Convox

Definition

Convox is a rare, named mass‑assembly—and the designation for its host Concent (walled scholastic community)—when many avout (cloistered scholars) are Evoked (formally summoned to depart) together to travel under Peregrin (sanctioned travel outside walls) while preserving elements of the Discipline (rules of avout life) in their cohort. A mathic dictionary defines it as a large convocation of avout from maths and concents across the world, normally celebrated only at a Millennial Apert (thousand‑year opening) or following a sack (attack on a concent), but also convened in highly exceptional circumstances at the request of the Sæcular Power (worldly authority). It contrasts with Voco (rite naming departures).

Context and Usage

• Designation in practice: A host concent becomes “a Convox” when it is named as the receiving site and begins functioning as rendezvous and staging for Evoked groups, coordinating departures while upholding the spirit of the Discipline outside the walls.
• Scale and attendance: Accounts describe thousands gathered in the Unarian nave at Tredegarh during a Plenary, with more arriving as proceedings began.
• Current accounts: Saunt Tredegarh is described as a “giant Convox,” receiving Evoked avout from multiple concents, assembling small travel groups, and dispatching them under Peregrin with low‑visibility habits (for example, moving in small cohorts and avoiding conspicuous garb).
• Assembly format: Convox‑wide announcements and briefings are delivered in Plenary (all‑hands session) held in the nave of the Unarians (mathic order with large nave), where rules are relaxed and recorded presentations may be shown. At Tredegarh, a Plenary took the form of an extemporaneous dialog with an eyewitness, led by a loctor (interlocutor), using a raised stage, lights, and a speely projection so the whole nave could follow.
• Working sessions and inquiry: Speakers say that the Convox has been “crunching numbers, analyzing samples, [and] perusing the speelies” relating to the Visitation at Orithena. In the same Plenary, participants pressed for details not captured in recorded speelies, reflecting the Convox’s role in gathering, testing, and debating evidence and interpretations. Some frame addressing the visitors and their implications as “the whole point of this Convox,” while others argue for foundational inquiry (for example, consciousness) as relevant to that work.
• Participation and presence: Sæcular officials attend some sessions and engage directly with avout in the nave. Practical staging—scaffolds, platforms, lights, microphones, and a large projection—has been used to make proceedings visible and audible to the massed assembly.
• Roles and logistics: Within the Convox’s dining arrangements, attendees may be paired in doyn–servitor roles at messals, and placements among different messals or dowments can shift with hierarchs’ decisions; such shifts are sometimes described as political maneuvers or rebukes.
• Induction of arrivals: Newly arriving peregrins undergo Inbrase (named ritual service), which formally enrolls them into the Convox; groups often offer a short musical piece as a symbolic first contribution before taking up assignments.
• Gatekeeping language: At Orithena, a gate speaker says “No Convox is summoned hither. We do not look for peregrins,” clarifying that some communities explicitly decline to host a Convox or receive travelers under Peregrin.
• Destination and routing: The same exchange refers to someone “Evoked, and despatched to Convox at Saunt Tredegarh,” indicating formal routing of Evoked cohorts to a designated host.
• Messaging and coordination: Travelers heading toward the Convox have been observed to carry letters addressed to named contacts there; a Ringing Vale cohort en route via Mahsht agreed to bear such notes. This reinforces the Convox’s role as a clearinghouse for organizing and relaying information among avout on Peregrin.
• Millennial milestones and other triggers: Dialogue cites a “Millennial Convox of 3000” as a long‑cycle gathering that disseminated plans and standards across orders; see Millennial Convox. Other asserted triggers include post‑sack regroupings and requests by the Sæcular Power.
• Perceptions and debate: Speakers describe a Convox as inherently political and note that decisions by compromise can yield awkward results. Some also worry about concentration risk and discuss contingency plans to disperse if needed.
• Requests and retrievals: Travelers have been asked to fetch particular scholars so their ideas could be shared at the Convox, showing that recruitment may target individuals with relevant insight.

Notes

• Rarity: Usage treats Convox as exceptional; lists in speech include only a handful across history (for example, millennial markers and post‑sack regroupings). These are assertions within dialogue, not a complete, verified chronology.
• Practice: Travel norms during a Convox emphasize moving in groups, coordinating quietly, and preserving elements of the Discipline outside the walls. The host concent functions as a clearinghouse—receiving, recording, assembling, and dispatching cohorts.