Encyclopaedia Elyden updates vol 2

Here's the 2nd 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. 

DEFENDER OF THE HELIX:see Heliarch.

SHRINE OF ORAST: also ‘Shrine of Growth’. An idol-like altar in a plateau in the N - W of the Kharkharadontid desert in a region of known Atr. activity. It is made from a soft stone that is clammy and oily to the touch. The area immediately surrounding the altar is covered in thick moss, lichen and vines, and the air, which reeks of sweet sickly decay, is replete with small swarming insects that never abate. It is thought to have once been used for Atr. rituals, possibly by fourth Age plagi.

SHRINE OF GROWTH: see Shrine of Orast. 

ARCHAEOMANCY: in the Korachani empire, the study of ancient forms of shaping and other mystical arts. Archaromancers are often explorers and dare-devils, as much scholars and academics, given the remote and often hostile terrains their ruined lore may be lost in.

FUNGAL FOREST, the: see Sophamyk. 

SOPHAMYK:also ‘the Fungal Forest’. Otherworldly forest in Sammaea, comprised of gigantic chitinous plants that are more akin to giant fungi than anything else. The forest covers an area of some 6,000-miles and the air within is musty and close, retaining heat and moisture. The remnants of a previous natural forest can be seen here beneath the fungal mass, rotting at an unnaturally slow rate and held together by the subterranean ‘roots’ of the extant forest. Some postulate that the entirety of Sophamyk is a single organism, though there is little proof behind this. 

The entire region is home to strange barely-glimpsed creatures that have adapted to life amongst the fungal forest. The region was explored once by a Korachani expedition in c. 2980 RM, bringing back wondrous examples of flo. And fau. Though all other expeditions to Sophamyk were unsuccessful.

MORIBUND EMPIRE, the: name commonly given to the Korachani empire by novelists and poets. The term was particularly common between the 29th and 33rd centuries, when a particular style of epic overindulgent writing was common. The term was most popularised by the writer Blaneschi Wallia in c 2910 RM with the release of his epic work, A Coronach to Elyden. 

A CORONACH TO ELYDEN: epic poem written by Blaneschi Wallia in c 2910 RM that popularised the term Moribund Empire, to refer to the Korachani empire. Though the cumbersome text is now largely ignored the term remains somewhat popular, especially in land S of the Inner Sea.

BLANESCHI WALLIA: (B. 1875 - D. 2928 RM) Azazemi poet known for penning A Coronach to Elyden.

SLOW DEATH, the: term used by scholars for a period of myt. In the ancient his. Of Elyden. When the Demiurges created life they thought little of the ecological niche that specific creatures would fill. The first centuries of life in Elyden were rife with bloody struggle as different creatures fought for specific terrains and food. Many died to superiorly-designed cre. Or simply because the their preferred habitats were saturated with competition. Others managed to evolve and develop in different climates. Many exotic creatures, including dragons, are thought to have been killed off by more adaptable or fortunately designed creatures. 

DALAK HOTHABBIR: in mth. of ancient Elyden a scion of the Demiurge Talantehut. Dalak Hothabbir is described as a slender giant with 4 gangly arms. One pair of arms has 6 digits, and the other has 5, with an extra joint, one of which has been removed. Its face is forever concealed beneath a featureless white mask that is thought to depict in fine bass relief upon its surface a map of the otherworld. 

The Scion Dalak Hothabbir is featured in many ancient accounts, including the Mythologia Elyden, as an arbiter of the dead upon the material realm, inspecting the soul pearls of those who perished soulless, destroying those belonging to mortals who lived a worthy life and creating artificial spirits from their ground remains, which are bound to the material realm in a manner similar but not identical to the way in which naturally-formed spirits dwell in the otherworld.  

TEMPLE OF THE JANISAARS: bombastic cathedral of the Church of the Machine, with six adjoining chapels (two of which are dedicated to Queen Hetepheres and the Archpotentate Malichar, respectively). It is famed for its lavish baroque interior, and for the intricate marbled tombs that cover the entirety of its floor, each of which is occupied by a famed janisaar and their families.

VENTHIRI ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS: expansive gardens forming a large part of the W-outskirts of the city of Hetepheropolis in c Venthir. The gardens are known for their exotic collection of flo. and fau. many examples of which come from distant parts of Elyden.

PANOPTICUS, the: ancient observation post of great power, buried in a temple in W Sammaea. It was likely crafted by a Demiurge, mentioned in the Mythologia Elyden. It takes the form of a large hollow sphere (20-ft. in diameter, though in some accounts, it is claimed to be as large as 66-ft. In diameter). The interior of the sphere depicts the surface of Elyden in such miniscule details as to be unimaginable to mortal eyes. Various methods of magnification have been used, revealing astonishing levels of detail, making some believe that the sphere is an exact replica of Elyden, its details shifting to match those of Elyden herself. The sphere is thought to have been buried by an earthquake in c 1600 RM, the temple-complex surrounding it destroyed.  

CARNIVALE TECHNARCANE: steampunk carnival in Parthis with steampunk elephants etc, cute displays of technarcana, some shaping, though mostly technaracana and fleshaping.

LEVELLED CITY, the: - large city levelled by an earthquake. Survivors and refugees scatter, some integrate with neighbouring people and other remain nomadic to this day, garnering an undeserved reputation. They are shunned. The remnants of the city are ignored, left to rot. 1000 years later most of it is overgrown, buried, covered in scrub, with only small echos of the old city remaining. Many have explored it since then, and korachani archeologists have emerged from the area with vast treasures, though it is not without perils - tremors are common and cave-ins and collapses follow them. And many chthonic beasts now dwell there, not to mention the dishonoured descendants of the nomads of the original city, who have become little different to degenerates after drinking tainted water.

FELORS: fau. cat/bear with small face, big shoulders and large pointy ears. Scavenger, very powerful, sometimes brawls with large sloths if very hungry. Savannahs.  

PRINCESS: Within the palaces and courts of Venthir a common term for handmaidens and female servants, more specifically those working in direct contact with Queen Hetepheres. She originated the term as a nickname for her servants, all female, and dresses them in baroque clothing befitting the high histories of Venthir and the Venathi empire. The princesses are drawn from favoured families, and some noble households waste their fortunes on elevating the profile of their daughters, hoping to catch the eye of the sphinx queen’s envoys through adverts, parties, sponsorships and so-on. 

OFFICE OF EXORCISM: org. department within the Korachani empire, specialised with exorcising people and places of tainted spirits. It has close links with the Church of the Machine as well as the Grigorian and Avenethi Fraternal Orders, though operates independently of either, and answers only to the Seven. Its headquarters are situated in the city of Elaarh in c Laaskha, though it has annexes across the Korachani empire.