The earliest fragments of the Book Of The A’lodi were found on the now-flooded island of Thikka, in the remains of the oldest known Listener monastery. Although dating such documents is difficult, scholars estimate the date of authorship to at least one thousand years ago. Since its origins, the text has been copied and published in numerous forms and translated into every known language.

Following the Great War of 1167, several chapters appear to have been purged from nearly every copy of the text. Although earlier unmodified copies are rare, references to the contents in related works indicate the missing chapters contained practical instructions for the defensive martial art known as I’kaan, information about the meaning and path of a “Trekana,” and passages potentially casting Knowers in a more positive light than the rest of the text.

Some more recent copies have reinstated the I'kaan content, although scholars disagree on the authenticity of the restored content relative to the original text.

Even taking into consideration the I'kaan content, all versions of the Book Of The A'lodi spurn any form of violence other than direct self-defense; most published since the Great War have added or emphasized passages forbidding even that. Regardless of this debate, however, the central principle that the A'lodi is the substance of every soul remains an indisputable common thread throughout the text.

-- Scholar Juhani, Origins of the A'lodi, Mata City (ca. 1697)