Test of the Singing Cicada
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University Text
Find cicada cages placed around Egypt by other players, then place your own for a stream of points.
Overview
The Test of the Singing Cicada is a test in the discipline of the Human Body, and is also the way to permanently increase one's Speed attribute. The test focuses on exploration, particularly of remote or hard-to-reach areas in Egypt.
You must go to a University of Body and hand over a certain amount of cicadas you have found for the scientists to give you a cage to build. Usually it takes 4 - 9 cicadas to do this. As of Tale 8, a cicada cage cannot be built in an area controlled by your faction. "You cannot place a cage in land we (Your Faction) control, they are really noisy, let someone else put up with them..." A cage costs 1 linen and 4 boards to build. You cannot build near steep terrain.
You have the above options for cages. Sometimes two or more cages are built on top of each other so it is good policy to "Move the Nearby Cage." under Self -> Tests -> Test of the Singing Cicada.
At the start of tale, there are seed cages are placed by The Stranger.
Passing the Principle
Hidden across the Egyptian landscape are dozens of Cicada Cages, detectable mainly through the continuous chirping sounds they emit. A player who comes across a cicada cage is allowed to take a cicada from it (provided the player has signed up for the Cicada test). When a player has collected enough cicadas, he may build and place a cicada cage of his own. Cages crumble and are gone after 7 players have discovered them.
Cicada points are earned both by finding other players' cages (a single bonus for each cage found) and by building your own (points earned continuously for as long as your cages survive). Every 3 Egypt days, the 21 players with the highest scores receive a permanent Speed advance. They then all lose cicada points equal to the 21st player's score. (In effect, the 21st player's score determines how much it "costs" to "buy" a Speed point that day.)