Editing Midnight RPG - Chapter 30.111 (section)

==ARADAR==
Known to some as The Well of Hope, Aradar has been a strange enigma to the world, ever since its name was first spoken. Until the Last Age, the place has been but the reflection of a ghost, for in a world of light, a a candle is hardly visible, but as the world grows dark, it becomes a beacon. Now Aradar, and its effects, are more visible than ever. Resistance fighter and legate alike now hunt it, seeking a price that cannot be found by living eyes.

'''<font color="990066">Bill's Question:</font>''' Seeking a "price"?  Should that be prize?
:  <font color=red>ANSWER:  Yes.</font>





Aradar has long been believed to be a place, but this is not true. Aradar infuses the world, the earth, the water and the sky above. It is the spiritual mate of Aryth, created by its children.

'''<font color="990066">Bill's Question:</font>''' It sounds almost like Aradar could be the source of arcane power, or spell energy.  Usually thought to be Aryth, the spell energy that infuses everything could just be the Aradar which infuses Aryth.  This would mean that was is actually being harvested by the mirrors is the manifestation of Aradar - the energy infused into all living things.  Does Kyuad know anything more about this?  Is this a bad conjecture?
:  <font color=red>ANSWER:  <br> '' '''ROLL:'''   Kyuad (Lorebook +13)  ROLLED:  18+13 =   31 ''  <br> ''With this roll - 
::  The origins of the Aradar myth are lost in the fog of folklore. Ever-changing songs adapted by the performers in every region alter the language and, so, distort the lineage of the myth until, thousands of years later, fact and fancy have become legend. Though there may be no truth to the legend of Aradar, some common beliefs held by the world’s remaining scholars give it tantalizing verisimilitude. Most songs of Aradar suppose that it is the source or inspiration for all arcane power on Aryth—the site where an elf of noble and pure elthedar blood is said to have found the spark of arcane magic. In modern poems, this elf is called Engalad or, archaically, Engal Ladai. In Erenland, especially in villages with little or no elven contact even before Izrador’s victory, some tales replace Engalad with Aradil, the Witch Queen, despite the obvious historical impossibility.
::  However, the name Aradar does share a root with the name Aradil; it’s an ancient male form of the name. Fragments of dwarven and gnomish poetry suggest it was also called elenhath miradil, roughly meaning “wellspring of insight.” Elven myths of old called it simply “Wellspring.” Some believe that Aradar and, by extension, all arcane power—is a gift from the Lost Gods, a bit of their power left to light the mortal world. “One day,” an elf ballad claims, “the gift shall cast a light bright enough to pierce the veil of Shadow and be seen in the heavens.”
::  Already something of a bedtime story by the time the Shadow in the North returned for battle, Aradar was receiving little scholarly attention from the archivists and scribners of the world. When the sacking of academies began across Erenland, few records of Aradar were carried out by fleeing librarians and scholars. The people needed information vital to the success of the war against Izrador, and Aradar was little more than a folktale all but forgotten. It’s generally known that the Scholar’s Tower in Highwall and the great old Library of Moria contains whole books on the subject of Aradar, but those are surely gone. In Cale there was once an inn that sported a mural of the story. There is now little way of knowing what is myth and what is true—if anything—in the legends of Aradar.
::  The Legend of Aradar illustrates one of the few unexpected advantages of the desperate effort to safeguard the scraps of knowledge that come trickling into the Scribe Archives in Caradul. Bits of the legend that have never before been cataloged together are now being seen with new eyes. Whereas individual stories about Wellspring seem to vary rather substantially, certain commonalities between the tales became apparent in comparison. 
::  The confluence of motley sorcerers within the Five Towers is at least partly responsible for the recent rise in interest in the Aradar myth. Nights at the Five Towers are commonly spent with fire-side stories and talk of history, arcana, religion, and superstition. Somehow, the legend of Aradar continued to come up. Before long, it was a popular subject among magically inclined and ordinary refugees alike. Word was soon brought by travelers from the Five Towers to Caradul, where the Court of the Witch Queen took up renewed interest in Aradar as a hopeful legend and happy dream.
::  Word of Aradar has been drawn from the Eyes held prisoner in the Arteries like an arrowhead pulled from a wound. The Night Kings now know that Aradil and her court in Caradul are giving the old myths a bit of scrutiny. Worse, they know this reveals trickles of valuable lore leaking back into Erethor. Although the Night Kings see that Aradil is using the Aradar myth as little more than a pretty symbol to spread hope among her people, they also know how to use such myths to poison that hope. Legates are now actively searching for artifacts mentioning the Aradar myth and secretly leaking them to the resistance, then pursuing the messengers to more important figures in and out of Erethor. 
::  Demonbane even now uses the legend to draw out more sorcerers and explorers from Erethor and eliminate them. When the legend has lost its luster and hope for truth in the myth has waned,  the word may be released that Izrador’s armies have found Aradar and are set to destroy it. In the meantime, only a scant few legates are actively pursuing the legend of Aradar. So long as Aradar remains an exploitable myth, the Shadow keeps its formidable advantage.</font>






In ancient times, when the Elthedar laughed, cried, dreamed or prayed, their hopes, emotions and desires reached the heavens. This spiritual essence of life, helped the gods build and maintain the world. When the Sundering destroyed heaven, these spiritual forces of creation no longer had a place to go. Life, however, is inventive, and will not dwindle easily. Rather than bleed away and wither, the energies of life gathered, forming a place beyond, but within, all places. This is Aradar, and it is the gathering point of every dream dreamed, every hope held, and every joy felt. It is also the home of whispered curses, dark thoughts and tears shed. Aradar is a many-faced place.

After 10,000 years of life without gods, Aradar has become great indeed. However, it was not until the days grew dark, and the hopes of the living desperate, that the force gave back to its benefactors. As a desire for salvation, for champions and for aid grew in the hearts of those who suffered from the shadow, Aradar answered. In small drips, the force of the place seeps into the mortal world, touching the souls of Man and Fey alike, creating involuntary champions of the world. Whether the time this has happened is random, or whether it is destiny is unimportant. Heroes can be forged by these touches. What they chose to do with their blessings is up to them.

Among all powerful forces of Aryth, there is a united fear of Aradar. It is an enigmatic entity which they have been unable to hunt down for the better part of three ages, yet it keeps affecting the mortals of the world in strange ways. The Keepers fear Aradar for the potential power of the place, Beirial fears it because he believes it is a growing divine entity, not yet born. Aradil fears it, for she knows that not only good seeps into that place, and she has seen more than one vile being touched by Aradar. The only one who doesn't fear the name is Ardherin, who sees in it only the potential for destruction, and an upheaval of the ancient, hidden status quos.

Despite their fears, all hunt Aradar, for it is a price that cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of another. But how does one hunt the ghost of dreams? How does one hunt the energy of life? All factions have come to the same conclusion: When it manifests, seize it. Spies, channelers, legates, spirits, demons, all are involved in a hunt for those who walk what one scholar of the Order of Truth called the Heroic Paths, the Pathwalkers.

'''<font color="990066">Bill's Question:</font>''' Again, should "price" be prize?
:  <font color=red>ANSWER:  Yes.</font>





===THE PATHWALKERS OF ARADAR - Kiss of the Dreamworld===
The first to discover a Pathwalker were the Lightbearers, the militant allies of the Order of Truth. When the phenomenon started appearing in several people, the Abandoned took a serious interest. After twenty years of study, the order has developed one theory: 
*  The Pathwalkers draw on the divine. To them, there is no other explanation for how their powers have come into existence. The source of this divine though, is open for debate, but three theories prevail. Either, the Pathwalkers have been able to tap into some hidden reserve of the divine on Aryth, effectively becoming avatars of the Lost Gods. 
*  Another theory is that Aradar has become manifest in the world. 
*  The third alternative is a dark one, which is nevertheless not discarded: The Pathwalkers draw on the powers of Izrador. How this could be possible is heavily debated, but some suspect that the dark god may not be in control of his powers.

'''<font color="990066">Bill's Question:</font>''' Who is the Order of Truth again?  Who are the Abandoned?  Are both of these the White Mother?
:  <font color=red>ANSWER:  <br> '' '''ROLL:'''   Kyuad (Lorebook +18)  ROLLED:  13+18 =   31 ''  <br> ''With this roll -  alot of this info was likely gathered when you were in the Hamlet...
::  The White Mothers are an Orc tribe.  There are a wise few among the orcs who realize that their entire race is only an expendable weapon in Izrador’s war. They know that as soon as he has beaten the fey and won Eredane that he will no longer have need of the orcs, and that in the end he will surely sacrifice them to his unholy intent as well. Those who believe this have become known as the Followers of the White Mother. 
::  However you know a good deal on the Order of Truth.  
::  In the winter of 3893, an old seer came to the court of the Witch Queen, bearing word that he promised was of dire importance, and Aradil agreed to a private audience. Though it is not known what passed between them, or what proof he offered for his claims, the Queen emerged from the meeting in a black and terrible fury. She ordered reports from the northern patrol captains and sent them soldiers to double their numbers. She ordered the old man, a monk from a long forgotten religious order, to send for his brothers and bring them to Caradul where they were installed as secret advisors to the throne. Though the group called itself the Order of Truth, beyond the walls of the elven court, these blind prophets of lost gods became known as the Abandoned.
::  Their mission became to gather and keep all knowledge of the words and ways of their old masters, the Lost Gods, the lords of light. They became known as the Order of Truth.
::  The monk scholars of the Order of Truth have kept the religious traditions of the elder fey and the Lost Gods alive since the Sundering, through the Time of Years and the Ages of the Scribe Calendar and now into the Last Age. However it is possible that there have been changes and errors that have become canon in their practices and beliefs over the time of years.
::  One of Aradil’s greatest sources of information on Izrador and the Lost Gods is the Order of Truth. The members of the Order have long been known as the Abandoned by many elves, since they continue to study and worship gods that have been cut off from the world of Aryth.  In truth, they were her first military advisors, instructing her in the ways and wiles of the dark god and his Though their current goal is to ensure that the messages of the Lost Gods are passed down, the Witch Queen still calls on them for advice when she needs spiritual guidance or for new ideas on ways to thwart the dark god’s schemes. A few die-hard believers among the Order of Truth still believe that the Lost Gods will someday contact their children once more; after all, if the mortals have striven to remove the Veil for so many millennia, can it not be assumed that the gods would likewise be striving from the other side?
::  Finally, while all of the Order of Truth agree that the teachings of the Lost Gods must be given back to their children, those who actively seek their return believe that renewed faith in the Lost Gods may be key to eventually eroding the Veil.
::  While they are unable to tap into the divine majesty of the Lost Gods that they worship, they are still possessed of a great deal of knowledge of all things divine, including Izrador himself. This knowledge makes them excellent planners of raids and hunters of the Shadow’s minions, while the otherworldly might of the Trapped among them make them very valuable allies to the beleaguered human resistance. This contribution to the war effort, combined with the establishment of an actual temple to the Lost Gods eight centuries ago, has warmed the people of Erethor to this strange sect of monks. They have finally begun to respect their teachings, as demonstrated by the fact that the Order has been entrusted with custodianship of the Scribe Archives of the elven people.
::  Aradil brought the Order of Truth to Caradul in the middle of the First Age as secret advisors on the ways of Izrador.  Since the end of the Second Age, interest in the Lost Gods has spread among the elves and a following has grown around the Abandoned. Aradil has done nothing to dissuade this and in fact believes the renewed faith will rebuild the order’s dwindling membership and may even be a spiritual ward of sorts against Izrador.
::  Almost 800 years ago, the order commissioned the growth of a small temple for the Lost Gods in a quiet grove just north of Caradul. The temple has since been enlarged and the surrounding trees now contain a small community of religious scholars, apprentice monks, and faithful pilgrims from across Erethor.</font>