Storytelling
Storytelling has brought the citizens of Mizahar together since before the Valterrian. Storytelling is a ever changing art form that enraptures audiences and effortlessly teaches lessons through song, words and props. Every race of Mizahar has stories and tales that have been passed down from generation to generation, and all have something to offer. Storytelling is the art of vocally rehearsing a scene or tale to an audience. Storytelling can be found in all corners of the world and often revolves around the particular nature of the audience and what they value.
The Konti have various stories that relate to the Call. The Eth often use tragic heroism in their stories, and their hero’s are grand, glorious warrior’s. Every nation has many tales that relate to their patron deity and these are often quite interesting, though they are typically very grandiose.
Storytelling uses gestures, words, sounds, pictures and other forms of media in order to emphasize key points. Stories can be simple or complex depending on the subject matter and the audience. Stories can be fiction or non-fiction, and storytellers may also use different types of stories to captivate audiences. Storyteller’s are people with varied interests and are often quite talented with musical instruments. Bards can always be found with a harp, lute or lyre. A bard uses these instruments to complement stories and delight audiences with a song by a fire at night. Storytelling is an important skill due to its wide appeal in all of Mizahar. Bards are often sought out in taverns, inns and other establishments as a form of entertainment for the masses. Although some storyteller’s are freelance artists and they travel Mizahar as wandering bards, not all of them travel. Many clan elders or scholars have many stories about their lands, and rarely journey far from home. A smart storyteller would seek these people out, as a select few have collected stories from Pre-Valterrain times.
History- Storytelling has been around since before the Valterrian. Most stories we passed down by word of mouth to the next generation. Though it is unknown when storytelling became a skill, many assume that it was sometime around the advent of speaking itself. Some stories have been treasured throughout time and can be traced back to the earliest manuscripts of Mizahar. Parallels have been found in almost all stories. Clan stories that have been passed down in Falyndar have been closely linked to traditional stories from the Konti Isle. Through history, the bard has also evolved. In the past, bards have crafted or charged others to make musical devices for them, such as lyre’s and harps. Bard’s have also made multi-colored cloaks and other eye catching fabrics to draw attention to various gestures and movements. Storytelling is a powerful form of entertainment that engages people with anecdotes and other literary devices. When told properly a story can break down barrier's between groups, explain history and ensure that people remember facts.
The Storyteller and the Audience:
Simply put, different types of people like different kinds of stories. A citizen of Taloba would hardly appreciate a lengthy story concerning the building of Ravok. A bard must understand the cultures and traditions of all the regions of Mizahar, and know what people gravitate towards. Gauging the audience is a skill that many competent bards have perfected. When a storyteller gauges and audience, they allow themselves to see what an audience enjoys and enhance areas of the story that the audience considers bland by supplementing other material. Most audiences like stories with little to no setting, but a lot of graphic action. Just because there is little to no setting does not mean that a story teller should not describe anything at all. The key to being a good storyteller is to immerse the audience in your world, by describing colors, smells, the atmosphere, even the terrain. A storyteller must have a firm grasp of language in order to properly describe the action. Audience’s also like bold, brave characters that relate to their pasts or themselves. A good storyteller must understand that the tone of their voice must change as the story does, and must not ever remain monotone for a sustained period of time.
Another huge part of storytelling is the ability to understand who you are speaking to. In lucky situations a storyteller may only be entertaining one or two different races. Other times a story teller may be speaking to many different types of people at once, and this must be considered. As mentioned above, different types of people like different stories and many storytellers keep broad, simple stories in the back of their minds for tricky situations.
How to Learn:
Many storytellers’ try to memorize story’s from books or scrolls. Storytelling is an oral art and should be practiced as such. A few books about storytelling were written Pre-Valterrain, but they are often hard to find, and quite costly. Many successful storytellers have apprenticed under an older, more experienced story teller. Though overlooked, most often people pick up storyteller skills by talking to other and sharing their experiences. Communicating this way is simple, but a budding storyteller cannot expect to learn everything this way.
Prerequisite’s and Related Skills:
Prerequisite(s): The only two prerequisites are: a firm grasp of the language you will be speaking in, and a desire to spread stories with an audience. Most storytellers speak in Common, but many also pick up other languages in their travels and use those as well. A great storyteller is a charismatic one. A storyteller must be joyful, lively and energetic. Having a good working vocabulary is a must, in order to keep stories varied and the audience interested. A storyteller must also be an avid listener. Some of the most entertaining stories can be found by patiently listening to others and picking up on the themes and motifs that can be found within them. Above all else, the audience a storyteller speaks to can feed off the energy of a storyteller. A storyteller must have a love for stories and a innate drive to spread them with others.
Related skills include: Impersonation, Music Composition, Play Musical Instrument and Listening.
Skill Progression:
Novice(1-25 XP)
A storyteller at this level can tell simple stories with a minimal amount of gestures. The storyteller has a decent grasp of language and can entertain audiences for a brief time. The storyteller has seen various aspects of storytelling and can incorporate simple allusions and alliteration, which have a positive impact on the audience. A novice can tell basic fables and comedies, which were probably learned from the region they were raised in. A brave novice can use up to three different voices, though the characters they use in stories are typically static. The morals at this level are very simple, and the stories a novice tells generally appeals to younger audiences, though an adult would also appreciate them as a whimsical distraction as well.
Competent (26-50)
A storyteller at this level has memorized many stories and has learned a good amount of gestures to keep the audience entertained. The gestures the storyteller has learned previously have evolved and can now take on new meaning for the audience. A bard of this level can entertain with fables, folk tales and comedies. A competent storyteller now understands how to enthrall an audience and can incorporate allusions, alliteration, morals and deep plots to make his or her stories more realistic. Storytellers of this level begin to understand how important characters are to an audience and develop deep meaningful characters that are no longer static. The storyteller can now also incorporate various musical instruments such as harps, lyres and flutes during the story.
Expert (51-75)
A storyteller at this level is a highly sought after master of words. They have memorized a plethora of stories and can change the content of these stories in a blink of an eye to mesmerize an audience. Storytellers at this level know almost everything about their various audiences and understand the complex ways that the audience responds to a story. An expert storyteller can feed off this energy and use it to their advantage. The storyteller can incorporate all the literary devices of a novice or competent storyteller as well as many others. The characters in an expert storyteller’s tales are complex beings that enrapture the audience.
Master (76-100)
A master storyteller is a genius with words and is sought after by almost all of Mizahar. They have memorized stories from every culture and time in Mizahar, and use these stories in ways that no one else can. A story told by a master story teller is one that is rarely forgotten, and is often cherished for centuries. Master storytellers have many stories to entertain audiences with. They can tell satires, comedies, dramas, folk tales, historic tales, fables, fabliau’s, romances, and children’s stories. Master storytellers understand the geography, culture and ways of Mizahar in ways that even scholars cannot comprehend. These storytellers understand the flow of time and the ways that various cultures interact. They use such knowledge to whip the audience into a frenzy of emotion in a blink of an eye. The storyteller understands how to use all literary devices with perfect timing, and has an expansive vocabulary that is right in every situation.
