Editing Tosa/York (section)

===A conversation about Thrice Crowned Bards by Prince Martin of Amber to his daughter Silvana===
“As for Thrice Crowned Bards.... Crowned bards of any rank... Its not a rank recognized in Amber.  We don't have them like in Tosa.  Tosa is a large collection of shadows out by the Stone of Skulls worlds.  Look them up in the trump deck.  Bards are sort of Jacks of all trades.  Most start as warriors for a time, perhaps thieves.  Along the way most pick up a bit of magical skill.  In the Stone and Skull worlds are Adventurers of many descriptions with the main ones being the character classes of Fighter, Thief, Mage, & Cleric.  Some special ones are Ranger, Paladin, and Bards.  In the Tosian worlds are some special adventurers who have a mixture of  character classes like Fighter/Thief, Thief/Mage, Fighter/Cleric.  These have skills unique to each class.  Even rarer or triple class-Fighter/Mage/Cleric or Fighter/thief/Mage.  In their worlds the rarest of these mixtures is a Quad: a Fighter/Thief/Mage/Cleric.  This is a person so voracious of knowledge and skills they learn talents in all 4.  Fortunadus is a Quad.   “

Martin sighs.

“Bards are educated.  There are 23 levels of colleges in the Stone of Skulls worlds.  I don't pretend to understand them or their difference but there are apparently thousands of colleges across the many shadows and they are all given accreditation.  You would have to talk to one of them to understand.  In these colleges they learn a wide variety of things.  Music, history, magic.  Many learn druidic magic as well as picking up cantripy and continuing as Mages and clerics.  These people are extraordinarily diverse in their knowledge and skills.  They seek out and gain powers almost everywhere they can in order to be allowed into the next level of colleges.  The system is incredibly complex and few rise high in it.  Most reach 10th or 11th before exhaustion or old age.”

“Some however reach the pinnacle of the system and become 23rd Level Bards.  By then they are advisors to kings and popes, world leaders.  They are leaders of colleges or thieves guilds or Warrior guilds.  Trusted and famous people.  That's a 23rd Level Bard.  Often called a Bardic Dean.  

 
“Now we come to the crowns.  Occasionally in the Stone of Skulls worlds a Bardic Dean has become so trusted, so respected, so powerful, a keeper of such secret powers that the leaders of a world proclaim them the preeminent Bard of the whole world and they grant them a Crown.  This gives them authority over the colleges in that world as well as a lot of other things.  Access to great powers.   They are styled Crowned Bard Tosa or Crowned Bard New Wall, depending on the granting world. “

“For reasons too complicated to understand few Crowned Bards become acclaimed in multiple worlds.   Twice Crowned and Thrice Crowned bards.  Fortunadus, and a thin almost elven man, Venki Fairhard, are both Thrice Crowned Bards serving in CHAD.  As I understand it there are no Quad Crowned bards.  Except that Fortunadus has taken service under King Julian as his chief advisor and is installing the college system and is angling for a 4th crown.  So imagine a person so gluttonous of knowledge and powers, in command of millions of these adventurers, a confidant of kings, High Priest of some Tosian god,  husband of a Primal being I hear, and holder of secret powers.  And he just sent a halfling assassin to watch over you.  So I worry.”