Quest

Art Statistics
Focus:	none DreamSoul
Cost:	0
Orbit Required:	N/A
Affected:	Target
Duration:	Instant

Description

Gives a task to a student, allowing them to receive an art, plateau, or sphere.

Plateau Effect

Increase in evoke time with plateau.

Art History

During the beginning of the first Chaos Eclipse, a group, called The Conclave of Elders*, appeared in the City, right before the turn of the mortal millennium (1999). They pronounced themselves in charge of all the Teachers, and began to assert themselves. Believe me, ~no-one~ appreciated this. You see, back then, Quests (or commonly called Tasks) were written on Inscribed Codices. Teachers were given very liberal birth in what they could write in these tasks, and there were no checks-and-balances. This is the end of the era of the "Jump Task", and the "Bring me 50 Essences for X plat" tasks.

So, I believe after the Gens stopped working, and the Lesser Nightmares failed to reappear after collapse (might have been after, don't shoot the scribe here), The Conclave made a rather bold, and highly controversial move: the Train of ~every~ Teacher was suddenly gone one Dream. I mean GONE. No Teacher could Train another Dreamer in ~anything~!!! Of course, the response was loud, shocking and dramatic. The Conclave declared that the whole Teaching system was going to be overhauled and that the Teachers could either be a part of it, or just left to abide by the rules created by others.

So, Munchkin (in her infinite glory and wisdom) and a few other higher-leveled Teachers got a group of us together to work with The Conclave. As Munchkin's apprentice, I was at her side. (That's right, folks! This was before I was ordained as a Teacher!) I have tried to remember who else was in the group; I want to say Luinitari, guardDog, Ghazgkull, Folko, Ambi... gosh, it's been so long ago! It seems there was at least one Teacher from each House, which, with the exclusion of the Keepers of the Eternal Shadow, were all open at the time. The Freespirits also had at least one representative - Ishido? Kard? I am just not sure who at this point.

So, the group of Teachers joined The Conclave in weekly discussions. The main idea was to create a system by which the Elders could monitor questing activity in a way that would not impede Teaching, but enhance it. The group decided upon the Master Teacher system. The idea was simple: create an Art, Quest, which would create a special Codex which could be monitored by the Elders. This Quest would be attuned specifically to both an Art and a particular Student (many times in the past, students would drop a task on collapse and another person would try to turn it in as their own). So the Art of Inscribe was torn apart, some aspects of Train added to it, and put back together as Quest.

Meanwhile, none of the Teachers could Train still. This process seemed to take forever, but it might have only been a few weeks. At any rate, once Quest was created, each and every Teacher who wished to continue teaching had to swear to an Oath*** which The Conclave and the associated Teachers had also been working diligently on.

After Quest had been created and Teachers were sworn to new oaths and Teaching again, the Conclave and Teachers then began the arduous task of creating the Master Teacher system, which included the use of smaller halos atop their regular ones, Train Self and the subsequent Support arts (Support Train & Sphere). There was an additional oath that Master Teachers had to swear to. To my recollection, the rule for ***MT's was 1 or 2(?) Masters of each Focus per House. It took another month or more to convince The Conclave that the Freespirits should have 3 Masters** of each focus as well. (I got Ordained somewhere in the midst of this.)

• The Conclave Member List: Reshdyn, Ryanna, Dymneshiel, Thunberg, Otagwe, Telomir, Melsian, Tebryn, Ash Corwin, K'Alee, Brosh, Chain, Tryst, Melsian, Haziri, Balthir, ShaResa, and 'Wyrmgrim (who banded with Barachus & the Sacred Band to create Soul Shield)

• • FreeSpirit Master Teachers: (SM) - Watcher, Drizzt Do'Urden, Fafhrd. (FS) - Samarina, Ishido, I Dont Know, (GK) - Magerum, Ghazgkull, Turbo-Speed (DS) - Dayride's Aura, SocietyX, Kard.

• • • Master Teachers: (GoTE) Munchkin, (DS) Darion (GK), (DoL) FLUSHY (?), (PoR) MsXtreme (GK), (HC) wolftcp (), (AoE) Intrigue (DS), Subtle One (DS). (I know there were more, but my records fall short here.)

• • • • Oath: Of note: The first two drafts of this oath were not approved. I do, however, have a copy of the final Oath, should anyone be interested in seeing it. I also possess a copy of the Ordainment Oath of the Conclave of Elders, as well as a copy of Ordainment Way, the system set up to apprentice for the Halo, and the Paths of Teaching Discipline in my terribly arcane journals.

~Lacie~

The Rediscovery of Quest

A soulmaster elder by the name of Kili Amania appeared, claiming to be one of a olden group called the Order of the Scribes. She held in her hands pages of the journal of her mentor, the dreamseer known as Sabra. She proceeded to pass out these pages to certain teachers she selected: The dreamseers Elspet, Purple Lace, Intrigue, Lawman and Kaer Gerroz all received pages, as did the fatesender, Innioc. (Biased towards dreamseers? Perhaps. Or perhaps these teachers were chosen for other reasons. Whatever her reasons, these were the teachers chosen as the new Order of the Scribes.)

This group of teachers met several times, putting their pages together to attempt to discover their meaning, and why they had received them. Their attempts to meet with Kili Amania went on for months, until one night, in threshold, a strange event happened. Iden appeared and immobilized Kili, taking from her pack the last pages of the journal. With these pages, he 'broke train', recreating Sabra's efforts of long ago.

The teachers of the city were irate, frustrated, or worried, depending who you spoke with. None of them could use their train without this strange item called a quest. So Kili and the dreamseer guildmaster, Falinor, met with the teachers, dividing them into two groups. Each group, through their own distinct efforts, managed to find the key to unlocking the mysteries of quest. Falinor, through studies into the ambiance, and Kili through the sharing aspect of teaching--The Teaching Circle.

The Order of the Scribes

The Order of the Scribes was a select group of apprentices charged with maintaining meticulous notes and records for their mentors, not limited to meeting minutes, task details, class notes and important appointments. These were the elite of the elite, selected not only for their incredible memories but for their trustworthiness. The rituals and rules of the Scribes were clouded in secrecy, and few were admitted into their select ranks. Betrayal within the Scribes was handled harshly, with penalties that included removing the tongues of Scribes who betrayed the secrets of the Order or the teachers for whom they served.

When the Order of the Scribes first came into existence, all records were kept in memories, as there was no method of maintaining written records--inscribe and forge were dreams of the future at this time. To be selected to be a scribe was the highest honor that could be bestowed upon an apprentice teacher--an honor achieved after years of hard work, study, and trials. It was a young member of the Order of the Scribes, an unknown dreamseer by the name of Sabra, who, through her studies into the workings of train, and those of an almost-unknown and hoarded art called Inscribe, who developed a new method for Scribes to document the tasking of their mentors. Sabra taught her new talent to the other scribes who became invaluable to their mentors. For, without a Scribe-created "Quest", the mentor was unable to use the art of Train.

There came a time when Sabra and some of the other Scribes attained the halo, and became teachers themselves. At this point, the Order agreed to share their talents with trusted teachers and mentors, yet Quest continued to be known as an "apprentice art", used mainly by apprentices who had neared the completion of their training and were capable of accepting students of their own.

The art was lost at the time of the Great Loss. Most who possessed the art perished, and the few who survived, like Sabra, had forgotten the skill. Rumor has it that Sabra's journal has been recovered and, with it, her notes on how the art was developed.

The Lost Journal of Sabra, Dreamseer

Day 34: Journal 1/2:(presented to Innioc) I have been accepted into the Order of the Scribes. I realize the work is arduous, but this is such an honor. Borith Strynn actually brought me word of my acceptance himself. Day 34: Journal 2/2:(presented to Lawman) I was so nervous I actually stammered. The trials for acceptance are finally over and perhaps I can sleep. Or perhaps not. That wild Telomir wants to throw a party. ~Sabra~

Day 41: Journal 1/2:(presented to Elspet) Why do they assign new Scribes to the busiest teachers? I spent nine hours in the classroom today--after my assigned mentor attended three meetings. Even my hair hurts and I'm talking to myself. Day 41: Journal 2/2:(presented to Purple Lace) Sometimes I think they do this to us to see if we break. It was rather nice though when I was allowed to choose three students of my own to teach. Perhaps one day, I too will earn a halo. ~Sabra~

Day 77: Journal 1/1:(presented to Innioc) There's a rumor of a new art, one that enables the user to keep written records. I hope the Scribes get this art. It would make our work so much easier. ~Sabra~

Day 91: Journal 1/2:(presented to Intrigue) The new art of inscribe remains almost unknown still, though I managed to find a codex and study it. The mechanics are interesting ... and the possibilities ... Day 91: Journal 2/2:(presented to Munchkin) Class was interesting though. A new apprentice, a fatesender, deafened the instructor. That Yog-Ka is a strange one. Something about him is ... different ... ~Sabra~

Day 97: Journal 1/2:(presented to Innioc) I had a dream last night that showed a talisman similar to the talisman produced by inscribe, but it was different. And it was used with the art of train. I wonder ... Day 97: Journal 2/2:(presented to Munchkin) After class tomorrow I'm going to experiment with that codex I found. If I can isolate the part that enables inscription, I think I can insert it into the train art. ~Sabra~

Day 103: Journal 1/1:(presented to Elspet) I have begun to take apart train, preparatory to inserting an inscription ability. Its components are really interesting. I think if I changed this one part ... ~Sabra~

Day 106: Journal 1/2:(presented to Kaer Gerroz) Success! I managed to produce what I call a 'Quest' -- a talisman that documents a teacher's task. This will make our work so much easier. I plan to share this with the Scribes at the meeting tomorrow. Day 106: Journal 2/2:(presented to Munchkin) No more hours spent scrubbing floors when we forget some minor part of a task that was written weeks ago. I'm going to practice my penmanship. ~Sabra~ Day 111: Journal 1/2:(presented to Lawman) Oops! It seems I did something when I messed with train. The teachers can't use their train without the 'quests' I invented. A mere technicality I suppose, as all the Scribes have the quest art now. Day 111: Journal 2/2:(presented to Kili Amania) They are starting to call quest 'the apprentice art'. The Scribes have decided it should remain that way -- at least for now. ~Sabra~

Day 407: Journal 1/1:(presented to Purple Lace) The day has finally come, and I don't know if I remember how to breathe. They placed an azure halo over my head today! Gosh, don't let me mess this up! ~Sabra~ Day 519: Journal 1/2:(presented to Intrigue) It was decided that since many of the Scribes with quest are now ordained teachers, quest will be shared with trusted teachers and mentors. Day 519: Journal 2/2:(presented to Purple Lace) Concern was expressed by Balthiir that training of apprentices would suffer if the teachers could inscribe their own quests. Have you ever tried to decipher the handwriting of some of these teachers? ~Sabra~

Day 882: Journal 1/2:(presented to Intrigue) It's gone ... So much lost ... Everything is so changed from what we knew. Many of our taslismens, wiped away! Planes transformed almost beyond recognition. Day 882: Journal 2/2:(presented to Munchkin) Many of our arts are forgotten - including quest. But that will have to wait. This will be my last entry for a while; so much to be done. ~Sabra~

Notes on Quest

Quest is a support art for train that allows documentation of tasks.

When the art it evoked, the caster chooses the art and the student, and a box appears much as with inscribe in which the caster writes the task.

The talisman bears the title, such as The Quest - TeacherName.

The talisman charges is equivalent to the teacher's train level, or infinite. This quest codex for the art of ArtName may be read x times more where x is the number of remaining charges.

The quest codex was inscribed by TeacherName for StudentName. It reads TaskContent.

Train will not work unless a quest for the art being trained for the student is in the teacher's inventory. The Quest is destroyed with the successful evocation of train, unless the quest codex is infinite charged.

Quest would be the first of two teaching arts, available to apprentices in the tasking stage of their apprenticeship.

Only available to teachers.

Reference

• http://www.geocities.ws/munchkin_UL/pages/quest.html#Rediscovery