At the start of the month, Sulei returns with a friend. Inzel is another monk of the Signaal Mountain Monastery, here to explain the history of their institution, and teach us something of the Collective Gizzard.
As it turns out, Signaal Monastery was founded as one of the last refuges of a rare breed of bird-people. It wasn't so rare back in the day, you see, not until they were hunted down by the [...] for their subversive abilities. Safe on Signaal Mountain, though, they could finally turn their perennial talents into proper skills, transmitting the most reliable techniques while keeping their overall culture alive. Now that the danger has finally passed, the monks are eager to share their gifts with the wider world. Sulei was supposed to be their first cultural emissary, even, but they clearly aren't the most talented teacher or diplomat. Inzel will take up that role instead.
[New Appointment gained: Monastic Diplomat (Inzel of Signaal Mountain). New Apprentice gained: Sulei. New action unlocked]
Your offers of free food are roundly rejected by the local populace. This is somewhat understandable, as one of your own did just get caught poisoning the town. Still, the paranoia of the people seemingly knows no bounds, as now they're actively suspicious of whatever you're doing in your "sorcerer's fortress".
[Weary Neighbors downgraded to Suspicious Neighbors. New action unlocked]
Though you don't remember falling asleep, you wake up in a large conversation pit. Around you, an endless row of seats spirals off into the heavens, all of them occupied by indistinct yet dreamlike figures. On either side of you sit your fellow scholars, while across from you, you see your comatose comrade sitting next to their…legal counsel? Ah, so this is a courtroom! And yet, in lieu of a judge, all you see is this endless audience. Come to think of it, what does that make you?
Before you know it, the court session commences. You don't even realize it has started, and yet you are suddenly asking your colleague what the hell they are even doing here, and why they are unable to wake up. The answer to both questions seems to be one and the same: their present prosecution. In a previous life, long before the Liberation, they were apparently responsible for a great deal of suffering, casting many unwilling souls into the shadowlands of the Dreaming. Indeed, here they are sat, in countless rows surrounding the guilty party. As for why you and your fellow scholars are here, this is just a last-ditch effort by the defense counsel, desperate to provide some kind of testimony regarding their client's innocence. It's time to make your statement.
Well, if you must make a case for your friend, then you will. You begin by pointing out that whatever crimes they may have committed, the Liberation surely wiped out any memory of them. And can someone really be punished for something they don't remember doing? Mind you, this isn't the amnesia of the oppressed, the convenient forgetfulness of those who've harmed far too many. Through the cleansing of the Great Exorcism, almost everyone has arguably become a new person. To be sure, should any trace of their previous crimes remain, you will return your friend to the jurisdiction of this noble court. But until then, there'll be no use to these proceedings.
You never get to find out the jury's reaction to your testimony, as its end is also the moment of your waking. But when the rest of the scholars also wake up, including your long-dormant colleague, you all breathe a huge sigh of relief. This nightmare is finally over. Even better, now you have resolved your conflict with its denizens, it seems that an entire realm of dreams has opened up to you. What more will you find there?
[A Secret Trial resolved. Scholar retrieved. Minor Trance Insight gained. New actions unlocked]
Your open invitation to any talented applicants does not garner much interest. The locals are wary, and the regional churn is still disrupted by whatever's happening at Tang Timul. Only a handful of people even choose to visit the madrasa this month. Those that do insult your hospitality in a different way, assuming that you'll be impressed by the simplest of parlor tricks. Now that Sulei has returned, they get to mock these posers with the rest of you, pointing out where they've learned these false 'wonders'. For while you would never ridicule a sincere sentiment of curiosity, actual expertise is something which should be able to hold up under close scrutiny. None of these tricks hold up.
It is only near the end of the month that someone different visits your school. A woman, unassuming, and actually intrigued by what you're doing here. You show her the gardens, the dormitories, the space where the east wing used to be. You end up in the Dojo, which is quite frigid this time of year, but also the only adequate place for any kind of performance. As you wait for her to begin, you idly swipe at a blood-fly zooming past your face. Then another. Before you know it, a whole swarm of them comes flying into the praxeum, along with a whole host of other small critters. The woman asks you not to be alarmed; these are her friends, and they're entirely docile, just as long as she's around. This is her skill, you see, and she wonders if you can help her learn more about it. This you can do.
[Advancing Affect Insight gained. New Apprentice gained: The Lady of Animals. New action unlocked]
Academic Capacity: Two major actions, one minor action
Note: One Major Action can be exchanged for two minor actions.
Insights: Net (Minor), Affect (Advancing), Trance (Minor)
Artifacts: Endless Grit
Afflictions: Suspicious Neighbors
Amenities: Praxis Dojo (Chilly), Herbal Garden, Food Gardens
Appointments: Master Gardener (Zhenar of Lun-Tso), Monastic Diplomat (Inzel of Signaal Mountain)
Apprentices: Sulei, the Lady of Animals
[Biographies of Future People] This mysterious book was pilfered off a forgotten shelf in the great library of Tang Timul. It purports to relay the personal lives of "our future liberators, to whom we are increasingly thankful". The volume itself seems more neatly set than even the best printers are capable of.
[A Dark Mirror] Most mirrors have been acting 'off' since the Exorcism, seemingly failing to reflect any light every once in a while. They don't all fail at the same rate however, and this is a particularly obstinate specimen.
[Conspicuous Amputations] Many of An Wu's common folk have discovered strange scars and hollows upon their person, as if entire organs and appendages had been removed overnight. However, none of them can recall what these lost pieces were supposed to be like.
[Discern the Tower Pattern] One of the few remaining treasures of the madrasa is a big corkboard, on which you may plan out all kinds of pet theories. In this case, you've hypothesized that there might be a pattern underlying these mysterious 'towers', that their appearance in An Wu's jungles is anything but random. But to figure that out, you need more information. As well as the corkboard.
[Free Poetry] The peoples of An Wu have always had a deep appreciation of the literary arts, and this is something even the Liberation couldn't undo. Just as well, because it's long been supposed that the creative word contains more than the author's own intentions. Instead, it is always already a co-production with the mysterious Muses who inhabit either the pen, the ink, or some other part of the writing process. If this is more than a mere folk tale, then a trace of such spirits should be hidden within almost any poem. But that is something that would only become apparent at scale. So, time to put pen to paper, and see how soon these anomalies appear.
[Pick Up the Pieces] The venomous scholar did a lot of damage in their futile last stand, but some of their lab might prove salvageable. This would help us recover some of the alchemical knowledge which we've otherwise lost.
[Oneiric Diplomacy] Having resolved your differences with a strange community of dream people, you might now be able to treat with them properly, and find some common interest or passion on which to build any further exchanges. But first, you'll have to find them again.
[A Sea of Dreams] The world of dreams is clearly an elusive place, one where the same direction could lead to an entirely different destination. Since you know so little about it, there's almost no wrong direction to pick. You'll just have to be careful.
[Animal Empathy Experiments] So, the young lady knows how to commune with small animals. Let her display these skills under various controlled circumstances, so that we may discover the present range and potency of this ability. After that, we can try to find ways of enhancing it, and of teaching it to others, if such a thing is possible.
[Gizzard Crash Course] What even is the Collective Gizzard? Evidently, it is some kind of extraordinary gullet-space, shared between the members of Sulei's monastic order, and yet its finer workings (let alone its cultural history) still elude you. Thankfully, Inzel is here to explain all that. For once, you will be the student, and they the teacher.
[Local Animal Survey] The mysteries are immanent to nature; to study one, is to study the other. Thus, it would make sense to figure out what natures are contained within the region surrounding Lang-Tso. In the course of this study, some mystery or utility is sure to reveal itself. (repeatable)
[Index the Library] While most of the madras's former library is now utterly illegible, there are still some bits of unredacted wisdom to be found among its many volumes. The challenge is finding them. Even if you get started now, a proper survey of these works is likely going to take a long time. (repeatable)
[Trade for Artifacts] The madrasa still has a few curiosities worth trading. Who knows what you'll get in exchange? (repeatable)
[Trade for Endless Objects] Now that the trading routes have cycled through, we are more likely to find pieces of Endless material in the junk stores and marketplaces. Time to go look for them.
[The Republic of Letters] What keeps the scholarly community coherent is its exchange of letters, with various messages flitting to and fro thanks to the efforts of the couriers. Some of the latter category have even taken up the sciences themselves, using their travels as a way of collecting and combining the mysteries of different regions. If we are to tie our school into the greater works of An Wu's academies, then we must sustain this intellectual interaction. To put it simply: we need to tell other scholars what we're even doing here. Their feedback is essential to guiding and informing our future activities. (repeatable)
[Travel to Tang Timul] If the riverlands of An Wu were to have a capital–and they don't–it would be the marvelous metropolis of Tang Timul, the Threefold City. Unfortunately, any communication with or travel to the city appears to have been cut off, as no couriers or travelers have come from that direction for quite some time. By sending your own traveling party to the city, you could hopefully figure out whatever's gone wrong.
[Rebuild the East Wing] The attempt to repair the madrasa's eastern sections has failed catastrophically. Beyond the sapient toll, there is also an entire wing of the compound which now lies in ruins. Rebuilding it will be a hard task, and it might be better to wait until some of the injured workers are healed. Still, the sooner we start, the sooner it's done. (Phase Two of Two)
[Simple Repair Shop] Your efforts at pleasing the people of Lang-Tso have not worked out so far, to say the least. Perhaps it is time to try a different angle, and avoid anything to do with either alchemy or botany. Since some of your members were handymen in a past life, they might be able to help the townspeople with various minor repairs and renovations. This effort would also establish a new workshop for mechanical tinkering, which is always worthwhile.
[Aquaculture Ponds] One of the first major initiatives proposed by the Master Gardener is to install a network of basic aquaculture ponds among the outer gardens. These will allow for the cultivation of various fish and water plants, and its resources should synergize nicely with the rest of the fields, if properly proportioned.
Voting open. Please vote by approval.
