Originally translated by Bheliom. Alternative source. In German.
The second book of Hamalzah is also some hundred years old, but it describes the unholy influence of Horridahl on our people and the fight of the Quantar Alliance's priests against this unholy influence. Shortly after its discovery it came into the hand/possesion of the Quantar Alliance and was then translated by archpriest Bheliom.
Chapter 1: The Foundation
And it was the time when Horridahl, the Daemon, the fallen brother of Hamalzah, walked among the Quantar people. And he sowed seeds of jeolousy and envy among Hamalzah´s Children. And many Quantar became weak and let themselves be tempted by Horridahl. And a great wave of uncertainty washed over the Quantar people, and there was much doubt among them. And so many out of the Quantar race, even priests and wise men, believed that Hamalzah had abandoned his children, and that the Quantars' end would be at hand. And weakened by these doubts and false accusations the first Quantar started to turn their back on Hamalzah. It was at this time when twelve of the wisest priests of Hamalzah joined in a council to discuss what should be done. Now their names were 'Feiron', that was the wisest and oldest, and 'Chonane', she was unsurpassed in her way with words, and 'Nerida' she was the most 'inventive', and 'Ovaron' who was able to see the future. And the others were 'Wardok', 'Zarine', 'Kardaron', 'Jintara', 'Jekar', 'Zuluf', 'Feraina' and 'Zantor'. And these twelve perceived Horridahl's plan, because Hamalzah enabled them to see. And so it was Feiron that spoke: 'Let us form a group, that spreads Hamalzah's Word among our people, so that they will not doubt and will remain on the right path'. And Nerida spoke 'Let us search then among our Quanatar people for the truest followers of Hamalzah, and let us give them the task -to teach the Quantar people, so that they be enlightened and not fall into Horridahl's trap'. And so Ovarion lead the twelve wise priests to all those that were chosen to enlighten the good people of Quantar. And soon they were many dozen men and women, that walked among the Quantar, and where ever they halted so did the doubts and the jealousy vanish from the Quantars' souls. And joy and happiness came back to them, for they walked on the right path again. And this group of priests and teachers spread throughout the entire empire, and they were called the 'Quantar Alliance'. And everywhere they stopped, there the ghosts of evil vanished and Horridahl had no power over the Quantar anymore. And so these priests influenced the fate of the Quantar people for a long and prosperous time. And the Quantar started to build a colony far away and called it 'Far Quantus' for it was farther away from the homeland than any colony had ever been before.
Chapter 2: The Time of Fear
But soon the Quantar Alliance was to face their first hard task. For Horridahl saw the good they had done and grew angry about it. And so he sent his minions to strike them down. And so it came to pass that lone Priests, that set out on missionary journeys to the newest and farthest outpost of the Quantar, were never seen again. And, because no traveller any longer reached the far outpost, therefore was there no communication with it. The more that this happened, the greater was the feeling of insecurity that came over the Quantar people. And so the High Council of the Quantar Alliance came together in discussion. And after they had through Prayer derived the Wisdom of Hamalzah, they decided to send their most skillful scout, in the best ship, to see what had become of their brethren. Now, the name of the chosen warrior was 'Parin' and the vessel in which he travelled was named 'Star Ice', a craft of unparalleled beauty and the fastest of its time. For, let it be known, it was the first ship to which Hamalzah's Grace and Quantar science had given the device which enhances speed. Thus Parin set out, with the blessing of the Council. And he guided his ship to the outermost regions of the realm - to see what threstened it - and Council heard nothing more from him for a long time.
Chapter 3: The First Book of Parin
Thus Parin, the fastest and most able of the warriors of the Quantar Alliance had been on his way to Far Quantus, the farthest outpost of the Quantar. And his passage was long, fraught and dangerous, for distant travel was still young in those days, and but little of all the wonders of Creation was known. But Hamalzah led his young servant safely through fields of stone; let him recognize all perilous currents and false paths ahead of time; lead him so that he might not lose his Way and become lost in the Void. And after some time Parin reached the Far Quantus region. His scrying devices showed many unknown objects, but the Quantar Station was nowhere to be seen. And only strange noises fell upon his ears. Parin hailed his people, but there was no reply whatsoever. With his heart drowning in concern for his people he ventured deeper into that region that now seemed so dangerous. And as he navigated a path through the unknown objects shewn by his devices he came to notice that these objects were debris of the Quantar Station, that had been so proud and mighty. Then great fear and deep sorrow came upon him. And so Parin searched for any proof of what happened to this great outpost of the Quantar. And he found a larger piece of debris that still seemed habitable. And there he alighted.
Chapter 4: The Fall of Far Quantus
And behold! It was the remains of the heart of the Station that he had found, whence it had been managed and wherein its records lay. And as Parin stepped through the armoured door he came to notice that this part of the Station still seemed to be mostly intact. And he began to search in hope, though with fear crawling upon his neck. But only air that tasted old, and darkness and cold surrounded him. And laboriously he fought himself a way through into the ruin, opening many massive doors by main strength alone. And he traversed long corridors, and hallways and vertical shafts. But only destruction and chaos he saw, and nothing seemed to be usable. And there was no life there whatsoever. Neither were there any corpses, nor human forms, nor animals, nor plants. And as Parin stepped into the very centre he was full of desperation, because he was unable to find an answer to what had happened there. Now, the heart of the Station itself was not so badly damaged as the rest, since it had always been the most stoutly protected part of the outpost. And so it was there that Parin stumbled upon a battered Journal. This he opened and Hamalzah's Grace his eyes were directed to the final entries. And the pictures the Journal's words opened in Parin's mind were Evil made manifest. Parin saw the proud station he knew. He saw ships launching and landing, cargo craft and other vessels - everything seemed normal. And then Parin saw a strange, unknown vessel that slowly approached the Station. And he saw many Quantar ships heading towards the stranger to welcome him. And great anticipation seemed to be among those ships and the outpost's inhabitants, for it could be a messenger of Hamalzah, spreading the word that would bring forgiveness upon the Quantar for what they had done such a long time ago. But behold! As the first ships came close upon the Stranger beams of bright fire burst from the Strange vessel and one Quantar ship vanished in a ball of flame. And whilst the other Quantar still stared horrified upon what happened, more of the strange vessels appeared out of nowhere. And some of them were long and bore tentacles on them like creatures of the seas, while others seemed to be pulling a sail behind them. And they fell upon the startled Children of Hamalzah like the Rach'Tan, the Lion that comes upon the Shaadin-Sheep. And Panic spread among them. Many Quantars tried to flee but were too slow to do so. For the strange ships were fast and spread Fear, Death and Pain wherseoever they turned. And soon Far Quantus was surrounded by glowing wreckage from the many cargo ships and various other vessels that were destroyed. And instantaneously the strangers began firing upon the now defenceless Station. And one fragment of the Station after another burnt down beneath their fire. And so it was that with the destruction of the Station so ended the first attempt by the Quantar to bring life beyond their homeland.
Chapter 5: The Second Book of Parin
There the journal ended. Parin was alone inside the darkness of the former station's centre. And he spent a long time in a period of mourning for his lost brothers and sisters. Suddenly Parin felt something intrude upon his conciousness... for Horridahl crept upon his mind and whispered evil words into it. And Horridahl spake: "See, little Quantar, see what my power is able to do. See what happened to thy brothers and sisters, and know that it will happen to thee, as it will happen to all of Hamalzah's Children. But I offer thee a way of survival. Praise me, my servant, be my tool and I will spare thy life. And with thee all that thou canst bring to me to follow my way. For behold! I am Horridahl. I am Hamalzah's Brother. And I will crush and destroy him, He will drown in my vengeance". But Parin did not listen to the seducer, but prayed instead to Hamalzah ferventlly and with all his faith, which gave him strength. Horridahl saw this and became incensed and he cursed Parin and spake: "Well then, my foolish friend. Thou hast just now decided thy fate. I offered thee the chance to be my emissary. Yea! Even the highest among my Priests wouldst thou have been. But now thou shalt die as the small member of the insignificant Quantar council that thou art". And great fear came upon Parin, and he raced through the echoing corridors, back to his ship. As he reached it he noticed it was not a minute too early, since as he set his course and his scrying devices he saw many ships homing in on his position, and these ships had the same fearful colour as the milk of Noch'Sha... the blood-coloured Lotus. And soon the newcomers' weapons were licking at his armour as Parin made all speed he could and escaped, and then the other vessels aimed at the remainder of the Station's heart which only a little time after collapsed beneath their continuous fire.
Chapter 6: The Priest: Roh
From what Parin had found, many Quantar became afraid about what their future might bring. But also some said that Parin lied. Many were those unwilling to accept the truth and that asked for proof. The crowd called for someone able to rid them of their fear, and that was the priest Roh, he of the great counsel. He believed in Parin's words, but was sent anyway to find proof of thereof or to find proof that Parin lied. Roh himself was a great warrior, and his skills with that type of small ship called the 'Gust' was legendary. And every Quantar had great respect and admiration for him. So Roh left his home, heading for the lost outpost of Far Quantus... But ere he reached the outskirts of the Far Quantus territory he became nervous. He sensed that something evil sought to crawl into his mind to take control and to break his will. So it was that he became very distracted that he almost did not notice the three "objects" heading towards him. Confused he stared at them as they approached more nearly, even to ten thousand paces. Then he was able to discern faintly what it was that was coming towards him, but still he was distracted by the force that sought to take over his mind. Pain, not of the body but of the mind took much of his attention. And he heard a mighty voice that did not come from his surroundings. For the voice spoke directly into his mind instead, saying "Foolish child, surrender thy mind, thou art no match for my power. For behold I, Horridahl, have decided to punish all that praise Hamalzah. Soon Hamalzah will fall.". And Roh realized that Parin had spoken the truth. But that it might be already too late for him.
Chapter 7: Roh's Battle for his Will
And Roh now saw clearly for the first time what it was that was coming towards him. But he did not want to believe what he saw. Nothing that came towards him was like unto anything he had ever seen before. Neither machines, nor anything artificial were they, but yet totally different. They had the form and aspect of creatures from the Seas of Quantar. Verily, living things they seemed and full of pulsating energy. And Horridahl kept up his rape of Roh´s mind and now he spake: "See, thy doom doth come to thee, Priest. Thou wilt not escape them. Thou canst not escape my children". Wherewith the first beam of light cut through the darkness and struck at Roh. But the protection of Hamalzah's Blessing interceded and green lightning surrounded Roh's ship. And suddenly Roh knew that this most likely would be his end. But not easily would he be overcome, nay, not without a fight. Wracked by the pain that Horridahl forced into his mind, he arrayed his ship for battle. Despite of all the anguish he suffered in his mind, he did not give in. The weapons of his enemies lashed out at him, and hither and thither he turned, fast and slow, that they might miss. Roh steered his ship in a wild attempt to flee. But with every maneuver he made, every action that gained some distance between himself and his enemies, so was further torment visited upon his mind. Such agony he bore that he was close to losing consciousness. And with every hit by the enemy, that tore into the fabric of his ship, he realized that his skills alone would not be enough to survive this fight. And therefore did Roh let go his focus on the battle, relying on his experience and instinct, and instead concentrated completely on the fight that raged within his mind. And Roh battled there for a intensely long time, or so it seemed to him. His attempts to visualise the grace and generosity of Hamalzah where continuously whipped away by the hatred and pain that Horridahl forced upon him. His prayers stuttered as he saw stars exploding before his eyes, walking the edge of consciousness. His pleading, crying prayers for Hamalzah where overwhelmed by the din of battle and destruction. But yet, the pain began to recede, and in a corner of his tortured mind he felt... calmness. Far away, but there. And with all his strength he lead his soul into that corner of his mind... away from all the tortured chaos that was around him. New power flowed within him, the closer he got to this peaceful part of his mind. And as he reached it there was a bright light and peace. His torture defeated and his soul now resting peacefully, his concious mind again noticed that he sat at the helm of his ship. And he knew Hamalzah was with him. And behold only a few seconds had passed, seconds that he had thought were hours.
Chapter 8: Roh's Fight
Clear of mind and fortified of heart Roh realised that his advantage over his enemies lay in the greater nimbleness of his light and agile craft. And so he piloted his ship towards the dark horizon, where great rocks reared and blocked the stars. Steering wild, evasive maneuvers through these stone colossi, like a man bereft of reason, he perceived he might yet outlive the day. And then a great noise of destruction assailed his ears as the first of his enemies foundered upon a rock. But Roh could not celebrate it, there were still two of the foul spawn of Horridahl at his back and even now slowly but surely his strength was beginning to fade. And in sooth, his enemies learned fast; for they fired without pause, matching his manoeuvers, and Roh´s battered ship grew ever less responsive. Then, of a sudden, Roh saw something in the distance beyond the rocks. A great ball of pure light it seemed that slowly changed through many colours. Never before he had seen such a thing. He turned his ship towards it, and his enemies followed. And Roh drew closer and ever closer to it, but suddenly, scant moments ere he should have crashed upon it, he turned his ship and gave her her head, deploying at last the same artefact of speed enhancement as had graced Parin's craft. Their wits o'erwhelmed by this sudden manoeuver his enemies held their course straight ahead, and hit the lucent phenomenon. Then to Roh's consternation they were not destroyed. For they disappeared therein without a trace. Neither Roh's eyes nor his scrying devices found aught of them, and nothing was to be seen that might explain what befell. Distraught, Roh set course and steered back towards his home. He had seen enough. Nay. He had seen too much.
Chapter 9: Roh's Return
Roh fled, driven by fear, a feeling he once believed that he did not possess, back to his people. But his mind was already so sickened that his words sounded strange. And he reported all that he had seen, but he did so in speech so garbled that none could make any sense thereof. But his ship's instruments revealed much that he was unable to tell. And the people of Quantar where confirmed in their fears. Roh himself was unable to bear his pain, but there was none that was able to help him. And after some time it fell upon a day that Roh suddenly disappeared. Hamalzah had taken him into His Dominion. And the people of Quantar were in fear, a fear that Horridahl would use to his advantage.
Chapter 10: Horridahl's Plan
On the edge of the Universe, that he had created with his brother, Horridahl made plans for his revenge. His own creation, his 'Conflux', the unliving creatures of the Universe that he had spawned out of Chaos, he vowed to use to corrupt his brother's favoured creation, the Quantar. And he send his foul children against the Quantar, and fire and destruction fell upon their homes. And the Quantar were defenseless against such evil, and Horridahl revelled in his new power. And with every single dead Quantar; with every house burned and every piece of destruction, the fear and despair that beset the Quantar increased. And even though all the Priests of Hamalzah stayed true unto their god and gave hope and support to the Quantar, the disbelief in Hamalzah within the people grew. For they thought they had been abandoned by Hamalzah. And that was the hour which Horridahl had long awaited.