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The Codex of Primary Sources is a compiled reference work attributed to the Arkaeni scholar Spanico the Sane (1164–1209). It catalogs myths, disputed artifacts, and speculative reconstructions of a forgotten era predating recorded history. The Codex is widely regarded as the most complete attempt by any organization to systematize and recover what the Arkaeni refer to as pre-veil knowledge—a term encompassing magic, divine hierarchies, and sentient nonhuman civilizations. Others refer to this as the time of the "Befores".

Though mainstream institutions reject its contents as speculative or allegorical, the Codex remains culturally significant among mystic and esoteric circles, and is archived in both Arkaeni and Tethuric Church repositories.

Compilation and Purpose

Spanico began compiling the Codex as a junior archivist within the Arkaeni, a fringe metaphysical society devoted to reconstructing what they believe to be suppressed or forgotten truths. The work was completed in 1203 EE, the product of four decades of cross-referencing folklore, untranslated fragments, cult scriptures, and oral legends.

The Codex does not refer to any specific lost event by name, but certain entries imply a catastrophic cultural break in the deep past—known among Arkaeni adherents only as “the Veiling” or “the Great Forgetting.” No academic consensus exists as to the origin or meaning of these terms.

Known Copies and Custody

There are four confirmed copies of the Codex:

The Umstrad Atheneum, maintained by the Arkaeni Order
A private copy held by the current Head of the Order
A classified reference edition within the Archive of Enen, maintained by the Tethuric Church
A partial academic transcription housed at the library of Mader-Chackett University

While the Tethuric Church does not endorse the metaphysical claims contained in the Codex, it acknowledges its cultural value as a catalog of folk belief and post-mythic reconstruction. Internal Church commentary refers to the Codex as “useful for tracing distorted echoes of pre-religious imagination.”

Structure and Categories

The Codex is divided into twelve thematic sections:

Cosmology and Creation – Origin patterns and world-making structures
Primordial Beings – Descriptions of figures such as the Eldinar and Palanem
Divine Genealogy – Alleged lineages and relationships among forgotten deities
Early Races – Accounts of sentient lifeforms not found in historical record
Ancient Geography – Conjectural cartography of unverified landscapes
Magical Principles – Frameworks for forces such as vorsys and omnicrux
Ritual and Practice – Reconstructions of ceremonial systems
Surviving Artifacts – Mentions of items rumored to retain unusual properties
Linguistic Records – Partial glyph systems and speculative syntax
Natural Philosophy – Nonstandard cosmological or elemental theories
Prophetic Writings – Documents claiming foresight or cyclic return
The Unspoken Era – Disconnected fragments hinting at total systemic collapse or transformation

Each entry includes:

Title and Provenance
Attributed Origin
Current Status (if traceable)
Summary of Claims
Arkaeni Authenticity Score
Cross-linked Symbolic Parallels

Interpretive Role and Reception

Among the Arkaeni, the Codex serves as both scripture and hypothesis: a guide to rediscovering or reviving forces believed to have once shaped reality.

Mainstream institutions treat it as an anthology of religious psychology and myth. While the Tethuric Church publicly dismisses the Arkaeni's claims, its Archive of Enen maintains a redacted version of the Codex under academic classification. The Church’s position holds that while the Codex contains “no usable truth,” it remains valuable as a “map of what people once believed they had lost.”

Access and Control

Within the Arkaeni Order, access to the Codex is limited to members who have completed at least five years of formal study. Sections involving active ritual theory or energy modulation are further restricted.

The Tethuric Church retains a copy for the purposes of containment, preservation, and hermeneutic contrast, but does not permit public study of the document. Requests for interinstitutional review are handled on a case-by-case basis.

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-The '''''Codex of Primal Sources''''' is a comprehensive reference catalog of historical texts and artifacts compiled by the [[Arkaeni]] scholar [[Spanico the Sane]] during his tenure as Head of the Order (1164-1209). The work represents one of the most ambitious attempts to document and locate surviving pre-Purge knowledge in the post-Purge era.
+'''''The Codex of Primary Sources''''' is a compiled reference work attributed to the [[Arkaeni]] scholar [[Spanico the Sane]] (1164–1209). It catalogs myths, disputed artifacts, and speculative reconstructions of a forgotten era predating recorded history. The Codex is widely regarded as the most complete attempt by any organization to systematize and recover what the Arkaeni refer to as pre-veil knowledge—a term encompassing magic, divine hierarchies, and sentient nonhuman civilizations. Others refer to this as the time of the "[[Befores]]".
-==History and Creation==
+Though mainstream institutions reject its contents as speculative or allegorical, the Codex remains culturally significant among mystic and esoteric circles, and is archived in both Arkaeni and [[Tethuric Church]] repositories.
-Spanico the Sane spent nearly forty years compiling the Codex, beginning the work as a junior Arkaeni and continuing through his appointment as the 10th Head of the Order. His motivation, as stated in the preface, was to "create a map of wisdom through the scattered fragments of ancient knowledge, that those who follow might find their way more readily."
-The Codex was completed in 1203, six years before Spanico's death from [[Geldish Fever]]. Only three complete copies are known to exist: one at [[The Atheneum]] in [[Umstrad]], one in the private collection of the current Head of the Order, and one rumored to be held in Emperor [[Vralius]]'s personal library, although there is speculation that a fourth copy exists within the [[Archive of Enen]] of the [[Tethuric Church]].
+==Compilation and Purpose==
+Spanico began compiling the Codex as a junior archivist within the Arkaeni, a fringe metaphysical society devoted to reconstructing what they believe to be suppressed or forgotten truths. The work was completed in 1203 [[EE]], the product of four decades of cross-referencing folklore, untranslated fragments, cult scriptures, and oral legends.
-==Content and Structure==
+The Codex does not refer to any specific lost event by name, but certain entries imply a catastrophic cultural break in the deep past—known among Arkaeni adherents only as “the Veiling” or “the Great Forgetting.” No academic consensus exists as to the origin or meaning of these terms.
-The Codex is organized into twelve sections, each corresponding to a particular field of knowledge:
-*'''Cosmology and Creation''' - Texts regarding the formation of the world and heavens
+==Known Copies and Custody==
-*'''Primordial Beings''' - Records of the [[Eldinar]], [[palanem]], and other entities
+There are four confirmed copies of the Codex:
-*'''Divine Genealogy''' - Documentation of gods, their relationships, and powers
+*The [[Umstrad]] [[Atheneum]], maintained by the Arkaeni Order
-*'''Early Races''' - Historical accounts of the first sentient races
+*A private copy held by the current Head of the Order
-*'''Ancient Geography''' - Maps and descriptions from the [[Befores]]
+*A classified reference edition within the [[Archive of Enen]], maintained by the Tethuric Church
-*'''Magical Principles''' - Theoretical texts on the nature of [[vorsys]]/[[omnicrux]]
+*A partial academic transcription housed at the library of [[Mader-Chackett University]]
-*'''Ritual and Practice''' - Practical applications of magical knowledge
-*'''Surviving Artifacts''' - Catalog of known magical objects and their locations
-*'''Linguistic Records''' - Translations and cipher keys for ancient scripts
-*'''Natural Philosophy''' - Scientific observations from ancient scholars
-*'''Prophetic Writings''' - Collected prophecies and astronomical predictions
-Each entry follows a consistent format:
+While the Tethuric Church does not endorse the metaphysical claims contained in the Codex, it acknowledges its cultural value as a catalog of folk belief and post-mythic reconstruction. Internal Church commentary refers to the Codex as “useful for tracing distorted echoes of pre-religious imagination.”
-*'''Name and Description''': Title and brief overview of the text
+==Structure and Categories==
-*'''Origin and Date''': Creator and approximate age of the source
+The Codex is divided into twelve thematic sections:
-*'''Current Location''': Where the text can be found (if known)
-*'''Content Summary''': Brief description of key information contained
-*'''Reliability Assessment''': Spanico's evaluation of the source's credibility
-*'''Associated Texts''': References to related documents
-==Significance==
+*Cosmology and Creation – Origin patterns and world-making structures
-The Codex is valued not only for its catalog of rare texts but also for Spanico's meticulous cross-referencing system that connects related information across different sources. This allows Arkaeni scholars to identify patterns and consistencies that would otherwise be difficult to discern from isolated fragments.
+*Primordial Beings – Descriptions of figures such as the [[Eldinar]] and [[Palanem]]
+*Divine Genealogy – Alleged lineages and relationships among forgotten deities
+*Early Races – Accounts of sentient lifeforms not found in historical record
+*Ancient Geography – Conjectural cartography of unverified landscapes
+*Magical Principles – Frameworks for forces such as [[vorsys]] and [[omnicrux]]
+*Ritual and Practice – Reconstructions of ceremonial systems
+*Surviving Artifacts – Mentions of items rumored to retain unusual properties
+*Linguistic Records – Partial glyph systems and speculative syntax
+*Natural Philosophy – Nonstandard cosmological or elemental theories
+*Prophetic Writings – Documents claiming foresight or cyclic return
+*The Unspoken Era – Disconnected fragments hinting at total systemic collapse or transformation
-Perhaps most significantly, the Codex documents the locations of texts housed in repositories that are typically inaccessible to the Arkaeni, such as the Archive of Enen controlled by the Tethuric Church. This has occasionally enabled the Order to petition for supervised access to specific documents or to focus their efforts on obtaining copies through less official channels.
+Each entry includes:
+*Title and Provenance
+*Attributed Origin
+*Current Status (if traceable)
+*Summary of Claims
+*Arkaeni Authenticity Score
+*Cross-linked Symbolic Parallels
-==Controversial Content==
+==Interpretive Role and Reception==
-Several sections of the Codex contain information that would be considered heretical by the Tethuric Church, particularly those relating to the Eldinar and the existence of magic. Spanico included coded annotations indicating which entries are considered particularly dangerous and should not be discussed openly.
+Among the Arkaeni, the Codex serves as both scripture and hypothesis: a guide to rediscovering or reviving forces believed to have once shaped reality.
-The section on the Great Purge contains Spanico's personal theories regarding the unintended consequences of the Eari Stones, including the hypothesis that their creation fundamentally altered the magical ecology of Galwyndor. These speculations formed the basis for later theories developed by the Fellowship of Veridical History.
+Mainstream institutions treat it as an anthology of religious psychology and myth. While the Tethuric Church publicly dismisses the Arkaeni's claims, its Archive of Enen maintains a redacted version of the Codex under academic classification. The Church’s position holds that while the Codex contains “no usable truth,” it remains valuable as a “map of what people once believed they had lost.”
-Notable Entries
-Some of the most significant texts documented in the Codex include:
-The Grellist Cosmogony - A pre-Purge creation account housed in the Archive of Enen
+==Access and Control==
-Fragments of the Eldinar Verses - Poetic descriptions of the Eldinar civilization, location unknown
+Within the Arkaeni Order, access to the Codex is limited to members who have completed at least five years of formal study. Sections involving active ritual theory or energy modulation are further restricted.
-The Palanem Dialogues - Records of Inar-palanem interactions, allegedly in the Vault of Wonders
-The Meralian Minutes - Full account of the Meralian Accord proceedings, held in the Aeryl-Lothlan Archive
-Atury's Grimoire - The lost spellbook of the Draol magicker Atury, location unknown
-The Tal Calar Directives - Instructions for the use of the Eari Stones, partial copy at the Atheneum
-==Access and Restrictions==
+The Tethuric Church retains a copy for the purposes of containment, preservation, and hermeneutic contrast, but does not permit public study of the document. Requests for interinstitutional review are handled on a case-by-case basis.
-Access to the Codex is strictly limited to full members of the Arkaeni Order who have completed at least five years of study. Sections dealing with practical magical knowledge are further restricted to those who have achieved the rank of Adept or higher.
-The Tethuric Church has repeatedly demanded that all copies of the Codex be surrendered for examination and potential destruction, claiming it contains "dangerous falsehoods that threaten the spiritual health of the realm." The Arkaeni have thus far evaded these demands through a combination of political maneuvering and the protection of certain sympathetic nobles.
 [[Category: In-Story Books]]
 [[Category: Magic]]
 [[Category: Books on Magic]]