The grammar wars were fought between a number of different factions within the
anointed partners on fundamental philosophical questions concerning the translation of the
Codex of Yoth-Sathlyu.
They began in 2731 AF and continued for four years until 2734 AF.
In truth it is stretching the meaning of the word "war" to describe the low level squabbling of the time, but there were fatalities in targeted acts of terrorism, assassinations and a number of mob riots, all of which went well beyond the traditionally accepted bounds of academic disputes.
By 2731 AF there was scarcely any conceivable theory about the Codex which was not held with passionate intensity by someone, somewhere. It seemed very much like the Codex reflected back to certain individuals just what they wanted it to say and might as well have been a blank sheet of paper on which they wrote their own text in defiance of any evidence to the contrary. Indeed, there was one cynical theory that suggested the purpose of the Codex was just to draw out that very reaction and expose it. The main schools of thought, however, fell into the following categories:-
| School of Thought |
Primary Locations |
Core Belief |
| The True Believers |
Modyran, Kingcardine, Helsporan |
The envoy should be taken at face value and the Codex will reveal some profound destiny for humanity. |
| The Blasphemers |
Monrith, Ulkvass |
The Codex is a work of evil and humanity is being tricked into translating it for the devil, after which there will be no further use for humans. |
| The Outsourcers |
Sonnring |
The Codex may or may not contain profound truths but the intervention angels are unable to translate it themselves and have come up with a cunning plan to outsource the work. |
| The Sceptical Mathematicians |
Modyran, Entessaminia, Anoomenon |
The Codex is an expression of deep theorems of nature which can only be understood by profound changes in mathematical understanding which a study of the Codex will provide. |
| The Hoaxers |
Gantranne |
The Codex is some kind of hoax or practical joke being played on humanity and has just enough meaning to convince the anointed partners it is worth continuing with a purposely futile task. |
The famous mural at the head of this article is entitled "Tell Me Less" and was painted on the sea wall of
Entessaminia by the artist
Halatt Gydomarim at the height of the Grammar Wars in 2732 AF. It depicts in semi-abstract form what the artist considered to be the chaos and confusion resulting from the program of the Sceptical Mathematicians and it worked as a piece of successful propoganda against them.
By the end of the war, the True Believers had come to dominate the remaining anointed partners and the dissenting voices from the other schools were quashed with the sole exception of the Sceptical Mathematicans who (for those that did not already live there) fled to
Anoomenon.
There, they were given a new title of the
Bad Theologists by the True Believers, a broadly successful slur designed to discredit them with the populace so that they are still regarded with deep suspicion by many, even to this day.
Of course, the grammar wars did not settle any of the underlying issues associated with the translation of the Codex. Instead, the result of the conflict was a general cooling in the interest and urgency with which the problem of translation was perceived.
Whilst scholars have continued to work on the problem in all the years since the end of the wars it receives less and less attention and has become generally thought to be insoluble.
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