Sæcular Power

The Sæcular Power is a non-mathic authority recognized by avout as external to the maths. It is described as tolerating and sometimes protecting the maths, though avout note that such protection has not always been consistent. Some avout use the nickname "Panjandrums."

First Appearance and Context

Avout discuss the Sæcular Power when framing relations with the world outside the walls, including in exchanges with visiting artisans before Apert. At the gate opening, onlookers from the outside—Saecular spectators—gathered, and one waved the flag of the Sæcular Power. During walks extramuros at Apert, avout also refer to an "organ of the Sæcular Power," and recall that when a large asteroid once threatened the world, thousands of avout were assembled in a convox to build a ship to deflect it—an episode often cited when explaining why the Panjandrums might seek mathic help in rare circumstances.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Stands outside the mathic orders and Discipline (part of the non‑mathic world), acknowledged by Avout but not governed by them.
• Considered capable of tolerating and protecting the maths, yet—per foundational instruction—also able to "wreak changes" on them; avout resist the notion that it should "reform" the maths.
• Exercises formal judicial authority; accounts specify that Thelenes was executed in an orderly proceeding by the Sæcular Power (as contrasted with mob action).
• Evocation (voco): avout describe an aut in which a fraa or suur may be officially called out from a math to perform praxic work for the Panjandrums. Tradition holds that the Sæcular Power identifies needed expertise across concents, and some avout believe the Ita facilitate this by reporting specialties. In at least one instance, an aerocraft arrived to collect a Hundreder during such an Evocation.
• Maintains orbital assets: avout observations identify multiple satellites in polar orbits; old satellites fail and are replaced by new launches attributed to the Panjandrums.
• Described as comprising multiple "organs," a term used for its bureaus or agencies.
• Recent discussions among avout have included the view that the Sæcular Power may consist of competing factions and that technical developments in the sky could be tied to its praxis; others counter that, even if true, such matters remain outside the Discipline and are not for the maths to pursue.
• Regulant staff and hierarchs take care to prevent Sæcular information from entering mathic records inappropriately, using controlled interviews and careful transcription when interacting with avout.

Relationships

• Saecular world: Distinct from individual Sæcular people, but the authority under which they live; avout refer to both when speaking about conditions outside the walls.
• Math governance: The Warden Fendant monitors reports and distinguishes among outside authorities on the community’s behalf.
• Counterpart claims: The Warden of Heaven is treated by avout as a separate extramuros movement; outsiders sometimes conflate it with the Panjandrums, which avout reject.
• Ita: Some avout voice a traditional belief that the Ita observe and relay information to the Sæcular Power, especially regarding voco; this is recorded as an avout perspective rather than a confirmed practice.
• Historical framing: In internal histories, formal action by the Sæcular Power is contrasted with mob violence and with catastrophic events such as The Three Sacks. In one narrative presented along the Hylaean Way, during a prolonged siege in the Third Sack the Sæcular Power did not come to the concent’s aid.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Symbols: Its flag is recognized; during a gate opening, a spectator displayed the flag of the Sæcular Power among the crowd outside the walls.
• Names and usage: Also called the Panjandrums in informal mathic speech. Avout note that the Sæcular Power’s composition and style "change from age to age," and from the maths’ vantage are mainly tracked during Apert.

Current Status/Location

Active as a recognized secular authority outside the walls. In this age, its seat is on a distant continent. In recent talk within the concent, avout have connected certain restrictions on observation and heightened caution by hierarchs to concerns about Sæcular developments, though no formal proclamation or direct action has been confirmed in the scenes described here.