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The Deadspot


Invocation

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There is, tucked into a small pocket of an alley, a garden. This garden is normally quite lush as berry bushes and large flowers have grown around each other in a spiral of natural beauty. 

But lately, a snarl has faded. A patch of brown has begun to spread, for reasons unknown, but the evidence is stark against the otherwise green vibrance. Not many people have noticed, for this pocket park gets few visitors, but one noticed. 

And still the deadspot grows.

@Rushu42

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And here...we...go.

 

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Aln walked carefully towards the garden, notebook in hand, followed by Folorian and Dr. Gears. It had taken some searching to find the spot, as the note had not specified location, but Aln had been able to narrow it down pretty quickly. She crouched, examining the patch of brown. The garden seemed well tended, so it was unlikely that it was due to a lack of care. Magical interference was far more likely. She noted down the dimensions of the spot, as well as her best guess at the type of plants involved. Then she began to inhale stormlight. If it were nothing more than a mundane disease, Progression should be able to return it to its usual state. She hesitated, though, and glanced back to the others. If this had been caused by some unknown form of Investiture, such as a Smedry talent or an Epic power, there could be consequences to blindly Surgebinding at it. So she held off,  asking instead, "What do you make of this?"

@mathiau @Gears

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Dr. Gears knelt down next to the brown spot. "The soil appears to have been drained of vital nutrients and bacteria. This may be a side effect or a cause, as plants cannot grow in soil lacking nutrients."

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Does the brown spot drain vitality in a cylinder upwards indefinitely, or is it just a patch of dirt where nothing grows. Also, I'm assuming that the soil is drained as well. If this is inaccurate, please correct me.

 

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1 minute ago, Gears said:
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Does the brown spot drain vitality in a cylinder upwards indefinitely, or is it just a patch of dirt where nothing grows. Also, I'm assuming that the soil is drained as well. If this is inaccurate, please correct me.

 

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It's just the dirt itself, and yes, everything in that dirt down to the bacteria is dead and gone.

 

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As they got near the deadspot, Folorian's focus shifted away from his companions and toward the dead plants, he stored memories of them to find out their races later and then shifted his focus back to Aln and Dr. Gears just in time to hear that the bacteria seemed dead

"The circle seems to perfect to be natural, I'd bet this was either intentional or caused by a type of investiture I've never heard about"

@Rushu42@Gears

Edited by mathiau
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Aln nodded thoughtfully. The others made good points. The effect had likely originated with the soil, as none of the plants appeared abnormal. Of course, it was always too early to jump to conclusions. If the plants had died because of a drain of nutrients, it was possible that Progression could temporarily replace that energy and rejuvenate them. If something had targeted the plants themselves, though, the Investiture could have a different effect. 

"I believe that using the surge of Progression could shed some light on the nature of this blight," she said aloud. "Are there any objections to me trying it?"

@mathiau @Gears

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1 minute ago, Rushu42 said:

"I believe that using the surge of Progression could shed some light on the nature of this blight," she said aloud. "Are there any objections to me trying it?"

Dr. Gears thought for a moment, then said, "No objections." There was the minute chance that what was causing the dead spot was similar to a larkin and ate Stormlight, but that shouldn't make things much worse. 

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11 minutes ago, Rushu42 said:

"I believe that using the surge of Progression could shed some light on the nature of this blight," she said aloud. "Are there any objections to me trying it?"

Using Progression on dead plants? Folorian had heard of tales of Edgedacers reviving newly dead people, but it was probably just tales and as far as he knew Aln was not able to do it.

"I don't see how it could help but then again I don't see how it could backfire, so go ahead if you want."

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10 minutes ago, mathiau said:

Using Progression on dead plants? Folorian had heard of tales of Edgedacers reviving newly dead people, but it was probably just tales and as far as he knew Aln was not able to do it.

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Would Progression not work here? I mean, we know that it can make plants grow, and heal wounds, and even revive the recently dead, as you said. It seems like dead/dying plants would be exactly the situation where it would work. I could be wrong, though, and Aln would know a lot more about this than I do.

 

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1 minute ago, Rushu42 said:

Would Progression not work here? I mean, we know that it can make plants grow, and heal wounds, and even revive the recently dead, as you said. It seems like dead/dying plants would be exactly the situation where it would work. I could be wrong, though, and Aln would know a lot more about this than I do

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From how I understand it, regrowth make the physical body more like the cognitive one (aka how you perceive yourself) which is why you cannot heal wounds that are too old. A human spirit fades in a few minutes unless it's very heavily invested so Folorian suppose it's impossible to use regrowth to resurrect this plants but I really don't know if it's that fast for plants: we've seen statues remember how they were before they were broken months after being broken and seen soulcasted rocks remembering having been air centuries after, but this were inanimate objects

I had forgotten Progression could make plants grow, I guess that could help us here

 

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1 hour ago, mathiau said:

From how I understand it, regrowth make the physical body more like the cognitive one (aka how you perceive yourself) which is why you cannot heal wounds that are too old. A human spirit fades in a few minutes unless it's very heavily invested so Folorian suppose it's impossible to use regrowth to resurrect this plants but I really don't know if it's that fast for plants: we've seen statues remember how they were before they were broken months after being broken and seen soulcasted rocks remembering having been air centuries after, but this were inanimate objects

I had forgotten Progression could make plants grow, I guess that could help us here

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I mean, didn't Lift make a dying tree bloom? And I know she grew plants from seeds. But it's been a while since I've read Edgedancer. I don't think that it's unreasonable that it could revive a plant, but if you want to decide that it can't for the purposes of this, I can adapt my post.

 

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22 minutes ago, Rushu42 said:

I mean, didn't Lift make a dying tree bloom? And I know she grew plants from seeds. But it's been a while since I've read Edgedancer. I don't think that it's unreasonable that it could revive a plant, but if you want to decide that it can't for the purposes of this, I can adapt my post.

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From the Coppermind

Progression:
The Surge of Progression can be manipulated to alter the growth and healing of organisms. The two orders of Knights Radiant with access to this Surge are the Edgedancers and the Truthwatchers.

  • Growth: This ability accelerates organic growth to tremendous speeds. The Surgebinder can infuse the seeds of a plant with Stormlight through skin contact, and in seconds, it will become fully developed. It is unknown if this ability only works on plants.
  • Regrowth: This ability heals the damage done to the body and the soul of a person instantly and without any scarring. The flesh, muscle, or bones can be completely regrown rapidly. The body can be refreshed and rid of fatigue. The Surgebinder can even reverse death with Regrowth; a body that has bled out or a soul that has been severed with a Shardblade can be healed with Regrowth and continue to function as if it has never been damaged. However, once the soul leaves the body and reaches the afterlife, it is impossible for the Surgebinder to revive the person. This ability may also fail to heal injuries that are too old.

So it can heal damage and grow things faster. If something is actually dead, it might not work.

 

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14 hours ago, Rushu42 said:

I mean, didn't Lift make a dying tree bloom? And I know she grew plants from seeds. But it's been a while since I've read Edgedancer. I don't think that it's unreasonable that it could revive a plant, but if you want to decide that it can't for the purposes of this, I can adapt my post.

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As I said, I had forgotten progression was not just regrowth :)

After this discussion I would have thought we should try using regrowth even if Invo had not said it how it would go so I think we can just say Folorian don't see why it could work but Aln does, she could also correct him if you want

 

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I think I'll just go ahead and do it, since Invo said that the effect is the same either way. There doesn't appear to be a definitive answer in the canon for whether it would work in another circumstance, but thankfully we don't need one.

Question: is the area completely dead, or just wilting?

Having gained the approval of her companions, Aln inhaled stormlight and began to transfer it to the plants. The familiar storm of energy filled her, sending her thoughts racing and her heart pounding, but something immediately went wrong. A shock radiated up her arm, and her stormlight reserve vanished, leaving no discernable difference on the patch of brown.

Aln gasped, rubbing at her numb fingers.  "There was no obvious change to the circle, but my Investiture was expended, and my arm received a shock," she told the others.

She clumsily noted this down in her book as feeling slowly returned to her had, then turned to regard the patch with newfound wariness. I've never seen an effect like that before, she thought. It somewhat resembles the effect of a Leecher, with the siphoning of my Investiture, but the shock was something new. Does this happen with all forms of Investiture, or just Progression?

She leaned forward and, inhaling another small amount of stormlight, formed a Lightweaving over the patch. The image was simple, just a coating of a pleasant shade of blue on several of the plants. As she did so, she said aloud, "I'm attempting a second test with the surge of Illumination to determine if the effect extends beyond Progression."

@Invocation @mathiau @Gears

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Thanks. (I'm putting this in another post just so that the chronology with my questions is easier to follow). How big is the circle? I'm assuming that there's nothing obvious in the center - correct me if I'm wrong. And how fast is the deadspot growing? Is it noticable?

Aln waited for a moment, but the Lightweaving behaved perfectly normally. She dismissed it and noted this down, clarifying aloud, "Illumination had no effect."

She examined the edges of the circle. The plants there seemed to retain some life, though they were in the process of dying. This suggested either that the effect was gradually spreading or that it lessened in the edges - both of which suggested that the source was in the center. She looked towards the spot, but saw nothing but the tangle of brown. 

Aln hesitated to enter the circle with the nature of the effect still unidentified, so she once again turned to the others. "The plants on the edge aren't completely dead. Does this suggest that it's spreading?"

@Gears @Invocation @mathiau

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12 minutes ago, Rushu42 said:

How big is the circle?

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At the moment, about half a foot in diameter. And yes, at the moment there's not much of interest in the center. If Aln pumps more Progression into it, that may change, or if she watches it for a while.

13 minutes ago, Rushu42 said:

And how fast is the deadspot growing? Is it noticable?

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If you look closely, it's noticeable. It's about an inch an hour, roughly the same speed as some bamboo growth. 

 

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4 hours ago, Rushu42 said:

Aln waited for a moment, but the Lightweaving behaved perfectly normally. She dismissed it and noted this down, clarifying aloud, "Illumination had no effect."

She examined the edges of the circle. The plants there seemed to retain some life, though they were in the process of dying. This suggested either that the effect was gradually spreading or that it lessened in the edges - both of which suggested that the source was in the center. She looked towards the spot, but saw nothing but the tangle of brown. 

Aln hesitated to enter the circle with the nature of the effect still unidentified, so she once again turned to the others. "The plants on the edge aren't completely dead. Does this suggest that it's spreading?"

"If it only affect Progression, maybe it's an unknown kind of spren that would be the opposite of a lifespren, but differently or stronger than a Deathspren?"

Folorian focus his attention on the edge where the plants where not completely dead, after few minutes he saw it had moved of something like two millimeters

"It's certainly growing, I don't know how much time I spent looking at it but it moved of one or two millimeters."

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Note: one inch per hour is a bit less half a millimetre per minute, so he watched for about four minutes, feel free to speak to each other during that time :)

@Gears@Rushu42@Invocation

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On 6/26/2020 at 5:19 AM, mathiau said:

"If it only affect Progression, maybe it's an unknown kind of spren that would be the opposite of a lifespren, but differently or stronger than a Deathspren?"

Folorian focus his attention on the edge where the plants where not completely dead, after few minutes he saw it had moved of something like two millimeters

"It's certainly growing, I don't know how much time I spent looking at it but it moved of one or two millimeters."

On 6/26/2020 at 0:46 PM, Gears said:

"Perhaps the spot is absorbing life energy," Dr. Gears said. "That would explain the energy drain from only Progression and not Illumination."

Aln frowned thoughtfully. "A spren? Perhaps, but spren are usually associated with preexisting natural phenomena. Absorbing life energy seems plausible, though. If whatever is causing this drain is physically observable, it's likely located in the center of the circle." 

So saying, she reached forward and began to feel around the plants in the middle of the deadspot.

@Invocation

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Does she find anything?

 

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1 hour ago, Rushu42 said:

Aln frowned thoughtfully. "A spren? Perhaps, but spren are usually associated with preexisting natural phenomena. Absorbing life energy seems plausible, though. If whatever is causing this drain is physically observable, it's likely located in the center of the circle." 

So saying, she reached forward and began to feel around the plants in the middle of the deadspot.

"Withering seems like a natural process to me, and we've seen sprens unique to the Alleyverse -the one that started the Alleystorm for example- so that's not completely out of the table. There's also the possibility of someone having modified a spren with access to progression or improved a deathspren, either way anyone with access to Transportation should be able to tell if my hypothesis is valid.

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54 minutes ago, mathiau said:

"Withering seems like a natural process to me, and we've seen sprens unique to the Alleyverse -the one that started the Alleystorm for example- so that's not completely out of the table. There's also the possibility of someone having modified a spren with access to progression or improved a deathspren, either way anyone with access to Transportation should be able to tell if my hypothesis is valid.

"A modified spren, maybe," Aln replied, "But spren are created from human perception and personification. Many on Roshar hold beliefs that some spren cause their associated pheomena - such as rotspren causing infection, for example - but it seems far more consistent if all lesser spren are simply attracted to whichever concept they are identified with. I believe I wrote a paper on it at some point. If that theory holds true, then a spren could not have created this, though one could theoretically be formed around the concept of a deadspot. But we can debate the nature of spren another time; I've found a bump."

She motioned to the small mound of dirt, clearing away some of the surrounding dead plant matter. From a pocket, she extracted a tiny knife - the kind one might use to sharpen a pencil, and began to carefully scrape at the earth.

@Invocation @Gears

Edited by Rushu42
Correcting my terminology
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