//This book is NOT publicly available, and the knowledge and opinions within are only for those who are told of them directly by Talas, or presented with a copy of the book. Also please note that the text contains a character's OPINIONS, and should not be used as definite authority in D&D/FR matters, nor absolute canon.


One With The Muse: A Treatise on Bards
by Talas Volodymir, Wielder of the Valiant Song

"Muse, I praise thee.
Grant me the vision to craft words of power that sear into the mind’s eye.
Let my ears hear words that are true and pure.
Let my inspiration be a mighty steed that carries me forward.
I pledge to you that I shall fight Resistance and strive to bring glory to the tales you would have me tell.
Let the work begin."*

Of Bards and Their History:

Bards, Skalds, Children of the Muse, Singers of Songs and Tellers of Tales, Sword Poets, Vagabonds, Scholars... Many are the names by which our kind is and was called, and, if we are worthy and dedicated, many more will be created. For Bards are as varied as the arts themselves, and even two bards raised from the same school, plying the same trade, playing the same instrument and sharing blood ties will have different repertoires, as The Muse plays a different tune into each and every Bard's heart, strumming masterfully, creatively, and incessantly.
Speaking of the history of Bards is speaking of the history of Life itself. For the Immortals, The Breath is musical, The Muse blowing Her flute as she filled Them with Sentience. For Mortals The Heartbeat is musical, The Muse drumming on our chests as She sets the blood in motion, creating The Beat That Ends With Death, a rhythm so perfect that it accompanies our moods and emotions, faster or slower, calming or frantic, soft or loud.
There are some who speak of the first to be called Bards by mortals though. In legend those were males and females who had some affinity with the Way of the Warrior (by training with weapons, armor, and pursuit of glory) and the Way of the Rogue (by training guile, the silver tongue, and pursuit of what is hidden), who then delved into Druidic Mysteries. Tales of such individuals speak of humans or half-elfs, but in my opinion this is due to the writers being humans or half-elfs themselves. It is also my opinion that The Muse can touch any heart, be it Immortal or Mortal, and from any race.

of Bards and Their Foci:

While The Song can come into existance with any sound (or even no sound at all according to some scholars), most Bards have a preferred way to praise The Muse and bring the effects of The Song to our reality and others. These are called Foci (singular: Focus). They are as varied as Bards themselves, and range from humming, clapping, snapping fingers and tap dancing, to lutes, guitars, flutes, and pianos, and everything in between and beyond. The less experienced the Bard, the more they depend on an instrument to externalize their Song, but that is not to say there are no Master Bards who will always use their Foci, and also that some particular Songs can be performed without an instrument or Focus. Those are exceptional cases though, and in general if they can only use The Song with an instrument, or are overly dependent on a certain instrument to be called Bards, they are lacking studies, practice or talent.

of Bards and Other Users of The Weave:

Bards differ from other users of The Weave in that they are capable of using The Art and The Power as soon as their Song manifests for the first time. While priests and paladins and rangers and druids can use The Art if they study it, and wizards and sorcerers can use The Power in a similar manner, any Bard can reach The Weave for both without specialized training, again, as soon as their Song manifests.
Users of The Power depend on a religious, sanctified connection to do so. Priests and Paladins depend not only on their faith but also a Holy Symbol, while Druids and Rangers draw from a more primal connection to their planes of existance, most often by following a deity but not restricted to it.
Users of The Art depend either on arduous study (for Wizards) or personality and instinct (for Sorcerers) to reach for The Weave. There are schools and individuals who mix those approaches, but those will complement the inherent way in which they reach for The Weave, not replace it completely unless a drastic change happens to them.
The Bard combines all those in a way no other kind of caster can. The price paid is that Bards cannot use The Art or The Power for spells higher than the sixth circle, barring extremely exceptional circumstances and individuals.
In summary, users of The Power reach for The Weave through Faith. Wizards reach for The Weave through the Mind, Sorcerers through Instinct. Bards reach for The Weave through the Heart. Emotions are the spellbook and holy symbol of the Bard, their motivations and their connection to the primal. Forget or ignore that, and you should no longer be called a Bard.

of The Muse:

Mortals have given The Muse Her name from the word muein, which signifies the teaching of those things which are noble and expedient and are not known by the uneducated in Archaic Thorass. The Muse is not a recognized Power in any pantheon to my knowledge, but She is, in my opinion, the Primal Force that explains Bards being able to cast Divine Magic. I do not believe in The Muse watching over Her children. Rather, I believe we must acknowledge and try to understand Her creative spirit within us if we are to work with it to bring out our best Songs. One's work, be it writings, research, music, poetry, dance, speech, painting, acting and everything in between and beyond should be performed not only for the public, the audience, but also for Her, as that separates artists from Bards. All Bards are artists, but not all artists are Bards. Remember that, and the string of The Weave that The Muse connected to your heart at birth will vibrate forever and ever, and play your Song until the day you draw your last breath.

_________________
I play:
Frums Deedone, the Green Child
Balrig Sootkiln, Blood and Vellum