Stormed Fortress (122 page)

Therefore, to a certain degree, acclimation to the higher resonance sites determined who came to live where, and who was comfortable setting down roots in each particular locale. This tended to isolate the older lineages to a degree - with marriages evolving with the need to raise a next generation of children able to manage the duties defined by the compact. Mixed bloodlines tended to fail more often, and parents were understandably protective of their offspring
'
s chances of a successful
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testing
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against the Paravian presence. Records were kept to track the tried lineages, and note the most favourable crosses.

While the general population in the towns were not inclined toward the traits of expanded awareness, it must be noted: the intuitive propensity to perceive is inherent in all of Mankind. Whether the quality remains latent depends upon how each individual aligns their focus and lifestyle.

Latent gifts of any kind can be awakened. Dormant awareness can be raised through training and initiation. Few town born voluntarily choose such a course, unless pushed by circumstance to change. Most might view the arduous study, and the disorientation of learning to adjust to such an expansion an uncomfortable process. Encounter with a living Paravian was powerful enough to incite an accelerated shift by resonance. Yet the change could shove human perception too far, too fast, and leave what appeared to be a husk with a broken mind. Living amid the free wilds also enhances perception - as would time spent in close proximity to a focus circle, provided that buildings and the life patterns of the surrounding inhabitants did not interfere too much with the delicate frequency of the lane flow.

Throughout the course of the early Third Age, mankind tended to clump into enclaves of greater or lesser sensitivity. Over time, this caused the old lines to strengthen their innate talent, while the less gifted ones devolved to a lower threshold of sensitivity. As centuries passed, half the population came to view the precepts defined by the Fellowship
'
s compact as rote rules without meaning. The factual foundation was forgotten, then lost, lying outside the range of sensory awareness the town-born population understood.

For this reason, most Second Age sites fell to ruin after the uprising. (Jaelot being a rare exception). Town born alive now avoid such places, since crossing the free wilds, or travelling the forbidden ways, or spending time within old ruins, will alter human perception by resonance.

Throughout Third Age history, there were no social strata, or concept of
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nobility
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attached to any old lineage gift. Nor was there any stigma attached to the town born without access to active talent. The cultural boundaries were not fixed, but fluid, defined case by case through choice and perceptual awareness. Blood inheritance is not a predetermined prerequisite. Yet without risking comparative insanity, a town born who set out to develop such enhanced sensitivity would require a gradual initiation to assimilate the shift.