Third Sack

First Appearance and Context

The Third Sack is referenced within in‑world sources rather than narrated directly. It is cited in The Dictionary as a period after which orthographic standards declined in stone inscriptions. It is also mentioned in accounts of the great Clock and the liturgical routine: following the Third Sack, the Millenarians withdrew to their crag and the rest of the Concent stood empty for about seven decades, during which the clock continued to run in a reduced, self‑sustaining mode.

Description and Role

The Third Sack is the latest of the “three Sacks” known to have disrupted the concent’s life. During such crises, the daily aut of Provener could not be carried out, leading the clock to disengage most of its machinery and conserve energy. The aftermath of the Third Sack included a prolonged depopulation of the Mynster and surrounding precincts and a broader decline in workmanship outside the walls noted by lexicographers.

Relationships and Functions

• Closely tied to the operation and continuity of the great Clock, whose design allowed timekeeping to persist without daily winding when Provener was interrupted.
• Affects the history of the Millenarian cohort (also called the Thousanders), who are recorded as having sheltered on their crag while the rest of the concent was uninhabited.
• Serves as a chronological marker in reference works such as The Dictionary, where it anchors observations about shifts in orthographic practice.

Current Status

The Third Sack is a historical episode. The concent is presently inhabited and its institutions—such as the Mynster, the clock, and Provener—are active; the Sack is invoked as context for how those survived and later resumed after the long interval that followed.