The eden language lacks prefixes and suffixes, but they use specific words to modify other words in a sentence, like adjectives, prepositional phrases, and adverbs. An unmodified word is considered in flux, Fluctuants are neither past, present, or future tense, and can even be interpreted as all of the above.   Somnihein is always fluctuating and refers to the name of their faith. It means spiral or loop, and it's something we know next to nothing about. We know Somnihein is a mental state, an altered form of consciousness similar to the concept of nirvana in Buddhism.   There's a key difference: it's something the eden desperately avoid. It's more like a mental illness than enlightenment. Those who reach Somnihein are said to give everything in exchange, a sacrifice for the good of all. They do it so others won't have to. Every eden is part of the loop, and everyone connected to an eden is too.     The details are iffy, but it's likened to an existential crisis cranked to 11. Now there is a distinction between The Loop and Somnihein. They're the same thing but different levels. Reaching Somnihein is something more than just experiencing The Loop. Somnihein is what occurs when the truth is revealed.   Imagine trying to solve a problem, but you don't know what the problem is. You only know the variables. That's the loop. Learning where these variables fit is reaching Somnihein and it's apparently horrifying.   The Loop is also deeply entwined with the eden concept of death. Death is the only way to escape the loop, which is why their culture is so fixated on war and why they gladly die in battle. That's how much they fear reaching Somnihein     Theories:   Some see Somnihein as some kind of degeneration of the cells. The eden are like immortal clones. They live ridiculously long lives. It's possible they were a creation of sorts, a clone army without a cause when their creators faded from memory. They may have a degenerative disease that afflicts those who live too long.   Other theories say their remarkable mind is the source of the problem. The eden can compute exabytes of information in less than 30 seconds. Perhaps Somnihein is merely what happens when they encounter problems too complex to do in their head, forcing them to "loop" through the problem over and over until a solution can be reached.   Regardless, the eden are remarkably tight-lipped about the condition and its place in their faith. They claim that revealing the truth will only lead to hardship. Most of their own species fail to truly understand it and the heads of their faith aim to keep it that way.