Mehatoor

I spend the last few days in libraries and archives expanding my research files. I did see on several occasions Valate mentioned (or mentioning herself) as a Takmahl expert.

It appears that Takmahl were not the only group of Sani Sabik fleeing Athra during the Reclamation, they are only the most famous ones and the most successful. It stands to reason that the other  groups will have made it out about as far as the Takmahl using the primitive technology of the time (cryo-ships). So, within the cluster they probably settled within about the same amount of light years from Athra. This somewhat narrows down the search to about 200 systems. That is still many.

I have left Amarr system for Mehatoor, to interview Aspenstar. I am nervous for the encounter.

I arrived shortly after vespers at the "24th Imperial Crusade Logistic Support" station in orbit around Mehatoor VI. It is quite provincial in comparison to the stations in Domain. To my surpise, I saw that Nauplius is one of the people in local, moreover he is also docked in the 24th Imperial Crusade station. Apart from him, there are quite a few Khimi Harar members in the system

Lunarisse Aspenstar reaches out!

Lord, I was trembling and quaking, and now much later the trembling has not subsided yet!

As I was lurking in the comms channel "The Good Word", Lunarisse Aspenstar reached out to me and wanted to make contact! I had not planned to contact her for quite a while, but I had not understood that everyone is visible in these channels. She looked up my biography and obviously was triggered by my interest in archeology... 

I am not sure whether she wants to kill me or help me.

I will not copy the entire conversation here, but just summarize how it went. There was first a bit of chat about my vow of non-agression, a foul-mouthed girl called Ishta Maleto wondered at that. But soon after I confessed my interest in archeology, Aspenstar appeared to help. She sent me some basic stuff on Ametat and Avetat even though I had not mentioned these artifarts yet! I found that suspicious. It was information everyone can readily find, and I am sure she knows much more. She did confess having an interest in archeology. She also mentioned one of the first directors of her corporation was also involved in this search. I must find our who he is (male, since she uses directrix for a female). And, I must also find out whether he died a natural death.

Lunarisse Apsenstar then pointed me to Aridia and Genesis. She did not mention Kador, where the Araz and Kakol constellations are, as she must know very well. Is she trying to divert my attention?

She also revealed that Kernher was stricken from the Book by her Holder, became a heretic and is in exile somewhere in the Federation. That would explain why she does not answer my letter. However, she is still alive and remains a person of interest because of her Toth collection.

Finally, we agreed to meet in person. She proposed the chapel at the 24th Imperial Crusade station in Mehatoor. Apparently, that is the headquarters of her corporation. I will meet her there in two days time. If there are no log entries after that, then the finder of these logs will know who murdered me.

This first meeting was a momentous event for me. I would almost forget to add that I found another person of interest in the IGS comm channels: Valerie Valate. She is an archeologist and proclaimed on the channel: “Valerie Valate > what with me being the greatest sani sabik capsuleer philosopher of the modern era, and all that jazz.” 

Since the recent explorations focused all on the Takmahl lead, interviewing a Sani Sabik archeologist with vanity issues, could be useful, however revolting it may seem. Ah, why are so many of the persons of interest heretics?

Takmahl

Spending another day studying and digging in the Imperial History Museum's library has proven very successful!

I found a lot on information on the Takmahl, through scholarly writings of the "Signal Cartel" and the published works of Tertius Bathana. Here I summarize the most striking parts:

The Takmahl were a race of humans once part of the Amarr Empire. For reasons that remain unknown, but were very likely related to their Sani Sabik practices, they were exiled from the Empire, and lived for centuries in solitude. They were undoubtedly masters of Cybernetics and Bio-Engineering Technology.Takmahl relics can be found inside The Labyrinth, an anomaly near the central star of the Aphi system, and near the Museum Arcana in the Zimse system, both in the Araz constellation of the Amarr Empire. To enter the museum the Key of the Arcane is needed, that can be found in a relic container near the acceleration gate. Inside the museum the Key to the Labyrinth can be obtained from The Curator, which is required to enter The Labyrinth. 

I must visit Aphi and Zimse. And especially this Museum!

Comms channels

The Praetoria Imperialis Excubitoris (PIE) are one of the oldest capsuleer orders in the Empire. They have a most impressive library near the Emperor Family Academy. I spent the entire day in the Praetorian library. There are many old volumes but disappointingly few on the Avatat and Ametat.

I also learned about some interesting communication channels. “PIE Public” is the channel of the Praetores, but it seems not very busy. I did spot Aspenstar logged in on the PIE comm channel, as well as another IGS member, Aldrith Shaqur. He appears to be an important member of the Praetores. Another useful channel is “The Good Word”, it is much busier. Again, Aspenstar is present, and here also from time to time Nauplius.

Kernher is nowhere to be seen – maybe she retired from public life?

Historical records on Ametat and Avetat

 No reply yet from Kernher.

I hired a personal assistant to help me get around in Dam-Torsad.

I spent my time wisely in the Imperial History Museum’s library. The Caretaker of Archives is a most kind and helpful woman. She has pointed me to the works of ancient historians who mention the disappearance of the Ametat and Avetat, and to the works of modern historians on the matter. I learned a great deal, which I must try to summarize here.

Below is a reproduction of the oldest depiction of the Ametat. It is also the only depiction that predates its disappearance. It is a gold-on-wood icon with inlaid gems showing a golden-masked Sefrim holding the Ametat. Not very visible on the reproduction is the red crystal close to the top of the Ametat. The icon is part of a diptych, and there was an accompanying icon showing a Sefrim holding the Avetat. This second panel is now missing.

The oldest depictions of the Avetat show it as a halo with something like crossbars surrounding the Emperor’s head almost like a helmet. It is only much later that depictions show a crown in the usual sense. The oldest written descriptions are fragmentary. They describe the items as made of a light, strong material that did not show sign of wear or rust.

The most complete early historian on the matter is Ashot of Iphria. He is also the first historian in the modern sense of the word, in that he not only relates one side of the story but tries to include different opinions and compiles different sources. However, he lived around 18500 AD, nearly two thousand years after the disappearance of Avetat and Ametat, situated around 16900 AD.

In “De Aurora Imperii”, Ashot lists the most common theories in his days, relating to the disappearance of these artifacts. The main theory – still today I believe – is that God took these items back because he was displeased by the behavior of us Amarrians. If that is true, then most certainly in this era we will not earn them back.

The second theory is that the Avetat is held in secret by the Speakers of Truth – and it is what gives them their wisdom. In this theory the Ametat was kept by the Council of Apostles, to keep it safe from the then warring heirs and to keep the power of the Emperors in check. If that is so, the Avetat may still be in the possession of the Speakers, but the Ametat has probably been moved during the Moral Reforms.

The remaining theories only agree on the fact that there was a theft. But they do not agree on the thief: some claim the Court Chamberlain, others claim this or that heir or warlord.

Several works from after the Reclaiming (so after 20078 AD) mention that the artifacts fell in the hands of the Sani Sabik. This theory of course does not explain what happened to the artifacts in the millenia between their disappearance and the origin of the cult in the early days of the Reclaiming.

The Sani Sabik think they are the only ones destined for greatness and worthy of immortality. If they’re worthy of immortality, the idea goes, they are also worthy of the other gifts of the Sefrim.

The group that absconded the artifacts ran away with them to create a New Amarrian Empire. They used primitive cryo-ships to escape and settle in the Araz constellation. They founded the Takmahl empire, which rose to some importance before collapsing. The flight of the Takmahl and the founding of their empire is well documented history, but the fact they would have taken the Ametat and Avetat with them remains speculation.

I believe now that Tertius Ausonius Bathana (Aspenstar’s father) adhered to this latter theory, which would explain his extensive research on the Takmahl.

I also take note that Lord Aslan focuses his search on the Araz constellation and neighboring Kakol, where Gamdis III is located. Probably he also researched the Takmahl lead.

The pieces of the puzzle start to fit.

Dam-Torsad

I ache, I burn, I want to scream.

As I am in the Amarr system, I wanted to visit the holy sites and major cathedrals in Amarr Island. But I had no idea how to do this, the island has become one vast metropolis. Dam-Torsad has swallowed all the land, all the way up to the shore on every side. I don’t know how to move around in this city, I can’t figure out how to find the Mausoleum of Greinok or how to get to the Cathedral of Saint Tal-Romon. Mass transit remains a mystery to me, and the free maps they hand out at stations are woefully inadequate.

So, I registered with a tour operator, specializing in the holy sites. They pick you up in the morning, show you places of pilgrimage with a guide, and drop you off in the evening. This modus operandi should have been a first warning signal.

With a cluster of tourists from all over the Empire and beyond, you are squeezed together in a transport and brought from one site to another. The guide walks you over, says some commonplace nonsense rehearsed and rehashed a thousand times before, including the monotonously repeated jokes. Then you get just a little bit of time to walk around on your own before you are pushed towards the souvenir shop where you get ample time. Then you are shipped to the next site.

It hurts. I want to pray, to meditate, to contemplate history and the immensity of these places. I want to let it pierce my heart while I recite scripture and let the history of these places fill my soul to the brim. I want to lay down flat on the floor and touch the stones on which holy men and women stepped. But I can’t. It is too loud, too crowded with stupid obese Gallente taking disrespectful holopictures. There is no rest and no quiet. You get a tiny glimpse of what these places could be, before you are pushed further along the tourist track. And soon you are again dumped in a souvenir store, that offer books with nice pictures of what you could only vaguely perceive.

I came back from this trip exhausted and disappointed. The most revered and holiest places have become an industry, an assembly line for tourist mementos. From opening time till closing time, they are desecrated by the loud, picture taking, fast-food munching tourist stream of atheists and heretics.

Emperor Family Academy station in Amarr

Today was my first visit to the Emperor Family Academy station in orbit around Oris. What a glorious sight! A monument unrivaled in beauty! This station is gigantic. What a center of trade! The skies were black with ships coming and leaving. For the first time I beheld immense Titan ships. Not one but four of them are anchored outside the station. I wept and prayed and praised God.

After my years of seclusion, all this was just too overwhelming.

Once docked safely in the labyrinthine hangar bays, I left the ship and looked for merchants. However, I could not mentally handle the sheer amount of traffic and people, the constant buzz of activity, the mix of obnoxious odors, the relentless droning of advertisements. It came to a point that I had difficulties simply walking around. Everyone seemed to bump into me, and I seemed to always stand in the way of someone who is already late to get somewhere else urgently. Even the chapels are too noisy to find peace of mind.

The markets are even more challenging. I was drenched in flashing lights, explosive soundbursts, yelling, and aggressivity. I have come here to equip my exploration vessel, a Magnate class frigate that I baptized the “Indagatrix”. I needed drones, scanners, damage control units, salvage equipment, probes. It took me a lot of effort to navigate these markets and probably I have been ripped off, but I have acquired all I needed. 

To my surprise, the equipment appears to work as advertised.

I will head off to the Gamdis system. But first I yearn to spend some time in a sensory deprivation unit so my mind can rest.

SFRIM corporation

How could I have failed to notice this? Aspenstar's corporation is called "Societas Imperialis Sceptri Coronaque", the imperial society of scepter and crown. This is a direct reference to the Ametat and Avetat! To be honest, the ticker "SFRIM" does not hint at it. Thinking of it, neither does "Khimi Harar" directly associate to LUMEN. 

Letter to Kernher

In the reports of the Theology Council Tribunal I cannot find a formal condemnation of Samira Kernher as heretic, or Kernherism as a heresy. I searched, because on the IGS many Amarrians were denouncing her as a heretic. However, most of the time in these IGS discussions everybody calls everybody else a heretic, so that is not a very reliable source. Therefore, I prefer to rely on the files of the Theology Council. 

Since I do not find any official denunciation of her, I sent a letter to Samira Kernher, to find out more about Ilash Toth: 

Dear ms. Kernher,

Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a wandering monk, trying to recover the Empire’s most valuable relics. It needs no explanation that Ametat and Avetat are foremost on my mind. 

I have been living a hermit’s life in an asteroid monastery for many years. So, before my quest began, I have not been following worldly affairs. 

I am now trying to catch up.

In doing so, I came along your manifesto, “The Test of Faith”. I do agree that our Empire is rife with sin and that those that rule must be held much more accountable than they are now. 

Even though I do not agree with all aspects that you write, my soul was warmed by the strength of the fire of faith in you. I laud your faith, and I pray that your critics never succeed in diminishing it. Those that say nothing can ever be changed have forgotten how the Mad Emperor’s corruptions of both the council of Apostles and of the scripture could be undone, without civil war, but through the actions of a single saint.

My firm belief is that the Avetat will not be our reward for returning Amarr to the faith, but that it will be the tool that helps us achieve this. Therefore, I devote all my efforts in finding it, even if others denounce me as a madman for doing so.

My quest has been hampered by a lack of information, in particular on Ilash Toth. However, from your manifesto I gather that you are familiar with his writings. Since he was the last person to allegedly succeed in leading an expedition to find the Avetat I am trying to understand his mind better. I do not expect his writings to show his route or which system he ended up, but any scrap of information can hold clues.

I humbly request access to your collections on information on Ilash Toth, and I seek any advice you can give me in my quest. If it please you, I can meet you at a location of your choice.

I thank you for your time reading this missive.

By his light and will,

Theodosius Savnar

 

False lead

 I learned that the alliance “Two Maidens One Chalice” has absolutely nothing to do with the chalice of Greinok. I have seen what they do with a chalice and pray no relic ever falls in their hands.

Gamdis III and previous expeditions

 I learned that about a year ago, an expedition was sent to Gamdis III in the Kakol constellation, by a wealthy capsuleer and Khanid commoner that goes by the name of Nauplius. He built a research station, the Ametat Archaeology HQ, which was soon after destroyed by an alliance called Lumen. 

The reasons for this destruction are not clear, it appears Nauplius is in a race with Lunarisse Aspenstar (aka Lunarisse Daphiti) of LUMEN to find the artifacts. This lead points to Anath V, as is clear from this fragment on the background of Aspenstar:

Anath V is a storm planet known for an unusual population of indigenous wildlife colloquially named “Sefrim’s Veil” floating through its tulmultous skies. Killed during the attack were many colonists, administrators, soldiers, gas miners and their families, including Tertius Ausonius Bathana, a noted archeologist from Hedion University, known for his study of the ancient Takhmal and his quixotic pursuit of the Ametat and Avetat, and his Ni-Kunni wife Mairi Beaumonte, the-then heir to a Ni-Kunni trading clan. Perhaps the most famous survivor of the attack is the couple’s then four-year old daughter, now known by the call-sign of Lunarisse Aspenstar of the loyalist capsuleer alliance Khimi Harar, who later came to maturity on Mishi IV in the care of her mother’s extended family.[https://forums.eveonline.com/t/rumors-gossip-tabloids/130182/91]

Another explorer involved in the search is Lord Jude Benayahu Aslan, searching also in Gamdis III in the Araz constellation:

Lord Aslan’s expedition is rumoured to be visiting both the more well-known Araz constellation, known for many historical sites and ruins, as well its lesser-visited neighbors, such as the Kakol constellation, perhaps in the hopes of discovering sites overlooked by others. The expedition is well equipped, with specialists from Hedion University and the Royal Amarr Institute, teams of mechanics and technicians, as well as security, numbering close to a hundred souls.[https://forums.eveonline.com/t/rumors-gossip-tabloids/130182/93]

However, Lord Aslan’s expedition seems to have ended in disaster on 5-9-YC121, due “to catastrophic technical mishaps with excavation equipment and the site’s unstable geology.” It is interesting that he is also a suspected leader of the Purity of Throne cultists. And again, Lunarisse Aspenstar was close by the accident:

The MIO spokesperson expressed gratitude to Khimi Harar for their tireless Search and Recovery efforts, and other assistance in the aftermath of the disaster. The Executrix of Khimi Harar had been on vacation in the world and was among the first on the scene to render aid and mobilized response forces. [https://forums.eveonline.com/t/rumors-gossip-tabloids/130182/94]

Why is Gamdis III a candidate system for the relics? There is a mention of “local legends” for salespeople paddling false souvenir relics. And why does Aspenstar try to stop these expeditions? What did her father Bathana look for or find in Anath V ?

Aspenstar seems too dangerous to approach. I will start with the others.

Samira Kernher

 A certain Samira Kernher, who wrote a pamphlet denouncing the vice and corruption in the ruling classes of the Empire and proposing more oversight, appeals to Ilash Toth’s writings. She seems to have deep knowledge of Toth’s life and thought. 

I hesitate to contact Kernher to be able to access Toth’s writings, since many call her a heretic.