Conteck was first incarnated in 1984 and has inhabited several universes, and several different styles of body, since then. A few of them may be known to readers of this file.
Conteck's first on-line home was on MUD II when it was on the BT Gold system. Younger and Non-UK based readers may only know of this land under another name, but it has probably evolved considerably since the time Conteck roamed it. MUD II was a simple place where death reigned supreme. You could be knocked out of the land by misadventure, but if you died in combat you were totally dead. Conteck was not interested in attacking other players even then, but he did fight mobiles (in Avalon they would be called CCCs) and did not always run if attacked by another player. These were the days when most personas were on-line at 1200/75 baud and would moan about the advantages of folk connecting with 2400 baud eqipment. The "Net" was in its infancy, known in the UK as JANET, "Net Lag" wasn't even thought of, but line noise was a regular and real pain. One evening, during a burst of line noise, Conteck was killed.
Conteck's spirit floated in limbo as he contemplated the months of playing time, the aching credit card, and the offerings made on the altar of Beaty Bill. All this had vanished for nothing - and it hurt. He resolved that he would never return to that land, nor would he inflict this pain on anyone else.
It was some months before Conteck returned on-line. He lived for quite a while with the "Gnome@Home" and on there learnt of the Dwarven Realm, where he also established a small residence. That residence has remained and Conteck may still be found in that universe from time to time, under its new name of Drealm. He also learnt from the Gnome of a land known as Gods, which nestled in a universe known as The Lap of The Gods, and here he also made a home. The Fundamentals, as the Omnipotents of that land were known, of this land were kindly beings who allowed him to incarnate with a body in the manner of his original 1984 one - for in the beginning Conteck was not human, but a type of sphinx. More importantly in this land one could chose Life over Death - if you gave up the right to gain by combat then you were immune to the potential losses of combat.
Conteck was most content to live in The Lap of The Gods. Among the personas he met there were Wraith, Menesthesus, and Lugonn. These names may sounding familiar, for in truth this was the Wraith you will find on the Avalon Patron's list, and the other two are still members of the Animist's Guild, though few will remember them now. It was Wraith who first suggested that Conteck visited the land of Avalon, but when he did he found it a most violent place and not at all to his liking - for Wraith did not mention the existence of the Animists. This first visit was many many years ago, prior even to the founding of the City of Parrius.
Time passed and, alas, The Lap of The Gods followed the Gnome@Home into the limbo of failed hard-disks. Conteck had to find a new home. Intending to visit Wraith, but not to stay, Conteck incarnated within Avalon. He found he had been born in Parrius, which was then a young city, and while Wraith was not about, Marie, then of Parrius, made Conteck feel most welcome. It was probably no lesser being than Genesis who first mentioned the existence of the Animist guild to Conteck, and it was Fiorella, the Guildmistress at that time, who convinced Conteck that Avalon could be his new home. Choosing a Patron was hard - but in the end it had to be Aldaron, though Conteck will always see member's of Wraith's order as friends out of respect for their deity. He especially wishes he could give them chocolate cake rather than fruit when they get hungry.
Conteck has always felt at home in the Animist guild. He has no problem with its prohibitions on combat. Combat does not interest him. This seems beyond the comprehension of many inhabitants of Avalon who live to fight, but is true none the less. Under Fiorella's and Menesthesus' tutelage, and some from Lugonn, (it was only later that Conteck knew the latter two were here as well) he quickly learnt the ways of the guild and learnt them well enough to be rewarded by Aldaron with his Eternal Favour. This favour has sustained Conteck through many hard times in the land and he always strives to be worthy of it.
Some years ago the Mastery of the Animist Guild went into flux. The precise details have now been lost in the depths of time, and a few are perhaps best left there, but it happened that though there were both a Guildmaster and a Guildmistress on the roll, both became dormant and there was a need for an active Guildmaster. Aldaron appointed Conteck to the post. Never believe, oh reader, that the post of Guildmaster is a sinecure. It is not! Not long after his appointment Conteck had to deal with a guild member who did not understand what was wrong with using a firebolt amulet on rabbits, and another who felt so strongly that even attacking Animists, let alone killing one, was sufficient grounds for summary decomposition that he declared he would have nothing further to do with the guild. The former left the guild volutarilly, the latter eventually returned to the fold.
To date there are three things of note in Conteck's career as Guildmaster. Two he is moderately proud of, and the third is in the official Avalon History. In fact all three events grew out of Conteck's vision of building the Avalon equivalent of Kew Gardens. (Note to non-UK readers: this is a famous botanical garden in London.) It was evident that such a project would need funds, and when Conteck won a divine wish in one of Genesis' quizzes, he used it to wish for a guild shop. (Conteck likes quizzes and will often be found in the quiz-room if one is happening.) The shop was a great success, principally because Fiorella returned and, as may be deduced from her title of "the Little Flower Gardener", she took herbalism very seriously. In fact it was such a success that the guild fund, which was at that time administered through the City of Mercinae's Bank, was greater than the City could ever afford to have withdrawn. Once, when asking Mercinae to desist from a military campaign, Conteck threated to move the account to Parrius. The Baron's, believing their city might go from credit into three times as much debt, responded with a threat to zero the account rather than let it move. At this point the Omnipotents let it be known that guild accounts were held in a common banking system independent of city accounts. This was a wise move because Conteck wasn't bluffing - being a Parrian he only ever went to Mercinae to use the guild account and wanted to use the Parrian Bank instead anyway - and the precedent of a city zeroing a guild account would probably have delt a catastrophic blow to faith in the entire economic system.
Mercinae overstreched itself and Thakria pounced. You can find an entry about this invasion on the Recent Hisory of Avalon page. The leaders of the forces of Thakria were not in accord with the beliefs of Aldaron's order or guild, and Conteck feared that Aldaron's temple in Mercinae would not benefit from their occupation. More than sufficient funds had been generated for the great project, and when Castigere asked for aid Conteck gave him some of the surplus. This was neither a good idea nor necessary. Conteck had forgotten that Aldaron is one of the Omnipotents and quite capable of defending his own temple precints from any threat should the need arise without any offerings by his followers. Members of the guild made their feelings on this abuse of guild funds known, and for a while Conteck was not popular in his guild. Conteck's position in the guild was restored once the great project came to fruition. Aldaron used all the remaining guild fund for divine essence and called into existence "The Hidden Valley". Every location type is represented, even to there being a magical heat-pump maintaing a snowy area and a tropical greenhouse. This is Avalon's ultimate seedbank. The guild tries to maintain one clump of every type of herb in there, not for a cash crop and only a little is harvested for personal use, but principally for replanting should a species become extinct in the rest of Avalon. (Wurtfoil becomes extinct every New Year even in this sanctuary and must be evoked by a suitably skilled Animist from a canister of essence - but there is never enough essence about to evoke herbs at will.)
Suddenly the Spirit of Conteck was taken very ill and for a very long time could not manifest in any of the lands he normally roamed. When he returned to Avalon he found many old friends had become dormant, even and perhaps especially Fiorella. Parrius is no longer the youthful energetic city it was, but has matured. This is probably a good thing, but sometimes Conteck sighs for days now gone. The importance of Wurtfoil and the safe rides system, which was relatively new when the illness struck, causes severe headaches at times. Many people seem to be under the false impression that they have a right to the herb on demand, which is not the intention of the Omnipotents, and they usually seem to ask at the beginning of the year when the herb has not had time to propagate itself so there isn't any to give them anyway. Conteck now gets so many requests for the herb he sometimes forgetts which ones he has answered. The same old problems have also returned: a member has quit the guild but not the profession, and another one is carrying a firebolt item as standard kit. Having a firebolt item not an offence in itself: Senior Animists may have access to the ultimate Naturalism power of the God of Life - the power to transform animal matter into vegetable matter - something far more drastic than a firebolt. However, having a device on hand makes it so much easier to abuse its power. Conteck does not roam the forests with his decomposition power at the end of his finger tips - though he did learn from Fiorella how it can be stacked with the power of calling should someone persist in desecrating the guild as happened during her Guildmastery. He really hates to decompose anything except demons and true undead, but he will if he feels his duty to his Patron and/or Guild require it.
So when you meet Conteck as he walks the land of Avalon, have patience with him. He really wants to help, but he is old, and tired, and sometimes feels people presume too much of him.
