Codex Aetherni

lit. The Codex Aetherni is the primary holy scripture of Aetherianity, forming the basis of its central doctrine and believes. It is a compilation of religious texts, scriptures and various books which take many forms including stories, prophesies, sermons and histories among other works which together form the holy book of the faith.

The first book of the Codex is known as the "Player's Book" which was written by kidnapped librarian Testificates who were forced to recount all their ancient religious beliefs.

The Codex itself is divided into two sections known as the "Old Testificate" which encompasses various ancient texts dating far before the arrival of the marked ones onto the world - many texts of which have been lost to time; meanwhile second section, known as the "New Testificate" encompasses various expanding canon works revolving around GONFISM and his teachings in the realm and his crucifixion and ascension along with the ascension of other figures who had followed in his footsteps and teachings.

Old Testificate

 * Player’s Book: Written by a kidnapped librarian villagers who were forced to write all their tales - however only the tale of “The Awakening of Wisdom and Her Visions” have been found. Central book of the Old Testificate.2
 * Secret of Hraam: Single page detailing the words of "Mremen" commonly known as "Emen" and his vow to destroy all villagers.
 * To Hleet: Written by Elod, a letter warning about the arrival of Mremen and villagers fleeing
 * To Elod: Written by Hleet, a letter warning which foretold about more marked ones to come.
 * Village Witness (Heretical): Deemed heretical propaganda by the faith written to portray the Testificates as inhumanly cruel to one another in an effort to justify their destruction, removed from the Codex but still an ancient text.
 * Celtic Summons: Details the summoning ritual used by the Testificates long ago

New Testificate

 * Book of Testificus: Details the life and deeds of Latternus Testificus  up until his ascendance beyond his once mortal self
 * Idyllrus Pyrus: A poem that serves as an ode to Meiddaura Kul - the first leader of the Bai Federation of old who achieved ascendance through his virtues and idyllic peace.
 * Prophecy of the Testificate King: Poem and prophecy detailing the near total destruction of the Testificate species and reverence for a future messiah that will unite them and lead their people against the evil god which led their destruction.

The Players Book (By StoneyStoner)
The Good Story of the Villagers

It is a beautiful codex. In our home village, there was a great stone tapestry, where the scenes arranged. Here I will attempt with my coptives to share such love to those who see this, and those who feel it. The story is of Ovo, a beautiful woman, with dreads, and great lips, and dark eyes. She lived in the society before, where we roamed the plains and forests, gathering seeds and wheat for our chicken and cows. The villager tribes had lots of blessings to be thankful for, but Ovo was most blessed of all. Every spring and autumn, the old man who ran the temple in the mountains would tell her and lay roses, dandelions, and coal at her feet. For she was born, and at conception, the almighty pinched her brain, and said “you will be mine, and I will be yours.” but she grew up herding and gathering among everyone else. But it was not to be for long, for Ovo’s tribe was attacked by another, the Lightning Boys. Her brothers and fathers were axed, her and her mothers were leashed. She was whisked away over the far mountains into the desert mesa, tied to a tree on top of the hill. Ovo spoke to a baby of the Lightning Boys. She found Ovo beautiful, and she could tell. She told her, “this tree was an apple tree, and if you wanted to bite through it, you’ll find a big juicy, golden apple in the middle!” So the baby bit through the tree’s bark and wood, and off came the rope that bound Ovo. She kicked the girl, and she rolled down the canyon wall of the desert, and split open on the banks of the river there.

Ovo escaped and fled back to her place, but was starved in the mountains, and was chased out by the zombies. But there came from the almighty’s trustworthy palm, a trader wandering through the mountains. He tied her to his llama, and made way through a dark oak Forest. When she awoke, Ovo was shipped to a faraway pine forest, a cold and dark place where the ground smelled of acid. The trader cared for her in his tent, bought her a grand room for a night in a village, and then sold her to a tribe’s stonesmith to become his wife. Ovo kept in this tribe for 900 days. But in that time she studied the plants and products around her, and she concocted a poison so deadly, that the ground of the victim would become stinging to all skin and leather. She poured it into the horse’s mouth, and let it free into the room of the stonesmith. Hurting, jumping, crying, and panicking, it stomped the concoction into his bed. That night, the stonesmith laid in his bed, and withering in pain, he could not get up. He went silent, and an hour later in the dark, Ovo fled the Pine tribe. Ovo’s wandered through 69 biomes, meeting every type of villager of the world. For 1 whole year, she pondered the world with no direction. But one faithful day, with great dreads, and stoney muscles, she found the old temple in the mountains. The old temple man there was sat on a rock, and he could not move. He was emaciated, for the baby who took care of him stopped showing up 6 days ago. So Ovo gathered food for him, and sat and talked with him. That night, the temple man had a vision and he told Ovo to gather and hunt for them each night, and to meditate in a nearby dark cave for 9 days. So she did this and she stayed in the dark for 9 days, and gathered and hunted for them for 9 nights. Then the temple man told her to stay under the tree for 4 days, and she did this too for each 4 days. Then he told her to bathe in the snowy mountain pond for 1 day. And she did this, too. But the sand at the bottom of the mountain pond gave way, and she was trapped, flooded into a small watery cavern. Ovo saw everything blur, with stars and white goodvexes flying around her. She felt she had no body, she could see herself, she saw everything of her life at once. All went black and no stars shone, as everything she heard became a high pitched buzzing, and she was whisked away into the darkness, faster and faster until she crashed into something with her back and spun headfirst. The lights became snakes and leaping frogs, creepers and squid. Everything melded together and burst into stars, and in the middle she saw the Almighty, sitting in its chair of the Fifth Aether, Hmriiiii Heugh. But the Almighty’s head, arms, and feet bleed into the world and the ground around it, so that They sat

In the middle, and were the flashing and fractal world, spinning around Ovo. From the Fifth Aether, Hmriiiii Heugh, to the End, Hmeeaaaam, the Almighty laid his hands and held all up by his arm. “What are you?” She asked, and “Correct” she was answered. The Almighty stood and walked to her, being filled with the brilliance of all things, and glistening and glowing like stars. They reached out their hand, and sent Ovo on a journey Down into the 12 realms, she lived the life of every being, first the creepers, then the bigs and the skeletons and zombies. Then the spiders and the sheep, the supreme Giants, the cows and slimes, the chickens and the spider jockeys. The ghasts and the pigmen, squid, wolfs, and toxic spiders, the endermen and the silverfish. Among all the beings of the world, Ovo inhabited them all, and flew from one to the other, each time meeting the Almighty, who reminded her of her duty and wisdom. The last of all beings, were Us. The greatest species, who takes the world and molds it above all else. No dungeon or mansion matches our churches and temples, mineshafts and wells, mansions and pyramids. So Ovo, at the end of her journey, came to the Almighty, supreme. They touched hands and Ovo was filled with the brilliance of the Almighty. There Ovo woke up, with blurry eyes and starry vision. The temple man stood over her, and dragged her from the rushing waters. He laid her down on a grassy knoll, and collapsed from exhaustion. They laid there for a day and in that time, Ovo departed all that she saw to him. After 900 proverbs and stories, Ovo gave this list of The Last Ways to Live, for the temple to hold onto for his next life:

You must live without anxiety. Peace with the self, is peace with the world.

You will not judge, for how you judge, you weight yourself. You will not judge, for how you act when judged, you will be weighted.

You will not dwell on idle thoughts. For idle thoughts are chattering monkies, and paper cluttering the mental home. You will not dwell on idle thoughts, for you must give the monkey focus, and only fold the paper neatly.

You will not desire. The void of the soul is what you lack, but you as Almighty are everything. You will not desire, a craven stomach fills then empties but a tightened stomach feels no pressure.

You will not trust the mind's view for all you know is incomplete, your eyes will never see behind you. You will not trust the minds view, imperfect information is only guessing but doing shows all what is true.

You will not compare yourself, for it is a tool and defense of ego, the cruel labels which namely build you. You will not compare yourself, is a flower the seed or the water or sunshine? It knows itself as these, and what its not.

You will not obsess or addict, for when the ends are finally reached, they are different than expected. You will not obsess or addict, for an anchor of a craving satisified is not worth means which take your life.

You will accept your smallness, while the sun teethers on a knife's edge, the clouds are firmly bound to the sky. You will accept your smallness, your lifestate is the Almighty's blood, and their blood flows both fast and slow.

You will forgive others for your sake, when one lights a fire in your home, would you stay there just tend it? You will forgive for your sake, their violent doing may make mistrust but it is just their weight to bear.

You will pay your dues to the world, for you were born and come from pain, to give your extra frees all debt. You will pay your dues to the world, not all debts and yolks are fair, but to live to better life is always balanced.

The last of these I cannot depart, all knowledge is meant for only Almighty. But the mind is calm And you see clear. In this wisdom your new life starts You can see your mind, tongue, and hands, So go and do it, and Be at peace.

The Temple man touched Ovo’s hands and died gripping them, letting her walk off back to their home. She buried him with berries and arrows and meditated under the tree, and slept in the dark cave. She travelled back around the world once more, and with each people she gave gifts, had babies, and showed them the great truths of the Almighty. With every new place and time, she knew their names, and remembered their journey. She reread their books and again ate their foods. And with every mile Ovo became older, until she returned to the mountain over the plains of her birth. She sat down there, and evaporated to dust, so that she flew in the wind, and came to know the empty everything. So in Rathnir and all the other places which the winds carried, the world was blessed. The first child of Ovo, which was born from the acidic Pine people, was afterward named Delil, whose son was Galil, whose son was Deneem. Deneem would bear the Denues, who are chosen As the first of the lineage of Ovo, and greatest of rulers and scholars of the known world.

Secret of Hraam (By StoneyStoner)
I am Mremen,

First player of Rathnir, but not its creator who drove out the big noses

But not their children but I will,

And one day,

There will be none left.

-Stoneystoner

To Hleet (By StoneyStoner)
Brother Hleet -

Wanderers have come to Hraam and told us that Mremen is coming. I am bringing Hdule and Ahul to the east. Hopefully we can find town Deel on the desert savannah island. I will write you from there.

I stored my valuables in a pile of gravel near the house. If you ever come by look for them.

Notch watches

-Elod

To Elod (By StoneyStoner)
Elod, I received your letter and came to Dehdrada to find you but you weren’t here. I saw a second one while travelling here, and I fear there are more to come than Mr. Emen. If you find this, I will be settled on the mainland nearby, ask around for me.

-Hleet

By the way, is it strange to you that Mr Emen doesn’t wear any clothes?

Celtic Summons (By StoneyStoner)
- To summon a giant, give the spirits an offering of a bone block, a block of quarts, a block of obsidian, and a coal block -

Along with enough of an offering on the Harvest of the Dead.

- Backstory -

I learned this while travelling in the south of Alteniquia, and I came across a ruined town of old villager peoples. There was a group of Villagers there, in flowing grey robes with magic lights trailing behind them. These villager druids danced and made a ceremony of wooden drums. They killed animals, burned pumpkins and hay, and build gold idols to the spirits to cross into the other world. At the end, they made a great sigil of chalky dust and performed a ritual around it with these four materials:

Bone, Quartz, Coal, Obsidian

And in the middle of the sigil spawned a towering zombie! I ran on instinct, but the zombie was too large to reach anybody. The villagers then brought their iron golems out, and they hit at the giant’s feet, chipping away at the creature until it died. The XP from the giant filled the villagers and gave them magic powers. Some made fire, other force, others ice from their hands and clothes. One made a very powerful wand of a stick, though it was unfortunately lost, and I know it was never rediscovered.