Diax’s Rake

First appearance and context

While working in the Refectory kitchen and worrying about the possibility of another sack of the concent, an avout repeats “Diax’s Rake” under his breath as a steadying reminder to keep thoughts and words clear. In the same discussion with Fraa Orolo, “Diaxan” phrasing is invoked to prefer neutral wording such as “changes” over loaded terms like “reforms.” This comes amid talk of rare historical sackings remembered collectively as The Three Sacks and the posture of the maths toward the Saecular Power.

Definition and rationale

Diax’s Rake is a linguistic and reasoning check: “raking” a claim or description clean of subjective emotional judgments. In practice, it urges speakers and writers to choose neutral, content‑bearing terms and to avoid wording that smuggles in approval or blame. Calling a shift “changes,” for example, is more Diaxan than calling it “reforms,” which implies a judgment that something had been wrong.

Relationships and references

• Used explicitly by an avout narrator during a conversation guided by Fraa Orolo, where “Diaxan” appears as the adjectival form.
• The discussion that motivates its use touches on historical fears around The Three Sacks and on how avout describe pressures from the Saecular Power.
• Elsewhere in the same exchange, a different rhetorical habit is joked about as “going Kefedokhles,” highlighting Diax’s Rake as a contrasting discipline of clarity.

Current status

Diax’s Rake functions as a living habit of speech and thought among avout, applied informally as a self‑check when framing arguments or interpreting events. The term “Diaxan” serves as a concise label for wording that has been deliberately cleared of loaded connotations.