The Sæcular society includes all those who live extramuros - literally, outside the walls, meaning those who do not live inside the monastic Maths, i.e. the avout.
The Saecular world is historically unstable, giving rise to frequent changes in society and civilizations in recurring cycles of increasing praxis or technology, flourishing economic growth, exploration, warfare, collapse, rebuilding, etc. Due to this unpredictability, those living intramuros generally refer to whatever current regime(s) are in place collectively as the Saecular Power, or rather pejoratively, as the Panjandrums.
Saecular society is class-based, with the burgers at the top of the economic ladder (cf Burgher, corresponding to bourgeoisie) , and the slines (explained in the text as a corruption of baseline, meaning essentially unskilled) at the bottom. The Saecular world is almost totally aliterate or semiliterate, with a large number of them being members of the Bazian or Counter-Bazian Arks (ark = religious community) Those with a strong desire to read or learn usually wind up in the monastic establishments known as Maths.
Most members of Saecular society have a fanatical obsession with multimedia praxis. Nearly all have jeejahs, approximately resembling today's multi-purpose hand-held communication devices. Upon seeing jeejahs, most of the avout are disturbed by what appears to be constant, rude interruption.
Erasmas's half-sister Cord lives extramuros near the Concent of Saunt Edhar, working as an artisan and metallurgic technician.
The Saeculars view the Avout according to a set of Iconographies, which are archtypes used to predict behavior:
- Temnestrian Iconography
- oldest known iconography
- depicts avout as degenerate
- Doxian Iconography
- based on an ancient moving picture serial with a volatile captain and logical second-in-command (cf Star Trek)
- depicts avout as competent but not capable of self-determination, and must be subordinated to 'intuitive, common-sense' presumably Saecular leaders
- Yorran Iconography
- based on ancient graphic novels and moving pictures (cf the Joker in Batman)
- depicts avout as criminally insane and unstable
- Rhetorian Iconography
- depicts avout as corrupting Unarian (one-year) students and sending them back to the Saeculum where they corrupt society.
- Muncostran Iconography
- depicts avout as 'eccentric, loveable, disheveled theorician [physicist], absent-minded, means well
- Klevan Iconography
- depicts avout as magically wise elder statespersons who can solve Saecular problems
- Baudan Iconography
- depicts avout as `grossly cynical frauds living in luxury at the expense of the common man'
- Moshianic Iconography
- a hybrid of the Klevan and Penthabrian
- depicts about as preparing to 'emerge from the gates and bring enlightenment to the world and usher in a new age'
- cf Messianic
- Penthabrian Iconography
- depicts avout as 'guardians of ancient mystical secrets of the univese handed out by Cnous [god]; talk about theorics [physics] is a smokescreen to hide the avouts' true power from the unwashed multitude'
- Pendarthaan Iconography
- depicts avout as high-strung meddling know-it-alls who lack common sense and always lose out to more masculine Saeculars