Flardium Compendium

By Claude E. Shannon, 350 pages

This book deals with flard - it details their structure, their workings, and what little we know about it overall. It also proposes some theories into how they function, and what can a user of a flard expect

Preface - what are Flard, and why do we care

The Great Collapse, and the Years of Dread that followed it, had left many oddities and sights around the world. Some are simple enough to understand the purpose of (the Great Statues, some of which go hundreds of meters tall, or the Starlight Roads) while others hold a more mysterious place, eluding our best attempts at research (the Great Arches of Arashez, the Neverending Mists at the Sea of Storms, or the Shifting Spires of a Thousand Faces to name a few).

Flard are probably the best example of both, and then some.

So what are they?

The short answer is, sadly, we don’t know. The best we can do is give descriptions, vague assumptions and theories. This book aspires to be the most comprehensive and detailed account of flard, and I am afraid it will be a trickle of water compared to the spring that is unknown to us yet.

That being said, many will find the contents of this book to be useful - whether they be researchers, aspiring Name Hunters, or simply seekers of knowledge.

So, to the question - what are flard?

Flard are enormous pillars of HeartStone, each between forty and a hundred meters tall and 5 to 30 meters in diameter. They are mostly white, though different colors have been observed, and some have pinkish “vein” like formation on them. They are smooth, cold, and untouched by the ravages of time and strifes of the world (as HeartStone always is).

Their most notable feature is, famously, that when given the proper password (their name, as it is often referred to) the flard will awaken and will answer one question presented to it. From all the evidence we have gathered over the years, a flard is nearly omniscient (though it seems to struggle with questions related to other flard’s names, sometimes failing to give them).

This doesn’t come without a limitation, and a severe one - from what we can tell, flard can only be awakened once every couple hundred of years or so. Even with the correct name, a flard will not awaken if it has recently provided an answer.

Each flard has a unique magical signature of unknown origin, containing strands of divination, transmutation and abjuration, with divination being dominant. Its strength is always beyond our measurement (note - this is not uncommon in artifacts from before the collapse, and it has been theorized¹ that our current known limits on magical power is part of the damage done by the collapse to magic as a whole). And like always, the magical aura surrounding it is too different and complex for us to gather what are the sources of magic it uses.

Structure, History & Construction

The “biology claim”

There have been numerous claims through the years, made by scholars with varying degrees of expertise, that the flard are actually a lifeform based creation, and that all of their structure and capabilities originate in a living creature. While such claims seem to stand on some solid arguments (such is the fact that different flard exhibit different personality traits when spoken to), modern research unanimously agrees they are false. While it is quite a possibility that flard could in fact be a form of Awakened constructs, in all texts we could find from prior to the fall we see them referred to as “it” in a dialect that denotes objects.

Now that we have put this out of our way, let us review some of the biggest questions regarding the history and structure of the flard.

The 3 W - when, who, why

When we approach the issue of flard, we always ask three basic questions, each with equal importance:

1. When were they built? This might seem like an easy one, and most readers will say “during the age of The Empire!” without pause. And while I came to the same conclusions myself, I feel that seeing why we come to this conclusion has merit. There are many powerful artifacts that we might wrongly assign an age to, based on their strength (the demon doors, for example, have many features that would resemble a flard, being a type of awakened construct. And yet they are definitely post Empire, which can put flard into question), and so we need to proceed with caution.

The reasonings bringing us to the conclusion about The Empire are these:

1. Flard are made from HeartStone, which we believe to be one of the earliest inventions of The Empire and one of the leading causes for its rise to dominance.

2. The architectural similarities between Flard and other relics attributed to The Empire further solidify the hypothesis. Flard share distinctive design elements with structures known to be of Imperial origin, such as the intricate Starlight Roads and the monumental HeartStone edifices that still stand as iconic remnants of that era.

3. The construction of flard no doubt required a huge undertaking, both magical and architectural.

2. Who made them? Since we agree they were created in the age of The Empire, we have narrowed our potential answers. One prevalent theory (which the writer of this book supports) posits that the Flard are the handiwork of The Empire’s most illustrious mages, the Arcane Architects. These revered spellcasters were renowned for their ability to shape the world around them, creating the scenery in which The Empire thrived. Since the method for HeartStone creation was lost with the collapse, we cannot be certain of this next claim, but it is widely believed that it was not a trivial accomplishment to create, let alone build with, HeartStone. Thus, the Arcane Architects are our best guess on who exactly was behind the creation of flard. If this theory holds true, it suggests that the Flard were a project undertaken by the Empire, under the command of the Emperors themselves, which might clue us in on the next question.

3. Why were they built? The true purpose behind the creation of flard continues to elude us. Some theories suggest they were designed to store and safeguard ancient knowledge, while others propose that they might have been built as a form of communication, or as a means of preserving the Empire’s legacy. The answers, though, remain speculative - our world changed so dramatically in The Collapse, that it is completely possible that the purpose of the flard is simply beyond our understanding at this point. The writer of this book believes it is not poignant to deal with this question too much, as it is purely speculative and detracts from the practical study of what they can do, which is of far greater use to us in the present day.

The real question - how do they work?

An overview of capabilities

Flard seem to be able to answer almost any question asked of them, but this is an abstraction; in truth, not many questions have been recorded, and so our understanding is limited by what we do know. We assume flard know much, but have no concrete evidence for the limits (or lack thereof) of their powers. To our knowledge, a flard has never been asked about flard and their powers, and so we are left with only what we can deduce from past interactions.

As mentioned in this book’s preface, flard are limited in their awakenings, with reports putting the estimated “recovery” between questions to be around 500 years; this is, of course, a rough estimate.

Disproven theories

The “Answer Within” Hypothesis

The first theory seeking to explain a flard’s apparent omniscience was quite naive - it proposed that flard weren’t actually providing any new information to the questioner; instead, the flard would look into the mind (both conscious and subconscious) of the questioner, will scour their conscious and unconscious mind, and will provide an answer based on the knowledge therein.

This one was easily disproved, without any magical research (such a feat is so easily accomplished I will not waste space detailing it here), but is brought here for purposes of completeness.

The Radial Draw Theory

Another intriguing theory that gained some traction among early scholars attempting to decipher the Flard’ abilities is known as the “Radial Draw Theory.” This hypothesis suggests that Flard possess an inherent, albeit still enigmatic, ability to draw information from sentient beings within a certain, as of yet undetermined, radius of their location, similar to spells that detect thoughts. It postulates that Flard act as metaphysical conduits, tapping into the collective knowledge of individuals who come into proximity.
According to the proponents of this theory, when a question is posed to a Flard, it doesn’t necessarily have access to pre-existing knowledge or a vast database of information. Instead, the Flard establishes a telepathic connection with the sentient beings in its immediate vicinity. It would then mentally scan the thoughts, memories, and experiences of those individuals, effectively “drawing” information from them to formulate a response.

This theory, although captivating, faced numerous challenges, particularly in its lack of conclusive evidence. The specifics of the radius within which this alleged telepathic connection operates cannot be determined without rigorous study, which is infeasible due to the limitations of the Flard. There is also no detectable trace of magic reading the minds of people when a flard is asked a question, to our knowledge (see Kirchner’s account on the matter).

With that said, we have three case studies that help us refute this theory:

1. The case of Baron Jorgul - what became a very known nursery tale in southern Clairnia about the dangers of hag contracts, is in fact based on the true story of said baron. To those who do not know it, or wish to dive deeper into the origin and meanings of common folklore, I highly recommend Madame Gooseneck’s “Tales of Folklore” series.
   In the story, the unlucky baron tries to gain the answer to the hag’s riddle by asking the Flard near his estate for it. The only creature with knowledge of the answer was the hag herself, and since she was in the mountains of the Republic up north, we can deduce that the supposed range of the Radial Draw must contain most of the known world.

2. The case of Nanna Maar - Nanna Mar, the famous scholar and painter, is known to have asked a flard for instructions to create “all of the colors that are possible”. The answer allowed her paintings to become unmatched, but it also sheds light on a certain aspect of the flard capabilities - some of the colors only exist in realms beyond our own, and the knowledge on how to create these colors lies in these realms. Thus, it stands to reason that the range of the Radial Draw must also extend to other planes of existence, transcending the simple definition of “distance”.

3. The case of the Lost Coronation - Professor Alistair Finch, a historian of the Empire, famously approached a flard and asked for the type of meals the last Emperor used to eat. This is considered to this day the most wasted (recorded) question a flard was ever asked; in his defense, Finch argued he wasn’t even sure the name of the flard he found was correct, was inebriated, and did so to win a bet.
   Misgivings about the event aside, Finch’s question dealt the final blow to the Radial Draw theory - The flard recited the entire meal course flawlessly² (as far as we can tell - many of the mentioned ingredients are none existent today). This knowledge existed in no living mind, aside from maybe the Old Gods - who we can safely assume are impervious to mind reading magic.

With these 3 cases, the Radial Draw theory has been put to rest, and opened the stage to more contemporary theories.

Leading Theories

The Probabilistic Approach

This theory moves away from the idea of flard knowing things and instead suggests they calculate them. Proponents argue that a flard does not access a repository of information - it instead uses the fundamental laws of causality and probability that govern existence. When asked a question, a flard performs an infinitely complex calculation, analyzing every single variable and thread of fate extending from a certain initial time (some researchers suggest the dawn of time as this point, other more conservative ones look at the flard’s last wakeup as the point) to the present moment. The answer it gives is not a recalled fact, but the single most probable state of reality that corresponds to the question. This would explain its ability to answer questions about the past and present with perfect accuracy, and would even give some reason to the flard’ long recovery time - the need for recording all these so-called “variables of existence” would certainly take time..

However, this theory is not without its issues - It struggles to explain how a flard could answer questions of pure subjective creation (such as Nanna Maar’s colors), it somehow sidesteps the enormous toll such a calculation would take and the unimaginable magical power required, it barely touches upon how would the flard answer questions about the past, and it implies that free will is merely another variable to be calculated, a notion many find philosophically troubling.

To conclude - while many side by the Probabilistic Approach, it is rife with inadequate explanations and unrigorous theorems. As an armchair mathematician myself, I find that most of the proponents of this theory have never truly delved into the numbers behind their ideas, and failed to grasp how truely incredulous their claims can seem without the proper mathematical building blocks.

The Fishnet Paradigm

More akin to a spider’s web than a fisherman’s net, this paradigm hinges on the idea that the universe is permeated by a subtle, metaphysical medium. Every event, from the birth of a god to a whispered word, creates vibrations or imprints upon this medium. These imprints fade over time, like ripples in a pond, leaving behind no real trace of their existence.

This idea is very liked in some circles, and even got some official backing from various sources in the School of Divination; any work on the subject matter might contain a more thorough investigation of this idea, and as such, I will waste no more pages on it myself, and will return to the matter at hand - Flard.

The flard are theorized to be immense, passive collectors-cosmic webs woven from HeartStone and magic that are perfectly constructed to catch and preserve these informational vibrations indefinitely.

According to this model, a flard does not actively seek information upon being awakened. Instead, its entire existence has been spent accumulating a near-infinite web of data. When a question is posed, the flard isolates the specific vibrational signature corresponding to the query from within its pre-existing collection and translates it into a coherent answer. This explains how knowledge of the distant past is retained with perfect clarity. It also provides a compelling reason for the long “recovery” period: the act of accessing and vocalizing an answer sends a powerful, chaotic reverberation through the flard’s entire web, rendering it an unreadable tangle of vibrations. It then takes centuries for this internal chaos to settle, allowing the delicate imprints of cosmic history to become distinct once more.

The theory’s main failing is its difficulty in explaining how information from entirely separate planes of existence (as in the case of Nanna Maar) becomes imprinted on a seemingly local web, but this concern can be waved away by the clear insight that the web might not be local to our plane of existence - in fact, it is far more likely that the very fabric upon which information is reverberated is cross dimensional in nature.

The Oracle Proposition

This theory is both elegant and deeply unsettling, as it hinges on a perfect, long-range form of predestination. It suggests that a flard does not answer a question in the present moment at all. Instead, at the very instant of its last activation, its potent divination magics look forward through the centuries to foresee the exact circumstances of its next awakening: the person, the time, the place, and the precise question that will be asked.

Once this prophecy is established, the flard dedicates the entirety of its magical function for the next several hundred years to one singular task: researching and formulating the most complete and accurate answer to that single, foreseen question. Its vast power is not spent on omniscience, but on a long, slow, and incredibly focused search for knowledge. When the fated questioner finally arrives and provides the name, the flard is merely delivering the results of centuries of preparation. This perfectly explains the long recharge time and the incredible detail of the answers.

The primary flaw in this proposition is its fatalistic worldview, which suggests the questioner has no true free will. It also raises a host of troubling paradoxes that swell with prophecy related theorems, and brings into question the interaction between flard magic and other future-reading magical abilities.

Other Ideas

The “World Archive” theorem

This idea is one that has been thrown around so much, it is hard to attribute it to one person or even to relate it solely to the flard. It is the sort of theory that, while independent, relies heavily on phenomena to prove or disprove.

The theorem states: “knowledge is never destroyed, only lost; knowledge is never created, though it is gained. Lost knowledge can be gained, and gained knowledge can be lost. Therefore, all knowledge must have a place that holds it, an archive from which all knowledge can be gained, even if thought to be irrevocably lost”.

This theory proposes, as it states, a metaphysical “World Archive” (name proposed by the original founder of this idea, whose name was lost to time) that holds all knowledge. Such a theorem has many merits, and can explain away a number of issues in our understanding of information and knowledge - the whole of divination magic could be explained with it, as well as the existence of various creatures and beings with varying degrees of limited omniscience.

Flard are another subject that could be explained with it - the theories are that flard act as simple access points for the world archive, and that since such access is very difficult, the restrictions on questioning flard are great.

This theory is interesting, but flawed on a number of levels -

1. Lack of Empirical Evidence: One of the primary flaws of the “World Archive” theorem is its lack of evidence. While it is a compelling philosophical concept, there is no concrete proof to substantiate the existence of such a metaphysical repository of all knowledge.

2. Assumption of Universality: The theory assumes that all knowledge, regardless of its nature, source, or origin, is part of this hypothetical World Archive. It presupposes that the archive encompasses not just mortal knowledge but knowledge from all sentient beings across all realms and dimensions. Such an assumption is vast and complex, and its validity is impossible to confirm.

3. Explains Everything, but Predicts Little: The theory’s versatility is both a strength and a flaw. It can be used to explain a wide range of phenomena, from divination magic to beings with limited omniscience. However, because it can be applied so broadly, it offers limited predictive power. In essence, it can explain nearly anything, making it challenging to test or refine.

4. No Explanation for Irretrievable Loss: The theorem posits that all knowledge is recoverable from the World Archive, even if believed to be irrevocably lost. However, it doesn’t provide a satisfactory explanation for instances where knowledge does appear to be genuinely irretrievable, which is spoken of in magical research communities (see Zenin Tao’s thesis on “True Destruction” for more on this subject.)

In conclusion, while the “World Archive” theorem is a captivating and imaginative idea, its limitations and lack of empirical support make it a flawed proposition. As a theoretical construct, it offers a way to interpret various phenomena, but it lacks the rigor and specificity required to stand as a comprehensive theory. It remains an intriguing concept, inspiring philosophical discourse, but falls short in providing concrete answers about the source for the Flard abilities.

The Old God Conjecture

Another proposal for how flard seem to function is related to the idea that many gods exhibit knowledge pertaining to all matters, a form of omniscience. The flard are, of course, not gods, but the theory proposed by Durant Negare Glint claims that such an omniscient god might have been bound at some point in history in a fashion, and that the flard are Syphons for his powers. While such an act is theoretically possible (as we know, both the Titans and Apophis are bound in planes beyond our own, and so the act of binding a god is feasible), but I find it quite unlikely, for numerous reasons:

1. Who bound it? We mentioned earlier that while we cannot fully ascertain when the flard were made and by whom, but since we also safely assume it was made in The Empire, we need to ask ourselves - could the people of The Empire bind a god? Mere mortals, performing magical feats that even gods need to strain for, and that hold for thousands of years later? It seems unlikely, to say the least.

2. If we do assume ability, we need to ask ourselves about motivation. Why would The Empire bind a god of knowledge? To control information? To use it as an ultimate oracle? Such a monumental act of hubris would surely have had dire consequences, yet the records, fragmented as they are, speak of a golden age, not a cataclysmic war against the divine. They also don’t report any need for abundant information which would warrant such an act, though this can be explained as a result of the flard existence, so I digress.

3. The nature of the magic - The magical signature of the flard, while immensely powerful, is a precise and intricate weave of divination, transmutation, and abjuration. The binding of a god, based on the scant descriptions we have of such events (like the chaining of Apophis or the banishment of the Titans), involves raw, chaotic, and primal forces far beyond this. The flard’s magic is that of a fine instrument, not a cosmic prison.

The Norn Idea

This theory is named for the weavers of fates of all beings: the Fates, Ma’a & Isfett, and the Norns. It is well understood that the universe is governed by a fundamental, inexorable law of cosmic order and destiny, a ‘tapestry’ of reality that dictates what was, what is, and what will be. This law is manifested, or perhaps ruled by, the abovementioned deities.

According to the Norn Idea, the flard are neither databases nor calculators. They are supreme “attunement instruments,” built by the Empire’s Architects to resonate perfectly with the underlying structure of this cosmic tapestry and, essentially, see the weave of faith like these goddesses do.
When awakened with its name, a flard aligns itself with this universal truth, allowing it to perceive the pattern of any thread in the grand design. The answer it provides is not ‘knowledge’ in the conventional sense, but a direct and flawless expression of cosmic reality. This would explain its ability to speak on matters of the past, present, and future with equal clarity.

The primary criticism of this theory is its sheer abstraction; it is entirely unfalsifiable. It also struggles to account for answers to subjective questions (such as “the saddest story” asked for by Elian the poet), which would seemingly have no place in a grand, impersonal cosmic design.
Worse of all, it relies on the existence of magic powerful beyond imagination, one that can access the very threads of faith, an act beyond almost all of the gods both old and new. This sort of extraordinary claim must come with extraordinary proof, which this idea severely lacks.

The PKF (Publicly Known Flard)

What follows is a list of flard whose names and locations are a matter of public record. This list is by no means exhaustive, as many names are kept secret by individuals, families, or entire nations.

• The Oracle of Whispering Sands

  • Location: The heart of the Great Searing Desert.

  • Name: Phusaphusaana

  • Notes: Famously used by the adventurer Ventura Estaban to discover the location of the lost Sunken City of U’thar. Its voice is said to sound like shifting sand.

• The Weeping Pillar

  • Location: The Black-Teeth Fen, partially sunk into the mire.

  • Name: Aansoo

  • Notes: Local legend claims the poet Elian asked it “What is the saddest story ever told?” and was so overcome by the answer that he walked into the swamp and was never seen again.

• Sky-Breaker

  • Location: Atop the highest peak of the Aegheimer Mountains.

  • Name: Gaganamandal

  • Notes: Rumored to be the flard Ostagar Worldshaper consulted with before starting his campaigns of world domination.

• The Sunken Sage

  • Location: Deep within the Mirror Lake, only its top thirty meters are visible above the water on a clear day.

  • Name: Samaj Hadaar

  • Notes: Accessible only by those who can breathe underwater due to the lake’s counter magical properties. Due to its inaccessibility, very few of its successful activations have been recorded. It is rumored to answer in telepathy directly into the questioner’s mind rather than with a voice; quite fascinating if true, as it would suggest the flard is actively trying to make their answer understood by the questioner. However, these rumors have no ample proof behind them as of yet.

• The Flard in the Hills of Sutch

  • Location: The Hills of Sutch

  • Notes: Famously used by the legendary Raven in her quest to stop the Crimson Knight, the name of this flard has not survived in any modern retelling or research into the legends

• The Flard in Kios

  • Location: The lost city of Kios

  • Notes: Deemed inaccessible since the collapse of Swadia.

Footnotes

1. From Electric Arc to Chain Lightning, a History of the Arcane Arts, By Olo ↩

2. For the curious, consult Finch’s own published monograph, “A Wager of Ages: The Imperial Palate,” which he was effectively forced to write to justify his academic tenure after the incident. ↩