Sæculum

Not to be confused with Saeculum (Treatise).

In avout (cloistered scholars) discourse, Sæculum names the worldly realm outside a community’s walls and stands as the counterpart to the Mathic World (cloistered avout realm). Reference entries and current conversation use it when preparing for travel under Peregrin (sanctioned outside travel), highlighting the contrast between cloistered life and the variability outside.

Sæculum denotes the non‑mathic sphere of people, institutions, media, and devices beyond concents. It is the realm governed by the Sæcular Power (worldly civil authority) and distinguished from intramuros (inside the walls) practice by different speech registers, customs, and a faster tempo of change. Avout treat it as a boundary concept: crossing into the Sæculum entails observing the spirit of the Discipline (mathic rules) while coping with ordinary worldly logistics (clothing, money, transport, vernacular language). Reference sources also define the Rebirth as the turning point when the gates of the maths were opened and avout dispersed into the Sæculum, marking a later era often called Praxic.

At Tredegarh, one observer describes the immediate environs outside the Day Gate as landscaped grounds and old estates used by Sæculars. The “Inviolateness” of the Precipice at the Concent of Saunt Tredegarh (monastic complex) is said to rest on a standing arrangement between the mathic world and the Sæcular Power; the granite beneath is described as tunneled for storage of nuclear waste.

A traveler’s reflection emphasizes that going extramuros (outside the walls) can reveal not only the commercial and urban texture of the Sæculum but also the older “ground state” of the world—landscapes and remnants that predate present cultures. In that framing, the Sæculum and the mathic world are described as having diverged from a common origin; this is presented as an in‑the‑moment observation rather than formal doctrine.

Use in Current Discourse

• Under the Second Reconstitution, speakers describe two coequal Magisteria: the Sæculum and the Mathic World.
• Boundary‑making is underway where avout are rebuilding: survey lines are staked and walls are planned with gateways—but no gates—to signal that a traveler is entering a different Magisterium; some remarks acknowledge gates could be shut in a crisis.
• Mixed crews of avout and Sæculars collaborate on practical works such as path‑building, staking, and early construction around a crater‑lake site, illustrating closer day‑to‑day cooperation across the spheres.
• Convox work has been described as reorganized “along Sæcular lines”: small, task‑focused teams dividing a larger problem, with avout adopting Sæcular syntactic systems for three‑dimensional modeling when appropriate.
• Practical measures cited include pairing more extramuros‑fluent Tenners with Hundreders for language and dealings; leaving in small, staggered groups; riding in outside vehicles; and adopting ordinary clothing and kit to reduce attention while abroad. Food distinctions are noted as well, such as separating “food from the Sæcular world” from produce grown within Tredegarh’s arboretums.
• Risk planning within a large assembly has contemplated rapid dispersal of participants into the Sæculum in coordinated cells while maintaining contact over the Reticulum. Speakers present this as pragmatic preparation rather than doctrine.
• Ceremonial presence: during a major aut at Tredegarh, visitors’ pews are described as sparsely occupied by Sæculars. Newly inducted travelers symbolically enter “as Sæculars” through the visitors’ approach and depart into the math, underscoring the boundary between outside and inside.
• Governmental response: following a destructive incident at a coastal research site, speakers report that the Sæcular Power cordoned a landing area, performed decontamination and screening, and arranged transport toward a Convox centered at the Concent of Saunt Tredegarh.

Related Concepts and Affiliations

• Counterpart: the mathic world names life and institutions inside the walls; Sæculum names the outside realm.
• People and authority: the Avout are the mathic community who engage with the outside at regulated moments; the Sæcular Power is the external authority whose directives, when properly conveyed, can set travel in motion via rites such as Voco and in assemblies termed Convox.
• Terms and usage: “Sæcular world” is a common phrase in speech for the same concept; extramuros (outside the walls) is a near‑synonym used for practical movement across the boundary.

Current Status

Active point of reference: many Evoked (formally summoned) avout are presently traveling through or interacting with the Sæculum in and around a Convox at Tredegarh. Accounts describe Sæcular‑style logistics and coordination alongside mathic customs, and ongoing collaboration that includes use of Sæcular tools while preserving elements of the Discipline during travel and assembly.

Under the Second Reconstitution, the Sæculum is acknowledged in speech as coequal with the Mathic World as one of two Magisteria. Practical boundary‑setting and institution‑building are underway alongside mixed avout‑Sæcular crews, with walls used symbolically to mark entry into a different Magisterium while remaining open in ordinary circumstances.