Meditation

(WARNING: Pre-SoT)

Focus and Cost: GateKeeper Minor - 2 Willpower

Orbit Acquired: N/A (Given)

Affected: Evoker

Duration: 2 Minutes + 2 minutes per Plateau

Description: Allows an evoker to concentrate more effectively on restoring elements. While in a meditative state, the evoker will gain 2 elemental points every 4 seconds.

Plateau Effect: Duration increases, evoking time decreases.

Art Research: In order to more closely describe the art of Meditation, and how it works, one must establish some definitions and parameters. As listed in the Webster's New World Dictionary - ©1998 scrolls, we have the following excerpts:

Insight: The ability to see and understand clearly.

To go along with:

Meditation: The act of Meditating; deep, continued, thought.

Meditate: To reflect upon; study, ponder.

When a dreamer becomes inactive in the dream, (i.e., standing around, maybe talking, not evoking any arts or moving), the dream will replenish all stats with a gentle nudge of 1 point per 5 seconds when not in Meditation. When the dreamer evokes Meditation these points are doubled. (See "Numbers" below) At first glance, for all intents and purposes, the art of Meditation could, or should, be any focus except that of Willpower. Meditation being defined as a reflection, a deep continued thought, and a healing function, fits nicely with 3 of the 4 foci. All except Willpower. However, when one looks deeper into the definitions of both Meditate and Willpower one will note that the main feature of the GateKeeper (Willpower) is his strength of mind and self control. We submit here, to you, that the actual doubling of the replenishing forces of the dream, during a meditation, is directly affected by the strength of will the dreamer has. Since it has been pointed out that ALL of the foci can and do meditate, it is only the dreamers with the highest levels of self control that can hold the meditations longer (i.e. plats with extended times). To meditate for 20 minutes straight (level 30-39) is something that requires EXTREME self control, and therefore is only possible by a GateKeeper.

The History of Meditation As all are aware, (those who dream, anyway), the art of Meditate is an art that is given to every new dreamer the moment he slips into the dream for the first time. It is not a learned art, it is instinctive. There is no history of Meditate, there is no new section in which you write this art in your Book of Arts, you already know it. You know it as you know how to breathe, how to give, how to talk, and how to emote. There is room with this art to improve it, of course, as with all arts, but the basic ability to Meditate is known to all... from the newest dreamer to the oldest. To ask a dreamer to give you his version of the history of Meditate would be tantamount to asking him the history of "Breathing".

The "Numbers" of Meditation Meditation, in the beginning, will last 5 minutes. Each successive plat will add 5 minutes. (i.e. level 0-9 = 5m; level 10-19 = 10m; level 20-29 = 15m, level 30-39 = 20m, etc...) Meditation costs 2 will to evoke. When evoked, Meditation will add 2 points to the selected focus every 5 seconds. If the selected focus is maxxed (i.e. 50/50) then the 2 points every 5 seconds will go to the focus that is the lowest from its own max. --- for example--- Dreamer A (Gk) has the following stats, after evoking Meditation: Willpower - 20/50 Insight - 20/25 Resilience - 25/25 Lucidity - 0/25 DreamSoul - 44/50

If any focus is chosen, besides Resilience, in our example, the Meditation will take that stat to maximum at 2 points every 5 seconds. If our dreamer has chose Resilience, then the Meditation adds 2 points to the focus that has the furthest to go, in our example that would be Willpower. Even though all the Lucidity is gone, the difference from its current to max is less than the difference with the Willpower. When our example's Willpower is equal to the Lucidity deficit, the Meditation will continue to trade off until all are maxxed. Conclusion: Meditation is a simple art. All dreamers know it, all dreamers can use it. However, only the dream's strongest willed dreamers can use it for any extended length of time. Meditation could have been of no other focus than Willpower, when all the facts are known.

Researched by MolashnoA

Art History: It was not long after the first dreamers had become DreamWrights, but before any had made the status of master DreamWrights that they began developing various Arts. As they developed these Arts, they observed that each of them, when evoked, drew on their reserves of elemental focus. They also observed that when they stood idle for a moment, their elemental focus would regenerate as long as 1 Dream Soul remained. But standing idle was alien to their nature as they were naturally industrious. So, one of the first DreamWrights, his name is lost to us, learned that by chanting "Ooooohm" after drawing on 2 units of Will energies, he could induce a trance-like state. This state enabled him to regain his depleted elemental energies at twice the normal rate. This being so helpful an Art, that it was later designed to be automatically taught to all newly awakened dreamers as they entered Threshold for the first time.

Alternate History: Renrut Nek once had a student, this student was always day-dreaming about everything in the dream, but the task at hand. He would be asked to clean up the study and work area that the students used and always only partially finished. Renrut decided to help his student my setting a task he would excel at. He tasked the student to find a way to channel his energies he used to day-dream into himself and use that new focused power to better himself. The student agreed and wandered all around trying to find the best and quietest place in the dream to begin his attempts, and settled finally in what is now known as A Quiet Place in Trinity Walk.

There he began to day-dream and tried to focus on what he was to do, not having much success....at this time he never noticed a Bogrom was in the area until it attacked him. He beat the bog but took some pretty serious wounds. He sat down and focused on his day-dreams to take his mind of the pain. He was sitting still for just a little time when he noticed he was almost healed fully.....and that he was kind of looking out of his body.....he stood and took a step forward and wham was back in his body...a bit confused. He ran back to Renrut's study and told his mentor what happened.

Researched by Charixz (12-31-98)

Notes: Any type of movement or casting of an art will nullify the art.