Chapter: Tributaries
Information relevant to the 5th chapter of The Third God
the Halls of Rebirth
The first diagram shows a cross-section (north-east—south-west) with the Plain of Thrones on the left and the Halls of Rebirth and the colonnade of the Labyrinth off to the right. Note the slope that the sarcophagus columns of the Labyrinth climb—this is the outer slope of the volcanic cone of the Plain of Thrones. The triangular concavity in the crater wall—facing out over the Plain—is the Umbilicus and behind it, cut into the rock, are the strata of the Halls of Rebirth
The second diagram shows a close up of the Umbilicus with the arched voids that lie behind it
The Halls of Rebirth are the equivalent on earth of the Halls of Thunder in the sky—the residence of the God Emperor and his court in the Labyrinth
the Plain of Thrones
the Stone Dance of the Chameleon
The Stone Dance of the Chameleon is a circle of calendrical stones located at the centre of the Plain of Thrones. The Dance of the Chameleon is a Quyan term indicating the passage of the seasons. The Stone Dance of the Chameleon is synonymous with ‘calendar’. It is on these stones that is carved the Law-that-must-be-obeyed.
The Stone Dance consists of three concentric rings of stones: the 12 calendrical stones, the 12 ‘ghost’ stones and the more numerous commentary stones. There are also three pairs of gate stones that act as symbolic doorways into the system.
The 12 calendrical stones are immense stelae whose colours match those of the months they represent: so that there are 2 black, 2 green and 8 red. Inscribed on their surface, in Quyan glyphs, are the codicils and statutes of the Law-that-must-be-obeyed. The glyphs are considerably worn from milennia of exposure to the elements. The 12 ‘ghost’ stones are copies of the calendrical stones erected at some later date to preserve the weathered inscriptions in an easily legible form. The largest and outer ring contain the commentaries on the Law composed down the centuries by the Wise. The earth between the stones is an elaborately ridged and rutted stone mosaic; it is this that unifies the whole system. The ridges connect the Law to its commentaries in a way that the Wise can read with their feet.
