Memory Conservation

"The most essential truth that you need to keep in mind, always remember, is how easy it is for people to forget their own past, deny their wrongdoings, repeat old mistakes over and over. This is why it is so important to honour our memories, to refuse to forget."

Grand Seer Thamir

Utility

In the beginnings of the practise of memory conservation, a couple of decades after Aman's ascension, the temples' main Conservationist and their assistants actually wrote down all memories they gathered through the Vath'eran rituals held there by hand. Over the course of the centuries it became clear though that this wasn't a reliable technique to accurately display history, as of course those undergoing the Vath'eran had to retell their visions of their own past lives absolutely truthfully for their experiences to help the conservationist. But not everyone did tell the truth, some even downright lied, ashamed or embarrassed about their deeds in past lives, unwilling to admit to atrocities they committed, overall painting initially a much more positive picture of Nyr history than what was accurate.
Therefore the Vath'eran was adjusted and altered over time and today, when a young participant completes their leap of faith into the temple's water-basin, the priests and conservationists cast a spell that captures the participants visions in the essence of the blessed temple water for a limited time. At the end of the ritual some of the water is taken and filled into an orb of Starglass, which is known for its magical potential and reactivity with water, and the memories by this distilled and forever preserved. This Memory Orb is labelled and stored, and the priests as well as powerful mages and the individual whose memories are stored in the orb are able to re-experience them at any time when they attune to the orb in meditation.
The use of memory orbs and the ever-advancing practices and efforts of conservationists and priests alike are slowly coming to fruition, as more and more snippets of the Nyr's history are revealed and long-forgotten mysteries solved, with every young Nyr going through their Vath'eran and connecting to their own pasts through meditation and the aid of the temples.
Today, memory conservation also found its way into mourning and remembering the dead, as the memory orbs are able to capture the likeliness of both historical figures but of course also those who provide the memories to the temple in the first place. Avon Maan's gallery is a prime example of this, where in small alcoves along the inner temple walls the memories of historically significant people such as Iovana Rava are stored and visible to everyone.

Discovery

Memory Conservation has begun to be widely practised by the Nyr ever since the rise of the Aman'a Valeethi as Ivendarea's main religion. Aman, prophet and now god, had found a way for their disciples to get a glimpse into their past lives, rekindling old memories that were far in the past and until this point inaccessible. Proving that a cycle of rebirths did actually exist and was much more tangible and accessible to every person that is a part of it, a sub-culture of memory conservationists began to shape in the rows of the Aman'a Valeethi.
The Vath'eran ritual and Aman's conversations with the gods had proven, that through rebirths and connecting with one's past, individuals could learn to grow, shape not only their present, but also their future, and achieve attunement with the world and the gods to unlock their full magical and spiritual potential. But the goal of the conservationists went even further than just following the general goal of supporting an individual's growth. They wondered if for the Nyr as a whole there was a recognizable pattern in the cycle of rebirths, if the personal growth of individuals had an effect on the general population, too, or if it brought mostly positive developments for one person at a time.
The best way to study and test these theories was though the preservation of as many memories possible in a manner as detailed as possible, and finding connections between the personal development of different individuals over time, studying the impact of disasters like wars and catastrophes of natural origins on the cycle of rebirths as a whole.
They conservationists also wanted to conserve memories as puzzle pieces of the Nyr's own history, gather eye-witness reports on long passed events by those who had been present and were now reborn, to create a history as truthful and accurate as possible.
While their efforts on studying the cycle of rebirths as a whole brought results quickly, confirming Aman's theories that great disasters had horrible effects on an individual's soul, rebirth, and decisions in later lives, the collection of historical anecdotes proved to be an immense task with many gaps even now left to fill.