The Elowen Society
You found the door, and you came in, and so you may as well know how it works. This is not clicked into. It is found. You have found it.
The pledge
It was made up on the spot, by lantern-light, by a girl called Iris, as though she were inventing a spell that had to be got exactly right. And it hung in the air afterwards as real and solid as if she had written it there.
We are the Elowen Society. What is said here is kept here. We stand by one another, before our houses and before ourselves. We do the brave thing, and we do not call it brave. And we tell the truth, even when it costs us, because a light is no use at all if it lies about the dark.
The rules, such as they are
- The Society crosses houses. Elm, Oak and Holly sit together here, because friendship outranks loyalty, and always will.
- The den is out of bounds, which is rather the point of it.
- You do not speak of it to those who are not of it. Not to be unkind. To keep it worth finding.
- It began as seven, and became nine, and then eleven, and in time it crossed the sea, and a French chapter was founded, and called Le Nid, the Nest.
The Star Cipher
Seven clues are set around the seven-pointed star, and each answer is a single word from the world of St Elowen’s. Take the first letter of each answer, in order, from the top and around, and they spell the password. You will want a pencil.
- The wood of great pines, where the noise of the school falls away behind you.
- The bird that settles in the top of the Great Elm at dusk.
- The house that has held the Cup three years running.
- Keeper of the San, and of a great many firm opinions.
- The dreamy girl who is the first to see the light in the tower.
- Hidden in the pudding at the Welcome Feast: the ___ of Promise.
- The house of steadfastness, named for the tree at the gate.
Well done. You have it.
Solving a cipher does not win a prize. It reveals the next thing, which is the whole point of a secret society. And the next thing is this: the light in the tower was never a mystery to be solved. It was a promise, being kept, by someone who asked for nothing. Now you know the word, you know the Society’s whole heart.
A new cipher is set each term, on the Noticeboard. Keep your pencil sharp.
The cipher is answered with a word, never an address. Nothing you type here is sent or kept anywhere.