The Morvelet-Arcwolf Equimetrical Transcreation Literary Project (MÆT-LP)

The Taper Project™

Preserving the Past.
   Illuminating the Future.

A recovery and reconstruction initiative for Fifth Astral Era literature, centered on the dramatic manuscripts of the Bard of Sagon, Liam Meri'a Morvelet. This collaborative transcreation project is supported by the Heralds of Jijivisa, the Sharlayan Studium, the Sons of Saint Coinach, and Garlond Ironworks.

The Morvelet-Arcwolf Equimetrical Transcreation Literary Project (MÆT-LP)

Our Mission

The Taper Project™ is dedicated to the study, translation, publication, and distribution of the Fifth Astral Era works of Liam Meri'a Morvelet. Our mission is to preserve the iambometrical and psychospiritual integrity of Morvelet’s tragedies and comedies—sophisticated transcreations of ancient myths that utilize the aesthetics of the ancient eras to explore universal human truths. By bridging the gap between historical recovery and the vibrant emotional narratives of the Bard of Sagon, we aim to revitalize these lost storytelling traditions for modern Eorzean audiences.

The Morvelet-Arcwolf Equimetrical Transcreation Literary Project (MÆT-LP)

A Treasure Trove of Manuscripts

The Taper Project™ was born following the rediscovery of a cache of manuscripts in the ruins of lost city-state of Sil'dih, which its former inhabitants had inherited from their ancestors of a past age: from the Thanalan town of Sagon, satrapy of the mighty yet erstwhile-occulted, Fifth Astral Era city-state of Karnak, its history lost thought lost to us under the waves of the Sixth Umbral Era's Great Flood.Preserved through the conservation efforts of Ul'dah's Sultanate and Lord Lolorito Nanarito, these texts offer a rare glimpse into the literary culture of the Fifth Astral Era and the historical events of the Third Astral Era that inspired them.

Morvelet in Middle Eorzean

Liam Meri'a Morvelet wrote his plays in Middle Eorzean, using the scholarly Neo-Allagan language of the Fifth Astral Era in order to add spice to a language born of the five pillars of community: immigration, trade, calamity, conflict, and love.The following example of Morvelet's original language is taken word-for-word from the untranslated, rediscovered manuscript named The Tragedy of Ĵwlŷs Kæsar (Act I, Scene 1):

  • Wher-fore rejoise? What pris, what ragge, or slagge?

  • What hōmages folwen him to Allage

  • To enthone in caitif bondes his shippes holke?

  • Ye blockes, ye stones, ye duller than bestaille!

  • O ye harde hertes, ye felouns of Allage,

  • Knewe ye nat Pompê? Many a tyme and ofte

  • Have ye y-clumben up to mansiouns hye,

  • To railes and landing paddes, ye, to vent-stackes,

  • Your infantes in your armes, and ther have sat

  • Al the longe day, with pacient expectacioun,

  • To seen grete Pompê passe the stretes of Allage.

  • And whan ye sawgh his Admirail-shippe appere,

  • Have ye nat y-shoute with universal voyce,

  • That Đross quook underne hir bankes

  • To heren the replicacioun of your sownes

  • Y-maked by hir radiluscent strondes?

  • And do ye now put on your beste atire?

  • And do ye now y-chese a holyday?

  • And do ye now strewe floures in his way

  • That comth in triumphe over Pompêyes blood?

  • Be goon! Renne to your celles, falle on knees,

  • Preye the Twelfe do intermitte the plague

  • That nedes mot lighte on this unkindenesse.

Pretty though Middle Eorzean is, we considered it an easier proposition to introduce Eorzea to Morvelet, rather than to teach Eorzea a language it has spent two whole eras evolving away from. 😜

The Morvelet-Arcwolf Equimetrical Transcreation Literary Project (MÆT-LP)

The Bard of Sagon, Liam Meri'a Morvelet

A meticulously detailed portrait of Liam Meri'a Morvelet, a Keeper of the Moon, painted by the Amdapori Elezen artist Raoul de Valois circa 1250:5AE. Liam’s pale skin and the distinct, tufted ears of his lineage are rendered with jewel-toned precision.

Liam Morvelet, the Bard of Sagon. Attributed to Raoul de Valois (Amdapori, active early 5AE) circa 1250.  |  Oil and gold leaf on oak panel.

Historical Context

This portrait is a definitive example of the Northern Renaissance, an influential art movement that emerged from the city-state of Aerslaint in the early Fifth Astral Era. Born in the rugged Northern Empty, the style is celebrated for its tactile density—a Roegadyn-inspired preference for physical weight and material permanence over the ephemeral.

Artistic Execution

The artist, Raoul de Valois, an Amdapori Elezen, employs the meticulous lens of Late Gothic Mannerism. Rather than succumbing to the era's tendency toward idealization, Valois provides an uncompromising record of Liam’s features: the porcelain-pale skin and the distinct, tufted ears of the Keeper of the Moon lineage are rendered with a jewel-toned, archival precision.

Composition & Symbology

  • The Subject:
    Liam is presented in a formal three-quarter view, an intentional arrangement that balances his scholarly identity with his social standing.

  • The Regalia:
    His heavy black doublet is alive with gold-thread embroidery, specifically the lyre of Sagon upon his sleeve and the Dragonstar at the wrist—symbols of his dual role as a chronicler and a guide.

  • Tactile Density:
    The emerald-set gold chains are rendered with such physical heft that they appear to anchor the figure to the oak panel itself.

  • The Gilded Void:
    The background consists of flat gold leaf with a heavy craquelure texture. This technique creates a "white space," stripping away environmental noise to focus entirely on the physical shape of the man himself.

The Morvelet-Arcwolf Equimetrical Transcreation Literary Project (MÆT-LP)

The Plays of Liam Meri'a Morvelet

Presented below are the digitized reconstructions of Morvelet's surviving works. Each manuscript has been painstakingly formatted to preserve the original iambic pentameter and phenomenological "feel" of its Fifth Astral Era original. Select a title to view the full equimetrical transcreation.

☠️ Tragedies

  • Ant'wyns and Klyopađrå (ext.† Antony and Cleopatra)

  • Ĵwlŷs Kæsar (ext. Julius Caesar)
    🔸 Front Matter
    🔸 Act I
    🔸 Act II
    🔸 Act III
    🔸 Act IV
    🔸 Act V

  • Sasankhu (ext. Macbeth)

😹 Comedies

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream

  • The Taming of the Stag (ext. The Taming of the Shrew)

†  Extradiegetic Note:  The abbreviation ext. means extradiegetic and refers to anything that exists outside the world of the story. In this context it refers to anything that exists on Earth, outside the pataphysical bounds of the Final Fantasy XIV multiverse.

The Morvelet-Arcwolf Equimetrical Transcreation Literary Project (MÆT-LP)

The MÆT-LP Transcreation Team

The Taper Project™ is a collaborative effort involving some of the brightest minds of the Seventh Astral Era:

  • Founding Patron & Executive Director
    Joan A. Arcwolf-Dhivri  |  Adventuring philosophy, autodidacta

  • Lead Transcreator
    L. Maxx Arcwolf-Kisne, Æ.W.  |  Quantum aetherophysics

  • Associate Transcreators
    Shaido Arcwolf-Fei  |  Materia nescio, studiosus
    Gladjen Arcwolf-Kisne  |  Multichromatic thaumaturgy, studiosus privatus

  • Specialist Advisor
    Urianger Augurelt, Æ.W.  |  Prophetic hermeneutics & aetheric liturgics

  • Aetherological Consultants – The Sons of Saint Coinach
    Gretta Grinneaux, Æ.W.  |  Allagan aetherometry & magitechnical archaeology
    Rostik Borisch, Æ.W.  |  Allagan xenolinguistics
    Sigberta Stonehand  |  Relic recovery, sodalis

  • Magitechnical Consultants – Garlond Ironworks
    Gogonogo Gonogo  |  Xenomagitek engineer
    Mydia Eruyt  |  Crystal systems analyst
    Valerius "Baby-Fuzz Meteor" Arvina  |  Paleotechnologist

  • Archival & Research Liaison – The Students of Baldesion
    Ojika Tsunjika, Æ.W.  |  Senior archivist & bibliographical facilitator