#ereba

N7 Month Day 19: Letter

Now that Hand Jumper episode 110 is out I can finally go over some theories freely without spoiler warnings. Now let's going over Ereba in Hand Jumper. Where could it be, and what does it mean? As well as Naj who was pierced by seven swords. I went through this in my myth doc, but this is for those who have not read it. I will also touch upon some Gnosticism.

EREBA: WHERE THE GODLING WAS EXECUTED

The godling was executed in a location named "EREBA." This name appears to be a deliberate portmanteau serving dual purposes. We already know geographic renaming is part of Hand Jumpers worldbuilding.

EREBA as Arabia

The word 'Naj' is Egyptian Arabic for "settlement" or "hamlet." Nag Hammadi the town in Upper Egypt literally means "Settlement of Hammadi." The root naj in Arabic carries meanings tied to journeying, reaching safety, and arriving at a destination. The related word 'najat' means deliverance, salvation, or rescue.

NAJ AND THE SEVEN SWORDS

Now if you want to dive even deeper… The panel that shows Naj impaled, it shows they are impaled by seven swords. The number seven is rich in mythological symbolism. Seven days of creation. Seven deadly sins. Seven Gates of the Underworld (Inanna's descent), The Seven Archangels, The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, The Seven seals in the Book of Revelation, "Sevenfold vengeance" which originates from Genesis 4:15 in the Bible, where God proclaims that anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over. Our Lady of Seven Sorrows - the Mater Dolorosa. In Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary is literally depicted with seven swords piercing her heart. Each sword represents one of her seven sorrows: the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, losing the child Jesus in the temple, meeting Jesus on the road to Calvary, the crucifixion, the removal of Jesus from the cross, and his burial. (Bottom Right Image) (Make of that what you will.) In Gnostic cosmology, specifically among the Archontics, Ophites, and Sethians, and in the Nag Hammadi texts, there are seven Archons. These are rulers, each tied to one of seven planetary spheres, who prevent souls from leaving the material realm. The Seven Cosmic Jailers.

And a little Gnostic info dump for anyone unfamiliar: In December 1945, an Arab peasant named Muhammad Ali al-Samman was digging for fertilizer near the town of Naj Hammadi in Upper Egypt. He hit a red earthenware jar almost a meter high. He hesitated to break it, worried a jinn might live inside, but hoping it might contain gold, he smashed it open and found thirteen papyrus books bound in leather. These turned out to be the Nag Hammadi library: fifty-two ancient Gnostic texts that had been sealed away around 400 CE to protect them from orthodox Christian destruction. Before this discovery, most of what we knew about Gnostic beliefs came from the people who hated them. Nag Hammadi gave us the actual source material.

(If anyone wants to read more about the Nag Hammadi texts, I'd recommend The Nag Hammadi Scriptures edited by Marvin Meyer or The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels. Yes, those are my actual books in the images. It's a long but rewarding read.)

If you tell Anderson to go to Citadel Control instead of making Udina pay a visit to his dentist, he will actually be caught and get shot, but he is still going to get it done, like the main character he is (what do you mean the story is about Shepard? No it isn't!)

If you don't take the renegade interrupt to headbutt Uvenk on Grunt's loyalty mission, then ask him if he wants to die, Shepard will warn Uvenk that if he keeps talking crap, his "few brains are going to meet the light of day". The Shaman will be impressed and call Shepard (at least femshep) a "human Shiagur", then proceed to shit on Uvenk.

Alternatively, you can investigate, then take a paragon choice to call him the worst insult Shepard can think of: A Citadel politician.

If you take Thane to recruit Jack, when the Warden says "bounty hunters aren't dependable", he'll tell him to "try assassins"

If you ignore Bailey until you get reinstated, he will call you "Spectre Shepard" the first time you talk to him, and you won't get the "scanners think you are dead" conversation.

In the first part of Garrus loyalty mission, when you are talking to the volus, there is a renegade interrupt to shoot the bodyguards, right? If you don't take it, Garrus is going to tell them to leave and... they will. Without a word. While the volus screams for them to come back cause he already paid the guys.

If you go paragon with Elias (the guy who hired Kolyat), then take the last renegade interrupt, his lawyer will show up and tell him to "shut the hell up". Before that, you will also get the chance to rat on Mouse.

Also on Thane's mission, Talid will talk how about he is being observed and how someone is "walking on his grave, or thinking about it". His bodyguard will dismiss him by calling him paranoid.

If you don't take the renegade interrupt to blow up the krogan in Mordin's loyalty mission, you will start to regret it immediately. He will have a LONG speech about what Weyrloc is going to do to the galaxy, like throwing the Citadel in the sun, keeping salarians as slaves and eating their eggs as "a delicacy" (Mordin didn't like it much). The good news is that the interrupt will be there until he is finished talking, so there is no need to actually hear the guy.

If you stick around to hear Charr's whole poem, he will kneel in (one of) the last verses. Just a tiny detail but it was actually adorable.

There was a moment before anyone spoke. “Well,” Rhysand drawled, “You Hybern makes certainly are all instinct.”

Feyre came into the room slowly and leaned against the door frame, “You’re just as bad,” she told her mate. She stepped forward and Cadell’s eyes shot to her, ready to pounce. She held up her hands to show him she wasn’t a threat. “You can calm down. That was just Ereba’s Aunt Mor and Azriel helping her father get out his angry energy before coming in to meet you.”

Cad hesitated, but Erie put a hand on him, “It’s fine, Cadell. I’m okay.” His nostrils flared for a moment, but he got down. Standing, she realized for the first time just how tall he was. He loomed in the room, but on his face, Erie saw uncertainty. “Come on,” she told him, “Sit by me.” He lifted the corner of his mouth in gratitude and sat.

Nesta finally entered, Elain at her side. “So, you’re the male who my daughter is supposed to be mates with.”

Cadell tensed next to her. She wondered if he was worried her mother might attack him. To be honest, angered as she was, Erie wasn’t sure what Nesta would do. The thought of her mother attacking the Hybern male made a growl begin to rumble in her thoat.

Nesta rolled her eyes, “Calm down, Ereba. I’m not going to fight your little boyfriend.”

Erie winced, “Thanks,” she said bitterly. She saw the regret in her mother’s eyes. She realized how uncomfortable her mother must be. This was new, and she had always known her mother had a hard time letting go.

“He died in the darkness so a blue rose could bloom.”