Inscription Regarding the Three Charms of Ikkulu

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Written on the Floor

Written on the floor in the room with the Inscription:

Macedon's greatest king, the Great Alexander, was not buried here, being entombed in royal state in Egypt, and only one of his three children, little Alexander, is honored in Aigai. But so that the memory of his other children may be honored here as well, their names are immortalized by the charms of mighty Ikulu.
She asked only in return that her dead daughter, who is not buried here, be memorialized as well.
Ikulu's monument of the three charms was moved by Antigonus Gonatus, in the eighth year of his reign, to the underneath of Heroön, to preserve it from the onslaughts of the barbarians.

Written on an obelisk

Written on an obelisk, the Inscription Regarding the Three Charms of Ikkulu:

(Elgr)
(Othal)In memory of(Bjarkan)
Heracles
The temple-attendant of Alexandrian Suchos
Far sailing, never again our olive,
For he dwells forever, far from his pillars,
With the father of Enneadecaeteris.


(Dagr)In memory of(Mathr)
Kukuth:
Born amid the dead,
Lived among the lost,
Kin to your killer, your victim, your avenger,
And me.


(Perth)In memory of(Ar)
The hairless altar:
Floated in the lake rushes, far past the wilderness,
Beautiful as the sunshine.
Killed by Iasa, killed by Tlepolema,
As Iason killed Pelias, as Tlepolemus killed Licymnius.
Avenged by her sister, risking the wrath of the Furies,
Fratricide avenged by fratricide.
Beloved beyond all reason,
Lovely hairless altar.

Notes on the runes

  • Elgr: Elk
  • Othal: Inheritance, culture, heritage, Ancestral Property
  • Bjarkan: birch;
  • Dagr\Sol: day; enlightenment \ sun
  • Mathr: mankind; humanness, divine structure
  • Perth: cup; mystery, vagina, secret knowledge
  • Ar: year; good harvest, fertility, prosperity

Connection with other Inscriptions

The two riddles engraved on opposing walls at the far end of the Hall of Ancestors bore clues as to how the runes could be manipulated to reveal a further message. These inscriptions were:

"The nagas say the sun shines by day because, being a woman, she is afraid to venture out
at night. But I say the sun shines only at night, for otherwise in the brightness of day
we would never even notice its feeble light"

and

"In Guinneth I met a king with birch spears. First came the king, then the birch,
then the spears."

Correctly interpreting the first riddle indicates the need to view the rune Dagr in complete darkness, which reveals the rune Sol, magically inscribed over it.

It is then possible to deduce the answer to the second part, by following the sequence suggested therein:

Mathr (mankind) + Bjarkan (Birch) + Sol | Perth | Ar | Othal | Elgr (S-P-J-O-R, or "spear" in Old Norse)

Touching the runes in the order so described (1.M 2.B 3.[S/D] 4.P 5.A 6.O 7.E), caused the engraved text to be replaced by Ikulu's Secret Message, Decrypted from the Three Charms.

Other interesting points

  • Enneadecaeteris: calendar, runs on 19 years. Invented by Meton of Athens.
  • Tlepolema, Tlepolemus: from the Iliad. Went to the Trojan War. Accidentally killed Father's uncle. Fled to Rhodes, becameking, suited Helen, killed by Serpedon.
  • Furies: three of them, winged women with serpent hair