Open Questions¶

Unresolved worldbuilding and design questions to be addressed. Add to this list as they arise.

Eidolons¶

[ ] What are all the Eidolons and their corresponding shadows? (Known: Wisdom/TBD, Hope/Despair, Temperance/TBD, Humility/Pride, Courage/TBD, Justice/TBD, Truthfulness/TBD, Innovation/TBD, Liberation/TBD)
[x] ~~Which Eidolon is tied to Vanarism (body-shaping)?~~ Temperance.
[ ] What is the shadow corresponding to Wisdom?
[ ] Which Eidolon is targeted by the Ascension Ceremony (i.e., which throne are the Elders competing to claim)?
[ ] How many Eidolons exist in total?
[ ] What are the specific Glyphein bloodline clusters corresponding to each Eidolon?

[ ] Which exousia waveform property encodes Eidolon-alignment? (Frequency, amplitude, rotation, or something else?)
[ ] What are the distinct forms of magic corresponding to each Eidolon-bloodline?

[ ] What are the specific stages of the metaphysical terraforming occurring in the Disruption zones?
[ ] How does the exousia-inert zone around Kuklos work mechanically? What maintains it?
[ ] What are the "purpose-built magical devices" that initiated the ceremony? Where are they?

[ ] What are the specific conditions Cyrus would need to know/fulfill for the secret ending Ascension?
[ ] When the Elders plan to "disable their own protection and ascend in one fell swoop" — what does this look like in practice? Is there a physical device, a ritual, both?

[ ] Are there other non-Glyphein races besides the Vanarites, Elpidi, and Sophronoi?
[ ] Cheria Sofias (Greek: Xeria Sofias, lit. "Hands of Wisdom") — also called the Yomenites. One of the Eidolon of Wisdom's tribes that wandered the desert. Adapted to desert life, treated water as gold, battled other tribes, wore animal skins, pilgrimaged to mountains (West), seas (North), and wetlands (East). What is their relationship to the Vanarites — ancestors, a separate group, or a renamed people?
[x] ~~What is the Vanarites' relationship to the Eidolons?~~ They have their own Eidolon (TBD), tied to Shaping magic.
[x] ~~Are the Elpidi a distinct race?~~ Yes. Eidolon: Hope, shadow: Despair, Magic: Blooming.

[ ] What exactly did "The Master of Those Who Know" reveal during the Enlightenment?
[ ] What is Dominus's identity among the Seven Elders?

Terms and ideas that were considered but set aside for potential use elsewhere:

Thymos — Greek: the spirited, striving part of the soul (Plato). Considered for the Sophronoi race name. May be useful as an in-world term for ambition, drive, or the will to power.
Kenosis — Greek: self-emptying, voluntarily setting aside one's own power. Theological concept. May be useful as a ritual, a magical technique, or a narrative theme.