Arks

First Appearance and Context

Arks are referenced as recognized affiliations in the world outside the maths (monastic institutes), used to characterize blocs of belief or identity. The term is first attested in a public address during a communal Tenth Night supper in Apert (periodic opening of maths), where the speaker contrasted “other Arks” with “no Ark,” implying multiple, named affiliations in current outside‑world discourse.

Concept and Description

“Ark/Arks” denotes a family of parallel affiliations—often confessional communities—rather than a single institution. Usage suggests that people can choose to join different kinds of arks to be part of a project intended to carry a way of life forward; membership is not universal. Capitalization marks it as a proper identifier. Specific governance, rites, or membership rules are not detailed in the present material. Some labels are comparative (for example, groups described as “counter‑Bazian”), while others map to named traditions (e.g., an “Ark of Baz”).

Symbols and Identity

• Some Arks use the “Triangle” as a central emblem; an avout (cloistered scholar) compared a revered diagram’s personal importance to him with “the way the Triangle is to certain Arks,” indicating a symbolic or devotional role for the Triangle among those groups.

Use in Current Discourse

• Communications: Members receive informational broadcasts referred to as “casts” (informational broadcasts). These circulate explanations or guidance about current events.
• Logistics and mutual aid: Local networks connected with arks can mobilize practical support. Following a large Voco (formal summons) that sent many avout (cloistered scholars) into the Sæculum (outside‑world civic sphere), volunteers affiliated with arks offered vehicles and drivers to help move the Evoked toward their destinations. Accounts suggest that many of these volunteers identified with religious arks, including groups described as counter‑Bazian and at least one driver presenting as a Deolater.
• Positioning: Arks are commonly discussed as part of extramuros civic and religious life, contrasted with mathic norms; this is consistent with the term’s use in broader Sæcular discourse.
• Representation and civic standing: Leaders of Arks are included among those representing Arbre at formal diplomatic assemblies aboard the visiting ship, appearing alongside avout, Ita, citizens, military officers, and government figures.

Related Concepts and Affiliations

• Bazian Church: Often referred to as the “Ark of Baz,” serving as a prominent example of an ark.
• Warden of Heaven: An extramuros movement whose adherents circulate casts; local adherents have appeared among ark‑connected volunteers.
• Deolaters: An extramuros religious community whose worship spaces are called “arks,” providing a comparative reference point for the term.

Current Status

Active and diverse. Arks function both as identity labels and as organizing frameworks in the Sæculum, supporting coordinated communication (“casts”) and ad hoc logistics such as transport for avout during times of widespread movement after a Voco.