Aardnarsh's Compendium

This is the definitive encyclopeadia of Battal, written by the Knowledge Smith Aardnarsh, which took him 4372 years to finish. He travelled both Shield and Sickle talking to peasants about virtually anything. He is believed to be the first of the line of People who have seen everything and have T-shirts confirming that.

After over four millenia of toiling, Aardnarsh (who became known throughout Antior as "that curious bearded guy") discovered that quite a lot of his original work has gradually disactualised. Ignoring that, he published his compendium hoping that the people will believe what they read rather what they see. Not that many people died, and it is widely believed that he had a point in that.

Suprisingly, some of Aardnarsh's articles, which often involved interviewing a first hand source for information, were actually invented on the spot by those who were interviewed. Other articles were actually made up by Aardnarsh to amuse himself, with similar results and deathrates.

Many editions of The Compendium have been published, but generally apocraphal articles do not remain in the compendium for more than one issue. A notable exception is the entry for the Harmless Yellow Macramidgon, which is entirely fabricated, but very popular.

Aardnarsh travelled with an apprentice knowledge-smith named Stubbins 'Stub' McHenry, who did an infamously incomplete and unthorough job. None the less, due to time constraints, many of his entries saw publication*. As a result, calling an incomplete compendium entry a "stub" has become common practice. Many wiki contributors have picked up on this jargon and used it in their own entries.

In recent years the Compendium has competed for sales and definitiveness with the much larger and more detailed "Rickett's and Toby's Guide", though it is unlikely either will ever drive the other out of print entirely. The Guide appears to be settling into the niche of a general information source for the layman, whereas the Compendium remains a staunch favourite with serious anthropologists and pseudoanthropologists - its entries in these areas are inarguably of superior quality.

This book recieved the Biggest and Bestest Compendium award from Fromlem's Guide.

* His initial entry for bugglywump consisted solely of the word: "Cute."