Thrown Back

Thrown Back is used in two closely related ways within the mathic world (monastic scholarly orders): as a state of having been expelled from a math (monastery)—through the solemn rite of Anathem (expulsion rite)—and as a type-label applied to such a person (often rendered as “Throwback” when used adjectivally in discourse).

First appearance and context

The term circulates in conversations among avout and in Dictionary headwords. Earlier discussion contrasts a possible “Throwback‑turned‑Mystagogue” with a milder “Bottle Shaker,” and a historical aside notes that, before a major sack, an entire order was Thrown Back, a confusion that later fed Sæcular tales about “Incanters.”

Definition and rationale

• As a sanction, being Thrown Back denotes formal expulsion of an avout (monastic scholar) from a math (monastery), ending their life under the Discipline and returning them to the Saeculum (outside world).
• As a label, Throwback is used in assessments such as “Throwback‑turned‑Mystagogue,” with the caution that such figures can be dangerous: angry, experienced, and sometimes intent on returning to the place that cast them out. It is often contrasted with “Bottle Shaker,” a type more easily impressed and less threatening.
• The Warden Regulant (discipline overseer) may cite being Thrown Back as a possible outcome for serious breaches, underscoring the severity of the measure.
• In speech, avout also use the verb form “throw [someone] back” to refer to enacting the sanction. Avout sometimes remark that secret or illicit work—if discovered—could get one “Thrown Back,” reflecting its role as a deterrent.
• Severity and gradation: avout often mention it alongside lesser penalties such as being assigned additional “chapters” of penance; threats of being Thrown Back are reserved for severe breaches, while tardiness or disobedience may draw lesser measures.

Observed rite and immediate consequences

Accounts within the concent (mathic monastery) describe a recent rite in which: - A name is proclaimed during Anathem. - The named avout casts down sphere and removes chord and bolt, shedding mathic regalia. - Hierarchs furnish minimal Sæcular clothing for extramuros life. - The person exits the concent through the Day Gate (daytime gate), while those assembled complete the rite in grave silence and song. - Afterward, hierarchs collect the individual’s leaves and tablets from their niches; removing another’s work is acceptable in this context (as it is after death) and may be used to assemble a factual record of events leading up to the sanction.

Historical and discourse notes

• Historical sources mention that all members of the Knights of Saunt Halikaarn were Thrown Back shortly before a great sack, which later led to confusion in Sæcular stories about Incanters.
• Within mathic rhetoric, the term appears both as a neutral state (“was Thrown Back”) and as a cautionary type‑label (“a Throwback”), often invoked to underline risks posed by such figures.
• In formal debate, a speaker warned that treating the Hylaean Theoric World as a religious cult could get participants “Thrown Back as a religious cult,” using the term as a boundary marker between permitted theorics and proscribed cultic behavior.
• In contemporary conversation, some avout frame a recent case as retribution for politicking during the Eliger season; others dismiss this as baseless rumor.
• In ordinary speech, avout may use “got Thrown Back” as a temporal marker when recalling events around solstices and equinoxes; a recent example names Fraa Orolo as having been Thrown Back.
• A first‑person remark by Fraa Orolo at Orithena states he was “Thrown Back” before he could view the last image he had captured of the alien ship, which he cites to explain a gap in his knowledge; this suggests the sanction can interrupt an avout’s work mid‑stream.
• Contemporary usage also includes speculation that a person may have “walked out” before he could be Thrown Back; such talk preserves uncertainty about whether a formal anathem was imminent.
• While traveling toward a major assembly, some avout voice concern that bending rules or arriving very late could risk being Thrown Back; others expect only additional “chapters” as a likely penalty.

Current status

Thrown Back remains one of the community’s harshest sanctions. It is referenced as a standing threat during admonitions and, when enacted, is carried out through the Anathem rite with the consequences noted above.

At Orithena, gatehouse discourse states that “one on whom the Anathem (expulsion rite) has been rung down may never more go into a math (mathic monastery).” This frames Thrown Back as a permanent exclusion from mathic precincts; subsequent conversation with Orolo occurs within a lineage cloister rather than a math.