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Revision as of 23:23, 25 September 2023

Contents 1 Lesson 1 2 Lesson 2 3 Lesson 3 4 Lesson 4

Lesson 1

Master Jeht says, "I see some of our newest students among you, so I shall begin at the very beginning."

Master Jeht says, "Riddle-mastery is, at its core, the study of knowledge. There are many types of knowledge -- practical, esoteric, procedural, technical, and so on -- but all knowledge falls into two categories. 
Those categories are, quite simply, questions and answers."

Master Jeht says, "Answers, of course, form the foundation of our knowledge and the tools by which we pursue the truth of the unknown. Questions -- or 'Riddles', for those of you who are starting to  get an idea of 
what this whole study business is about -- are the quandaries we seek to unravel and  the sources of our power."

Master Jeht says, "Of course, gaining knowledge benefits one little if one has no foundation upon which to understand it. Without mastery of both study and lore, knowledge is as worthless as pearls before swine 
-- a comparison which some of you may find uncomfortably apt."

Master Jeht says, "In order to even begin approaching such an understanding, one must first attain a modicum of proficiency with the basic skills of academics -- in other words, the study of scholarship 
-- as well as the discipline of relating knowledge to other knowledge, which is sometimes known, albeit inaccurately, as storytelling."

Master Jeht says, "Once one has mastered these areas of study, a larger array of proficiencies becomes useful to one. These skills can be diverse, and range from the practical to the deeply esoteric, but virtually 
no body of knowledge is useless to a Riddlemaster."

Master Jeht says, "If you are of a mind to expand your education -- and if you are enrolled here, I would hope that you are -- you may benefit from learning a few topics you might not have otherwise considered studying. 
A basic set of starter suggestions might include such topics as poison lore, psychology, pataphysics, linguistics, and arcane lore, though I assure you these are by no means exhaustive."

Master Jeht says, "A strong foundation of knowledge will empower you in ways you can scarce imagine. But for now, focus on building such a foundation -- if you can."

Master Jeht says, "At any rate, this concludes my lecture on riddlemasters. As always, I would strongly recommend that you commit to memory anything you might, by sheer luck, have retained from 
this session of instruction."

Master Jeht says, "Now, be about your business."

You are now familiar with the subject of Riddlemasters. [event logged]

Lesson 2

Master Jeht says, "It seems all of you have completed the introductory course, so we will continue onwards to the next topic: the subject of kenning."

Master Jeht says, "We have covered the fundamentals of knowledge and study, and a number of you are, I'm sure, questioning when you are going to be gaining all this 'unlimited arcane power' business 
you presumably sought when you enrolled at this esteemed institution."

Master Jeht says, "Unlike the other insects who scrounge and pick at the fringes of magicalknowledge, the source of a Riddlemaster's power lies not in rote memorization, nor is it drawn from 
allegiance to a particular concept or code of conduct."

Master Jeht says, "Rather, a Riddlemaster's power derives from an understanding of the true nature of reality -- the subtle flows of energies which constitute and bind together all matter and effects 
in the cosmos."

Master Jeht says, "Though some of you may be capable of discerning such astral flows, others among you may not. Regardless, without an understanding of what such energies represent, it is merely a 
display of pretty colors -- aesthetically pleasing, perhaps, but not terribly useful."

Master Jeht says, "Once one has achieved a basic understanding of riddle-mastery, one may begin to intuit the connections between things and the energies which constitute and bind them to each other -
- an ability which requires not only scholarship, but also facility with the discipline of divination as well."

Master Jeht says, "By combining one's perceptions of astral energies with a mental focus on the intersection between the compositions of objects, the concepts which they represent, and the various 
legends and lores which concern them, an intuitive understanding may be auspicated. This technique is known as kenning, and is highly flexible and can empower one to do many arcane feats."

Master Jeht says, "A basic use for kenning is to turn it upon oneself, connecting one with one's internal potential and enabling perception of astral flows even if one lacks the innate capability. 
It has many other uses, but I advise you to experiment rather than relying on my assurance.  Using kenning judiciously can empower you in combat, reveal secrets otherwise shrouded in mystery, and 
create other effects you can scarcely imagine."

Master Jeht says, "At any rate, this concludes my lecture on kenning. As always, I would strongly recommend that you commit to memory anything you might, by sheer luck, have retained from this 
session of instruction."

Master Jeht says, "Now, be about your business."

You are now familiar with the subject of Kenning. [event logged]

Lesson 3

Master Jeht says, "It seems all of you have mastered the fundamentals of riddle-mastery, so we will continue onwards to the next topic: the subject of occlumatology."

Master Jeht says, "Now that you have mastered the practice of kenning, you no doubt have begun to understand that the universe is significantly more complex than you may have previously considered --
at least, if you are wise."

Master Jeht says, "Today, we shall continue our discussions of the multifarious truths and fracticalities which can be gleaned from kenning, as well as how such knowledge may unlock greater 
power."

Master Jeht says, "Those of you who have made a habit of using kenning in your various misadventures and misbehaviors have no doubt discovered some of its more basic uses, but its power to uncover the 
secrets of lore in a person, place, or object is the one we shall be chiefly concerned with here today."

Master Jeht says, "As you no doubt have discovered, the power of kenning to reveal knowledge otherwise lost to study or other forms of mundane discovery is powerful -- but such power is not 
limited merely to topics of academic interest."

Master Jeht says, "By concentrating on the legends and metaphysical resonances of a thing, one may intuit not only information regarding it, but also elements of its essence adjacent to the thing 
itself.  The majority of such fragments are too ephemeral to have true resonance, but one particular  aspect is not -- that of spells which are lost to living knowledge, but had some affinity with the 
concepts embodied in a particular configuration of astral energies."

Master Jeht says, "By concentrating on searching for such resonances -- a discipline known as occlumatology -- performing kenning upon a subject may yield a flash of inspiration allowing one to 
recreate a lost spell from the insights wrought from one's kenning if one is fortunate.  As with all things, practice and study will improve one's facility with such arts."

Master Jeht says, "Additionally, facility with the discipline of thaumaturgy is also key to casting such spells, as one is working with the substance of raw magic directly.  Even spells which utilize 
other energies can be wrought from the substance of raw magickal energy, as you will presumably learn through experimentation -- up until you injure yourselves, no doubt."

Master Jeht says, "At any rate, this concludes my lecture on occlumatology. As always, I would strongly recommend that you commit to memory anything you might, by sheer luck, have retained from 
this session of instruction."

You are now familiar with the subject of Occlumatology. [event logged] (Need to have used kenning on ~100 things to learn this lesson)

Lesson 4

Master Jeht says, "It seems all of you have completed the main body of the coursework, so we shall proceed to our capstone topic: the subject of enigmatology."

Master Jeht says, "When one has mastered the art of occlumatology, one may gain great power -- but only temporarily. If one loses one's perception of the truth of things -- a fate which sadly befalls 
us all sooner or later -- all of one's knowledge is lost, and with it a great deal of one's power."

Master Jeht says, "The art of enigmatology is the key to true riddle-mastery, allowing the fleeting insights of occlumatology to be transformed into a more permanent form, both for oneself and for 
others with whom you wish to share such knowledge."

Master Jeht says, "Though mastery of occlumatology allows one to comprehend arcane power to a degree that other spellcasters can only envy, the ability to truly master such spells requires more than 
simply intuition."

Master Jeht says, "By leveraging an assembled body of lore -- such as, for example, the library of this esteemed instutite -- one may cross-reference and constitute such knowledge as is contained in 
a occlumatology spell in a more complete and permanent form.  However, one's rational mind is often incapable of holding the entirety of such knowledge at once -- a problem for which riddle-mastery 
provides a solution in the form of enigmatology, or the study of reduction by encryption."

Master Jeht says, "By suppressing one's conscious mind and allowing the intuitive truth of an occlumatology spell to flow through oneself in its entirety, one gains access to the spell's power 
in its pureset form as an encrypted abstraction.  Such an abstraction can be manipulated in two ways -- either by amanuensis, also known as 'scribing', or by auctoration, variously known as 
'memorization', 'incorporation', or 'mastery' to other, less enlightened arcane traditions."

Master Jeht says, "Using the enigmatology technique of amanuensis allows one to record an occlumatology spell in its entirety, such that another Riddlemaster may ken the truth of such a 
spell from the object in question.  However, such information is dense and complex, and can only be recorded in specially-prepared vessels -- enchanted, encoded notebooks known as 'cryptexes' -- which 
are time-consuming and exacting to create or procure."

Master Jeht says, "Conversely, the enigmatology technique of auctoration allows one to fully master an occlumatology spell to the same degree as its creator, allowing one to retain knowledge of the 
spell even after the loss of one's insight into the truth of things. Such comprehension can even unlock additional proficiency and capability within oneself -- auctorating a fire spell, for 
example, may grant one additional potential for working with fire magics.  As with all aspects of occlumatology, the potential formulations of such power are uncountably vast and limited only by 
your own erudition -- which, I assure you, could always stand to be more thoroughly refined."

Master Jeht says, "Though this process is normally permanent, there are ways to reverse it -- provided one is sufficiently comfortable with the costs of doing so.  Those curious about such 
topics should consider kenning the truth of the contents of the library's basement."

Master Jeht says, "At any rate, this concludes my lecture on enigmatology. As always, I would strongly recommend that you commit to memory anything you might, by sheer luck, have retained from 
this session of instruction."

Master Jeht says, "Now, be about your business."

(Need to have found a certain amount of spells found (>4) to learn this lesson)