Editors' Notes

By the time of the Second Compilation Council (circa 4320 CE), the figure known as The Historian had already passed into myth.

Records suggest that "The Historian" was not a single individual but a succession of anonymous archivists operating under a common title across nearly two centuries. Early references describe a scholar affiliated with the Lunar Remnant Libraries, but later annotations imply an Eridanian exile, an AI-human hybrid scribe, or even a committee of silent custodians working in orbital monasteries.

Whatever their true origin, the title became an office:
One who remembers what others have chosen to forget.

Modern scholarship has abandoned attempts to "recover" The Historian’s personal biography.
Instead, we preserve their work—and the echoes of all who labored under that name—as part of the living mystery of the Quaternary Texts.

Truth is layered.
Authorship is an illusion.

—Archival Review Board, Eridanus Secunda, Final Session (c. 5002 CE)

In compiling and editing this Fourth Edition of the Quaternary Texts, we aimed to retain the integrity of the original manuscripts while incorporating the latest historical and theological insights. The process of editing these texts is ongoing, as new manuscripts are continually discovered, and our understanding of the Church’s history evolves.

I have worked closely with the Eridan Archives and other key institutions to ensure that the mystical teachings of Saint Selene and the doctrinal shifts of the Church are faithfully presented. However, given the layers of interpretation within these texts, certain sections were left untouched, allowing future scholars to engage with the text as living history—ever-changing and open to personal reflection.

It has been an honor to bring this version to the public, and I hope it serves as a guide for those seeking both spiritual and historical enlightenment.

—The Editor
C.H. Edwards