Prayers to Summanus

 

Prayer to Summanus

Hail Summanus, thou sovereign potency whose dominion resides within the umbrageous mantle of Night herself, when slumber seals the eyelids of mortals and the terrestrial sphere turns from the diurnal effulgence of bright Sol. Thy presence is proclaimed not by the clarion call of dawn, nor amidst the quotidian bustle under heavens azure, but by the sudden, breathtaking fulguration that rends the Stygian velvet of the firmament.

Whilst the diurnal splendours may claim the thunderbolts of the lofty mountains, thy prerogative, O venerable Summanus, is the startling, unheralded coruscation that illuminates the profoundest obscurity. Thy chariot, drawn perhaps by steeds of shadow-stuff and silent air, traverses the celestial vault unseen, unheard, until the pregnant instant of thy most awful, yet majestic, fulminating revelation. Thy bolts, descending from the star-strewn mystery, strike not with the predictable fury of the noon-tide tempest, but with the chilling precision of Fate’s veiled decree, shaking the very foundations of the somnolent earth, reminding the proud and the heedless of powers that stir when wakefulness ceases.

We, thy humble supplicants, approach thy unseen fane with trembling awe, acknowledging the dread majesty that cleaves the darkness, the power that speaks when silence otherwise reigns supreme. Be thou mindful, O Night-Render, that thy passage through the somnolent hours brings not indiscriminate terror upon our protected dwellings, but serves as a potent hieroglyph writ large upon the heavens, a reminder of the cosmic order that persists even when Phoebus has withdrawn his golden regard. We offer this our measured praise, not with the clamorous exultations that greet the day-god, but with the hushed reverence befitting thy mysterious and nocturnal magistracy. Hail, Lord of the Night’s Fire! Hail, Summanus!

Prayer to Summanus

O Summanus, thou potent Divinity of the nocturnal vault, whose unseen hand doth grasp the levin-bolt when Phoebus Apollo hath driven his fiery chariot beneath the world's rim; thee we invoke! Thou whose presence is heralded not by the clear light of day, but by the sudden, blinding fissure in the sable mantle of night, thee we honour with trembling awe. Thy voice is not the accustomed rumble that shakes the forum under the midday sun, nay, but the deeper, more profound concussion that startles the slumbering city from its repose, a dread reminder of powers that move whilst mortal eyes are closed.

Thy brother, Tinia-Iupiter, doth claim the bright and manifest dominion, his eagle soaring clear against the azure expanse; yet thine is the empire of the hours of mystery, the time of shadows and of sudden revelation. The lightning flash that illuminates the sleeping world for one stark instant, revealing roof and tower in ghostly brilliance ere plunging all back into profoundest black – that is thy sigil, O Summanus, thy terrible and inscrutable annunciation. From thy dark seat, beyond the ken of waking men, thou dost dispense thy fiery judgments or thy startling omens, thy paths unwatched, thy purposes veiled in the solemnity of midnight.

Where the Thunderer of the Capitoline holds sway by acknowledged might, thou dost reign by the power of the unforeseen, the bolt that springs from apparent emptiness, the chilling majesty of the unknown. Thy temple, standing quiet sentinel near the clamour of the Circus, receives the vows of those who fear the unseen perils of the night, who seek protection when darkness lends courage to hidden dangers and divine wrath alike.

Therefore, O Summanus, Lord of the Night's Own Fire, look with favour upon thy supplicants. Avert thy swift and incandescent ire from our hearths and humble dwellings. Grant that the watches of the night may pass in tranquil silence, spared from the terror of thy sudden visitation. May thy power be known, yet tempered with mercy, O thou formidable God of the Starless Sky! Hearken unto us, dwelling in shadow, Master of the Midnight Bolt!