Lore
"This book is a collection of writings, most notably authored by G'Jen Talos, which describe not only the current settings of different time periods, but also contain detailed information about the future presented within various prophecies written by G'Jen Talos. These writings - or prophecies - in modern terms, are seen as mere literary peices which have been collected throughout the ages and presented under a single name, that of G'Jen Talos, as though they were written in the distant past by one oracle. There are those, however, who believe that the writings are authentic prophecies belonging to an authentic oracle. There are even a few individuals who feel that The Prophecy Archives (the name given to the writings by those who ascribe to their legitimacy) contain relevant, unfulfilled prophecies which relate to current-day events. Some feel that G'Jen Talos himself still somehow lives, lying in wait for the proper moment to make his messianic reappearance. Generally, these fanatics are disregarded by the historical community as a whole, however some of the writings collected within The Prophecy Archives do bear specific details which enlighten the historians' understanding of sociological and cultural conditions which ruled the continent in times past. As with all writings of that historic period, collected into the general category of the Jaltikij dynasties, the actual writings that The Prophecy Archives themselves are based upon have been all but lost. The few original pieces that remain are indiscipherable, having been written in an unknown language which precedes reliable historical record. Additionally, the Jaltikij translations of the original writings are only example of several different works which, historians theorize, are based off the same original works. Most historians discard the legitimacy of the works entirely, feeling that they are little more than a collection of fables which provide interesting sociological insights, but no factual accounts that might enrich our historical studies. Whatever the case may be - whether The Prophecy Archives are accurate accounts of actual events or merely fables based upon the writings of an extinct culture -- the writings themselves are relatively sparse and open to interpretation. So many different theories about the meaning of these writings exist that few historians accept the work as having any real bearing on historical fact."
-The Feldham Journal [Excerpt]
Tamela Orbis - having completed her six year study in the field of Ancient Diction and Argot, her three year study in the field of Social Psychology, and four years of her five year study in the field of Ancient Manuscripts - appraised the Jaltikij manuscripts which comprise The Prophecy Archives and began a comparative analysis of the concepts presented upon those pages. Generally seen as an eccentric figure within the realm of historical study, it came as little surprise to her peers that Ms. Orbis began to pick out different details contained within the manuscript which had been overlooked by previous studies. Although her continued study of the manuscripts was widely scoffed and disregarded by other experts in the field, Ms. Orbis continued in that vein of study to the detriment of her academic career. The Puorot Institute dissolved her academic career when she openly refused to progress into the fifth year of her study of Ancient Manuscripts at the expense of her appraisal of The Prophecy Archives. At this juncture in her high profile career, Ms. Orbis was generally cut off from the input of her peers and widely labeled as a mentally unstable fanatic for her published works. Soon, Ms. Orbis disappeared from the erudite society and pursued her personal crusade for understanding with more than a little help from her future husband - the professor D.H. Charles Imheta Marisman, ACP. At the end of a lifetime worth of work and study, Ms. Orbis began to write and publish her findings, most of which stirred little other than incredulity amongst the experts. Left with little other recourse, she presented the quintessence of her research within published works presented as fiction with the common moniker The Prophecy Archives. Although her work is widely seen merely an entertaining read for the youth audience, it contains a plethora of factual historical reference which does, at times, seem to back up her revolutionary claims. At the end of it all, there are only two ways to view Ms. Orbis' life-work: either she is a confused fanatic, obsessed with the wrong vein of ideas, or she is entirely correct and the academic elite are mistaken in their analysis of her work.
Perhaps the single most interesting aspect of all of the writings of the Prophecy Archives, the glass of wonders is a tool which was supposedly provided by the "Ancients," or Greater Gods, to allow humanity to drastically alter the composition and balance of the physical world. This concept finds its roots in the belief that the gods, for some inexplicable reason, are unable to communicate or influence the progression of the world directly. This tool, then, takes the place of godly interruptions to the flow of historical eventuality - a standard convention of spiritualistic thinking - and allows mere humans to recereate the world, as it were, into a better place whenever history degrades to an unacceptable degree. There are a variety of descriptions of the Glass Of Wonders, but the one that prevails in The Prophecy Archives stories presents it as a smallish round object which appears to be comprised entirely of glass.
The concept of the Glass Of Wonders is a fascinating subject, especially since every historical account based around the early and formative years of the Jaltikij kingdom makes some form of mention to either a mysterious glass-like object with strange powers or a mysterious entity who possessed said glass. An historian would be hard-pressed to legitimize any account that did not include some mention of this glass because of the wide array of legitimate historical support for it. Although modern historians will generally not specify any opinion about what this historical "glass" might have been, it is interesting that they will be quick to dismiss any theory about its actual details, such as the ones presented by Tamela Orbis. Most of the skepticism about the glass' real historical significance stems from the fact that it is only ever mentioned in relation to the rise of King Cas, and even then it is mostly not described as bearing any world-altering significance. For most writings, it is simply presented as a fascinating sidebar to the significant events taking place at the time of its apparent appearance. Again, there is a great deal of discrepancy in the historical account in terms of whether or not the glass itself was possessed by an individual, discovered by the king's court or simply referred to a great deal by the people of the day. Whatever the case may be, the glass itself disappears from historical accounts immediately following the rise of King Cas to power. There is, in fact, no other mention of this glass to be found anywhere else in historical reference. Some scholars believe that the glass itself was merely a myth of the time period which happened to make its way into a wide variety of writings. This explanation, while never officially presented as fact, seems to be held in the widest regard, for most historians will not bother with covering the glass in their curriculum.
"...these entities are presented as the generic examples of divine manifestation. Between the creation account and Greek mythologies, there is generally a wide array of descriptions for the divine to be found in both the writings and the minds of humanity. It is arguable whether or not Ms. Orbis' presentation of the divine bears any real relevance to the bulk of her story. She seems inclined to use her mention of the gods as a utilitarian device more than a religious message. All the same, she addresses a variety of issues and questions inherent to the human consideration of divine entities through her presentation of the 'Ancients.' Most notably, she addresses the fact that godly figures seem, in terms of the human experience, to have little involvement with our everyday affairs. The literary presentation of the 'Ancients' in The Prophecy Archives offers a very plain and straightforward explanation for this issue through reference to a divine contest that resulted in the creation of Thos'Ca."
-The Literary Review
The concept of an "age" or a significantly defined period of time which bears some tangible physical difference that separates it from the rest of the historical account is a difficult idea to grasp. Realistically, the transmutation of an age represents a disruptive and memorable event for the minds of man. Were ages to truthfully exist, one would expect to discover an intense array of historical documentation surrounding these paradigm shifts. However, these historical documents are nowhere to be found and the most significant events to be discovered within the historical record are those which surround the rise and fall of mere kingdoms. Therefore, the presentation of the ages as described in the Jaltikij prophecy archives seems somehow irrelevant or mythological because of its exclusivity. It is therefore necessary to explain the mechanics of the passage of an age in order to support its relevance to the rest of the historical account. Oftentimes people will refer to changes as being "transparent," which is to say that a change has been made and it definitely has an impact, but it is so well integrated into the general scheme of things that the change itself remains invisible even to those who are most affected by it. To build on this concept, the changes which are created by the use of the Glass Of Wonders could be described as "opaque." People might feel like things were once different, they might even suspect that a change has been made, but the change itself is so thick and impossible to see past that the mind would not be able to reconcile any feelings of alteration with any perceptions of reality. Therefore, an opaque change would be accepted as though it were no change at all because there is absolutely no apparent evidence to support the suspicion of change.
The first, and most popular power present in the First Age was the Power of Life. This was a unique power in that it readily affected everyone that it touched in a way that mattered to all. The Power of Life gave a degree of control over crops, wealth, power, health and even life itself to its wielder. There were many different levels of control within the arena of the studies of life-power, and each of these levels represented a greater understanding and usage of this awesome power.
The second and weakest power present in the First Age was the Power of Death. This power was frightening to most and rarely encountered. There were two aspects to the Power of Death, both of which could be studied at great length, granting its pupil greater and greater control as he progressed in these studies. The first area found in the Power of Death is the power to cause death. Those who had great knowledge in this area were often referred to specifically as the Nilojhen, although all practitioners of the Power of Death were called Nilojhen. They were greatly feared and revered by all for their ability to end a life at will whenever they pleased. For many years, the Nilojhen were used mainly for hunting and the distribution of justice, being closely watched and controlled by the rulers of their society. It would always be trying to work with a Nilojhen, though, once one realized that even their own life could easily be forfeit at any point in time. The second area found in the Power of Death is the power to control the deceased. The usefulness of this power is, of course, directly reflected by the degree of deadness as well. These Necromancers, as they were referred to, had the ability to command the dead, but if a subject were so far decomposed and rotted away that they no longer possessed the ligaments and muscles necessary for movement, then the Necromancer would be able to do little with the body other than to call them out to wiggle and thus frighten any living who were nearby. This control over the deceased did give them one other unique offering, though, in that the Necromancer could ask the deceased any question he should like and he would always receive the correct answer. Many Necromancers were thus employed in the interest of studying history and learning about the cause of a crime. Necromancers are also often employed upon the battlefield in an attempt to turn dead warriors in to controlled minions that can quickly turn the tide of a conflict around.
The third and strongest power present in the First Age was the Power of the Future. Though this power had little effect on most people and concerned even less, it should be noted that the Power of the Future had the ability to mold and shape the very future of the world. It can determine what will happen in the days to come. Some think it grants the ability to transport oneself to some future date of one’s choosing were one to wish to avoid the occurrences of one’s own time. Scholars today still contend that this power never existed past the First Age, but it would be hard to say whether this might be true. One thing is known: the prophecies of G’Jen Talos extended well beyond the confines of the First Age and predicted events which would not occur even until within the Third Age in some instances. Talos even predicted a Fourth and Fifth Age, which none have yet seen.
"...within the layers of complexity to be found in the spiritual realms. Spiritists who hold fast to a loyalty to the belief of, for instance, a god of sand illustrate the diversity and completeness to be found within the system of spiritual heirarchy. Selenis Stark merely made a record of the logical progressions of the spiritual realm as discovered by priests and meditations. The Eclosei Entat was never touted as a completed work, nor as a completely accurate description of the sub-surface dealings of the spiritual realm. He presented it as simply what it was: an endeavour to understand the complexities of the spiritual realm and its many different facets. To critique this work, one would be inclined to critique the honest and helpful intentions of a man, long dead, who gave his entire life to a pursuit of something that was meant for our own betterment. This is to say that critiques of his intentions are ultimately disrespectful. Additionally, these sorts of critiques are unnecessary, as the gathered works of Stark are not forced upon any religious person as being an accurate descriptor of reality. They are not presented as the uneditable truth that so many accuse them of being. They are simply presented as a tool -- years of research and study combined into one work -- which can help students of the spiritual realm to being to understand where the layers stem forth from and what they might be all about. To debate over silly inconsequence in these terms is not..."
- Aquinas Densce Spirits, Gods, Spiritual Study and The Concepts of Greater and Lesser, A Lecture Series [excerpt]