[1]I woke the next morning to the sound of men playing in a field. When I opened my eyes, Jesi was sitting nearby, staring at me with curiosity. Seeing that I was awake, he summoned his shimmering tablet and began touching it with rapid waves of his hand.
From where I sat, it looked like Jesi was drawing red lines on a map. He put his tablet away and walked to me with an outstretched hand. I took it, and he helped me to my feet. He said today would be important. A young woman would visit us for breakfast, and by midday, the walls of the city would crumble.
Jesi pulled out his metal food box and served us eggs and oats. He even set a plate aside for his guest. Just after breakfast, a beautiful young woman approached our camp. Upon seeing Jesi, she ran to him and threw herself at his feet, thanking him for what seemed like a thousand times. She said she hadn’t felt this energetic, so full of life, since her younger years.
I almost tripped over my own feet hearing that—she was clearly young, so why was she speaking as if she had aged? I hadn’t seen her the day before, but there was something familiar about her. Perhaps she was the old woman’s granddaughter.
Jesi pulled out a disc of polished metal and placed it before her. The woman gazed at her reflection in disbelief, touching her face to verify what she saw. She screamed, but not in horror. It was a scream of pure joy. She ran around the camp yelling, “I’m young again! I’m young again!”
Jesi smiled, but there was no warmth in it, and asked her to calm herself. Obediently, she bowed low before him. He looked at us and reminded us of the old woman he helped yesterday. “Easing her pain would have been a waste,” he explained. “She might’ve died soon after. I needed a lasting symbol of my power. And what better than making an old woman young again? Now she has a whole life ahead of her… again.”
Turning to her, Jesi said, “I have given you a new life. Now, you must live it in my service. First, witness as I destroy this city and scatter its people to the four corners of the world. After that, you will travel far and wide to spread news of my greatness.”
He admired her youthful form and added, “You will soon notice that men desire you again. Enjoy your body as much as you like.”
Then, his expression darkened. “Now go. Sit upon the hill overlooking the city.”
She ran to do her god’s bidding.
***
We packed up camp and hiked back to the city. Everything seemed normal. There was no sense of urgency among the townsfolk. Jesi laughed at this. His laughter was so loud it echoed off the city walls, making the very ground tremble.
It wasn’t just a laugh. It was a laugh that delighted in what was about to happen, a cruel sound that felt like a mockery of the lives within those walls.
The city grew silent.
In a voice like thunder, Jesi commanded the city to cast its leaders over the walls if they wished to be spared. If not, their fate would be sealed. He gave them an hour.
Not long after, we saw a small body tossed over the walls. Jesi summoned his tablet and stared at it for a few moments before asking for two volunteers to follow him.
Jesi and the men approached the wall, walking unharmed through a barrage of arrows, protected by his shimmering curtain of light. They returned with the broken body of the missing dwarf we had sent to rally the people to worship Jesi.
Jesi looked at the body with sadness, but it was the sort of sadness one shows over a broken tool rather than a fallen comrade. He instructed us to protect the body while he dealt with the city. Turning back to the walls, he roared with fury, proclaiming that the city would be no more.
He summoned his shimmering tablet again and touched a red circle. The tablet disappeared, and a deafening light from the heavens lanced across the city walls. The sound was like a thousand thunderclaps crashing together. The ground shook, and the stone walls crumbled as if they were nothing but dust in the wind. The air filled with the cries of the dying and the rumbling of falling stone, but Jesi stood there, smiling, basking in the destruction.
Flames erupted from within the city, casting an orange glow that grew brighter as the smoke rose to blot out the sun. I could hear the distant screams of those trapped in the collapsing streets. They screamed for help, for mercy, but Jesi’s eyes were cold as he watched the chaos unfold, enjoying the spectacle he had orchestrated. The smell of burning flesh reached us, thick and choking.
We carried the body of our fallen comrade back to our ships and stowed him aboard. Jesi followed us with his magic chest. He used a vial of grey goo on the dwarf’s wounds, then brought out a straight wand that seemed to heal them.
As night fell and the city’s glow illuminated the sky, Jesi’s magic chest began chirping like a cricket. He pulled out two strange objects that resembled jellyfish and placed them on the dwarf’s chest. The body twitched and writhed under their influence until Jesi removed them.
With a smile, he turned to us and said, “Now, we wait.”
***
The next morning, I woke to the sound of laughter. Jesi was examining the dwarf, using strange tools that seemed to tickle out uncontrollable mirth. After the exam, we shared a joyful breakfast, but our meal was soon interrupted by the approaching rumble of a thousand footsteps.
Survivors from the destroyed city trickled toward the harbor. When they saw Jesi standing at the dock, they fell to their knees, weeping and begging for his forgiveness. They wailed in sorrow, but Jesi just gazed at them, unmoved, as if their suffering was of no consequence.
The collected voices washed over us and then fell silent at his raised hands.
In his thunderous voice, Jesi proudly declared that their city was destroyed and that none would live on its ruins for a thousand years. He commanded them to resettle in the surrounding cities and to worship him as the one true god. Wherever they went, they were to build shrines in his honor.
The survivors praised him for his mercy and swore to follow his commands.
Jesi returned to my ship and pointed in the direction we should sail.
As for the young woman, I never saw her again. But I hope she lived a full life… again.
[1] Diary of Miracles (Jesi Saga)
This story is part of a collection of narrative entries, eyewitness records, and sacred illustrations documenting the rise and fall of the false god known as Jesi. This account spans many pages and includes artistic depictions and individual miracle stories recorded by a witness whose voice grows ever more strained under the weight of truth.
This story is part of one continuous chronicle. Treat each section as a chapter within the same diary. Each page is part of a fragmented gospel of a false messiah, exposed through the steady hand of one who dared to witness.
As you read, keep in mind that this is not a story of salvation. It is a cautionary record, and like all cautionary tales, its lesson may arrive only after it’s too late.
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