Thrown Back

Thrown Back is used in two closely related ways within the mathic world: as a state of having been “Thrown Back” from a math into the Saeculum, and as a type‑label applied to such a person when assessing their stance or influence (often rendered as “Throwback” when used as a label).

First appearance and context

The term is used by an avout during a kitchen conversation inside the concent, contrasting a possible “Throwback‑turned‑Mystagogue” with an alternative label (“Bottle Shaker”) while discussing an extramuros movement centered on the Warden of Heaven. A headword entry in The Dictionary also notes, as a historical aside, that shortly before the Third Sack all of the Knights of Saunt Halikaarn were “Thrown Back,” a confusion later feeding Sæcular tales about Incanters.

Definition and rationale

• Thrown Back denotes someone expelled from a math—Anathematized—and thereby living extramuros. Being Thrown Back separates the person from the artifacts and auts that are kept within the maths; Saunt Bly is cited as an example of someone living alone after being Thrown Back. See Saunt Bly.
• As a label, Throwback is used in assessments such as “Throwback‑turned‑Mystagogue,” with the caution that such figures can be dangerous: they may be angry and intent on returning to the place that cast them out, seeking to even the score. In this sense, the term is contrasted with “Bottle Shaker,” which is portrayed as more easily impressed and less dangerous.
• As a sanction, the Warden Regulant may cite “being Thrown Back” as a possible outcome for a serious breach, underscoring the severity of the measure.
• After an author has been humiliated and Thrown Back, their writings may be examined by the Inquisition and, if judged to be the right kind of “almost but not quite” material, further refined and incorporated into later editions of The Book used for penance.

Relationships and references

• Mystagogue: linked by the phrase “Throwback‑turned‑Mystagogue,” indicating a posture or role that can make a Throwback more hazardous.
• Warden of Heaven: the label arises while considering that extramuros figure’s stance and influence.
• Historical note: The Dictionary mentions that, shortly before the Third Sack, the Knights of Saunt Halikaarn were Thrown Back, and that confusion in Sæcular entertainments later blended them with “Incanters.”

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Tone and observance: Witnessing someone being Thrown Back is treated as grave; avout remark that a crowd gathered for such a sanction would not be chatty, a contrast used to infer when an assembly was for a different aut.
• Usage in admonition: Avout warn one another that serious violations could lead to being Thrown Back, reinforcing its role as one of the community’s most severe sanctions.

Current status

No formal, dictionary‑style definition is provided beyond these usages. Both “Throwback” (type label) and “Thrown Back” (state) appear in the same discussions, and the term’s nuance may develop with further references.