Ecba

Ecba is an island of black volcanic rock dominated by a steep, caldera-topped mountain. Traditions connect its rock and shoreline to the ancient Halls of Orithena; in the present day a resident math (scholars' cloister) or lineage-run cloister oversees a formal excavation there.

Geography and Geology

• The island is approximately round with a single prominent volcano. The north face appears regular but is dangerously steep.
• The south slope exploded and collapsed in -2621, burying the Temple of Orithena and filling in a former harbor; ash and rubble now descend in a broad fan from summit to sea.
• Along the northeast shore are closely spaced coves divided by fingers of hardened magma that once ran down from the caldera. A small offshore islet breaks and diffracts incoming surf, making the waves small but unpredictable. Some coves are shallow and rock-bound, suitable only for the smallest boats.
• Midday conditions can be severe, with intense sun and heat; exposed metal at the compound gates radiates stored warmth.
• Groundwater within the cloister has a noticeable sulfur taste, consistent with nearby geothermal springs.

Settlement and Infrastructure

• Ecba's only notable settlement apart from the compound surrounds the ferry terminal on the northwest coast. A ring road follows the island's shore; distance by road can be several times longer than line-of-sight.
• A solar-powered desalination plant in town makes and sells water; visiting parties have been able to provision there.
• Within the outer wall above the south slope, long-cultivated orchards, vines, and grain fields create shaded paths and provide fruits and oils; irrigation indicates reliable water sources.

Orithena Excavation and Compound

• Two wall systems are in use: an inner wall about twenty feet high of cast fused-ash blocks with large steel gates and flanking bastions, enclosing the living cloister and the main dig; and an outer wall, much lower, that traces far up the mountainside to the caldera, symbolically defining the working lands.
• Inside the inner wall are cloister buildings, including a clock-tower and a small fountain; a broad ramp spirals into a deep excavation pit where the buried structures of Orithena are uncovered.
• Digging is organized in day/night cycles; crews commonly work at night to avoid heat.
• Facilities include a bath house where hot water from volcanic springs is routed through vertical shafts for fast "sluice" bathing.
• A guest lodge set apart from the cloister houses visitors; Saecular (non-mathic world) guests have been permitted to keep jeejahs (handheld communicators) there and to join communal dinners without devices, where they received a formal welcome from a resident host.
• At the gate, interlocutors speak and behave as if the place were a standard math, requesting a vow; a first-hand account from a visiting avout (cloistered scholars) reports entry and residence without a formal vow and identifies the community as a Lineage (pre-Cartesian tradition) rather than a math. Outward presentation as "avout" appears to be a practical cover for their dedicated work.

Ownership and Governance

• Research on the Reticulum (global network) identifies the entire island as a single parcel held by a private foundation akin to a Dowment (endowment-like trust) for roughly nine centuries. Earlier eras saw Ecba as a small principality passed between empires and private owners.
• One visiting account reports that shortly after the Third Sack (major upheaval) a wealthy burger purchased the island and created a dowment (endowment-like trust) with extensive bylaws intended to endure; executive power is described as resting with a mixed Sæcular (non-mathic world) and mathic (monastic scholarly) board of governors.
• A resident named Landasher is portrayed as running day-to-day affairs; the same account inferred he was beholden to no one except, possibly, the dowment that owns Ecba.
• The current project is described as long-term and highly organized, with planning consistent with coordination across Apert (opening interval) cycles and the millennial Convox (council of avout).

Status and Access

• Recent on-site accounts describe camping in an unposted northeast cove that appeared to be neither private property nor a park; later findings about private ownership suggest signage and enforcement may be minimal in some places. Beach tarping against heat and sun was necessary.
• The ferry terminal and town are active; avout (cloistered scholars) wearing bolts and chords have been observed moving openly in public. Vehicles are turned back at the checkpoint below the compound; large steel gates and a small person-door control direct entry, and gatekeepers question visitors.
• A small souvenir shop stands down the road outside the gate toward a nearby cove; visitors have used it as a rendezvous before being escorted inside.

History

• In -2621, an explosive event on the south slope buried the Temple of Orithena and obliterated a harbor once used by early physiologers voyaging from around the Sea of Seas.
• Since the year 3000, a new math at Orithena has been noted as under construction above the excavation, with access works and a fortified perimeter becoming visible from the coastal road.

Recent events

• During the period surrounding the gathering later called the Convox, witnesses describe a sudden destructive incident at Ecba followed by visible eruption activity. On a neighboring island upwind, locals gathered to watch, and emergency aerocraft landed to offload evacuees.
• The area was placed under the control of the Sæcular Power (civil government). Perimeter cordons, decontamination, and interviews were conducted in a tented staging area while authorities managed the response.
• Some speakers refer to the initiating blow as a kinetic "rod" strike (high-velocity projectile) and to a "projectile that had blasted Ecba," with attribution by some to the visiting Geometers (alien visitors). This is presented in dialogue as inference rather than established fact.
• Several aerocraft reportedly ran out of fuel and ditched at sea; evacuees used their standard spheres as flotation until recovered by a second wave of aircraft. A temporary camp nicknamed "New Orithena" was raised on the beach while operations continued.