Hylaean Anathem

Not to be confused with Anathem, the expulsion rite.

First Appearance and Context

The Hylaean Anathem is sung during the daily rite of Provener within the chancel of the Mynster. Accounts also recall far older roots beneath the Halls of Orithena, with later revivals and adaptations after periods of disruption and reorganization.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Central to the daily winding: at a set cue, the parts converge to a single unison whose resonance helps loosen static friction so the winders can raise the main weight. The rite is mechanically coupled to the works of the Praesidium.
• Liturgical function: the text venerates Hylaea and forms a standard element of the observance at Provener across maths.
• Foundation‑laying: at the beginning of the Second Reconstitution, a version selected by Arsibalt for its “temporal elasticity” was sung during the cornerstone ceremony for a new center named for Saunt Orolo, timed in coordination with Jesry’s Clock. The unison cue coincided with the release that set the stone into place.

Relationships

• Addresses and venerates Hylaea within a mythic frame that also names Cnoüs and Deät.
• Preserves memory of rites formerly associated with Orithena, later adapted into mathic practice.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Text and settings: a fixed text with many recognized musical settings—“as various as clouds”—while retaining common words and structure.
• Musical texture: ancient renderings are monophonic; the local practice is polyphonic, with interwoven lines that periodically align in pure unison.
• Performance practice: different cohorts contribute characteristic timbres (e.g., deeper parts from Thousanders), coordinated so the unison arrives at the exact mechanical cue.
• Temporal elasticity: some authorized settings can be stretched or compressed to cover timing uncertainty when coordinating with mechanical triggers or public rites.

Current Status/Location

Active and widely known. It is performed at Provener inside the Mynster and remains part of the standard rite used to wind and sustain the great clock. It has also been performed publicly on the island being developed for Saunt Orolo’s community at the start of the Second Reconstitution.