With the recent discovery of historic Wyn Avuqua and its vast underground libraries of lore and history, the following collected material for this appendices, in comparison, will likely one day be seen as trivial, if not erroneous. However, until scholars deliver their findings from the Heron Atheneums, this material is meant to provide readers of The Newirth Mythology access to some of the available background and foundations of Itonalya culture in order to fill in and enrich Loche’s story. All the following information has been mined from three sources: the writings of Loche Newirth, the research of Dr. Astrid Finnley, and the Toele from Albion Ravistelle’s collection.
The enigmatic, supernatural writing of Loche Newirth and its effect on existence is questionably a problematic and delicate subject: a riddle not for the faint of heart (nor the impatient thinker). In an attempt to solve the riddle of Loche Newirth’s work, I have tried to learn as much as possible about his life and his art. Like his brother Basil Fenn, Loche kept his art secret. However, prior to writing Part One, The Invasion of Heaven, I was granted access to his collected notebooks and journals, most of which were recovered from Albion Ravistelle’s Venetian compound—and others that were still secure, deftly hidden by Loche himself within his modern castle in Sagle, Idaho. Numbering in the hundreds, some novel length, some only a few pages of scrawled notes and sketches, the books contain much concerning Itonalya history, linguistics and life stories of individual immortals living in different time periods and places all over the globe. There are several notebooks dedicated solely to Loche’s poems, while others were filled with maps, Wyn Avuquain heraldry and cultural mores. Even the Itonalya game of Shtan was contained within its own set of booklets. The Newirth canon was, of course, captured by Albion Ravistelle (a character he created—certainly one of many freakish happenings—see the first sentence of this paragraph). The work was purportedly studied by Albion, Dr. Marcus Rearden, and a few others in the course of events told in The Newirth Mythology. The Newirth canon, however, must be distinguished from the supernatural volume he produced known as The Journal or The Priest Lake Journal.
Photo courtesy of Allison Bogart from The Newirth Artifacts1, ©2017
The Journal of Loche Newirth (The Priest Lake Journal)
From the Albion Ravistelle Collection, Venezia, Italy.
By having access to this powerful work along with the rest of the Newirth canon, I managed to thread together a humble string of novels (The Newirth Mythology) to share Dr. Newirth’s tale, or, more accurately, to tell what was most important to him: a story about stories. But to this day, the effect of his words and how they have shaped reality is still perplexing—the lie awake at night kind of perplexing (again, see the first sentence to this paragraph).
After months of pouring over Loche’s poetry, histories and early Elliqui linguistics, all written prior to The Journal, I realized that I was searching for a kind of cypher—some key to the mystery that is Loche Newirth. It wasn’t until I finished Part Three, The Shape of Rain that the cypher appeared: Professor Astrid Finnley.
For a brief time it was believed that Loche’s canon and The Journal were the sole sources for Itonalya history—but soon after Dr. Marcus Rearden (to whom the work was dedicated) read The Journal, books on the subjects of Wyn Avuqua, lost immortal civilizations and Elliqui suddenly appeared in the market place. Stranger still, these subjects seemed to insert themselves into the consciousness and memory of a vast human (and immortal) collective—as if some vague knowledge of Wyn Avuqua has always been there—like Atlantis or Delphi. Largely regarded as pseudo-history, Itonalya myth found a group of impassioned voices. Over time enthusiasts began to uncover evidence and artifacts. Findings led to reports, reports to books, websites, et cetera. The search for the lost city of Wyn Avuqua captured the fascination of fringe writers as well as conspiracy theorists.
Photo courtesy of Jones, Johnston and Fryless (JJF) Helicopter Service, LTD.
Dig site at Wyn Avuqua, 2018. Upper Priest Lake, Idaho. USA.
It also attracted the talent of serious academics like Professor Astrid Finnley. Her early work has been published in over thirty countries and translated into twenty-five languages. Nearly all of her work has been centered on ancient myth (Greek, Roman, Sumerian, Celtic) and how those historic narratives still inform our current technological age. Dr. Finnley claims that she first learned about the Wyn Avuquain immortals when she was a girl and she did not take any of the stories seriously until she uncovered an Elliqui scroll during an archeological dig in Germany in 1992. Since then she has written three books on Itonalya culture.2 A portion of this appendices is drawn from Dr. Finnley’s thoughtful work.
Finally, the Toele (ancient story) has become known as the holy grail of Itonalya literature. Of course, that distinction has since been undercut by the incredible wealth of Itonalya lore recently uncovered within the Heron Atheneum at Priest Lake, Idaho.
Photo courtesy of Allison Bogart from The Newirth Artifacts, ©2017 Itonalya Toele #2
From the William H. Greenhame collection. The Burrow Museum, Cd’A, ID.
Nevertheless, for centuries it was rumored there were only two surviving texts from the fallen city. Albion Ravistelle’s coveted Toele came into his possession when he lived in London around 1300. Albion claims Eloise Smith (Alice of Bath) came upon the book during her overseas pilgrimages. According to Albion, Eloise would not divulge where or how she attained the book. The other Toele and its whereabouts have been unknown until now. After the entombment of Dr. Marcus Rearden, and the reconciliation between the Orathom Wis and Albion Ravistelle, the second Toele was revealed to be in the possession of William Greenhame. William claims that the book was willed to him in 1531 by his dear friend, the Immortal, Redairic Cedars. The story in brief: because Redairic failed to host a long-awaited and promised celebration, three disgruntled (rightfully so) and insidious revelers from the North brought their deadly grievance and challenge to Redairic’s house. Redairic and all of his followers were killed in the quarrel. Ironically, a year later, Redairic’s Toele was bequeathed to William at the party Redairic was meant to host.
The information contained in the Toele is extensive. I have included here mere seedlings that are pertinent and most hopefully, entertaining.
Since Part One and Part Two of The Newirth Mythology were published, there have been many requests for more information about Itonalya culture, both early, late and times in between; questions about Loche Newirth, his euprophecy3, his enigmatic place in existence, and most notably, the language of Elliqui. These appendices are meant to fulfill those requests. It is also my goal to provide a preview to the wealth of Itonalya knowledge now being unearthed at the ruins of Wyn Avuqua, and many other places around the globe. In the coming years I anticipate an explosion of new works on the ancient belief systems, culture and influence of immortal thought and perspective from the Wyn Avuquain Heron Atheneum. I look forward to delving deeper and learning more from all doing research on these topics.
Michael B. Koep
January, 2018
APPENDIX I.
Alphabetical
What follows is a complete list of characters in The Newirth Mythology along with brief character descriptions. By accessing the list, readers risk spoilers. To avoid spoilers, please take note and proceed with caution when seeing this spoiler identifier: Δ.
Δ : spoiler ahead
i : The Invasion of Heaven
ii : Leaves of Fire
iii : The Shape of Rain
Ithea : mortal
Itonalya : immortal
Aethur • Δ iii, Ithea. The Elliqui name given to Loche Newirth by Queen Yafarra of Wyn Avuqua. The name means, new earth. (see Loche Newirth.)
Adamsman, Talan • iii, Itonalya. Orathom Wis. Born in Sicily sometime around 1900. His father was a merchant fisherman from Favignana. George Eversman found him when he heard the tale of a stout young Italian boy that survived a fishing accident. At twelve, Talan was yanked off the back of the boat by a tangled line. He was underwater for nearly an hour while his father and two other fishermen struggled to save him. The boy awoke completely unharmed from the incident minutes after he was laid on the deck. George Eversman trained him as Orathom Wis and he became widely known among the Itonalya as the Talan the Fisher King, who used fishing wire to garrote Godrethion. He was given the task of watching over Helen Newirth while in the custody of the Orathom Wis during the New Earth War. Adam killed Etheldred the High Captain under Cynthia the Godrethion Summoner before the omvide Dellithion in 1010 AD.
Alin, Bishop, Walter • i, Ithea. Born 1949 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, educated in California, student at California State University, Los Angeles and Immaculate Heart College. Ordained to the priesthood in may of 1972, he was appointed (by Pope John Paul II) Titular Bishop of Cell Ausaille and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1989. Bishop Alin had heard of the supernatural paintings of young artist Basil Pirrip Fenn through Catholic Priest, John Whitely. Bishop Alin, after (purportedly) seeing the work for himself, contacted Albion Ravistelle.
Athelstan • ii, iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 1491 in Ireland, County Cork. Athelstan’s immortality was discovered by his elder brother, Perkin, who witnessed eight year old Athelstan’s arm break from falling out of a tree, and then miraculously heal minutes later; the elder brother believed Athelstan to be a sorcerer. Perkin helped to conceal the secret and assist his brother until he died in 1531. Athelstan, devastated by his brother’s passing moved to Germany where he met Albion Ravistelle. Ravistelle brought him into the Orathom Wis in 1539. Athelstan was Loche Newirth’s door warden during the battle of Mel Tiris in the New Earth War. He also fought against The Board during the battle of Masques.
Bannuelo of the House of Wings • iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born sometime around 1528 BCE. It is written in the Toele that Bannuelo of the House of Wings was the oldest Itonalya known when Wyn Avuqua fell. There is some mention of Bannuelo being a direct descendent of one of the earliest creators of the written and oral language Elliqui, the Silent Author. She became Wings Minister in the year 357 BCE and served both King Althemis Falruthia and his daughter, Queen Yafarra. Bannuelo was loyal to the Old Law, but she was also a proponent for change knowing of the augured brothers. She was slain in the year 1010 AD at Tiris Avu defending Queen Yafarra and the lower halls.
Alice of Bath • ii, iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. (see Eloise Smith.)
Bonin, Yorick, Dr. • ii, Ithea. Born 1943 in Milan. College professor. Close friend to Albion Ravistelle. Helen Craven’s teacher during her stay in Venice between 1975-1987.
Bytor, Gary • Δ iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 1221 in the village of Willowdale, Essex. Gary’s immortality was discovered when bystanders observed a simple cut heal itself over the course of a few seconds. He was then told by his mother that he was one of the Old People from over the sea. Willowdale, it has been documented, produced several immortals over the centuries. Instead of fearing the mysterious condition, the families of Willowdale embraced it and supported immortals and the Orathom Wis plight through the centuries. Gary Bytor was slain in the year 1010 AD after crossing omvide Menkaure to assist Loche Newirth during the New Earth War.
Catena, Angelo, Dr. • Δ i, ii, iii, Ithea. Born 1955 in Cortellazzo, Italy. Graduated 1970, magna cum laude from Oxford University with degrees in biochemistry, psychology and neuroscience. Has worked closely with Albion Ravistelle in Venice, Italy since 1977. He was the first to make major breakthroughs in DNA research and was a co-developer for the Melgia Gene derived from the plant fond by young William Greenhame in the fourteenth century. Dr. Catena has also conducted experiments using the psychological and divinized art of Painter, Basil Pirrip Fenn.
Chatfield, Alan • i, Ithea. Loche Newirth’s attorney in Idaho.
Cole, Richard • ii, Ithea. Road Manager for the rock group Led Zeppelin. Richard was one direct connection that brought Helen Storm (Newirth) to the attention of Albion Ravistelle.
Craven, Helen • ii, Itonalya, Endale Gen. Helen Craven is the birth name of Helen Newirth. (see Helen Newirth.)
Cremo, Graham • iii, Ithea. Born 1968. Graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in history and archeology. Graham acted as the lead archeologist and chief researcher at the archeological dig site at Wyn Avuqua, Priest Lake, Idaho.
Father Cyrus • ii, Godrethion. Birth details unknown. Father Cyrus was a leader of a Sentinel Monastic Order under the Bishop of London, Stephen Gravesend (d.1338). Monks of this Sentinel Order practiced monastic silence and were also trained as soldiers. Father Cyrus was the primary motivator behind Gravesend’s short lived and little known inquisition across England during the years 1335-38. The Sentinel Monastic Order, along with Bishop Gravesend, burned well over one hundred men, women and children claiming all were heretics, witches and sorcerers. Father Δ Cyrus was the reincarnated bridging spirit Cymachkena (Elliqui: dark dragon), or in other mythological texts, the Devil, Satan, Lucifer, Iblis, Set, Pluto, et cetera. Cyrus was slain by Albion Ravistelle near Strotford Manor, England in 1338. (See Nicolas Cythe, and Cynthia Summoner of the Godrethion.)
Cynthia Summoner of the Godrethion • Δ iii, Godrethion. Born in Wessex, 981. Cynthia is the reincarnated bridging spirit Cymachkena (Elliqui: dark dragon), or in other mythological texts, the Devil, Satan, Lucifer, Iblis, Set, Pluto, et cetera. Over the years 991-1010, she summoned, gathered and organized the massive Godrethion host to cross into unexplored North America to lay siege to the city of Immortals, Wyn Avuqua. She was slain by Vincale at Tiris Avu, 1010. (See Father Cyrus, Nicholas Cythe.)
Cythe, Nicholas • Δ i, ii, iii, Godrethion. Born 1977. Very little is known about Nicholas Cythe save that he was an extremely successful European businessman who owned vineyards in Italy and Spain. It was said that much of his fortune was built by his family, but there is no evidence to support the claim. Nicholas Cythe is the reincarnated bridging spirit Cymachkena (Elliqui: dark dragon), or in other mythological texts, the Devil, Satan, Lucifer, Iblis, Set, Pluto, et cetera. During the New Earth War, Nicholas was closely associated with Albion Ravistelle, the Endale Gen and The Board. He was the first recipient of the Melgia Gene developed by Ravistelle and Dr. Angelo Catena—the first Godrethion to become immortal on Earth. During the Battle of Masques, he was slain by George Eversman. It is said that his death was the end of the dreaded Cymachkena Shivtiris, as slain immortals are denied a Hereafter and doomed to oblivion.
Eastman, Lynn • Δ iii, Ithea. Born 1970 in Michigan, Illinois. Educated at New York Military Academy. In 1995 she was recruited by the private security company, Coldwater, owned by an international conglomerate known as The Board. The Board’s mission was to assist in the progression of the Melgia Gene and the evolutionary acceleration the human species. Lynn Eastman served as the Lead Operator at the Wyn Avuqua dig site, Priest Lake, Idaho. She led The Board forces against the remaining Itonalya at the Battle of Masques.
Echelle, Charles • ii, Ithea. Born 1941. Husband to Leonaie Echelle.
Echelle, Leonaie • ii,iii, Ithea-Itonalya. Born 1923 in Paris, France. Leonaie and her parents immigrated to the United States before World War II. Leonaie met the immortal, Samuel Lifeson in 1963 when she was visiting family in France, and the two fell deeply in love. Their relationship continued until Leonaie realized that Samuel could not grow old with her. She married Charles Echelle in 1989, but she never stopped loving Samuel. In 2015, Leonaie began suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and she was admitted to Greenhaven’s Retirement community in Coeur d’Alene, ID. Leonaie was one of the first recipients to be given immortality through Albion Ravistelle’s and Dr. Angelo Cantena’s genetic breakthroughs with the Melgia Gene. Leonaie now sits on The Board and writes curriculum for new Immortals.
Erinyes • Δ iii, Godrethion. Very little is known about Erinyes. The Godrethion host that destroyed Wyn Avuqua told stories that the Monk, Erinyes, was a Fate (a story likely derived from the Greek Moirai: Clotho, Lachesis or Atropos). Erinyes’ sex was mysterious, though most deemed the Fate to be female. It is also believed that Erinyes’ teaching was the foundation for the violent Monastic Order of Sentinels that emerged in England sometime around 1250. (See Father Cyrus.) During the Fall of Wyn Avuqua, Erinyes was counselor, herald and soldier under the command of the Godrethion Summoner, Cynthia. Erinyes was killed by Vincale before the omvide Dellithion in 1010 AD.
Etheldred • iii, Godrethion. Birth year unknown. Etheldred was a Field Marshal in Wessex before he was summoned as a Godrethion. Cynthia of Wessex appointed Etheldred Earl Constable during the planning stages of the Wyn Avuquain campaign. Just north of the omvide Mellithion, Etheldred’s sortie captured Loche Newirth, Julia Iris and young Edwin Newirth prior to the siege of Wyn Avuqua. Realizing that mighty Thi had crossed over within Edwin, Etheldred marshaled his captives to Cynthia. During the siege, Etheldred was killed by Adam Talansman before the omvide Dellithion in the year 1010 AD.
Eversman, George • Δ i, ii, iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 1002 in the City of Wyn Avuqua. George’s birth name was Iteav and he was the only son of Queen Yafarra. Eight-year-old Iteav was beheaded, drawn and quartered before the gates of Wyn Avuqua by his own mother to enable the bridging Godrethion, Thi (Edwin Newirth), to escape the city. Iteav was restored by the healer Godrethion, Lornensha, and brought secretly to Italy where he spent most of his life. Over the centuries, Eversman drew together the remaining Itonalya and founded the modern Orathom Wis which would continue to follow the Old Law of eliminating bridging deities on Earth. During the The Battle of Masques, George Eversman killed and cast into oblivion the Cymachkena, the Devil.
Fenn, Basil Pirrip • Δ i, ii, iii, Ithea. Born Basil Godell, 1975, in Canterbury, England to Diana Godell and Bill Hagenemer. Later he was sent with his brother Loche Newirth to live with Diana’s twin sister Rebecca and her husband Jules Pirrip in the United States. After an assassination attempt that killed the surrogate parents, the brothers were separated and hidden. Basil was sent to live with Elizabeth and Howard Fenn, who changed his name to Basil Pirrp Fenn. Basil is the augured Poet foretold in Itonalya lore. His paintings were believed to contain doorways or portholes between this life and the next. This porthole allowed deities to look upon the human condition and feel its beauty and power without interfering in human affairs. However, his paintings, if looked upon by human eyes, would draw the imperfections of mortals into the sphere of the gods, thus invading and destroying the fabric of the supernal realm. It was also believed that he and his brother, the Poet Loche Newirth, would end the long slavery of the Immortals to the One God, Thi, and rid the world of divine intervention forever. Basil took his own life at the Uffizi in Florence, Italy, in October of this year.
Fenn, Elizabeth • i, Ithea. Born 1953 in Lacey, Washington. Step mother to Basil Pirrip Fenn.
Fenn, Howard • i, iii, Ithea. Born 1951 in Olympia, Washington. Step father to Basil Pirrip Fenn. Howard met with a terrible accident while raising his step son, Basil. Howard beheld an early work of Basil’s that nearly claimed his life. The experience placed Howard into a coma for several days. When he revived, doctors were uncertain if he would ever speak or walk again. Basil, wracked with guilt, painted a portrait with the intention of healing Howard. With John Whitely, Basil visited his stepfather and showed the painting. It brought Howard back to mental health, but he would never regain the use of his legs. After the Battle of the Uffizi, Howard remained with Albion Ravistelle in Venice to study Itonalya History.
Finnley, Astrid, Dr. • Δ iii, Ithea. Born 1970 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Graduated cum laude from the University of Idaho in 1994, and finished her doctoral degree in Mythology and World Religion at Gonzaga University, 1999. She is currently a Professor of Mythology and History at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. Most of Astrid’s work has been in linguistics, but her obsession was the controversial subject of the Itonalya and their ancient city known as Wyn Avuqua. She self-published three books on Wyn Avuquain lore, language, historical evidence and cultural relevance. Most of her work has been regarded as pseudo history and speculative fiction by scholars, and her insistence on the subject has damaged her credibility as a historian and educator. In 2015 she received a grant to research the connection of Sumerian, Celtic and Egyptian languages, but she instead used the funds to complete her research to prove, once and for all, the existence of Wyn Avuqua.
Fryless, Mallory (Mal) • iii, Ithea. Born 1971 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Studied history and world religion at the University of Idaho before dropping out. Started his own business with Graham Cremo doing research excavation. He was a site dig site manager at Wyn Avuqua, Priest Lake, Idaho.
Geraldine of Ascott (of Leaves) • ii, Godrethion. (See Lornensha)
Godell, Alexander • i, Ithea. Loche Newirth’s birth name, given by his father William Greenhame and mother, Diana Godell. After the Moses Lake assassination attempt his name was changed to Loche Newirth. (See Loche Newirth.)
Godell, Diana • Δ i, iii, Ithea. Born 1944 in Canterbury, England. Diana gave birth to Alexander (Loche Newirth) and Basil Godell (Basil Pirrip Fenn), the augured Poet and Painter of ancient Itonalya myth. Discovering their divine purpose, Diana and Bill Hagenemer (William Greenhame) sent the boys to the United States to live with Diana’s twin sister, Rebecca and her husband Jules Pirrip. After an assassination attempt in Moses Lake, Washington, that killed both Jules and Rebecca, the surviving boys were split up. Basil was sent to live with foster parents Howard and Elizabeth Fenn. Alexander was sent back to Diana in Europe and the two went into hiding. During that time she changed Alexander’s name to Loche Newirth. When Loche decided to attend college in the United States, Diana remained sequestered. In 2010, it was William Greenhame, not Albion Ravistelle, who assisted in the faking of Diana’s death. The elaborate scheme was designed to throw off pursuit for fear of her capture and torture. Unfortunately, she was found and taken by the Endale Gen, and used as a hostage against the brothers. Following the Battle of the Uffizi, Diana was rescued by William Greenhame. Her aging body prevented her from fighting in the New Earth War, but she was a powerful support to her husband William and her sons. At William’s request, she stayed far from the front. When she learned of her husband’s beheading, she returned to Venice and was fortunate to retrieve William’s head from the surface of the Adriatic. She then arranged for Dr. Angelo Catena to restore her husband.
Gravesend, Steven, Bishop • Δ ii, Ithea. Gravesend was elected in 1318 and consecrated in 1319. As a suspected Godrethion (a rather powerful and murderous one), the Orathom Wis had sent Albion Ravistelle to eliminate him. Gravesend was, in fact, not a bridging spirit, but very often in the company of the Godrethion, Father Cyrus whose spirit emitted a profoundly dark Rathinalya. During the attempt on the Bishop’s life at Strotford Manor in 1338, William of Leaves had intended to poison the ailing Bishop, but at the last minute changed his mind and decided to pour the tainted wine on the floor. But before the boy could tip the rim, Gravesend seized the cup and poured the drink into his own mouth. As breath left his body, he confessed that he had condoned and ordered the death of hundreds due to the powerful influence of Father Cyrus.
Greenhame, William Heubert • Δ i, ii, iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born in 1332 to Father Radulfus Grenehamer and Geraldine of Leaves near the village of Ascott, England. His parents were both Godrethion. In 1338, attempting to save his mother from the being taken by a witch hunting mob led by Bishop of London, Stephen Gravesend, William’s throat was cut by the Sentinel Monk, Cyrus. To the great shock and delight of his father, The wound miraculously healed. Albion Ravistelle, who was hunting Godrethion (suspecting the Bishop of London to be a bridging spirit), discovered the young immortal and took him under his protection. During the New Earth War, William was beheaded by Nicholas Cythe. Gavress was performed by Albion Ravistelle on the Adriatic Sea just off the coast of Venice. But before William’s demise, his head was recovered from the water by Diana Godell. His body, too, was retrieved by assistants to Dr. Angelo Catena. Dr. Catena restored William to health through the use of the newly developed Melgia Gene and the ancient, magical leaves of William’s mother, Geraldine. William then followed after his son Loche across Menkaure. During the Battle of Masques William managed to bring Albion Ravistelle back to the Old Law.
Grenehamer, Father Radulfus • Δ ii, Godrethion. Birth year unknown. Husband to Geraldine of Ascott. Father to William Greenhame. Was presented with the post of Vicar at St. Mary the Virgin, Ascott, 1331. Married in secret to Geraldine in 1332. Albion Ravistelle was aware that Radulfus was a Godrethion, but decided to allow him to live given the Priest’s wholesome works. He was killed at Strotford Manor, England by Father Cyrus while protecting his son William in the year 1338.
Haganemer, Bill • i, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. One of many names William Greenhame has used through the centuries. (See William Greenhame.)
Hartman, Andi • iii, Ithea. Born 1970 in London, England. Graduated magna cum laude from Oxford University with degrees in criminology and psychology. Joined the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) counter terrorism unit in 2007 She was accepted onto The Board in 2009.
Hannazil, Chet, Senator • iii, Ithea. Born 1943 in Salt Lake City, Utah. American attorney and Republican politician. Graduated Brigham Young University in 1967. Received his J.D. degree from Florida State University, College of Law in 1971. Elected to the US Senate 1988. The Board appointed him Chair in 1999. He was stabbed to death with a ball point pen by Albion Ravistelle at The Board’s final meeting of this year.
Herzog, Geoff • iii, Ithea. Author, educator and historian. One of Astrid Finnley’s professors from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
Hruska, Marcel “Red Hawk” • iii, Ithea. Born 1991 on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation in Idaho. Studied history at the University of Idaho. Currently working on his masters at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. Marcel Hruska has assisted Professor Astrid Finnley in her work concerning the Indigenous Tribes and their connection to the Itonalya of Wyn Avuqua.
Iris, Julia • Δ i, ii, iii, Itonalya. Born 1980 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Graduated cum laude from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, 2004. Julia raised the capitol to design and build a restaurant in Hope, Idaho called The Floating Hope. In October of this year, Julia received a mortal gunshot wound to the stomach from Dr. Marcus Rearden. She woke hours later in complete health with Loche Newirth at her side. Following this life altering discovery, Julia struggled to come to terms with not only her newly found immortality, but also her personal identity and place in existence. She was abducted by Helen Newirth and used as ransom for Helen’s son, Edwin. While a captive, her education as an immortal began under the tutelage of Albion Ravistelle. She was rescued by William Greenhame. As Julia accepted her new life she embraced both mercy and compassion as moral guides, and these meditations allowed her to serve as a kind of moral compass to Loche Newirth. During the New Earth War, Julia fought alongside Loche Newirth and the Orathom Wis. She lives with Loche and Edwin Newirth in North Idaho.
Iteav • Δ iii, Itonalya. Born 1002, Iteav is the only child of Queen Yafarra of Wyn Avuqua. This is the birth name of the Orathom Wis Angofal, George Eversman. (See George Eversman.)
Jakes • ii. An English soldier under the rule of Edward III.
John • ii. An English soldier under the rule of Edward III.
Langley, Olivia • ii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 1907 in Cork, Ireland. Olivia was presumed dead after a wall in her family’s stone house collapsed and crushed her five year old body. Her parents frantically dug her out from the rubble. When she was pulled free they wept over the unmoving, deformed body. Not long into their lament, Olivia’s legs began to twitch, and suddenly snapped back into their normal, healthy shape. Then Olivia sat up and asked why they were crying. Her father was elated beyond words, but her mother was fearful of something more sinister and claimed that the Devil was at work. This fear drove a fissure between the family. The division was so acute that Olivia and her father were forced to leave Ireland. The two immigrated to the United States in 1914. It was in New York, at a Manhattan speak easy that William Greenhame, Corey Thomas and Samuel Lifeson met Olivia and her husband (a bandstand singer and jazz guitarist, Angus Windiman) for the first time, by pure chance, in 1927. Without knowing why, Olivia simply walked up to the trio and offered them each a piece of chewing gum. Learning of the terrible accident, William brought her into the Orathom Wis a year later. Olivia eventually became part owner in one of William’s franchises, Greenhaven Retirement Communities, where she helped to assist families and their elderly loved ones. There she met and cared for Leonaie Echelle. During the New Earth War, Olivia fought in the Battle of Masques.
Lifeson, Samuel • Δ i, ii, iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 1395 in Ireland. Samuel managed to keep his immortality secret from his family and his community until his mid-forties when talk circulated that his physical body did not seem to age. By the time he was fifty, many of his friends felt as if he was concealing some dark secret. Samuel, uncertain how to explain his immortal body, decided to leave his family and friends without a word and begin a new life. Samuel would do this three more times over the next century. When he met William Greenhame, Samuel found meaning for the first time. He joined the Orathom Wis in 1528. In the early 1960’s Samuel met the love of his life, Leonaie Echelle. Determined to stay with her, he planned in secret to make her immortal through the Leaves of William Greenhame, and the science of Albion Ravistelle and Dr. Angelo Catena. During the New Earth War, Samuel fought at the Battle of the Uffizi. He was beheaded by the assassin Emil Wishfeill in Venice of this year.
Lerxt, Alexia • iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 1921 in Fernie, British Columbia. How Alexia’s immortality was discovered is unknown, but sometime around 1930 Alexia’s family relocated to the village of Willowdale, England. Willowdale, it has been documented, produced several immortals over the centuries. Instead of fearing the mysterious condition, the families of Willowdale embraced it and supported immortals and the Orathom Wis plight through the centuries. Alexia Lerxt was slain in the year 1010 AD after crossing omvide Menkaure to assist Loche Newirth during the New Earth War.
Lornensha • Δ iii, Godrethion. Birth year unknown. Also known as the Lakewoman. According the Wyn Avuquain accounts, Lornensha was a healer that had dwelt just south of the omvide Mellithion along the shores of lake Fethequa (home water) for fifty or more years before the fall of the city. How and why she had come to make a home there is not known. During that time Lornensha built relations with both the Aevas and the Itonalya through her herb lore and her art of healing. She was often called to court to hold counsel with Queen Yafarra. Lornensha was not immortal, yet through her arts she managed to grow a plant that provided her a kind of ever-youth. After the fall of Wyn Avuqua in 1010, and the entombment of Yafarra, Lornensha was tasked with restoring the beheaded and torn Iteav. Though she was successful, Iteav would struggle with language and speech for the rest of his long, long life. Lornensha brought Iteav to a small village outside of Rome where he was adopted by a family of farmers. Lornensha then journeyed north to the Germania in the mid 13th Century, and changing her name to Geraldine along the way. A hundred years later she would journey to England and meet Radulfus Grenemer, marry and give birth to William of Leaves. (see Geraldine of Leaves.)
Maghren of the House of Mind • iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Birth year unknown. He became the Templar Angofal and Minister of Keptiris in the year 101 AD. As the Minister of the House of Mind, Maghren, like his predecessors, served as High Councilor to the reigning monarch. Maghren was known as both a legalist and a staunch supporter of the Old Law. Maghren was a loyalist to Yafarra’s Crown. In the year 721 AD, during an Itonalya campaign to sustain the Wessex monarch, King Ine, Maghren was sent to put down a rising power (and Godrethion) within the Wessex royal line named Cynewulf. Cynewulf gathered an army and marched on Ine’s Castle claiming that he would take the head of any man that dealt with Immortals. Ine was outnumbered and caught by surprise. Fearing that Cynewulf was Cymachkena Godrethion, Maghren sent runners to the omvide just south of Bath in hopes that Yafarra could send a contingent of Itonalya to save what would be a certain slaughter. Yafarra herself crossed into Wessex and led eight other Orathom Wis against Cynewulf’s army. Their arrival was just in time. Ine had been captured, and Maghren was slowly being cut apart. Yafarra’s wrath and retribution was horrifying. She and her Orathom Wis decimated Cynewulf’s followers until Cynewulf stood alone before Ine. Yafarra then placed the future of Wessex into the hands of Ine and allowed the two to duel for the crown. Ine was victorious. Maghren never forgot Yafarra’s aid and he defended Yafarra’s policies through the centuries. Maghren was killed in 1010 defending Queen Yafarra and the lower halls of Tiris Avu during the Seige of Wyn Avuqua. His body was never found.
Molmer, Dr. Chad • iii, Ithea. Born in 1949 in Portland, Oregon. Graduated from Washington State University in 1970. Completed his doctoral decree in History at Harvard University, 1977. Dr. Molmer was the chair of the GU Grant Board that funded the research of Dr. Astrid Finnley. Molmer, a believer in Dr. Finnley’s work, secretly knew she was using the funds to research the controversial Itonalya.
Newirth, Edwin • Δ i, ii, iii, Ithea. Born 2011 in Sandpoint, Idaho to Loche and Helen Newirth. In November of this year, young Edwin fell from a height into what Loche Newirth described as “The Eye of Thi,” an incident that crossed the spirit of the One God into Edwin’s physical body. Thus, Edwin became of great interest to both the Godrethion horde and the Wyn Avuquain Templar. It was believed that if the boy, Thi, was killed, the One God would be cast into oblivion freeing Godrethion and Itonalya alike from their age-long bondage. It was decided that Edwin was to be sacrificed by the Wyn Avuquains to buy peace. Before the sacrifice, Queen Yafarra secretly exchanged Edwin with her own son Iteav. Edwin escaped the city with his mother, Helen Newirth and the two crossed back into their own time. They took refuge at Loche’s cabin.
Newirth, Helen • Δ i, ii, iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis / Endale Gen. Born 1958 in Los Angeles, California. Helen’s immortality was discovered when she fell from a Hollywood Hotel in the mid seventies and lived. Guitarist Jimmy Page, who witnessed this event, introduced Helen to Albion Ravistelle with whom Helen fell in love with, spending the next few decades striving to impress him. She learned her place as an immortal and Orathom Wis assassin. As a final test to prove her love to Albion she agreed to pursue and become the muse to both Basil Fenn and Loche Newirth. Her attempts with Basil failed, but with Loche she succeeded. She married Loche in 2001 and gave birth to their son Edwin Newirth in 2011. When the life of her son came into question, Helen did everything in her power to protect him, including distancing herself from Albion.
Newirth, Loche • Δ i, ii, iii, Ithea. Birth name: Alexander Godell, born 1978 in Canterbury, England to Diana Godell and Bill Hagenemer (William Greenhame). After the assassination attempt that claimed the lives of his surrogate parents, Loche was sent back to England to live with his mother. He moved to back to the United States in 1988 to attend college. Graduated from the University of Washington in 1994, and finished his doctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley in 2000 with degrees in behavioral and child psychology. During his time at Berkeley, Loche attended courses taught by Dr. Marcus Rearden. Loche met Helen Craven just after graduation. The two relocated to North Idaho in 1998. In 2001 the couple married. Loche began his own practice in Sandpoint, Idaho in 2004. Their son, Edwin Newirth, was born in 2011. When Loche learned that his mentor, Marcus Rearden had murdered Bethany Winship, Loche crafted a far-fetched, mythological tale in order to bring Rearden to justice. The attempt narrowly succeeded, but the story contained some inexplicable supernatural element that brought Loche’s characters and fictional history to life. Loche now lives in North Idaho with his son and Julia Iris.
Page, Jimmy • ii, iii, Ithea. Born 1944 in London, England. English rock musician, guitarist, songwriter and producer best known for his work with Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page’s interest in the supernatural and the occult brought him into contact with Albion Ravistelle sometime around 1970. They became close friends. Δ When on tour in the United States, two years later, Jimmy witnessed a groupie fall from a high rise hotel balcony—and live. The groupie was Helen Storm (Helen Newirth). The impossibility of her recovery prompted him to contact Albion sometime around 1970.
Peterson, Robert • ii, Ithea. Born c. 1287-88 in London. Robert Peterson practiced as Bishop Steven Gravesend’s physician at Strotford Manor. In 1338, Father Cyrus was revealed as the instigator for the deaths of hundreds of innocents, as well as the source of illness (both mental and physical) in Bishop Gravesend, Robert Peterson was the first to attack the Sentinel monks, allowing young William of Leaves to escape into the tunnels. In 1350, Robert Peterson’s family was infected with the plague. William Greenhame heard the news and brought his mother’s leaves to heal the family. Robert spent the next five years completely immune to the virus and used what knowledge and skill he had to ease the sick and dying. He passed away in 1355 in his sleep.
Pierce, Justinian (The Mountain) • ii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 1799 in Magpie, Victoria, Australia. Justinian survived being pierced with fifteen arrows during a raid on his village when he was a boy. His father, fearing the village would suspect the boy to be possessed by some evil spirit, took him to England. At the wedding for a mutual friend, Justinian met William Greenhame and Samuel Lifeson. Soon thereafter, Justinian joined the Orathom Wis and became known as their greatest archer. Justinian fought at Battle of the Uffizi. He was slain at Seige of Mel Tiris, this year.
Pirrip, Jules • i, Ithea. Born 1946 in Seattle, Washington. Husband to Rebecca Pirrip and was briefly a surrogate parent to young Basil and Loche in the early 1980s.
Pirrip, Rebecca • i, Ithea. Born 1944 in Canterbury, England. Rebecca Godell (maiden name) is the twin sister to Diana Godell. Rebecca and her husband Jules Pirrip became surrogate parents to young Basil and Loche in the early Eighties. The couple was killed in an assassination attempt meant to take the lives of the boys in 1981.
Pratt, Neil • i, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 1596, just north of the village of Willowdale, England. Neil’s immortal condition was discovered in his mid twenties. Neil was mortally injured fighting to preserve the forests surrounding his home from Royal logging practices. Willowdale, it has been documented, produced several immortals over the centuries. Instead of fearing the mysterious condition, the families of Willowdale embraced it and supported immortals and the Orathom Wis plight through the centuries. Δ Neil Pratt was slain in the year 1010 AD after crossing omvide Menkaure to assist Loche Newirth during the New Earth War. Neil was known among the Orathom Wis as their Poet Laureate. Neil has produced eighteen books of poetry. In his book, Caress of Steel, Neil tells of his search for meaning as an Itonalya.
Rearden, Elanor Maylen • i, Ithea. Born in 1948 Kennewick, Washington. Graduated from the University of Idaho in 1970 with a teaching degree. Married Marcus Rearden in 1975. Elanor suffered a fatal heart attack at her home in October of this year. Her husband claims the heart attack was caused by her shock at seeing a painting that depicted him murdering a woman, Bethany Winship. The painting was made by Loche Newirth. Consequently, Marcus holds Loche responsible for the murder of his wife.
Rearden, Marcus, Dr. • Δ i, ii, iii, Ithea. Born in 1948 Lewiston, Idaho. Graduated from Washington State University in 1970, and finished his doctoral work at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Minneapolis in 1974 with degrees in behavioral and criminal psychology. Married Elanor Malen in 1975. They relocated to Los Angeles California in 1978, where he worked closely with the LAPD homicide division. His psychological expertise helped to capture and convict over thirty dangerous murderers as well as develop an entirely new protocol for interviewing suspects and witnesses. His work brought fame. He released several books, all of which have become bestsellers. The novel, How To Get Away With Murder, won several book awards and is now used in university criminology classes across the United States. Rearden taught for a brief time at the University of California, Berkeley. During that time, Rearden met Loche Newirth. Marcus became a mentor to Loche Newirth early in the Twenty-first Century and taught the young psychologist much about the practice. In early October this year, Marcus Rearden murdered his mistress Bethany Winship. The act prompted Loche Newirth to find a way to bring his old mentor to justice. The Journal was written to trap Marcus within his own lunacy. It succeeded. Marcus was arrested on the 31st of October of this year. However, through some freak, supernatural occurrence, The fantastic concepts and characters in The Journal became real. On November 3rd, Albion Ravistelle freed Rearden from his Idaho jail cell and brought the psychologist back to Venice. Albion then spent the following days learning as much as he could about The Poet, Loche Newirth from Rearden. Rearden, in turn, researched, too, plotting his own authorship of Loche’s torture and demise. With Access to Basil Fenn’s paintings, Albion Ravistelle’s Toele, The Journal and Loche’s canon, Rearden designed the elaborate torture and murder of Loche’s son, Edwin. His purpose was not based solely in revenge—Rearden pressed for a psychological enslavement of Newirth—a mastery over Newirth so that he might author his own will using the author’s gift. Also, during his time at Albion’s House, Rearden managed to over throw Ravistelle’s command over The Board. During the Battle of Masques, Rearden implemented his coup, but his position as leader was short-lived. Loche Newirth captured Rearden at the ruins of Wyn Avuqua. Mad with the loss of his son, Loche nearly killed Rearden. Julia interceded, pleading for Loche’s better nature and mercy. Loche left Marcus alive. However, Dr. Marcus Rearden has never been found. It is whispered that Rearden is entombed in the crystal sarcophagus in the Atheneum chamber at Wyn Avuqua.
Rapasardi, Giovanni • i, iii, Ithea. Born in 1971 in Padua, Italy. Giovanni still serves as one of the primary sword instructors for the Orathom Wis in Europe. According to Samuel Lifeson, “Rapsardi’s expertise matched with his humanity is the perfect balance for the Itonalya Guardian. On the one hand, he teaches a fluidity of defense—the defense of one’s life, as only a mortal could, but simultaneously the aggression and ferocity of fighting to live; that which the Deathless often lack.” During the New Earth War, Loche Newirth received his first lesson in swordplay from Giovanni. Giovanni also fought alongside the Orathom Wis at the Battle of Masques.
Rapasardi, Maria • i, iii, Ithea. Born in 1966 in Padua, Italy. The elder sister to Giovanni Rapasardi. Maria moved to Venice in the early 1980s and opened her own bistro and wine bar. She is still there to this day. It was in Maria’s bistro that Loche Newirth met Samuel Lifeson—and where Samuel killed the assassin, Felix Wishfeill. An accomplished fencer herself, Maria learned swordplay from her brother, Giovanni Rapasardi.
Ravistelle, Albion • Δ i, ii, iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis / Endale Gen / The Board Chair. Born 811 AD. Albion’s birth name was Rexmurum (King’s wall) and was born in Rome during the reign of Charlemagne. He was born into slavery. When he was five he stabbed the master of the house while trying to defend his mother from a beating. While he delivered a mortal wound, the master returned in kind and broke the boy’s neck. When Albion awoke, his mother jubilated. The two fled Rome to Greece where his mother found sanctuary with family. She taught him how to conceal his immortality. When she died some thirty years later, Albion left Greece and began learning as much as he could about agriculture and farming. For over two hundred years Albion bought and sold various farms across what is now Tuscany. He was not discovered by another immortal until 1221 when George Eversman visited purely by chance to inquire about some of Albion’s medicinal herb gardens. Upon learning Albion’s immortal condition, George began to educate him about the past and future of his kind. Albion never forgot about his early life as a slave, and though he was an influential and loyal Orathom Wis for many centuries, the memories of his bondage, his pride and his ambition led to his rebellion against the Old Law.
Roblam of the House of Heart • iii, Alyeth, Orathom Wis. According to the Toele, Roblam was the youngest Templar in Wyn Avuquain history. Born in 990 AD, Roblam was granted the Angofal and Heart Minister title when she was eight-teen-years-old. Traditionally, the House of Heart Minister was reserved for a mortal in order to balance the immortal state of mind with the mortal’s thirst for joy and gratitude for what time they have upon Endale. But never had the Templar seen a woman so young with such zeal, passion and foresight as Roblam. When her predecessor Vorwen of the Green, passed, Roblam brought her full heart and compassion to the office and served Yafarra with steadfast loyalty. She was descended from the Aveas tribes that dwelt in the lands surrounding Wyn Avuqua. Despite her passion, she was known for having the last word after her fellow Templar would debate overlong. In the end, Roblam would often pronounce the best solutions and synthesize matters into simple terms. Roblam was killed in the year 1010 AD in Tiris Avu defending Queen Yafarra during the Seige of Wyn Avuqua.
Smith, Eloise • ii, iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 1231. Also known as Alice of Bath. Alice’s entire village and family perished during the famine of 1235. Albion Ravistelle found and rescued her when he heard tell of the single surviving child from the village. He brought her under his tutelage when she was three. Alice eschewed violence and chose the role of servant to those of her kind. For centuries Alice kept Albion’s house in London and assisted him in his practice as an apothecary. Alice was an avid traveler. She would often take year-long holidays. She wrote extensive travel journals and was a collector of books. Alice was the first to discover a complete Toele from Wyn Avuqua. She gifted the book to Albion, but never divulged how or where she found it. Sometime around 1930 she left her station with Albion claiming that he had become selfish and was denying the Old Law. During the New Earth War Alice served the Orathom Wis.
Stell, Aloysius • i, ii, iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis / Endale Gen. Aloysius Stell is one Albion Ravistelle’s names. (see Albion Ravistelle.)
Stiddam, Darrel, Detective • i, iii, Ithea. Detective for the Coeur d’Alene Police department. Officer Stiddam was the first on the scene at the Cd’A city graveyard on October 31 of this year. He took Dr. Marcus Rearden under arrest.
Storm, Helen • ii, Itonalya. Helen Storm is the name Helen Craven was given when she was living on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California. (See Helen Newirth.)
Tenuwa • iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Tenuwa was a herald to Queen Yafarra. He was cheerful, dark skinned, dark eyed and very fond of exposing strangers to the wonders of Itonalya life, art and culture.
Thomas, Corey • Δ i, ii, iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 1545 in Florence, Italy. Corey’s father taught him how to use a sword from a very young age. By his eighth year, Corey had developed into a dangerous opponent to most adult men. During that year, Corey’s father was challenged to a duel over a family debt. His father was slain. Young Corey vowed vengeance. His father’s killer thought it would be best to dispatch the boy in order to prevent a future vendetta. Corey, drew up his father’s sword to the laughter of all. Moments later, the money lender was dead. The lender’s followers then surrounded and stabbed the little boy to death. His body they took outside of Florence and left it beside the road. An hour later, Corey woke alive and well. Bloodied and bedraggled, the boy was picked up by a passing wine maker on his way to his vineyards north of the city. There, Corey learned how to make wine, and continues to manage his vineyards to this day. His new family concealed his immortal condition. Corey met Albion Ravistelles around 1800 and joined the Orathom Wis sometime after. During the New Earth War, Corey Thomas acted as a spy for the Orathom Wis for he was deep within Albion’s confidence. Corey fought at the Battle of the Uffizi, the Seige of Mel Tiris and the Battle of Masques.
Vincale, Captain of Wyn Avuqua • Δ iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born 221 AD in Wyn Avuqua. Son of Leafseed. Vincale held high ranks in the houses of Keptiris and Shartiris prior to his advancement to Tiris Avu under Queen Yafarra. Vincale aided in the escape of Loche and Edwin Newirth during the Siege of Wyn Avuqua. Vincale returned to Tiris Avu after his task was done to defend the Queen. When he arrived the lower halls were already sealed off and all but one of the Templar had been slain. He then came upon Yanreg of the House of Talons just as he was begging for a parlay with Cynthia, the Godrethion Summoner. Cynthia demanded the whereabouts of Yafarra. Yanreg promised to provide the information in exchange for his safe passage. Cynthia agreed. But before Yanreg could speak, Vincale shot him with arrows (later beheaded him). In a futile attempt Vincale’s sortie then attacked the massive Godrethion host. Vincale killed Cynthia but was later overwhelmed by her host and slain. This last stand at Tiris Avu is told in full in the Toele. Vincale is a hero of Itonalya literature. William Greenhame once remarked that if he and Diana were to ever have another son, he would name him Vincale.
Whitely, John • i, Ithea. Born 1969. High school friend of both Basil Pirrip Fenn and Helen Craven. After graduation, John attended St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California, and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Walter Alin in 1999. John was witness to the powerful nature of Basil Fenn’s paintings, and how Basil used a painting to heal Howard Fenn’s psychological malady. The disturbing nature of the art impelled John to share the experience with Bishop Alin. Bishop Alin then contacted his old friend in Italy, Albion Ravistelle.
Wishfeill, Carol • i, Ithea. Born 1964 in Raffadali, Sicily. Immigrated to the United States when she was four with her mother. Carol was the first spy for Albion Ravistelle when she became Loche Newirth’s receptionist. She was the younger sibling of the Endale Gen assassin, Felix Wishfeill.
Wishfeill, Emil • Δ ii, iii, Ithea. Born 1974 in Raffadali, Sicily. Son of Endale Gen assassin, Felix Wishfeill. Emil followed closely in the footsteps of his father and became the most ruthless and surgical assassin under the command of the Ravistelle organization in Venice. During the New Earth War, Emil was responsible for the slaying of nearly twenty-seven Itonalya Orathom Wis. One of which was Samuel Lifeson. During the Battle of Masques, Emil was killed by Samuel Lifeson’s love, Leonaie Eschelle.
Wishfeill, Felix • Δ i, Itonalya, Endale Gen. Born 1901 in Raffidali, Sicily. Felix’s father was an assassin for a local Mafia chief named Cuffaro. On a rainy winter night in 1911, Felix followed his father and two other men to a barn in the neighboring village. Through the slats in the walls, he watched his father execute a rival Mafia member. When Felix cried out and his father discovered that he had seen the murder, the other two men shot both father and son. Felix, after having been shot four times, woke an hour later and returned to his home. His mother, a believer in black magic and the supernatural, hid the boy. A year later, Felix avenged his father by killing both men, their wives and children by setting both houses on fire and gunning down any that tried to escape. He did this in one night. He did this when he was ten years old. Not long after, the story reached the ears of Albion Ravistelle. Felix Wishfeill in pursuit of Loche Newirth was killed in a sword fight in a Venetian bistro by Samuel Lifeson in October of this year.
Williamson, Tracy • ii, Ithea. Born 1958 in Orange County. Tracy Williamson was Helen Craven’s best friend. In the early 1970s the two were avid music fans and were fixtures on the Sunset Strip.
Winship, Bethany • Δ i, Ithea. Born 1950 in Kansas City, Kansas. Maiden name, Bethany Denise Owens. She relocated with her parents to Sandpoint, Idaho in 1968. She married Roger Winship in 1975. The couple had two children. Bethany began to suffer from anxiety and depression sometime around her fiftieth year. She met psychologist Marcus Rearden in 2004 and began therapy. A passionate and unhealthy love affair began between them. After many attempts to remove herself from the relationship, she sought council elsewhere. Little did she know her newly chosen therapist, Loche Newirth, was once Rearden’s student and protégé. In October of this year, in the heat of passion and fearful of exposure, Dr. Marcus Rearden drowned Bethany Winship on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille, just south of Hope, Idaho. Her tragic murder set into motion the events that are told in The Newirth Mythology.
Yafarra, Queen • Δ iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Born sometime during the fifth century BCE. When her father, King Althemis Falruthia of Vastiris was slain during the Sibling War, Yafarra, heir to the Wyn Avuquain throne, was faced with a broken nation. Yafarra, like her father, supported the written and oral forms of Elliqui that were created to help assuage the dying Original Mode of the language (see Elliqui: On Translation, Pronunciation and Use). The creation of this new Elliqui form was met with opposition—opposition led to conflict, conflict led to the Sibling War. Shortly after the death of her father, Yafarra put down the last resistance to the acceptance of new Elliqui and brought the Itonalya together again. The written and oral forms of Elliqui then took a central role in Old Law doctrine. Yafarra was the last monarch to reign in Wyn Avuqua. In the winter of 1010 AD, one of the prophesied brothers Loche Newirth, came to Wyn Avuqua. With him came his son Edwin—crossed into Edwin’s spirit was the bridging God, Thi. At the same time, Wyn Avuqua was surrounded by a massive Godrethion army that had come to sack the city. Godrethion emissaries were sent to the Queen with terms: if Yafarra kills Thi, Wyn Avuqua would be left in peace. Yafarra agreed. However, at the last minute she sent Edwin with his mother Helen to escape across an omvide. She then appeared on the sacrificial alter with her own son, Iteav. There she cut him apart before the Godrethion horde. Though the ruse worked, it did not stop the Godrethion from sacking the city. Yafarra was pressed back into Tiris Avu and deep into the Heron Atheneum where she commanded Templar to entomb her in order to protect the written prophecy (The Red Notebook). She was liberated from the crystal sarcophagus a thousand years later by Graham Cremo and Astrid Finnely. She later fought at the Battle of Masques against Marcus Rearden’s take over of the Endale Gen and The Board.
Yanreg of the House of Talons • iii, Itonalya, Orathom Wis. Yanreg’s birth year is unknown. He became the Templar Angofal of Shartiris in the year 622 and was at first a talented and thoughtful military strategist, who had led successful Itonalya campaigns in both the Byzantine Empire and through what is now northern Europe against armies driven by Godrethion rulers. By the Tenth Century he had become hubristic and combative to both the Itonalya Crown and his fellow Templar. In 1010, Yanreg was the first to begin communications with the Godrethion Horde’s Summoner Cynthia and her lead envoy, Erinyes. Many believed that Yanreg was deceived by the Enemy into believing that if he were to assist in delivering the City, he would be crowned King, despite Kingship and monarchy being things he publicly denounced as the primary sickness to the realm. None withstanding, it was whispered by Templar and his closest advisors that Yanreg secretly sought the power to rule. His connection to Cynthia the Summoner inevitably led to his support in the sacrificing of the boy God, Thi (Edwin Newirth) in order to buy peace. When the Godrethion did not honor their word and attacked the city after the sacrifice, Yanreg fought bravely in defense of his people. In the end, however, Yanreg begged Cynthia for parlay promising to tell of Yafarra’s location in return for his safe passage. Before he could divulge Yafarra’s whereabouts, Captain of the Guard, Vincale, shot him with arrows. Later, Vincale beheaded Yanreg. No Gavress was given.
APPENDIX II.
As far back as the second millennium BCE, terrestrial events and the movement of celestial bodies have played dominant roles in humankind’s attempt to understand itself, its calendars, its gods and its position in the universe. Astrology began with the Indian, Chinese and Mayan cultures, evolved through the Babylonians, Alexander the Great, Ancient Greece, to Rome, appeared in the plays and poetry of Chaucer and Shakespeare, and it still thrives today as a horoscopic art maintaining its roots in omens, prediction and guidance. While humans have worshiped, studied and relied on the stars, so, too, have the Itonalya.
Professor Astrid Finnley’s research of the Toele allows us a glimpse into the distant past and the first creation tales from the Itonalya dating back to the third millennium BCE.
In Itonalya lore, the allegorical significance of the sun, moon and earth is representative of God, Immortal and Human. The sun god, the immortal guard, the moon, and the delicate, dramatic and coveted beauty of earth were the primary components, the holy trinity, if you will, of Itonalya society. The mighty creator, Thi, is the foundation for all else. Lastly, but no less enigmatic, is the appearance of a godlike bird, a Blue Heron called Teniqua, as it is named in many places in the Toele. The Blue Heron would have been an important totem to the Wyn Avuquain landscape then, just as the bird is today.
With regard to limited space I have chosen to include only three tales here for readers interested in Itonalya myth. Of the hundreds of translated stories, what follows can be linked back to events recorded in The Shape of Rain, Leaves of Fire and The Invasion of Heaven.
The tales are from the Toele’s epic poem, the Lay of Melea, or the love story of the Earth and the Moon—Endale and Mellithion. The first, Of the Court of Thi and the Making of Dellithion and Endale, tells how the Thi made the sun and the planets of our solar system, and most importantly, Endale and Mellithion. For the Itonalya, this tale depicts their fundamental curse and mission through the character of Mellithion, the first immortal guardian to the coveted Endale. The second and third tales, Of Mighty Chalshaf First Born, and Of Ashto the Teacher of Time, tell of the beginnings of Endale’s education among her celestial siblings. In these stories, both Chalshaf (Jupiter) and Ashto (Saturn) visit the earth with their godlike powers and wisdom. Their teachings nearly destroy Endale. However, Mellithion prevails in defending her from these greater gods and he casts them back into the darkness. But the damage of their bridging could not be reversed.
The tales of Chalshaf and Ashto are highly abridged translations. Following after are summaries to the eight other gods of the Lay of Melea and their dealings with Endale and Mellithion. It is hoped that these stories (however cut down) will provide those with an interest in the Itonalya a glimpse into their ancient beliefs and fascinating culture. We look forward to complete versions of the Toele and the Lay of Melea, among many other Itonalya works in the years to come.
Photo courtesy of Graham Cremo, ©2018
Avu, Tales of Sky. Heron Atheneum One
OF THE COURT OF THI AND THE MAKING OF DELLITHION AND ENDALE
Each glittering point of light in the night’s sky is an eye. They are what we, the Itonalya, call Oläthion and they are the thoughts in the mind of Thi, The One, whose sight sees all, knows all and has created what is.
Thi bade the Oläthion to sing their tales and their histories through sparkling streams of light. Their voices cry out and ride upon flames, cutting through time’s black depths and fathomless gulfs until, each by each, their minds touch, their eyes see through their siblings’ eyes, their stories become known, and they do not feel alone. Through light they share. Elliqui is the light. The voice of Thi.
Tales beyond number, beyond imagination, flash across heaven. Stories. Luminous stories of clustered, searing suns tearing the sky and spilling new stars out into the black. Sparks telling of tiny worlds with swirling clouds of poisoned smoke and seas of boiling blood. Dramas of colliding, bejeweled cities made of fire, and radiant frozen spheres—joyous cascades of molten rock and skies scarred by lighting; all gleaming from eye to eye amid the Order of Creation, Oläthion. And Thi was pleased.
We began as a lonely pale light flickering in the mind of Thi. A yellow fleck on the edge of Its imagination. This small sun harkened to the countless tales woven in the surrounding starlight. It saw far into the depths of Its siblings and their stories, and knew that it was holy among the thoughts of Thi. Then, from out of the distant dark, a glowing charge gave it blessings of welcome, and it knew that it would now forever be named Dellithion.4
For an age, the young Dellithion drifted among Its siblings perceiving the stories of its kin.
Many say that time began for the Itonalya when Dellithion shone out Its own tale into the night. The celestial audience turned to perceive and they saw Dellithion shimmer with gold tendrils of flame, and from Its surface eight spheres of mist and stone and fire were hurled out from Its embrace. Each was adorned in starlike garments, bright in the ebony gulf. Orbs of swirling crimson and ice blue, solemn globes ringed with jewels, gold, and tiny pale stones hastening out toward the end of Dellithion’s story.
The stars watched and let the drama glow within them. And they were glad. And so it was that Dellithion entered into the great family of Thi and became one of the mighty Oläthion.
But then, Dellithion’s story ending, the void darkened and the Oläthion eyes turned away to other tales. Dellithion flashed out to gather their attention but the audience gazed far off for they now sought stories of greater power and depth. Dellithion watched as Its creations drifted into the quiet dark and It felt alone and afraid.
But Dellithion still had more to make, and though Its place within Thi’s Court was to most a meager and insignificant trifle, the small star trembled for an age yearning to bring its master work to shine.
It is said that Dellithion’s coveted jewel, Endale, the treasure of every eye amid the Court of Thi, the envy of every story sent on streams of starlight, shaped from Dellithion’s desire to reflect the power of its siblings back to them; to reflect the love of the light that connected them all; to reflect Thi.
Said to be formed from teardrops of sun and oceans of flame, the delicate blue green world took its place among the Court of Dellithion. Her beauty was unlike any tale known among the Great. The Oläthion could not look away.5
So beautiful was Endale that Dellithion Itself stared in hopeless wonder and love, neglecting the others of Its Court. Over time the Court of Dellithion cried out for their maker to mark them, heed them, to look upon them. With great effort, Dellithion pulled his gaze from his precious Endale and turned to Its other children, but not before placing a guardian to protect Its beloved Endale in Its absence.
From the highest peak upon Endale, Dellithion tore a root of stone. A mountain. Raising it to the void, before Its eye, It bore spears of flame into the shaping rock. Mellithion, the Sun named it. A tiny sphere to protect the King’s treasure. Smooth Mellithion became and white as naked light. As he cooled, his skin shimmered to pure gold. Dellithion flung the guardian to Endale and the two entwined into a dance amid the stars.
Such was the curse of the Moon, for he was given the strength of the Oläthion, but not the gift of tales. Instead, he was a servant, forever cursed to behold the beauty of Endale, unable to look away. To hear her. To follow her. To protect. And never to know freedom. Mellithion’s curse also bore an unquenchable love and a devotion beyond any tales known among the Siblings or the Itonalya.
i
OF MIGHTY CHALSHAF, FIRST BORN
So beautiful was Endale against night’s shroud that she attracted the eyes of the infinite celestial audience, the Oläthion. The ancient Order marveled and stared deeply into her, pining to know her story and her future. Her nearer kin, The smaller Court of Dellithion, also found it impossible to draw their attention from her beauty. And as the great Dellithion removed Its gaze from Endale, secure with Mellithion’s vigilant eye, It went to each of Its children, each in turn, to insure their obedience and assure them of Its love.
When It had turned away, the Sun’s first born, Chalshaf, mightiest of the Court, drifted across the black distance to behold Endale. He was vast. A swirling ball of impenetrable cloud and vapor. Immense and powerful.
At his approach Endale’s surface quaked, mountains crumbled and her great oceans rose up as if reaching out to touch the giant.
Chalshaf’s face was a rolling vapor of orange and white. In the center of his bulk, red and menacing, was a deep chasm whirling like a storm of blood. It was a gaping wound.
He spoke to her. “You are coveted and loved, Endale, by our Maker, Dellithion. Dellithion cares more, it seems, for you than the others of His Court. More than even I, the mighty Chalshaf, first born, Ruler among the siblings of Dellithion’s thought. But you are weak. You are delicate. How is it that our Maker hath placed you higher than I? How can this be?”
Chalshaf waited and watched, and as he did so his jealousy was overthrown by Endale’s beauty, for he understood she had no knowledge of such adoration. Chalshaf saw innocence and a glimmer of the great wisdom that would grow within her.
“Now I see,” he said, “For you seek not power or justice. You want only peace and a view of the Oläthion sky.” Chalshaf turned his gaze to the stars and said, “But a time will come when the powers of heaven will fall upon you. They will take from you that which is purest, your story. They will make you pine for the strength to rule—the desire for power. You cannot allow it, Endale. Dellithion will not allow it. Even now, as you behold my strength, I sense your covetousness, your desire.”
Endale replied, “I am afraid. I do not feel envy.”
“Not yet, perhaps. One day you will long for power, for power will lessen your fear.”
“I have Mellithion to protect me in my Lord’s absence,” Endale said.
“You do. But if you are truly to become one of our Court, you must learn to rule what you make, and rule your yourself. I will not harm you, Endale. I bring warnings. Beware of power. I shall show you the pain it brings. Perhaps with the taste of this wisdom you will remain as you are, the jewel of purity we long to know—the peace we long to feel.
“Behold the hurt my Maker, Dellithion, hath given me.” Chalshaf glowered down into Endale’s light and the wound upon his face coiled like a hissing snake. “For long ago, I alone sought power over Dellithion’s will. I have paid a heavy price. But, in the end, Dellithion’s payment has been more in wisdom than in pain. Thus, I will teach you, Endale, to challenge all before you. Even those closest to you. Receive the hurts that come so that you may find strength.
“Look, you, Endale. See the hurricane. Harken to the tumult of thunder, the power of chaos. Behold how my face churns in storm and fury. Take from me this lesson.” Chalshaf brought his lips to hers and a tempest spread across her body. Lesions of swirling rain and snow and howling winds tore great ragged fissures into her surface. Water and stones funneled into her skies and blotted out the distant light of Dellithion now far away.
Endale cried out in both joy and pain. Joy for the power brought forth a new strength. Pain because she could not control it.
“Do you see, Endale? The chaos that is yours to command? Use it to defend yourself.”
“Stop!” Endale screamed. “I am not the lord of this gift. It rages beyond me.”
Chalshaf, now overwhelmed with desire pressed her further.
When Mellithion rose from the sea and beheld the terror of Chalshaf brooding over his lover, he shone like Dellithion Itself in wrath. It is said Mellithion was the first to forge a sword and to wield it against the Gods, for as he tore across the horizon, a sharp streak of flame gathered in his wake. Long and gleaming, the blade rung out as a knife scraping on a stone. The moon wedged himself between Chalshaf and his beloved, and he swung the sword around from behind. The weapon dragged across the sky, sparked into flame and smote the giant’s mighty helm. Chalshaf rolled back, his face filled with storm and confusion. Mellithion stabbed the point of the sword into Chalshaf’s menacing eye, and the giant fell away, shrieking in pain.
“Fly! Be gone, Chalshaf! Be gone!” Mellithion commanded. “I am the guardian of she that was made pure. She who is not destined to be one of you. She is Endale. She is beyond the starlight.”
Chalshaf whirled and rose up. His bulk blotted out the light of the distant sun. Endale cowered and wept while the Moon stood firm, eclipsed in the giant’s deepening shadow. But before Chalshaf attacked, Mellithion’s fury abated. He stared at the raging giant with sudden pity and awe. How the wound upon Chalshaf glared—how the giant himself would never allow it heal—how the pain drove his anger. The moon could see how Chalshaf ruled: with the memory of storm, ire and violence.
Mellithion felt pity for the god.
It is said that Mellithion was the first to offer the hilt of his sword to an adversary. He did this without fear.
Chalshaf laid hold of the weapon and struck Mellithion with vicious, deadly blows. The stabbing pits into the once smooth face of the Moon. Great fissures and deep chasms were lanced into him. Flakes of his gold skin fluttered and floated into the void. Chalshaf roared, “No servant, no guardian, no simple imitation of a god shall command me! It is I that rule this court.” The giant struck him again. More gold tore away. “Do you see, Mellithion, your disguise breaks and exposes your true self—Dellithion may have made you in his image, but beneath, you are stone and dust.”
Endale watched the cruel giant strike again scarring the silent and still Moon. She cried, “Stop, mighty Chalshaf! Mercy, I beg!” Chalshaf heeded the melody of Endale’s weeping voice and stayed his hand.
Gently, with a slight quaver, for his pain was great, Mellithion said, “Chalshaf, what weapon will kill the anger within you? I hath given you my sword—and it has done nothing save injure us both. My visage shall bear your violence for eternity—and you shall live on, and your wound of anger will finally consume you. Can you not see that I am not your enemy? I am a humble guardian. I was made to protect a strength beyond all powers. It is she, Endale. Fair in the empty darkness. Pure beyond measure. If only I could become as she. If only we sparks across heaven could become as she. For truly, I am mere stone and dust, arraigned in the armor my lord hath given me. And though our armor and injuries are akin, they exist only because of the love we long for, though we fail to know it. But behold, Endale. Let us allow her to show us peace. Let us allow her to bring us hope.”
Chalshaf’s anger lessened, and the words of the tiny moon brought a rush of admiration. He beheld the now broken and injured guard as a giant among the Oläthion. Slowly, Chalshaf bowed. His great bleeding eye closed as if in prayer.
Chalshaf said, “Never shall I come to Endale in this way again. But I cannot look away. The story within her is beyond my strength to resist. She will lure all light to her cheek as the ages pass. You know this. A time will come when a door will open to her favors—a door you will have no power to close. And though your intentions are to save her, as are mine, we will both fail. Therefore, take from me your sword.” Chalshaf turned the hilt of the moon’s sword to him. Mellithion took it. “I will make this covenant with you—where you find me seeking the light of Endale, smite me and send me hither. Know that I will obey, know also that I will return again and again, for there is no peace outside Endale’s light. She is the very light in the eye of Thi. Protect her, Mellithion, for the love of Thi. Protect her from me. From the sky.”
With that, Chalshaf backed away into the darkness, his eye ever trained on the churning blue green face of Endale.
ii
OF ASHTO, TEACHER OF TIME
The early scholars of Keptiris were said to worship Ashto (Saturn, later the Greek’s Kronos), though by the time of the last Wyn Avuquain monarchs, Ashto had become less of a god and more of a curse word. The precise reason for this is unknown. However, because the archetype was representative of the passage of time and the cyclical patterns that govern the universe, it would not be too far beyond the pale to assume that the younger Itonalya (just over two centuries old) would have a profound sense of frustration at the beguiling monotony of the Ashtonian message. The message is rooted in the circular seasons as well as the birth, youth, age and death cycles that dictate the nature of life as we know it. Apart from this stands the Itonalya curse of an ageless body without the divine capacity to fully transcend human empathy, or in the words of William Greenhame, “The burden of lifetimes of thought without rest.” Thus, like the Itonalya phrase ithic veli agtig uttered as a kind of lamentation, the words gal Ashto might be akin to our expletive, goddamn it.
However, Ashtonian philosophy was held in high reverence to most due to the god’s central purpose: teaching. The Itonalya believed the passing of wisdom and the pursuit of knowledge was among the highest aims. Ashto as teacher was paramount in early agriculture, the healing arts for mortals, along with the study of history and time. Structure, guidelines and the firm nature of reality, like a good teacher, make up Ashto’s thematic elements. Sources also place the god of Ashto into the love story of Endale and Mellithion which I have included here. Of the myriad tales and proverbs where this influential character is core, this story is one found in the Toele and is often quoted by Elliquists throughout the canon. I find it also relevant for readers interested in the Itonalya’s devotion and duty of protecting the children of Endale.
OF ASHTO THE TEACHER
“What is forever?” Endale asked.
Mellithion did not reply.
“Will you not speak? Will you not see me.”
The moon saw her. He could not look away save only to protect her. But his thoughts remained silent. He drifted along the horizon and hungered for her. She swirled and turned in drifting blues and glowing whites. He was shade and grey. A mere stone at her feet.
“Please, what is forever?” she asked again. “I long to know the secrets to the sky, to the shining eyes, the chambers of light beyond. How distant? Show me. Please show me. Take me hither.”
Mellithion wondered about the mysteries that lay hidden behind the curtain of night, and he, too, wanted to know. But just as the desire came to lead her out to the marvels that Thi had forbidden, he fell deep into the mystery of her beauty, and he was content.
“Please, Mellithion. What is forever? Do you not want to see the where the lights come from?”
Mellithion spoke, and she was surprised by his sudden presence in her thoughts. “Forever is you and me,” he whispered.
Endale looked upon the moon and she knew that he loved her.
It was then another voice entered their thoughts.
“There is no forever,” the voice said. “All will pass away. But time is long, so be content.”
There, rising above Endale’s deep blue oceans was a great sphere of gold and white. It wore wide, thin rings of ice and dust. Mellithion drew his sword and pressed himself between Endale and the intruder.
“Be gone!” Mellithion commanded. “We seek no audience with thee.”
The voice replied, “I dare say, you do not.”
Mellithion sensed no malice, but instead, a calm, fatherly demeanor. “I mean no harm, valiant guardian, guard to the jewel of the Oläthion.”
“Who are you?” Mellithion asked.
“I am Ashto. Ashto the Keeper of Time. I am the Teacher.”
Mellithion stared.
Endale also marveled at the rings of gold and the bright bans of light turning in his eye. “My dear,” Ashto said to her, “Forever is where we begin and end. The arcing circles by which we travel—the rings that connect us—the wheeling paths that teach order.” The mighty sphere paused as he beheld her. “When I look upon you, I am struck with a feeling wholly new and impossible to escape. I understand now the whisperings of the Oläthion. Your beauty is beyond understanding.”
Ashto looked upon the piteous moon and sighed. “You too, I expect, sense the same feeling? For you are wise beyond your light, Mellithion. You are correct, there is no forever, though I wonder now if love is not the answer to your question, Endale.”
“Why have you come?” Endale asked.
“Perhaps, I myself have come to learn,” Ashto said, “for I sense a deep wisdom in your guardian. One day, he may be a teacher. But I have come to teach you the ways of the Dellithion Court—the path that will lead you closer to forever.”
Mellithion rose up, “The Lord Dellithion forbids all audience with Endale—”
Ashto interrupted, “The Lord Dellithion is far away, and I am certain It would agree with my counsel. Endale must learn control, must study the nature of the Oläthion sky, the boundaries separating her from certain oblivion—her meaning and how to share it in story, in light.
Ashto’s crowning rings sparkled against the night as he began to sing an ancient melody.6 The song enchanted both the earth and moon and they fell into a deep sleep.
When they woke, the starlight was whirling and streaking in long lines. They could see Dellithion beaming far out in the void as they vaulted out and around It—winding in a speeding circle.
Ashto’s song continued, “Look how she breeds. Her oceans teem—her trees bear fruit. Walkers have appeared on her shores. What lessons we learn from our children. What horrors come from their doings if we do not guide them.”
“Children?” Endale asked.
“Yes. Do you not know them?”
And behold, the children of Endale gazed up into the night’s sky, crawlers and swimmers, beast and bird, and Endale felt them upon her breast and she wept. She made her tears into the shape of Thi, into the image of all seeing Thi, countless eyes so she could see her children whether under the soil, beneath the seas or upon the wide lands.
She could feel her children tremble as she hurtled through the inky void. And when she beheld them, she could see that they too were trapped within Ashto’s teachings and the ring of his questions.
Time broke upon the face of Endale. Time. Springs and summers burst forth new life. Autumns brought decay and age-worn fear. Harsh winters buried the dead. And it was not only upon her body, but it was also within her children. Seasons passed. Her children suckled, and they gained from her body nourishment to sustain them. They were born. They grew and they died and folded back into her flesh. She felt the joy of their joy, the gratitude that is life, and the fleeting brevity of their existence. She felt the pain of their need and want, and when they bit into her, she gave freely, for they only ate that which would sustain them.
Mellithion marveled at this new wisdom, but he strained against it for it was his burden to do the will of Thi. He cried out for her to take care and slow her pace. He pushed against her, held her, and was then forced to let go for her speed was too great. His grasp broke and his body was cast away to the dark.
Grief overcame him and he wept.
Ashto watched as Endale rushed again, rounding the starlit path he had shown her. When he saw that Mellithion was abandoned and alone he came to him and said, “What now, Guardian? Is not your charge to protect Endale? Why do you tarry here?”
Mellithion lamented, “I cannot match her speed. Do you see the life that she makes, the life that she is. I am barren and without the favor of the gods.”
“But you are a part of her,” Ashto consoled, “and she will remember ere the end.”
Endale had traveled the entire ring of the Ashto’s teaching, and she was now approaching Mellithion. She cried out for him, and he for her.
“Come with me, Mellithion, for there are stories beyond dreams on the rounding path of the Sun, and from the depths of nighttime forever has joined me. It is here, in this ring, ever beginning, ever ending. Come with me, Tifli.”7
For a moment, it seemed to Ashto, that Mellithion’s armor glinted as if was gold once again. “I will come. I will come with you. But tell me, what have you seen, what have you learned.”
“I have seen forever,” she cried, as she laid hold of the moon and puller him into her embrace. “I will not see it again without you.”
iii.
OF AGYAR THE PURIFIER
The tale of Agyar the Purifier is an extraordinarily complex and long tale concerning the relationships and intimate connections between love and war, and violence and sex. The Itonalya god Agyar and his lust for conflict and strife eventually evolved into the Greek god of war, Ares, or later the Roman’s Mars. According to Dr. Astrid Finnley, Agyar’s footprints trek through the Egyptian tales of Set and Anhur, the ancient Chinese deity, Chiyou, the Mesopotamian’s Belus, and the Norse god Odin, among many others.
Agyar first appears in the Lay of Melea as a great warship crossing the sea of night to the shores of Endale. Like Endale’s other Siblings, Agyar is captivated by her beauty and pledges his undying loyalty. In token of his affection, Agyar gifts the earth with three kinds of fire: one to be used as a weapon to burn, one to purify, one for love. Agyar shows her the power of fire by burning her. Great swathes of desert appear upon her body. Next, in places where Endale’s forests were too thick and pestilence bred, Agyar set them on fire. After the fires died, the land burst with green shoots and new trees from out of the ashes. Lastly, Agyar set himself on fire. Endale entranced by the sight of him, longed to mingle her third gift, her flames of love, with his. It was then that Mellithion discovered Agyar’s presence.
Mellithion becomes flame himself through some hidden gift of Thi and parts the lovers with awesome violence and sadness. He eventually stabs his sword of fire through the Agyar’s war ship and sinks the god’s fire down into the deep ocean of night. Endale, waking as if from a dream, returns to Mellithion and wraps him with her flames.8 The battle is long, and it is told through twenty-seven Itonalya parables. But the battle is not just fought between Mellithion and Agyar. Endale uses Agyar’s gifts against herself to learn the nature of desire, love, hatred and war. Mellithion fights against his desire to kill and to love simultaneously. In the end, the tale of Agyar examines the nature of war and its intimate connection to our most gentle intentions.
iv.
OF UNLIFSO THE MESSENGER
Unlifso’s place in the Lay of Melea is another long, complex and tortuous tale. A favorite character of immortal poets and painters, Unlifso was said to be the seed to the immortal race as well as the inspiration to the deific drama that brought on the events culminating in Loche Newirth’s prophetic writing.
Unlifso was the nearest and dearest to the sun god, Dellithion. He served as Dellithion’s primary herald and was responsible for the of passing of messages. Most importantly, Unlifso was the first to bridge between the realms of mortals and the divine. He was known as a trickster as well as the god that peeled back the veil of truth. The tale of Unlifso in the Lay of Melea deals closely with Unlifso as the first to trespass into the world of mortals against the Old Law of mighty Thi.
By the time Unlifso came to educate Endale, Endale had borne children: beasts and birds, crawlers and swimmers, and those she loved more than all the others—those she called Ithea (humans or mortals). Unlifso appeared on Endale as a man wearing a circlet with two silver wings upon his brow. As a man he did not remember that he was Unlifso the god, nor did he have any memory of his place among the Court of Dellithion or the greater Oläthion. Instead, he only felt the delicate brevity of life and an overwhelming sense of wanting to experience everything he could without a care for the consequences. Endale, knowing a god had crossed over into her consciousness, became mortal, too. Unlike Unlifso, Endale knew that she was herself a god. She also knew that Unlifso was breaking the Old Law. The two met beside a great river and became friends. Like Agyar’s tale, the journey of Endale and Unlifso’s story unfolds into series of parables dealing with innocence and experience, boundaries, transgression, greed and ambition while the two traveled together to the nearest city, and, in a very short time, Unlifso became a leader of men. At first his aims were good for the city folk. His enthusiasm, his ability to communicate and his big ideas brought him wealth, fame and loyal subjects. But as time passed his desire for more blinded him and his greed led to rampant corruption and unrest. Perhaps the greatest of Unlifso’s sins was his unchecked influence. His actions and words inspired others to behave in similar ways so they might benefit as he did. Even Endale fell prey to his persuasive character, and each time she acted with her corrupt heart to fill her greed, her mortal body paid the price. Unlifso’s voice became the inner voice of illness and Endale, without knowing it, suffered great injury.9
Deserts appeared on the earth. There was great famine and plague. Amid all the chaos, Endale agreed to marry Unlifso.
Mellithion in the meantime watched Unlifso bewitch his beloved Endale and her children, and it enraged him to the point of helplessness, for he could do nothing as a god—he did not know how to become an Ithea. From the sky he watched forests burn, smoke rise from cities, waters blacken from poisons, and he knew Endale would not survive if Unlifso’s godlike powers on the earth were not stopped.
Mellithion cried out to mighty Thi for aid through what the Itonalya call the Tengstre.10 He pleaded with the One to make him mortal so that he could defend his beloved.
When Thi learned that its Law was being broken, it granted Endale’s guardian Mellithion his wish, and more. Mellithion dropped to the earth as rain—he then rose up as an immortal man. The first Itonalya.
Mellithion’s coming to earth is told with a series of songs that examine the pain of immortality, the love he has for Endale and her children, and the fear of oblivion.
At length, Mellithion challenges Unlifso to a duel for the control of the city and the hand of Endale. In response to the challenge, Unlifso, sends one hundred of his most dangerous knights to kill Mellithion. They fail. Mellithion fills a horse drawn cart with their heads and rides them to Unlifso’s door. The next day the two meet before the people of the city.
Before the fight, Mellithion tells a story to the audience about how they have been deceived by a god and how Unlifso had corrupted their hearts and minds as well as the lands and waters where they must continue to live. Unlifso then dies at the hand of the first Itonalya.
Endale, as if waking from out of a trance, returns to the arms of Mellithion. The two mend the wounds Unlifso had inflicted, and they live blissfully together for many years. Eventually, the mortal body of Endale dies of old age leaving Mellithion alone on the earth.
Unlifso bridged back to the realm of the gods. He sent messages to the Siblings and the Oläthion about how he managed to become a part of Endale’s story. He then showed them how they, too, could go and join with Thi’s coveted jewel. From that point on, Endale’s lands filled with countless gods.
Thi, enraged, pulled Unlifso close to its side and burned him with its light and fire as punishment. To Mellithion, Thi sent aid. Over the long years, Itonalya dropped down into Endale with the rain and together they built a city called Wyn Avuqua and they remained loyal to Thi’s charge.
v.
OF SHIVTIRIS THE KILLER
Unlifso had now provided the Oläthion a kind of key to Endale’s door. Gods came in droves; and through her children, Endale’s education continued.
Shivtiris was the darkest and most mysterious of all of Endale’s nearest siblings. Other human myths would borrow elements of the Itonalya’s Shivtiris and rename her Hades, Set and Lucifer (among others). Immortals would later name Shivtiris the Cymachkena, their version of the devil.
Using Unlifso’s enthusiasm and powerful skill of communication along with Agyar’s weapons of fire, Shivtiris taught the children of Endale suffering through the horrors of war, famine, plague and abject fear. The god’s tale in the Lay of Melea is long and written in simple, almost child like couplets. The singsong rhythm juxtaposed to the bloody and graphic suffering of Endale’s children is both chilling and beautiful. Her name, Shivtiris, means house of fear, and it is indicative of what she wanted Endale to become, as well as what she believed to be the greatest and most telling element of the human story: suffering.
The story in brief:
Unlike other gods, Shivtiris had some sense that she was not of the earth. She knew that within her a godlike power brooded.11 She presented herself to the leaders of mortals as a sorcerer and lit within them a fear of scarcity, jealousy and pride. It was not long before bloody wars, starvation and sickness ravaged the body of Endale. But worse, Shivtiris’ influence led the Ithea to create the chaos of war and illness in their own hearts and minds which prevented them from finding peace. Mellithion sent his Orathom Wis to settle disputes, teach patience and to care for the sick. Ultimately, Mellithion forced Shivtiris out of her Queenship and killed her mortal body. Some time later, Shivtiris bridged again, this time as a man called Cyaenth who bred the same pestilence as before. Again Mellithion hunted and killed the god. It was said that Shivtiris would never relent and would continue to return until Endale was dead.
The moral of Shivtiris’ story for the Itonalya suggests that hardship and chaos will forever tangle themselves in the affairs of the earth, whether through the work of the Cymachkena or humankind alone.
Perhaps the most exciting part of Shivtiris’ story for both the Ithea and the Itonalya is how Loche Newirth and his cast of mythical characters have now defeated the enemy of Endale once and for all. At the end of New Earth War The Itonalya, George Eversman, son of Yafarra Queen of Wyn Avuqua took the head of the immortal Shivtiris on earth, Nicholas Cythe—and thus, cast the god into oblivion forever. The Newirth Mythology has now put an end to the Devil’s reign of terror over humankind.
vi.
OF CERVALSO THE SEEKER
When the god Cervalso12 (his name meaning both the promise of truth and lies) crossed into Endale he did not bring great calamity or cataclysm. He did not appear as a warlord or a seer or an Unlifsian disciple. Rather, Cervalso came into the company of the Ithea as a simple man seeking the answers to questions never before asked. He prodded humankind to think about death. He opened dialogue concerning the meaning of one’s existence and it if there was any reason for it. He even questioned the existence of gods. Cervalso sought peace, and he openly confronted those Ithea that practiced the destructive lessons of Agyar and Unlifso. But he did this through diplomatic and philosophical methods.
When Mellithion discovered that Cervalso was a god, and came to send him back across the gulf, Cervalso could not understand why anyone would want to murder him. He was frightened and asked Mellithion to spare his life. For Mellithion, the request opposed his sacred charge, but something about Cervalso and his gifts of peace and thoughtful insight to the children of Endale stayed his hand. Mellithion told Cervalso that if he harmed the earth or the Ithea he would return and kill him.
Cervalso then built a school and he gathered students to study the stars, math, poetry, history and philosophy. Mellithion and the Orathom Wis kept watch upon Cervalso and his doings, and over time found that exceptions could be made to those gods whose deeds were virtuous to the children of Endale.
In the Lay of Melea, Cervalso taught Mellithion wisdom, mercy and foresight. Cervalso’s teachings provided the Itonalya the power to grant a Godrethion grace upon Endale for their good works.13
vii.
OF RESSCA THE MAGICIAN
As recorded in the Toele, the god Ressca was said to have fallen out of the sky and was caught by the splayed, finger like branches of the tallest tree in Wyn Avuqua. He was a boy of fourteen years. Elders from each of the Wyn Avuquain households surrounded the tree intent on killing the trespassing Godrethion, but the fantastic manner of the god’s entrance into Endale as well as his ill luck in terms of a place for a god to land caused the Elders to pause in wonder. The Minister of Wings proposed that the young Godrethion should be kept alive and questioned so that they may learn whether he was sent by Thi as some sort of omen. The Elders agreed.
Ressca was taken into the House of Wings, where he lived among his sworn enemies—but he knew only their kindness and curiosity.
Ressca quickly became of great interest to the entire city for it was rumored that the god’s presence was a signal of the end of their slavery, and that the long burden (the guardianship of Endale and Ithea) would soon be over. Soon the reward of afterlife to immortals would be granted and the Itonalya would be free.
But this was not so. However, there was a lesson to be learned from this god from the sky.14
When Lord Mellithion returned to the city and was told that a god was living within the walls, he was eager to meet him. The Lay of Melea tells of Mellithion’s appraisal of Ressca over nearly a hundred or more extremely complex verses. In short, young Ressca was described as possessing characteristics from each of Dellithion’s Court that came before him. He had the command and size of Chalshaf, the thoughtful patience of Ashto, the quick temper and fire of Agyar, the enthusiasm and attractiveness of Unlifso, the thoughtful philosophies of Cervalso, and lastly, the dark melancholy of Shivtiris. But with all of these attributes, Ressca carried with him a great sense of humor and profound sadness, and the two emotions would often flow through him shifting from one to the other, just as the weather would change from sun to rain. In his darkest moments he found laughter. In deep contemplation he was quick to point out the meaninglessness of it all with great jibes and jokes. If he was filled with joy and wonder one moment, then tears would rise and he would sob deeply. Ressca seemed to have a firm hold on the power of living in the present moment, and other times he would lament the oncoming shadow of death that would end the sensations, emotions and experiences of his delicate and brief existence on earth.
The Itonalya named him the Magician not because he practiced sorcery or magic as we might understand it, rather, it was how he conjured the potency of human emotions within the city’s populace that got him the title; for his power was, to the immortals, magic. Ressca’s presence among them stirred a zeal and lust for life within them.
Mellithion spent each day of that year with Ressca, trying to decipher Thi’s reason for sending the boy, if there was one at all. When the leaves began to fall and the chill of winter blew down from the North, Ressca became ill. All the Wyn Avuquain crafts of healing did nothing to improve Ressca’s health. During his final days, Mellithion explained to Ressca the nature of their relationship; how Ressca was a god living in a city of immortals, and the immortals were charged with eliminating gods upon earth; how Ressca fell from the sky; how Ressca’s passionate influence had changed the insight of the Itonalya; how he would be missed. In answer to these issues Ressca started to laugh and said he did not believe any of his wild tales save one. He did agree that he was different from all the people he had met in the city. When Mellithion asked how, Ressca told him that he felt as if he alone was the only one with hope. The young god then died.
Mellithion took the lesson from Ressca out into the world of Endale’s children, the Ithea, and he exhibited great emotion, and a passion for living for the rest of his days. Ressca’s magic was the delivery of hope to Endale.
The House of Shartiris adopted and wrote the Resscian principles. In the years that followed, Itonalya would celebrate Ressca’s lessons and his life by gathering around the very tree that snatched him out of the sky (the tree they named the Hope Tree) and there beneath its great boughs they would share poetry and songs of great sorrow and joy. To this day, when the winter ends and spring begins, Itonalya, where ever they are in the world, will gather around the tallest tree they can find and celebrate Yaressca (Elliqui: the shape of hope within the spirit).
viii.
OF FENOR THE LOVER AND MELLITHION’S RETURN TO THE SKY
The lessons of the god Fenor dominate nearly one-third of the Lay of Melea’s conclusion, and they examine the beauty, power and tragedy of Itonalya perceptions on romantic love. The tale itself is broken into five parts.
The first deals with Mellithion’s centuries-long loneliness, his reflections on life’s meaning and his unrequited love for Endale. Since the moment he looked upon Endale from his place in the sky, Mellithion loved her, and his desire never wavered even as he walked the earth as the Wyn Avuquain king of immortals. He pleaded each night for her to come to him—to rise from out of the soil and become flesh and blood, or Godrethion, or mortal or immortal—it did not matter to him. She did not, or could not answer. Over uncounted centuries Mellithion remained alone and did not take a wife, nor did he love another. A series of songs describe these long years and the mechanisms by which he coped as he sought to find peace as a solitary being. However, the verses are rapt in a delicate uncertainty and a hopeful yearning for something more than self discovery and self reliance. The section’s themes seem astonishingly ahead of their time. They provide a remarkable view into the immortal state of mind, and they explore the importance of an individual’s emotional, psychological and social well-being as the highest and most noble of aims.15
The point of view moves to the god Fenor in the second part. It tells of Fenor’s bridging to the earth, and her desire to find and win the love of Mellithion in order to stop the Itonalya from killing Godrethion on earth. Unlike others of her kind, Fenor had the gift of self knowledge, for even as a mortal woman, she knew of her divine origin. She also knew, as did all the Oläthion, Mellithion’s greatest want and deepest desire: Endale. Therefore, Fenor, (Elliqui: peace), bridged as she imagined Endale would appear: a beautiful maiden with hair the color of soil and eyes as green as young shoots of leaves. Her hoped-for outcome, of course, would be to dazzle the immortal guardian and through him create a kind of peace which would enable other gods to cross into the mortal realm, unfettered by the Old Law. Several verses tell of her perilous journey to Wyn Avuqua from across the great sea, to her arrival and the small cottage she built for herself an arrow’s shot from the walls of the great city.
One day, when Mellithion was walking beside the lake, Fenor presented herself to him. Mellithion, entranced by her beauty, ignored that she was Godrethion and the intense Rathinalya, and asked her name and how she came across the sea. She replied, “I came for thee, for I heard you calling,”16 She then told him her name was Endale and that their time together had come. The end of part two details Mellithion’s joy, his overwhelming devotion and how his long suffering becomes nothing more than a fleeting memory. It also tells of how Fenor reciprocates his love and shrewdly manipulates his manner and character away from his sworn duty and identity. She even presents a kind of antidote to the effects of Rathinalya in the form of a fermented grain drink called Anqua,17 so that he, too, could feel as a god does on earth.
In the third part, the point of view shifts back to Mellithion and how he is fooled. He blissfully accepts the hand he has pined for his entire existence. He is drunk from both drink and love. The two meet in secret for the laws of Wyn Avuqua would forbid their union.
Slowly, Fenor (as Endale) convinces the guardian that quarter should be given to bridging Godrethion. Eventually, she influences Mellithion to pronounce that the long burden of the Itonalya is over because Thi has sent Endale to the king’s side. The Wyn Avuquain Templar argued the contrary. They claimed that while the Rathinalya existed there could be no peace.
Interestingly, the voice of the true Endale makes its entrance in this third section. Interspersed throughout are verses that describe some dramatic environmental event. For example, prior to the telling of Mellithion’s bliss, there are terrible storms. While he is drunk, there are floods. During his nights with Fenor, the poetry depicts powerful winds that topple and uproot trees. With each of Fenor’s manipulative pursuits, the earth responds with anger and violence.
But Mellithion is blind to all but Fenor’s affections and does not recognize Endale’s jealousy nor her fury at Fenor’s deceptive devices. Over the course of a year (or “A blink of the Eye of Thi,” as the Itonalya say)18, great numbers of Godrethion bleed into the world. For the immortals, the torture of Rathinalya seems ever present. Still Mellithion sips at his goblet of Anqua and rejoices in the arms of his beloved Endale.
On a morning in mid summer, a lightening storm sets the forest on fire. The flames quickly ignite the surrounding hills. Before dusk, the sky is blood red, choking with ash and smoke. Mellithion rushes to fetch his Endale from her stone cottage and bring her into the safety of the city, but when he arrives, she is not there. Her unwonted absence troubles him. He calls her name. He searches the cottage for her. He waits fearfully beside the door, watching the world burn. Turning back inside he searches for something that would point to her whereabouts—a sign, a note, a clue. In moments he finds a bundle of letters wrapped in cloth. In moments his heart breaks. The letters are a passionate correspondence between two lovers. His lady’s hand he recognizes. The other hand he does not. In moments, his faith and love is scorched and burned to ash.
With the letters of her betrayal in hand he goes out to stand beneath the scorched sky. There, he hears the wailing cries of the true Endale: thunder. She laments. Her booming, oppressive, terrifying bellows clatters across the lake. He sees her fingertips as bolts of lightening slashing wounds in the land and sky. He watches her rage overhead.
He is suddenly aware of her—aware of what he had missed all along. Endale, the earth, tried to show him, but he could not know. His aberration and faults are now woefully apparent and grief lays hold of his heart. He turns back to the stone cottage, enters inside and cries out, “Endale! Endale! Why won’t you come?” He falls to his knees and weeps as the forest fire devours the surrounding fields—the cottage—his body.
In the fifth and final section, the point of view shifts again, but this time to Endale. For the first time in the Lay of Melea, we learn how Endale has finally chosen Mellithion as her love. Though she could not find a way to bridge into a mortal body, she tries to speak to Mellithion through the wind, the rains and the rushing of streams. Sunsets of ruby fire and cloudless climes she sends to him. Countless attempts to reach his heart as he walked through foggy mornings, through the songs of birds-among the hum of insects. And when she sees Fenor deceive him, love him, and take him away, the Endale tears at her own body. She becomes storm and landslide.
Finally, Endale’s wrath sets the land on fire. As it burns she feels certain that he will hear her. But she is mistaken. And when she beholds him standing beneath the sky, broken and lost from Fenor’s betrayal, she tries to weep—but she cannot. Her anger grows. She watches helplessly as the fire sweeps over the fields and engulfs the stone cottage with her love trapped inside. On the air are his cries for her, “Endale! Endale! Why won’t you come?”
Revenge fills her heart and she seeks for Fenor. With little effort she finds her. The Godrethion woman is kneeling beside the lake. She is overcome with sorrow and grief. Endale sees that Fenor’s beloved, the man with which she betrayed Mellithion, has drowned as he fled the flames. Suddenly, Fenor looks to the sky and senses that Endale’s presence, and she trembles with fear.
“You have drowned my one true love,” Fenor cries to Endale.
“You have sent my love to the fire,” Endale tells the god.
“I do not want to stay here any longer,” Fenor says. “The pain is too great. If you let me depart, you may have my body. You may go to Mellithion—you may finally know love.”
So saying Endale falls upon Fenor and casts the trespassing god back into the void. The body of the woman falls, into the water. When it emerges, Endale tastes the smoke on the air and the sweet of cool water on her tongue. Mud squishes between her toes. Fire roars in her ears. She has bridged.
Not far from the beach is the smoldering cottage and she runs to it. The fire has destroyed all but the stacked stones. As she enters, she finds Mellithion’s body. He is burned badly, but he is not slain. Somehow the flames did not take him, and already the rejuvenating powers of his immortal blood are restoring him. Endale rushes to his side, lifts his head and tells him, “I came for thee for I heard you calling. It is me, it is your Endale.”
At first, Mellithion smiles, as if he were waking from a pleasant dream. He touches her face and stares into her green eyes. “You are here. Is it you?” he asks her.
“It is me. Finally we are together,” she tells him.
Then Mellithion’s eyes turn to flame. “No. You are not my beloved. You are not she. Be gone! I am Endale’s defender. You are no longer welcome here. Be gone unfaithful wretch!”
“No,” she protests. “You were deceived by the Godrethion, Fenor. But she has departed, and I, Endale, have crossed to you.” Mellithion listens, but he does not believe. He lifts a dagger from beside him and cuts Endale’s throat. She falls and her blood spills out into the ash and soil.
Mellithion, the moon god, stands. Itonalya from his court arrive. He commands them to uphold the Old Law and suffer no Godrethion to live upon Endale. They rejoice at his words. But Mellithion stares down at the body of the woman he once loved and cries.
Then, from where her blood entered into the earth, young sprouts of vines emerge and whorl up. They spiral and coil. Tiny leaves of an almost incandescent green appear, burgeoning from the shoots. Never before has Mellithion seen such a thing. He crouches down, removes a leaf and touches it to his lips. Its flavor and scent send a chill through his entire frame. Health and vigor return to him with great speed.19 Again, a revelation alights within his confusion and grief: the woman he has slain was indeed the earth—the woman was truly his beloved Endale. Again, he has failed himself.
Mellithion draws his sword and falls upon the blade. The sword enters into his flesh, but his body will not die.
In frustration he roars, “Ithic veli agtig!”20 He removes the sword from the wound and throws it to the ground. The Itonalya marvel at his fury and they rush to comfort their king. Mellithion pushes them back. He leans down and lifts the body of Endale into his arms and rushes out of the stone walls.
“I will return to my throne above,” he shouts to his followers. “I cannot live here without her. We were not made for this life. She and I will dance amid the stars once more. We will encircle each other until Thi joins us forever.”
With that, Mellithion runs into the raging inferno that is the tree-line. His body and the body of Endale incinerate into a white pillar of flame.
A year later, and each that followed, a meadow of white flowers with golden centers mark the spot where Mellithion and Endale entered the flames. The Itonalya call the flower Deliavu (Elliqui: day’s eye—daisy).
ix.
THE COURT OF DELLITHION SKY CHARTS
shifel pleitonalya oi on
The immortal body is one together
Humans have been somewhat aware of universal oneness or the unified nature of being for over 6000 years. The Itonalya perspective on these truths is far older. Simply, the idea of immortals divided is against nature. Itonalya versus Itonalya is sacrilege. The above dictum is applied and practiced in Itonalya debate, civil strife and war, and even in gaming. That does not mean there are not disagreements between individuals or groups. It means only that to achieve well being, the immortal must eventually discover a wider perspective and find solutions that will lead to growth, and ultimately, prosperity and peace.
The game of Shtan represents this particular trait of immortal culture through the game’s object. Players of Shtan do not battle against each other; instead they compete against the godsight (shtan). It is not a game of black versus white. It is a game of Itonalya against Godrethion. Shtan was modeled after both the Itonalya mission on earth, to eliminate bridging gods, and the proverb that immortals must share a universal oneness of being in order to survive. Shifel pleitonalya oi on (the immortal body is one together).
Shtan is believed to have originated out of Wyn Avuqua sometime around 1500 BCE. Through omvide travel, Itonalya shared the game all over the ancient world and, over the centuries, it has evolved into different forms. Shtan’s pieces, representing the four Wyn Avuquain households of head (mind), wings, heart and talons, transformed to mirror the character and environment of the adopting culture. The influence of shtan on Eastern strategy games like igo or go, xiangqi, janggi and shogi all seem to have culminated in the game chaturanga, the earliest version of chess. Chaturanga is thought to have come out of India (c. 280-550). Chaturanga’s pieces, like its predecessor, were divided into four groups: infantry, calvary, elephants and chariotry. Around the middle of the fifteenth century in Europe, the seed of shtan sprouted once again, and the pieces assumed the shapes of the powerful houses of that culture, the royalty (king and queen), the church (bishop), the fortified landscapes (castles) and the military (knights and pawns). This child of shtan, chess, standardized its rules in the nineteenth century and they have remained the same (except for some technical and procedural changes) to this day.
RULES OF SHTAN:
Shtan is a two player game. One player plays the white and red/white pieces, and the other plays the black and the red/black pieces. Each player moves for both their Itonalya army (black or white), and then each player moves for both their Godrethion army (red/white and red/black). Each army consists of eight pieces at the beginning of the game: four pyramids, one head, one heart, one wings, one talons.
The game is played on a shtan board, consisting of 96 squares, alternately white and black. At the start of the game, the game pieces are positioned as follows:
The icons with circles represent the Godrethion armies of red/black and red/white.
(Photo courtesy of Graham Cremo)
MOVEMENT OF THE PIECES
TALONS
Talons, like the rook in Chess, moves in a straight line, horizontally or vertically. There is not limit to the amount of squares it can move. Talons cannot jump other pieces.
(Photos courtesy of Graham Cremo.)
HEART
Similar to the bishop in chess, the heart moves in a straight diagonal line, and may not jump over pieces.
(Photos courtesy of Graham Cremo.)
HEAD
The head can move in any direction, unlimited spaces, diagonally and horizontally. The head cannot jump pieces. The head eventually evolved into the queen in chess.
(Photos courtesy of Graham Cremo.)
PYRAMID
Pyramids in Shtan move very similarly as pawns do in the game of Chess. Pyramids can only move one square at a time, and only in a straight line—forward only. Pawns can only attack and capture one square diagonally in front of their position. However, when a pyramid crosses its respective forward meridian, it promotes and is able to move and capture in any direction, one square only—as the king in Chess. When a pyramid passes the meridian the piece is turned to reveal its godsight eye embossed on the piece’s underside. This allows the opponent to know that the pyramid has promoted.
(Photos courtesy of Graham Cremo.)
THE GODRETHION ARMIES
The Godrethion pieces are traditionally red and accented with black or white. Each player is in control of a Godrethion army, as well as, it is said, a god (via the roll of the dice or the four sided spinning top similar to a Dreidel). The player playing the black pieces moves the red/black pieces. The player playing the white pieces moves the red/white pieces. Again, this is not a game of black versus white, or Itonalya against Itonalya. Players stay aligned with the Itonalya mission of eliminating gods on earth. Therefore, black pieces do not capture white pieces, or vise versa. Black pieces capture only Godrethion red/white. White pieces capture only Godrethion red/black. Red/black capture white—red/white captures black. Godrethion armies move by a roll of the four sided die. This die represents the godsight (shtan) playing at the table. The number of the roll determines the piece to be moved. 1: head, 2: wings, 3: heart, 4: talons. The player controlling their respective Godrethion army may choose to either move the rolled number or a pyramid at each turn. Godrethion armies do not capture their opponent’s Godrethion. When a number is rolled and there is no piece available on the board that matches the number, a pyramid may be moved instead. If there is no pyramid or corresponding die numbered piece, the turn is passed. The dice must be rolled before any Godrethion move, whether pieces are available or not. The roll allows the godsight to be a player. When a Godrethion army is completely captured, the game is over. The player with the most black or white pieces on the board wins.
ORDER OF MOVES:
Black moves first. White moves next. Third, Godrethion red/black move by a roll of the dice, or by the moving of a pyramid. (There is a 1 in 4 chance that the die will provide a 2 to allow wings a move by jumping the pyramid line. Typically, however, pyramids are the first to advance, allowing space for the back-line pieces to move.) Fourth, Godrethion red/white rolls and moves—then the rotation begins with black again. This order of moves continues until the game is won or there is a stalemate or draw.
OBJECT OF THE GAME
The object of Shtan is for one player (white or black) to eliminate as many if not all of their opponent’s (white or black) pieces from the board using their respective Godrethion (red/white, red/black) pieces. A winner is determined by which opponent has the most black or white pieces left on the board when either Godrethion army is completely eliminated, or when a stalemate is determined.
Here follows a translated version of Albion Ravistelle’s song that appeared in Leaves of Fire.
i.
ALBION RAVISTELLE’S SONG
Nye thi so zjoy goshem
Thi nugosht bensis ensis
Mel hamtik, del hamtik, enthu
Sisg ag
Orathom ethe
Lithion talgeth
Thi fafe wis
Thi fafe wis
A Wyn Avuqua
Endale che
Thi col orathom
Tiris liflarin thi avusht
Lithion nuk te lirych
Orathom thi geth
Fethe thi geth
Ithic veli agtig
Ithic veli agtig
In sorrow I sing these words (this tale)
For my birth began my torture
Countless moons, countless suns, years,
Without end.
Rest is robbed of me.
The gods forbid me.
But we hold the doors.
Yes, we hold the path.
Oh, Wyn Avuqua
The pearl of Earth
Our only paradise
I see your towers in flame
The hand of God bears the torch
We want only rest
We want to go home
Why does my death delay?
Why does my death delay?
ii.
ANGLO SAXON TRANSLATION
Here follows a translation of Etheldred’s words to Loche Newirth when the two met beside the omvide Mellithion in the year 1010 AD. (From The Shape of Rain.)
Aér gé fyr heonan, léasscéaweras, on land Itonalya.
Ne seah ic wídan feorh under heofones hwealf, sceaðona ic nát hwylc. Sé moncynnes. Godes andsacan þé þú hér tó lócast. Godes féond, Orathom Wis! Á mæg god wyrcan wunder æfter wundre. Weoroda raéswan, Géata léode, umborwesende, winedrihten.
Sægde sé þe cúþe, frumsceaft Gode, swutol sang scopes feorran reccan.
Ere you are far hence, deceiving spies, in the land of the Immortals!
I have not seen in my whole life under heaven’s vault, some enemy I know not what. He, mankind.” He looks at Julia, “God’s adversary which you see here. God’s foe, Immortal.” He looks at Edwin, “And then, God can always work wonder after wonder. The leader of the legions, of the Great People, being but a child, friend and Lord.”
He spoke who knew how, the origin of God, the sweet song of the poet to narrate from afar.”
iii.
ENCRIS
Sources indicate that Elliqui’s Original Mode (its telepathic quality) was stolen or cut from Itonalya thought over a succession of centuries. This disconnect was named Encris. Like the Babel myth, the Itonalya confusion of tongues story is said to have occurred because of an Itonalya rebellion against the creator Thi. Thi, who would not gift the Itonalya an afterlife. After several millennia as guardians to the earth and its mortal inhabitants, the Itonalya grew proud and rebelled. In retribution, Thi slowly removed the Original Mode of Elliqui, their true connection to existence, the stars and Earth. Eventually, Thi destroyed their great realm. When the spoken/written language first appeared is difficult to know for sure, but we do know that not long after the fall of Wyn Avuqua, the Original Mode was completely lost from the minds and hearts of the Immortals. It is also important to note that the earliest Elliqui scribes and speakers were considered heretics and preachers of a false faith. Encris is the first of many Itonalya tragedies.
iv.
GAVRESS LINNASISG
Gavress Linnasisg is the Itonalya funeral ritual for the fallen which includes the reciting of the poem Linnasisg (meaning, the ending of the light), followed by the release of the slain immortal body (or head) into the sea, lake or nearest body of water. It is believed that the ritual will allow the slain immortal the chance of an afterlife if the mighty Thi were to ever allow such a gift to an Itonalya. The litany and the water ceremony are regarded as a solemn, meaningful and respectful act to the fallen. There is also some humor included within. While the depth and weight of a fallen immortal demands pensive sorrow, the futility of nothing beyond resounds in the strangely playful ending lines of the poem:
There’s a head in the bag.
There’s a head in the bag.
The head is my head.
It is my head in the bag.
The Elliqui word Gavress (spirit sack) sets the tone that the body is only a sack—and it can be emptied. Gavress Linnasisg proclaims to all immortals that existence bears no more relevance on the universe than what can be placed into a bag and inevitably swallowed by the ocean. There is nothing beyond.
Regrettably, the moving and comical poem is extraordinarily long, and limited space prevents placing it here.
v.
RATHINALYA
The Rathinalya (life circle) is the physical sensation an immortal feels when a god is near by. It has been said to cause gooseflesh and extreme chills. Its affect prompts an Itonalya to end it (which typically leads to the death of the trespassing Godrethion). The severity depends upon the strength of the Godrethion and its intentions. The most powerful Rathinalya ever recorded was that of the son of Loche Newirth, Edwin, when, for a short time, Thi had bridged into the little boy.
Another curious aspect to the Rathinalya is that it provides an Itonalya with an inherent and advanced dexterity.
Collected here is a small sample of Loche Newirth’s verse. Though Dr. Newirth is known predominantly for his supernatural work, The Journal, he preferred writing poetry. While the affect of his poetry pales in comparison to the enigmatic history-shifting narrative that was dedicated to Dr. Marcus Rearden, these writings contain the groundwork and seeds to many of The Journal’s themes. Death, rebirth, the struggle of the artist, mythology, innocence lost, marriage, fatherhood and elements of Newirth’s vocation as a psychologist can be traced through the poems.
SONNETS
THE GRID21
I live between two graveyards, down below
The circling crows. Plots dotted with grey-green
Stones, as symmetric as a sonnet, know
That order in necropolis is king.
I sometimes see slumped shapes surround a new
Dark rectangle in the grass. The uniform
Black huddle then breaks, milling slowly through
The yard and back to the paved paths. The swarm
Of crows flies over their stern lines. My wife
Arranged these flowers on my desk. Red
Round petals drop on this page as I write—
On column, form and ledger, parched and dead.
We’ve built our lives here, out of stone, amid
The graves we dig. To survive is to break down the grid.
THE STUDENT
So long I’ve sailed upon Posideon’s sea
And may Prometheus in Hades burn
For what he’s given me: firelight to see
The azimuth grey and aged from which I learn
And cannot turn, enraged. Why must the sails
Go ever on? Why must they fill and breathe?
And leave an innocence that rips and ails
At every sight upon Posideon’s sea?
Can I return? Divert my ship to shore?
Delay awhile upon some secret isle
Where I may raise my oars, to watch her soar?
My vulture’s vengeful flight to Titan’s trial.
May she devour the light and bring me peace.
And may his pain and my sweet youth increase.
LOST ALL AGE
It’s when I said I could do anything:
Sail the sky water, suck the apple wine
From mythic seas. These words don’t mean a thing.
When the crows circled overhead and I
Saw our reflection in and through the pane—
What does it matter these words I sing? Kate’s kiss-
Lips red as blood, soft as the black pupil stain,
Grave in her eyes when she said, “I will.” This
Means nothing. When I tried to angle all
Those words to life I found that I should’ve said:
It’s nothing baby, sing, sweet baby doll,
And we will carpe diem ‘til we’re dead.
If I lost all age anything could be on this page.
It’s easier that way, dance instead of rage.
ASLEEP
I watch you on your hands and blackened knees,
Your frame curved like an egg in the grass, planting
Our garden. Your warm fingers seed down through
Cool slender holes in the turned earth. Sweat gleams
Between your shoulder blades and you’re singing,
While I fall to sleep, dreaming. I dream you
Laid me down in a basket by a stream,
A wicker boat among the reeds, and let
Your fingertips slide my craft out toward
The current- you let go. All that I’ve seen
All I’ve done, age I’ve lost and won, all spent
In rhyme and song I saw along the shore,
Shoot sunward. You have sown a dreamer’s seed.
Don’t wake me ‘til I make the river bleed.
AWAKE
Now, as I stand beside the stream, returned
To where I was set free, an older man
Now, I wade through the reeds to open my
Veins—to let my blood speak for me. Returned
To have the final word. With blade in hand,
The cold edge glimmering, tracing a raw line
Across my skin, I will do now what my
Art could not: bleed, breathe—for all my life I
Believed it could be done. Believed. I feel
The breeze on closed eyes, the taste of red wine
On waking lips as your warm fingers slide
Along my wrist, on wounds you cannot heal—
I wake with your eyes smiling into mine,
Face to face with the dream that is my life.
All that I’ve seen
All that I’ve done
Age I’ve Lost and won
All spent in rhyme and song
I saw along the shore
Shoot sunward—
You have sown a dreamer’s seed
Don’t wake me until
I make the river bleed.
STOP WATCH
Was there a single moment that has made
A man of me? One second, Katie flung
Me kisses—left my pale lips Kool-Aid stained,
The next, my mind began to tick, my tongue
To taste and time tip toed through me. Hours tolled
Across green school yards. Thieving bells. Bells that
Taught the eyes to watch days fade, and the heart
To feel years die. And all the rest was rush.
That single moment clicked like gears behind
Her face. Now, hands and numbers circle fast;
I stop to watch my past. Oh Katie, find
Me while I don’t believe the past is past.
A single moment I saw fade to black
The moment I learned I could not go back.
LYRICS
THE SLANT OF THE SUN
There’s something about
A wing-snapped bird
Alone in the dust—
A black cat on the grass.
There’s something about
A grey eyed girl
Alone in the back—
Not a friend in the class.
There’s something about
The brown of booze
Before a broken man—
His brief case right beside.
There’s something about
A spider’s web
Across an open gate—
Mom calls the kids inside.
It’s the slant of the sun, I know.
The shifting of the Earth
In her wide, soft bed.
Come every September
She nods her head,
And the stars shake loose
And the shadows stretch out
And I notice that
There’s something about
Empty wheel chairs
Outside the sliding glass doors—
The laughter in the park.
There’s something about
A child’s eyes
The closet door ajar—
And it is getting dark.
There’s something about
The moon, the sea,
And the civilizations
Uncovered by the tide.
There’s something about
A will to carry on,
When a wing is cracked
And the cat is on the lawn.
THE CONS OF SHADE (a lullaby)
May the message of a little lily
Under wooden sidewalks on an afternoon
Wrapped with raindrops,
Speak to you.
Crowded under footsteps over
Lily’s head, watching passers-by
Curse the sky, Those grey clouds
Make them cry-
She’s reaching up.
Reaching up to you.
And she says:
When will you learn this life has just begun
I’m happy in the shade
But I’d like to see the sun.
I’ve got potato bugs- come for tea to see me
At least they dig the dark
Cause now it’s all we’ve got
We’ve got to learn, got to learn
To dig the dark.
Her neighbors are potato bugs
Sifting through the murk and mud
Loving the cool damp shadow, black
Deep down below.
Their lives are trapped in blindness
And they’re quick to remind us
That the dark is just a place
That we learn to outgrow.
They’re reaching up.
Reaching up—
LEAVES ON STONES
When you said you’d rather burn
I barely listened.
Talk of death seems so far away.
Nothing more than a wisp
Of atmosphere.
Sucked vapor, like words disappear.
I said I’d prefer a stone at my head,
A chiseled name.
Let my bones shoot like stems
From beneath the sod,
From there I’ll reach
Through the simple plot of God.
But let’s not talk of that,
Bones and smoke and belief—
Let’s put it away, out of reach,
And once more into the breech.
But fire I thought: I’d be untraced
Nameless and naked.
My one precious possession transformed
To ash, and free to fly.
No lies, no façade.
I become the simple plot of God.
Leaves on stones
Footsteps stepping over bones.
Every life leaves a trail.
Mouths of words
Tongues are flying like startled birds.
Every life leaves a tale.
Don’t forget.
Forget there’s an end.
Don’t forget
The time we have left.
THE OLD IN
I’ve placed a fountain in my corner of career.
It chokes and gurgles a mechanized groan.
There’s a chi that’s said to stream-rush rooms
And turn attempting to achievement.
I’ve stopped watching TV in the evening,
For it’s sure to strike me down with disease,
But a pill of ease is offered if I will
Accept dizziness, headaches and slurred speech.
Out with the old—in with the new
Too many years gone by to not to
Little did I know all the different ways to go.
But I don’t know…
I don’t know.
I’ve started reading my wife’s happy books
Left above the toilet, at the bedside—kitchen table.
They say some law is attracting them to me
Like sunshine fingering into corner shadows.
I’ve begun a regimen of vitamins,
Little pellets, gold as sun-lit water that will pump
My heart-blood, skin and bones with youth.
For like food, my potency—is breaking down.
It’s alright,
I’m just weary to my bones.
You think I would have learned by now.
That nothing new ever stays,
Just as it arrives it runs away.
Nothing good comes from running.
If I remake, recreate, keep myself remade,
Maybe in the end I can say:
The more I changed,
The more I stayed the same.
THE REASON
Teetering upon a step ladder
The sky blue drips down my raised arm
Over my head.
Reaching high,
I am making the ceiling disappear—
Making a home for clouds, winds,
And flight.
I wonder if this faint hue of paint (the color of all above, hot July afternoon),
The delicate, airy, transparent wisp of it
Can fool my little boy
Into thinking that he might be able to see
The drifting constellations just beyond the
Painted layer of firmament,
As he lies upon his back,
Staring up from his pillow.
I hope he considers the possibility that
I may have painted the universe for him too,
Upon the hidden 2x4 rafters above—
Just an extra stretch to the plywood beneath the roof
Where planets, spiral arms and twinkling myths
Wait to be discovered.
But even as the reach of my brush heaps puffy cumulous into the clear,
And trails out vapors of cirrus that tangle up in the corners,
I see that I am slowly becoming covered with sky
As I create it,
And space seems slightly complex.
For this sky,
Streaks of it lining my arms,
In my hair,
Upon my cheeks,
Falls as fast as I can raise it.
And I can see right through it.
I’ll try to tell him about this one day.
The reason I erased his ceiling.
The Elliqui word Itonalya means immortal. But when the word is broken into parts, the etymological depth it reveals reinforces and mirrors the culture’s long, enigmatic past and rich legacy. The word is old. When it debuted is difficult to trace, though we do know that the earliest Itonalya tomes used the term as far back as forth century BCE.22
Itonalya is constructed of many words and meanings all from its Elliqui root word, itonel.
itonel, (ē•to
•něl´), adj, n.- forever, eternal
itonalya, (ēt•to•năl•yä), n. immortal
it, (ĭt), v. revive
ito, (ēt•to), adj. - again / ever
to, (to), v. - age
nel, (něl), n. adj. - more
a, (ă), v. - encircle
al, (ăl), n. ring.
ya, (yä), n. - delicate, fragile
alya, (ăl• yä), n. - life
It is also hypothesized that like many Elliqui words, the word itonel influenced the Latin word aeternālis, and later the Old French, eternytie, until finally, in English, eternal (about 1380).
Though scholars have translated Itonalya to mean immortal, I suppose if we wanted something more accurate, an attempt might read like this: revive forever more to the fragile ring of life that encircles age.
Hence the Itonalya blessing and curse.
Here are the first stones of the Elliqui avalanche to come. With the Heron Atheneum at Upper Priest Lake, Idaho, unearthed, and professor Finnley’s team working tirelessly, I anticipate addenda and corrections to the lexicon below.
Photo courtesy of Graham Cremo, ©2018
Tomes of the Heron Atheneum
Photo courtesy of Graham Cremo, 2018
Elliqui alphabet book
ON TRANSLATION, PRONUNCIATION, SPELLING AND USE OF ELLIQUI
“There was no need for language for our hearts knew love, and fear was not yet made.”
—The Silent Author
From the Toele.
True Elliqui in its Original Mode, was a language based in thought.23 It was, to the best of our ability to define, a kind of telepathy. The Itonalya called communication verceress, meaning communing, or conversing in thought and feeling. Elliqui itself translates as the language of thought. For several millennia, immortals practiced the art and could commune with not only each other, but with the stars, and the source of their love, the earth. They could, of course, speak and understand many other languages of humankind, but the gift of true Elliqui provided immortals meaning and a hope for their long lives—the language was the music of their paradisiacal earthbound existence.
When the rebellion began against Thi and the earth began to fall silent,24 the Original Mode began to fade. Each year that passed, Elliqui’s potency lessened until, not long after the fall of Wyn Avuqua in 1010 AD, the stars, the Earth and the voices of their kin fell silent.
According to Dr. Loche Newirth’s writings,25 three figures shaped the foundation of written and oral Elliqui: a great blue heron, a First Born sage named Belzaare, and a mysterious immortal called The Silent Author. When the rebellion against Thi began, and it was clear that the Original Mode of Elliqui was dying, it is said that the language was sung to the Itonalya, Belzaare of Vastiris by a great blue heron. Belzaare took the bird’s gift of song and began the arduous and forbidden task of recreating the sounds and ordering them into words. Thought impossible at first, and later an abominable sin,26 Belzaare constructed the basis for what many scholars have called the sound of light. Many years later, another Itonalya known only as the Silent Author, drew the corresponding runes and characters to Belzaare’s sounds.
Oral and written Elliqui are obvious departures from the Original Mode, but when used correctly, the pathways to the ancient’s verceress are opened. This all that remains of the Original Mode. And it was hoped then as it is now, that by preserving what remains of Elliqui, we might again regain our true connectivity with each other, the earth and the Hereafter. Or, as Queen Yafarra, daughter of Althemis Falruthia of Vastiris, “Elliqui is the path that will enable us to speak to the earth once more. Elliqui is magic.
i.
PRONUNCIATION
The following is a key to Elliqui pronunciation. There are several differences between the sounds and how they are written. The reasons for this are multifold, but suffice it to say that when telepathy meets oral speech, sounds represent a vibration in the psychosomatic connection as well as separate emotions and responses. The Silent Author has written several documents demonstrating the extrasensory nature of the sounds and their relation to shape in the telepathic continuum. What follows is a phonic structure. Perhaps by outlining these phonic characters and setting them back into the tongues of humankind, we may find a way to rekindle the original flame of language that was once silent but communicative beyond words themselves.
CONSONANTS: TONES I-IV
C : 
C has the value of k as well as the value of s. C followed by y should be pronounced as a long i: Cy (sī). There is no Elliqui character for the English letter c, therefore k is used. It is thought that early translators determined a telepathic distinction with words containing the hard consonant sound of k/c. These distinctions are subtle and vary on the tone of following vowels, where the k/c sound forms in the mouth, and its particular stress in the word. Therefore, my transcriptions attempt to follow organizational foundation of the early translators by separating the k rune into the two English characters of c and k to further enhance the sound’s extrasensory properties. see Y.
CH : 
This digraph sound is a single rune in Elliqui. The sound has the value of church, chatter, crutch. see SH, TH.
G : 
Elliqui’s g is predominantly akin to the English sound in gain, giggle, hug. However, there is one important distinction. For words that signify beginnings, or newness (gen, gendel), early translators used the English g to function as the sound of j.
GZ : 
This is not a naturally occurring English digraph, nor is there a single Elliqui rune for the sound. Early English translators chose to represent the sound using gz, again, likely to mark a particular shift in the Original Mode. The Elliqui sound is a trigraph and is similar to the ending of age or bridge. The pronunciation might be best demonstrated by taking the digraph sh and replacing the s sound with the z sound and ending with an elongated j. Curiously, this sound appears in Elliqui words that convey children or youth.
J : 
With the exceptions above, j functions as it does in English: joy, adjoin. see G.
K : 
The Elliqui k rune functions as the English hard consonants of c and k. Again, it is worth noting the shifting of this sound’s usage when translated to English. see C, Y and S.
Q : 
Q, or in English characters qu, functions as the kw sound as in quiet, question.
R : 
R trills when followed by the vowel sounds ä and ĕ. Rathinalya, for example. In all other positions it remains r as in rain, far, sorrow.
S : 
The Elliqui sound of s is the same as it is in English. C when followed by the vowel sound of ĭ and ě the English character shifts to c. see Y.
SH : 
This digraph sound is a single rune in Elliqui. The sound has the value of shout, share, Rush. see CH, TH.
TH : 
This digraph sound is a single rune in Elliqui. The sound has the value of the, there, breath. see CH, SH.
W : 
The Elliqui sound of w functions similarly as it does in English save that there is slightly more emphasis on the blowing of air as the consonant leaves the mouth. It has been suggested that the English equivalent should include a silent h to accentuate the character’s breathy aspect, though it never caught on.
X : 
In some cases, early translators use an English x to represent the paired Elliqui sound of k and s.
Y : 
has the Elliqui and English equivalent of y as in yard or Yafarra. However, English transcriptions often use the character in place of the Elliqui vowel ī, most often following the letter c: Cy or sī. This is particularly anomalous for both English consonants, when translated to Elliqui sounds, to change from their original sound to another when paired. It is thought that this pairing is linked directly to a telepathic marker designating evil or dark purpose. Further, the shifting from harder consonant sounds y and k to lighter long i and soft s denotes a kind of disguise in of itself. A deception. An Elliquist should be wary when using such a pairing. Perhaps in clairvoyant opposition to the cy pairing is the combination of c and the vowel sound of ĕ. C followed by the sound ĕ shifts the c/k sound to s as in cer and cerwis. Interestingly enough, these two letters together in an Elliqui word summon truth and power. Why early translators did not simply use the English s has been the subject of many debates, and has spurred research into the Original Mode of Elliqui’s telepathic foundation.
Z : 
functions as z in English except when connected to g or j. see GZ.
VOWELS TONES V
Elliqui’s vowel sounds share many of the same complexities of English, each having variables in softness and mode. The vowels are the essence of what Belzaare calls the Thavelle. The Thavelle is the ‘art of language’ that Elliqui uses to transmit feeling. Vowels by their very nature are the sound of the body and the hum of the spirit. Or, as Dr. Astrid Finnley has written, “When the Elliquist masters a forceful annunciation of these tones, the connection of spirit and Earth are again, one.”
Each sound corresponds to an Elliqui character. There is no single rune for any Elliqui vowel.
A : 
The sound of a, to us, is really the beginning of our learning of English: our A, B, C’s. It is important to note that no order exists for the Elliqui tone structure, but rather an overall continuum of sound. A at the end of the word is often pronounced long as in way.
| pat — |
ă |
| pay — |
ā |
| care, air - |
âr |
| father, song - |
ä |
E : 
E like a is similar in its complexity, for example, e at the end of a word will function as the long a: away or the schwa ә as in item. The silent e does not exist in Elliqui.
I : 
I is often pronounced ē following another vowel or at the end of a word.
O : 
O in its many manifestations is the primary hum in the continuum. It functions as the focus of the spirit. There are several variations of o, more so than any other vowel:
| pot - |
ô |
| toe - |
ō |
| noise - |
oi |
| took - |
ŏ |
| boot - |
o |
| out - |
ow |
U : 
U has several varied properties in telepathic modes. U is often used for the English translation of o sounds.
ii.
USING THE ELLIQUI
The Quadrivium of Elliqui:
The Original Mode’s foundational principles were identified by The Silent Author and Belzaare as four
Reason
Intention
Entheos
Simplicity
The Silent Author and Belzaare taught these four principles for the successful verceress: a specific reason to pass information; a clear intention; a passionate or enthusiastic desire to be understood; and finally, breaking the message down to its most basic meaning—simplify.
WRITING
Each Elliqui letter represents a sound. It is important to note that when writing an Elliqui word one must use the correct phonic letter: that is, the letter that corresponds with the pronunciation key, not the English translated character.
For example when writing the word:
farewell - galinna, one must use these letters: (gā•lē´•nә), in correspondence with the Elliqui characters for correct Elliqui spelling. Elliqui tone characters apply to the pronunciation, not the English spelling.
TENSES
The original mode in which Elliqui was communed did not allow for the idea of time, past, present or future. For the true Elliquist, these constructs would not need to be defined, they would simply be felt. Even the Silent Author suggested that it was impossible to generate words that communicated time. Past, present and future in language is often marked by additions to verbs. Like all true Elliqui a telepathic marker made tense obvious. After much thought however, the Silent Author found in his own verceress a mode in which past, present and future could be written, and even spoken. He constructed three words in order to communicate tense: olo (ō´•lō), nye (nī), and uta (oo´•tә). These words begin a sentence or utterance when tense is necessary.
Olo: past. Olo is not connected to the Elliqui verb itself, but instead determines that the action or event et cetera, is in the past, much like was or the ed at the end of a word. With the presence of olo, the Elliqui word for eat would now function as ate.
Nye: present. Nye is seldom used in Elliqui for all Elliqui words are present tense. However, nye can function as is in English. The translation of nye is now, and can be used as that meaning elsewhere in a sentence. Nye at the beginning of a sentence is effective for urgency, but not always necessary.
Uta: future. Uta translates as the time to come, or the time ahead. Technically it functions as future thought or manifestation, for example, when the snow falls, or someday I will journey far. It also communicates the idea of yet, as in: I’ve not yet journeyed far.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Basic sentence structure is similar to the ease of verceress for the ancients. True Elliqui was wordless, though there was often, according to Belzaare and the Silent Author, an etiquette for proper communing. Written and spoken Elliqui reflects the original modes:
Simply, Elliqui translated to English is always (for the highest potency), noun, verb, adjective. When tense is needed: tense, noun, verb, adjective. It is important to understand, however, that emotional subtleties can exist as one’s ability to verceress strengthens. Belzaare instructs that the emphasis of emotion is on word placement, and only by following this pattern can Elliqui retrieve a telepathic marker.
The pattern to learn is this: TNVA: an acronym for tense, noun, verb, adjective.
TRANSLATING ENGLISH TO ELLIQUI
To write or speak the equivalent of Elliqui from English, one must reduce the English phrase to its simplest, or rather, telepathic form.
Let us use an example for translation.
“The Horn of Wyn Avuqua echoed and the green of spring came.”
Here we see a fairly complex sentence in English, however, we can reduce it to its telepathic form by merely communicating its essence. There are two parts to the sentence:
“The Horn of Wyn Avuqua echoed ~ the green of spring came.”
This connecting character (~) allows the full idea to emerge.
Remember, TNVA.
Tense = echoed (echo is past) olo
Noun = the Horn
Verb = echo
Adjective = of Wyn Avuqua
~
T = came (past tense)
N = spring
V = came
A = green
So an Elliqui/English version might be:
“In the past, the Horn echo Wyn Avuqua ~ spring came green.”
In Elliqui:
Olo shewu sheshu Wyn Avuqua~ gendel veli lemheth
PREFIXES
Prefixes or performatives in Elliqui alter the words to which they are affixed.
go : reversal, negative
ple : all
agn : not
NOTES ON SEMANTICS
For the Elliquist, success in communication is based on the speaker’s (writer’s) individual creativity and the listener’s (reader’s) ability to understand conveyance. In other words, not all written or oral Elliqui will be immediately understood, and translating can cause confusion. For example, one Elliquist may write, “I eat green food.” Another Elliquist, if they are not careful might translate the utterance as, “Green food eats me.” Tricky to be sure. This is where a sense of communing comes in to play.
In many languages, contrastive intonation plays a vital role in conveyance and understanding. For example:
I told the story. (It was me that told it, not Loche.)
I told the story. (I told it, I did not sing it.)
I told the story. (The important one, not the other.)
I told the story. (Not the facts.)
It is important to note, the Original Mode did not suffer the tedium and subtlety of contrastive intonation, nor did it have to endure the difficulties of semantics overall. As to who told the story, which story it was, how it was told, why, where, and quite possibly, the story’s content in its entirety—these aspects could be could be conveyed by one and understood by another using the Original Mode with a focused glance. The spoken and written forms were intended to function as closely to the Original Mode as possible, but they too often fall short. And it is no wonder that such primitive mediums of tongue and pen prevent the language from ascending to the telepathic power of its former glory. The quadrivium: reason, the simplicity of structure, the power of intention and focused entheos are the four elements the Silent Author and Belzaare have continually invoked as the bridge back to what was—simpler days—easier words. The way home.
Of course such open communication begs questions such as these: Was there individual thought? Could one withhold information? Was there a sense of autonomy?
As noted in the Toele and in other documents uncovered by Professor Astrid Finnley, Original Mode Elliquists were said to have both individual and altruistic hearts and intentions. There was no instinct to harm or hinder another that could speak true Elliqui. Many have remarked that true Elliqui was simply complete empathy.
It is hoped that the Original Mode may one day be returned to us. In the meantime, we can only speculate.
If the above grammatical rules are followed for both speaking and writing the language, the translation gap narrows. What’s more, a good Elliquist will be able to get the “feeling” from the words and be able to place them in a proper order without reversing the initial meaning altogether. This skill, of course, is paramount to becoming a great Elliquist. Finally, creativity with the words and speaking simply is yet another element to speaking and writing well. Compound sentences can be difficult to translate. Reducing intention to its essence will prove the Elliqui more true.
iii.
THE WRITTEN ELLIQUI
TONES i THROUGH iv
iv.
THE ELLIQUI LEXICONS:
ENGLISH TO ELLIQUI
ELLIQUI TO ENGLISH
Compiled by Dr. Astrid Finnely, with acknowledgement to Belzaare Lord of Air Edited by Michael B. Koep, 1996.
PRONUNCIATION KEY
Vowels:
| pat — |
ă |
| pay — |
ā |
| care, air - |
âr |
| father, song - |
ä |
| pet - |
ĕ |
| bee - |
ē |
| pit - |
ĭ |
| pie - |
ī |
| pot - |
ô |
| toe - |
ō |
| noise - |
oy |
| took - |
ŏ |
| boot - |
o |
| out - |
ow |
| cut - |
ŭ |
| urge - |
ûr |
| about, item |
|
| edible, gallop- |
ә |
| butter - |
әr |
| consonants: |
|
| ck - |
long k |
| regime - |
zj |
| song, hung- |
ng |
__________________________
1 Allison Bogart. (2017). The Newirth Artifacts. New York: Italic Semicolon Publishing.
2 Professor Finnley’s works:
Finnley, Astrid. (1994). The Tear of Heaven:Lost Cities of the World and Why We Lost Them. Seattle: Will Dreamly Arts Publishing.
Finnley, Astrid. (2002). The Twin Toele: Immortals Among Us. Spokane. Kite House Publishing.
Finnley, Astrid. (2008). Elliqui: The Silent Foundation of God. Seattle. The RUB Publishers.
3 Euprophecy is a portmanteau word to define the anomalous phenomenon that is Loche Newirth’s writing. If the definition of prophecy is the foretelling or prediction of what is to come, usually declared by a prophet, very often divinely inspired, euprophecy acts as its reciprocal. For example, a definition of euprophecy might be a retelling of history declared by an ordinary man or woman using the human imagination. This act, through a non-summoned supernatural force, changes the past and redefines reality. Another definition might reside somewhere within the idea of how we believe the past was and how that belief changes to define our ever evolving perception.
4 The Itonalya often regard Dellithion (the sun) and Thi (the One creator that is all) as the same entity.
5 The Itonalya employ the poetic notion that Endale’s (Earth’s) beauty is so great among the stars is proven by every night’s sky full of stars. No eye of heaven can look away.
6 Which song Ashto sang to the Earth and Moon is still hotly debated. There are three recurring songs that appear in varying texts. In the earliest version of this tale, Ashto’s song tempts Endale to seek knowledge for herself by embarking upon a great journey. This of course was not the will of Thi and would have been regarded as an act of disobedience. Centuries later another song of Ashto’s was inserted into the tale. Still a song of temptation, it promised Endale and Mellithion both that they would themselves become gods if they followed the teaching of Ashto.
7 The moon, or Mellithion.
8 When sighting a red moon (or the glinting red of Mars) in the sky, Itonalya will often say: melagyar diluthia, which means, simply, the moon is at war and either love or blood is near. The saying has also come to mean: love and war are the same thing, both will purify the soul.
9 The Messenger’s voice to the Itonalya is not always negative. Unlifso is known as a trickster, certainly, but he is also a purveyor of truth, and to hear his voice is considered a blessing. In the end, Unlifso provides potentialities both good and bad—the meanings of his messages are for the Itonalya to decipher.
10 The Tengstre or the Long Cry of Mellithion is a 9000 plus word elean (prayer) that strikes at the heart of the immortal condition.
11 Shivtiris or the Cymachkena is perhaps the only recorded god to have bridged into the mortal realm more than once. Shivtiris became seemingly ever present among the Ithea. (Until, of course, the end of the Newirth War.)
12 Cervalso and his presence in Itonalya lore represents the unknown, cloudy or misty visions and the uncertainty of existence. He was later interpreted by the Greeks and Romans as the god Neptune or Poseidon, the ruler of the vast and endless seas.
13 Cervalsian beliefs were often an area of heated debate when it came to whether a god was given grace to exist on earth against the Old Law. There was a faction of Itonalya fundamentalists that held fast to the Old Law and they would suffer no Godrethion life on Endale, good works or no. The movement called themselves the Gacervals and they rose out of the Wyn Avuquain household of Shartiris shortly after the city was founded. The beliefs and hard-lined judgements of this group were dangerous, and over time they built a reputation on savagery and willing ignorance. Over time the movement fell into disfavor among the majority of Itonalya—but their influence was never completely extinguished from Itonalya history or training, for the Itonalya, gods were to be sent back into the void regardless of their gifts to humankind. But it was deemed that those who loved Endale and her children would let a god live whose gifts would propel humankind to peace, healing and prosperity.
14 Elements of Ressca and the tales of his adventures on Endale evolved into many other sky god characters for the Ithea over the centuries. Traces of Ressca can be found the Greek’s Uranus, the Roman’s Caelus, the Egyptian goddess Hathor and the Sumerian god Enlil, among others.
15 According to George Eversman and other sources, the opening seventy-one verses of the Lay of Melea’s, Fenor the Lover contain the fundamental principles of Itonalya philosophy and the meditations on time endurance that are the core of Itonalya curriculum. Time endurance is described through what the Silent Author (in the voice of Mellithion) names as the three sisters: Patience, Action and Outcome. Through the first section of Fenor the Lover, Mellithion meets these allegorical sisters and learns the slow lesson that “time will inevitably tell,” and how slow thoughtful action creates the most peaceful outcomes.
16 The Fenor quote, “I came for thee, for I heard you calling,” is a common courting phrase that has been used between immortals and their lovers for thousands of years. Though in the tale Fenor the Lover, the line is used to deceive Mellithion (posing as Endale). Immortals have redefined the phrase to represent the power of manifesting a future love that will remake one’s world.
17 Anqua (Elliqui: god water). Scotch. Whiskey.
18 “The blink of the Eye of Thi” is an Itonalya phrase that can mean a single year or a single century.
19 Many Itonalya have speculated that the Lake Woman known as Lornensha was somehow able to cultivate this plant that emanated from the spilled blood of Endale. We are hopeful that the Heron Atheneums will give us more information on what seems to be the very plant that is associated with Lornensha, Geraldine of Leaves, William Greenhame and Albion Ravistelle’s Melgia Gene.
20 Elliqui: why does my death delay. This is a common Itonalya phrase often used to express one’s surrender to the burden and tedium of the immortal curse of long life and long suffering. To our knowledge, Mellithion’s utterance of the phrase in the Lay of Melea is the phrase’s debut.
21 William Greenhame recites the opening stanza to The Grid in The Journal (The Invasion of Heaven, chapter IV, Mirrors.)
22 The history of Elliqui and its transition from its Original Mode to spoken and oral traditions is still being researched. See VIII. On Elliqui.
23 The written and oral version of Elliqui that follow possess only elements of the Original Mode. Elliqui means, simply, thought language. Spoken, Elliqui is powerful, and can be dangerous. The Toele’s teachings tell us that the words are magical in nature and should be treated with the utmost respect and caution.
24 The Original Mode of Elliqui took thousands of years to finally silence. As of the writing of this, there is no clear timeline on its decline. It is hoped that we will learn more about this tragedy through what we find at Wyn Avuqua.
25 Dr. Newirth’s writings influenced, of course, the Toele and other texts at Wyn Avuqua.
26 The early oral and written forms (new Elliqui) were not peacefully received by the First Born Itonalya. For nearly a thousand years the efforts of Belzarre and others were rejected by those that regarded new Elliqui as heretical to the Old Law. The discrepancy gave rise to a militant group of Old Law zealots that were determined to put down and destroy what they called, “the miscreant voice.” Disciples of the new forms were hunted, tortured and killed—written manuscripts were burned—and for the first time in Itonalya history, immortals fought against immortals. It was King Althemis Falruthia of Vastiris that fought to preserve the efforts of the Belzaare and the Silent Author. His dream of universal acceptance of the new Elliqui among the Itonalya sparked the Sibling War. The war would take his life. Claiming his mantle, Queen Yafarra finally prevailed, and in the early years of the 4th Century BCE, the new Elliqui was embraced by the culture. The flailing Original Mode was said to have fallen completely silent sometime around 1010 AD after the fall of Wyn Avuqua. Some believe that remnants of old Elliqui still exist in blessed individuals.