Order of the Silent Word

During the Great Forgetting all written history was strictly forbidden and writing itself was considered highly suspect by most of the Riders and liable to result in lynchings and burnings from the superstitious if it was discovered. Not everyone subscribed to such a fundamentalist position, however, and the Vow of Earth seemed to permit grey areas which Enclave observers would allow to pass. It was recognised that crafts and practical subjects could not always be passed down perfectly through apprenticeships, even if this was the preferred method. Specialist knowledge of subjects such as beekeeping, smelting and medicine needed a repository not subject to the vagueries of random deaths which might otherwise remove the knowledge needed to sustain Rider culture.
The Order of the Silent Word was dedicated to the maintanance of a mobile library of all such knowledge and also to the preservation of books and the skill of reading, provided it was strictly confined to technical subjects and never allowed for stories or history. The sigil of the Order, stamped on its cases and bookshelves is shown in the image at the head of the page. Most of its members came from the townsfolk who lived in their temporary settlements, supporting Rider culture by providing them with markets and services. Some members were Riders themselves. The Order was not technically secret but neither did it promote itself openly, adopting a careful position of maintaining a hidden presence in as many places as possible but always careful to vet new members thoroughly and to keep out of the way of more zealous Rider extremists.
Naturally they thought it very important to remove all books from any Great Burning and usually took great care to ensure no books were lost at these sometimes traumatic ceremonies.
When the Great Forgetting came to an end, many of the members of the Order went on to become scholars in the cities, now openly permitted to read and write whatever they liked. The Order was no longer required and was dissolved early in the Foundation era. Its legacy lived on in the body of knowledge that seeded the new civilisation and much of the learning it had preserved was eventually written into the first editions of the important reference work, "A Catalog of Losses Regained".

Culture

Members of the order could recognise one another by a secret small tattoo on the inside of their wrists, which only became visible when painted with a wash made from a special infusion of boiled herbs. The tattoo was a simplified extract from the full sigil (which is shown at the head of the page). It was made up of just the supporting twin intersecting triangles and their geometric interior glyphs, which flank the central device in the complete symbol.

Dissolution Date

~30 AF

Type

Educational, Society