Randibone/Blogs/Alvyurin Ekkatran

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[edit] Oct 18, 07

Alvyurin Ekkatran - The desert

I guess I should write something here, since Jedditor was kind enough to set it up. My name is Alvyurin Ekkatran, currently Research Director of this expedition. That means I actually have time to stop and think about things--it's my job. Otherwise I'd never be writing on this [System] [terminal].

I never thought I'd be the one to see another Exile. But we all agreed it was necessary, it was just Vandemar who gave the order. And now we're here in this desolate desert. Honestly, I don't think there's ANY life here besides us. MAYBE some microbes. The heat is unbelievable, and the dryness...we've got [mages] working around the clock to preserve the water vapor we breathe out. And more helping shift the effects of the heat. Sometimes I can't believe we survive at all.

And with everyone caught up in just surviving, how can we make any progress? If anyone gets really sick we'll be in a downward spiral, unable to summon enough [power] to conjure up a drink. And here I am writing on this bizarre contraption, getting out my thoughts in the hope that it'll jar loose some idea in my brain.

Well, it hasn't helped yet. Back to the conjuring for me.

Thu, 18 Oct 07 04:51:39 -0400 2 REPLIES

[edit] Oct 21, 07

Alvyurin Ekkatran - The desert, part 2

There are a little more than seven hundred of us in this enclave. None of us have ever really visited a desert, though we knew they existed in theory. If we had ended up in a forest, or even a savannah, I'm sure the hunters would be right at home...

The one thing this location does have is the [System]. So I guess we'll have to use it as much as we can.

I just went and had a talk with some mages and hunters. I had to explain the idea of condensation to them; it's so simple that no one had thought of using it in that manner. The hunters quickly thought up a [canvas] sheet covering a hole and a receptacle for water. While it's not as efficient as [magic], anyone can do it, so I believe it will supplement our other measures quite well.

After this I need to poke Jedditor about giving more details on the [System]. I don't think he understands that giving information can be a good thing. It's like he has an instinct for secrecy. As Research Director, I find it frankly astonishing.

I guess I haven't given much information either, but I've got a lot on my mind!

Sun, 21 Oct 07 11:41:02 -0400 17 REPLIES

[edit] Oct 25, 07

Alvyurin Ekkatran - Back on our feet

We've made an incredible amount of progress in the past few days. Taking energy from the sun, it was so obvious we couldn't see it. One of the elder [pyromancers?] has recalled [techniques] for doing such in the past, and he's been helping the younger ones train into [solar mages?]. The few [weather mages?] we have are useful as well.

It's really kind of amazing what we've been able to accomplish. One of the [mages?] has come up with a [technique] of [dark/forbidden?] [magic] that works wonders. It concentrates all the sunlight from a wide area into one specific point. That makes it easier to harness the energy, and it also takes a bit of the burden off of the rest of camp, as if they were sitting under a wide shadow. It's strange, like an invisible canopy stretched over us. Still, we put up with it. Every bit we do to improve our situation allows more time and energy to more research and improvement. I think that's the big lesson Vidsudent has given us.

The winds continue to blow, of course. They always do. There is very little variance, for which we have to be grateful. I don't relish the prospect of sandstorms, no matter how well-prepared the hunters say they are!

We appear to have, well, appeared on a gently sloping plain of sand lightly sculpted with dunes. There are mountains, or perhaps hills, ringing us in every direction. Some appear farther than others, though it's very difficult to estimate distances in this featureless land. Nobody has even thought about trying to trek to one of the distant ranges.



Below us the sand is quite shallow, less than [a meter]. It is mostly a deep yellow color, although we can spy areas around us which show different colors. Off to the northeast is a large patch of reddish sand, a rose or pink color. And a little east of south, and farther away, is a long stretch of greenish grains. Unfortunately, I don't think we have many texts on [geology], or I haven't been able to find them in our archives.

Digging down we find bedrock that follows the slope we can observe. However, we also find ourselves near a plateau that seems to push up from the slope of the plain a little, making it more level. I think this is our best chance for a permanent settlement.

I'm sure in our seed archives we could find some plants to grow here...water is a perennial problem, but we just might be able to invest some in seedlings. The real problem is the soil--It's just sand! The [farm mages] tell me it would help tremendously if there were some clay. Of course, even I know that the whole point of clay is retention of water...another problem to work on...If only we could talk to [errnoreffound:phonetic:an Achlean] about these things.

What else? Oh, there is one sun, a little bluer than we are used to. Fortunately it seems to put out the same amount of energy. The [astronomer] tells me we're very close to the equator of this world, so therefore the sun is "normal". He also tells me that the signs point to a great change coming to this world soon, as in, within the next few days. Just what I needed to hear.

Jedditor just showed up and told me this post has a lot of linguistic best-fits. I don't know what to say except, sorry, I hope you all can understand it. (There's a question...what should I call all you contributors of ideas in your strange idea-web dimension?)

Thu, 25 Oct 07 03:29:18 -0400 - 16 REPLIES

[edit] Oct 30, 07

Alvyurin Ekkatran - The mysterious monument

Something very exciting happened recently. Our building and settling has been going well, but I just had to talk about this new event.

One of the hunters went to scout out the formation of rocks we had seen. Then he sent us a message saying that he had found a magical stone artifact. It takes the form of a series of stone rings. The outermost is fixed but the inner and middle can be rotated. Inscribed upon the rings are symbols, numbers in fact. The hunter said they had originally been symbols in a foreign alphabet but they changed into the numbers used by the [System].

Jedditor worked up a way to manipulate the rings through the [System]. (I think he was itching for something to do.) We haven't figured out what the rings mean, so we'd like you to help out. Query the [System] for more information. We suspect there is one configuration that is correct, but we need to know why.

Tue, 30 Oct 07 18:41:13 -0400 - 5 REPLIES

[edit] Oct 31, 07

Alvyurin Ekkatran - Dreams

Last night I had a curious dream. I was in a group of a lot of people who were being herded through some sort of competition. One of the "events" featured spiders sliding along long horizontal strings of webs. Only, because of some "defense mechanism" they had, the spiders had constructed around themselves...I suppose you would have to call them masks. In essence, it appeared as though tiny wolf's heads were sliding down these ropes of web toward us, and it was our task to hit them with a weapon when they went by. That's as near as I can recall, anyway. I wonder what it means?

Wed, 31 Oct 07 15:28:11 -0400 - 0 REPLIES

[edit] Nov 01, 07

Alvyurin Ekkatran - Water! The most amazing thing happened today. We started having huge winds, sand blowing everywhere. Everyone got under cover to wait out the storm...

And suddenly...Clouds! Sweeping over the sky! The moisture level of the air has risen considerably. Some of our [mages] immediately started condensing water. Now our reserves are actually growing instead of shrinking.

Now there's talk about creating some clay in which to plant soils, so we just need to find out what type of soil would work best...But for the first time in a long time, there's a real feeling of hope!

Thu, 01 Nov 07 00:52:13 -0400 -0 REPLIES

[edit] Nov 01, 07

Alvyurin Ekkatran - ?!?!?

Just when we were getting some good work down, someone put a [lock stone] right in the middle of my research area! I thought we had gotten rid of this [???] when we left! Why do I have to put up with these stupid setbacks?

Thu, 01 Nov 07 19:48:01 -0400 - 7 REPLIES

[edit] Nov 20, 07

Alvyurin Ekkatran - Harvest

Finally I'm getting over this stupid illness. Also, my lab has been rearranged to get around the stupid stone. I bet Jedditor knows how to solve it...he's been staying off at his terminal, saying he doesn't want to catch what we've got. But he's always had a habit of working alone...

Anyway, it's traditionally time for a harvest festival about now, but in this sweltering furnace land the seasons don't seem to apply. However, we are finally getting some food plants grown, so maybe celebrating the harvest is appropriate. It's certainly something for us to celebrate.

How about you guys in the idea-web-dimension, how are you doing? Jedditor tells me the Book of Hommeret Auricon is nearly ready, but I'm not sure that's such a good idea right now...Of course it's a vital part of the Books, but it's, well, kind of a downer.

Tue, 20 Nov 07 18:55:54 -0500 - 2 REPLIES

[edit] Mar 16, 08

Alvyurin Ekkatran - Book of Hommeret

According to Jedditor, the Book of Hommeret is finally being translated. It's great news, given that it's such an important part of the Books. Well, every Book is important, of course.

The truth is, though, it's...how do I say this...the darkest part of the Books. I wonder if it's a good or a bad omen that it's becoming available in the idea-web-language.

Sun, 16 Mar 08 00:23:55 -0400 - 2 REPLIES

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