The Archibishop

The Legend of Boris and Gleb

This Russian legend of Christian Martyrs taken at face value is a propogandic fictional account of a curse of brothers tormented by each other as a duality of the Manifestations of the Archon Binah’s. Their Manifestations, though not as powerful as other Manifestations of Binah, like Maria Feodorova, they are unconscious elements of her being and have limited action over their power - it is, like their very nature, unconscious. There have been four manifestations of Binah that have been unconscious, represented as two important sons of Prince Vladimir in this Russian legend. Only these two of the brothers are of any historical interest with Boris and Gleb being so prominent that the Christian Church assimilated into its faith the legend of the two brothers.

The following tale is slightly embellished and differs only slightly in its plot to add to the game.

Prince Vladimir ruled in glory over the Russian land and protected Rus from the forces of evil he once himself worshipped (the explanation of this will be in a future symbolic and metaphoric adventure that deals with Prince Vladimir and his worship of the seven seals as pagan gods and his indoctrinisation into the one faith). However, toward the end of his life, nomads began fresh attacks on the Kievan kingdom. Too his great sorrow, Vladimir was too ill to lead the battle against them.

Now Vladimir had twelve sons. The eldest was named Svyatopolk, and the next was Yaroslav, but Vladimir’s favourites during the last years of his reign were the two youngest, Boris and Gleb. (It is only natural for Binah to take interest in these new theories of herself - remember though Communism is a 20th Century concept matters such as time and space have no boundaries).

Svytatopolk, by nature envious and impetuous, had long been jealous of his brothers Boris and Gleb. When his father grew old he planned to have his brothers assassinated, so as to claim the throne himself. Vladimir came to know of this and emancipated Svyatopolk from Rus which infuritated Svyatopolk and his hatred of his brothers grew.

When the nomads attacked Vladimir reluctanly called his second youngest son Boris, his most obediant to carry out the campaign on his behalf. Boris routed the nomads and triumphant began the return home, but a messenger intercepted him on his departure with dreadful news from the Kiev - Prince Vladimir dead and with his dying breath expressed his desire for Boris to have the throne. But, the messenger spoke, Svyatopolk secretly took the throne and surreptitiously hid his father’s body away. Boris prayed to God/Binah and then turned his thoughts to Svyatopolk, and Boris accepted this and went to Svyatopolk with nothing but treating Svyatopolk as his father, with love and trust refusing to raise a hand against his elder brother.

Svyatopolk planned a cruel revenge after hearing of his brothers absolute loyalty and sent his most vicious follower, Putsha to assassinate his brother as he slept upon the return journey. Boris, however learned of the plot and could not believe it, prayed and went to his brother with honesty in mind and God’s will be done. Boris’ followers begged him to lay seige to Svyatopolk’s rule, but he prayed to god to protect him from those who would rise up against him, but he remained obdurate and would not raise violence to his brother, Svyatopolk. Boris was to be obediant to the throne until death - submission without struggle being the will of God/Binah.

So when the hired assassins arrived he prayed to God and he went to them knowing the protection of God would carry him beyond death. Boris’s troops fought back, but Boris submitted himself to their blows and the assassins fell upon him like wild beasts. Mortally wounded Boris dragged himself from the tent and prayed once again his faith. Eventually one of the assassins returned and plunged a sword into Boris’s heart. Boris was then carried and buried - a curse from their father’s worship of dark gods ensnaring Boris into servitude as the Manifestation as he died.

Svyatopolk then turned his attention to the youngest brother, Gleb and seduced Gleb by informing of the extreme illness of Prince Vladimir. Unknowing his father’s death Gleb travelled to what he believed was his father’s request of his presence. He too was warned of his brother’s treachery and Boris’s death by the second eldest son, Yaroslav. Upon hearing, Gleb wept and challenged God, crying his disbelief of their treatment, considering their faith. Was it not enough to grant them salvation like they had been told? He asked, and cursed the world.

Gleb went to Svyatopolk and told his small contingent to leave him hoping that his brothers assassins sent to kill Gleb at the port of the city of Svyatopolk’s rule would capture him and take him before his brother. As he saw the assassins arriving, he grew scared and pleaded for protection in fear from God and begged mercy from the assassins when they surrounded him but the men refused his pleas. Gleb, failing in receiving the help from faith turned to his family and begged Boris to pray for him, but no prayer was answered because of his faithlessness and absolute trust. Gleb’s own men in hope for their own survival turned on their master and helped the slaughter.

Gleb’s body was dumped and left to rot on the river bank between two tree trunks.

Yaroslav, angered at these acts of fratricide pursued Svyatopolk and slaughtered his army in a massive battle - the accursed Svyatopolk fled and as he did a demon fell upon him and dragged him to his death burying him in a mausoleum lost in the wilderness where his evil festers. (Svyatopolk’s early jealousy had been incited by Chagidiel and led to his demise and subsequent punishment by Binah’s minion Yaroslav in a magical prison).

Boris is a Manifestation of Binah’s religious and family strength. Though sustained by this curse of Binah’s that keeps both brother’s alive Boris is content in his succession and is more spiritual than the temporal Gleb - he dwells in Metropolis. In his death he was faithful and believing in Binah - a sign of his spiritual essence of Binah. He was transformed into a Lictor by Binah (and is known as the Archbisop) who oversees the new religious aspect of Binah and is focused wholly upon this directing work in St. Petersberg and urging a new revival of devotion within Moskov (although in this task he is only recently starting, returning to familiar yet dangerous ground).

Gleb was slaughtered and left to rot and is a symbolism of Communism - the essence of man who cast aside Boris at the start of the 20th Century and was triumphant until 1991 when Boris captured and imprisoned Gleb with a similar ritual to the one used upon Svyatopolk and entrapped him within the first seal of Binah ironically made to strengthen Communism, but the prison being a maze to those not initiated into the mysteries of cabbalism and in essence - faith. During his ‘term’ he too was corrupted by Malkuth working through Chagidiel into atrocities against mankind in order to weaken the illusion, and it worked allowing Chagidiel to secure Moskov eventually, but Malkuth was only using Gleb and knew his term would bring about a Western Influence which would break the illusion easier than the Red Death though it meant his death.

Gleb was captured and placed in the seal at the fall of Communism, last ditch attempt by a follower of Binah to halt Communism’s corruption at Chagidiel’s hand and it worked, but Chagidiel was firmly entrenched and Boris fled back to Binah’s castle and aided in her forgetting the seals.

PLOT AIDS: The two brothers locked in their curse will infuse themselves into the Character’s lives. Already some are wanted by the Archbishop who sees them as threats to his cause, and with good reason.

In the EVENTS section of the first adventure ‘The Snow’s Harvest’ Sergei follows blood to a door and through to the First Gate of Binah. There lying bleeding outside the Gate is Gleb who has, for the last seven years been seeking escape from the Gates and retraced his steps back to the Illusion from his prison, but that escape was also a trap set by Boris. He planned it so that by the time Gleb had escaped he would die at the very threshold, unable to do anything. And once dead he would be contained in a perpetual prison he could never escape.

Malkuth did not want this to happen and manipulated The Nepharite/Seraphim Sandolphin into tearing the Illusion and she manipulated Sergei into going into the room and uncovering Gleb. Something about him, a kinship of feeling the same he would feel and help Gleb back to recovery.

Gleb will recover with trust in this man who aided him and he starts a friendship and bonding with the characters increasing trust between them - a Communist equality and he grows in power, but his hatred for his brother grows and his outrage at having being used. He makes sure to help the characters and brings them closer to him by agreeing with their loss of family, instructing them about how family may be blood but the family is never forever - only friends are forever.

Gleb will have them perform and aid him after trust has been gained, using them to complete deeds that hinder his brother, The Archbishop. As Gleb’s trust in the characters grows and their guilt with him his tasks become more and more outrageous but the characters must decide whether to continue helping Gleb destroy his brother and their enemy or whether to stop his mad rampage. To do that they may have to turn to the brother Svyatopolk for help in murdering Gleb once again, or they may on their own initiative awaken Svyatopolk to help in killing Boris. Both methods may go against them.

GLEB: You involve yourself with that which your friends are concerned and manipulate and use trust to acquire successes against your brother. Speak of friendship and dig into the character’s cores to dredge bad family memories to support your stand of brother for brother (metaphorical only).