==[[ System Interlude by Naron ]]==

Excerpt from a treatise on Titles granted by divine grace to Crinolus, in his 14th year.

For those of you who have gotten into this book, hi. Welcome to the part where I talk about titles. I know that there are probably a lot more interesting things to talk about elsewhere, but it was deemed important enough of a topic to chronicle here. So, in this chapter, I will be the main writer. I am Crinolus Vinter, priest of Quilar, and also probably the premier informant of titles, being that I hold the record number for my age at 12. Now before you head onward, I want to address some concerns of yours. For example, why is a priest of the god of knowledge allowed to put his words to paper? Why is someone so young allowed to write in such an extensive book? Well, I'm almost quite as shocked as you are, to be honest. I never expected to be given this kind of opportunity before, but when I chose to follow Quilar, I followed his every decree, including this one. If you have a problem with it, I'd take it up with the church, not me. Anyway, I guess before we get into the main grit of the whole issue, I think I should talk first about how titles are actually received because some people, and even Bide, have been left in the dark in the far corners of the world, and I'd rather those who can get a hold of this instructional booklet at least be somewhat better informed than if they were not to have it.

To begin with my digression into titles, I'll be beginning with the most common experience that everyone in the world receives, that being acquiring them. As of now, there are only four publicly known ways that a title can be acquired. I know some that are not public knowledge, but I have been forbidden to talk upon that matter so we will just have to deal with what we have at our disposal. To better illustrate how you could get a title of your own, I'm going to be delving into them from the hardest possible to the easiest ways imaginable. That way you can get yourself one soon, if you desire one, or at least have the beginning of a plan towards getting the things in which you desire.

The first way to receive a title is that you must do something that is noticeable in the gods' eyes. What do I mean by that? Well, say you're a commoner and you are able to defeat an enemy general in single combat. That could get the attention of Durok and he might bestow upon you a title worthy of your action. It could also occur that you give service toward a particular god, through their church, that your dedication was noticed by the god and he would bestow a title based on that service. This is how I received my title of [Pious]. This is also the main avenue that one would want to take if they wanted to receive a new title, one that had yet been made for the wider world, and thus be the first to receive its benefits. However, from what is known currently, these mythical Rank 9 titles are almost seldom seen, whether due to faith issues within the specific churches, or perhaps because there are limits that even the gods can't get past within the order they've placed upon themselves. There are, of course, other ways to receive titles other than the gods intervention, but this way, while being the hardest, has some of the most powerful in terms of their effects, whether they are harmful or beneficial for the person in question. However, there is also another option that is quite easier to grasp and plan around, since getting the attention of a god is, while not impossible, highly unlikely for the average person.

The second way to receive a title is that you must perform such an action that the 'Voice of the Gods' takes notice. For those of you that do not recognize this title or vocation, as the translation can be taken, know that by this I simply mean the order imposed upon the world by the gods and not the gods themselves. This is usually an easier task to accomplish than gaining the direct attention of a god, since they are often busy doing things governing their aspects, and there is also the added benefit that the 'Voice of the Gods' has a more widespread presence within the world outside of the areas where a god has direct influence. In this way, one can receive titles relating to that god at a lower power, while still being accessible without the god in question. It can also be simpler, since the 'Voice of the Gods' is known to catalog titles that people have accrued. Basically, whenever a new title is made by the gods, it is categorized and given to others based upon the actions that had taken place in receiving it. So, for example, if someone acquired a title from the 'Voice of the Gods', another person could perform the exact same actions and they may be awarded the title as well, while if a title is gained from a god, it could also be gained from other people, albeit at a lower ranking. In other words, the 'Voice of the Gods' works for titles with power at Rank 5 and below. However, if one wanted to receive a highest coveted title of Rank 6 and above, it would have you to utilize the previously mentioned option and attract the direct attention of a god to acquire it.

Before we head into a diatribe regarding the other two ways to receive titles though, I feel like I may have lost some people when talking about Ranks. I will make sure to go further in debt later on, but for now just know that Ranks, when pertaining to titles, are often referring to their inherent power that the holder receives from it or the commonality of their uses, with Rank 1 being the easiest to receive and lose and higher ones getting increased amounts of difficulty regarding it. Now that we've briefly touched upon this, we can get back on topic.

The third way to receive a title is by receiving and completing a quest. Yes, I know that it may not seem like much, and I'm sure that you know as well that titles that can be received from a quest aren't necessarily good ones. In fact, some have speculated that those titles can only go as high as Rank 4 on occasion, due to luck or godly influence, no one knows. However, with what I know about this way, it is a highly underestimated one that if you can get enough coin to artificially start one via an [Influencer], one could churn out multiple titles or even get advanced rankings with the ones they already have. Despite how much I want to talk about this option though, I have not been properly paid by the [Influencer Guild] regarding these matters, so I cannot speak much upon the topic, or at least that's what my mentor says. I personally don't understand why I need some guild's approval to talk about something that my god says it's ok to talk about. So, for a more worthwhile usage of our time, I'm going to be mainly talking about the fourth way to receive a title, as it's the one that I've learned the most about.

The final way, is to have people themselves bestow it upon you. That is the one that is still being put under careful testing, even now. Titles that can be received from people can have effects that range to Rank 7 titles or even above. The problem is, you can only have one, or maybe two, titles given to you by the people. There is also an additional issue regarding this method, as a title cannot be bestowed onto a person by a single person, or even a small group of people. It has to be done by at least a village's worth of people before it actually takes effect. This means that the number of people who agree to bestow the title upon you, matters. This can explain why a knighting ceremony can have such an impact on an individual, as the eyes of the country are upon them. It also explains why some children are stuck with a title until given a replacement, moving out of their hometown, or maturing out of the moniker they've been given.

Thankfully, such bestowed titles can be removed eventually if the people who bestowed the title no longer think that the recipient deserves the title or if one could go to an aforementioned [Influencer]. However, this also means that that particular person now has a free slot that they can replace with any actions that they want to perform to make a desired title more likely to appear. This is the main application into which I am studying, and following this brief explanation of title acquirement, I want to head into personal accounts of people when they received their titles, how their experiences differ from each other and, if the information is available, give the effects of their titles. I hope that whoever is reading this can at least gain some insight into th-

==[[ ]]==

Marwall was having a rough time of it. Sure, it wasn't like it was the worst position to be in, but all the same, it still bothered him that he got kicked out of yet another city. It wasn't his fault that his wares caused havoc in the kitchen. He was selling magical items after all. If they didn't work like they were supposed to, that was the fault of the maker, not the seller. He thought he had spelled it out pretty well in the documentation, but he might just need to explain it further or more obviously call attention to it. Documents were something that the common people weren't used to after all. He mused on perhaps implementing magical contracts, within those same documents, regarding what one can and cannot due to him once he sold them an item. However he quickly dismissed the idea. Magical contracts are trackable, and while he had some idea on enchanting, he didn't know all the knowledge necessary for such a document. Too many loose ends for him to actively keep track of at any time. Plus, it wouldn't exactly help him sell to the younger clientele, given that they were a significant portion of his sales.

He shook his head and sighed as he traveled along the well trodden road, trying to clamp down on the business side of his class taking over. He always hated how it dictated his every action for monetary growth, but for him it was a necessary evil to follow through with sometimes. If he didn't like it, he could always just blow out the candle in his thoughts, its flame sometimes representing his body while at other points simply dictating with spoken words of ash. His musings were taken away from himself though, as he noticed he was going over significantly more difficult terrain and would need to keep his attention on the degrading road ahead. The homemade carriage was rattling dangerously underneath him as pebbles and rocks scattered away from the wheels, despite his alpicus that was pulling it going at a leisurely pace. Deeming the road safe enough for his axles, he let his thoughts turn back towards his class, and the point of it all. It seemed to him, that if he really wanted to go into better detail regarding his wares, he'd have to deal with the main problem he was trying to deal with, that being the presence of his title. He blamed the thoughtlessness of his youth for giving him a title which was not of much use any more. The safety and sanctity it had given him in his youth had turned against him as he aged, and no matter what he had tried it just wouldn't go away. Sighing, he reached into the compartment behind his bench where he kept the most glorious of beverages, his Spikt.

Spikt wasn't a drink for many. In fact, this bottle was Marwall's own version of it, which for some reason, seemed to make it worse and lessen the amount of citrus it was supposed to have, but it did have a certain alcoholic edge that he felt he needed right now. He wasn't going to reach the next city for a couple hours after all, and even after that, there were explicit lines he could still see, even if the road had somewhat degraded. He wouldn't just drive off the road if he was slightly drunk. He thought on whether or not he was able to do this before he started internally groaning at the thought of sitting and waiting in the line to get back into the city ahead. He certainly didn't want to deal with THAT city's guards, especially this late at night. He swished his Spikt around before he rushed his head back and downed several gulps, gasping afterwards to such in the air which burned in his lungs.

As he drank, he remembered the cost of his hubris. Grumbling, he pulled up his statistics and stared hard at the bleeding thing that stuck to him all these years. Mute. He couldn't imagine how hard it was going to be in the future then. He had thought that maybe it was fine to be mute. After all, one can get a lot across without words. Sure, he knew how to talk back then, but he never really thought it was all too useful. Now, ever since his childhood days and multiple people mistaking a choice for an incapability, he'd been voice struck.

He knew it wasn't really right to blame the people who gave them this title. For how he acted when he was young, he was sure it wasn't too far off the mark if someone had just met him. That's why he was selling magical devices after all. When you're in a particular market, you get to meet particular people. For one, he didn't really much care for those he sold to. It was an aloofness you could only get after 30 years of doing the same thing over and over again. The real people he cared about was his suppliers.

They were the ones who he needed to convince so he could get rid of this accursed title. Sure, he didn't have enough money for an Influencer, but if he scraped and bowed enough, surely the Scions could make a device to replace his voice. If they couldn't, then he simply picked up shop and moved to a different supplier. Scions were a dime a dozen nowadays, after Grelun decided to bless a generation. He sighed again before taking another swish of his spikt.

Yeah. That's what he told himself. It was really the only way to feel better about being a slave to the economy. This isn't the class he wanted, after all. He wanted to be a monk, but apparently, they don't allow anybody who have negative titles attached to them. Something about negatively impacting the soul. 'Bah! What use did that have?', he thought.

'It wasn't like they were already silent to begin with. It's not like I couldn't have gone there and learned their ways. No. Just because of this one goddamn title...' He took another swig.

'If only...' his ruminations were cut short as he realized that he saw another...person(?) on the road. He couldn't really tell what kind of carriage he was driving, but he was at least able to tell that it was green in color. That only really left three options for him as to what the driver was like. Either it was a person who was magically inclined enough to make a carriage out of livingwood, a person wealthy enough to buy livingwood, or just someone with poor taste in paint colors. The last was more likely in his mind, so he anticipated what he knew was going to come. It was built into him after all.

'The wanderer's welcome. If it's anything that I like about being a Merchant, it's this.', he still remembered the first time he performed one. How he was basically sheltered and given food and drink for a night. It was a welcome kindness that most traveler's knew. Whoever was more well off would be the one to treat the other with day of travel together and a night of revelry, before going their separate ways. Sure, it might've mattered at what level the other might be, as it could be some village kid trying to make it after stuff happens. Gods' know that happened.

'I really really wish this guy is down on his luck. If anything, it's the only real pleasure I get, helping other people. Reminds me how well off I am, even if my goal hasn't been reached yet.' As he approached though, his alpicus began to get nervous. It wasn't really all that hard for him to tell. The thing was practically shaking every step it took. Marwall had to give it to the beast, even if it was slow, it was loyal and determined. Although, he did wonder what could make an alpicus shake in fear. He bought the largest beast after all.

'It should deter most animals that run onto the road. If anything it should be quite a bit difficult for anything to make it get this afraid, unless...'

Usually, because of the alcohol induced blurring of the drinker's faculties, it might've taken a bit longer to realize what exactly it was until it was right in front of him. After all, Spikt is known for that sort of thing. While it tasted downright disgusting, it was absolutely brilliant to plow a man straight into that middle ground of drunken haze. However, Marwall had grown used to the drink fairly quickly. If he wasn't known for being a merchant, he would have probably been known for his great constitution, which was also a product of his childhood funnily enough. So, while other men might mistake the object he was approaching as a carriage until it was right in their face, he realized exactly what was causing his alpicus to be so afraid. That wasn't another carriage driving along the road.

That was a monster.