Visitation of Orithena

Context and Naming

Within the ongoing gathering at the Convox (extraordinary mathic assembly), participants refer to the recent Orithena encounter as the "Visitation of Orithena." The term is used in plenary briefings following the event and is treated as the convenient label for what happened at Orithena and what followed.

• Orithena is an ancient center of learning on Ecba; its modern compound included access to the Temple of Orithena (ancient ritual complex). The Visitation label is used by avout (monastic scholars) who were summoned to the Convox and shown official speelies and summaries.

What is known so far

Accounts gathered at the Convox, and from avout present at the site, describe the following elements:

• A probe associated with the Geometers (visiting aliens) descended at Orithena. Participants handled parachute rigging and opened a hatch after equalizing pressure. One injured occupant—described as a woman—died shortly thereafter. A box of vials and the body were preserved as "givens" for transfer to the Convox.
• Fraa Orolo was present and drew an analemma on the beach; shortly before the probe's final maneuvers he remarked, "They must have deciphered my analemma." The specific meaning of this remains under discussion.
• Soon after the encounter, a destructive event overran the area; witnesses speak of a blast followed by the Eruption of Ecba (volcanic event). Survivors were evacuated to a nearby beach where a temporary canvas camp—nicknamed "New Orithena"—was established for decontamination, interviews, and rites.

Immediate response

• The site and evacuees came under the control of the Sæcular Power (worldly authority). Quarantine procedures, chemical hosing, and biomedical intake were imposed; later, representatives from Tredegarh coordinated the transfer of the "givens" to the Convox.
• Convox specialists report that a red laser used by the visitors had a wavelength not matching known natural spectral lines. This, along with tests on recovered artifacts and the preserved body, is discussed as evidence that the visitors' matter differs at the nuclear level ("newmatter"), with the practical implication—per Convox briefings—that cross‑infection risk is low. An Ita (technical order) additionally notes that distinctive odors were detected from the body, implying some interaction with avout olfactory tissue.

Orithena connections

• The event is anchored to Orithena (ancient learning center) and its temple complex. Avout from the Orithena lineage (pre‑Cartasian tradition) used computational chanting in their work at the site; Convox observers recognized related motifs when an Edharian chant echoing that tradition was later sung during Inbrase.

Current status

• The label "Visitation of Orithena" is in active use at the Convox for reference and archival purposes. Investigations into the recovered materials and recordings continue under Convox oversight; public summaries are delivered in plenary sessions.

Notes

• Scope: Speakers sometimes use the label to encompass both the probe encounter at Orithena and the destructive events that immediately followed; others confine it to the initial contact. This page preserves that ambiguity.
• Unresolved: The intent of the visitors and the full import of Orolo's analemma remark remain matters of analysis within the Convox.