Aetherion’s Arc
Attributed to Marcellus Varro, First Poet-Legate of the Rift
Attributed to Marcellus Varro, First Poet-Legate of the Rift
The Beginning of the Covenant
Before the ages knew their names,
Before the firmament learned its measure,
There moved across the silent dark
Aetherion—scribe of unbound skies,
Its argent plume a quill of living fire.
No mortal hour could grasp its path;
No augur’s bowl could read its aim.
Yet when its radiance kissed the world,
Mountains trembled as though remembering,
And oceans bowed like supplicants before a throne.
For in its wake, the Covenant stirred—
An oath unmade, yet older than the stars,
Calling forth those realms deemed fit to join
The mosaic of the destined world to come.
The Gathering of Realms
First came the Eldest, robed in moonlit thought,
Who walked between the trees as if treading memory.
Their voices carried the weight of vanished heavens,
And even the wind learned reverence from them.
Then rose the Dwarrow from the deep-lit stone,
Hammering their truths into earth’s hidden bones;
Their forges glowed with fragments of creation,
And the mountains echoed with the hymns of their craft.
Next thundered forth the Warborn’s crimson tide,
Children of conflict, sharpened by the gods of strife;
Their coming shook the plains like a rolling storm,
And the air itself seemed carved by their roaring will.
Each arrival, scholars say, was no caprice,
But judgment wrought by stellar law:
Those who crossed the Rift did so not freely,
But summoned to the world’s unfinished chorus,
Their voices bound within the Covenant’s design.
The Choosing of Rome
Yet none were lifted with such weight of purpose
As Rome—taken whole beneath the comet’s gaze;
Province, legion, marble, and mortal breath,
All uprooted in the instant of the arc’s descent.
The soldiers woke to alien dawn,
Their shields reflecting lands unearned;
Farmers stood upon fields that bore new stars,
And the Senate found its laws blown wide,
Scattered like parchments before a sacred storm.
But Aetherion, curving in its silent might,
Spoke not in voice, but flame:
“Stand Roman, and the world shall anchor.
Fall Roman, and the world shall scatter.
For where you march, the heavens follow;
Where you build, the fates take form.”
Thus was forged the Imperium Novum:
Not by conquest alone, but by command of destiny,
Charged to guard the hinge where many realms converge,
And to uphold the Covenant with unbroken hand.
The Eternal Return
And still the comet wheels across the night,
Its tail a burning ledger of the ages.
Each return is a reckoning and a renewal;
Each flame-fall a herald of worlds unborn.
When next it shines, the Empire gathers,
Children and elders alike beneath its glow;
Some in awe, some in fearful prayer,
For none may know which lands the Rift shall summon,
Nor whose fate the comet will inscribe anew.
Yet all Imperians—highborn and humble—
Lift their gaze to the argent arc,
Feeling in its sweep a truth beyond debate:
That strength alone does not define a people;
It is the courage to bear the verdict of the heavens.
For Aetherion judges not with wrath,
But with remembrance—
Calling forth those worlds whose stories
Must join the great and terrible harmony
Of Exilum Novum.
And in that harmony, Rome stands central:
The keystone of a bridge between the stars,
The steward of a pact older than mortal time,
The hand that steadies the loom of many realms.
The Final Invocatio
So let the comet blaze,
Let its arc sever night from night,
Let it summon what must be summoned.
For while its fire endures,
So too shall the Empire’s charge:
To bind the realms,
To balance the fates,
And to walk unflinching beneath the gaze
Of the celestial judge who brought us here.
Thus ends the Arc,
Yet never the Covenant;
For Aetherion circles still,
And all the world waits to learn
What stories its next passing will demand.
Scholarly Commentary on Aetherion’s Arc
Prepared for the Collegium Arcanum by Magister Quintus Aelius Varro, 612 NE (Revised Edition)
The Beginning of the Covenant — Commentary
The opening verses, invoking Aetherion as “scribe of unbound skies,” establish the comet as a sentient or quasi-sentient agent. While not a deity in the formal canon, Aetherion occupies a liminal place between celestial body and divine will. The poet-legates of the early Empire frequently depicted the comet as a moral arbiter whose appearances signalled cosmological judgment.
This framing aligns with Imperial doctrine: the Aetherion Covenant asserts that each Rift is not random but the result of cosmic selection. By calling the comet the “quill of living fire,” the poet suggests that the worlds brought by each Rift are written into existence, rather than merely transported.
The Gathering of Realms — Commentary
The catalogue of arriving civilisations—Elder Courts, Dwarrow, Warborn—reflects early Imperial mythologisation of the Rift sequence. Although the poem predates full historical codification, its order closely echoes the Office of Rift Affairs Annals, suggesting the poet-legates drew from proto-administrative records.
The Eldest “robed in moonlit thought” clearly refers to the Elves, whose arrival predates all written human history. Their command of magic and longevity justified their portrayal as embodiments of memory itself.
The Dwarrow stanza is notable for its theological boldness. Describing their forges as containing “fragments of creation” implies that their craft taps into primordial forces. Later Arcanii treatises argue this is poetic exaggeration, though dwarven rune-masters have never fully contradicted it.
The Warborn passage—“children of conflict”—captures the Imperian view that the Warborn (Orcs and associated clans) were shaped by deities alien to Exilum Novum. The Senate has historically approved this depiction because it reinforces the moral contrast between Imperial civic order and the Warborn’s chaotic heritage.
Most importantly, the commentator’s line:
“Each arrival… was summoned to the world’s unfinished chorus.”
This expresses the Covenant’s view that every civilisation arrives because the world requires them. It is a poetic articulation of a deeply deterministic worldview.
The Choosing of Rome — Commentary
This is widely considered the most politically charged section. The poem implies—without stating outright—that Rome’s arrival was not only fated but necessary for the world’s continued coherence. The phrase “province, legion, marble, and mortal breath” is a rare poetic enumeration of both physical and cultural displacement.
The awakening of the legions “beneath a foreign dawn” has become iconic in Imperial art, often depicted in frescoes showing soldiers silhouetted against alien horizons.
The comet’s speech—“Stand Roman, and the world shall anchor”—is not found in early records. Scholars debate whether this represents:
- A spiritual revelation received by the early legates,
- A poetic embellishment, or
- A metaphor for the Empire’s later self-justification.
Arcanii theologians tend toward (1), while modern historians prefer (2) or (3).
The stanza implying that the Empire is “charged to guard the hinge” solidifies a doctrine that remains foundational: the Imperium Novum sees itself as both steward and stabiliser of the Rift-linked world. Even dissenting scholars admit the Empire’s role in safeguarding inter-realm boundaries is significant.
The Eternal Return — Commentary
This canto reflects ritual practice rather than historical fact. It describes the festival impulse that grips the Empire whenever Aetherion becomes visible. The poem acknowledges both awe and anxiety—citizens gather “in fearful prayer” not because they dread doom, but because the world may change again.
The line “none may know which lands the Rift shall summon” is a reminder that even the Arcanii cannot predict the full nature of each arrival, though they can forecast the event itself.
The closing lines of this section underscore a central tenet of Imperian identity: the belief that the Empire has not merely endured the Rift but been elevated by its trials. The courage to “bear the verdict of the heavens” echoes Stoic virtues embraced by the early Imperial military academies.
The Final Invocatio — Commentary
This is the most liturgical passage and is frequently recited during festivals associated with Aetherion, particularly on 1 Aetheris when the comet’s first sighting is celebrated.
The invocation “let the arc sever night from night” is a poetic reimagining of Rift manifestation, where the veil between realms thins and space folds. Though the Empire now understands Rift mechanics in more scientific terms, the symbolism persists.
The final declaration—“Thus ends the Arc, yet never the Covenant”—is one of the most debated lines in Imperial philosophical tradition. Interpretations include:
- The Arcanii View: The Covenant is a natural law binding the cosmos.
- The Civic View: The Covenant is Rome’s burden and privilege to maintain order.
- The Theurgic View: The Covenant is a pact between Aetherion and civilisation itself.
The poem deliberately leaves this ambiguous, strengthening its mythic power. Ending with the idea that the comet will demand new stories positions the Imperium not as the culmination of history but as its ongoing witness and steward.
Concluding Note by the Commentator
“Aetherion’s Arc endures because it refuses to grant comfort. It celebrates Rome, yes—but it ties our glory to obligation. It teaches that no world is ever fully our own, and that destiny is a weight to be carried, not a prize to be claimed.”
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