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"Study the use of Ward and Push to determine how to escape certain wards using Push. This is open-ended, and the rewards depend on effort and results."
Calysto, Nov. 1998

This task was given to me as an experiment to further understanding of the effects Push has on wards blocking certain portals. It was given to me following a request I had made of the teacher, Calysto, for a task for gaining experience in the dream.

A peculiar phenomenon had been observed when Push was evoked upon a ward blocking access to a particular kind of portal. The ward was moved by the evocation of Push upon it. This researcher does not know where the first observation of this phenomenon took place, as the histories of Ward and Push have, as yet, remained obscure and elusive of my efforts to uncover them. However, my first observation of this phenomenon took place in the presence of my teacher, Calysto, in the Damp Grotto in the Threshold Pits.

In order to better understand the metaphysics underlying the phenomenon, I conducted some fairly extensive research beyond the Dream itself, into the realm of Cloudsbreak. There I did find, among the small pockets of order amid the chaos, a network of scrolls containing much wisdom about the arts of the Dream. It is there that I conducted some research into the nature and background of the two arts involved, Ward and Push:

Ward - The art enabling a dreamer to ward (block) portals is a major GateKeeper art. It is learnable at the 40th Orbit. The evocation of the art costs 20 Willpower. The duration of the ward is 10 minutes. As higher plateaus are achieved in the art, evocation time decreases. The warder may grant passage through a portal blocked by his/her ward(s) with a special amulet (c.f. art of Amulet - GateKeeper Arts) which may be given to other dreamers. Ward may also be passed (single wards only!) with the art of Blend (c.f. art of Blend - DreamSeer Arts). However, portals may be double warded to prevent blending. Finally, wards may be broken with the art of Shatter (c.f. art of Shatter - GateKeeper Arts).

Push - The art that enables dreamers to push objects (and other dreamers) is a minor DreamSoul art, learnable by all dreamers even before attaining the first orbit. The evocation costs nothing. As higher plateaus are achieved, the evocation time decreases. Only a limited number of objects in the Dream are moveable with Push. Dreamers can not be pushed from behind. An interesting and somewhat useful side effect of Push is that it will cancel a pushed dreamer's evocation of an art.

The art of Push is capable of moving wards over certain types of portals, which, for the purpose of this report, will be referred to as "area portals." These area portals differ from the more common "doorway portals" in that they appear to have a three-dimensional "area effect" in contrast to the "bound plane" effect of the doorway portals. Whereas passage through doorway portals requires an angular penetration of a bound, two-dimensional plane, passage through an area portal may be achieved by entering the area of effect (or "portal space") from virtually any direction. Typically, area portals require more than one ward, placed adjacently, to completely block access to dreamers without an amulet or the arts of Blend or Shatter.

The experiment was conducted on five various area portals, in different locations in the Dream, and one door-like portal as a control. The experiment required the contribution of a GateKeeper to evoke the wards on the portals. In practice, several GateKeepers contributed to the experiment. (I express my appreciation for their contributions in the Acknowledgements and will identify their contributions in the Experimental Observations below.) First, the GateKeepers would attempt to completely ward off the portal. Once this was done, I tested the portal to ensure it was impassible without the use of any arts. Then, I would evoke Push on the wards to see if they could be moved sufficiently to allow passage through the portal. My observations are stated below, by location.

Experimental Observations:

Damp Grotto (Threshold Pits) - The warding of the whirlpool portal was conducted by zevilone. Calysto was also present. It took 6 wards, surrounding the space over the whirlpool, to completely block off the portal. I attempted access to the portal from many different directions and was blocked on all attempts. Calysto, zevilone and I were each, individually, able to move the wards, (which appeared suspended in mid air!) with the evocation of Push, sufficient to allow us to pass through the portal.

Bile Crypt (Threshold Pits) - The warding of the aqueduct portal leading from the Bile Crypt to the Damp Grotto was conducted by Cherie. It only took 2 wards to shut off this portal as my repeated tests proved. Again, both Cherie and I were able to push the wards sufficiently to allow access to the portal, thereby passing through to Damp Grotto.

Library of Souls - The attempted warding of the portal leading from the Library of Souls into the Threshold Pits was conducted by Belg, even as he warned that such warding of a trans-planar portal was not possible. I observed his attempts to evoke the art in front of the portal, moving closer to it with each attempt, until he finally fell through it. When he re- emerged, he reported that the evocation had indicated there was no target for the warding.

East/West Lagoon (Middle Basin of Stars) - The warding of the obscure area portal near the far side of the East & West Lagoons, which connect the two, was conducted by Darion. He was successful in completely blocking off the portal with only two wards. Furthermore, although we were both able to move the wards slightly with Push, we failed to move them sufficiently to permit access to the portal. This after many attempts.

Lake of Tears (Edgeward Barrows) - The warding of the obscure area portal in the Lake of Tears was conducted by Darion. This is, from all appearances, a portal with a relatively large area of effect (portal space). Darion depleted his Willpower elemen in attempting to set enough wards to block passage. We were not successful in obtaining a complete blockage of the portal with Ward.

Control (Any common, "doorway" portal) - Push had no effect on wards blocking doorway portals.

The art of Push can be used to move wards over area portals. In some cases, the wards may be moved enough to allow passage, as observed in the Damp Grotto and Bile Crypt in the Threshold Pits. In other cases, even though the wards can be moved with Push, it is not sufficient to obtain passage, as was observed in the East/West Lagoons. In still other cases, the portal space of some area portals is so large that a complete warding of the portal becomes much more difficult, if not impractical, as was observed in the Lake of Tears. Finally, as was pointed out at first by Belg and also confirmed by daSas (a GateKeeper teacher), it is not possible to Ward trans-planar portals (i.e., portals leading from one plane of UnderLight to another).

This dreamer-researcher concludes that the effect of Push on wards is dependent, to some extent, on the portal space of an area portal. If the portal space is too large, the portal can not practicably be completely warded. If the portal is sufficiently small, it is easier to pack enough wards densely in and around that space to make pushing them aside enough for an avatar to pass very difficult if not impossible. It is only on area portals of a certain size of portal space that Push becomes a useful mechanism for gaining access to a portal blocked with wards.

We further postulate that this is due to the size and two-dimensional nature of wards. (Have you ever seen the "side" of a ward?) Since area portals occupy a three-dimensional space (the portal space), a two-dimensional ward can only effectively cover so much of the portal space. On smaller area portals, it is easier to cover them with two-dimensional wards. Once anchored to the portal space, there is little remaining area which would allow one to push the wards aside sufficiently to allow an avatar to pass. This "crowding effect" lessens as the portal space becomes larger. The two-dimensional wards now have more room in and around the portal space in which they may be pushed, allowing for the creation of gaps large enough for an avatar to pass into the portal space.

My sincerest thanks and respect go to Calysto for granting me this very interesting and informative task. My appreciation and admiration also go out to zevilone, Cherie, Belg, Darion, daSas and Amtarien for their contributions and patience with my persistent questioning.