Fraa Paphlagon

First Appearance and Context

Fraa Paphlagon is first identified during Paphlagon's Evocation in the Mynster at the Concent of Saunt Edhar, when the Primate calls him by name and chapter. The call explicitly names him as "of the Centenarian Chapter of the Order of Saunt Edhar." He answers in the set litany and stands alone before the chancel as the Hundreders sing a rare hymn of mourning and farewell.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Affiliation: a member of the Edharian Order aligned with the Centenarians.
• Actions: After answering the call, he is escorted by visiting officials of the Inquisition from the hall to an aerocraft outside the Day Gate and departs extramuros. Within the community, his Evocation is received as a final parting by his fellow Hundreders.
• Prior absence: As reported by Orolo, he entered the Upper Labyrinth one night after supper and was not seen by him for roughly a quarter of a century, until his later Evocation.
• Departure detail: A contemporaneous photomnemonic sky record shows his aerocraft bearing him toward the Panjandrums; as it passes, Paphlagon's face is visible in a side window, gazing back at the concent.

Relationships

• Teacher of Fraa Orolo: among peers he is credited with having taught Orolo "half of what he knew."
• Alongside Estemard, he is cited as one of Orolo's two teachers.

Descriptions/Characteristics

At the moment of the call he is seen to look upward toward the roof before answering, then proceeds through the litany with composure. Accounts recall that, upon departing the chancel, he cast off chord and bolt, stood naked holding his bolt, and gazed straight up the well—an image that fixed itself in community memory.

Works and Reputation

Before entering the Upper Labyrinth many years earlier, Paphlagon wrote treatises that were sent out during a Decennial Apert. Colleagues describe him as having "two careers": a proper cosmographer in his formal work, and a metatheoretical writer in his spare time whose big‑idea essays drew notice beyond the walls. A Unarian teacher at Baritoe, Suur Aculoä (a Latter Evenedrician), authored two books engaging with his metatheorics. Within the concent, some peers speculate that his Evocation may have been sought for this metatheoretical line of thought rather than for routine cosmography; this is presented as inference, not established fact.

Current Status/Location

Following Evocation, he departs the concent under Inquisition escort by aerocraft toward the Panjandrums. His subsequent assignment and whereabouts are not stated.

Legacy and Influence

Paphlagon’s manner at Evocation—casting off his bolt and chord and gazing up the well—serves as a remembered example; during a later aut of Anathem, observers explicitly compare another avout’s stance and departure to his.