Max's mouth quirks into a smile, glad Jack's not just assumed this was going to be easy.
"The catch? The catch is that Callimachus and his followers wrote the most pertinent verses of their scroll in a curious, ancient language. One which has defied translation by those who do not know it for the entirety of modern history. The Word of Thoth. Now, since Callimachus' followers died out in the 14th Century, and with them went the last vestiges of knowledge of Thoth from modern society."
Doris looks between the two men. "So, you have a map in a language you can't translate, and no one alive can translate it either?"
"Not quite. We have a map in a language we can't translate. But, hopefully, there is one person alive who can."
"Who?"
"The Siwan Oracle. A line that extends back beyond 2570BC, through the oracle Alexander met, hopefully to one still alive. One of the consistent descriptions of the Oracle is their possession of a so called sight, which certainly includes the ability to read Thoth without being taught it. I'm not sure what we'll do should we find that the line has been broken, but certainly identifying and locating the current Oracle seems to be our only option at the moment."
Doris gets up from the table. "Well, if we're now past facts, and onto actions to be considered, if you don't mind, I'm going to go to bed."
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Max's mouth quirks into a smile, glad Jack's not just assumed this was going to be easy.
"The catch? The catch is that Callimachus and his followers wrote the most pertinent verses of their scroll in a curious, ancient language. One which has defied translation by those who do not know it for the entirety of modern history. The Word of Thoth. Now, since Callimachus' followers died out in the 14th Century, and with them went the last vestiges of knowledge of Thoth from modern society."
Doris looks between the two men. "So, you have a map in a language you can't translate, and no one alive can translate it either?"
"Not quite. We have a map in a language we can't translate. But, hopefully, there is one person alive who can."
"Who?"
"The Siwan Oracle. A line that extends back beyond 2570BC, through the oracle Alexander met, hopefully to one still alive. One of the consistent descriptions of the Oracle is their possession of a so called sight, which certainly includes the ability to read Thoth without being taught it. I'm not sure what we'll do should we find that the line has been broken, but certainly identifying and locating the current Oracle seems to be our only option at the moment."
Doris gets up from the table. "Well, if we're now past facts, and onto actions to be considered, if you don't mind, I'm going to go to bed."
Max nods his assent. "I think we are."