>>1100903
Ah, so not actually that good for heating, but pretty great as garbage disposal. Ashes make for some great fertilizer too.

Ah, we have something that can make charcoal without using fuel to heat it, maybe?

Also, if it produces *constant heat*, you just need a method of collecting and insulating that heat so it can't escape, so it can eventually heat a very very very large thing.

I wonder what happens if you put it in a large container of water?

Interesting. Not very useful right now, but interesting.

>Simpler
How about some more land, then water mixed with fire to make a hot sprint.

>Simpler
We can save two runes by omitting primal and ore, then. That's still six runes though but savings are savings.
I can't see a hotspring working with less than 3 flare, 2 stream, 1 Tremor, though.
Aside from expanding the island, hotsprings spring from the earth, so we need a tremor.
Hot needs to overpower cold, so there needs to be more flare than stream runes.
Using a 2:1 mix is risky though. If we tried 2 flare and 1 stream we might end up with a geyser or a tar pit, which are both dangerous.

Tremor, Flare, Stream, Nature, Recovery might make a healing spring for 5... But it could just as easily end up as a soothing mud pit or fertile ground.

I still think the hotspring is the way to go, though.

Something wonderful. You now have an infinite pilot light. Or the core of a reusable grenade.

Experimentation with voidmatter is new to us. If we can create some kind of void-based insulator, we could stuff the Everburn in it and let it charge up into a thermal grenade, throw it at particularly elite foes and re-collect the Everburn after the battle.

For now, though, place the Everburn at the campsite. When we have the resources and the knowhow to keep it suspended within the dirt, it can act as a miniature planetary core, to keep our island warm.

For a hot spring all we need is 1 flare 1 stream.

>>1100904
Hmm. Not bad for a first attempt. Apparently we're supposed to use more detailed instructions.
That stuff burns forever, but not very hot. Try it out! Also, it can be used to burn *anything* into ash, eventually. Wait, what do we contain it with? Doesn't that mean it'll burn rocks?

>>1100911

Well how hot do we want the stream to be? Warm? As hot as is comfortable? Hot enough that we need to actually divert some of it away from a heat source to be able to bathe and relax in it? And how do we know what ratio will do one or the other?

>>1100909
>Hot needs to overpower cold
Stream runes aren't inherently cold. >>1100911 is right, you're overthinking this.
>Recovery
Recovery is the spell, the rune is Life, and Silv did in fact experiment with it and notice that it doesn't have any healing effect in its rune form.

apparently a slow burning ash that makes very little heat but can burn down anything if given enough time... seeing how you're holding it though and it's not hurting you I have no idea how long it takes to burn something to ash.

...
...
... want to see what happens when we put it into a container of water?

>>1100918
>Stream runes aren't inherently cold.
Then why does this place get colder every time we use one?

>>1100904
A low heat generating substance.
It will consume items slowly by turning them to ash.
Im not sure if its real combustion slowed down or some other energy transfer but it does emit heat.
Small heat with good insulation can accrue to a comfortable temperature.
I dont think youll be boiling any kettles with it, but enough could create a faint warmth around in important spots around the island.

Hmm.
I wonder how it reacts to direct magic?
If you have a small amount of it separable from the whole, hit it with flare to see if it gets warmer or works faster. See how it reacts to other magics too.

2 flare, 2 stream, and a tremor for the good minerals; should make a fine hotspring.

1/1 Silv 2024/12/09(Mon)15:26 No. 1101032 ID: 1effd3
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Figuring out island expansion soon! Will be a few days!

1/4 Silv 2024/12/14(Sat)15:19 No. 1101235 ID: 1effd3
File 173421838195.png - (107.82KB , 900x750 , 121224_FromNothing197_SplashWasSuperEffective.png )

>Ah, so not actually that good for heating, but pretty great as garbage disposal. Ashes make for some great fertilizer too.
>Ah, we have something that can make charcoal without using fuel to heat it, maybe?
>A low heat generating substance. It will consume items slowly by turning them to ash. Im not sure if its real combustion slowed down or some other energy transfer but it does emit heat. Small heat with good insulation can accrue to a comfortable temperature.
I dont think youll be boiling any kettles with it, but enough could create a faint warmth around important spots around the island.
>That stuff burns forever, but not very hot. Try it out! Also, it can be used to burn *anything* into ash, eventually. Wait, what do we contain it with? Doesn't that mean it'll burn rocks?
>apparently a slow burning ash that makes very little heat but can burn down anything if given enough time... seeing how you're holding it though and it's not hurting you I have no idea how long it takes to burn something to ash.
“I don’t think it’s lit yet Tetsi. It’s cold, and feels kinda like wet sand. I suppose I could put it into the campfire…”

>How does magic affect it?
>What if we put it in a container of water?
“We… don't have any containers except for the bottles for water. We could probably make a hole and fill it with water.”
Silv digs a small hole and lights the Everburn in it with Flare, sparking it to life. The flame goes out once doused with water.
“Well it’s not waterproof. I’m not sure how magic affects it though, it seems all Flare did was ignite it.”

2/4 Silv 2024/12/14(Sat)15:19 No. 1101236 ID: 1effd3
File 173421839924.png - (98.81KB , 900x750 , 121224_FromNothing198_.png )

>[Simplify]: Expand the island with 3 tremor, and use 1 flare and 2 stream runes to make a hotspring.

x3 Tremor to expand the island.

Silv throws 3 Tremor runes into the Manapulse Nexus, expanding the island's mass slightly beyond the pond. Only 13 runes left.


x1 Stream Rune and x1 Flare rune for a hot spring.

Silv grabs the two runes and begins heading back to the nexus, however, something grabs her, yours, and Fern's attention.

3/4 Silv 2024/12/14(Sat)15:20 No. 1101237 ID: 1effd3
File 173421843052.png - (364.25KB , 900x750 , 121324_FromNothing199_aColdWindBlows.png )

“What’s… that…?”

“Chirp?”

A low wail begins to sound from elsewhere in the void. A chilling breeze begins to pick up, affecting even Silv who’s been able to tolerate it till now. Looking around, you see the Voidlings shifting around uncomfortably, and heading inside of Silvs shack. You soon learn why as the winds suddenly pick up from deep in the void.
“What’s this?!”

“C-c-chirp!” Fern cries as he grabs onto Silv to not get blown away.

Silv brings Fern into the shack before heading back out to make sure nothing else will get blown away by the sudden winds. After making sure everything is safe, she heads back into shelter with Fern, the Voidlings, and the Fabric Golems.

4/4 Silv 2024/12/14(Sat)15:20 No. 1101238 ID: 1effd3
File 173421844572.png - (341.61KB , 900x750 , 121424_FromNothing200_cramped.png )

It’s a little cramped.
“...Now’s probably a good time to sleep, huh?”

“Chirp?”

The wind howls outside, while Silv is (somewhat) comfortably squished inside with everyone. It’s not particularly warm, but the company is nice.
”...Anything you’d like to talk about Tetsi?”

Ummmm...know any good stories? Now sounds like good story time.

>Well it’s not waterproof
...with a name like ever burn I feel lied to. Though that does mean we don't have to worry about it spreading out of control so good to know.

>Anything you’d like to talk about Tetsi?
So, how you holding up? Enjoying the adventures, dreading them, indifferent? Don't think we've had a moment to really reflect.

I guess we can use everburn safely by putting it in a pot over a basin of water. If it burns through the pot, it'll be extinguished by the water. Nice little heat source for warming up the shelter!

>questions?
Have you remembered anything more about your past? Like, who was your teacher? Your family?

You've been through a lot in a short time Silv. Are you feeling okay? Anything you want to make our next goal?

That wind felt like it came from somewhere, or like it was produced by something, out in the Void. The timing came as we were expanding, maybe the nexus firing up is getting something's attention.

>talk
Try humming a tune, the first one to come to mind, see if it calls to mind any memories. Things like that can help jog amnesia.

>>1101237
the black wind is howling...

I've been busy theory-crafting spells. We should be able to make some with permanent effects, if we obtain more runes.
I've thought of one to allow you to heal by eating.
One that could trigger a metamorphosis and give you functional wings to fly with. On you they'd probably be the pretty gossamer wings of a dragonfly or fairy...
I've thought of a way to teleport, and a sort of blessing/curse that makes you stronger but more monstrous based on how much damage you take...

I've also come up with something horrifying. In theory the Eldritch rune should be able to reverse the law of entropy in an arbitrary space. I'll spare you the technical stuff, but that means with an easy to create, low mana spell, you could destroy... anything. Everything. An enemy. A nation. A world. ...And beyond. Even if extensive safety measures were programmed into the spell, it would still be trivially easy to screw up and cause a catastrophe.
I'm certain that more than a few of these fragments are from worlds that met their end with that very spell. It's probably why we keep seeing the ruins of advanced civilizations. In order to use the Eldritch rune like that one needs to have a deep understanding of how the laws of nature work. That's something primitive civilizations lack.
I don't think we're in too much danger of it- The laws of nature, while present, do not dominate this place. I still don't wanna find out first hand, though.

I think it might be a good idea to look into restoring the mana-pulse nexus soon. Call it a hunch, but I worry we may end up needing it sooner rather than later...

1/3 Silv 2024/12/17(Tue)14:30 No. 1101351 ID: 1effd3
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>Well it’s not waterproof
>...with a name like ever burn I feel lied to. Though that does mean we don't have to worry about it spreading out of control so good to know.
>I guess we can use everburn safely by putting it in a pot over a basin of water. If it burns through the pot, it'll be extinguished by the water. Nice little heat source for warming up the shelter!
“Too bad I left it outside in a hole… A little more warmth would be nice.”

>So, how you holding up? Enjoying the adventures, dreading them, indifferent? Don't think we've had a moment to really reflect.
>You've been through a lot in a short time Silv. Are you feeling okay? Anything you want to make our next goal?
“I’m doing OK I think. Exploring around has been fun, but also scary at times since we don’t know anything and have to manage surviving.”

>Have you remembered anything more about your past? Like, who was your teacher? Your family?
>Try humming a tune, the first one to come to mind, see if it calls to mind any memories. Things like that can help jog amnesia.
“Nothing’s really come back to me at all, only those few couple of memories.” Silv yawns.
“Tunes… tunes…”

2/3 Silv 2024/12/17(Tue)14:31 No. 1101352 ID: 1effd3
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>the black wind is howling…
“...It’s… an oddly comforting sound…”
Fern snuggles closer to Silv.

>>1101292
“...”
Silv has fallen asleep.
You slowly feel yourself drifting away as well…

3/3 Fern 2024/12/17(Tue)14:31 No. 1101353 ID: 1effd3
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You awaken to Fern attempting to wake Silv up, but to no avail. She continues to sleep soundly with the voidlings. Fern looks around, grabs you, and heads outside.

The air is chilly, and frost covers the ground.

“...?”

>>1101353
"...!"

man we picked a good time to build a shelter.

>Fern looks around, grabs you, and heads outside.
howdy, is your new coat helping you handle the weather?

Hello Fern. Is everything alright?

Has anyone told you that you're adorable, Fern?

You should play in the snow before the novelty wears off and the cold sets in.

Okay... that's not good.
Our mushroom crops need to be harvested before they wither, our island's heating core needs to be jumpstarted... lots of stuff to do before winter sets in.

[Scan: arid animals]

>>1101359
Fern's a plant, that would probably just cause lethargy.

Wake up the cloth golems. They can help us salvage the crops that can still be saved from the frost.

>>1101353
Say, fern
If you can hear us, carefully take a little walk around the island.
NOT near the edge.
Just enough to let us see the damage.

Youre ojay though arent you? Not too cold?

>>1101353
Sulv looks pretty arthropodal there's a chance she may have gone into a dormant staye due to the cold.

Hiiii Ferrrn

Oh, maybe Fern can get the Everburn out of the water for us and put it in the shelter to warm it.

Huh.
Neat!
Anything else different about the island, Fern?
We should look around.

1/3 Fern 2024/12/21(Sat)08:59 No. 1101458 ID: 1effd3
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>Hello Fern. Is everything alright?
>Hiiii Ferrrn
>"...!"
“!”
“?”

>howdy, is your new coat helping you handle the weather?
>Has anyone told you that you're adorable, Fern?
“o7”

>Silv looks pretty arthropodal there's a chance she may have gone into a dormant state due to the cold.
“!!!”

>Oh, maybe Fern can get the Everburn out of the water for us and put it in the shelter to warm it.
“!”
“...?”
...How is Fern supposed to light it?

2/3 Fern 2024/12/21(Sat)08:59 No. 1101459 ID: 1effd3
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>Okay... that's not good. Our mushroom crops need to be harvested before they wither, our island's heating core needs to be jumpstarted... lots of stuff to do before winter sets in.
>Wake up the cloth golems. They can help us salvage the crops that can still be saved from the frost.
“!” “o7”
Fern quickly runs back inside the shack, and carries the cloth golems outside with them. They then proceed to check the mushrooms with the help of the golems.

>[Scan: arid animals]
While Fern is doing that, you try to Dowse, but bring up nothing.
Fern returns shortly with a small pile of mushrooms, and even checked on the Toxigrowth plants.
x10 Glowshrooms obtained.
x16 glowshrooms in the garden.
x7 Toxigrowth fruit obtained.

3/3 Fern 2024/12/21(Sat)09:00 No. 1101460 ID: 1effd3
File 173480040796.png - (180.71KB , 900x750 , 122124_FromNothing206_InTheDistance.png )

>Say, fern If you can hear us, carefully take a little walk around the island. NOT near the edge. Just enough to let us see the damage.
>Huh. Neat! Anything else different about the island, Fern? We should look around.
“o7”
Fern runs around the island with you to check the damage caused by the frost. There isn’t much, but you can tell the mushrooms and Toxigrowth won't provide anything new until it warms up.

“...?”
Fern tries to get your attention, and is pointing out into the void. You squint out into the distance, trying to see what Fern sees.
As the cool breeze blows by, you see a significantly brighter spot in the darkness than normal. You can’t quite make out what’s over there though, it’s too far away.

You should probably wake up Silv, right?

oh cool, Fern can hear us. Was somewhat worried that only Silv could since no one else seem to react to what we say unless she repeats it.

>You should probably wake up Silv, right?
I mean, sure? Is the light coming closer or staying put? If it's getting closer then yes please go wake Silv up now. If it's just staying there maybe we should observe it a bit more to see if anything happens and let Silv get a little extra rest. Speaking of observing let's see if we can scan what the light is.

HOLY CRAP THERE ARE FIVE GIANT VOIDLINGS OUT THERE!

SILV!
SILV!

>>1101463
What? Where? I just see some clusters of "stars".

>>1101460
I suppose so, yeah. We can wake Silv up to get the everburn warming the shelter in case she wants to ignore it, too.

>>1101464
What do you think the "" in "Stars" is?

>>1101465
If they're not close enough to see their shapes then I don't think we need to be worried about them.

so is it another island or is it a vessel? If it's moving closer then get Silv, if not observe.

>>1101460
That looks a bit like our eye. Could it be someone else awakened a Nexus, or an artifact like us, and detected the expansion of our island? They definitely seem to be directing a vessel.

>Dowsing yields nothing
I wonder if that's because there was nothing, or because Fern isn't a caster.

Let's try...
>Dowse: Tetsi's Sibling

>>1101475
We can't dowse for specific things like that.

>>1101463
>>1101464
>>1101465
Seven. Not sure they're voidlings, tho, there's no outline.