Today I am going to tell you about the seven chevrons of the Firstlord.  This is one of our most ancient symbols, and goes back over ten thousand years to the time of the Equi Awakening.  They adorn the banner of the Dragonhorse, which is only displayed for the one hundred and fifty years or so that he is in office.  For that one hundred and fifty years, all official communications have the seven chevrons.  The rest of the time, official communications from the Eloi, the High Priestess herself, and the Great Council, along with communications from the various guilds and so on, have only six chevrons.

The six chevrons form the foundation.  They are stacked and interlocked, representing our dependence upon one another, and the upward growth that is possible when all of us work together in harmony.  Each of the six chevrons has engravings on it.  The bottom row has three chevrons. The first depicts serpents, to represent the serpent physicians of Achernar, and sunflowers, to represent beauty, food and oil.  The second represents wilderness and cultivation.  The third has sunflowers again, this time to represent the sun, with the ancient symbol for creation at the top, and a thurible, which represents the Eloi, the priestesses, on the right.

The first chevron in the next row up, is adorned with horses.  The one in the center has trees to represent orcharding and forest preservation, and at the top it has open books to represent our ongoing dedication to education as our most important tool.  The chevron to the left is covered with ordered rows of grain, which represent plenty, as well as the cornerstone of our diet.

When the Dragonhorse rises, the seventh chevron is added to the top, above all the others.  It depicts the scales of justice, balanced with wisdom, and represents the secular judgment of the Firstlord.

The chevrons exist for the most part as document stamps and flag adornments, but the originals, pounded from silver and gold, hold a place of honor within the huge library in the Great House of Equus.  They are massive – over forty-eight hands tall and nearly twice that in width. People come from all over our planet, and from all over the Seventh Galactic Alliance to marvel at them, and the bottoms of the bottom row are worn smooth from generations of parents lifting their children up to touch their heritage.