The Bone Moth
The Bone Moth is purported to be an artefact created by the scientist Tallat at some point in the very final days of The Rending War. According to the Scholar Tabishka, the Bone Moth is an amulet that Tallat created using her own bone sample to create an amulet that would hold her consciousness and knowledge of the world in case of her demise. This is a highly controversial thesis because, if true, it would radically shape further understanding of Kata and how it functions.
Tabishka's Theory
As part of her postgraduate thesis, Tabishka argued that the Bone Moth existed based on extensive study of surviving pages of Tallats Codex. Several pages of a notebook purported to be a notebook kept by Tallat, much of which was lost after Cir Nacayjil was destroyed in The Rending. The pages, made of papyrus found to have been sourced in Keshwar's Central Tir, were discovered in an area to the south of The Great Takla. The hyperarid environment may have contributed to the survival of the pages, but it is not known why the pages themselves had become scattered. (For more details, see Tallats Codex.) Tabishka's research suggested that a myth originating in the late Rending Period that Tallat had somehow implanted her consciousness into a physical object may have been true. This was dependent, however, on the recovery of The Bone Moth itself. Despite extensive excavations in areas around The Southern Takla and as far east as Cir Nacayjil itself, no such artefact has ever been found (as of 4633 AIA). Studies of the mythology surrounding Tallat, the Rending, and related technologies and artefacts (including The God Machine), root the legends of the Bone Moth in myths local to the Southern Takla, which is several thousand miles east of the last known location of Tallat herself. It is not known how or why Tallat would have travelled that far or in that direction in the very last days before the Rending. The myths involve the appearance of a floating "bone moth" that could cause illness or death in those who saw it. One of Tabishka's assessments of the surviving pages from the Codex and the proposed Bone Moth was that any survivors of the Fall of Basat may have treated the amulet as a source of power or influence. This would allow them to maintain their belief in Ametepet, or an evolved form of worship of the Divine. She cited additional evidence for the existence of the Bone Moth could be found not only in myths from the area of a "haunting", but by repeated attempts to acquire the artefact itself by various groups operating in the area.The recent attacks on Amnari land tansports carrying items discovered in archaeological digs indicate there is an interest in the existence of a Bone Moth, whether it is true in fact or not.
Mechanics & Inner Workings
The Bone Moth is constructed entirely of bone taken from Tallat's own body. The surviving pages from Tallat's Codex suggest that Tallat may have operated on her own leg in order to acquire a sample. It was then manipulated by Tallat's own ability to use Kata to infuse it over time with more and more of her own consciousness and knowledge. This consciousness would have influenced the bone and any other materials used to fill out the Bone Moth's final shape, effectively making the physical materials an effective receptacle for Tallat's consciousness, even allowing it to survive her physical death.
The Bone Moth
Item type
Unique Artifact
Creation Date
0 FEA
Creator
Related Technologies
Related Myths
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