Akhnjajeshtvá

The Akhnjajeshtvá is an anthology of epic poetry compiled in the early Bronze Age, and considered the national epic of the Vht'shjenjé .
==History==
It is generally accepted that the mainstay of the poetry in the Akhnjajeshtvá have their origins in the Archaic Age, collected from the enormous width of poetic tradition that have always been present amongst the tribes of the Iron Desert . After the rise of Shjevtyrín as the supreme spiritual leader of the Vht'shjenjé, her prophetic recitations became the official canon, whereupon these ancient poetic traditions were funneled.
The creation of the Akhnjajeshtvá  is accredited to Essjentír , a slave-girl in the service of the Shjevtyrín, who granted her mistress the epic poem as a grand gift. It is said that she whispered one day to Shjevtyrín's ear:
"Give me one thousand days and I will give thee poesy that will last for more than a thousand years."
With that, throngs of poets were employed to compile the long tradition of poetry of the desert into a single epic. At the time, the Vht'shjenjé civilisation was not yet literate, but Essjentír employed a system of ideograms that were intended as a mnemonic aid for reciters to compile the poetry. This system, which may be considered the forerunner of what later developed into the Essjentine script , the native writing system of the western Iron Desert.
==Significance==
As the Essjentine script was more or less created to create the Akhnjajeshtvá it is the supreme literary authority and within it, the archaic language of the Archaic age has been crystallised for over a millennia. Even today the written language is largely based on the language employed in the Akhnjajeshtvá and it is the origin of a very large number of idioms and modal keys in the Vht'shjenjé language. 
As the Akhnjajeshtvá marked the transition of the Vht'shjenjé from an illiterate and literate tradition, it also marked the beginning of a cultural unification based in the literary center of Varvardnársh . Previously, the poets of the Iron Desert had maintained their local traditions but after the creation of the Akhnjajeshtvá there was suddenly a canon to which all poetric tradition would have to conform.
Being compiled in the early Bronze Age it is perhaps also the oldest national epic in the world. It is also remarkable in its extreme length, comprising of hundreds of volumes and more than two million verses in total, also making it a likely contender for the lengthiest piece of literature in the world.
The Akhnjajeshtvá is of particular spiritual significance for the Vht'shjenjé, and some verses of its poetry are recited as a spiritual practice. The depth of the poetic language and the beauty of its prosody are considered to have spiritually refining qualities; some verses are used as protective or magical talismans in the shape of calligraphy, while others are recited as a meditative pratice.
It is also said that upon the Grand Avenue of Varvardnársh, there are poets reciting the poem day and night, so that its majestic streets are constantly filled with the haunting song of the Vht'shjenjé people.
==Content==
The Akhnjajeshtvá, given its extreme length, does not focus on a single course of events but is rather a poetic chronicle of the history of the Scorched people, stretching back far beyond even the Primordial Age. It  has no particular main characters but rather speaks in turn of hundreds of ancient heroes and heroines who live and die in the ancient world that predates the creation of the Iron Desert.
The main narrator is considered to be the formless spirit of the Scorched bloodline, a sort of collective consciousness harbouring the memories and experiences of all the Scorched that have ever lived and given birth to offspring. Thus, the collected wisdom and stories in the Akhnjajeshtvá transcends any persona and sets the non-individualistic tone of the epic, in tune with the general view upon individual life in Vht'shjenjé culture. 
A large portion of the epics focus on the so-called First generation of the Scorched, here referred to the Antediluvians, who were the mythical ancestors of the Scorched people. They were an enlightened people who possessed enormous magical power, lived for thousands of years and lived in large cities in a lush paradise that later became the Iron Desert. It foretells the demise of this civilisation, how the very world itself died, and how the Scorched people only survived by hiding in the shadows deep below the earth, where they dwelled for many centuries before they rose again in the early Primordial Age. It was the beginning of the Second generation, the Scorched.
==Copies==
Speaking of an anthology comprised of hundreds of books, it is hardly surprising that there are very few complete copies of the Akhnjajeshtvá in existence. The palace of the Shjevtyrín is known to contain a complete copy carved into the very stones of the palace walls, where poets sit day and night reading the inscriptions to recite the songs. It is also known that there is at least one more copy of the Akhnjajeshtvá, written on camelskin parchment in the library of Varvardnársh.
It is unknown if there are other complete copies of the epic, although excerpts from it can be found all over the Iron Desert, carved into rocks, embroidered upon textiles as protective charms and decorations, and just about anywhere. A particular kind of talisman called Nisilit' is popular among many tribes; a long ribbon of cloth with embroidered or painted excerpts from the Akhnjajeshtvá, rolled up and worn inside lockets like amulet. 
Category:Culture
Category:Literature