Bly’s Butte

Overview

Bly’s Butte is a solitary, mesa-like prominence in the arid high country associated with the Concent of Saunt Edhar and named for Saunt Bly. From the nearby settlement of Samble at its base, a dirt road spirals to a compact summit long used for sky observing.

Notable Features

• Layered summit: The small, level top bears masonry and poured-stone foundations from many eras, with remnants of aerial towers and polyhedral domes; the stone is stained ochre by rust from long-vanished structures.
• Hand-built telescope: A reflecting telescope with a hand-ground mirror sits on a high plinth, fitted with a cobbled polar drive for tracking the sky.
• Habitations: The summit presently includes two small habitations. One is a secluded, pinprick math-like cloister associated with Fraa Orolo; the other appears to be a family dwelling linked to Estemard.

Associations

• Namesake: Tradition ties the site to Saunt Bly; some accounts say local slines later turned on him after a period of contact.
• Edharian links: The butte features in Edharian observing lore and in planning and travel narratives connected to nearby maths and Ferals.

Recent Activity

• Following his being Thrown Back, Fraa Orolo used the summit as a temporary refuge; accounts state he kept to the Discipline while there. Later visitors found his work area tidy and unattended, and local sources reported he had headed north.
• Later testimony recalls that, on the night when narrow beams shone down and many avout were Evoked, Fraa Orolo walked down off the butte and set out toward Ecba.

Status/Access

Access is via a rough, four-mile dirt road that spirals up from a lot behind Samble’s ark; it is walkable and passable by sturdy vehicles. The summit remains in intermittent use by locals and visiting avout as a vantage for sky observation.