Ghyll:Altoxian Bulb
As the first Encyclopedants' Progress Report states, "in the hopes of canvasing as much of our beloved Ghyll as possible, we sent missives far and wide, requesting entries from scholars of all walks of life, society, and culture." In doing so, however, we have had to accept entries for the Encyclopaedia that have become corrupted in their journeys. One entry in particular, on the Altoxian Bulb, came to us in a very patchy state due to it having been—as far as we can tell—sent via word of mouth in many parts of its journey. Indeed, we received several conflicting versions, none of which made sense in and of themselves, let alone when taken as a whole.
To that end, instead of using the best quality message that we received as we had previously done, we have taken it upon ourselves to draft the most likely possible original of the message. It should thus be noted that this entry may not have the same academic integrity as the main corpora, and should not be taken to be absolute fact.
Original Messages
For historical purposes, we have preserved two of the original messages that we received:
Now follows the Encyclopedants' reconstructed original:
Altoxian Bulb
The Altoxian Bulb was invented by Professor Altoxian, a native of the settlements of the city of Iganefta. The bulbs, perhaps more commonly known as "Altox Bulbs" or "Altoxian's Bulbs", serve as a primary source of light for the lower classes of the city. The upper classes, or Adrizians, possess higher quality forms of illumination.
Known colloquially as "doc", Altoxian created the lights from a gelatinous substance for which there are many reserves deep underneath Iganefta, though the substance is also known to occur in other parts of Ghyll. Altoxian Bulbs are comprised of a plastic sheath or sack which is then braided together, or held into place by a network of strands.
The lower classes had been in dire need of an inexpensive form of lighting, and Altoxian's breakthrough was hailed as outstanding and revolutionary. Though the process by which the gelatinous substance is garnered is kept a secret, there are rumours of a secret trail leading through the nearby Azura Mines which leads to an easily accessible underground river of the gel. Most of the Adrizian sections of the city also have access to the network of mines, but the access points are rarely used on account of the Adrizians having no purpose for the gel. Adrizians have been known to sell quantities of the gel to the lower classes in pity, but this is very rarely heard of.
Citations: Iganefta, Professor Altoxian.
Original author: Makarii Spitignev 02:44, 3 Sep 2004 (EDT)
Edited by The Encyclopedants due to message integrity problems.
Hemoss The Heretic is said to have issued his two Great Heresies after the discovery of the Altoxian Bulb. The first was that the gel never really existed at all, and old Altoxian had just found a cheaper way to make disguised Andelphracian Lights. The second was that these bulbs were the first practical application of Awal shrinkage harnessed for light production. Of course, most of you never heard any of this, because it was all termed "heresy" for so long. Bah. We are adults and scholars and if future generations are to learn, they need all of the facts. --Qwentyth Pyre 01:18, 5 Sep 2004 (EDT)
- Hemoss also believed that Quezlar 6 was a piece of fiction created for propagandic purposes, that Anaximancers are divine creatures, and that the vorpcara Phennella discovered was a sign that the Alezanians were going to take over the world at -2/4/6 EC. His writings belong in the "Complete Nutters, And Proof Of Their Nuttery" section of the encylopaedia, not throughout the main body of it. --Melik Fizzuo 05:33, 5 Sep 2004 (EDT)
- Given that Hemoss lived well out in the wilds of Iganefta, how did he find out about Phennella and the archaological dig in Alezan? --Sean B. Palmer 14:57, 5 Sep 2004 (EDT)
- The same way I heard about it way out here in the wastelands of Fadr. You know us scholars love it when other scholars mess up. After all, your questioning of that member of the "Aminfarances Institute of Science and Technomancy" is the stuff of legends over here. So, how are your tools? --Melik Fizzuo 22:20, 5 Sep 2004 (EDT)
