Encyclopaedia Elyden updates vol 4

Here's the 4th 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.    

PARTHISAN LEATHER: Parthis is famed for the quality of its leather, particularly that found in its S and S - E plains.

CINNABAR WASTES, the: unattributed supranatural wastelands in N - E Cuth, along the border with Rhea, that features heavily in passages of the Mythologia Elyden. The region is known for its odd properties.
   It is said the region was once home to an edifice of singular beauty and purpose, crafted by a Demiurge aeons before the Age of Mortal Life, from a substance that is yet unknown. Over unnumbered millennia this great edifice fell victim to the ceaseless battering of the elements and the inevitable crawl of continents and crumbled, becoming buried and forgotten, but the deep red ore seeped into the earth, changing not only the colour of the soil there, lending the region its name, but also changing its properties. The flo. of the area drink from this soil, becoming strong and imbuing within those the sup on them a closeness to the Materia Omna that is unmatched. The effects are intense and taxing on the body, often leading to seizures, comas, and death.
   Attempts have been made over the ages to capitalise on this phenomenon, and the city-state of Acacinnath came close, but ultimately failed, but the effects are just too unstable and powerful to harness. A few rare individuals have survived ingesting the resin of such plants, and their descendants would go on to fund the nation of Cuth, and remain in power to this day as the powerful Acacinnathi Dynasty.  

VITHIMRIS HUNARCH: (B. 1947 - D. 2013 RM) Korahcani architect most famous for designing the Cathedral of St. Aalissa of the Martyred in his home city of Korachan.

ST. AALISSA: (B. 1274 - D. 1201 RM) Korachani saint, commonly recognised as a patron saint of the martyred and the unjustly accused.  

CATHEDRAL OF ST. AALISSA OF THE MARTYRED: large cathedral in the city of Korachan, in Korachan. Construction began in 1983 RM and ended 231 years later in 2214 RM, based on designs by imperial architect Vithimris Hunach. It is famed for its brick dome of heptagonal cross-section. The dome is 490-ft. high and 210-ft. wide and is notable for its double shell, between which are staircases and secret rooms leading upwards to the uppermost cupola. In 2758 RM it was discovered that an org. was meeting in secret within the dome and was apprehended by the iron guard, who guards it to this day. 

ACACINNATH: ancient city-state, possibly empire, thought today to be composed of humans, shie and keratin, in what is now far E Llachatul, across the border between Cuth. Sometime in the Fourth Age it used wealth and influence acquired through its powerful mercantile caravans in an attempt to tame the potent supranaturally-enhancing effects of the nearby Cinnabar Wastes. For a while it succeeded, and its ruling plutocracy gained great power and wisdom over the Materia Omna. The fate of Acacinnath is ultimately unknown, but it collapsed some decades later, without later mention.
   Centuries later, in the Fifth Age, a pair of individuals with traits similar to those of the old Acacinnathi rulers would emerge, eventually going on to fund the so-called Acacinathi Dynasty, which rules Cuth to this day  

DYNASTY, ACACINNATHI: ruling family in Cuth since * RM, following the mysterious appearance of two individuals, with traits similar to those of the old Acacinnathi rulers that, in the Fourth Age learnt how to exploit the supranaturally-enhancing effects of the Cinnabar Wastes. They abolished any links to Nergaal and rule the insular nation with an eye towards preserving their culture and identity without interference from without.  

VOID: also ‘the First Otherworlder’. In many myt. of Elyden, Void is considered to be the first otherworlder and survives to this day, wandering the world, observing extant life with an alien detachment that few others can understand.

FIRST OTHERWORLDER, the: see Void.

BLACK FAUN: bounty hunter of unknown origins operating across c. Llachatul known to have orthoses legs. He is large, thought to be altered if not wholly incepted in a birthing vat. Though not part of any institution, he hunts persons of interest across the empire and beyond, bringing escaped fugitives to justice, rarely asking questions as long as he received any bounties he believe should rightfully be his.  

BASTION OF SUNS: 1. region in Meniscea named after the fortifications found there, where strange supranatural phenomena make it look as though there are 3 suns in the sky. This is an ancient phenomenon first recorded in the Third Age of Mortal life and is still observed to this day.

2. Fortifications in the above region in Meniscea. The fortifications are ancient, likely predating the naming of the above region. Little is known of their history, though they are though to date to the Third Age of Mortal Life, if not earlier.

PHRONTISTERY, the: Org. series of high-society drinking clubs common across coastal cities in the Inner Sea, and, less commonly, beyond, mostly within the High-empire of Korachan, the Reformed-empire of Sarastro and the Secular Republic of Parthis. They are gentlemen’s clubs that promote free-thinking and scepticism of accepted beliefs. In 3769 RM the clubs created the League of Explorers - an org. that funded expeditions to far-flung parts of Elyden, with an eye towards of discovering forgotten or hidden wealth and knowledge. The League of Explorers had its hand in many events during the events of the Great War, and it is thought that it both tried to prevent the war and encourage it during different periods.

REPUBLIC BOTANICAL GARDENS, the: botanical gardens, just outside Tethra, in Parthis, known for its gigantic glass and cast iron greenhouses and large variety of flo. From across Elyden and, on a lesser scale, fau. 

MASK OF HETEPHERES: made of mercury and Atr. treated to remain ‘solid’ though its surface is fluid. Though named after the Queen of Venthir, it’s neither its creation nor ownership can be truthfully attributed to her. The name likely originated in Parthis and is likely intended to evoke an exotic feel. Its origins are unknown, though it is though to have been made in the Far Hemisphere by craftsmen skilled in Fir. metallurgy. It is currently in the private collection of House Shamush in Cathago, and is open to viewing by scholars by appointment only.

SHAMUSH: patrician house largely based in Mharokk and Lidea, known for its mining industries, largely sulfur and lead.