Encyclopaedia Elyden Updates Vol 9

Here's the 9th Encyclopaedia update for your perusal!

Please  let me know what you think and let me know if there's any mistakes or typos as these entries are heading straight to the Encyclopaedia at the end of the month :)  

You can keep up with these by looking for the  'Encyclopaedia Entries' tag.  

If you have any queries about any of the following entries, please don't hesitate to ask :)
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ABARIS: Golden-tailed comet that was identified and named after the 2nd century Almagest astronomer Ragel Abaris.  

ABIGER: (B. 3959) Korachani general during the time of the Great War, who commanded 60 legions during the conflict. He was, before the war, a lecturer in the Imperial Military Academy.

ABYSMAL MARROW: the centre of the Black Fountain, occupying a radius or around 10-miles and area of some 300-square-miles, that has been described as ‘the absence of space.’ Few have observed it due to the difficulty in reaching it and the inimical nature of the surrounding regions. See Vol IV: the Nullambit, the Black Fountain, and the True Meniscus.

AELLEAD: also the Great Shaper, the Light and the Dark, the Being of Two Halves and many others. In the ancient Rel. and Mth. of Elyden, the name given to the creator of the universe, the Demiurges, and the sower of the mortal seeds from which were born the Two-and-Twenty mortal races. No true source exists for the name and little etymological evidence can be found to support its appearance prior to the Third Age. Some agree on two common roots: the ‘æ’ ligature, once commonly used in words describing Otherworlders of a morally dark persuasion; and ‘illi’ being used in words with the opposite meaning, hence, ‘the Being of Two Halves’ or ‘the Light and Dark’, being two common epithets. See Vol IV: the Mythologia Elyden.

DIAS OF GATEWAYS, the: see Ehersabbash.

DREAMSTEALER: common vernacular used for those shapers (as often trained as they are untrained) with abilities to ‘read’ or ‘steal’ the dreams of others. Conversely, some are also able to plant specific dreams and nightmares. See Vol IV: Other Forms of Mysticism. 

EHERSABBASH: also ‘the Dias of Gateways’. Ancient stone platform with 9 doorways in the hinterlands of W Mharokk, said to have once granted those passing through them to specific locations across Elyden. Such claims are disputed, though ancient sources also state the same. The site is relatively popular with affluent tourists and scholars who try to this day to ascertain the gateways’ true nature. The ruins of a metropolis surround the dias, though little is known about it.   

EPIC OF SAAKAN, the: Vaalkan war epic dating back to its pre-imperial days. Originally a series of oral poems and legends, it was collected into three volumes in c. -20 RM. Traditionally, the epic is expanded with a new verse following any military victory, with the story woven into the existing narrative.

Following Korachani subjugation of the ntn. in 19 RM imperial iconoclasts attempted to suppress the texts, but all were failures. Eventually they adapted the texts, slowly replacing them with corrupted versions that celebrated the works of the Archpotentate Malichar and the growth of his empire.

A few original copies are known to exist, most of them in private collections or behind lock-and-key, and today few Vaalkans are aware of the full story and only know what portions are passed down orally through family tradition.

ESHEIHA: also ‘the First and Last word’. In Gnothi mysticism, a word said to mark both the beginning and end of the Elyden. The word itself is unknown to anyone, and many gnothi ascetics devote their lives to achieving enlightenment in the hopes of learning the word, even though it is unknowable. The paradox forms a major part of a particular sects beliefs, which teach individuals to make peace their relative powerlessness.  

FIRST AND LAST WORD, the: see Esheiha.

IMPERIAL MILITARY ACADEMY, the: boarding school and college in the marshes N - W of the city of Khadon, where Korachani nobility are educated and groomed for future placements within the upper echelons of the Imperial military. 

MOA: fau. Giant flightless predatory bird once native to most of N Sammaea, though now dwindling in numbers and now found largely to the W of the Surrach and in Sepahaunat, where they have largely escaped the slow death that had befallen their larger kin than once dominated the Sammaean mainland. See Vol II: Reghon Haghorin.

PEOPLE'S BREAD, the: bread is a right of all people in Sarastro, including slaves. The right was hard-won following a period of civil uprising in 3154 RM, and the saying ‘the people’s bread’ is now commonplace in the Reformed Empire, where all residents are entitled to a loaf of bread a day. The bakers of Argea are famed for their size and industry. 

PILASTERS OF KAMAL MACHARMA: seven large pilasters measuring 100-ft. high, 60-ft. wide and 15-ft. Deep, floating over the E waters of the Sea of Mira, 5-miles off the coast of Ossiel in W Meniscea. The pilasters have stood there unchanging for as far as records go back and feature in many legends and myths of the region, and appear in Korachani accounts from c. 1940 RM. They are largely untouched by the passage of time and have defied most attempts at exploration and categorisation. Their nature has led most to claim that they were created and erected by an unknown Demiurge, though there is no evidence of this.

RAGEL ABARIS: (D. 208 RM) Almagesti astronomer who in c. 172 RM identified a golden-tailed comet that crosses Elyden’s N skies every 154-years - the comet was named Abaris after him.

SHUREIU, THE ONCE-GREAT: stump of a giant redwood in N Jurras. It was cut down in 2331 RM and signified the end of the great redwood logging in the region. It was the largest  such tree ever felled in Sammaea and had a circumference at the base of 180-ft. And was said to be over 450-ft. tall. 

Its base was into foot-thick slices and gifted to all the imperial governors and other allies of the Korachani empire  as a gift by the Council of Seven. 

The fates of individual disks differ greatly, and some remain in the possession of the extant rulers, where others have been cut up and spread across the Inner Sea and beyond, and in some cases their sad origins are unknown to their current owners. 

STUMP OF SHUREIU, the: see Shureiu, the Once-great.

VARU ZURVA: large city in Gnoth, known for its caste of ascetes who keep track of time. The centre of their monastery is composed of a large mechanical clock that is said to record the passage of planets and other celestial bodies in the night sky as well as hundreds of different calendars, alive and dead (Pop. c. 40,000)