'Other' places of Tékumel

The Barrier Pylons
-Source: The Blue Room, Alex theories about the Barrier Pylons - Not official

The Barrier Pylons

[Moderator's Note: Alex has been busy communicating with the Professor on the subject of the Barrier Pylons. The Professor is pretty much mum on the subject, saying that he has to keep some secrets for later discovery. So Alex has presented an extremely interesting theory of his own on what the Barrier Pylons are. ]

Here is a extract from a communication between Professor Barker and myself. I have only enclosed my theories -- which are speculative and in NO way official.

[Moderator's Note: Thanks Alex! :) ]

On the Barrier Pylons and the Creation of Tekumel's Pocket Dimension:

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The Barrier Pylons, which are mentioned in passing in the Book of Ebon Bindings and in the first Solo Adventures book (College at the End of Time segment), are quite intriguing -- and I have chosen to incorporate a bit of their /mystery/ into the Pariah material I am developing. I would love to get other people's thoughts and theories about them, their origin, purpose, etc. What I present below is my totally speculative account of the Barrier Pylons, their origin, and purpose. Needless to say, the scientific coating of the theory is really weak, so excuse words like /space-time/, /quantum mechanical/, and /n-space/. "chronovore" instead of Pariah .Deity

It comes across like a Scientific American fever dream...but I hope it elicits some comment. Please disregard this scientistic vocabulary if it doesn't suit you. You can easily replace n-space with /pocket dimension/, quantum mechanical with /constituent/, and space-time with /dimension/. This might help the readability of the document slightly. Apologies in advance for the phraseology.

My running theory is that the Barrier Pylons were created as a proximate result of the fracturing of space-time that resulted in Tekumel's plunge into the n-space (i.e. pocket dimension) it now inhabits. The net effect is that these structures protect these collapsed planes from the encroachments of the Pariah Deities, who have run amock in our "normal" space-time envelope (henceforth: o-space (E-Space)). Why? The shattered or torn o-space fabric is not easily traversed by the Pariah Deities due to the dimensional folding caused by the space-time warping. The barriers act as safety valves between Tekumel's current dimension (n-space) and the one it came from (o-space).

Given the destruction of o-space by the Pariah Deities, this is a fortunate thing!

I am suggesting is that the protrusion of Pariah /energy/ into Tekumel's plane is blocked/slowed by the Pylons. I would further suggest that the prototypes of the Pylons emerged at the same time that the "collapse of Tekumel's system" took place -- that the pylons had the effect of safeguarding the 772 (count?) systems that fell out of o-space from the Pariahs. The theory supposes that the Pariah Deities had been able to penetrate o-space (really bad news) -- and were in the process of devouring the /energy-matter/ in it. The reason for the Pariah "entry" into our space-time is conjectural. I like to entertain the idea that it was the result of unexpected side-effects of the Three-Light Drive -- which weakended the fabric of o-space over time to the point at which the Pariah Deities were able to punch through and begin feasting on the /energy/ of our space-time.

Tekumel's position as a often-visited and important pleasure world (with many ships arriving and departing continuously) meant it was at one of the key weak spots on the o-space fabric. When the Pariah Deities emerged into o-space -- Tekumel was quite close to some of their point of entry. The other 700+ systems were also at weakened spots - they suffered the same fate as Tekumel's system. These were the FORTUNATE ones. The ones that were not "hurled into a pocket dimension" (n-space) were devoured. When the universe was fragmented by the entry of the Pariah beings, the net effect (unforseen even by the Pariah beings themselves) was to create a million+ pocket dimensions (Tekumel is escounced in one of them) -- all due to the manner in which the Pariah beings' /null-energy/ interacted with the normal EMR and gravity of our space-time. According to this theory, there is nothing left of the o-space we know -- just the dying embers left in the wake of the Goddess's passage through our space-time continuum.

The Pylons, or should I say the original /quantum-physical/ structures that formed the basis used to construct the Barrier Pylons, was the result of a localized super-cooling, fracturing, and warping of space-time in those areas close to which the Pariah beings emerged. The Pylons were/are like knots - created by the immense warping caused by the Pariah presence. These knots closed the holes between Tekumel's pocket dimension and our o-space; sealing Tekumel's system off from the carnage raging elsewhere. These knots have been enhanced over the millenia -- and weakended by varous heretical groups seeking to allow the Goddess of the Pale Bone entry to Tekumel's plane.

Only the most powerful of beings on Tekumel's current Plane really understand their, the Pylons' structures and purposes. These beings INCLUDE the Mitlanyal (Pavar's Deities). Now, how do I reconcile that with the Legend of Dormoron Plain....hmmmmm?!!! Could it be that the Ksarul-myth (as opposed to the Deity worshipped) contains a "hidden" meaning or doctrine - that the imprisonment of Ksarul is some way mirrors the "imprisonment" of Tekumel. I shall have to think about this aspect more.

TO summarize: the universe (o-space), like a mirror dropped on a marble floor, was shattered by the entry of Pariah /presence (lack a good name)/ into the our /space-time/ manifold. The shards of space-time which were not immediately devoured by the Goddess of the Pale Bone collapsed into n-space (multi-dimensional space-time beyond the normal /4/ dimensions we are familiar with) as a result of the gravitational and electro-magnetic field disturbances produced by the sudden super-cooling, fracturing, and warping of o-space. After devouring our /space-time/ the Pariah's discovered the inadvertant /mistake/ they had made -- and so began the slow, methodical search for the remnants of our space-time.

The current Barrier Pylons themselves are (I conjecture) /devices-structures/ molded from the raw /space-time warping/ of the original "accident". Barrier Pylons thus refers to both the original space-time warping results and the technological-sorcereous "value-added" structures put in place over the millenia. The Barrier Pylons were erected out of that as additional/stronger safeguards against the entry of the Goddess of the Pale Bone into n-space. The Pylons were placed in the strategic conjuctures of the /Planar Manifold/ to keep the Pariahs OUT and the beings of the pocket dimensions IN (openning the door on either side would mean an entry point for the Pariahs!). The Barrier Pylons are thus both a /prison/ and /line of defense/ -- molded out of the /quantum-physical/ structure of the universe - but augmented by the sorcerous and meta-technological techniques of person(s) unknown. Just who built these pylons remains a source of mystery -- I have my theory, though.

I think the College of Wizards is an excellent candidate for at least some of the Pylon-construction - although they are not nearly the only agents involved.

I like this theory because it fits nicely with the metaphor of the shattered Egg of the World -- and what that myth/story seems to intimate. In order to bring Tekumel /back/ to its original position, one would have to reassemble the pieces of the Egg of the World. Is the Egg of the World a metonymy for the structure/fabric of the universe? I would like to think so. What the myth does not address is what is left "back there" (our o-space).

This is my revision to the Tekumel myth -- I know it may not be yours. The "tragedy" of the fall into the pocket dimension is actually quite ironic - it was that "fall" which actually saved Tekumel and the other systems from the Pariah Deities. This might also explain the Pariah Deities' interest in Tekumel. (i.e. They are searching for all of the lost systems that escaped the destruction of our /space-time manifold/!) Following the warped space-time threads to Tekumel, the Pariahs are eager to get their hands on the last few bits of /matter-energy/ left.

-Sources: The Blue Room, Stephen Foster

Seriously, Alex, I would point out the flaw in your theory: How would we know of 773 such events if someone hadn't been left behind to count them. I like the theory that the Barrier Pylons are somehow associated with the T.o.D. event, but maybe they're used to keep Tekumel from returning to normal space-time instead?

Ekadónde
Source: "Tekumel Lineages, Clans, and Notes 2" Tekume Yahoo group

Ekadónde: A city on the other side of the world where a great oracle machine is. Known as the “Mountain that has a voice, the knower who knows nothing.”

Hmakuyal, ruined city
-Source: The Blue Room, Alex

[Moderator's Note: Alex and Professor Barker talk about the ruined city of Hmakuyal. ]

Alex' Question: Hmakuyal is a "ruins" -- was the city razed for Ditlana and then never rebuilt? Was something "unspeakable" found below? Isn't it one of the more ancient sites of Ksarul worship? Any information would me appreciated!

Hmakuyal is situated in a great volcanic "sink: a roundish depression that is deepest on the western side. The walls of this place have been honeycombed with caverns, passages, etc., and great images of Lord Ksarul, his Aspects, his mythological exploits, etc. are carved here and thhere all around. Travellers come in from the east, enter into a maze of pilgrimage centres, tombs and graveyards, and fallen temples dating from Engsvanyali times. Then they go on into ring after ring of caverns, shrines, and the like until they are deep within the western wall. There are dwelling places there, too, monasteries for priests (and priestesses), great meeting halls, and other elegant things too numerous to recount. The city apparently fell into ruin at the end of the Engsvanyali Period and was only partially restored. It was not Ditlana that is the cause but rather internceine warfare between the latter-day priesthood of Ksarul and the growing power of the incipient Tlakotani Dynasty. This is all forgiven now, but many remember. Lord Ksarul's temple has had to be polite to the Tlakotanis, and indeed, a few Emperors have been followers of the Blue Prince.

>Who was/were the proteges of the Temple of Ksarul that vied for power with the Tlakotanis? What were some of the other "lineages"/clans which vied for supremacy in this area (Tsolyanu)? Ito (too far east)? Vriddi? Sea Blue?

>Might of Ganga? Just what gave the Tlakotani's their "edge"? If the Petal Throne itself was, at it is whispered, an ancient artifact, what other things did the Tlakotani "founders" uncover?

This is a complex question that requires time for a proper reply. In brief: the temple of Ksarul believed that its ancient lineages (from Dormoron Plain) gave it an edge: Dark Moon, Dark Fear, etc. These clans trace themselves back to Lord Ksarul's bodyguard units (right or wrong). The Red clans of the southwest (Red Sun, Red Sword, etc.) joined with the Hnalla and Avanthe clans of the central Empire to combat them. The Tlakotanis have since pushed all this history into semi-secret "closed stacks" in their libraries. They would like the ancient rivalry forgotten because they want to maintain unity against the Mu'ugalavyani and other rivals. The fall of Hmakuyal is thus blamed on a variety of other causes -- including an invasion by minions of the Pariah Deities!

The Petal Throne is said to have been shipped from Malchairan in N'luss (where it was apparently found) to Tsolyanu at the end of the Engsvanyali Era. It was set up as an icon of the Tlakotani during the reigns of the first Emperors (who can be sure of just which one?)

Purdanim, ancient city
-The Blue Room, Alex

Alex discusses his proposed module: The campaign module I am going to start working on will be Pariah Diety-centric, with considerable travel to the underworlds of Purdimal, Purdanim(and you thought it was lost forever beneath effluvial mud! Nexal point travel is a wonderful thing!)

Last group that travelled by nexus point to the ruins of old Purdanim were unhappily suffocated in topsoil deep beneath the surface. Couldn't get their magic to work down there -- something about the proximity of metal...?

>Ch'ochi, Hmakuyal, Penom (site of ancient Bednalljan ruins dating back to the reign of Emperor Gamullu mssa Burusa (15th Emperor) to the north of the city) and other sites!

Never heard of this particular Emperor. Not surprising. The Bednalljans were divided into many dynasties and sub-dynasties.

>Primarily a nondescript entity -- the site has significance, if my informant Jokalto Ze'el hiSemunaika from the Temple of Hru'u's information is reliable, for what the Bednalljans built over -- a site from the Latter Times. At the deepest levels one encounters, I am told, not only signs of the twisted metal corridors of the Ancients, but signs of tenancy by the dread Ssu. Indeed, Ze'el has hinted that a major Ssu Hive was built here! The archaeological team headed by the Temple of Ksarul will soon discover the veracity of her outrageous claims! Although they are supposed to be our nominal allies, the Temple of Hru'u's agents are just as conniving as our brethren at the Temple of Ksarul!

>The Temple of Ebon Light (beneath ancient Ch'ochi) is also on the "to be investigated list" -- although recorded as having been destroyed -- things can be rebuilt (especially if done slowly and secretively in the Tsuru'um deep below the surface...(more on this in the campaign module)

Sky House of Temuelgo
Source: "Tekumel Lineages, Clans, and Notes 2" Tekume Yahoo group

Sky House of Temuelgo: One of the great landmarks of the southern Chíma seas north of the antarctic lands. It is said to gleam so radiantly that mariners can see it for many, many Tsán. It has blue, purple, magenta, silver, and gray colors. The Chíma revere it as the home of one of their sea-spirits.[YG-TM]