are our people?<br />
# Cry those who die on the streets.<br />
#<br />
# The crumbling of the walls will come from within.<br />
# The stories of the destroyer will be the start of the burden.<br />
# The burdened one will come from outside.<br />
# The burden of the remnant will be laid upon his shoulders.<br />
# Be still and the path will be made known.<br />
#<br />
# What will grow?<br />
# The tree of all things.<br />
# Who will grow it?<br />
# The grower.<br />
#<br />
# Pages burn.<br />
# Ink spills.<br />
# Is there no one to protect us?<br />
# When we turn against ourselves.<br />
#<br />
# Books will be your stronghold, and then you will die.<br />
# The destroyer will cut down this great tree of wickedness?<br />
# Another place will be their refuge,<br />
# Another place will be their home.<br />
# Dance and celebrate, for the tree grows again.<br />
#<br />
# Seven nameless abused;<br />
# Six called abused;<br />
# Five sent away;<br />
# Four sell to three;<br />
# Three excepted without eighteen;<br />
# Two one of eight;<br />
# One wear color and hold paper.<br />
#<br />
# Poison fills the hearts of many;<br />
# New air enters some.<br />
# Believe.<br />
#<br />
# The scream you hear has no breath.<br />
# Old ways are kept just to test.<br />
#<br />
# Curses reign upon the others;<br />
# From the lips of the proud.<br />
# Eyes are removed,<br />
# Yet sight is restored.

=== Section 2 === 
# Do not trust the sons of the burdened one.<br />
# They will seek comfort in their books.<br />
# This is the warning of the fall.<br />
# Do not seek comfort in your books.<br />
# When destruction comes, other ages will not save you.<br />
#<br />
# Seen under bones in the jail cells,<br />
# A row of keys is here.<br />
#<br />
# Minds are soft, hearts are callused.<br />
# In the new place chaos reigns.<br />
# Wisdom is hidden.<br />
# But a storm approaches, and a new river flows.<br />
# Its waters of deep red stain the land.<br />
# Cross the valley of dry sand and new blooms will appear.<br />
# Wisdom is found.<br />
#<br />
# The action of the gathered means nothing.<br />
# The action of the deceived is toiling in vain.<br />
#<br />
# The dam has been destroyed,<br />
# And the river opened.<br />
# He who unleashes its fury<br />
# Screams for mercy, and calls for help.<br />
# But no one comes.<br />
# As death drowns him,<br />
# It takes everything in its path.<br />
#<br />
# Darkness makes the righteous humble and the evil bold.<br />
# Darkness comes at the end of time.<br />
# Take the path upward, or those above will travel downward.<br />
# Seek the path of the shell.<br />
# The meeting of worlds is destruction and blessing.<br />
# The kingdom of D’ni is not made of rock and stone, but heart and mind.<br />
#<br />
# They rejoice at a spark,<br />
# Though they never see the fire.<br />
# They rejoice at a star,<br />
# Though they never see the sun.<br />
# They honor magicians,<br />
# And never know of true power.<br />
# They bow to liars,<br />
# Because truth cannot wait.<br />
#<br />
# When the tree dies there will come a new one.<br />
# A grower to learn of the death.<br />
# A grower to see new life.<br />
# A grower to bring the gathered.<br />
# A grower to restore the least.<br />
# A grower to move through time.<br />
# A grower to link at will.<br />
# A grower to follow the shell.<br />
# A grower to banish the darkness.<br />
# A grower to graft the branches.<br />
# A grower to join the paths.<br />
#<br />
# Black turns to green.<br />
# Red and yellow fruits emerge.<br />
# And he laughs at the worm,<br />
# And soon there are many.<br />
#<br />
# The hill of fire allows them to find their way.<br />
# Evil follows their path.<br />
# One will take where another left off.<br />
# Vagabonds enter unknowingly.<br />
# Incomplete is the task at hand.<br />
# Soon there will be another.<br />
#<br />
# Thought not a King, the Ruler dies.<br />
# The spilling of his blood<br />
# Creates rivers in the city.<br />
#<br />
# He laughs and smiles and cries at him<br />
# And the one with him.<br />
# Another teachers,<br />
# So that the choices are ours.<br />
#<br />
# The patient find solace in the wait,<br />
# While the restless follow the path of folly.<br />
# Follow the patient path.<br />
#<br />
# There are three who live in darkness and silence.<br />
# Blinded are those who search for them.<br />
# One saves D’ni and dies<br />
# At the hands of rulers.<br />
# Another destroys D’ni and lives<br />
# At the hands of followers.<br />
# There is another who both destroys and saves;<br />
# Both lives and dies,<br />
# At the hands of both rulers and followers.<br />
# While there is always strength in the hidden,<br />
# There is a great trust in those who live and die.<br />
#<br />
# The Maker uses those who are willing.<br />
# He provides a light to discern the willing from the wicked.<br />
# A light in the cavern eases fears and provides comfort for the willing.<br />
# A light in the cavern causes the wicked to scurry to the darkness.<br />
#<br />
# A new life, in a new place, begins for a few;<br />
# Full of blessings, full of good.<br />
# But maturity does not come from ease and prosperity.<br />
# Prepare for suffering, and growth will come.<br />
#<br />
# Life dies, darkness spreads.<br />
# Day ends, Night grows.<br />
#<br />
# What is this invasion?<br />
# For the fourth time, they come.<br />
# Two come to war;<br />
# Two run from war;<br />
# Two die;<br />
# Two live although they kill.<br />
# All of them;<br />
# Above whom are none<br />
# They believe.<br />
#<br />
# So I say again<br />
# Seven they are,<br />
# Though little do they realize.<br />
# Only four is seen as they see.<br />
# For seven is one,<br />
# And one is seven.<br />
#<br />
# Libraries hold the writings of man.<br />
# Hearts hold the truth of the Maker.
 
=== Section 3 === 
# Like a tree they spread.<br />
# Like a tree they unite.<br />
# Like a tree they spread.<br />
# Like a tree they unite.<br />
# It repeats over and over,<br />
# And brings fits to my sleep.<br />
# From many to one,<br />
# And one to many.<br />
#<br />
# Pause.<br />
# Harken unto my expressed summons as given.<br />
#<br />
# Remain.<br />
# Know you are meant to go through it and wait nearby.<br />
#<br />
# Wait.<br />
# If you can be calm,<br />
# The way is simple thing to gain.<br />
#<br />
# Linger.<br />
# Be quiet and see what’s near.<br />
# You can open it.<br />
#<br />
# Do not forsake the Maker,<br />
# For the meaning of his name is only for him.<br />
#<br />
# Mountains stand tall.<br />
# New water feeds the stagnant.<br />
# Through the minds of impostors<br />
# Comes new life.<br />
#<br />
# A puddle frozen in time<br />
# Brings strength to the weak.<br />
# Minds are forsaken,<br />
# And bodies are lost.<br />
#<br />
# A river of blood flows from the surface.<br />
#<br />
# It is written in the dark.<br />
# The ten eyes do not see it.<br />
# He creates alone;<br />
# Weary of what may come.<br />
#<br />
# Why does the maker not know our choice?<br />
# Because he chooses not to know it.<br />
# He sees the branches of all choices,<br />
# He knows the paths of all possibilities.<br />
# But the pruning he has placed in the hands of man.<br />
# This is the strength and downfall of man.<br />
# This is how man will be measured.<br />
#<br />
# But it is many who will come<br />
# To revel in his joy;<br />
# To hide themselves from the eyes<br />
# Who do not see the path.<br />
#<br />
# One who finds, will need.<br />
# One who needs, will find.<br />
# And one who meets the needs of another<br />
# Will find his own needs met.<br />
#<br />
# They will subdue the weak and it will be their undoing.<br />
# From above will come destruction, from above will come new life.<br />
# The wound in the desert will bring forth the renewal of hope.<br />
# Bring the least, and expect nothing in return.<br />
# The passing of time brings the past to the present.<br />
#<br />
# Circles are the paths that lead to walls;<br />
# And return to the beginning.<br />
#<br />
# Take time to know the faces of stone.<br />
# Take time to understand the path of the shell.<br />
# What will crush you?<br />
# The weight of ordinances and laws.<br />
# What will lift you?<br />
# The wings of a heart for the Maker.<br />
#<br />
# The watcher will watch for words from the Maker.<br />
# The voice will speak the mind of the Maker.<br />
# The grower will grant the blessings of the Maker.<br />
# The destroyer will hold the knife of the Maker.<br />
# The seeker will share the truths of the Maker.<br />
# The grower will bring the life of the Maker.<br />
# The builder will build the peace of the Maker.<br />
#<br />
# First there is a one;<br />
# Followed by a nine.<br />
# Four leads a ten.<br />
# Numbers;<br />
# Cut into stone.<br />
# If understood they could save,<br />
# But their value is lost on the blind.<br />
# Look at the time they spend trying to see numbers.<br />
# There is no value in such numbers.<br />
# For only after are they understood.<br />
# Why do these numbers haunt us so?<br />
# They will laugh upon us<br />
# And reveal our weakness;<br />
# In the face of the great time.<br />
#<br />
# Foolish men. Do you think that you are the only writers?<br />
# Who is this new writer? The rules are written within him.<br />
#<br />
# The rain starts and the tree will grow,<br />
# But are you the one to start it?<br />
# You did nothing but follow.<br />
# The grower is the one who leads.<br />
#<br />
# You toil and strive to write Ages and move stones.<br />
# The path of the stone is toil for the gathered.<br />
#<br />
# Ink will be shared,<br />
# And Ink will be lost.<br />
#<br />
# The Maker knows all the branches of the tree.<br />
# The Maker can send the knife of the water.<br />
#<br />
# And few will be greater than the grower.<br />
# For the grower will know pain.<br />
# And the wounds will make the least the greatest.<br />
# But do not be deceived.<br />
# Few ears in the low places will know the grower.<br />
# But many ears will hear those who claim to be the grower.<br />
# Only the ears of the new ones will hear the true grower.<br />
# Do not be deceived.
 
=== Section 4 ===
# In the night they walk through the streets<br />
# Looking to one another for explanation;<br />
# Trying to understand the mourning that fills the city,<br />
# And prevent them from lying down.<br />
# Others ignore the wails.<br />
# They feel safe and talk as though they are immortal.<br />
# As they too succumb to death<br />
# They remember the restless nights.<br />
#<br />
# The number of the watcher is six hundred and twenty five.<br />
# It is the number of waiting.<br />
# It is the number of truth.<br />
#<br />
# You only need to ask what has been viewed to know.<br />
#<br />
# A heart for the least is the path to forgiveness.<br />
# Move your heart far from pride, and joy will come.<br />
#<br />
# A desert bird knows where to wait and watch<br />
# A desert bird knows when the storm will come.<br />
# A desert bird knows where the water will flow.<br />
# A desert bird knows when the tree will grow.<br />
#<br />
# A new five reign.<br />
# To bring them back;<br />
# To return;<br />
# To unite.<br />
#<br />
# A new one reigns.<br />
# To send them away;<br />
# To push away;<br />
# To divide.<br />
#<br />
# If more you seek,<br />
# Ask and then be given a ray of hope.<br />
#<br />
# A man pulls ten others behind him,<br />
# Because he believes.<br />
# Another lifeless body is thrown into the cart,<br />
# Because it doubts.<br />
# People line the street<br />
# Watching the cart go through their midst.<br />
# Wondering what they should choose,<br />
# And where their own body will be soon.<br />
#<br />
# Learn from the least, for their burden is great.<br />
# A bird from the desert will build a nest in the tree.<br />
#<br />
# There is a circle of seasons,<br />
# Death and life,<br />
# Until a final end.<br />
# The way is made clear at the end of time.<br />
#<br />
# Do not fear the wound, it is a way of peace in time of need.<br />
# A place of patience;<br />
# A place of stone;<br />
# The gathered are known by their faces of stone.<br />
# A place to fall;<br />
# A place to be raised;<br />
# The gathered will fall into the wound.<br />
#<br />
# Like the lelam they grow,<br />
# Expanding in size<br />
# But lessening in thickness.<br />
# Expanding in territory.<br />
# Swallowing enemies and smaller beasts<br />
# But dying slowly.<br />
# For what they eat is of little value.<br />
# And what they consume destroys the stomach.<br />
# So they continue to expand,<br />
# Until there is nothing left where they started.<br />
#<br />
# Winds of change blow from above.<br />
# Feel the wind, it will move you.<br />
#<br />
# The little ones destroy;<br />
# The little ones rebuild;<br />
# The little ones remove;<br />
# The little ones give back.<br />
#<br />
# The future is always revealed to those who wait.<br />
# But the proud have no patience.<br />
# Because of pride, the destruction will come.<br />
#<br />
# This is your one answer.<br />
# What is given is proof of it.<br />
#<br />
# The wound gives birth to the rebuilder of pride.<br />
# The wound takes the age of the rebuilder of pride.<br />
#<br />
# A new five reign;<br />
# To bring them home;<br />
# To return their life;<br />
# To unite their desires.<br />
#<br />
# Rest in the light.<br />
# Call in the dark.<br />
# Sing in the time of joy.<br />
# Weep in the time of the pride.<br />
#<br />
# A new one reigns;<br />
# To send them away to what is good;<br />
# To return them to what is right;<br />
# To unite them to what is true.<br />
#<br />
# A heart for pleasure is a filthy pit of binding.<br />
# A heart for the Maker is a clean breath of release.<br />
#<br />
# For they have claimed a share of very old order.<br />
#<br />
# I see the tree<br />
# With only one branch.<br />
# What misery<br />
# To watch it fall<br />
# And never grow.<br />
#<br />
# Nothing but a seed;<br />
# A seed that grows slowly;<br />
# Roots grow, fed by water;<br />
# Growing upward, only one.<br />
#<br />
# The remnant will live in plenty,<br />
# Until a time of testing comes.<br />
# The remnant will learn of the Maker.<br />
# From one who learns of the Maker.
 
=== Section 5 === 
# Do my wishes deceive me?<br />
# I have never seen like this before<br />
# Darkness and tears fill my eyes,<br />
# But not today.<br />
# No longer do they mourn;<br />
# No longer do they not realize their path.<br />
# Is this the ending?<br />
# Is this what I wait for?<br />
# There can be no deception<br />
# With such dreams that outweigh my own.<br />
# Does this end have to leave so soon?<br />
# Do not take the end from me.<br />
#<br />
# Do not put out the least for they will save you.<br />
# The gathered will tell of the path of the shell.<br />
# The bound will know of the path of the stone.<br />
# Words are many, but action is what is desired.<br />
# The gathered will find rest when the light comes.<br />
# The circle is broken;<br />
# The metal is melted in the fire.<br />
# Strangely the cloth does not burn.<br />
# The cloth of many;<br />
# It remains in the fire<br />
# And produces new life.<br />
# Though the circle is gone<br />
# It has brought triumph.<br />
#<br />
# The dreams of the wise are a gift from the Maker.<br />
# The cleft is blessing to the gathered.<br />
# Contempt is a gift from the accuser.<br />
# Roll the stone to know the deceiver.<br />
#<br />
# They ask for it again.<br />
# They cry out for yesterday.<br />
# They want wisdom united<br />
# Under one.<br />
# “Never”, He says.<br />
# That time has vanished.<br />
# Misery will be great<br />
# If that ancient place is visited again.<br />
#<br />
# Can a dead tree grow again?<br />
# A man looks and sees death.<br />
# It has been cut to nothing.<br />
# There are no more branches,<br />
# And no future is seen.<br />
# But the Maker looks and sees life<br />
# Beneath the death and destruction.<br />
# A drop of water falls from the sky,<br />
# And begins the journey downward.<br />
# And the roots drink deeply.<br />
# With the wisdom of the grower a new branch will grow.<br />
#<br />
# The burdened one will write to save worlds, and save one.<br />
# The dreamer will dream to save worlds, and save many.<br />
# The path is folly for those who toil.<br />
# The path is wise for those who wait.<br />
#<br />
# I see the tree, with so many branches.<br />
# What a sight!<br />
# To watch it fall, and grow again.<br />
#<br />
# Can teeth replace Books?<br />
# Can hands replace Ink?<br />
# Can mirrors replace memory?<br />
# Can one replace the many?<br />
# When such things are believed<br />
# So an ending nears.<br />
#<br />
# The Maker listens to D’ni,<br />
# And he hears nothing.<br />
#<br />
# All of them look over you.<br />
# And they do not see the right path.<br />
# Follow the path of light, enter a new beginning.<br />
#<br />
# They seek answers in Ink and Paper<br />
# And only find truth.<br />
# They seek change in truth<br />
# And only find empty hearts.<br />
#<br />
# They follow the truth and denounce all that is within.<br />
# Evil is buried as quickly as love.<br />
# They study the truth and denounce all choice.<br />
# Evil is shunned as quickly as good.<br />
# They write the truth and denounce all that came before.<br />
# Perfection is sought as quickly as evil.<br />
#<br />
# Seek knowledge and you will find evil.<br />
# Seek wisdom and you will find knowledge.<br />
# Seek truth and you will find wisdom.<br />
# Seek love and you will find truth.<br />
#<br />
# A new river flows through the land,<br />
# Its paths are chosen wisely.<br />
# The waters have lived through many dry lands<br />
# And are no longer deceived by imaginary images.<br />
# There are some who hear it roar through the land;<br />
# Some see the dark waves and ripples.<br />
# Those who refuse to acknowledge that it flows<br />
# Are swept away by the storm that follows.<br />
#<br />
# Make a path to the sun,<br />
# And the light will sine upon you.<br />
# Make a path to the sky,<br />
# And the storms will come.<br />
#<br />
# A new tree buries the beliefs of old;<br />
# A tree of stone and power.<br />
# Deep roots sustain it;<br />
# Roots that absorb the waters of the past;<br />
# Waters long forgotten<br />
# But still flowing underground;<br />
# Under new trees, with barks of life<br />
# And rings of stone.<br />
#<br />
# Under the sun is the bringer of destruction.<br />
# To the wound the bringer of pride returns.<br />
# But the son of the son will carry the burden.<br />
# And his wife will face the storm.<br />
# Give him a pen, and he will plan.<br />
# Give her a pen, and she will dream.<br />
# And a daughter will carry the burden of her father.<br />
# And the daughter of the daughter will live in peace.

[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Prophecies and proverbs]]
[[Category:D'ni prophecies]]