Decenarians

First Appearance and Context

The Decenarians are the ten‑year cohort within a mathic community, referred to informally as the Tenners. They are situated within the broader Concent and assemble at the Mynster, where their space occupies the crowded southwest quarter. In this part of the building, they are described as having a bundle of side‑turrets rather than a full nave; a narrow spiral stair from there reaches the triforium and the bell‑ringers’ place.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Decennial cadence: The cohort observes a ten‑year rhythm and participates in rites and duties centered on the Mynster, including communal actions associated with the great clock. During Apert, their gate opens for a limited period and members may mix with visitors or go extramuros under Discipline.
• Public Apert festivities: During Tenth Night under the canopy, a counted presence of three hundred Decenarians joined twelve hundred visitors and five hundred Unarians.
• Access to the roof: Use of the rooftop instruments on the Starhenge is managed so that, during hours of darkness, portcullises in the high towers are set to give only one cohort access at a time; on some nights, the Tenners have sole use. This is coordinated by a hierarch commonly referred to as the Master of the Keys.
• Home community: The Tenners reside in the Decenarian Math, coordinating intake and progression with neighboring cohorts according to established customs.

Relationships

• Neighbor cohorts: Adjacent to the Centenarian community across a walled meadow; within shared rites at the Mynster, the Centenarians have a more spacious south nave while the Tenners’ corner is tight by comparison.
• Intake and mingling: Around Apert, Tenners are present in mixed gatherings with The One-Offs, visitors, and other avout, using visible cues and conduct to keep groups straight while observing the Discipline.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Assembly space: Their quarter is marked by bulging turrets instead of a continuous nave, with a skinny stair leading up to the gallery level; this arrangement reflects how the cohort’s numbers are accommodated at the edge of the central plan.
• Stair and roof discipline: The upperworks include visible chains and shafts linked to the clock; at night, raised or lowered portcullises determine which cohort may climb to the starhenge, preventing unregulated contact between maths.

Current Status/Location

Active and visible around the current Apert: Tenners assemble in their southwest corner, take part in ceremonies centered on the clock, and, under the nocturnal stair policy, have periodic sole access to the starhenge. They remain based in the Decenarian Math and interact with neighbors and visitors under the usual constraints.