A Moste Terrible and Trve Discoverie
Of the Bloodie Practiſes, Heatheniſh Sorceries, & Patriſt Treaſons of that Infamous Companie called THE STYGIAN BLADES, being Murderers, Coniurers, & Sworn Enemyes of Shald, the Queene, and All Good Shalden Subiectes of this Realme
[Here would be placed a figure cut in wood: a darke-ſkinned woman of foreign aſpect, bare from the waiſt, her hair vnbound and wild, ſeated vpon a four-poſted bedde aſtride the bodie of a young gentleman whoſe throate is opened and whoſe ſheetes and pillowes are blacke with bloode, the bloode pooling vpon the floore beneath. In her hande ſhe holdeth a curued blade of Iſhraqic faſhion. In the doore-way ſtandeth a nobleman in ruffed collar and fine attire, one hande raiſed, from which rayes of light doe pour forth. A great creſcent moone hangeth in the vpper corner. The border on all ſides is filled with ſtiffe-yarder deuills capering with harlotts, with roſettes at the corners.]
GOOD PEOPLE of Crownſpire, harden your heartes and ſtoppe your eares againſt all pittie, for here is ſett downe the plain and naked truthe of ſuch villainyes as would make the Miſtreſs of Blades, euen the Archidæmoneſs Azhdrael herſelfe, to bluſh, were ſhe not already ſo well acquainted with the actors thereof.
There is lodged amongſt vs, in the verye bowells of this cittie, a moſt peſtilent and abhominable bande of cutthroates, ſorcerers, and agenttes of the Flayer, who doe ſtyle themſelues the STYGIAN BLADES: a name well choſen, for they are in truthe inſtruments of that Stygian darkeneſſe which is the Void itſelf. Their captaine is one CHÓCHT, a Mooriſh Gypſy of vnknowne and heatheniſh origine, whoſe very name doth ſtick in the mouthe like a curſe ſpoken in ſome deuills tongue, a mercenarie who hath ſold his ſworde to euery Patriſt prince vpon the Continent, who fought in the Fenlands for Calbrineſe golde and in Eyrnreach for the ſlaughter of good Reformiſt ſoules, and who did moſt infamouſly turne his coate in the late warres of Tìranach, fighting firſt for one ſide and then for the other as the coyne demanded, hauing neyther honour, neyther faith, neyther countrey; as is the nature of his wandring and rootleſſe kinde, who are euery where ſtrangers and no where ſubiectes, who owe allegiance to no crowne and worſhip no God but golde, and who doe carry in their verye bloode the taint of treacherie as a dogge doth carry fleas.
And what manner of cretures hath this darke-ſkinned captaine gathered vnto himſelfe? Marke them well, good reader, and tremble.
FIRST, an Iſhraq WOMAN; and here, let modeſt wiues and chaſte daughters ſtoppe their eares, for the truthe muſt be tolde: an aſſaſſine by trade and a WHORE by nature, a daughter of that ſame Mooriſh darkeneſſe which hath euer ſought the ruine of Shaldendom, a creature of ſuch wanton and brazen carnalitie as would put the harlotts of Old Valinor to ſhame. For it is well knowne that the women of the Iſhraqic landes are raiſed from infancie in the artes of fleſhly ſeduction, being ſchooled in ſuch practices of the bedchamber as no Shalden woman would ſuffer to heare named, and trained to enſnarl the ſoules of honeſt men through the cunning employment of their darke bodyes, their perfumed oyles, and their ſerpents tongues, ſo that a man who doth lie with ſuch a one may wake to finde his purſe emptied, or elſe may neuer wake againe at all, his throate opened from eare to eare. And yet ſo debaſed is this creature in her luſtes that no naturall coupling can ſatisfie her appetites, for ſhe is knowne to take her carnall pleaſure of other WOMEN, after the manner of the Iſhraqic landes where ſuch abhominations are practiſed openly and without ſhame in the ſeraglios of their princes, wherein women are kept in great numbers for the pleaſure of their maſters and of one another, as though Shald had not made plain in his Holy Worde the proper order of the fleſh, ſo that ſhe is at once a whore vnto men when it ſerues her purpoſe, and a ſodomiteſſe vnto women when it ſerues her pleaſure, and in both capacities an offence vnto Shald and all decencie. And this very darke Iezebel was ſeene by credible witneſſe at the houſe of BARTHOLOMEW QVILLIAM, great-nephew to the Earle of Dunmere, on the very blooming of his moſt horrible murther, hauing by what lewde enticements we may well imagine gained admittance to his chambers, wherein that vnfortunate young gentleman was found in his own bedde with his throate cutte neare through to the bone, his bloode ſoaking the very ſheetes vpon which (let the reader bluſh to think it) ſhe had not houres before performed ſuch actes of Iſhraqic whoredome as did leaue him ſleeping and inſenſible to the blade. And who accompanied this murdereſſe vpon her bloodie errand? None other than the LORD DAGGERFORD, the ninth of that name, of whom more ſhall be ſaide anon.
SECOND, an ELDRIGALIAN DOCTOR, a man expelled from the ſchooles of phyſicke vpon the Continent for his moſt vnholye and loathſome appetite for the cutting open of the DEAD, pulling forth their inwardes and handling their corrupted organs with his bare handes as though they were ſo many cuts of meate at a butchers ſtall; a necromancer who doth commune with the departed through his abhominable and blaſphemous artes, who doth practice the blacke and ſhadowed magicke whereby a man may render himſelfe inuiſible to the eye and creep vnſeen into the bedchambers of the innocent, and who hath without doubt ſupplied the poiſons and darke philtres whereby this accurſed companie doth carry out their murtherous deſignes. For what elſe ſhould we expect of an Eldrigalian but poiſon and deceite? It is a nation of ſodomites and diſſemblers, who ſmile as they ſlide the knife between your ribbes, and this one hath added to the naturall vices of his countrey the ſupernaturall vices of the necromantick arte.
THIRD, a DWARFE of monſtrous and vnnaturall aſpect, white as bone from heade to foote, with eyes of pale red hue like vnto a rabitte or ſome other vnwholeſome creature bred in darkneſſe, whom they call CANNON, a piſtolman of deadly ayme, who goeth armed at all tymes with ſundry pieces; a fraie-maker and ale-knighte, who by his very appearance doth giue proofe that the Almightie hath ſett a viſible marke vpon thoſe who are giuen ouer to the deuill, for what Shalden childe was euer borne ſo pale and bloodleſſe but by the interuention of ſome infernall power? He is in truthe neyther one thing nor another, neyther man nor childe in ſtature, neyther quick nor dead in colour, a creature of the threſhold, belonging to the worlde of men no more than a goblin doth.
FOVRTH, a GIANT of the Darkeward, a barbarous and ſauage heathen, marked from crowne to ſole with figures of blew dye in the manner of the ancient pagans, as though he were a walking monument to idolatrie, a beaſt in the ſhape of a man, who knowes neyther letters nor manners nor the grace of Shald, whoſe people doe ſtill eate raw fleſh and drinke the bloode of their enemies from cuppes faſhioned of their ſkulls, and who doth worſhip falſe goddes of thunder and ſlaughter. He is knowne to tear his enemyes aſunder with his bare handes, and no Shalden man may looke vpon his blew and heathen viſage without feeling that here is a creature ſent vp from ſome colder and more ſauage Void than any our diuines haue yet deſcribed.
FIFTH, and here, good reader, let your Shalden ſoule take eſpeciall horrour, for now we come to that LORD DAGGERFORD, the ninth of that name, a Baron of this realme, though it doth ſicken the tongue to call him ſo, who was ſeene at the houſe of QVILLIAM on that ſame bloodie blooming in the companie of the Iſhraq murdereſſe, and who hath ſo degraded his noble bloud by the writing of lewde and laſciuious playes for the common ſtage, and by the practiſe of ſuch vnnaturall vices as would offend the modeſtie of this pamphlet to deſcribe, that he hath fallen at laſt into companie befitting his corruption, and is become a coniurer of ſpirites and falſe viſions, a ſoothſayer and trafficker with the Fae, who doth ſummon vnholy ſprites to doe his bidding, who doth caſt illuſions vpon the eyes ſo that honeſt men ſee what is not and belieue what neuer was, who doth preſume to ſcry the hidden purpoſes of Shald through blaſphemous diuination, and who doth offer falſe healing to the ſicke and lame, ſuch healing as comes not from the Flayed Gods mercie but from compactes made with ſpirites beneath the Shroud, and which doth mend the fleſh onely to damn the ſoule. What darke compact binds this degenerate lord to the Iſhraq temptreſſe and her Mooriſh maſter, whether of the fleſh or of the ſoule or of both, this pamphlet leaues to the iudgement of the reader, ſaying onely that thoſe who lie downe with dogges ſhall riſe with fleas, and thoſe who lie downe with infidels ſhall riſe in the Void.
And SIXTH, as though this catalogue of wickedneſſe were not yet full, there is newly come amongſt them one KATHERINE TARLTON, a ſtrolling player and vagrant wench, lately fled from Fryhauen where ſhe did moſt foully MVRDER the virtuous RICHARD PERCY, eldeſt ſonne and heire to the noble Baron of Vmberlow, ſtriking downe that godly gentleman in the very flower of his youthe, for which bloodie crime the ſheriffes men of Fryhauen haue poſted a reward of FIVE POVNDS STERLING for her capture, liuing or dead. And how doth this murdereſſe conceal herſelfe from iuſtice? By the moſt vnnaturall and abhominable deuice of clothing herſelfe in MENS ATTIRE, donning breeches and doublet and cropping her haire, ſo as to paſs amongſt honeſt folk as a boy, in open defiance of the lawes of Shald and the realme, which doe forbid ſuch monſtrous confuſion of the ſexes as is an abhomination before the Flayed God. Marke her well, for ſhe is deſcribed thus: auburn treſſes (now ſhorn or hidden), green eyes that gleame with deuilrie, a wan and freckled countenance as though marked by Azhdraels owne quill, and a lean and meagre frame. She was bred vpon the ſtage, that ſchoole of vice, that nurſerie of vngodlineſſe, where boyes play women and women play at being men, and where the very diſtinction between truthe and falſhood is made a ieſte. Little wonder then that ſuch a creature hath found her naturall home amongſt the Stygian Blades, where murther is a trade and deceite a way of life. And leſt the reader think her ſinnes confined to murther and diſguiſe, let it be knowne that this ſame Katherine Tarlton doth lie in carnall and vnnaturall congreſs with one MOLL WEAVER, who calleth herſelfe ROSE, a common whore and knowne WITCH of the Veluet Sheath, who doth brew charmes and philtres and practice the cunning artes whereby ſimple folk are deceiued and their ſoules endangered, ſo that the murdereſſe and the hag doe ſhare a bedde, and what miſchiefes they worke together between thoſe ſheetes, whether of the fleſh or of the craft or of both, this pamphlet dares not ſpeculate, but leaues to the horrour of the readers owne imagination.
Theſe, then, are the Stygian Blades: a Mooriſh Gypſy, an Iſhraq whore, an Eldrigalian necromancer, a bloodleſſe goblin, a blew pagan, a diſgraced lord whoſe luſts haue led him to treaſon, and a murdereſſe in breeches who hath taken a witch for her bedfellow. And where did they make their neſte? In the VELVET SHEATH, a houſe of common whoredome in the Stewes, where they lodged openly and without ſhame amongſt harlotts and painted Iezebels, ſpending the bloode-money of their victims vpon carnall pleaſure, the Iſhraq woman practiſing her trade alongſide the other whores of that houſe when ſhe was not practiſing murther, and the whole vile companie plotting by Bloomcloſe, between their lecheries, the ouerthrow of our moſt gracious and beloued QVEENE, at the direction of their Panueric maſters, who would ſee this realme brought againe vnder the yoke of the Patriarch, the Shroud itſelf rent aſunder by the Flayers ſeruants, and the fires of Gallowſgreen rekindled for the burning of true Reformiſt ſoules.
BVT MARKE THIS WELL: on yeſtertide, in the darke of the cloſing, the VELVET SHEATH was conſumed by FIRE, and is now nothing but aſhes and blackened timber. Whether this be the righteous iudgement of Kahdiſhor Shald vpon that houſe of ſinne, or whether the flames were ſett by the ſorcerie of the Stygian Blades themſelues, who ſought to burne away the euidence of their treaſons and couer their flight in ſmoke and confuſion, this pamphlet cannot ſay with certaintie, but ſaith onely that where there is ſorcerie there is oftentymes fire, and where there is fire there is the hande of Shald or the hande of Azhdrael, and in eyther caſe the cittie ſhould tremble. For the Stygian Blades are now LOOSE in this cittie, without fixed lodging and without ſhame, and may be hiding in any alley, any tauerne, any warehouſe, any priuate houſe whoſe maſter is fool enough or wicked enough to ſhelter them.
LET EVERY GOOD SVBIECT of this realme looke well to his doores and his familie, and let euery honeſt huſband looke well to his WIFE, for the Iſhraq temptreſſe is abroad in this cittie, and the Mooriſh Gypſy goeth where he pleaſeth, and the blew heathen walketh our ſtreetes as though they were his owne, and the murdereſſe Katherine Tarlton walketh amongſt you in a boys ſkinne, and there is no doore ſo ſtrong nor vertue ſo firme that theſe agents of the Flayer cannot finde their way through it. If you ſhould ſee the Mooriſh Captaine, or the Iſhraq Murdereſſe, or the Eldrigalian Necromancer, or the Ghoſtly Dwarfe, or the Blew Giant, or the Diſgraced Lord, or the Wicked Freckled Trull in Breeches who hath made herſelfe their creature, let him raiſe the hue and crye, and ſuffer not theſe wolues to walke amongſt the ſheepe of Shald one Bloomtyde more.
SHALD SAVE THE QVEENE. SHALD CONFOVND HER ENEMYES.
Printed by Iames Atwood at the Signe of the Hawke on Fount Rowe. Anno Regni Elſpethae XXVIII.
The Stygian Blades
A dark and bawdy late-Tudor secondary world fantasy featuring mages, rogues, trulls—and a sticky-fingered actress—racing to save their own skins (they couldn’t give a clipped farthing about the Crown).
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