Department of Paleography

The Department of Paleography at Saro University is the academic unit charged with the study of ancient writing systems. Its most significant contribution during the events surrounding Nightfall is the attempted decipherment of the Thombo Tablets, a set of six baked-clay tablets unearthed by archaeologist Siferra 89 from the Hill of Thombo on the Sagikan Peninsula. The department's work provides the critical textual link between the astronomical phenomenon of the periodic eclipse of Dovim and the historical record of repeated, civilization-destroying fires, lending a new and troubling dimension to the prophecies of the Apostles of Flame.

Role in the Thombo Tablet Discovery

The department's involvement begins when Siferra 89, upon returning to Saro University from her excavation at Beklimot, seeks the expertise of its leading paleographer, Mudrin 505. Siferra carries the tablets with her own hands, recognizing their potential to revolutionize the study of prehistory. Mudrin, a frail but sharp-eyed scholar in his late seventies, is immediately captivated. He identifies distinct word-groups on the tablets, noting that the square ones from the third level of the hill appear to be written in a very primitive form of the Beklimot script, while the oblong ones from the fifth level use a completely unfamiliar, likely syllabic, script. He requests permission to take the tablets to his laboratory for a thorough analysis using his specialized lighting, cameras, and scanning screens.

Decipherment and the Link to the Apostles of Flame

Mudrin's preliminary translations prove to be of immense consequence. He tentatively puzzles out a couple of dozen words from the Level Three tablets, which are written in an early form of the Beklimot script. The text appears to be an account of the destruction of a city by fire, attributed to the periodic wrath of the gods. This directly echoes the core teachings of the Apostles of Flame, who preach that the world is destroyed by heavenly flames at the end of each "Year of Godliness"—a period of 2,049 years. The discovery horrifies Siferra, who fears that her findings will be used by the Apostles as "firm archaeological proof of their crackpot theories." The department's work thus places it at the center of a volatile intersection between empirical science and apocalyptic faith.

Conflict over the Tablets and the Alliance with the Apostles

The Department of Paleography becomes a site of conflict when the Apostles of Flame, through their representative Folimun 66, attempt to gain control of the tablets. Folimun offers Siferra a deal: he will provide the department with a key to the ancient script—texts, dictionaries, and alphabets from the previous "Year of Godliness"—in exchange for the original tablets. Mudrin finds the fragments of astronomical data that Athor 77 obtains from Folimun to be valuable for his own translation work. However, Siferra refuses to hand over the originals, insisting on copies. Folimun, in turn, refuses to give up his own sacred documents. This stalemate ends when the tablets are stolen from the artifact safe just before the eclipse, an act Siferra immediately attributes to the Apostles. The department is thus deprived of the primary artifacts, though Mudrin's copies and translations remain.

Significance and Legacy

Despite the theft, the Department of Paleography's work has already established a crucial link. Mudrin's translations, combined with the astronomical data from the Apostles, confirm that the Thombo Tablets are a straightforward historical account of previous advents of the Stars and the attempts by ancient priesthoods to warn their populations. Folimun later reveals that the Apostles have fully translated the tablets, finding them to be an uncorrupted version of the chronicles that became the Book of Revelations. The department's initial decipherment, therefore, provides the scientific and historical foundation for understanding the cyclical nature of the catastrophe, a knowledge that the Apostles intend to use to guide the world through the aftermath of Nightfall and prepare for the next eclipse two millennia hence.