page 498 illustration (the four cities / cymatics) --- background

[Eri she/her]

I wish I had this picture in better resolution, because there is something interesting, and I don't know if that's another easter egg or (more likely ) just a texture used. There is something that looks very much like a second text, slightly visible, like from a back of the page:

 

Any ideas how to read it?

 

Or maybe someone knowledgable (Peter A.?) will pop up and say it's just a texture and I'm overreacting. ;-)

[Moogle]

Fascinating, it looks like the old words were scrubbed. Ardents reusing paper? It could also just be noise we're interpreting as words, but it really does look significant. Hrm... something to look at in detail.

Edited February 17, 2014 by Moogle

[Eri she/her]

I'm quite sure those are letters, not noise.

 

The question is, is it some old paper texture used by the artist or is it an easter egg. Determining the language would help much --- if it's Latin or other real world non-English language, it's obviously some texture. If it's English, it can be both. Or we can probably just ask the artist.

[Iredomi]

 This is a very cool finding! I think I would assume it's just a texture but wow it would be so awesome if it was a secret message or something... 

[ccstat he/him]

The background letters look mirrored to me, which you would expect if it is visible through the page or stained from a facing page. Is it more legible if you reflect the image L->R?

[Natans he/him]

There are always anothers secrets? Like the hoid anagram Sandeson put very well hidden tidbits in WOK, this could be another one =)

[Cromptj he/him]

I think that this is just a design. It is not really legible at all, even after the letters have been sharpened. Easter eggs have to make sense, this doesn't really. Good catch though.