Chapter Summary

Members of the mathic community who reside within a math under the Cartasian Discipline. Avout live a cloistered life distinct from the extramuros world, and different communities observe Apert on varying cycles, including century-long intervals for some.

A.R. is a calendar-era notation used to count years since the Reconstitution, appearing in citations and institutional records (for example, on the Fourth Edition of The Dictionary as “A.R. 3000”). In-text phrasing such as “anno … of the Reconstitution” indicates its reference point, though the exact spelled-out expansion of the initials has not been given.

The central multi‑towered building of a math, centered on the Præsidium where the great clock’s dials are mounted. Its upper works support the starhenge and house the Warden Fendant’s aerie and sentry walkways that overlook the surrounding concent.

A practical organization within the mathic community, often referred to collectively as "the Ita". At the concent, they occupy quarters adjoining the Mynster, maintain the great clock’s mechanisms, coordinate visitor placement, and communicate restrictions on recording devices.

An official written record kept within a math for entries required by the Discipline; in plural (“the Chronicles”) the term also denotes the concent’s collected historical records consulted by avout during liturgy and study.

An Orth term denoting the world outside a math’s walls. Its nuance shifts across eras, ranging from the literal “outside the walls” to broader senses of the non‑mathic world and nearby settlements beyond a math.

A handheld device used extramuros to capture moving‑picture recordings (often called speelies), also known to some avout as a Farspark chambre. Such devices also appear as public installations outside the walls; their use within the math is restricted and supervised.

An extramuros craftsman allowed into the New Library to repair a damaged rafter before Apert. A follower of the Warden of Heaven, he later watched Provener from the Mynster’s north nave but, according to Artisan Quin, did not record a speely due to restrictions on his high‑spec speelycaptor.

An authority within the mathic community who enforces the Discipline and assigns penance; the office is also tied to an inward-facing watch from high windows beneath the rooftop aerie, complementing the Warden Fendant’s outward watch.

A named historical turning point in the mathic world, after which key rites were revived in a clock-centered form within the Mynster. It also functions as the epoch for the A.R. calendar used by avout and acknowledged extramuros.

A long strip of cloth worn by avout as part of their everyday habit. It serves multiple purposes—hood, wrap, and modesty covering—and is commonly secured and adjusted with a chord.

The south-facing nave of the Mynster, reserved for the Centenarians and directly reachable from their side of the meadow. It serves as their principal gathering space for rites viewed through the chancel screen.

An extramuros term for moving‑picture recordings and broadcasts. Avout refer to it when contrasting their meaning of "screen" with the outside world’s usage.

A math within the concent reserved for the Centenarians (also called Hundreders). It lies across a meadow from the Decenarian community and has direct access to the south nave of the Mynster.

A minor entrance on the meadow side of the Mynster, used as an alternative approach to the Ten-year community’s corner of the building.

A named historical period referenced in mathic accounts. It is noted as following the Dispersal to the New Periklynes and is associated with a time when the Hylaean Anathem fell out of practice, prior to later revival after subsequent upheavals.

A personal, size-adjustable ball used by avout within a math for sitting and balance, often cited alongside the bolt and the chord as part of their minimal kit. It can be shrunk to palm size by tracing counterclockwise circles on its surface.

A simple cord worn by avout around the waist to secure and adjust the bolt; it is also used to tie and carry a rolled bolt when slung over the shoulder. Commonly cited as one of the three personal items along with the bolt and the sphere.

A named high ledge within the Mynster associated by name with the Warden Fendant. It is mentioned as reachable by a spiral stair rising in the Tenners’ southwest corner of the Mynster.

A concept in the mathic world referring to novice learners within a math, typically younger avout-in-training who work under elder guidance. The term appears in classrooms and workrooms, and historical lexicon notes mentors who introduced fids to unsolved problems.

A walled scholarly enclave whose members live under a strict Discipline, distinct from the surrounding extramuros world. Maths are central to the "mathic" world and are protected and regulated, with limited use of technology inside their walls.

The central tower of the Mynster that carries the four great clock dials and anchors the upper works, including the starhenge. It houses the main weights and winding mechanisms that drive the community’s great clock.

A cohort within the mathic world, also referred to as the Thousanders. Their math stands on a crag overlooking the Mynster, and they are associated with deep-voiced parts in the rite at Provener; outside the walls they are better known through rumors than confirmed accounts.

A short, proscribed list of plants within the mathic world, handled with burn-on-sight procedures; occurrences are recorded in the Chronicle. The exact members have not been enumerated in the narrative so far.

A complex assembly of megaliths, domes, pent houses, and turrets mounted atop the Præsidium’s roof within the Mynster, mechanically coupled to the great clock. It supports telescopes whose polar axes are powered as add‑on loads of the same clock‑works.

A suur who serves as the Warden Regulant within a Decenarian math. She is noted for imposing penance on Fraa Lio after he neglected his clock‑winding duty.

A decennial cohort within the mathic world whose members—called Tenners—live in a Decenarian math. Their gates open during Apert for a brief period, allowing limited exchange with visitors and short ventures outside.

A mathic cohort also called the Hundreders, whose gates open only once each century. Neighbors describe them as maintaining their own math across the meadow and preparing for Apert by questioning others through a grated room in the upper labyrinth.

Also called the Century Gate, a clock-driven portal within the Mynster’s gate system that opens on a hundred-year cycle. It parallels the Year and Decade gates and is associated with the Centenarians’ rare Apert.

A legendary or apocryphal mathic order said to operate on a ten-thousand-year cycle. Mentioned in discussion at Saunt Edhar as a claim by avout who supposedly emerged at an Apert, its existence is disputed and often treated as illustrative rather than historical.

A concept describing possible time slippage between loosely connected causal domains. Introduced as a thought experiment by Fraa Orolo and used as a practical check for unexpected divergences between the math and the world extramuros.

A pictographic symbol system used outside the maths, consisting of moving icons that supplanted Logotype in common use. It is used for public labeling and official readouts, and is often contrasted with reading Orth text.

An extramuros body of officials noted for visiting communities at the new moon in sealed purple boxes; cited as one of the ways crimes are handled outside the mathic world.

A term invoked within the mathic world as shorthand for individuals reputed to wield extraordinary, almost preternatural abilities. It appears in discussion as a caution against attributing unrealistic power to hypothetical groups.

A colloquial extramuros label for the governing authorities that maintain order, surveillance, and punishments; roughly corresponding to what avout call the Saecular Power.

A term for static pictographic symbols used outside the maths to convey simple instructions or information; contrasted with moving-picture Kinagrams and with reading Orth text.

A high‑resolution imaging feature cited as part of an extramuros speelycaptor. Mentioned alongside “SteadiHand” and “DynaZoom,” it was referenced as a reason a recording device was considered too capable to be permitted inside the Mynster.

A section of the labyrinth within the concent that separates the Decenarian Math from the Centenarian Math. It is used for controlled exchanges with the Centenarians, including questioning across a grate in preparation for the Centenarian Gate and their rare Apert.

A named feature associated with extramuros speelycaptors, cited alongside Eagle-Rez and DynaZoom as part of a high-end setup. It is mentioned in connection with concerns about recording inside the Mynster.

A mathic community associated with the Unarians. It is referenced as participating in Apert alongside the Decenarian community.

A restrictive movement within the maths in Late Middle Orth. According to a dictionary account, such a suvin held that no further theoric problems could be solved, discouraged theoric research, and locked libraries; its influence ended with the Rebirth.

A named capability or component of an extramuros speelycaptor, cited alongside Eagle-Rez and SteadiHand as part of a high-performance imaging setup. Its presence was given as a reason to block recording of Provener inside the Mynster.

A named historical turning point in the mathic world’s timeline. It is cited as the point after which the Mystagogue suvin no longer dominated the maths.

A vehicle term used in the world outside the maths. Avout describe hearing mobes driving by beyond a concent’s walls, indicating their commonplace presence extramuros.

A library building within a Decenarian math, used by avout and occasionally accessed by supervised visitors for necessary repairs. It hosts study and interviews and comes into focus when an extramuros artisan is admitted to address a rotted rafter shortly before Apert.

A mathic complex centered on the Mynster and home to multiple maths, including the Decenarian community. Visitors from extramuros may enter at controlled times to observe rites from the north nave.

The octagonal central space at the heart of the Mynster, enclosed by eight perforated screens and opening toward four great naves. It serves as the primary ceremonial and mechanical locus where avout assemble and wind the clock.

A clock‑driven portal at the Concent of Saunt Edhar that opens daily to admit and route visitors from extramuros into the Mynster’s north nave. Its operation is coupled to the great clock’s works and timed to sunrise and sunset.

A clock-driven portal within the Mynster that opens on a ten-year cycle. It is actuated by the great clock’s octahedron weight and is associated with the Decenarian community’s periodic opening to the outside world.

The inhabited world on which the mathic communities and the extramuros society exist. It is referenced in descriptions of the great clock as having a metallic core like the meteorite weight used to wind the Mynster’s works.

A liturgical hymn sung by avout during the daily winding rite at Provener inside the Mynster. It addresses Hylaea and exists in many authorized versions; a unison passage is used to help break static friction and set the great clock’s winding in motion.

An honorific of veneration in New Orth and the mathic world, applied to great thinkers, almost always posthumously. Historically intertwined with the term "Savant," it appears in stone as SAVANT (or abbreviated St.) and has spawned several orthographic variants.

A rarely used, clock-driven portal associated with the Mynster’s great clock. It is actuated by an icosahedron-shaped auxiliary weight on the Præsidium and opens on a millennial cycle alongside other time-governed gates.

The vast airy space behind the Præsidium’s dials in the Mynster where the great clock’s chains, gears, and escapements converge. It is tended by the Ita and houses upper works critical to keeping the clock running during winding and rare interruptions.

A Tenner-level avout in a Decenarian math, peer of Fraa Erasmas, known for serving on the clock‑winding team in the Mynster and for a past meadow fire incident that left his sphere imperfect.

One of the four cardinal naves of the Mynster, aligned with the north façade. It serves as the entry and viewing space for extramuros visitors allowed to observe auts such as Provener.

The east-facing nave of the Mynster, officially the building’s formal entrance. It is currently little used and generally stands empty.

The western nave of the Mynster, used primarily by the Unarians. It is noted for the finest stained-glass windows and stone-carving among the four cardinal naves.

A term within the mathic tradition for learned thinkers whose theoretical perspective and practices shaped liturgy and scholarship. Historically described as gathering under the Halls of Orithena and later withdrawing into the maths, the term remains in current use within avout discourse.

The most recent of three historical sackings of the concent. It is cited as a turning point after which standards declined, and its aftermath left the concent largely empty for decades while the great clock sustained itself in hibernation.

One of the three historical sackings affecting the Concent of Saunt Edhar. It is cited as the time when the pipe‑organ that once stood in the Mynster’s east nave was torn out; later, stricter Discipline banned other musical instruments.

A mechanically actuated gate associated with the Mynster’s great clock, opened once per year by the descent of a cube-shaped auxiliary weight on the Præsidium’s pillars.

A named gene sequence described as present in crops grown outside the math’s walls. It is associated with reduced melancholy and greater ease in dismissing such thoughts among those who eat such food.

A term in mathic liturgy symbolizing the pre‑systematic state of thought before Cnoüs. During the aut at Provener, the complex, overlapping music of the Anathem depicts Kaos before resolving into a unison that helps set the great clock in motion.

A plant-like substance treated within maths as strictly proscribed and handled under burn-on-sight procedures associated with the Eleven. It is also noted in liturgical accounts as something consumed by slines.

A senior hierarch associated with the Mynster, connected to a private compound at its northwest corner. The Primate presides over ceremonies within the chancel and may delegate officiation to an aide.

A large clock-driven orrery located just inside the Day Gate of the Mynster. It is one of the add-ons powered by the Pre6sidium
9s great clock, alongside lesser orreries and the starhenge telescopes.

A restricted area adjoining the northwest corner of the Mynster, used by the Primate, wardens, and other hierarchs within the concent.

A named cliff formation associated with Ecba, cited as the source of black volcanic stone used for major components of the Mynster’s clockwork. The stone is described as being hauled over the North Pole to reach the math.

A named historical dispersal referenced in mathic liturgy. It is cited as a turning after the Old Mathic Age and before the Praxic Age, during which older rites fell out of practice, later contrasted with their revival after the Terrible Events and the Reconstitution.

An avout in a Decenarian math at the Concent of Saunt Edhar. A peer of Fraa Erasmas, he serves on the four-person team that winds the great clock during Provener in the Mynster.

A colloquial subset of Vale-lore concerning the behavior and control of fire, including practices like setting counterfires—invoked by avout as “fighting fire with fire.”

A math set on a crag east of the Mynster, home to the Millenarians (the Thousanders). It connects to the Mynster by a covered, hand‑carved stone stair that reaches the southeast corner.

A polar location on Arbre mentioned as part of a long overland route used by sledge trains hauling black volcanic stone from the Cliffs of Ecba for the great clock’s components.

A named period of upheaval referenced by the mathic community. It is cited as preceding the Reconstitution and as the turning point after which the Hylaean Anathem was revived in a new, clock-centered form.

An extramuros religious community noted for worship spaces called “arks.” Used by avout as a familiar reference point when describing the layout of a nave and the behavior of congregants during ceremonies such as weddings and funerals.

An ancient center of learning remembered for the Halls of Orithena and a great dome ceremony at midday. It was destroyed long ago; its rites later informed mathic liturgy now practiced within the Mynster.

A formal convocation associated with the language Orth. The A.R. 3000 session is cited as the moment when the term “saunt” was accepted into standard usage.

An order within the mathic world that occupies the west nave of the Mynster. They are described as the best‑endowed of the maths and are numerous enough to fill their nave; members wear green robes and at times lead the singing during Provener.

A named spot along the cloister gallery within a math, used as a passage and gathering space. It has a back exit into a covered alley between chalk halls and workshops, providing a practical route toward the Mynster.

A revered figure invoked in mathic liturgy, associated with the dawning of Light and the transition from chaos. Named in the hymn as the father of Hylaea and Deät.

A mythic figure invoked in mathic liturgy, described as one of the daughters of Cnoüs and credited with bringing his light. Hylaea is central to the Hylaean Anathem sung during the winding rite at Provener.

A revered figure within the mathic tradition associated with developments in finite group theorics. According to liturgical accounts, he was Thrown Back by his Warden Regulant and later killed by slines who had first worshipped him after he persuaded them to stop consuming blithe.

A mythic figure invoked in mathic liturgy. Along with Hylaea, Deät is named as one of the two daughters of Cnoüs and is represented musically during the hymn sung at Provener.

A historical migration undertaken by surviving theors after the destruction of Orithena. It is cited as a turning point when older rites fell out of practice before the later retreat into the maths.

A roofed gallery of seven linked staircases that connects the Tenner math to the stone patio before the portal of the Mynster. Commonly used by avout heading into the building, especially around Provener.

An elderly avout at the Concent of Saunt Edhar who routinely opens the Tenners’ screen door in the Mynster before the daily rite of Provener.

A vast timekeeping mechanism at the heart of the Mynster. Its four great dials on the Præsidium are driven by a single set of works, coupled to the starhenge, and display the hour, calendar, lunar phase, and other cosmographical data.

A set of inward-facing gargoyle statues mounted along the sentinels’ walkway atop the Mynster’s roof. Paired with outward-facing Fendant gargoyles, they are associated with the Warden Regulant’s inward watch over the concent.

The concent is the complex of buildings and grounds belonging to a mathic community. It is described as the area spread below the Mynster, much of which can be observed from the Warden Regulant’s windows.

Outward-facing gargoyles set on the braces beneath the sentinels’ walkway around the Mynster’s roof, associated with the Warden Fendant’s aerie in a Decenarian math.

A term in Orth with two historical senses: originally an act taken by an individual, and later a formal rite performed by an assembly of avout on behalf of a math or concent.

An authoritative rulebook cited within the math to govern permitted practices. It is specifically used to determine which plants may be cultivated, including a list known as the "One Hundred and Sixty-four."

An old body of books and lore referred to by avout, often shortened to "vlor." It serves as a source of classical terms and examples that avout use to frame discussions and observations.

A named “general type” referenced in mathic iconography. It is listed among archetypal figures depicted around a Cloister; its specific meaning is not yet explained in the text.

An archetypal "general type" referenced in mathic iconography. It is noted among carved figures seen along a cloister walkway inside a math.

An original library building within a math that opens directly onto the Cloister. It is noted for an ancient, glass‑smooth stone floor described as far older than the floor of the New Library.

A simple knot used by avout to secure the bolt of their garment for modesty. It is observed in use when Lio wraps the selvage end of his bolt around his waist and between his thighs.

A revered figure cited within the mathic tradition, known for "Saunt Taunga’s Question" about whether a sufficiently large field of cellular automata can think.

A general-type figure referenced in mathic iconography, mentioned among the carved motifs surrounding a Cloister garden within a math. Its precise definition has not been given in-text so far.

A sanctioned list of plant species permitted for cultivation under the Second New Revised Book of Discipline, used to govern what may be grown in a Decenarian math’s gardens.

A cane-forming plant observed in a math’s Cloister garden. It is not among the One Hundred and Sixty-four plants permitted for cultivation under the Second New Revised Book of Discipline, but also not among the Eleven that must be destroyed on sight.

A form of address and title used within maths for male avout. It precedes a person’s name (e.g., “Fraa Lio”), with the plural "fraas" used for groups.

A dedicated workroom within the math used for copying books and manuscripts. Entered through a stone arch, it is notable for a pervasive ink smell and connects by a smaller doorway to the Old Library on the Cloister.

An honorific used within the mathic world for female avout. It is placed before a personal name (e.g., “Suur Trestanas”) and used collectively as “suurs.”

A named philosophical problem attributed to Saunt Taunga, asking whether a sufficiently large field of cellular automata can think. It is invoked by Fraa Erasmas during a discussion about ant coordination.

An archetypal “general type” referenced in mathic iconography. It is noted among carved figures seen along a cloister walkway inside a math; its specific meaning has not yet been explained in the text.

A walled mathic community whose avout observe strict Discipline and maintain controlled contact with the outside world (extramuros). It houses the New Library and a towering clock central to daily timekeeping.

The sphere of life and institutions inside the walls of the maths, contrasted with the non‑mathic world outside (extramuros). It encompasses the avout communities, their rules, and their ways of speaking and working.

An extramuros moving-picture device referred to by avout as a "speely-device." Used to view or capture "speely" content; such devices are not kept within the math under the Cartasian Discipline.

An extramuros media system and content format referenced by the avout. It is distinguished from “speely” recordings by extramuros artisans and is associated with older hardware such as a Farspark resonator.

A set of rules governing life and practice within a mathic community, emphasizing austerity in media and technology. Under this discipline, avout rely on chalk, ink, and stone and avoid the use of mechanical recording devices, with visitor access and devices tightly controlled.

A vernacular language spoken outside the maths, contrasted with Orth. Avout switch to it when speaking with visitors from beyond the walls.

A colloquial term used extramuros for viewing moving pictures on a speely device; within the math this practice is not used due to the Cartasian Discipline.

A handheld device used extramuros with communications and display functions; when its communications are disabled, it can still serve as a pocket‑watch.

An extramuros device associated with the Farspark media system. It is referenced as older equipment that could be used with a down‑converter; the avout interviewed do not possess one.

A device mentioned by an extramuros artisan as an accessory for older Farspark equipment. It is suggested as something that could be paired with a Farspark resonator but is not shown in use.

A historical event referenced in an in‑world dictionary; its aftermath is described as a turbulent and violent period outside the walls. Specific details of the event have not yet been revealed.