Of Heresy and Hearsay

[Aia del Mana]

Thump! went the tomes on the librarian's desk. Behind them, observed the librarian, was a weary woman's glance.

"No good?" A brief shake of her head. The nameless librarian adjusted his pince-nez frames and scribbled in the return-log: 
Returned: 
An Exhaustive Guide to Remembering Things You Never Knew
Memories and Where to Find Them
Mastering "Mastering The Void" - An Annotated Study Guide

"You know, the Lore Manor and the Archives aren't the only places to find books in the realm; each day, it seems, the shelves of the House of Tainted Times empty just that much more..."

Aia placed a silver coin on the librarian's desk; although she hadn't found what she needed, her next destination was clear.
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The book-laden bonfire burned at the Way of Cleansing, as it had for many years. The unholy commune chanted tirelessly before adding another worn codex to the bonfire, and Aia could just make out the chants of the heathens. Whispering under her breath, her form faded, turning transparent, and then invisible. Looking down at the sandy imprints of her feet, she slowly flittered over to the fire; the rising, swirling winds making her flight ever so turbulent. There had to be another way, thought Aia, as she deftly flew back.

- Excerpt from Memories in the Wind, Ch 3, as told to Aia

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This quest is about untruths, or theories that could be untrue enough that they could be burned as heresy. Of course, Mur himself were also ascribed the title Heretic, so mayhap, truths, untruths, and all things betwixt may qualify.

To enter this quest, simply reply to this thread with thine entry - a brief paragraph which should explain something which doth exist within the realm. It need not be based in truth; indeed, I should like to hear of wonderful theories of sorts without any bearing in reality; humour were also encouraged. As with other recent forum-quests, points shall be given based on forum-votes - upvotes and likes shall count as a single positive vote; however, downvotes shall also count as a positive vote (such that a post with two upvotes and two downvotes shall score 4 four points.)

Votes shall be the singular measure by which any submission is scored; if there were a submission which should tickle of thy fancy, I would encourage thee to vote upon it!

Votes from accounts registered on the forum after the time of this post shall be excluded from all counts.

An example of the kinds of hearsays and heresies that would suit this quest:

Quote

"Liquid Dust is what one obtains when sacrificing creatures too slowly and with too much heat. It is analogous to overcooking a meal so much that the remains are charred. The House of Liquid Dust is where someone had a gathering which went very wrong, and the host decided to move all the altars far away from the House from that day onward."

Entries are presently open, and shall close at the close of the Awesome Autumn Adventuring season. Rewards shall be as follows:

1. If any single post receives fifteen or more votes (positive or negative), then the post with the highest number of votes at the time of closing shall receive a Wind Drachorn (limit 1).
2. If any single post receives twenty or more votes (positive or negative), then the writer of that post will receive an unnamed, new premium creature (no limit).
3. If any single post receives ten or more votes (positive or negative), then the writer of that post will receive a 15th Anniversary Barren Soul (limit of 5).
4. Each post may only qualify for one prize under the conditions described in 1-3, and to qualify for a prize, one must fill in the corresponding quest-survey, which will be provided via PM to all those who enter.

One may enter this as many times as they wish, and each post shall be scored based on votes, however, please limit each post to one theory, such that each theory should have its own post.

Edited September 12, 2020 by Aia del Mana
to add of rewards and their conditions

[Ungod]

This is between me and you, but...the Aramory and other various places in MagicDuel are NOT ''places'' or ''structures''. They live!...Like, we're those unevolved species to them, and they consider themselves superior beings. They probably feed off our energy (heat) or something, and they probably use some drugs to alter our behavior and make us docile - or at the very least, oblivious to their true nature, you know...I don't know what can be done about it as long as we're here playing, but it's a war of the worlds and you'd better believe it!

[Mallos]

Adventuring into the MagicDuel Archives is a trip out of the land of MagicDuel and into the inner framework of MagicDuel itself. Not only because this is an area where you can find the archives possessing the knowledge of the players of MD but because the scenes often contain representations of the rest of MD. Beyond the gates you can find Awiiya's Way which is similar to the Path of Loneliness, a possibly sentient tree. Beyond this you can find the Split Pass Halt with two pathways, one leading left and the other right. The path leading left into the maze is corresponding to the path within Marind Bell leading underground, a passageway from one part of a land to another. The path leading right, which is unable to be accessed currently, corresponds to the path leading into the Lands of the East, which was once inaccessible as well. The interesting part about these two is the difference in directions between them, one underground into the core of MD and the other East, which at the outset may seem different but really they are the same. The split of the land you can see at the East's gate is not one that simply leads forward, but rather takes a direction facing vertically downwards as is like a hinge on a larger piece of geometry. The four gazebos in the MDA archive gardens correspond to the four mainlands, and more specifically, to areas within these mainlands. The Broken Pattern Gazebo is Mount Kelle'tha of Golemus, in that it is broken apart into many pieces. The Golden Globe Gazebo is that of Necrovion's Stone of Twisted Souls which to us may not look as it would to a timeless entity. The Gazebo of Gravitational Sound is that of Loreroot's Raven's Peace, the lake and orbs of which are a key feature to Loreroot. The Gazebo of Silence is to that of Marind Bell's The Marble Dale Park, of which may not be such a lively carnival as we once knew it. Finally the Fountain of Lost path is similar to that of the MagicDuel archives itself, the inner pool of which is surrounded by an outer pool that is the entire realm.

Edited April 7, 2021 by Mallos