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Post by Toz76 on Dec 3, 2022 19:49:24 GMT -5
The Colorfolk Archives, located in the Great Hall on Ordos, is one of the most extensive surviving collections of medieval texts. Though much of what was stored there was destroyed during the so-called "dark era", and many of the texts have fallen into decay and disrepair due to centuries of disuse, it is estimated that at its peak, it housed over one million texts. The Hidden Archives, which were constructed in the 13th Century as a backup storage for copies of important texts, contains roughly 8000 texts, magically preserved using sophisticated magic that is still not fully understood. When the Colorfolk scattered across the globe during the dark era, many texts were smuggled to the New World in secret from the archives, and are now housed in the archives of the secret Colorfolk base on New Furness. These texts are by far the most studied, and there are 12,196 texts stored there, including reasonably complete histories of the Colorfolk, geneologies, and various journals and firsthand accounts of various notable figures. Under the direction of the Man In Gold, the Archives Categorization And Digitization Project (ACDP) is the current top priority of the Colorfolk Historical Society. The objective is to go through every text currently held in the collections of the colorfolk, make a record of each one and their contents, and eventually create a digital database of all Colorfolk knowledge. The categorization method for historical texts developed by Man In Gold identifies each document by a string of numbers and letters. For example: - GH S1 D7 1137 Tan OORD (Gl 1378 Blue LAT): Stored on shelf 1 in the Great Hall, written in 1137 by the Man In Tan in Old Ordonian, with glosses added in 1378 by the Man In Blue in Latin
- HA S5 D36 1452 Black MENG: Stored on shelf 5 in the Hidden Archives, written in 1452 by the Man In Black in Middle English
- NF S7 D15 1209 Blue UL (Gl 1421 Blue HIMAG, 1584 White LAT): Stored on shelf 7 in the New Furness archives, written in 1209 by the Man In Blue in the Unknown Language, with glosses added by the Man In Blue in High Magykkan in 1421 and the Man In White in Latin in 1584
- GH S29 D34 ?? ? GRK FRAG (Gl ?? ? FRE) Stored on shelf 29 in the Great Hall, written in Greek by an unknown date by an unknown author with additional French glosses by an unknown author at an unknown date, fragmentary (damaged to the point that parts of the text cannot be read)
The ACDP welcomes assistance from volunteer archivists to translate historical documents and aid in the mission of preserving colorfolk knowledge. All documents must be properly filed, and where possible translated into modern English.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 5, 2022 13:16:58 GMT -5
.NF S2 D20 1999 MENG Stored on Shelf 2 in the New Furness Archives, written in part by every Man In Blue since initial creation in 1100 (Additional add ons after initial creation too numerous to list). The complete genealogy of the Man In Blue Bloodline from Matthew Erdagovern to Daniel Erdagovern. Noted for also including 5 generations prior to Matthew; providing valuable insight to one of the most noted lineages to Colorfolk History.
.GH S4 D2-D8 1150 Orange OORD. Stored on Shelf 4 in the Great Hall, written in 1150 by Man In Orange in Old Ordonian. Titled "The War Against the Great Horned Beast: As It Happened" this is actually the first volume in a series (refer to D3-D8). Written in retrospect years after the War with the faction known as the "Vile Evil Confederacy" this prologue indicates that this text was written "With the Intent to preserve for posterity the truth of what happened during this conflict." D2, AKA Volume 1, details the events leading up to the war. D3, Volume 2, breaks down the motives of the "Church of the Horned One" and details the betrayal of The Man In Bronze, before going into the opening stages of the war. D4, Volume 3, details the timeline and events during the war, and D5, Volume 4, details the climax, including the famous slaying of the Great Horned Beast by Arthur Blackson, the first Man In Black. D6, Volume 5, is a compilation of first hand accounts from 217 non-Colorfolk individuals recalling their experiences during the war. Though all accounts vary in length and detail level, they are unanimous in two key facets: the tone is condemning towards the VEC, and the Great Horned Beast is a despised monster in Ordosian history, equivalent to the Hydra or gorgon in Greek Mythology D7, Volume 6, it about 2/3 the length of Volume 5, and is titled "Accounts of the Opposition". Written by 91 surviving former members of the VEC, each gave their own accounts on "their side of the story." This veracity of this volume is debated, owing to number of what is considered by some to be red flags. Some of the accounts express remorse and regret over what happened, others stand by their actions. Some accounts even go so far as the praise the beast and promise that "it will come again". The primary doubts over this volume are 3 arguments: 1) Concern that these authors tried to frame their story in such a way that they would sound more sympathetic than they really are. 2) later investigations revealed that two of the accounts' authors had actually died two years prior to when the accounts were supposedly written, casting doubt on the honesty of the recollections if someone was willing to claim to be someone they were not. 3) All but 4 of the accounts were from "foot soldiers" in the organization, providing little insight into the major decision making and leadership decisions of those at the top.
Despite this, the current consensus is that Volume 6 is "A valid text, but all passages must be read in the appropriate context" and as such, is still considered valuable insight. There are references to a Volume 7 and 8 of this series in Man In Oranges' journal; however they have not been found to date; archivists debate their existence- since as of August 5, 2017 no physical copies have been found. The current consensus is that they either did exist but have since been lost to history, or this Man In Orange died before he could complete the volumes.
GH S1 D1 D1 1145 Gold OORD: Stored on Shelf 1 of the Great Hall, it is the document that established the Colormen Archives. Founded in 1145 by Alexander Criddleton, the Second Man In Gold, the document is a declaration of the establishment and purpose of the archive, and the establishment of the title of Keeper of the Archives. While smaller scale efforts did exist prior to this, Alexander Criddleton started the large scale efforts for preserving important knowledge. (NOTE: The Colorwomen refused to house their knowledge in the same place for many years, citing concern that if a major catastrophe were to occur it was best to not have all the knowledge in one place. This decision was overturned decades later and thus the "Colorfolk Archives" were properly established. Rumors that the place where the Colorwomen Archives were later became the Colorfolk Hidden Archives are unconfirmed as of March 20, 2016
NF S5 D3 1120 Silver OORD: Stored on Shelf 5 of the New Furness Archives, this text is titled "The Evils of Necromancy: Its Faults and its Flaws". This text was written by the Man In Silver, a bloodline long associated with Spirit Magic and Spirituality. In this text he uses surprisingly calm, simple language and what scholars have called "Common Sense Arguments" to prove that by its very design, Necromancy is an evil art and should not be allowed to flourish. One of the more... upsetting passages is an account where he tells of his encounters with spirits who were unable to cross over because their graves were disturbed by necromancers; references to "disrupted death rituals" and "lingering spirits being unable to find peace" have been found to be particularly upsetting to modern readers. The only time strong language is used is the last chapter, where he voices his condemnation of The Order of the Gatebreakers and Contritum Exolvuntur for "lacking respect for the deceased; failing to recognize the impact their actions have" among other language. This text was published by decree of the Sovereign of Ordos and became very influential in the magic world; this particular copy is unique in that it is the original manuscript written in the Man In Silver's own hand
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 7, 2022 0:24:34 GMT -5
GH S2 D34 Early 12th Century Bronze OORD. Stored on Shelf 2 of the Great Hall, it is a letter written by the former Man In Bronze who eventually became the Bronze Mage, written to Man In Light Green, a close friend and confidant.
The letter details his betrayal of the Colorfolk. While the line "I am going to betray the Colorfolk" is never explicitly said, the tone and language of the letter itself offers some insight into what was going on in the Bronze Mage's mind just prior to his departure.
3 lines of note include:
"I am having trouble recalling important colorfolk information that I once had a very firm grasp upon. I do not understand why. And yet in exchange I feel that I am gaining new, incredible knowledge that will take me further than I could have ever dreamed of going. I simply must follow where it takes me"
"I truly believe it isn't just an egg, and this isn't just a beast. There's something more to it, and I intend to find out what it is at any costs."
"Join me, my friend. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Whatever this Beast is, it is the way, the future. We can find our brighter tomorrow by following the beast!"
While the letter does not contain what could be considered "rambling" or "repetition" some argue that the letter is not authentic, pointing out the logical flaw of why would the Bronze Mage risk exposing himself in such a way, why not corner Man In Light Green and say all this verbally? The current consensus is the theory that the Great Horned Beast exerted some sort of power over people's minds that caused them for forsake logical reasoning at the expense of worshipping it, so it is entirely possible this was written when he didn't have the clearest mind.
This theory about the Beast, however, is not confirmed. It is speculated in several documents, but nothing has ever truly proven the theory correct.
.........
NF S3 D22 1163 Blue OORD: Stored on Shelf 3 of the New Furness archives. It is the death announcement for Matthew Erdagovern, the first Man In Blue and First Colorman. It has a clear, mournful tone and was written by Elias Erdagovern, the second Man In Blue. He refers to his father as "An incredible but modest man who, when given responsibility that none could ever dream of, accepted it without a second thought and paved the way for the rest of us to come".
References are made to his many accomplishments, among them the Ordosian Multi-Species charter which brought peace to the island by firmly establishing the relationships among the sentient, benevolent species, and establishing the defense procedures against the malevolent ones.
It ends with the details for his funeral rites, and a paragraph containing what is agreed to be his last words
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