The Missing

In early December 2022, some significant contributors to the Lore and world of Game of Tomes left and asked that their material be removed. This article attempts to do this in a respectful way, while disrupting continuity within the Lore as little as possible.

The fight is a bit of a blur I am afraid. There, there was something else but... but I can't quite put my finger on it right now. A lot is fuzzy blurry gappy. I don't know if it's something I am doing to myself on purpose or... if there is some brain damage thing going on or yes. I got big memory gaps. Things I know should be there but are gone.

— Princess Rowean of House Lapin, who is believed to have had a relationship with one of the Missing

"The Missing" refers to a number of significant Tome Knights who vanished in the aftermath of The Third Word War. Most of them are believed to have disappeared with The Missing House, and likely not as a consequence of the war itself. The most common theory is that The Iron Tome is responsible.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

No one can be certain what languages the Missing spoke, but it can be assumed they spoke the languages of their Houses and the geographic areas they came from.

Culture and cultural heritage

Many of the Missing are believed to have been Werecats, but some were also Sauropodans and some were Chiropterans as well. There may have been others.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Just because the Missing all seem to have been "literomancers of significance," as you put it, doesn't mean they were. Before I took this throne, who would have noticed if I had disappeared except maybe my mother and kids -- especially if all records of my name and face had disappeared as well? I think about that a lot. How vain, our pretensions to legacy. In a thousand years, if we're remembered at all, we'll be faceless names in a history text, and the language will have changed so much that even if any of our writing remains -- which odds do not favour -- no one will be able to read it.

— Queen Sable Aradia, waxing philosophical to a journalist, New Year's Eve 2022

There is considerable debate about whether the Missing were all literomancers; and if they were, was it only "literomancers of note" who vanished, or were those the only ones who could be documented?
Sociologists and statisticians believe it is highly unlikely that such a global event would affect only a handful of people, but there is no way to tell. Every possible record of the Missing is simply absent, from birth certificates to creative works, to photos, media, and social media.
The only reason anyone knows that the Missing existed is that some of them have left ripples. For example, the Warren's extensive security footage shows the Lapin royal family repeatedly talking to thin air. The Lapin side of the conversation, however, is fully preserved, except for the names and identifying details of the Missing person they were addressing.
Yet, there remains a persistent belief among a significant minority of the general public that only Literomancers were affected. Sociologists theorize that this belief is born of fear and protectionism; nobody wants to believe that something that was so important to their lives could just simply be erased in a heartbeat.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Discussion is underway to create some kind of memorial for the Missing, but opinions are divided about where it should be located, and what would be appropriate. Should there be one memorial, or many? Should it include the banners of Houses that almost certainly had Missing, or would that not be inclusive to other Houses, who may have lost people they cannot document? Do the mourners follow the customs of mourning the dead, since their deaths cannot in any way be confirmed? Is it death if they were simply wiped from existence? House Leaders have been discussing it privately and publicly, but the general consensus is that it is more necessary to focus on the disruption to those who remain right now, particularly the abandoned Protectorates and The Castaways.

Common Myths and Legends

The public as a whole has become even more divided in its opinion of literomancers. Some blame them for this unsettling event and its global impact, and they are calling for greater restrictions on literomancers, or for the Great Houses to be overthrown altogether. Some are even calling for their destruction.

You know what you're supposed to do with witches, don't you? God tells us right in the Bible.

— Kelly Whyte, Captain of the Human Freedom Militia

Others have become even more devoted to the literomantic Houses and their Tome Knight protectors, perhaps more than ever acutely aware of how small humanity is in the mysterious universe, even for people who can weave reality with their words.

This article is a work in progress, and may be subject to changes.

This article is part of a series related to streaming the Game of Tomes. For more information, see Streaming Game of Tomes.

Parent ethnicities

• Literomancers

Related Organizations

• The Missing House

Related Locations

• Ailurus Protectorate
• Sauropoda Protectorate
• The Cavern

Known Missing

The Monarch and Heir of the Missing House - believed to have been friends and allies of The Chief Rabbit and The Great Bat due to a number of Crown documents from both Protectorates detailing treaties with, and visits to and from The Missing House, and security footage from both Houses showing the royal families talking to thin air as if to a dignitary.

The leaders of factions/Minor Houses within the Missing House - fragmented memories of The Castaways indicate that regardless of whether they were independent Houses, there were two other important leaders who commanded considerable loyalty. One is believed to have been a sailor and another a gardener.

Members of the Raptor Squad - Raptor Captain Dazzlinkat remembers having Tome Knights under her command, and can be seen in security footage giving invisible people orders in a paramilitary fashion. There are also numerous security reports and records of training schedules.

Defenders of the Realm - at least four, possibly five, Defenders have disappeared, although Regent Dame EGryph, DoR, remembers visiting and encouraging them. Some were likely members of the Missing House, and some were either Sauropodans or Avisians, if one looks to records of places the Regent visited in The 50K Offensive. At least two of the Missing House members and one of the Sauropodans also participated in The Battle of the Book. Analysis indicates these likely overlap with other Missing.

Chiropterans - at least two Chiropterans have vanished, both of whom had some authority within the House, although what they did remains unclear.