Art of Recall (book)

The Art of Recall

by True Bard Derilishi Aitilath

Greetings, my bardic kin. I am the most renowned True Bard Derilishi Aitilath, singer of epic songs and entertainer of kings and queens, and of course I am a great and brilliant scholar to boot. But I am sure you are all well acquainted with me and the exploits that have earned my fame and esteem in all the lands, and especially the Bardic community. And as you are all quite familiar with those exploits, I shall feel no compunction to recount them here. Even the accounts of my vaunted life can somewhat lose a bit of their luster if told too much.

Instead, I shall get directly to the purpose of this book. I have written this fine tome in order to expand upon the young Bard's understanding of a special art we all possess -- that of Recall. This is a book for beginners to introduce you to this fine ability and teach you how best to use it.

First, what is Recall, exactly? That is a question you may be asking yourself, my little kumquats. I shall endeavor to explain the nature of this ability.

In the fulfillment of our bardly duties, we tend to wander around from city to city. We hear things in passing, either local folktales or customs, or legends about some great person or thing from the past. Local customs? Bards must know the customs of various lands, that they may fit in.

Most people would quickly disregard all the nuggets of information like these, but we Bards store it away in our heads.

Bards memorize old songs and stories for our entertaining and lorekeeping roles. These old songs and stories also contain legends and myths and accounts of heroes long since dead. Once again, we store these nuggets of information in our heads.

Bards are respected by peasants and craftsmen, the villagers and townspeople occupying the many bastions of civilization. And why wouldn't we be? When they go to their inns and taverns, it's the Bards that keep them happy creating beautiful music with instrument or voice, or regaling them with awe-inspiring stories, or dancing or juggling or somesuch. We're the ones who will sit down with them at a bar and share a tankard of ale. So we're respected and trusted, and these people open up to us, and talk about all sorts of things from their day-to-day lives. They'll talk about their villages, or local folklore they have. Or myths, or secret things they've heard from the travelers that pass through their towns. Most people would ignore these people, but we Bards, we listen. Really listen. And again, we store that information.

Recall is a mental ability, a method that allows us to scan through our memory, through all the various things we've heard and know. The ability allows us to, upon observing some sort of trigger, access all our knowledge about something. If you're more charismatic, or a better scholar, or a more influential Bard, then in the course of your Bardic journeys and studies, you'll have learned more tidbits of fact; in that case, you'll be able to derive more information when you attempt to recall something.

It's a very useful ability. With it, we Bards can learn all sorts of things, which we can then use in the songs and stories we write to entertain the masses. A good Bard never passes up valuable material. But that's not the extent of Recall, not at all. We can use it to remember the times and details of various holidays -- all the better to improve the celebrations. And we can use this ability to learn information about our instruments, which can make us better and more knowledgeable instrument players.

These days, Bards learn their ability to Recall from their Guildleaders -- once, of course, the Guildleader is satisfied the Bard is proficient enough in skill. But it wasn't always that way. Time was when things weren't quite so orderly as they are now.

The Recall ability was developed by a long-ago Bard by the name of Norek Skorasvadh, a Dwarven Bard who was given a plum job as an Imperial archivist. He was an excellent Bard, you see, but his poor ale-sogged head could never quite remember things. He was positively awful at that. And so the young Dwarf was certain he was going to fail miserably at this new job, and because of that, he set himself to thinking and studying and desperately trying to come up with some way to fix his besotted memory. He eventually devised the first incarnation of Recall -- a mental trick he used to help himself remember things. He made for a fine archivist, then, and taught his little trick to the bardly librarians that followed. Of course, this skill has been improved and refined over the many years, and it has come to serve a far more valuable role to the Dwarves of today, and of yesterday.
During the reign of the Dragon Empire, when Bards were forced to live in hiding, Recall took on a new life, and served much more utilitarian purposes. The underground resistance would often develop lengthy and complex codes, each with subtle variations, in order to convey specific messages. For instance, a unique style of dance might be used to state "The Dragon Priests plan on raiding your hideout two andu hence during the Anlas of Starwatch." Alter it slightly in ever-so-subtle ways, and you could deliver a wholly different message entirely. Thus, Bards utilized the art of Recall to memorize these codes, to know the in-depth meaning of every gesture and twirl, every dip and nod, every movement and every word. The ability served our people well in those days.

Now, by this point, you surely must be wondering how you can best recall the history you've got stored in your head now that you've learned the ability from your Guildleaders. Right? Of course.

So where should one ply their skills at Recall? Well, everywhere. You never know what spot might allow you to trigger the memory of some piece of lost lore. But if it's a more specific guide you're looking for, then look no further, as I shall point you in the direction of some particularly good places.

In the province of Zoluren, the intrepid Bard may want to venture into the fascinating, if dangerous, Oshu'ehhrsk Manor, near Leth Deriel. All sorts of tales are to be found in that haunted place, home of the hunted mage, Lasarhhtha -- many stories about Lasarhhtha himself, and his family manor. In the Crossing itself, be sure to stop by the shop of the True Bard D'or, as well as the Bard Guildhall -- Bard Guildhalls in general tend to be places full of memories of one sort or another, and the Crossing's hall is no exception. Be sure to stop by the Crossing's docks, as well, for stories tend to gather and accumulate there. And a Recalling Bard would never pass up a trip to the Leth Deriel instrument shop.

The city of Riverhaven holds many stories to be recalled.

Remember, everyone has an interesting tale about his or her life, and the city shopkeeps are no exception. Find out the interesting things these people have experienced in their lives by studiously picking up the gossip you overhear from the citizenry.

In the Ilithi Province's city of Shard, one should not pass up a chance to tour the shops and inns of the city, particularly the shop of the S'Kra Mur clothier, Meek. There are many rumors surrounding the Golden Phoenix Inn and Liani's Tavern. What's more, the Silver Eye Inn is a fine place to visit, and many tales about the famed Bard Amaris Silvereye can be overheard there. Ahhh, Silvereye -- one of our Guild's finest.

Tales of other legendary Bards, who helped to craft the role our Guild plays in Elanthia, can be found in the jewel of the desert, Muspar'i, especially around the Bard Guildhall and the Street of Performers. For instance, one can hear the stories of Urisaar the Gold, or the Maelstrom Weaver, Kahishu. A studious Bard should also visit the shops of the Street of Instrument Makers, and the Warrior Mage Guildhall.

But all of this is simply meant to give you a good push in the right direction. This is barely the tip of the iceberg -- there is so much more you can learn by using your Recall skills whenever you have the chance. I did not even touch upon the Qi Islands, or the mountain lands of Forfedhdar. Explore! That is a crucial part of our Bardic spirit.