Introduction

PuniCodex began with a simple observation: the internet speaks ASCII, but the names of the gods never did. The project set out to restore those names — with their stress marks, length marks, original scripts, and scholarly transliterations — as first-class digital citizens.

What started as a registrar search on 25 May 2026 has grown into 542 flagship temples across twenty-five pantheons. Each temple is both a scholarly edition and a marketplace of meaning: a place where ancient names meet modern sponsorship, student creativity, and respectful commerce.

This inaugural issue of The Unicode Herald is a snapshot of that growth. It is also a promise: the pantheon will keep expanding, the scholarship will keep deepening, and the doors will stay open to anyone who believes the original names matter.