“Therefore you must not, in every case at least, take the higgledy-piggledy whale statements, however authentic, in these extracts, for veritable gospel cetology. Far from it.”

Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

Begin with a set of words you love. Pluck them out of their condign places; pile them in a heap; get out the paring-knife. Flense syllable from syllable, motif from motif, apposition from apposition. Reduce them to their bones; suck out their marrow; pin them together anew, different. This is not immersion; hardly enlightenment; an irrepressible fascination all the same. For where else will one find a timeline of the Histories, and an attempt to map their reflections onto the world we understand, and an intendedly exhaustive catalogue of pronouncements touching on every subject of note which the canon of Kennedy and Bevan and their sometime collaborators has thrown up, be it an Hour, or an adept, or the very idea of dream? May it be of use, somehow.

Pending the approval of the Demiurges for the republication of their words thus rearranged (should it please them to grant it), entries shall be made available to seekers by the Librarian, upon request.

What is Without, Within: Index to the Index (Draft of 24 January 2023)

ENTITIES

• The Carapace Cross
• The Dead
  • Lok Kahuli
  • St Nympha
• Dragons
• Empousai
  • Echidna
    • Echidna’s Creations
  • Kleidouchos/Frau Schlüssel
  • Marinette
  • Medusa
  • Morgen/Mme Matutine
  • Sulochana
• Hierarchy of the Mansus
  • The Know/Adepts
  • The Long
    • The Barrowchild
    • Burzghash
    • Cassius the Thoman
    • Coseley, Julian
    • Ferninshun of Oreol
    • Glamore, Hubris [?]
    • Hokobald of Pocsind
    • Ibn Al-Adim
    • Iyavogos
    • Jesus of Nazareth
    • Kurenai
    • Matthias
    • Mek
    • Ninegala of Lagash
    • Para, Son of Aaron
    • [A Renegade Knock-Long]
    • St Tryphon
    • Westergren, Lars
    • Yivni, Melerai
    • Unnamed Grail-Long
  • The Names
    • Ahad and Daha
    • The Amethyst Imago
    • Baldomera
    • Ghirbi [?]
    • Kanishk
    • Names of the Elegiast
      • Miss Naenia
    • Names of the Forge
    • Names of the Grail
    • Names of the Velvet
      • Kitling Ripe
      • The Nameless Name
    • The Sage-Knight
    • Striges
    • Vak [?]
  • The Hours
    • 0. The Moth
    • I. The Watchman
    • II. The Velvet
    • III. The Malachite
    • IV. The Thunderskin
    • V. The Mother of Ants
      • St Agnes of Bohemia
    • VI. The Witch-and-Sister
    • VII. The Colonel
    • VIII. The Lionsmith
    • IX. The Elegiast
    • X. The Beachcomber
    • XI. The Meniscate
      • Moon-Touched Places
    • XII. The Sun-in-Rags
    • XIII. The Horned-Axe
    • XIV. The Madrugad
      • The Cindered Tally
    • XV. The Red Grail
      • Enticements and Torments
    • XVI. The Wolf Divided
    • XVII. The Vagabond
    • XVIII. The Sister-and-Witch
    • XIX. The Flowermaker
    • XX. The Forge of Days
    • XXII. Snow
    • XXVII. Crowned Growth
    • †? The Egg Unhatching
    • † The Flint
    • † The Seven-Coils
    • † The Tide
    • †? The Wheel
    • † The Sun-in-Splendour
  • Hour-Spawned Entities
    • The Lionsmith’s Creations
      • Cats
      • Labhites
        • Fallen Labhite (Marrakech)
      • Skaptodons
        • Orsolina
    • The Mother-of-Ants’ Children
      • The Great Hooded Princes
        • The Jekadu
        • Arun Peel
      • Serpents
  • Hour-Touched Entities
    • Antaeans
      • Duffoure the Elder
      • Duffoure the Younger
      • [The Exile’s Mother]
    • Fivegoers [?]
      • Vasil
    • Ghouls
      • Dominykas
      • James Colin Murphy
  • Hügelkinder
  • Ordinary Humans (Presumed)
    • Tante Adeline
    • Alexander the Great
    • Arrettrez
    • Ashlag, Yitzchok
    • Ayrshire, Fionna
    • Azenaten, Damaon
    • Bancroft, Lord Francis
    • Bechet, Olympe
    • Berton, Ottavio
    • Blackwood, Sereno
    • Blaine, Meredith
    • Blockley, Michael
    • Von Brandt
    • Brodnax
    • Burial, C.G.
    • Chaima, Lalla
    • Chaima, Navil
    • C.R.O. D.
    • [Dancer Benefactor M]
    • [Dancer Benefactor F]
    • Darcy-Evans, Nathaniel
    • The Dark Gentleman
    • Didius Julianus
    • van Driel, Nico
    • Duplantis, T. Everett
    • Dusk, Arabella
    • ‘Black’ Elie
    • Field, N.K.
    • Fireweaver, Apollo
    • Fludd, Robert
    • Gartside
    • Giorgiou
    • Gore, William
    • Grese, Rylee
    • Hattington, Harvey
    • Hersault, Claude
    • Horace
    • Husher, Solomon
    • Hypatia
    • Illopoly, Christopher
    • Isaac of Karth
    • Jannings, Count Gottlieb
    • Joel of the Bridge
    • Jones, Dafyd
    • ‘Brown’ Joshua
    • Juceh
    • Kalle
    • Keirle, Nicholas
    • Kemal, Kara
    • Krosse, Jernik
    • R.K.N.J. L.
    • The Last Antaean Initiate
    • LaCroce, Alessandro
    • Larquebus, Christoph
    • Lascelles, Poppy
    • Lazali, Ennis
    • Lili
    • Malskaer, Niels Frederik
    • McDonald, Timothy
    • Medina, Monica
    • Menander the Victor
    • Midnight, William
    • Mireya
    • Montmerenzi, Alistair
    • Moor, Hosty
    • Morland
    • Morphy, Evan
    • Nuriel
    • Nyn
    • Oisin
    • Omar, the Blaze
    • Parsival
    • Partridge, Samuel
    • Penelope of Gordion
    • Peterhans, Alexander
    • Phillips, Ashley
    • Poemander
    • [The Poet of Meshad]
    • Probst, Alexander
    • Pseudo-Hypnerotomachus, Hieronymus
    • St Respicius
    • Roland
    • Sauri, Carlos Garcia
    • Savage, Samuel
    • Schaller, Stanislav Jan
    • Shluga, Pavel
    • Shohei
    • Sinombre, J.N.
    • Soham
    • Solipsistos
    • Sparrow, Alexander
    • Stegenga, [CENSORED]
    • Stegenga, [CENSORED]
    • Styles, Percy
    • Sushkin
    • Tasmane, Hosty
    • Topp-Mugglestone, Jacob Oliver
    • Vana, Athena
    • Velshorn, Cal
    • Verdier, Anaël
    • Vinzant, Everett
    • Waznei
    • Willis-Ford
    • Xi, Micah
    • Madam Yi
    • Zahra, Amira
    • Zawistowski, Julianna
    • Zogu, President Ahmet
    • Zulfiya
  • Spirits
    • Percussigant!
  • Unclassified
    • Antaios the Opponent
    • The Speeth
    • St Felix of Schüren
  • Worms

METAPHYSICS

• Ascension
  • Ascension in General
  • Ascensions of Change
    • The New Form
    • The Old Form
• The Histories
  • The Very Idea of History
    • Pentiments
    • Things Historical
  • Hydrae
    • The Third History
    • The Fourth History
    • Unsanctioned Histories
  • A Timeline-Attempt
    • Time Immemorial
    • The Lithomachy
    • Post-Lithomachy
    • Before Common Era
    • First Millennium
    • 1000 – 1450
    • 1450 – 1580: The War of the Roads
    • Before the Intercalate
    • 1582 [?]: The Intercalate
    • Post-Intercalate
    • 1600 – 1700
    • 1701 – 1800
    • 1801 – 1900
    • 1901 – 1926
    • Future: The Pilgrimage
    • Future: Miscellaneous
• Principles
  • Heart
  • Grail
    • A Long of the Grail
    • A Name of the Grail
  • Moth
  • Lantern
    • A Long of the Watchman
    • A Name of the Watchman
  • Forge
    • A Long of the Forge
    • A Name of the Forge
  • Edge
    • Ascensions of the Edge
  • Winter/The White
    • A Long of the Elegiast
  • Knock
    • Ascension under the Mother of Ants
• The Realms of Dream
  • Nyctodromy
  • Nowhere
  • The Mansus in General
    • The Wood
      • The Well in the Wood
        • The Door in the Wood
      • The Temple of the Wheel
    • The Bounds
      • The White Door
        • Lodge of the Sage Knight
        • The Orchard of Lights
    • The House of the Sun
      • The Stag Door
        • The Ascent of Knives
        • The Painted River
      • The Spider’s Door
        • The Silken Sands
        • The Concursum
        • The Malleary
      • The Peacock Door
        • The Red Church
        • The Worm Museum
      • The Kingskin Gate
      • The Tricuspid Gate
  • The Glory, and its Allure

MOTIFS

• Alchemy
• Arc Words
  • As…, so…
  • Into the fire we fly.
  • The Wood grows around…
  • The … is imaginary, but the … is not.
  • Where We Go
• The Body
  • Bones
  • Eyes and Seeing
• Botany (blame the Sixth Degree)
  • Apples
  • Barley/Malt
  • Black-Flax
  • Bougainvillea
  • Chestnut
  • Cinnamon
  • Figs
  • Flowers (in General)
  • Forest/Trees/Branches (in General)
  • Fruit (in General)
  • Fungus (in General)
  • Grain (in General)
  • Hawthorn
  • Grapes
  • Juniper
  • Leaves (in General)
  • Lichen
  • Lotus
  • Melon
  • Mint
  • Moss
  • Mulberry/Silk
  • Myrrh
  • Nuts
  • Oak
  • Orange
  • Orchids
  • Palm
  • Pine
  • Roots
  • Rose
  • Sage
  • Seaweed
  • Strawberries
  • Tea
  • Thorns
  • Tobacco
  • Yew
• Doors, Wounds, and Mirrors
  • Doors
  • Flaws in Fixed Places
  • Locks
  • Mirrors
  • Wounds
• Feather(s)
• Glory
• Keys
• Mineralogy
  • Amber
  • Amethyst
  • Aquamarine
  • Ash
  • Basalt
  • Brass
  • Bronze
  • Carnelian
  • Coal
  • Cobalt
  • Copper
  • Coral
  • Diamond
  • Flint
  • Fossils
  • Glass
  • Gold
  • Granite
  • Iron and Rust
  • Ivory
  • Jet
  • Jewels (in General)
  • Limestone
  • Malachite
  • Meteorites (in General)
  • Minerals (in General)
  • Obsidian
  • Pearl
  • Quartz
  • Ruby
  • Salt
  • Scolecite
  • Silver
  • Steel
  • Stone/Rock (in General)
  • Sulphur
  • Taenite
  • Thermite
  • Turquoise
• Mythology and Religion – Avowed
  • References
    • Angels
      • Archangel Michael
    • Buddhism
      • The Buddha
      • Vajrayana
    • Christianity
      • St Andrew Stratelates
      • St John
      • St Mark the Evangelist
    • Demons
    • Egyptian Mythology
      • Apis
      • Serapis
    • The Falcon-King
    • Hellenic Mythology
      • Antaeus
      • Apollo
      • Marsyas
    • Islam
      • Sufism
    • Pagans
    • Odin/Wotan
    • The Vanaras
    • Zoroastrianism, and Offshoots
      • Mithra
      • Shahrewar
  • Resonances
    • Allegory of the Cave (for Marin)
• Numerology
  • Zero
  • One-Half
  • One
  • Two
  • Three
  • Four
  • Five
  • Six
  • Seven
  • Nine
  • Ten
  • Twelve
  • Twenty-Six
  • One Hundred
  • One Thousand
  • One Hundred Thousand
  • Infinity
• Scale(s)
• Things Astronomical
  • The Sky

ORGANISATIONS

• Athenians
• Children of the Leashed Flame
• Church of the Unconquered Sun
• Corpshaus Marmurra
• House of Lethe/Ordo Limiae/Obliviates
• Kerisham Review
• Ligeia Club/New Ligeians
• Mundane Organisations
  • Black Arm
  • Imazighen/Berbers
  • Iron Wolf
  • Jadidists
  • Knights of St John
  • The Red Army
  • Theosophists
• Ordine di San Marco
• Potential Cults
  • Children of Silence
  • Church of the Bright Edge
  • [Flowermaker Cult]
  • [Horned-Axe Cult]
  • Mirror of Glory
  • Order of the Bloody Cup
  • Society of St Hydra
  • Society of the Holy Wound
  • Temple Unceasing
  • Towers of the Dove
  • Unflinching Order
  • Wildwood Club
  • [Wolf Divided Cult]
• Reckoners
• The Roost
• The Shadowless Kings
• Sisterhood of the Knot
  • The True Sisterhood
• Society of the Noble Endeavour
• Suppression Bureau
• Tragularii
• The Unnumbered Legion
• Worms of a Scale
  • The Bird-Eaters

THE WAKE: Atlas of Dreams

• The First Continent
• Asia
  • The Himalayas
    • Paro/The Tiger’s Nest
  • Japan
  • Bukhara
    • Samarkand
  • Siberia
    • Lake Cheko
  • The Subcontinent
• Europe
  • Britain
    • London
      • Cater and Hero Limited
      • Ecdysis Club
      • Forgotten Mithraeum
      • The Montmerenzi-MacDonald Gallery
      • Morland’s
      • Oriflamme’s Auction House
      • St Agnes’ Hospital
      • St Felix of Schüren
    • The Shires
      • Kerisham
  • Eastern Europe
    • Albania
      • Tirana
    • Carpathian Mountains
    • Land Beyond the Forest
      • Cluj-Napoca
      • Foxlily Meadows
    • Lithuania
      • Kaunas
    • Macedonia
    • Poland
      • Krakow
    • The USSR
      • Georgia
        • Tiflis
      • Kyiv
      • Russia
        • Leningrad
        • Nizhny Novgorod
        • Stalingrad
        • Sverdlovsk
  • Western Europe
    • Amsterdam
    • Austria-Hungary
      • Austria
        • Vienna
      • Bohemia
        • Prague
      • Hungary
        • Budapest
    • France/Gaul
      • Avignon
      • Chateau Raveline
      • Moribhan
        • Priory of Captains
      • Paris
      • Strasbourg
      • The Unnumbered Stones
      • The Vosges
    • Germany
      • Bavaria
        • Munich
      • Black Forest
      • Rhineland
        • Aachen
      • Rostock
        • Warnemünde
    • Greece
    • Italy
      • Lake Fucino
      • Rome
      • Venice
    • Iberia
      • Spain
        • Granada
        • Hispania Gallaecia
        • The Pyrenees
• Hydrology and Islands
  • Rivers
    • Danube
    • Neva
    • Oka
    • Volga
  • Seas and Oceans
    • The Atlantic
      • The Baltic
        • Bornholm
      • The Evening Isles
        • Port Noon
      • The Mediterranean
        • Crete
          • Candia-Heraklion
        • Malta
          • Valletta
• The Middle East and Maghreb
  • Arabia
  • Egypt
    • Alexandria
      • The Invisible Serapeum
    • Thebes
  • The Levant
    • Syria
      • Aleppo
      • Damascus
      • Hama/Hamath
    • Tyre
  • The Lone and Level Sands
    • Messana
      • Hermitage of the Scythe
    • Miah
  • Mesopotamia
    • Iraq
      • Baghdad
    • Lagash
  • The Maghreb
    • Algeria
      • Algiers
      • M’Zab
        • The Pentapolis/Ghardaia
    • Morocco
      • Marrakech
      • The Rif
    • Tripoli dell’ovest
  • Persia
    • Meshad
  • The Rending Mountains
  • Turkey
    • Anatolia
      • Halicarnassus
      • Issus
      • Phrygia
        • Gordion
    • Marmara/Thrace
      • Abydos
      • Istanbul
• Polar Regions
• Unclassified
  • City of Messenger Eagles
  • Crossroads of the Waters
  • Karth
  • Oreol

On the Smoky Satisfaction of the Mumu Boarts: Justified and Ancient Pronouncements from the House of Lapsang

Boart your name, boart your skin

These are snippets that comprise the bulk of the LOre found in Enigma. Puzzle-specific parts have been removed, and some sections have been renamed or omitted. [As much of what is missing as possible will be restored in the proper Season -AWL]. Some minor puzzle spoilers may persist; if you wish to solve Enigma on your own, avoid this document.

• ‘Without Language there can be no Wordes. Without Wordes there can be no Message. But only in Silence can there be no Error; and Lo, even in that Beginning, in that First of Messages, was an Error. Thus did we enter the HOUSE OF THE SUNNE.’
  – Julian Cosely, ‘The Vanquish’d Cross’
• ‘Without Language there can be no Wordes. Without Wordes there can be no Message. But only in Silence can there be no Error; and Lo, even in that Beginning, before the Conclusion of that First of Messages, was an Error. Thus did we enter the Upper Part of the House of the Sun – ‘
  – Julian Coseley, ‘The Fallen Cross’
• Remember our ancestors, when Bird and Worm were one. [¿]
• Not many in Noon now consider themselves Birds of a Feather, but fewer still will say they’re Worms of a Scale.
  Most come to Noon to remain apart. But there are those who work to ensure the war is won as they would wish it. St David’s Key, the Biting Key, the Forest Key, among many others, are their weapons and their prizes. Their messages pass in secret among those who Know and those who do not.
• There was insufficient time for the Terrible Ones, or for the Carapace Cross. Each fire has its fuel, and perhaps we are all of us fuel in the end.
• o Demeter, who dwelleth in the earth, who sends up gifts, who art the mare who destroyeth in mercy, in thy name we beseech thee: commend us to thy sister
• Salt: I knew a woman who would walk the beach at night to watch the road the moon offered across the waves. On her final night, she took that road.
• Hydrae: History is the scar on the world’s neck.
• There is no return for those who have committed the Crime of the Sky, but sometimes there is respite.
• The Biting Key was known in an age before other gods. It is found only in the presence of monsters.
• The Mare’s Key opens the door that leads Nowhere. It is employed only with the best intentions. // The Mare’s Key opens a door that leads Nowhere, but never the same door twice. It can be employed only with the best intentions.
• The Flaying Key was present at the birth of all the gods-from-Blood. For the Key to occur, a black pig must be sacrificed.
• The Key of Days opens the Tricuspid Gate. All the gods-from-Light have employed it. At the Crossroads, it may sometimes be invoked.
• When housed in ivory, the Key of David can be used to open the White Door. It requires a rarer house to open the Summit Gate. The Sea-Born has been known to wield it.
• The Princes owned the Key of Night, and their daughter holds it still. // The Princes owned the Key of Night, and their daughter holds it still. It only ever opens one door… but sometimes it opens it the other way.
• The Stag Door opens to the Forest Key, but there is another door that Key opens, deep in the Wood.
• One such as Medusa may not be ended easily – not without a wound as grievous as hers.
• There have always been seven, but not always the same seven, and it has not always been the Ligeia Club. It is very rare for the seven to meet in convocation, but now and then it occurs[.]
• [Echidna:] The gods-who-were-Stone knew the uses of the Biting Key, and now Echidna claims it. She has birthed so many children, and some yet survive.
• [Klêidouchos:] She has known all the Keys, but now she holds the Key of Days. She it was who opened the door the Watchman passed. She meets the Vagabond each year in Vienna.
• [Marinette:] So young, so hungry. All her children cannot slake her thirst. When Moth rose, another held the Flaying Key, but at the Grail’s bidding did Marinette consume that she.
• [<secret>:] Sea-born, tide-drawn. She is jealous of the key of black sapphire, but so many times it has fled her. Of all her kind, she knows the House of the Moon best. Meniscate-sister, Witch-lover.
• [Medusa:] She might be the oldest of her kind still living; and she is dead. Once she held the key to the door in the Wood.
• [<secret>:] She holds the Mare’s Key, which opens the door to Nowhere. Now and then, she has lent it unwisely.
• [Sulochana:] Her father came from the Fifth History, but she was born here, and here she brews her venoms. She is constant in her friendship; sometimes, she withholds her poisons. Since she became what she now is, she has ceased to dislike cats.
• The Locksmith’s Dream: Incursus
  “The Law goes back all the way to Stone: the Keys cannot be held or owned. This had, I believe, the unexpected consequence that those outside the law may hold and own them. But even they cannot keep them. And of course a Key is no more physical than a spirit. But a spirit may be housed in a body, and I have touched a Key with my own hands.
• “That time – I remember that the matter of Vienna came up, and young M. was incivil to K. – she made an oblique joke about feathers; she called her ‘Pandora’. K. left early[.]”
• <secret> was my secret name. It’s not real. Names aren’t, any more than souls, or words. Bodies are real, the world is real, and the Hours are real. Your secret name is <secret>. Be careful whom you tell.
• “Last night I saw Teresa. I had not expected it at all. I don’t believe that she saw me. Perhaps she wouldn’t even recognise me, what I am now after all this time. (But I think that she would recognise me. I would recognise her in a crowd, in candle-light in silhouette, glimpsed in a ballroom mirror, even had she aged these decades too.). I am badly shaken. I suppose that the Concursum is the place that this sort of thing is bound to happen.
  “Even now I know the temptation to go to the Lodge, to ask her directly – whether she has taken a side – if she still speaks to the Ligeians – whether she knows where it is. (Old man, you’re lying. There is only one question you really want to ask. The others are just excuses.)”
  – Illopoly, ‘Sunset Diaries’, January 1982
• “My landlady has been questioned. By ‘a very nice man’, she says, but a very nice man who asked peculiar questions. Whether, for instance, I cut my hair before I sleep. Time to move on.
  I can’t put it off any longer: I’ll have go to Port Noon. I can’t imagine our friend is still there in the hills, but someone may know where she’s gone. I will be met with contempt, if I’m fortunate, and suspicion, if I’m not, but I’m no threat to the Long.
  “I have a cabin on the Hebe Stanton, leaving tomorrow. I find, to my surprise, that I’m looking forward to it. I cannot but be curious about the place. I’m even looking forward to seeing Coseley again, although I imagine I may feel differently, a couple of lectures in.”
  – Illopoly, ‘Sunset Diaries’, February 1975
• The Gallaecian Sisters, who called themselves Angitia and Medea, offered services beside their usual trade to their customers: song, dance, prophecy, and the exhibition of mock battles. They were said besides by their arts to bring the earthquake.
  – Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, Lives of the Famous She-Wolves (trans. Franklin Bancroft)
• Rich Gallaecia sent its prodigies, learned in haruspicy, by Feather and Fire, now shrieking in their barbarian tongue, now stamping the ground in the rhythm that shakes the world, now beating their shields to honour the dance.
  – Silius Italicus, the Punica (trans. Franklin Bancroft)
• Rich Gallaecia sent its prophets, learned in ornithomancy, by the Wing and the Mist, now howling in the tongue of the Wolf, now stamping the ground in the heart-rhythm, now beating their shields like the Drum of the Great Mountains.
  – Publius Statius, the Punica (trans. Franklin Bancroft)
• The guests from Gallaecia brought caged songbirds and worm-buckets, to demonstrate their skill of prophecy. Should a bird devour a worm, they would celebrate with dance; should a worm devour a bird, they would celebrate with song.
  – Gaius Petronius Arbiter, the Feast of Trismegistus (trans. William Gore)
• From the mountains of Gallaecia the treasure-house came Anguitian serpents and winged Dracons, skilled in the interpretation of flight and fire and blood, singing the wind, beating the earthquake, rending their scales in honour of Attis.
  – Lucan, the African Epic (trans. Franklin Bancroft)
• “The Bureau went in the last round of budget cuts – of course it did. It hadn’t even been called ‘the Bureau’ for years. A sub-department of a sub-department, I suppose… but it seems to be a private enterprise now, if not precisely a commercial one.
  “It must be Lee. The years have only made her more determined. And richer, I suspect.
  “They didn’t mention her name, but there was a wheelchair downstairs, and I don’t think any of the others are even still alive. They could be, I suppose. They could have been sipping lymph or nectar… but the world is not kind to their sort, and the Mansus is less kind still. They didn’t mention what they were looking for, either, but from the questions they asked, it can only be the Key. Fifty years ago, I would have told them everything I know, and trusted Lee to do the right thing. But I can’t be sure of her agenda, not any more. What the years do to mortal flesh, they do to mortal ideals also.
  “I’ll write to Coseley. He won’t know what to do either. But it’s only polite.”
  – Illopoly, ‘Sunset Diaries’, March 1974
• “‘[THE CARAPACE-CROSS DID NOT PERISH BUT PASSED WITHIN]’. Of course they did; of course they did. By definition, this changes nothing, and yet I cannot ignore it. At the very least it lends strength to Coseley’s arguments. I am beginning to think, after all, that he is right. “Birds of a feather stick together.”.
  “Teresa, Teresa. Perhaps, had we known, it would have changed nothing for you, either. Is it fair to tell you?
  “‘[THE CARAPACE-CROSS DID NOT PERISH BUT PASSED WITHIN.]’ I feel sick.
  […]
  – Illopoly, ‘Sunset Diaries’, March 1959
• [Cryppys Club:] The rooftop club where Birds of a Feather watch the Sunset, and speak of a day when it might bleed no longer.
• [Bar Vienna:] The cellar bar where Worms of a Scale grouse about the nature of things and, in theory, plot the downfall of the Hours and the freedom of every other order of being.
• [Pocsind Park:] A neglected triangle of parched grass and bravely intended flower-beds behind the Ciervo. In one corner, a tin-roofed shack dispenses burnt coffee. Here congregate the Hokeys, those ambivalents and apathetics who care neither for freedom nor for Glory. Perhaps, some day, they might be permitted to return to polite society.
• [Staff Room:] Chains of ivory, iron, silver and gold hang beside the notice board. The gold chain bears the inscription BE NOT UNKIND. A portrait of Mr Burrs, the owner – a Géricault, he’s always claimed – watches impassively from the west wall. An unlocked cupboard contains the other stored hotel art, stacked haphazardly. The Management’s ceremonial key-rings hang on hooks. The rings labelled PRECEDENCE, CONSCIENCE, INNOCENCE, EXPERIENCE and IMPUDENCE are missing – in use. Perhaps those five are all there is.
• [St. Doves, Kerisham, 1985:] For most of the twentieth century, the way to Noon remained open… barely. The ‘Hebe Stanton’ still sailed the old seaways, though she bore another name now. Long fleeing the Hourly quarrels or the Bureau’s purges found their way to the  parish church of St Doves, in Kerisham, to give the priest the pass-sign…
• [Hebe Stanton, Atlantic, 1935:] On this voyage, oak and iron strive with ivory and with ice. Winter storms. Hooked cross. The Colonel and the Lionsmith renew their struggle. There will be a murder.
• [Sikandar’s Rest, Beas Kund, 1861:] Long ago, a conqueror turned back from the Land of Five Rivers. Fear, compassion, loyalty, weariness, revelation? Here is the serene hill station where the last of twelve altars is garlanded with flowers. Here the skeins of Empire draw taut.
• [Great Writhing, Versailles, 1776:] 1776, the Third History: Louis declares the Masque of Masques, and forbids mention of the Great Writhing within the walls of the Palace of Versailles, although by this point the Worms are observed to move openly along the boulevards of Paris, sometimes even in daylight. The Army is redeployed to defend the Court. The Masque lasts one lunar month, and attracts several of the Long abroad in Western Europe at the time – fleeing the Worms, or hoping to take advantage of the desperate Louis, or seeking access to the sealed mirrors of the Palace – or just eager to attend the most inventive and desperate debauch of the century…
  – Dr Arun Peel, Collected Hush House Lectures
• Mr Burrs
  Lecture: ‘The Great Writhing’
  Our distinguished guest Dr Peel, of the Committee of Hush House, will be reprising one of his best-regarded lectures in the Ivory Room at 4pm. Proceeds to the Hush House Preservation Fund.
• [Candia Besieged, Venetocratic Crete, 1668:] Edge-long often seek to match each other in war. But even when they don’t seek it, they share a battlefield more often than seems plausible.
• [Hostage Empire, Tenochtitlan, 1520:] Without the tears of the Intercalate in the world’s mesentery, this solar epigone might have ruled another hundred years. But this hinge of Histories, the Long gather like wolves, and behind them. Above the heart-city, the god-bird hovers. What is left? The sweetness in his name.
• [Crossroads, Utrecht, 148x:] The Children of the Leashed Flame celebrate their victory with gay abandon… too soon? By day, by night, the old wars of Feather and Scale continue. Here they call them Trap-Wand and Sea-Throng. Until the Long are ready to pronounce an end, the wars drag on.
• [Flower Palace, Kyoto, 140x:] The Shogun is holding a secret auction. Over the last year, the invites have crossed the world, to those few who can pay the price for the last, the very last, the world’s last dragon. [It does not resemble the dragons on the walls of his audience chamber. Its eyes are red bone, its hide is plated against the greater gulf; its claws cannot be seen but only imagined. [The auction is open, at least while the auctioneer sleeps not.]]
• Boart.

In which one is defeated.

Solved: 2019-03-10

Details

Once the appropriate role has been assigned, new channels will unlock and the Naenia bot will respond to certain keywords. The channel descriptions are provided below:

• #st-doves-kerisham-1985: “For most of the twentieth century, the way to Noon remained open… barely. The ‘Hebe Stanton’ still sailed the old seaways, though she bore another name now. Long fleeing the Hourly quarrels or the Bureau’s purges found their way to the parish church of St Doves, in Kerisham, to give the priest the pass-sign… [This is Phase XIX.]”
• #cryppys-club: “Phase XIXa. The rooftop club where Birds of a Feather watch the Sunset, and speak of a day when it might bleed no longer. [Conversation is easier here.]”
• #bar-vienna: “Phase XIXb. The cellar bar where Worms of a Scale grouse about the nature of things and, in theory, plot the downfall of the Hours and the freedom of every other order of being. [Conversation here is easier.]”
• #pocsind-park: “Phase XIXc. A neglected triangle of parched grass and bravely intended flower-beds behind the Ciervo. In one corner, a tin-roofed shack dispenses burnt coffee. Here congregate the Hokeys, those ambivalents and apathetics who care neither for freedom nor for Glory. Perhaps, some day, they might be permitted to return to polite society. [Conversation is not much easier here.]”

The following keywords will provoke a response from Naenia. Keywords that must be typed exactly as is, without any surrounding text, are marked with an asterisk (*):

• defeat: Naenia adds the 1985 role.
• eternity: Naenia reacts with a bird emoji.
• chaos: Naenia reacts with a worm emoji.
• management: Naenia reacts with a winter emoji.
• london: Naenia reacts with a bat emoji.
• whale: Naenia reacts with an arrow_right_hook emoji.
• queen juno: Naenia replies with “o demeter, who dwelleth in the earth, who sends up gifts, who art the mare who destroyeth in mercy, in thy name we beseech thee: commend us to thy sister”
• demeter: Naenia adds the 1935 role.

The clue for progression lies in the #phase-xviii-echoing-lobby channel description, which asks players to “admit defeat”. One must therefore type the word defeat to advance. Then, in the next channel, one must use the channel description to type queen juno. This triggers a response which hints at the word demeter, which itself grants access to Phase XX.

History

• 2019-02-23: Phase XIX is discovered by the Discord. An interlude follows.
• 2019-03-10: Phase XIX is solved.

In which one declares their affiliation.

Solved: 2019-02-23

Details

This phase, while technically just another numbered phase, does not present any particular challenge. Once one has joined the Discord, one need only visit the #reception-desk channel and declare themselves as either a Bird, a Worm, or a Hokey. Hotel Management will grant the appropriate role shortly, which will provide access to the appropriate channel. The channel descriptions are provided below:

• #phase-xviii-echoing-lobby: “In the dim lobby of the Hotel Ciervo, Worms and Birds mingle freely. Some have claimed to be both, but they dishonour themselves. Once you have chosen your side at the Reception Desk, await your moment, or declare defeat. [Street noise, and eavesdroppers, can make conversations here very difficult.]”
• #reception-desk: “Are you Bird, or Worm? Indicate your choice to the management at the reception desk. (Note that ‘Bird’ is the correct choice.)”
• #pocsind-park: “Phase XIXc. A neglected triangle of parched grass and bravely intended flower-beds behind the Ciervo. In one corner, a tin-roofed shack dispenses burnt coffee. Here congregate the Hokeys, those ambivalents and apathetics who care neither for freedom nor for Glory. Perhaps, some day, they might be permitted to return to polite society. [Conversation is not much easier here.]”

Once the role has been received, one can begin solving the Discord’s puzzles.

History

• 2019-02-23: Phase XVIII is discovered and solved by the Discord.

n which CHAOS CHAOS CHAOS

Solved: 2019-02-23

Details

The page /thecrossdiednotbutpassedwithin contains the following text:

“‘THE CROSS DIED NOT BUT PASSED WITHIN’. Of course they did; of course they did. By definition, this changes nothing, and yet I cannot ignore it. At the very least it lends strength to Coseley’s arguments. I am beginning to think, after all, that he is right. “Birds of a feather stick together.”.

“Teresa, Teresa. Perhaps, had we known, it would have changed nothing for you, either. Is it fair to tell you?

“‘THE CROSS DIED NOT BUT PASSED WITHIN.’ I feel sick.

What next? Back to where we’ve been from the start? Harmony’s final failure before the division? and after the division, it looks like chaos Why Are (Within) you You, Alpha, omega except THE CROSS DIED NOT BUT PASSED WITHIN

– Illopoly, ‘Sunset Diaries’, March 1959

[Progress beyond Phase XVIII is possible.]

The most relevant section is the fourth paragraph, which was not present originally. “Harmony’s final failure” is discord, referring to the chat service Discord. The rest is therefore a clue to a Discord invite link, which takes the form of a 7-character alpha-numeric string. The clue should therefore be read as follows:

• Why: read out loud sounds like “Y” (capitalized)
• Are: read out loud sounds like “R” (capitalized)
• (Within): the Cross is within, and the cross is an “X”
• you: read out loud sounds like “u”
• You: read out loud sounds like “U”
• Alpha: the first letter of the alphabet, “A”
• omega: the last letter of the alphabet, “z”

This leads to the sttring YRXuUAz. The invite link is therefore https://discord.gg/YRXuUAz.

History

• 2019-01-04: Phase XVII is discovered by the Discord. An interlude follows.
• 2019-02-23: Phase XVII is solved by the Discord.

In which a Worm of Worms points the way.

Solved: 2019-01-04

Details

The text on intercalaris and mercedonius is as follows:

“The Bureau went in the last round of budget cuts – of course it did. It hadn’t even been called ‘the Bureau’ for years. A sub-department of a sub-department, I suppose… but it seems to be a private enterprise now, if not precisely a commercial one.

“It must be Lee. The years have only made her more determined. And richer, I suspect. They didn’t mention her name, but there was a wheelchair downstairs, and I don’t think any of the others are even still alive. They could be, I suppose. They could have been sipping lymph or nectar… but the world is not kind to their sort, and the Mansus is less kind still.

“They didn’t mention what they were looking for, either, but from the questions they asked, it can only be the Key. Fifty years ago, I would have told them everything I know, and trusted Lee to do the right thing. But I can’t be sure of her agenda, not any more. What the years do to mortal flesh, they do to mortal ideals also.

“I’ll write to Coseley. He won’t know what to do either. But it’s only polite.”

– Illopoly, ‘Sunset Diaries’, March 1974

[Progress to Phase XVII might be practical, now, since Birds are found where are Worms, and the inverse is also true.]

The only relevant portions are the mention of Coseley and the last line. Julian Coseley is described by Hersault as “a Worm of Worms”, while Birds were previously found on Twitter through the Birdsong clue. This leads to the Winter Long’s Twitter profile: @juliancoseley

The account is manned by a bot which will reply every five minutes to a few prompts. Of particular note are the Apostle endings, which are what JC fears most as he does not want any more Names (also referenced here). The following are the known trigger words and their associated responses:

• vitulation: “Yes, that one’s quite disgusting. Name the Nest from which the birds arose, three times, where it all begins again, and tell the Club what you hear.”
• dawnbreaker: “Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen. Name the Egg who made the birds, three times, where it all begins again, and tell the Club what you hear.”
• third mode: “The most dangerous of all. Name the Storehouse which fed the birds, three times, where it all begins again, and tell the Club what you hear.”
• pornography: “Each to the taste of each.” (a reference to exotic eighteenth-century pornography; the response was added after the trigger had first been tried)
• trimalchionis: “What larks.” (a reference to Satyricon)
• respicius: “No doubt.”

The last trigger is unlikely to be guessed from the start, and instead serves as confirmation for the answer.

The exact reasoning for this phase remains somewhat unclear, but TRN, mentioned in-game, is a reference to Tryphon, Respicius and Nympha, the three saints of the Troissaint company (in French, “trois saints” means “three saints”).

Additionally, JC’s profile bio reads:

Betimes an enemy of Apostles. Once again, we assault secret T’s emperor.

Here, “secret T’s emperor” is a reference to “Silent Tristero’s Empire”, which itself is a clue to email. “where it all begins again” is therefore noon@weatherfactory.biz, which must be messaged with “Tryphon, Respicius and Nympha”. This will trigger the following response:

‘The Cross died not, but passed within’

This must then be “t[old] to the Club”, which means trying the URL /thecrossdiednotbutpassedwithin, which marks the end of this phase.

History

• 2018-10-15: Phase XVI is discovered by the Discord. An interlude follows.
• 2019-01-04: Phase XVI is solved by the Discord.

In which one looks to the god for answers.

Solved: 2018-10-15

Details

Visiting /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/baldomeraglimpsedintheconcursum reveals the following text:

“Last night I saw B. in the Concursum. I had not expected it at all. I don’t believe that she saw me. Perhaps she wouldn’t even recognise me, what I am now after after all this time. (But I think that she would recognise me. I would recognise her in a crowd, in candle-light in silhouette, glimpsed in a ballroom mirror, even had she aged these decades too.). I am badly shaken. I suppose that the Concursum is the place that this sort of thing is bound to happen.

“Even now I know the temptation to go to the Lodge, to ask her directly – whether she has taken a side – if she still speaks to the Ligeians – whether she knows where it is. (Old man, you’re lying. There is only one question you really want to ask. The others are just excuses.)”

– Illopoly, ‘Sunset Diaries’, January 1982

[Update; look to the god.]

The only relevant hint text here are the last two lines. “Update” has a double meaning, referencing both the update which added “Janus” to the game and the date located just above (specifically “January”, which is often thought to stem from the word “Janus”). Additionally, “look to the god” references the Locksmith’s Dream 4, which mentions that “Janus is the Gatekeeper.” All clues therefore point to janus, which leads to /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/janus, containing the following text:

‘Without Language there can be no Wordes. Without Wordes there can be no Message. But only in Silence can there be no Error; and Lo, even in that Beginning, before the Conclusion of that First of Messages, was an Error. Thus did we enter the Upper Part of the House of the Sun – ‘

– Julian Coseley, ‘The Fallen Cross’

The page linked to by ‘The Fallen Cross’ contains a slightly different version of the above text:

‘Without Language there can be no Wordes. Without Wordes there can be no Message. But only in Silence can there be no Error; and Lo, even in that Beginning, in that First of Messages, was an Error. Thus did we enter the HOUSE OF THE SUNNE.’

– Julian Cosely, ‘The Vanquish’d Cross’

Both texts reference the mailing list email from Phase IV (“that First of Messages”), which contained the typo “LOndon” (the “Error”). This then leads to /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/LO (titled “Our Friend”) containing the following:

“My landlady has been questioned. By ‘a very nice man’, she says, but a very nice man who asked peculiar questions. Whether, for instance, I cut my hair before I sleep. Time to move on.

I can’t put it off any longer: I’ll have go to Port Noon. I can’t imagine our friend is still there in the hills, but someone may know where she’s gone. I will be met with contempt, if I’m fortunate, and suspicion, if I’m not, but I’m no threat to the Long.

“I have a cabin on the Queen Juno, leaving tomorrow. I find, to my surprise, that I’m looking forward to it. I cannot but be curious about the place. I’m even looking forward to seeing Coseley again, although I imagine I may feel differently, a couple of lectures in.”

– Illopoly, ‘Sunset Diaries’, February 1975

The key word here is juno, which leads to /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/juno:

”The Gallaecian Sisters, who called themselves Angitia and Medea, offered services beside their usual trade to their customers: song, dance, prophecy, and the exhibition of mock battles. They were said besides by their arts to bring the earthquake.’

– Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, Lives of the Famous She-Wolves (trans. Franklin Bancroft)

The linked page is februa:

‘‘Rich Gallaecia sent its prodigies, learned in haruspicy, by Feather and Fire, now shrieking in their barbarian tongue, now stamping the ground in the rhythm that shakes the world, now beating their shields to honour the dance.’

– Silius Italicus, the Punica (trans. Franklin Bancroft)

Which in turn links to februalis:

‘‘Rich Gallaecia sent its prophets, learned in ornithomancy, by the Wing and the Mist, now howling in the tongue of the Wolf, now stamping the ground in the heart-rhythm, now beating their shields like the Drum of the Great Mountains.’

– Publius Statius, the Punica (trans. Franklin Bancroft)

Which leads to februata:

‘The guests from Gallaecia brought caged songbirds and worm-buckets, to demonstrate their skill of prophecy. Should a bird devour a worm, they would celebrate with dance; should a worm devour a bird, they would celebrate with song.’

– Gaius Petronius Arbiter, the Feast of Trismegistus (trans. William Gore)

Which finally leads to februus:

‘‘From the mountains of Gallaecia the treasure-house came Anguitian serpents and winged Dracons, skilled in the interpretation of flight and fire and blood, singing the wind, beating the earthquake, rending their scales in honour of Attis.’

– Lucan, the African Epic (trans. Franklin Bancroft)

Which then cycles back to juno.

The key here is to realize the page names all link back to February, which the Julian calendar used to handle leap years. An older Roman calendar, however, used the intercalary months of mercedonius or intercalaris, both of which are Phase XVI.

History

• 2018-08-21: Phase XV is discovered by the Discord. An interlude follows.
• 2018-10-15: Phase XV is solved by the Discord.

In which one opens all the doors.

Solved: 2018-08-21

Details

Like the previous phase, this phase is not labelled, and it is therefore assumed it consists of the door names. Continuing from the previous phase, the same format must be used to figure out the URLs of the doors associated with the Ligeians. The results are summarized in the below table:

Key	Ligeian	Door	Text	Explanation
The Biting Key	Echidna	The Savage Door (savagedoor)	baldom	Monsters lead to Echidna and thus the Savage Door.
The Key of Days	Klêidouchos	The Tricuspid Gate (tricuspidgate)	era	Directly referenced on the key’s page.
The Forest Key	Medusa	The Door in the Wood (doorinthewood)	gli	Referenced on the key’s page and in the game.
The Mare’s Key	Rowena	The Door to Nowhere (doortonowhere)	mps	Must be guessed from the key’s page.
The Key of David	Morgen	The Summit Gate (summitgate)	edi	Directly referenced on the key’s page.
The Key of Night	Sulochana	The Wrong Door (wrongdoor)	nthec	Referenced by Sulochana here.
The Flaying Key	Marinette	The Kingskin Gate (kingskingate)	oncursum	Boars are associated with Marinette and thus the Kingskin Gate.

When combined, this leads to the new page: /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/baldomeraglimpsedintheconcursum

History

• 2018-08-16: Phase XIV is discovered by the Discord.
• 2018-08-21: Phase XIV is solved by the Discord.

Unlike most other phases, Phase XIII is not clearly labelled, and it is possible the first page should be considered a part of Phase XII. For the purposes of this guide, it is assumed Phase XIII starts with the /bodiesworldhours page, which contains the following text:

“That time – I remember that the matter of Vienna came up, and young M. was incivil to K. – she made an oblique joke about feathers; she called her ‘Pandora’. K. left early. We tried to draw a line and move on to discuss our responsibilities, but there was a great deal of – shall we say – beastliness.”

This is a reference to Phase XI, in which all the Ligeia Club members were brought together. Now, one must remove Klêidouchos (“K. left early”), add a / (“draw a line”), then either look for keys (the “responsibilities” of the Ligeia Club members) or animals (“beastliness”). The following pages can be found in this way (differences with the original pages are highlighted in bold):

• /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/lion: “The Biting Key was known in an age before other gods. It is found only in the presence of monsters.” (title: “Lion”)
• /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/mare: “The Mare’s Key opens a door that leads Nowhere, but never the same door twice. It can be employed only with the best intentions.” (title: “Mare”)
• /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/boar: “The Flaying Key was present at the birth of all the gods-from-Blood. For the Key to occur, a black pig must be sacrificed.” (title: “Boar”)
• /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/eagle: “The Key of Days opens the Tricuspid Gate. All the gods-from-Light have employed it. At the Crossroads, it may sometimes be invoked.” (title: “Eagle”)
• /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/bull: “When housed in ivory, the Key of David can be used to open the White Door. It requires a rarer house to open the Summit Gate. The Sea-Born has been known to wield it.” (title: “Bull”)
• /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/hydra: “The Princes owned the Key of Night, and their daughter holds it still. It only ever opens one door… but sometimes it opens it the other way.” (title: “Hydra”)
• /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/hind: “The Stag Door opens to the Forest Key, but there is another door that Key opens, deep in the Wood.” (title: “Hind”)
• /echidnamarinettemedusamorgenrowenasulochana/boart: “Perhaps you missed the matter of the smoky satisfaction in the previous step. Don’t pursue it. It will avail you nothing.” (title: “Boart”)

History

• 2018-08-15: Phase XIII is discovered by the Discord.
• 2018-08-16: Phase XIII is solved by the Discord.

In which one realizes what is real.

Solved: 2018-08-15

Details

Upon emailing Baldomera, one receives an email reply with the following text:

That was my secret name. It’s not real. Names aren’t, any more than souls, or words. Bodies are real, the world is real, and the Hours are real. Your secret name is <secret name>. Be careful whom you tell.

– Teresa

[This is Phase XII.]

Any subsequent emails to her will result in the following reply, titled “Yes”:

You exist.

Taken as a whole, this is a clue that one must focus on what exists, and what is real. In other words, bodies, the world, and the Hours. This leads to the following Ligeia Club page: http://www.ligeiaclub.org/bodiesworldhours

The secret name should be kept secret from others, as it will come into play later.

History

• 2018-07-07: Phase XII is discovered by the Discord. An interlude follows.
• 2018-08-15: The interlude ends, and Phase XII is solved by the Discord.