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Research Relic

Research Relic is the second step in the Story-based Approach to Evolution Seed creation as part of the INDX Project in the SparkQuest Metagame.

Record your query and Story

Start your research by recording what you accomplished in the last step: Choose a Story. Create a Discussion topic on the MagSchool Forum and record your query and the Story you chose from the results of your search online or at the library. If your Story is online, link its name to an image, webpage, or video. If your Story is in a library book or resource, take a picture with a phone, camera, or tablet and post it.

You also need to summarize the story. Make sure it answers at least the following questions:

  • What happened?
  • Who did it involve?
  • How did they do it?
  • When and where was it done?
  • Why is this important?

Example so far:

Your forum topic should look something like this:

The Epic of Gilgamesh | A Hero and His Friend

My Story Query: central myth Sumer Ur

Story: The Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, is a tyrant. The Gods send the wildman Enkidu to put him in his place. Gilgamesh defeats Enkidu, but the two become friends and set off on adventures together. Some of these adventures offend the Gods and they kill Enkidu which sends Gilamesh on a quest to find Utnapishtim and his wife who survived the primordial Flood to reveal the secret to immortality.

What is your Story’s Relic?

Next, find the Relics and set of Relics connected to your Story. Naturally, the online resource or book where you found the Relic is a good place to start.

What are you looking for? Well, the reason people know about a Story is that it leaves some sort of evidence — this would by a Relic. How do people know about this Story? You can find some hints about the type of thing you’re looking for by look at the chart below in the same Layer as your story came from:

LayerRelic TypeSearch Terms
Civilizationstructurestructure, building, architecture, city, monument
Culture (People)artifactartifact, craft, product
Ecologyspecimenanimal, plant, creature, mythic creature
Geographyfeaturegeographic feature

Update your forum topic with a reference to the Relic(s) with any links and references, like this:

Example so far:

The Epic of Gilgamesh | A Hero and His Friend

My Story Query: central myth Sumer Ur

Story: The Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, is a tyrant. The Gods send the wildman Enkidu to put him in his place. Gilgamesh defeats Enkidu, but the two become friends and set off on adventures together. Some of these adventures offend the Gods and they kill Enkidu which sends Gilgamesh on a quest to find Utnapishtim and his wife who survived the primordial Flood to reveal the secret to immortality.

Relics: 12 Gilgamesh Tablets, Bottle of Underwater Breathing (from under sea section), Bush (box-thorn like) w/ Golden Apple or Totem of Undying properties.

Seed Level 1: Identity Tags

At this point, you’ve gathered most of the information you’ll need to create the INDX Entry for the Evolution Seed. However, you need to add a few tags to your post that will help to classify it. Look for specific words — especially proper nouns — that answer the following basic questions:

  • What is this post about?
  • Where did it happen?
  • When did it happen?

You should also add a tag for which CRADLE your working on and which Layer.

Example so far:

The Epic of Gilgamesh | A Hero and His Friend

My Story Query: central myth Sumer Ur

Story: The Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, is a tyrant. The Gods send the wildman Enkidu to put him in his place. Gilgamesh defeats Enkidu, but the two become friends and set off on adventures together. Some of these adventures offend the Gods and they kill Enkidu which sends Gilgamesh on a quest to find Utnapishtim and his wife who survived the primordial Flood to reveal the secret to immortality.

Relics: 12 Gilgamesh Tablets, Bottle of Underwater Breathing (from under sea section), Bush (box-thorn like) w/ Golden Apple or Totem of Undying properties.

Tags: CRADLE1 | Civilization | Epic of Gilgamesh | Sumer | Ur | Uruk | Bronze Age | UR III Dynasty

Make sure you save all your work by publishing your forum post. Now you’re ready to move on to the Virtualize Relics step.