Bömwvak

Bömwvak was a member of the Žötó-Žimiara and one of two members from the Khólteð Family alongside Ëknëteög. He is primarily responsible for the revitalization of traditional Khólteðian values and cultural outlooks, called the Žašvúlak-Húðaŋïl, through his pioneering analyses of buried texts. Through the uncovering of these texts due to the damage of the first wave of the Žötó-Žimiara (concurrent to the first wave of the natural disasters), and his subsequent impact in the religious and cultural scenes of the second wave, Bömwvak is often seen as a bridging figure between the first and second waves. However, in successive years, his impact on on the cultural scene, particularly the general popularization of 'traditional', or pre-Ïlýrhonidian, cultures, has been cast in doubt, with most historians now ascribing this movement to the actions of the Ërtúfian Úmýdëš.

Biography

Bömwvak was born in the Khólteð Family in the year 25110 AYM, as has been recorded in the Žötó-Ïdhatón. Little is known about his early life, as is characteristic of figures from this era. However, he is still one of the oldest among the Žötó-Žimiara, only surpassed by Žaðolý, who is by far the earliest member. His life is mainly known from his writings, which date from 25076 to 25065 AYM. These writings, or 'entries', are among the most famous due to their comprehensive explanation of the Húðaŋïl, and the first true usage of the Ïwë-Khólteð.

The bulk of his work involved what are known as the Gaðërïŋ-Húðaŋïl, which are several clay tablets that date back to around the time of the formation of the Ïlýrhonid Tribe itself. They are the only surviving source on the Žašvúlak-Húðaŋïl, which is the cultural identity and values of the Khólteð Family before the advent of the Ïlýrhonid Tribe. These tablets were discovered during the First Wave of Natural Disasters from 25100 to 25080 AYM, during which they were unearthed due to persistent damage on the ground above it. Although many had looked into it, a number of different influences, like the chaos at hand within the contemporary time period, the frailty of the tablets themselves, and the archaic Khólteð language and script, rendered detailed analysis unachievable for most. As such, by the time Bömwvak began his investigations into it, still little had been known about the tablets and what they contained.

Although the exact time at which Bömwvak began to investigate the tablets is unknown, most historians typically place that date around 25080 AYM, as the first wave of disasters would have finished by then, and the relative calm that followed would have allowed him the conditions needed to thoroughly comb the tablets. However, it is very much possible that some outstanding circumstances may have allowed Bömwvak to start even earlier; the sheer lack of writings from around that time renders this a total mystery. What is known, however, is that Bömwvak would realize his first major insight in 25076 AYM, as he realized that what is now known as the Ïwë-Khólteð was used to a heavy degree within the language of the traditional Khólteðian culture. This was a complex set of affixes whose meanings formed the bulk of the language, and whose usage in the overall Ïwë-Ïrhïd became second nature by 24900 AYM. It is from these tablets that the Ïwë-Khólteð was first derived and deciphered by Bömwvak, and his findings were documented in two entries that date back to 24974 and 24972 AYM, respectively.

From there, his process sped up immensely. He would document the three tenets of Memory, Consciousness, and Pacifism in his most influential work, the 24968 AYM entry, which was then followed by his last, unreleased tablet, the 24965 AYM entry on leadership as it pertained to the Húðaŋïl. Among the controversial assertions in this section, the most divisive would be the placement of these three virtues above any ruler or authority, and the ultimate judgment of the ruler as pertaining to these virtues. With the Ïlýrhonidian society revolving so firmly around rulerships like the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýsïb and the Hyvamto-Rhïlýrhonid, he realized the dangers of this new information as leading inevitably to the violent suppression of the Húðaŋïl.

As such, he would make extensive use of the Ïwë-Khólteð system, and concealed the tablet among the confines of his own home, to hide the meaning of this tablet from the general public. Despite this, he understood that the Húðaŋïl was fundamentally incomplete without these aspects, but still knew that, if such information go out, the Khólteð Family faced severe retribution from the Tribe. Faced with such a dilemma, he refrained from further analysis, although the analysis that was already done had effectively captured the whole of the Húðaŋïl anyways.

Around 25057 AYM, Ëknëteög, who was captivated by the writings of Bömwvak, visited him in his home. There, he would be one of the first to witness the 'Forbidden Tablet', as it was called. Likely understanding the implications, but still wishing for the popularization of the Húðaŋïl, Ëknëteög set about to create an alternate narrative, tying the three virtues to the religious cycle known as the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid and thus rendering it innately subservient to tribal leadership. Both Bömwvak and Ëknëteög would be honored by the Family as the main Khólteðian members of the Žötó-Žimiara for thir work in revitalizing the Húðaŋïl, but both knew that the version that was in vogue was a twisted, corrupted version of the true traditional philosophy.

Having lived a full life, Bömwvak would die in the year 25045 AYM. To protect the hidden tablet, he would have Ëknëteög inherit all his belongings, including his house. Ëknëteög, meanwhile, would bury that tablet in the confines of the house, but left a series of vague clues as to its location strewn all across the Familial land. These would be solved by members of the Šïhal-Ýïr tribe during the First Phase of the Crisis, becoming the inheritors of the true Húðaŋïl.

Legacy

Bömwvak was among the most clairvoyant of the Žötó-Žimiara, possessing an acute understanding of the current sociopolitical landscape and effects that such a groundbreaking philosophy like the Žašvúlak-Húðaŋïl would have on it. In this effect, he prioritized the longevity of his accomplishments insofar as the well-being of the Family was concerned. That is, he was willing to bring the Žašvúlak-Húðaŋïl to the Family so long as it did not threaten to unbalance the overall social dynamics of the Ïlýrhonid Tribe at large, and this would ultimately lead to a warped perception of the Žašvúlak-Húðaŋïl. It is ultimately due to this warped perception that the Žašvúlak-Húðaŋïl itself never truly cemented itself within the public consciousness. That is, its forced and constrained narrative, precisely the assertion that such abstract qualities like Memory, Consciousness, and Pacifism were below the rulership of the tribe and the family, and that they were innately subservient to the mystical ritual acts of the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid, was not believable.

The hesitancies of Bömwvak and Ëknëteög were, to many historians, fatal to the continuity of the Žašvúlak-Húðaŋïl as a viable philosophical framework, as the growing restlessness and polarity of the families with respect to tribal politics meant that Pacifism became less and less ascertainable. This movement was spearheaded not by the Khólteðians, but by the Ërtúfïans, whose sole Žötó-Žimiara member, Úmýdëš, studied and documented their traditional cultures in ways very similar to the methods of Bömwvak. However, his main difference lay in his pursuit of truth and familial identity in ways that precluded any notion of hiding parts of their pre-Ïlýrhonidian culture. (Many historians do observe, however, that the Ërtúfïan traditional culture had values that were significantly less objectable when compared to the Ïlýrhonidian values.) As such, it became the highly public nature of the Ërtúfïan culture that led directly to a tribe-wide movement, undertaken by members of all twelve families, towards these traditional cultures and away from the Ïlýrhonidian values. In fact, the Ërtúfïan cultural system is known to a much wider degree by layfolk today than the Žašvúlak-Húðaŋïl.

Whatever chances the Žašvúlak-Húðaŋïl possessed when it came to a public revitalization in its original format was largely dashed by the Ërtúfïan culture, as the resultant polarization that occurred, and later on, the growing tensions between the families, significantly decreased the chances of pacifism ever being accepted into the cultural scene as a viable means to well-being. As such, when the Šïhalïans discovered the Žašvúlak-Húðaŋïl, they would similarly warp the philosophy to suit their own needs and the highly volatile social atmosphere that they lived in, creating the Šïhal-Húðaŋïl. This did away with abject pacifism and replaced it with a delaying strategy that prioritized wartime analysis and cunning.