Rules & How To Enter

Subject Areas

Works may be submitted currently in the following subject areas:

ART:

- Physical drawings, physical paintings, physical sculptures, ((digital artworks )), and more.
- ((Music and video submissions are not permitted at this time)).

HISTORY:

- History of Temuair, Medenia, or both! Popular entries are timelines, stories of notable people, histories of locations around the world, and journal entries.

• Grinneal History: History of significant events before the appearance of the Tuatha De Danaan.
• Danaan History: History of significant events after the appearance of the Tuatha and before Danaan's Great Sacrifice.
• Deoch History: History of significant events after the appearance of the first Aisling ((i.e - in game history after Dark Ages went live)).

LITERATURE:

- Poetry, scripts, or stories occurring in the world of Temuair and/or Medenia.
You may need to be careful not to make it too much of a biography (see PERSONA).

LORE:

- Practical information and guides about any aspect of Temuair and/or Medenia. These can be a specific collection of facts, quest guides, class guides, or how-tos for the many challenges Aislings face.
(( Practical guides on strictly role-play topics (e.g. cooking) are also acceptable )).

PHILOSOPHY:

Broad ideas about life and living in Temuair and/or Medenia. These tend to be about theology, elements, magic theory, sociology, psychology, racial sociology, economics, and more. This is the most varied category of all of the Mileth College categories.
(( The Dark Ages definition of philosophy is based on the historical definition. Philosophy historically encompassed theoretical investigation in any "body of knowledge", including the humanities. ))
If the work is more practical in nature, perhaps it better suited as a lore submission.

PERSONA ('Biography'):

- Either an autobiography or biography about an Aisling or Mundane. Please get permission before writing someone else's biography.
You must then make sure they read and accept your entry before submitting it to the Contest Hall in order to avoid nasty slander allegations!
*** Note: Persona is a special category in which the highest award level is not available. Recognized biographers also do not gain some noble privileges (such as teaching) ***

Memory

MEMORY ((Screenshot)):
- An unaltered memory
((An unaltered screenshot of an exciting event within Dark Ages. Created by pressing the F12 Key. Many of the screenshots on the Dark Ages website originate from this contest area.))
*** This was a special category with its own unique Clave and Village recognition marks, though without noble privileges. Defunct as a regular subject area in early 2002, it was revived as a yearly contest in 2025. ***

Former Subject Areas

Several other subject areas were available long ago, but are now defunct. You might still find some very old aislings with recognition marks of these subjects on their legends:

PORTRAIT:

- A self portrait
((Specifically a self-portrait created using the Dark Ages Face Maker Tool. This tool ships with the Dark Ages client. Portraits created using the tool are then displayed in game when clicking on a character. The Face Maker tool has a limited resolution and color palette for an artist to work with; hence the difference between this and a normal art submission.))
*** This was a special art sub-category in only which the maximum art award offered was Village. Defunct as of early 2002. ***

EVENT:

(( Event planned, organized, and hosted by characters, and must be in-character. Four Aislings will receive full recognition.
*** This was a special category with its own unique recognition marks. It was only ever offered once in the game's history in December 2000. *** ))

1. Must Be About Temuair and/or Medenia
   • Entries MUST relate to/evoke the theme of Temuair and/or Medenia
   • ((Entries should be free of out of character content "heresy", and MUST be Dark Ages related.))
2. No Plagiarism
   • An entrant will be disqualified and barred from entering future works if it contains plagiarized material.
   • Utilizing reference material from sources other than your own creative works MUST be cited

   (( *** Any submitted works containing material generated by AI software is considered a violation of this rule. ***))

3. Work In Progress Requirement for Certain Art Submissions
   • For art created in the digiteach style ((digital art)), artists are asked to create adequate work in progress records of their submission (( this can come in various formats, such as layers, screenshots, time-lapse video, recording, etc. )).
   • This is a soft requirement in that entrants will not be automatically disqualified if they do not make adequate work in progress records.
   • If there are reasonable grounds to suspect the submitted work contains elements created by an abominable intelligence ((AI created)), then it is incumbent upon the entrant to produce adequate work in progress records to the Chancellors to confirm authenticity. Failure to do so would simply mean the entry is disqualified, with no other penalty.
4. No Mundane Mandate Violations
   • Submitted entries may not violate the Mundane Mandate ((Dark Ages Terms of Service))
   • Works containing inappropriate or non-contextual profanity will be disqualified at the discretion of a College Chancellor, and forwarded to a Ranger and/or Mundanes for review.
5. One Entry Per Deoch
   • Each Aisling may submit only one entry per Deoch ((45 days)). Any entry posted before a full Deoch has passed since their previous entry will be disqualified.
   • Ask a College Chancellor for information on when you can enter again if you are unsure.
6. ((IP Violations
   • Use of Kru and/or Nexon's intellectual property pertaining to unreleased content - including, but not limited to, images, quests, armors, icons, skills, spells, animations, or any other content either from LOD, or unreleased but unimplemented within this client, is a violation of the Dark Ages Terms of Service, and is strictly prohibited. ))

Rule Violations

Individuals found to be breaking the rules, in addition to being disqualified, may have any existing nobility taken away from them, or may be barred (permanently or temporarily) from making future entries.

Aislings suspected of bribing, coercing, or otherwise harassing other nobles for reviews of their entries will be reported to a Ranger and/or the Mundanes for further review.

Brainstorm & Plan

Planning your entry is your first step and there's a lot that goes into it. Lack of planning is what leads to foundational problems with any kind of entry.

Start with the big guiding questions. What is the subject area that interests you most? Or if you have a general topic already, how do you plan to approach it? That will determine the subject area.

Read the criteria for the subject areas.
Read the criteria for each level of achievement.
This information will not only guide your work but help you anticipate what nobles will consider when reviewing your entry.

What Already Exists

As you narrow down on what you want to do, research and read what recognized works are relevant to your topic.

(Important: The library of recognized works on the Dark Ages website has not been updated since 2005 and contains many dead links. It is woefully outdated for research.
Visit our library section for an up to date, continually updated collection of recognized works. Aisling Spark also has most recognized player works hosted, though may not have the very latest added.)

Learn from the established lore in-game (i.e - speaking to mundanes, doing quests, etc). After checking on things do you find your idea is still original?

Write For Your Specific Subject and Topic

Consider general criteria applicable to all entries (originality, invoking the theme, cultural enrichment/building on our knowledge, effort) and then criteria for your specific subject.

Reach Out! Ask!

Do not hesitate to reach out to Nobles or Chancellors for help or discussing ideas.

Entrants sometimes make the mistake of reaching out for feedback after they've already entered the Contest Hall to submit their work. Even worse, many submit their first entry without doing any research or reaching out to anyone knowledgeable for advice.

Be Passionate

Let your passion guide you, not the material rewards! That's the honest truth as we nobles all know it.

When you submit something you had fun working on, you're hooked.

Hosting

If your entry is purely text, it can be posted in game, otherwise before submitting you will first need somewhere to post and host it online for the review process. Where is entirely up to you.

((We are more than happy to provide space on the web server here for hosting entries. Contact a College Chancellor for more information.))

Submitting Your Entry

You may not revise your entry after submission, so be sure you are absolutely satisfied with it before submitting it.

1. Go to the Mileth College
2. Head to the Contest Hall, located in the south corner of the campus.
3. At the door you will be asked if you are ready to submit your entry. Only if you are absolutely ready say yes.
4. At this point three educated marks will be removed and you will be placed in the contest hall. A world shout will have also gone out saying you are about to submit an entry.
5. Access the board in the middle of the room
6. Make a post on the board submitting your entry. Your submission post should contain:
   • Entry name
   • Entry subject
   • A brief description of the entry
   • Where the entry is posted * (if your entry is purely text, it may be posted on the board)
7. When you are finished leave the Contest Hall. A Chancellor will soon formally open your submitted work for review.

Review Overview

Once a Chancellor has formally opened your work for review it may then be reviewed. Any noble / recognized aisling with a village reward or higher may review a work.

Each reviewer will choose to recommend the work for recognition or not. If they choose to recommend recognition they will also recommend what level of recognition.

All reviews are publicly posted on the Mileth Contest Hall board; however reviewers may opt to remain anonymous and have a College Chancellor post the review on their behalf.

Jails During Review Process

If an entrant who has a work under going review is jailed by a Ranger, their entry will be disqualified and the review ended. They may, however, resubmit the entry after a period of one deoch ((45 days)), provided they still meet the requirements to submit an entry.

Nobles reviewing a submitted work may recommend one of four recognition levels or alternatively recommend no recognition.

No Recognition

This recommendation should be made for entries that did not do well enough to be recognized. The work probably should not have been submitted in its state and the foundations suffer from significant flaws.

Clave

The Fourth highest level of achievement. This should be awarded to an entry that did well enough to be recognized, but not good enough to reward its author with the ability to teach a class in that subject area. This entry probably needed a bit more work in more than one area. Future entries from this individual may yield greater results.

Village

Third highest level of achievement. This should be awarded to an entrant that did well enough to be qualified to teach the subject, but nothing more. They may have a few errors, or their idea may not have been original enough. However, they still did well overall.

Kingdom

Second highest level of achievement. Should be awarded to an entrant that may not have been amazing, but was certainly excellent work. It may have a minor error or two, but this does not overshadow its excellence in other areas.
Kingdom is the maximum award level available for Persona submissions

Aisling

Highest level of achievement. Should only be awarded to an entrant that was outstanding in its category. Fills all criteria and goes above and beyond.

Claim Your Title

After your submitted work has been recognized ((a tentative mark will have appeared on your character's legend)), you will need to formally claim your new title of nobility.

Loures has assigned various mundanes for this task. Speak to the mundane that corresponds to the award and award level you attained:

Art:

• Aisling: Bruce, King of Loures
• Kingdom: Heuberto, Rucesion Tailor
• Village: Argus, Undine Baker
• Clave: Hauk, Abel Villager

History:

• Aisling: Jean, Wizard & Head of the Loures High Council
• Kingdom: Appie, Piet Hedge Wizard
• Village: Hadrian, Suomi Wizard
• Clave: Damara, Undine Banker

Literature:

• Aisling: Viveka, Suomi Barmaid
• Kingdom: Frida, Abel Barmaid
• Village: Aingeal, Mileth Barmaid
• Clave: Colm, Mileth Mailman

Lore:

• Aisling: Hali, Undine Tailor
• Kingdom: Antonio, Rucesion Bank
• Village: Bertil, Suomi Fae Priestess
• Clave: Daithi, Mileth Rogue

Persona:

• Aisling: Viveka, Suomi Barmaid
• Kingdom: Frida, Abel Barmaid
• Village: Aingeal, Mileth Barmaid
• Clave: Duana, Mileth Dance

Philosophy:

• Aisling: Jean, Wizard & Head of the Loures High Council
• Kingdom: Kiril, Undine Wizard
• Village: Hadrian, Suomi Wizard
• Clave: Chloe, Undine Barmaid

More Rewards:

After you have claimed your noble title you will receive up to three possible rewards in addition to a legend mark. The exact amounts will vary depending on your current insight as well as the recognition level and/or subject of your work:

1. Experience

(a very small amount by modern standards)

2. Political Clout

- Clout is used in the Mileth and Rucesion political systems. All recognized aislings will still receive clout regardless of citizenship.

3. Noble Garment Point

- If your work was Aisling recognized you will receive one noble garment point. These points can be spent to craft, rent and/or obtain noble garments and titles. See armors & titles for more information.
(Further noble garment points can be earned by teaching classes at the Mileth College; this goes for Village and Kingdom recognized nobles as well.)

College Portmanteau:

Speak to a College Chancellor to receive a College Portmanteau as a further reward for your recognition. College Portmanteaus are a consumable item that, when opened, give an aisling a choice to receive:

1. Experience and Ability

100,000 – 300,000 Ability and 150,000,000 to 300,000,000 Experience

or

2. Gold

1 million to 5 million gold in coins

or

3. Item

One of following will be randomly received:

• 10x Red Extonic
• 10x Hwarone Weapon Upgrade Plan
• 10x Hwarone Helmet Upgrade Plan
• 10x Armor Helmet Upgrade Plan
• 10x Veltain Ore
• 2x Andor Queen Chest
• 2x Satchel of Goods
• Experience Gem
• 2x Water Dungeon Chest
• Dragon’s Grip Gauntlet
• Black Pearl Ring

Notes – Portmanteaus:

• No cool down period (?)
• Can be given to other aislings
• Can be banked
• Can be stacked
• Are not perishable