Concent of Saunt Edhar

Known names: ['Edhar', 'the Concent of Savant Edhar', 'the Concent of Saunt Edhar'] Summary: A walled mathic concent named for Saunt Edhar at high northern latitude. By resident testimony it also houses a sealed cavern of nuclear waste placed there near the Reconstitution; recently many avout were Evoked toward a Convox at Saunt Tredegarh and the Millenarian crag was briefly lit by a narrow red beam from above.

Not to be confused with Saunt Edhar.

Overview

The Concent of Saunt Edhar is a walled mathic community (monastic scholars' enclave) named for Saunt Edhar. Sited near a burgers’ town at high northern latitude, it is notable for a crag‑top Thousanders (thousand‑year order) complex linked to the main hall by a covered stair. It has served as a starting point for departures after a large Voco (summons of avout (mathic monastics)), with Evoked avout directed to assemble at a Convox (rare mass assembly) hosted at Saunt Tredegarh. In personal accounts, Tredegarh is contrasted as older, larger, and lusher; by implication, Saunt Edhar is smaller and set in a harsher climate.

Notable Features

• Thousanders’ crag and stair: The crag‑top complex stands east of the main hall, connected by a long, covered, hand‑carved stair.
• Gates and precincts: A Day Gate faces a plaza and straight causeway between twin fountains; within the walls, the narthex houses an orrery (sky model), and the Year Gate precinct contains the wedge‑shaped tumulus (“Flying Wedge”).
• Mynster (central hall): Referenced for scale in comparisons, indicating a large interior space within the concent.
• Starhenge (stepped structure): Mentioned as a stepped installation whose stairs are climbed by residents during their routines.
• Pinnacle: The rooftop tower known as the Pinnacle is referenced as a quiet perch where some residents take their meals or keep watch above the Mynster’s starhenge.
• Subterranean waste cavern (resident account): A cavern in the rock is said to hold cylinders of nuclear waste placed by the Sæcular Power (civil authority) near the Reconstitution (later refounding). Edharian Thousanders maintain thatched coverings above the cylinders to prevent condensate drips and stalagmite formation; the craft is described as a thatcher’s avocation maintained across generations.
• New Laundry tilework: A facility known as the New Laundry is decorated with intricate geometric tilework attributed to Estemard before he left the math; the patterns reflect his long‑running tiling avocation.
• Vineyard: A small vineyard at Saunt Edhar is described as frost‑prone; wine from Orithena is compared favorably against the local product.
• The M & M and guidestar laser (attributed): A facility at Edhar colloquially called “the M & M” houses a guidestar laser used with telescopes. At Tredegarh, Ala stated that Fraa Orolo had programmed that laser to sweep an Analemma in the sky; a colleague of Sammann later visited the M & M and reported finding physical evidence of the sweep. This is presented as attributed report rather than a public record.

Organization and Residents

• Structure: Erasmas identifies himself as of the Edharian chapter of the Decenarian (ten‑year order) math at the Concent of Saunt Edhar; the local Thousanders occupy the crag‑top community.
• Noted Edharians in current accounts include Orolo and Erasmas, with Orolo’s routine described as including work in a vineyard and climbing the starhenge steps.
• Paphlagon is identified as a Hundreder from Edhar and has taken part in messal discussions at the Convox; he has also been seen alone in the chancel in earlier observations.

Customs and Daily Life

• Dining: Edhar’s everyday meals are taken in a Refectory (communal dining hall), where diners carry their own food and sit where they please. In contrast, some other concents emphasize “messals” (small private dinners) in quiet messallans. A simple porridge referred to as Edharian gruel is mentioned; one diner called it “perfectly unpalatable” while others ate it without complaint.
• Attire and funerary practice: Edharian bolts (avout robe) and chords (waist cord) are described as plain and austere. Tradition allows one end of the bolt to fray; the oldest avout may be buried wearing fringed bolts several inches long.
• Curfew and discipline: Accounts mention a strict curfew (nighttime restriction). Residents sometimes use quiet signals to coordinate while outdoors after hours; an eye‑flick toward the Warden Regulant’s windows is used within some circles to mean “keep silent and go along.”
• Quiet slopes: A south‑facing vineyard slope is noted as being out of sight of the Warden Regulant’s (local mathic official) windows and is used informally for private conversation.
• Computational chanting: Edharians learn computational chants (rule‑based chant) from youth; the method permutes melodies by fixed rules to “compute.” Other maths recognize related variants, with some described as more musical than the Edharian baseline.
• Incanter tinkering: Recollections mention that some avout—colloquially calling themselves Incanters—would gather after dinner to tinker with improvised contraptions, dubbed Everything Killers, assembled from simple materials like cornstalks and shoelaces.
• Language and usage: At a Tredegarh Plenary, a Procian speaker referred to the place as the Concent of “Savant” Edhar, which was received as old‑fashioned; Edharians themselves say “Saunt.”
• External reputation: Some outsiders describe Edhar as high in the mountains and cold; Edharians answer with dry humor about simple attire, shoes, and manners. At the Convox, some are seen trying to ingratiate themselves with Edharians, reflecting a certain prestige.
• Clock‑winding: Edharians refer to an “old clock‑winding team,” implying a standing duty roster for maintaining the concent’s timekeeping works.
• Bell‑ringing team: Accounts describe hierarchs appointing a bell‑ringing team for signal duties; selection may favor physically strong avout.
• Page‑tree walks: Residents refer to strolling among the Page Trees within the grounds as a quiet setting for conversation.
• Ritual song: A familiar chant for Requiem aut is known among Edharians and has been used by them when participating in solemn observances beyond the walls.

Associations

• Namesake and orders: Named for Saunt Edhar; locally, the Thousanders inhabit the crag‑top community.
• Historical standing: Remembered with Rambalf and Tredegarh among the “Three Inviolates” associated with the Third Sack. In recent messal talk, a speaker stated openly that the Three Inviolates are nuclear waste repositories, likely protected by the Sæcular Power.
• Theorics and lineage: Fraa Clathrand, a Centenarian—later Millenarian—at Saunt Edhar, remarked on an isomorphism between causality‑arrows in certain diagrams and the flow of time; this “Clathrand’s Contention” is being cited and debated in current Convox discussions.
• Edharian projects: A spinoff math on Ecba is conducting a long‑running excavation toward the Temple of Orithena; in conversation, this is described as Edharian‑led and connected to delegates from the Thousander math attending a Millennial Convox.

Recent Activity

• Mass Evocation and travel: Following a large Voco, Evoked avout departed discreetly in small groups, converging toward the designated Convox.
• Red beam from above: One evening the crag was briefly illuminated by a narrow, ruby‑colored beam from overhead; smoke and steam raised at the crag made the beam’s path visible.
• Stockpile targeting conjecture: After viewing a leaked space recording and discussing propulsion of an orbital visitor, speakers infer that visitors may be low on nuclear devices and could seek stockpiles on Arbre; Edhar, Rambalf, and Tredegarh are named as possible sites. This is presented as conjecture rather than confirmed intent.
• Quiet Vocos and revival of an ancient program: After the orbital visitors arrived, accounts describe a series of discreet Vocos that recruited talent to restart a centuries‑old suit‑and‑stage praxis, drawing on designs archived elsewhere and preserved through the Third Sack. Edharian voices note that these summons did not reach Edhar, implying the work was compartmentalized outside its channels; the scale of funding is described as extraordinary.

Status / Access

Active and occupied. The crag‑top community remains linked to the hall via the covered stair. The existence and upkeep of the waste cavern are presented as resident testimony; no public access is described.