Year: 2022

While the previous two proverbs both had a serious aspect to them, the following proverb have not, and therefore get its own post. “It is the first pancake that taste like the pan” was found in the margins of the Clerks own notebook, when he reflected over his first writings as a clerk. Surely, it must mean that his early writing style was heavily influenced by his supervisor or that he was naive to the situation and let the context influence his texts.

As a side note, I remember once as a ph.d. student, I entered my professors office and looked at his wall full of bookshelves and books. I sighed and asked, “did you really read all these books?”. He had a very friendly nature, and said with a little laughter, “you don’t need to eat the whole apple to know it is rotten”. When I look back, it is so obvious how my first scientific studies was influenced by my senior supervisors, and I cannot but take my hat for the Chartagonian proverb. Of course, this also applies to children growing up, and what they learn. Over time we will find our own ways in lift, but the first pancake will taste like the pan.

We have not been able to find many proverbs from Chartagon, but they undoubtly existed, just like they do in society today. However, the Clerk documented a short phrase that was scribbled on one of the sills within the Storm Post lighthouse: “hunger is meaning“.

We believe this inscription was made by the Lighthouse keeper’s Daughter, but it’s meaning is here ambigous. It could either mean that they were really starving, and fighting to survive. This was not uncommon, and it is easy to imagine parents telling their children to keep their spirit up. Hunger is meaning. In the case of the Daughter, it is also possible that she was starving for company and was longing for someone (i.e. the Constructor). This proverb hints at how human drives and motivation stems from basic instincts, and that higher order meaning can emerge from the need to satisfy basic needs. In that sense, all meaning can be seen as a kind of hunger.

The second proverb was found in a drawing of the Queen’s upper floor library entrance, where one can read above the large double doors: “no one is normal but some are different“. Our interpretation is that it urges us to think about who we are and what we can do. Human characteristics differ in so many ways, so no there is no such thing as “normal”. Everybody has something that distinguish her from everybody else. On the other hand, we also have many similarities with each other in most dimensions. If one person deviates in many dimensions (mental or physical strength, temperament, beliefs, etc) from the closest people, that person may be regarded as or feel different. These people can do extraordinary things, and define the boundary for what “normal” is. Notice that the proverb is neither positively nor negatively valenced, and in the library context, we think it promts for reflection: who are you that enter, what information will you seek and for what purpose, and who are you when you leave?

The third proverb was found in at least thee transcript of the Queen’s audiences. Most of these text are lost, but sections where the Queen or someone said “you have not done your best if you have not asked for help” (or fragments of this sentence) has been found several times. The interpretation is easy: asking for help is something positive, and asking for help is a human superpower.

It is quite counterintuitive, but Chartagon has some specimens of reptiles and amphibians. However, the long cold autumns and winters, make their hybernation very long, and they are only active during very short periods of the Chartagonian summer. They have only been observed and studied at the mainland, and we have no reference to these beautiful animals from the islands. They live mostly in forest habitats, but some species can also have small populations in the plain habitats. The study of reptiles and amphibians have been focused on their potential use in medicine and anesthesia. Rumors say that the Queen has a green house garden with different spieces and habitats, but we have not found any proof or details about such a building yet.

“Mirorale” was a popular beverage in Chartagon which was served both as a regular dinner thirst quencher and as a luxury drink during solemn occations.

Mirorale was produced by putting a special type of onion, “Annealyn”, in water and letting the roots grow for a couple of weeks. The roots are covered with a net of symbiotic fungus, which together with (friendly) bacteria started a fermentation process. This process made the water turn white, as if someone poured milk into the water, and sometimes Mirorale have been refered to as Mirorale-milk, “Mirorale -gomaen”, when the drink was of extra high high quality. The fermentation process could be stopped at various timepoints to add other ingredients, such as sweetener or flavour. If done correctly, the beverage could be botteled and aged for decades. However, it is not known whether Mirorale was also used for alcoholic beverages. In addition to drinking, Mirorale was also used in cooking and baking.

Unfortunately, we have not found an substitute for Annealyn onion that could be used today, but the taste should be similar to Kefir or Kombucha.

Happy new year everybody! To be honest, 2021 was not the best of years for us. But we have not backed a single step. Actually, we have advanced and our visions and goals are now more concrete.

For example, development of Chartagon was finished, and we made an online version for competitions. This allows us to have online tournaments, and people can try and practice the basic rules to decide whether they want to purchase the full board game.

Another example is the Storm Post, the first game in the Chartagon series. It has been designed and tested since 2011 but was finished during 2021. It is more or less ready to be manufactured now. Storm Post is a really cosy family game, which is really easy to learn and enjoy. It encourages eating snacks together, so we can almost guarantee a good experience 🙂

We have also applied to arrange at GothCon 2022 in Gothenburg, Sweden in April, and I think we need to have at least one release party before then. This is a step toward a Kickstarter project or some other crowdfunding project. We’ve found a possible manufacturer in Hero Time, so we might have found a solid path forward. Remember: publishing the game is only the first step, and we are already looking beyond that.

All in all, 2022 has potential, and we just need to continue unlocking it!