Runebots Hungry for Justice

Recently I had an interesting thought. In the world of Runehack, runes can detect phenomena perceivable by the human senses. Humans have more than 6 senses though. Sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste are just the beginning. Northcall is a new one I spoke of in the past, but this isn't going to be about that either. Today, I'll delve into a world of internal senses and what they could be used for in runebots.

Why would a robot ever need to be hungry anyway?
Art by SaraLePew

Hungry Runebots

I started with a thought experiment. If a runebot could be made to sense anything a human can sense, ... what would happen if it were to feel hunger? Obviously, a runebot doesn't have a stomach, or a need to eat. In fact, even having a mouth is optional. I could easily say that it's a hunger for more fuel, and that is one way to resolve this which already belongs to the solution to this issue. What about other internal feelings though? To keep it simple, what about the runebots who feel thirst or pain? These things would likely be qualia, something that a runebot either can't understand, or it would sense these things differently from a human who actually needs to eat and sleep, and who would have actual pain receptors to sense pain.

After some time processing this idea in the back of my thought cabinet, it bumped into an old friend. Years ago, I watched a TED Talk given by mister David Eagleman. It was a talk about the substitution and extension of human senses. It turns out that the brain isn't told about its inputs in some specific way by an eye, an ear, and so on. It just gets used to these inputs, and figures out how to make sense of them. All it needs is to be fed data. He presented in a video, and later on stage, a showcase of his vest equipped with several vibratory devices embedded in it that activated and deactivated based on the sounds it heard through a microphone. Then, he switched it to receive a live feed of tweets from Twitter. The tweets were processed with an algorithm into positive and negative messages, allowing him to (hypothetically) feel what the public thought regarding 2015's TED Talks on Twitter. It was one of those things that stayed with me for years, waiting for its time to shine. I've watched a more recent video of his where he gave the same talk very recently but then continued further since there's a 9-year gap. The vest was replaced by a wristband, which allowed people with partial or complete hearing loss to hear. It apparently also helps cure tinnitus by training the brain to tell apart the beeps that are and aren't real.

These lectures gave me an idea: maybe these sensations could be reused for something else in Runebots. It sure sounds better than suffering pain, hunger, or thirst that they can do nothing about.

Amber Thirst

Let's begin with the most intuitive use case that I mentioned above. Runebots need fuel to continue operating, so repurpose the thirst into a sense of running out of fuel. Let's say that when the runebot has enough amber to last for 4-8 hours, they begin to feel mild thirst. Then, the thirst intensifies when it goes below 4 hours. Simple, intuitive, and neat.

Hungry for Purpose

A runebot is given a purpose that it hungers for. I expect two kinds of responses to this, both saying the same thing but from different angles: I don't need to say that this is because it feels hungry. This is just part of how machines are trained, after all. You find some way to score how well it's doing, and the runebot will learn how to improve by maximizing this score. That is an excellent point, my hypothetical reader and counterargumenter. The reason why I'm saying this is hunger is just because I wanted the hunger idea to go somewhere, and because people in the world would rather tie something to hunger rather than have a runebot feel a sensation it can't really understand or fulfill for no reason.

The proverbial Paperclip Machine would be hungry for making paperclips. Some research runebots could be hungry for discoveries. The Robocop (Runocop confirmed?) could be hungry for justice!. A search bot could be hungry for the satisfaction of its users when they find what they are looking for.

Pain for Damage

Runebots are not indestructible. And while it might seem cruel to make them feel pain if their body is damaged, it's better than making them feel pain for no reason whatsoever. The sensation of pain could tell the runebot what component of their current body is damaged and how badly.

"I'm sorry, buddy. I'm not sure if you'll make it." Now this feels like a terrible way to go. Good thing runebots can stop puppeteering a body and transfer their consciousness (or semblance of it) elsewhere!
Robot is dead, by Waldemar-Kazak

Other Internal Senses

According to Wikipedia, there's a total of 14 internal senses I could draw from. One for respiration, one for suffocation, one for feeling tired, one for throat sensations such as swallowing, vomiting, or acid reflux, receptors in the urinary bladder, blood vessel dilation, and so on... I don't have uses for them just yet. Needless to say, though, runebot's lack of biological functions could allow for many more sensations that it could perceive internally, and reinterpret as something completely different.

As Mr. Eagleman said in both of his talks, there's a word for a world that an organism can perceive through its senses: umwelt. Part of the talks was showcasing the idea that a human umwelt could be expanded through the use of technology. You could literally feel your drone's location and orientation. You could feel the locations of your allies or enemies on a battlefield. You could feel the developments on the stock market. The biggest takeaway for me is thus that a runebot, and non-robotic people too, could choose what's included in the world they perceive. And these choices would ultimately shape what the world is to them. It's a lot more food for thought, and I'm shelving it once more in the back of my thought cabinet to process until I recall this idea again.

Until next time, thanks for reading, and have a nice day!

Concepts, Manifestations, and Archons

Let's go on a small trip down memory lane. It's been a while since I wrote something for high-fantasy worlds usable in a game like D&D. Back in June 2017 (I too am surprised how long I've been going), I wrote an article about souls. In it, I described genies as "souls lost outside of ethereal plane's reach that some element sticks to". Elements have always been a fascinating idea to me, and back then I only worried about addressing actual D&D things instead of coming up with my own ideas. In March 2018, I wrote an article about the senses. This one I admit is only tangentially related, you'll see it later. Later, in October of the same year, I wrote a cosmology article about Chained Realms. I don't think I actually played any D&D game that would explicitly take place in it, I just wanted an excuse to show off my cool new take on the elemental planes and how simple the cosmology could be. This is a crucial article for today's write-up. Last but not least, I wrote about the Tahjinn in March 2022 on Reddit. I made it because I knew that making the genasi more interesting would take very little effort.

All these things crossed paths in my brain when I read Izzy's simple question minutes into June 22nd:

Have y'all ever thought of the idea of an anti-elemental?

Concepts

Let's go from the ground level, just in case you forgot the theory written in articles from years ago. The significant part of the multiverse is covered by two transitional planes: Ether and Aether. Mortals named these, and they named these mainly because they found out about the Ether first, and then judged that Aether is its opposite. Aether is the realm that contains all of the elements: fire, water, earth, air, and spark. It also contains the mind, which is an animating force, though perhaps it can be treated as an element of sorts too.

Previously, I've said that the Ether is a realm of souls, as well as pure light and darkness. I think I've changed my mind on this, and it's time to build this up more. Let's start with a new term: Ether's realm doesn't contain elements, it contains concepts. They too have physical manifestations of sorts (listed alphabetically):

• Amber is a concept that encapsulates artistic and aesthetic ideas.
• Blood is a concept that encapsulates psychological and emotional ideas.
• Bright is a concept that encapsulates existential and metaphysical ideas.
• Crystal is a concept that encapsulates social and cultural concepts.
• Dark* is a concept that encapsulates ethical and moral ideas.

Similarly to how the mind is one of the elements technically, the soul is one of the concepts technically. An animating force is required, after all. There would be mixtures between the concepts too, but I didn't feel like coming up with those yet, because I have more exciting things to talk about. By the way, the concepts and elements would mix too, though I have no idea what would come of those unions.

I have a couple of notes on the above list, so let's talk about them.

Firstly, I've put the metaphysical and existential ideas into the Bright concept because of the senses article. Preception can be quite important to existence itself (something something quantum physics).

As for the Crystal, it refers to any kind of organized structure, not merely ice, salt, or gemstone.

Finally, I'm putting the morality and ethicality ideas under the Dark concept because I couldn't figure out a better place for it yet, and I didn't want to drop it. Sure darkness is just an absence of light, but in a fantasy context that can be ignored. Honestly, most of these are kind of placeholders, if I find something better I'm all in for replacing them.

Mystery is a strange thing. It cannot be held, yet it can be grasped. It cannot be seen and understood, for that undoes it. It is a fickle phenomenon, and yet it exists persistently throughout the universe. It is not an element, however, for it is not made up of molecules, atoms, or quarks.
Raziel, angel of mysteries, by Peter Mohrbacher

Manifestations and Archons

An elemental is a pile of elemental matter animated by a mind. Analog to that for the Ethereal planes would be a manifestation: a pile of conceptual matter animated by a soul. Angels are bright manifestations, fiends were formerly dark manifestations but now I'm not so sure. Crystal manifestations sound kind of like modrons, though I'd assume they would be more human-ish if that makes sense. Blood manifestations and amber manifestations would be just generally cool, even if I have no idea what those would entail.

When a mortal perishes outside of the reach of the Aether, somewhere in the Ether, their soul will travel wherever it needs to. That much I've made clear back when I wrote that article about souls I linked above. But what about their mind? If the souls go through a great recycling process, shouldn't the minds go through one as well? Now they do. And without access to the Aether, a mind will be stuck in the Ether. Conceptual matter will begin to clump around it, and what you'll end up with is an archon - a conceptual equivalent of a genie. I know, I know, archon already stands for a highly-ranking angel in D&D, I just wanted something that could share some sound with the word "archetype" but wanted to avoid using the label "archetype" itself for beings as numerous as genies.

Conceptual Mixtures

So let's give this a go. What could the mixtures of the concepts above be like as physical manifestations? I seriously doubt I'll get it all perfectly on the first try, but that's what happens when one treads an unfamiliar territory. It's going to sound silly, since we could map these to the already existing elements, but it is what it is.

Concept	Amber	Blood	Bright	Crystal	Dark
Amber	Amber	Paint	Glass	Mosaic	Ink
Blood	Paint	Blood	Dream	Wine	Venom
Bright	Glass	Dream	Bright	Prism	Shadow
Crystal	Mosaic	Wine	Prism	Crystal	Obsidian
Dark	Ink	Venom	Shadow	Obsidian	Dark

Following the same logic I outlined in the Chained Realms article linked above, we could thus deduce how would the different Conceptual Planes look.

• Conceptual Plane of Amber would have seas of ink and paint, with mosaic islands that have glass and amber structures on them.
• Conceptual Plane of Blood feels the most watery to me, so we could make the dreams in it a physical thing that one could stand on.
• Conceptual Plane of Bright (the closest thing to a fantasy heaven) would be made of glass lands and prismatic mountains, perhaps with liquid dreams as the oceans, but still with some shadow here and there.
• Conceptual Plane of Crystal feels the most like earth, but wine would make for an amazing ocean among all those hard materials.
• Finally, Conceptual Plane of Dark (the closest thing to a fantasy hell) would be islands of Obsidian among venomous ink, with darkness all around, and yet shadows that lurk within the darkness.

It ain't perfect, but frankly it's some cool mental imagery.

Air, earth, fire, spark, water, and mind. Five plus one elements. Amber, blood, bright, crystal, dark, and soul. Five plus one concepts. The multiverse is perfectly balanced, as all things should be. And it feels great, as long as you don't ask me what the difference between mind and soul is supposed to me. So far, I'm gonna claim it's the split between one's internal logic, versus emotional side.

Thank you for reading, and have a great day!

Describing Shadowfell

Yesterday, I was looking over some of the discord servers I frequent and stumbled upon a message on the discord server run by a YouTuber called Holstic Dungeon Master. He wanted some inspiration for the descriptions, atmosphere, monsters, and challenges of this realm. I started writing and didn't stop for a while, because it seemed the inspiration was just flowing out of me. In the end, his group ended up going to the ocean's depths instead. That's why I decided to compile what I wrote here and share it with anyone interested. I should add that these are all things I came up with on the spot, they don't necessarily fit the D&D canon.

More game design articles coming soon. For now, indulge me in the brooding moods of Shadowfell by reading on, and have a great day!

Unchanging, eternal.
A screenshot from Death Note.

Colors

All colors are less saturated in this world, including the colors of those not native to the plane, and the magic they use. Think of it like someone applying a sepia or grayscale filter partially to everything everyone sees. Grays, beiges, and other muted colors dominate the realm, though you can still distinguish the shades of formerly highly saturated colors.

Weather

It's almost always overcast. Rains are common, snow only in cold regions. Sometimes, the rain could be toxic. In some extreme areas, the rain could age anything it touches, just like in Death Stranding.

Slopes

Most of the time, you are encouraged to move downhill in the realm of Shadowfell. Going uphill without equipment is almost impossible, even if in the Material Plane it'd be easy to walk up that kind of hill. Meanwhile, Shadowfell feels deep, like one could go lower and lower indefinitely. Its depths feel just as gloomy as the surface, so it's hard to tell how high up or how low you are unless you keep track of it.

Buildings

Since it's an echo of the Material Plane, the buildings and cities could exist in this realm, but they'd be warped by the plane's influence. In this case, the buildings are a bit bigger and therefore emptier. They are big enough for their walls to be in contact. If there are doorways on the inside, or one uses the spell passwall, you could traverse an entire city without ever going outside.

Emotions

The native creatures mostly express low-energy moods here. Boredom, sadness, and hopelessness are way more common than anger, fear, or joy. Non-native creatures will have a harder time expressing high-energy emotions too.

Exit

This one is quite dark, so read at your own risk. In some places, it's possible to leave Shadowfell by taking your own life. Once you pass such a place, though, you never know if you left it for sure.

Nameless

It's normal for the native denizens of Shadowfell to not have a name. It's hard to care about such unnecessary things in a realm like that and makes passing away easier.

Hunger

Anyone in Shadowfell feels less hungry than they otherwise would, but this doesn't mean they are less hungry. One would starve themselves to death without knowing it if they were to only eat in Shadowfell like they normally would when they begin to feel genuine hunger. The natives are used to eating less, and their biology allows them to survive longer with lesser sustenance.

Plantlife and Mushrooms

The plants of Shadowfell generally either don't have leaves, or all the leaves are dead and shriveled. One could in theory grow mushrooms or even fruits in some rare places. The taste is reduced significantly though - a fantastic meal would taste okay, an okay meal would taste rather bad, and a rather bad meal would taste outright awful here. Like sand and sawdust.

Shinigami apple from Death Note.

Water

Nobody is quite sure what's wrong with the water, but non-natives should not drink it without purifying it first. Natives are unaffected, assuming they need to drink water.

Passage of Time

The time passes as normal, but psychologically it feels like the time is not passing at all. Unless one would enter and leave Shadowfell within an hour or keep track of time while inside, you could spend any amount of time there and exit feeling like you've been there only for an hour. You will always be surprised about how much time passed when you leave Shadowfell.

Sleep

The denizens of Shadowfell need to sleep more than an average creature would. It's not unheard of for them to sleep for 10-16 hours a day, unless magic powers them they need some energy source afterall.

Physical Manifestation

A non-native will reshape their surroundings subconsciously if they reside in one spot for too long. The surroundings will take shape that will remind them the most of their own past failures, guilt, and trauma.

Memories

Recalling memories uncharacteristic of this realm (joy, anger, etc.) requires actual concentration if you spend too much time in Shadowfell. After a while, it would literally break your concentration on spells and effects like that.

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Most influences are from the Shinigami Realm featured in Death Note, with lesser inspiration from Spec Ops: The Line, Junji Ito's Uzumaki, and Death Stranding.

Anyway, yeah, that's all for now. Have a great day, and thank you for reading!

Languages in Runehack, and Mental Load in Worldbuilding

This article is not written just because the articles made under the tag myRPGs have almost overtaken Runehack. It is part of the reason for this, but I'm writing this because it's a thing I've pondered for a while.

On one occasion in the past, I've talked about the mental load of a media consumer. Sure this is something I spoke about only regarding a D&D homebrew, but it extends beyond this. People love detailed worldbuilding, but detailed worldbuilding isn't for everyone. This is why I feel so many writers talk about the worldbuilding icebergs, an illusion of detailed worldbuilding by merely alluding to some matters in the world, or developing the fictional cultures only in a couple of areas that interest the author the most. And there's some truth to it all. In an ideal scenario, an author who wishes to make a highly realistic world would have a worldbuilding project on their hands that would take them a lifetime to finish. It would take others a lifetime to absorb because such a project would be just as complex as our reality.

One area that fascinates me and intrigues me a lot is the culture around languages. The way we speak influences the way we label things, think, and act. Its influences leak into the way we speak in other languages - our accents, our interactions, the way we express ourselves in other languages, and so much more. Tolkien has put a lot of effort into his Elvish languages. And honestly, I struggle with that. No matter how I put the letters together, they rarely sound good, and I can only imagine writing a dictionary 100 words long for this purpose. There are tools for this online; one person even made a game out of conlang development. No matter what, though, the made-up words feel off to me most of the time. Then again, this is the same thing I've said about my attempts to compose music, and I overcame that hurdle earlier this year, so I'll be able to overcome this mental block in a couple of years too.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that in an ideal scenario, I'd create a world with a myriad of in-depth languages that influenced each other, and use them to at least label everything in the world. However, not only would I see such an endeavor as time-consuming, but due to the mental load it would require I see it as fruitless. Some would enjoy such details, but seeing just how much time it's taking me, I figured I'd take an easy way out. I began worldbuilding for Runehack and writing my novel that takes place in it by coming up with placeholder names, and I feel like they're sticking to me. The city names are mostly English words that express something about the place. People's names, meanwhile, are just jumbled-up English names, regardless of their real-world origin. So what if Samwell originates from Samuel, which is Hebrew in origin. I could reverse-engineer a meaning for the names if it was that important, for now, I'll just let it slide.

That being said, there are some fun linguistic things I came up with for Runehack. I doubt I'll develop them into full languages, they're just neat tidbits of information I wanted to share for a while.

Yes, at one point I thought I'd make the explanation for a shared language something like a 2001: Space Odyssey-style obelisk of knowledge. But that would raise more questions than solve problems.
Daily speedpaint 027 - Ancient language, by DaiSanVisART

Franqa

Let's begin with the most important idea that took me the longest to develop. See, Runehack is a world in which sharing the culture would be difficult. The bubbles of civilization are separated by the wilderness full of dangerous shapeshifters. Therefore, all the cultures would be developing to be radically different. And language, too, is a thing that changes and shifts over time. Due to this separation, they would drift to the point where they'd have a hard time understanding each other. But what if it wasn't this way?

Franqa is a plant that grows special tea leaves. According to the latest Mindlore research of Runehack's scientists, its effects are psychedelic in nature, kind of like being high. Several minutes after drinking it, one can speak, read, write, and understand spoken language called the same as this plant - Franqa. Nobody can tell what the exact origin of this language is, but it's consistent. The effects of Franqa tea last for roughly 4 hours.

The plant was native to the south-eastern regions of the New World, not too far from Moorwell. Its use was discovered even before the Era of Monsters, and it has spread all over the world thanks to its usefulness. It started off as a tool for use by travelers, diplomats, and translators, but it made its way into other areas of life too. Once its use became widespread, some people started to learn Franqa even when not under its influence. The tea leaves of Franqa are viewed as a symbol of community and cooperation. The plant even made its way into the everyday language. When someone wants to be honest and straightforward without trying to deceive the listener, they say they'll be "frank".

This is how all the cities of my world can talk to each other without issues, by using their lingua franqa.

The Unnamed Languages

The last two languages are why I haven't posted this article earlier - both are raw, underdeveloped ideas. The first is a language developed by some elves living in a humid jungle. This language is based on the premise of uninterrupted flow, which is why it contains no stopping sounds. Its vowels would be the typical a, e, i, o, and u sounds, and its consonants would be as follows: f, h, l, r, s, v, z, ʃ (labeled š), ʒ (labeled ž), and θ (labeled đ). The kh sound could in theory fit in too, but I found it too harsh to be used by the elves. As for going beyond that, other than phonotactics I don't have much worked out. I tried making a dictionary several times, but it always sounded bizarre, so I never did it completely. Fun fact, though, one of the earliest iterations of this language is the origin of Avurai University's name. Avurai was meant to mean "flying island" in this language.

The second language I wanted to make, and the newest one among all these, is a goblin code that has evolved into an artform. It's actually quite the opposite of the elvish language, inspired by the Hush language of the Limberwisk Isle. Both of these languages lack vowels. The phonotactics and phonetic dictionary of this goblin code is simple: every "syllable" (if it can be even considered that since it lacks a vowel) is made up of a consonant p, t, or k, followed by an optional letter r, s, ʃ, x, or f. There are no forbidden combinations, and the words can be quite long. The result might sound a bit like beatboxing, which is why this code became an artform of its own.

Tip Tap

Tip tap is a code known by some of the dwarves of Runehack. It utilizes their sensitive touch perception, which lets them sense the micro-vibrations of anything they touch with bare skin. Since most dwarves walk to most places barefoot, some have developed a secret minimal language for communicating with each other that utilizes lifting up the tips of their feet rhythmically to communicate.

Those who communicate using this code are referred to as tappers. It is one of the few ways of communicating that doesn't require the communicators to see or hear each other.

Tip Tap was developed originally by the dwarves who worked in the mines and forges, to inform each other of important things in their surroundings. Eventually, this language became widespread and generalized to be used in other loud work environments, such as forges and factories. It was and is also sometimes used in works or places where staying silent is crucial, such as animal hunting, prison inmate contact, special military forces, burglary, and spying.

Tip Tap is a simple oligosynthetic language with 45 morphemes, primarily focused on the domain of working. The word order in a sentence is Subject-Verb-Object. Adjectives follow after the Nouns they describe, e.g. "document (that is) old".

Due to its simple nature, the language lacks tenses other than present, and a large variety of terms that are not present in it. For example, since there is no term for water, most would refer to it as "Drink", even when it's not clean water or a large pool of water.

Since this is a written medium, we will utilize the Taixuanjing to codify this language. Each symbol represents the sequence, in which the tips of dwarves' feet (called "toes" from now) are touching the ground. Disruptions in the lines are the moments when the left (upper line) or right (bottom line) toes do not touch the ground. Please, assume the toes are touching the ground between the symbols.

⚍ ⚌ ⚎

𝌁 𝌅 𝌂

𝌃 ⚏ 𝌄 

The only restriction for tap sequences is that none of the ideas communicated can begin nor end with ⚌, seeing how that's the natural state for feet to be at.

Important messages can be communicated with both tips of feet and heels, by lifting an entire foot and softly stomping it against the ground or the floor. In this notation, the top two lines stand for a left foot, and the right foot is represented by the bottom two lines. While the line is doubled, it could in theory let the writer represent the heels and tips of the feet separately. However, this isn't utilized in Tip Tap for reasons forgotten by history.

𝌪 𝌊

𝍎 𝌎

The 𝌆 symbol isn't used, since its meaning is identical to ⚌. Symbols 𝌮 and 𝍖 are not listed, because these would require the tapper to jump in the air if standing.

These messages could in theory be tapped using the hands and fingers too. If a wall isn't part of the same material and surface as the ground, the tapper will have to bring the hand to the ground. Tapping the message using two fingers can be enough to convey the message to others.

Quick Messages

Since these are messages of vital importance, they are all symmetric – they can be communicated in an identical manner with either the left or the right foot. Furthermore, they are the only messages that require you to lift a heel. Chances are, if a tapper needs to communicate this message, they aren't concerned with being heard, so it's usually done by stomping the same foot twice or thrice.

Taps	Meaning
𝌪⚌𝌪 or 𝌊⚌𝌊	"Go away!" "Save yourself!" "Leave!" The message implies immediate danger to anyone who's receiving the message.
𝍎⚌𝌪 or 𝌎⚌𝌊	"Come here!" "Help me!" "I'm in danger!" The message implies immediate danger to the tapper, and a request for help or assistance.

Negation

Most messages are made so that they do not require the user to negate things. But in case it's necessary, 𝌃 and 𝌄 tend to be used. These taps are reserved for negation because they were too complex when used along with other terms.

People

Messages that involve people usually begin with the ⚏ taps.

Taps	Meaning
⚏⚏	I
⚏⚍	Guard, protector, security
⚏⚎	Civilian (someone not related to the work)
⚏𝌅	My colleague
⚏𝌁	My boss
⚏𝌂	My subordinate
⚏ followed by a Place	Someone in the Place (used only when it's clear from the context)

 

Items

Taps	Meaning
⚍⚏	Valuable
⚍⚍	Lock
⚍⚎	Junk
⚍𝌅	Consumable
⚍𝌅⚎	Food
⚍𝌅𝌂	Drink
⚍𝌁	Document
⚍𝌂	Tool

Places

Taps	Meaning
⚎⚏	In front of me
⚎⚍	To my left
⚎⚎	To my right
⚎𝌅	Behind me
⚎𝌁	Safety / Relaxing Place
⚎𝌂	Workplace
⚎⚏⚎	Home

Adjectives

Depending on the context, these can stand for a color, or another attribute of an item.

Taps	Meaning
𝌁⚏	Bright (color), New, Young
𝌁⚍	Yellow, Sticky, Sharp
𝌁⚎	Red, Hot, Burning
𝌁𝌅	Dark (color), Old
𝌁𝌁	Green, Slippery, Flat
𝌁𝌂	Cold, Wet

Actions

Taps	Meaning
𝌂⚏	Take, Keep, Want
𝌂⚍	Store, Drop, Don't Want
𝌂⚎	Throw (if followed by something that can be thrown) Go (if followed by place)
𝌂𝌅⚎	Eat
𝌂𝌅𝌂	Drink
𝌂𝌁	Relax
𝌂𝌂	Work

Numbers

The numeric system that dwarves use somewhat resembles the Roman numerals. One communicates a number by starting with a 0 and then listing all the numbers that add up to the desired number. For example, the number 11 would be communicated as 𝌅𝌂⚎⚍. Tip Tap uses Many for the numbers greater than 15, and Few for fractions, as well as negative numbers, since it never really needed these.

Taps	Meaning
𝌅	0
⚍	1
⚎	2
𝌁	4
𝌂	8
𝌅⚏	Few*
𝌅𝌅	Many*

* When the criminals use Tip Tap to discuss money, Many (followed by a number without a 0) stands for 10.000× the number of credits, and Few stands for 1× the number of credits. If neither Many nor Few are mentioned, the value equals 100× the number of credits.

Sorry that languages other than Tip Tap aren't as developed. I just wanted to share these ideas instead of having them lying around in my archives, waiting to do something cool with them. At least I'm happy that Tip Tap is quite defined.

But that's about it for now. Thank you for reading, and have a great day!

Cryptosynonyms

This is a little idea I actually came up with more than 6 years ago. I coined the term back then and never returned to it, so I figured I'd share it with the world by archiving it here, seeing how "well" Reddit has been doing lately.

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Cryptosynonyms are pairs of words that would normally mean opposite things, but they can have a synonymous meaning in some contexts. Examples I came up with in English are mostly this way because of slang:

• hot and cool mean opposite things when it comes to temperature, but when it comes to trends they can be synonymous.
• "This sucks!" and "This blows!" are phrases that can mean the same thing ("This is bad!"), despite the fact that suck and blow are antonyms.

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I do want to have some cryptosynonyms in my conlangs, but for now this is it. I have some ideas for conlangs that I'm toying around in my head with, but so far most of them are too raw to really share here. Just as a teaser, they are languages for dwarven workers, some goblins, and for elves from some region I have yet to figure out.

Until then, though, I would like to wish you all a great day!

Inventing Musical Instruments in Worldbuilding

I've pondered for years about inventions within worldbuilding. Whenever I saw a piano in a fantasy world, I thought to myself "What are the odds that theirs would look exactly like ours?" Well, I've set out on this journey and found out. But first, I would like to outline the reason why I thought about this.

Different Worlds, Different Histories

Our world has a specific sequence of inventions and discoveries in its history. Language, fire, farming, wheel, written language, printing press, firearms, the industrial revolution, radio wave-transmitting devices, computers, the internet, and many things in between, as well as before and after. Some of these would be difficult to swap the order of, for example, inventing computers before inventing written language is something I'd personally consider highly unlikely. But some other things we could swap around to make for something quite interesting. This is what the Alternate Techline trope refers to.

So the question I pose is this: What are the chances that the history of a fictional world would follow the exact same sequence as ours? Some inventions are quite complicated in their nature, requiring many previous inventions before. Others, such as the flute, for example, are so simple that it would be strange if they weren't invented.

Let's take a look at a piano to see what I mean.

Look at how otherworldly that piano appears. Different material, different layout of keys, ... do the keys even play the same notes as our pianos?
Piano, by WLOP.

Regarding the Piano

I'm not a historian, and I am hardly a musician, so I'll try to keep this simple. I've done some surface-level research, and while I can't guarantee everything I'll write here is correct, at least it will illustrate my point.

The history of the piano begins in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, with the invention of the water organ. This is a wind musical instrument that uses a tank of water to push air out through the pipes. The water is first pumped out of the smaller tank into a bigger one, compressing the air inside. The air will then flow out of the pipes that are opened by the musician using an array of keys. So think of it as a couple of whistles that will play their tones when open. According to my short research on this topic, after pumping the water out of the tank, the water organ could be played for roughly 30 minutes before you'd have to pump the water out again. I could go on with how this turns into a pipe organ with bellows etc., but we're inventing a piano, and that's a string instrument. What this invention gave us though is something we'd take for granted: the idea that you could play music by pressing down keys.

Source

So what's next? Well, clavichord and harpsichord. Clavichord is a string instrument played with keys that strike its strings with tiny blades. Meanwhile, a harpsichord is a string instrument played with keys that are used to move a plectrum, plucking the strings (sort of like when one plays the guitar). In their designs, they already resemble a piano, but you might be wondering... why are the key colors reversed? Well, I'll let this fellow explain it to you, and instead move on to the question of the keys' arrangement.

Clavichord (left) and harpsichord (right)

Why are the keys on the clavichord, harpsichord, and piano arranged the way they are? I'm sure you know what I mean, it's one of the most iconic aspects of a piano: an array of 7 repeating white keys, with black keys in between the first two pairs and the last three pairs of keys. Let's begin with the fact that each note is a soundwave, with its pitch being determined by the frequency of the wave (measured in Hertz). The notes with frequencies that are halves or doubles of each other sound similar, which is why we tend to label them as the same note, like C for example. This is wonderfully displayed on this website's table, and it's also interactive so you can hear what I mean.

Why did we choose these 12 notes specifically? This video explains it nicely, I'd sum it up as a set of cultural preferences combined with a need for some regularity between the sounds used, and some strong tone combinations that we really wanted in our music: perfect fourth, perfect fifth, minor third, major third, and then some. Of course, that's not the only way to lay out the tones used. There are scales with 5 tones, and there are scales with 43 tones, or perhaps even more. As for why they are laid out the way they are, ... I can only guess it's because arranged as they are, the white notes can flawlessly play C major and A minor scales. Or because the black keys cover the pentatonic scale. Or because it lets the pianist do a tone slide called glissando. And maybe the black keys are higher than the others to let you do a pentatonic glissando.

Let's get back to the piano. How do we get from harpsichord and clavichord to piano? Well, all of them are string instruments, but they move their strings in different ways. The clavichord strikes them with tiny blades, harpsichord plucks them. Piano uses small hammers to strike the notes. I'd imagine it's similar to what Cimbalom does, but a professional will probably explain to me how those are very different in a way I couldn't figure out during my minor research into the topic.

I'm gonna omit the pedals for now, because I don't feel like researching those.

To Invent an Instrument

So to summarize, in order to explain the existence of a piano in a fictional world, we needed an explanation for the invention of:

• The keys (water organ),
• The strings in a box played with small hammers (cimbalom, or harpsichord and clavichord if we count other methods of striking the strings),
• The preference for composing in a 12-tone scale,
• The need to distinguish the major/minor scale keys from each other (results in lightly colored piano keys)
• The need to play these in quick succession for a glissando,
• The need to play the pentatonic scale as well, and the possibility of playing it as a glissando (sets the black keys apart by making them shorter than the white keys, and placing them higher than the white keys for easier glissando).

There could be more factors, but now you probably see what I mean. Meanwhile, here's what you need to invent a drum:

• A surface that can be hit to produce a distinct sound,
• And something to strike this surface with, such as a stick, a metal rod, a grainy material like sand, or even a hand. 

I feel like I'm overtly reductive here, but what I wanted to say with this final statement is that a piano is harder to invent than a drum. There could be a fictional world where a piano is invented before drums are, of course, but it's highly unlikely.

I'm gonna choose to believe that what we've seen in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's trailer #3 is Zelda sitting in front of a magical piano. It's unclear, but the pose suggests that's the fact to me, and I liked this shot.

The reason why I am writing this article is to sort of summarize my attempt at reinventing a piano for my worldbuilding. While it is possible to change some parameters, making a piano that's "my own" feels like it's not worth the hassle.That's about it for today. Thank you for reading my somewhat disorganized and under-researched notes, and I wish you all a wonderful day!

Sparktech

Initially, I wanted to write an article about why I'm leaving D&D for good, showcasing my goodbye homebrew. But I realized that I already did talk about why I'm done with it in my 2022 Review blog post. So with my final creation, I wanted to publish finally being out, it's time for me to move back to my favorite stuff to do: Runehack, and other worlds in my magitech multiverse.

I didn't have too much time to think through this one, so... uh, you'll have to deal with surface-level thought-through magitech here. Also please forgive my limited explanations of physics here, it's a fantasy world after all.

Sparktech

The lightnings are chaotic. The lightnings are unpredictable. The lightnings are powerful. In the darkest of storms, bolts of lightning can surprise and startle us by striking something really tall. But... lightnings do seem to like metal. What if there was a way to trap it in a prison of metal? Let's just assume that there is a device for that, called "captor" for now. Now if we connect the captor to some very thin lines of metal (think like wires), we could perhaps find a use for them!

If you're lucky enough to see a metal struck by lightning, you'll probably notice that it's got hot. That's something we might want to limit if we want our wires to last very long. What if there was a magical device, one that we could attach the wire to restrict how much spark (lightning in wire, I'm getting tired of writing lightning over and over) gets to course through a wire at a given moment. Let's call it "limiter".

If we have a wire loop with a captor and maybe a limiter on it, we'll notice that in time, the spark does escape. We want to avoid that. Perhaps this process could be slowed down if we make it so bits of wire can be detached or attached with a manual human-activated motion. Like a button or something similar. Let's call it "flip".

What if there was a way to make it so that a wire works as a limiter only in one direction? And like a very effective limiter at that. I'm not sure what this could be useful for just yet, but it could perhaps force the spark to travel in a deterministic direction within the wires. Let's call such a limiter "director" because it directs which way the spark flows.

There's one more important part of this puzzle that should be discussed. You can create a magical device out of silicon that has two inputs and one output (don't feel like figuring out how). One of the inputs is a source, and the other input is a control. The spark travels from the source to the output wire only if the control doesn't have a spark. I'm imagining it sort of like a portcullis, which is held down if there's someone who can pull it down at its lever or whatever those used to be controlled with. That's why I'm gonna call it "gate".

Now, let's say that I connect three wires together, attaching directors to two of them arranged so that the spark would flow towards the meeting point. If either of the directed wires has a spark in it, the one without a director gets it too. Maybe attach a limiter to it too just to make sure the wire will be fine. We got ourselves a way to detect the presence of a spark on any of multiple inputs!

How about this. If you attach a captor to the gate's source input, and attach some wire that can but doesn't have to have a spark in it to the controller, the gate will let a spark through to the other side only if the control is off. And that's how we got ourselves a way to negate the spark!

Since we can negate signals, as well as combine them, we could work out support for the rest of the logic from there. I'm pretty sure that the gates could somehow also be built so that information can be stored in them, probably through a complicated combination of gates. But I think this can go further.

The legends speak of an arcane ritual that involves weaving a wire around a rod into a spiral. When you let spark into such wire, it will magically draw closer objects made out of metal. I'm gonna call this "spool", and its applications are obvious. You could use this to move metal objects around, thus letting us convert spark into mechanical movement!

I believe I could keep on making more and more technology for this purely hypothetical world in the future. Perhaps the heat from the wires could be useful for something, like heating devices. Maybe I could even find a way to redirect the heat somewhere else involving special liquids and making cooling devices. Heated metals glow, so they could be used for producing light. There could of course be other ways to make light as well. Maybe there could even be a way to communicate between two wires without them being connected through some sort of spark-related invisible energy. And if I were to learn more about lightnings, maybe I could come up with further applications for this new kind of technology. But I'll cut it here for now.

The countryside is lined with crosses that carry the sparks to those who need them.
... what? No one ever said that these sparks can move about outside of wires.
... well, maybe for short distances. But that's beside the point.
Imagine how bizarre it would be to see these things everywhere. What kinds of shapes they could have depending on the nations, and how these massive wires could become parts of buildings, perhaps even integrated into them. Wouldn't that be wild?
Utility Poles, by RegusMartin

But for now, I think I'm gonna stick to runes because they require less explaining. Besides, I do believe many authors have already utilized sparktech in their own creations, though they tend to label it "electronics" for some reason beyond me. Etymology tells me that that word is derived from amber, and frankly I don't know what that has to do with any of this.

I hope you've enjoyed reading my article. It's nice to get into writing again, and I hope I'll be able to post more good things to the blog soon. Thank you for reading, and have a nice April Fools!

Runehack Holidays

When I started to write this article, I had been feeling creatively stuck on NaNoWriMo for two weeks. I doubt I will catch up at this point, and I've come to terms with that. But while I'm giving up on the writing goal of finishing the novel within the month of November, I am not gonna give up on the goal of finishing the novel overall. Maybe what I need for jumpstarting my creativity is to just... focus on something else for a bit.

The end of the year in our world tends to be a season of many holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and likely many more. I'd love to take this opportunity to make up a couple holidays celebrated locally or globally in Runehack, one for each of Moon's cycles in a year. Not all of these are old or official holidays, some are just events that happen yearly and are broadly recognized. Expect six more next time around!

I hope you'll enjoy this article, and I wish you a great day!

It's rather difficult to find art for holidays that I'm making up, so... just imagine this is roughly what a Wildenfeast can look for in a fairy family. Or perhaps they have graduated from some sort of rune-related school. As for the background, maybe they're holding this celebration in a city park... in a city very close to the equator. That happens to not be a jungle, somehow.
... or maybe the art just has some wholesome vibes I wanted to share.
Artwork by Ivy Dolamore

Wildenfeast

Date: 1st day of spring

The cruel weather is on its leave and nature is still too drowsy to be dangerous. The early spring is a time when everyone brings out tasty treats and celebrates the moment of truce between the wilderness and the civilization.

Decoration. To show nature's presence, people decorate the area in which the feast is to take place with wreaths or festoons made up of leaves and branches. Nature isn't present only in people's surroundings, it makes up their bodies too. Thus, people who want to show their holiday spirit usually wear either a garland of flowers on their head, or one or two articles of clothing with natural motifs such as leaves, vines, or flowers.

A small group of elves and fairies fell in love with this kind of clothing, and over time their outfits became more natural. Over the years, they began to wear them earlier and later around the Wildenfeast time, until it became a daily outfit style for them. Some people didn't like this due to the general apprehension people feel towards the wilderness beyond the walls, so this small group grew more rebellious in their ideals. This marked the beginning of the Wilderpunk subculture. 

Family. Usually, it's celebrated in the privacy of homes by the parents and the children who aren't married yet. The presence at Wildenfeast represents being part of a family, so exceptions aren't uncommon: parents who wish to show their child's partner that they are willing to accept them, a single parent's romantic interest, an orphaned child who is very close to the family, and many other exceptions are considered normal in real life as well as in the fiction that showcases Wildenfeast.

Meals. The feast eaten on this day consists mostly of fruits, vegetables, and grains left over after the winter. Eating meat is believed to bring nature's wrath upon the household, which is why the Wildenfeast meals contain meat. Traditional meals eaten during the Wildenfeast include salad rolls wrapped in paperbread; oiled pasta noodles mixed with spinach, garlic, and chopped tomatoes; and egg-fried rice.

Heartcall

Date: 42nd day of spring

All people are social animals who desire companions. Most people desire to have one companion who is much closer to them than others. Following the naming pattern of northcall, everyone is invited to follow the call of their heart shortly before the spring equinox, either to have a lovely time with their romantic partner or to confess their feelings.

Confession. While couples can form on any day during the year, this is a chance for those who have strong unexpressed feelings for another person to show them without judgment. Those who are not brave enough record their confession, either as a voice message or on a paper, and personally deliver it to their romantic interest.

Date. Those who already have a romantic interest traditionally share a meal in the privacy of either partner's home and afterward show the partner one's love through their love language. It's polite to give one's partner at least a small gift on this day, whether it's a flower or a dessert. The usual ingredients for desserts gifted on Heartcall are honey, strawberries, and chocolate.

Loneliness. Not everyone has a romantic partner or seeks one. On the day of Heartcall, it's normal for groups of single friends to go out together to one or more establishments such as restaurants, bars, and clubs. To incentivize their customers, these businesses tend to give discounts on their drinks on the Heartcall's evening.

Trickstorm

Date: 70th day of spring

Toward the end of the spring, the Silver Dame tends to act a little ridiculous. Sometimes she waters the world beneath her, but only for a minute. Sometimes, she stomps her feet upon her misty dress, while the shine of her radiant smile blinds people's eyes. And on some occasions, she gathers the ice from the Caldfort and throws it down upon people. With the unpredictable weather, some decided to play tricks on each other too.

Common Comedy. Some pranks repeat year after year because they are easy to pull off. These include but are not limited to spoken lies that are soon revealed to be lies, runic illusions that startle people, paper slips that insult their reader, or putting something inedible into someone's meal or drink.

Fashion. Not everyone can appreciate a good prank, of course. Those who do not wish to participate in pranks on this day of the year show it by making most of their outfit for the day black, gray, or brown. It's generally frowned upon when a person dressed this way plays a prank on the day of the Trickstorm.

Reward. People who enjoy and embrace pranks tend to reward the ones they find to be the most impressive by gifting the prankster something small, such as a piece of candy, a glass ring, or a bandanna. Some see this as an opportunity to get back at the prankster, for example by gifting them a candy wrap full of glitter, or a bandanna with something embarrassing on it.

Runic Revolution Anniversary

Date: 25th day of summer

The monstrous paramorphs beyond the walls have kept the civilization divided for a long time. However, it is thanks to the cunning of those knowledgeable of the runes that the society could be reunited and begin cooperating yet again. Runetech allows people to communicate with each other instantaneously, travel great distances to see new places, and so much more. This is why there's a year dedicated to celebrating the development of the first rune-powered computing mechanism.

Parade. A couple of major cities have a parade with vehicles that display gigantic illusions of the most iconic pieces of prominent runic technology. These include runebooks, runecards, water pumps, hovering vehicles, runebots, and abstract representations of Mistweb.

Science Fairs. The Runic Revolution Anniversary is the most common day for science fairs to happen. It is an opportunity for the students to make a scientific model of something they've learned at school to impress others, or to invent something completely new. Most of the time, it's the former rather than the latter though.

Truce. On this day, the two megacorporations that rule most city-states of the world do not try to compete or outdo each other. Lifestock and Nexuspace put their differences aside on this day, as their leaders travel to the Grand Republic, the most neutral ground, to host a polite ball there. Royals of the independent kingdoms are also invited.

Lingershine

Date: 45th day of summer (Summer Solstice)

Dreams are visions of the unreal that come to people as they sleep. Some would say that the dreams are origins of many myths and legends. Dreams can also stand for hopes or goals that people have. All three of these are celebrated on the longest day of the year. When a tale or a piece of fiction within the world of Runehack talks about the ordinary world and the world of myths crossing or merging, it usually happens on the day of Lingershine.

Dances. While drinking and eating are prominent parts of the Lingershine celebrations, the most important part of it is dancing. Generally, these dances are split into three types, based on how many people it takes to perform the dance. The Whirlin is a formal dance for two that has a strong accent on the first beat, and alternates between quadruple time and double time, both taking roughly the same time. The Tetric Dance is a dance performed by exactly four people, standing with their backs to each other. Its music alternates between triple time and double time, making it feel like every other bar misses one beat. Finally, the Stride is an informal dance performed by any number of people, though fewer than four make it look awkward. It uses a common time signature.

Masks. Most of the Old World believed that on the day of Lingershine people and creatures of legends enter this world to join in on the party, which is why one should wear a mask for any kind of Lingershine party—to blend in with the weird creatures. While such beliefs are ridiculed in the New World, Old World sees it more as a sentimental remembrance of the old times before the era of monsters, when people actually believes such myths to be real. The only requirements for the masks are to represent some legend and to cover the area around one's eyes, with or without covering the eyes. Anything else, including covering the rest of one's face, is considered optional.

Resolutions. Setting goals for the next year, and sharing what you've managed to accomplish within the last year, both make up part of the Lingershine celebrations. One is encouraged to share both of these with their close friends so that they could be proud and support each other. It's not frowned upon for one to fail in fulfilling their resolutions, usually with a phrase: "Perhaps some of them are meant to stay dreams."

Swimming Week

Date: 60th-66th days of summer

People's habits can become a widely recognized holiday when they are repeated by people often enough. During the first week of the last moon of summer, many people tend to go to the beaches or pools for a refreshing swim due to temperatures being fairly high. This is how over time, it became a part of the global culture.

Fashion Shows. On the first day of Swimming Week, fashion shows tend to be held, describing the current trends in swimwear, hoping to get those who care too much about trends to invest in a new set of swimwear.

Games. Since it's a time of fun and joy, those who partake in Swimming Week come up with various games to play in the water, or on the beach. One of the most common ones is Aquatic Catch, a game of tag played in the water. Another fairly common game to play is Spraywar. It's played with toy weapons that shoot water and has a huge variety of rules that are or aren't followed by its players. Only one rule is consistent: when someone is hit by the water, they are eliminated from the game for a short duration of time, roughly a minute. Other games exist too, of course, with plenty of them being locally known but not widespread across the globe. One such game is Pearlhunt, played in the city of New Prista on the last day of Swimming Week.

Relaxation. Certain pools, such as the ones commonly found in Ashington, heat their water up and possibly add some minerals into the water to boost the swimmers' health. Such pools aren't a center point of fun times and focus instead on relaxation and peace. Surely these kinds of pools operate all year long, but during Swimming Week they give great discounts to lure in new customers, in hopes of getting them used to it.

Consciousness in Runehack

Sometime recently, I turned 10.000 days old. I really wanted to publish an article on such an opportunity, but I didn’t have anything ready. I’m still working on the Moorwell article, having a hard time getting to it because of the hardships I’m currently experiencing. Perhaps a short article on an obscure topic of consciousness will do for this occasion.

Didn't want this article to not have any art in it, but it's difficult to find a picture for a topic like "consciousness", so... let's pretend this is a digital ghost as described later in this article.
The picture comes from the Daily Renders June 2021 collection by Josh Pierce.

Consciousness

One of the core concepts of the world of Runehack is consciousness. It’s different from something being merely alive or animated, consciousness means awareness of yourself and your surroundings. What are some oddities about the consciousness present in the world?

For one, people of this world have a concept of submemory, which is a part of one's memory that persists even if it's not in one's memory. So a fairly popular but unverifiable theory suggests, that consciousness is somewhere not in one's body, perhaps not even in the physical world. The following aspects of consciousness would suggest that this theory might hold true.

Dreams and Elves

When someone falls asleep, their consciousness enters a dream. It's not known whether there is an actual place where the dreams happen, or if it is just a mind's illusion. Strangely, the elves of Runehack possess a mysterious ability of dream-walking, which lets them enter other people's dreams while sleeping. The dream-walking is largely forgotten for several reasons: the impracticality of setting it up, the moral quandaries of using it, and the ease of instant communication thanks to the runetech connected to the Mistweb.

Each elf retains a supernatural link to its blood, even once it leaves the elf's body. When an elf falls asleep, they can sense the presence of people who are very close to their blood (a couple of inches or centimeters at best). This distance is unlimited when the ring moon's light shines upon the elf. The most reliable way for an elf to dream-walk would be to touch the sleeping person whose dream they wish to enter, but some elves create pendants that hold a small amount of their blood to give to people. An elf in another person's dream is largely ignored by the dreamer and their dream characters. If the dream-walker attempts to shape another person's dream in a way lucid dreamers would, the dream characters will turn aggressive towards the intruder until they are removed from the dream. This aggression can be overcome in two ways - either if the elf is trusted by the dreamer whose dream they have entered, or if the elf does so during the Blood Moon (lunar eclipse).

The practice of entering the dreams of someone who an elf hates, only to haunt the dreamer with an uncontrollable nightmare has led to the elves being judged in many societies. Thus, this practice has become a taboo, something that parents don't even teach their elven children is a possibility anymore. When an elf in the present day finds out, it is either through an old scripture, experimentation or from someone else who has found out already.

Consciousness Duplication

Thanks in part to Nixly’s genius, the technology that allows for one’s mind to be copied is real in this world. It’s a lengthy process that takes roughly an hour or so to complete, during which one’s head has to wear a scanning helmet made for this purpose. Using this technology, plenty of people have been backed up and turned into runebots and/or ghosts. The difference between a ghost and a runebot is a presence of a physical body characteristic for the runebots, as opposed to a hologram-like illusory visage of the ghosts. A ghost can enter a runebot body, and a runebot might be able to produce a ghost.

After Nixly has been retrieved from the Wineholm, her creation has been integrated with the potential to interact with the Mistweb, allowing the people whose brains have been scanned to interact with the technology. This marked the invention of the first truly conscious Artificial Intelligence... in a way. While its existence is based entirely on the runes, it is not actually artificial - it has existed before being scanned and emulated.

The first experiments were to restrict these minds to the runebot bodies, which turned out to be quite successful. Afterward, Nixly suggested the creation of a utopia at the bottom of the sea to test out the potential of her ghosts (illusory projections of these emulated minds), creating an afterlife of sorts for those who can afford it. The city was called Everling, and anyone who's wealthy enough can send their mind scan there to live on forever, as long as the city's server keeps running. Slowly and cautiously, the ghosts are nowadays getting integrated into the common society, limited by a plethora of restrictions.

Rumors claim that memories between a person and the emulation of their mind scan can "leak" over long periods of time when one of them ceases to be, whether it's due to the emulation stopping irreversibly, or because of the person dying. There are no actual records of this sort of thing happening, which is why it's treated as a mere myth by normal people. And yet, there are still people who would consider this to be yet another proof that one's consciousness exists outside of this world.

---

That's about it for this topic. I wanted to write, and it seems I finally succeeded in motivating myself into doing so. Thank you for reading, I hope you've enjoyed it, and have a nice day!

Leytech

I always thought ley lines are a cool fantasy idea that could make for a lovely source of magic. These days, I've been pondering how to make a world, in which people could make technology using some sort of magic, but also utilize this magic on their own. Divtech and orbtech are both bound to their items, a human couldn't use their magic without them. Runes can be drawn on any surface, and all it takes is amber, but it's impossible to draw them without it.

Seeing how last time I changed my mind a lot right after publishing the article, take things written here with a grain of salt (pun intended). It’s a proof of concept, not written in stone just yet.

I wish you a good time while reading this article!

X marks the spot! Except the lines would be hovering high up in the sky, and way wider.
The art is drawn for the Magic: The Gathering card Leyline of Singularity, by Zoltan Boros and Gabor Szikszai.

Azureley

• Magitech System: ley lines that rush the saltwater along their direction
• Input: ley energy, flowing saltwater, mechanical valves, and metal rings
• Output: water that's colored or vibrated in different ways using metal rings
• Motion: water turbines, cogs, and pistons
• Fuel: ley energy

The world of Azureley is a planet enveloped in a multitude of ley lines. A ley line in this world is a stream of energy visible high up in the sky that resembles an aurora borealis, continually flowing in a singular direction at all times. Each ley line is a circle, going around the sphere exactly once without crossing itself. The ley lines radiate ley energy, which compels saltwater within a certain range of the ley line to flow in the same direction when the water absorbs the energy. This can lead to sights uncommon to our world, such as saltwater rivers flowing out of the ocean uphill, digging canals into the earth and rock, permanent whirlpools if three or more ley lines form a small enough shape, causing the water to flow in a circular motion within them, and more. So far, there are no known means of creating, destroying or redirecting ley lines, and it is uncertain whether the ley lines will last forever.

Humanoids and animals of this world are capable of absorbing the ley energy while staying within the range of one or more ley lines. When a living creature focuses on releasing some of its ley energy, it can shape saltwater, or direct it to flow somewhere. Running out of ley energy runs the same risks as dehydration, which is why most of the major settlements are built underneath ley lines, especially at the ley crossings where the exposure to ley energy is greater.

When humanity discovered that hollow metal rings can change the properties of ley-infused water that flows through them or telekinetically prevent it from passing, it was only inevitable before they could create ley-powered machinery. This technology—leytech—is built out of stainless steel and glass pipes, too small for even a pinky finger of most people to fit in. The rings have the following properties on the ley-infused water that flows through the central hole, even if the water is not in contact with the metal:

Aluminium: Cooling

Water that passes through a ring made out of aluminum will become colder.

Cobalt: Heat

Water that passes through the magnesium ring will become warmer.

Copper: Information Relay

These rings only operate if there is at least one sending copper ring and at least one receiving ring with matching identification. The receiver rings will only let water through if at least one of the sending rings has water flowing through it. What exactly lets these copper rings be identified as pairs, as senders or receivers, and what constitutes the contents of water is yet to be determined by me.

Its opposite can be achieved through the use of Tin: a receiver ring made out of tin will only let water through if none of the sender rings made out of tin with a matching identification has water flowing through it.

Gold: Color

Fill this ring with one or more dyes, and the water that comes through it will be colored appropriately. If the ring is empty, any gold-induced coloring of the water is removed. The dyes are made out of specific materials, but for the purposes of this article they are not so important that they’d need to be listed. Picture them as a powder of a single color.

Nickel: Sound

When water passes through the tin ring, it produces a sound. … please don’t ask me how, I don’t have an explanation for this yet. After trying to somehow mix nonelectric hydraulophones with talking piano illusions for hours, I'm resorting to just saying magic and leaving it at that.

Silver: Filter

This ring will let through it only material that the inside of the ring is filled with. For example, if the inside of the ring is filled with fresh water, all of the salt will gather on the inside, while fresh water comes out. These are used commonly in households to make sure the used water is fresh, but they need to be cleaned a lot. If the ring is filled with a water that’s been colored using a gold ring, it will only let through water colored using the appropriate dye.

With all of the above as well as the natural properties of water, people were capable of creating various machines such as vehicles, plumbing, computers, and even their own equivalent of the internet. Besides these, they also possess their own weapons powered by leytech: frostguns and hofficers. Their operation is simple—a human uses their ley energy to fire a deeply frozen projectile at the target. In the case of a frostgun, it is a bullet roughly as big as a single digit of a finger or smaller. In the case of a hofficer, it’s a cannonball a little smaller than a human head. Due to its temperature, the projectile won't melt after being shot, and in the hottest weather, it takes less than an hour to melt inside of a wound.

Azureley is a world that consists of one stretched mega continent that passes through a pole and one ocean filled with a myriad of islands. Sailing along the ley lines is popular, though a ship must avoid leyline crossings on the open sea for the chaotic currents and the risk of getting caught in an eternal whirlpool. At the same time, the continent has its desert recently populated by people looking after the riches hidden within it. The formerly unpopulated desert is seen as an opportunity for a new life, which is why some folk have taken it into their own hands to bring justice to this land.

So in a nutshell, this is a world of water-bender cowboys and pirates possessing water-powered smartphones and the internet, as well as railguns that shoot ice bullets/cannonballs, while northern lights are all around the place. Not exactly cyberpunk, but silly enough to sound like fun to me.

Happy anniversary for the first article of a Runehack city, New Prista! I'm so happy about how much the world has changed. From a runic system that could do basically anything, all the way to a fleshed-out unique world with such a huge potential for stories. What's more, it has siblings now. While the siblings might not all be as cyberpunk and universal as Runehack, each of them feels like it has its own aesthetic, which I find cool. I only hope I'll be able to make up more of these magitech worlds that I could later find a nice use for and possibly flesh out.

Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!