Enchiridion Valentia

The official GemStone IV encyclopedia.
Revision as of 18:01, 21 April 2015 by VANKRASN39 (talk | contribs) (→‎Purchase: oops)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Enchiridion Valentia was the cornerstone document and archive of knowldge of Faendryl demon summoning.

The Enchiridion Valentia was first conceived by Abdullahi Hazalred Faendryl, who had become dismayed at the injuries and deaths that the unorganized demon summoning research was inflicting upon Faendryl summoners. Thus, he began a centuries long project of organizing notes and information to create a practical and reliable base of information for other Faendryl. This was in the time before Despana and the Undead War, and approximately before some 20,000 years ago.

However, the Enchiridion Valentia project did not gain momentum until the decree by the twentieth Patriarch, Eidiol Jivanatha Faendryl, that all further research on demon summoning be deposited with the project. In essence, Patriarch Eidiol Jivanatha had decreed the Enchiridion Valentia as the core repository of all Faendryl knowledge on demon summoning. Furthermore, the decree contained the requirement that all valence traveling summoners must first consult the Enchiridion Valentia before departing, and submit a full report upon returning from their particular valence. After a number of centuries, this requirement was dropped, as the prestige of contributing to the repository grew to a high honor.

The Enchiridion Valentia was composed of a repository and of a single volume. The repository was overseen by three scholars, known as "Scholar of the Valences," and were appointed by the Patriarch for lifetime seats. The scholars were placed in charge of taxonomy and organization of all knowledge and discoveries. A secondary purpose of the repository was the production of copies of the knowledge, which were then placed in secret locations as a security matter. The scholars were also placed in charge of printing bound copies of the information, which often was established centuries before without change.

Purchase

Enchiridion Valentia volumes are available for purchase in each Sorcerer Guild library for 75,000 silvers and are in the form of a sigil-chased dark leather volume.

You reach out and grasp the dark leather volume and it flickers, growing insubstantial.  Still feeling solid against your fingers you pull, separating the dark leather volume into two books, and, after a moment, they flicker and become corporeal once again.

Encircled by a series of ten silver sigils, the volume is bound by well-polished leather of a solid ebon hue.  Within the very heart of the central spiral of sigils is an intricate crest--that of a solid steel pentacle upon a field of grey, the lustrous metal stained a deep incarnadine.  Arcing designs of silver wreath the spine of the volume, and a small depression dips gracefully along the upper edges, bordered by glimmering shards of faceted onyx.
-page 1-
       --- Enchiridion Valentia ---                  
           The Common Language Edition, Released in 5103
           Translated to Common by Lady Hilthia Waterlyon Faendryl

Notes about this edition:

This abridged edition of the Enchiridion Valentia was translated to Common in the year 5103 and is known as the First Common Edition.  It is based on the seventeenth Faendryl edition released in the year 4407, abridged by the Scholars of the Valences in 5103.

The initial chapters are not released as part of this edition, as the Faendryl consider the wider population of sorcerers unable to appreciate the nuances of the art of summoning and interplanar travel.

Faendryl designations of demons and valences have been maintained, as these are the terms most recognized by all sorcerers, regardless of their race, and the terms tend to be untranslatable into Common tongue.

For the full contents of the EV, see the official link at the bottom of this page.

Usage

Guild Purchased Volumes

Point

Point the volume at any demon and it will flip to the page pertaining info on that specific demon. If you see a funny-looking demon, be sure to do this -- you could've stumbled on a new archetype of demon and thus become a part of history as the first one who summoned it!

Runestone identification

If you're just too lazy to look it up or have an inclination to be flashy, drop a demonic runestone on the volume and it'll give you some info on it.

Locking and Unlocking

If it's not already locked, you can LOCK the volume so that only you can UNLOCK it. When unlocked, any other sorcerer can lock it. While locked, no one else can pick it up save for the original sorcerer who locked it.

Demon Log

When you wave the volume at a demon you've summoned, the volume will record its short (15/15/15) description on the thirteenth page so you can show it off to your colleagues. You can record up to 10 demons, and can signify which slot you'd like them to go in by NUDGEing the volume.

Bookmarking

Tap the volume to bookmark the current page you're on. When opening the book again, it'll open to that page. Tap it again to unbookmark it.

10th Anniversary Volumes

In addition to the above commands, if you touch the book while it is open to a specific demon's page, it will display an image of it.

Special scripts

Kastrel begins to trace his fingers in a slow, circular spiral around the dark leather enchiridion, and its surface comes alive with frenetic slivers of dark crimson energy. After a moment, a miasma of shadow rises up from its cover and disperses into the air.

Kastrel opens his dark leather enchiridion, its pages crisply falling against one another.

Kastrel turns to the next page of his dark leather enchiridion.

Kastrel idly runs a finger along the enchiridion, and a faint sigil at the edge of the page pulses briefly with a hazy black glow.

Behind The Scenes

"Enchiridion Valentia" is a play on words, with "valentia" having two meanings. Valences are a metaphor for planes of existence. Enchiridion Valentia is Latin for "manual of power." "Enchiridion" is ironic. The word means "small handbook", but the Enchiridion Valentia is a vast archive, compiled over millennia. Valence itself can be considered ironic, as there is only one valence in a shell model. Varevice occasionally used Latin in the game, another example being the nedum vereri.

External Link