Old Mathic Age

First Appearance and Context

The term is invoked when the evolution of the Hylaean Anathem is described: after the destruction of the Halls of Orithena and the Peregrination, the theors later retreated to the maths. At that time, Saunt Cartas adapted an ancient aut into a liturgy that was practiced "all through the Old Mathic Age."

Description and Role

The Old Mathic Age is presented as a named era within the history of the mathic world. Its defining feature in the account heard so far is liturgical: a community-wide aut, derived from ancient practice and formalized by Saunt Cartas, was used throughout this period. The text does not provide dates or boundaries, but situates the age after the theors’ retreat into the maths and before later upheavals.

Later commentary notes that an "ur-Procian" mentality took hold during this age, influencing some Middle Orth translations and selections of Saunt Cartas’s Saeculum; certain passages were softened or omitted, reflecting the sensibilities of that period, not long before the rise of the Mystagogue movement.

Relationships and Functions

• Preceded by earlier traditions associated with Orithena and its ancient auts.
• Followed by changes associated with the Dispersal to the New Periklynes and the Praxic Age, during which the Anathem again fell out of use before later revival.
• Characterized, in later recollection, by an interpretive trend sometimes termed "ur-Procian" that arose just prior to the rise of the Mystagogues.

Current Status

The Old Mathic Age is referenced as a historical label used in liturgical recounting and memory; it is not an ongoing period. Further details—such as precise dates, scope, or additional institutions associated with it—have not yet been disclosed in the narrative available so far.