[img alt="hatchery title graphic for the space lab. background is the Pillars of Creation, a photo from the Hubble Space Telescope"]https://i.imgur.com/7lEJVlp.png[/img]
[center][size=5]this hatchery is closed. the thread remains as an archive.
thank you all for the support over the years.[/size]
[center][s]we are currently under construction. forgive our (space) dust![/s][/center]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/afzBOoM.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/qfBanKq.png[/img][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=99246578][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/992466/99246578p.png[/img][/url][img]https://i.imgur.com/gD8p4vi.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/yZpxEpp.png[/img][nextcol] [nextcol][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]
Hello. Thank you for your effort in coming all this way. Will you be sponsoring the journey to a new life for a Nouveaumancer today? Or offering your support in other ways? We are accepting internship applications. Please have a look at this brochure. It explains our organization's mission. Let me know if you would like a tour of the facility.[right]♦[sup]♦[/sup][sub]♦[/sub][nextcol] [/columns]
[columns][color=transparent]_____[/color][nextcol][size=4][size=3]Allow me to break your immersion for a bit. Here at [b]the space lab[/b], you'll find pairs that match my narrow taste for, mainly, meticulously matched [b]XYZ[/b]-colored dragons with a particular interest in combos with [b]brown[/b] and/or an [b]Abyss[/b] primary color. But it's not totally cohesive, so please have a look through!
This hatchery started as a lore-based thread for the sale of [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938096]Nouveaumancers.[/url] It expanded as I scried more unique color combos that I wanted to [s]obtain world domination[/s] share with the world. So, it leans on the informal side and is subject to my whims.
The relatively high prices reflect the difficulty of breeding for these combos and the cost of the parents' genes. However, prices will decrease with time, because I want the children to be accessible to the masses. Final lower-limit prices will be around 30-150g.
[b]First come, first serve.[/b] No holds or reservations possible. Hatchlings are usually listed on the AH for gems even before I use their pinglist, so it's a free-for-all.
[b]1:1000 gem/treasure ratio.[/b] Mixed payment of currency is accepted, but alternate forms of payment are not.
All hatchlings are pre-named. Prices are built-in with a 5g discount as a result.
Hatchlings that are unsold by the time their next nest of siblings becomes adults are personally exalted.
Pairs usually go inactive into my HibDen when demand decreases, but you can request to have them bred again in any element of your choice.
Since finding nest rentals is a hassle, I also sell pairs I’m not particularly attached to—especially those that don’t nest in my element, Earth. Currently planned for eventual sale: stolen fire.
[nextcol][color=transparent]_____[/color][/columns]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/e6h0NLb.png[/img]
[center][font=georgia][size=2][color=19232F]front desk / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938095]available hatchlings[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938096]nouveaumancers[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938100]interns[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938106]contractors[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55996630]lore archive[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55996641]misc[/url]
this hatchery is closed. the thread remains as an archive.
thank you all for the support over the years.
we are currently under construction. forgive our (space) dust!
Hello. Thank you for your effort in coming all this way. Will you be sponsoring the journey to a new life for a Nouveaumancer today? Or offering your support in other ways? We are accepting internship applications. Please have a look at this brochure. It explains our organization's mission. Let me know if you would like a tour of the facility.
♦♦♦
_____
Allow me to break your immersion for a bit. Here at the space lab, you'll find pairs that match my narrow taste for, mainly, meticulously matched XYZ-colored dragons with a particular interest in combos with brown and/or an Abyss primary color. But it's not totally cohesive, so please have a look through!
This hatchery started as a lore-based thread for the sale of Nouveaumancers. It expanded as I scried more unique color combos that I wanted to obtain world domination share with the world. So, it leans on the informal side and is subject to my whims.
The relatively high prices reflect the difficulty of breeding for these combos and the cost of the parents' genes. However, prices will decrease with time, because I want the children to be accessible to the masses. Final lower-limit prices will be around 30-150g.
First come, first serve. No holds or reservations possible. Hatchlings are usually listed on the AH for gems even before I use their pinglist, so it's a free-for-all.
1:1000 gem/treasure ratio. Mixed payment of currency is accepted, but alternate forms of payment are not.
All hatchlings are pre-named. Prices are built-in with a 5g discount as a result.
Hatchlings that are unsold by the time their next nest of siblings becomes adults are personally exalted.
Pairs usually go inactive into my HibDen when demand decreases, but you can request to have them bred again in any element of your choice.
Since finding nest rentals is a hassle, I also sell pairs I’m not particularly attached to—especially those that don’t nest in my element, Earth. Currently planned for eventual sale: stolen fire.
Last edited on Apr 09, 2026 15:29:22 by disconcerto
ghost. FR+0.
@disconcerto
← now serving lattes... ← craving a cup?
for IKTR, fandragon tab
[img alt="sales/available hatchlings"]https://i.imgur.com/utFyYMD.png[/img]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/afzBOoM.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/qfBanKq.png[/img][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/86332720][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/863328/86332720p.png[/img][/url][img]https://i.imgur.com/gD8p4vi.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/yZpxEpp.png[/img]
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Oh! Hi! Are you here to find new friend? We have few who came from space, they need extra patience to become friend. We also have intern who are ready to move on to new place. They really helped us a lot, they build this whole building and deliver many magical items and maintain the machines. Some of them try to teach me to read...they are very brave.[right]¤[sup]¤[/sup][sub]¤[/sub]
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there’s nothing here.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/e6h0NLb.png[/img]
[center][font=georgia][size=2][color=19232F][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_3306852]front desk[/url] / available hatchlings / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938096]nouveaumancers[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938100]interns[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938106]contractors[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55996630]lore archive[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55996641]misc[/url]
Oh! Hi! Are you here to find new friend? We have few who came from space, they need extra patience to become friend. We also have intern who are ready to move on to new place. They really helped us a lot, they build this whole building and deliver many magical items and maintain the machines. Some of them try to teach me to read...they are very brave.
Last edited on Oct 18, 2025 11:38:39 by disconcerto
ghost. FR+0.
@disconcerto
← now serving lattes... ← craving a cup?
for IKTR, fandragon tab
[img alt="nouveaumancers information"]https://i.imgur.com/s68JZDM.png[/img]
<insert dialogue about the new and improved Nouveaumancer Project>
[center]
This pair has been sold to Museless Hatchery.
[url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3272000/1#post_3272000][img alt="Museless Hatchery"]https://i.ibb.co/ynYnWSSG/muselesshatchery-gifbanner.gif[/img][/url]
[pinglist=58981][/center]
[columns][nextcol] [nextcol][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]♦ sponsorship recipients:
abyss starmap / clay flair / copper glimmer
imperial / earth eyes
[nextcol] [nextcol]
[font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]♦ requested contribution:
M-pose 250g, F-pose 300g
see bottom of post for price decrease info[/columns]
[img alt="male and female poses of the nouveaumancer imps"]https://i.imgur.com/D1WaH59.png[/img]
[columns][nextcol] [nextcol][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]♦ about: [/columns]
[columns] [nextcol]
[font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F] Several years ago, the first known [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/2383461/1]Novamancers[/url] appeared on Sornieth. These sentient and magical fragments of space, seeking shelter from the devouring Shade, assumed draconic physical forms and assimilated into society.
After spending years observing, running experiments on, and eventually 'befriending' several subspecies individuals, [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/10046170]Edge[/url] has decided to pursue her true calling as a mad scientist by engineering artificially produced Novamancers.
She markets her creations as Nouveaumancers, synthetic "artificially" intelligent dragons designed to exhibit traits desirable for any profession her customers specify, other than a breed requirement. For some reason, the equipment refuses to produce anything other than Imperials, and any further tinkering might cause the entire lab to spontaneously explode.
Of course, the Nouveaumancers' intelligence is not truly artificial, since they already developed a limited amount while living as magically imbued gas and dust. Edge is simply providing a greater incentive for these beings to seek out Sornieth by sending out massive magically-imbued signals that encode various prompts that an individual might be drawn to. The [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938096]project documentation[/url] elaborates on her engineering process.
<insert info about restructuring>
[nextcol] [/columns]
[columns][nextcol] [nextcol][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]♦ nouveaumancer-specific sales info: [/columns][columns] [nextcol]
[font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Hatchlings are pre-named. Free rename scrolls are provided upon purchase via PM.
In the past, 3-4 sentences of unique lore was written custom to every hatchling. Now, they come with a generic bio introducing the subspecies. You're welcome to disregard the lore, ignore the overall subspecies lore, etc. Your dragon, your rules.
Buyers of Nouveaumancers can receive a [b]FREE [/b][gamedb item=49890]! How? Post a "hatchling letter" to this thread, i.e. a narrative description of how your dragon is adjusting (or not) to their new life, new clan etc., written from their perspective or an outsider's. It can be as short or long as you'd like :)
Price decreases are planned. After the 50th hatchling, prices drop 50g to: M-200g, F-250g. After the 70th hatchling, prices reach their lowest limit of 145g for both poses, at which rename scrolls will no longer be provided.
[nextcol] [/columns]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/e6h0NLb.png[/img]
[center][font=georgia][size=2][color=19232F][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_3306852]front desk[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938095]available hatchlings[/url] / nouveaumancers / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938100]interns[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938106]contractors[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55996630]lore archive[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55996641]misc[/url]
♦ requested contribution:
M-pose 250g, F-pose 300g
see bottom of post for price decrease info
♦ about:
Several years ago, the first known Novamancers appeared on Sornieth. These sentient and magical fragments of space, seeking shelter from the devouring Shade, assumed draconic physical forms and assimilated into society.
After spending years observing, running experiments on, and eventually 'befriending' several subspecies individuals, Edge has decided to pursue her true calling as a mad scientist by engineering artificially produced Novamancers.
She markets her creations as Nouveaumancers, synthetic "artificially" intelligent dragons designed to exhibit traits desirable for any profession her customers specify, other than a breed requirement. For some reason, the equipment refuses to produce anything other than Imperials, and any further tinkering might cause the entire lab to spontaneously explode.
Of course, the Nouveaumancers' intelligence is not truly artificial, since they already developed a limited amount while living as magically imbued gas and dust. Edge is simply providing a greater incentive for these beings to seek out Sornieth by sending out massive magically-imbued signals that encode various prompts that an individual might be drawn to. The project documentation elaborates on her engineering process.
<insert info about restructuring>
♦ nouveaumancer-specific sales info:
Hatchlings are pre-named. Free rename scrolls are provided upon purchase via PM.
In the past, 3-4 sentences of unique lore was written custom to every hatchling. Now, they come with a generic bio introducing the subspecies. You're welcome to disregard the lore, ignore the overall subspecies lore, etc. Your dragon, your rules.
Buyers of Nouveaumancers can receive a FREE Scene: Deep Space! How? Post a "hatchling letter" to this thread, i.e. a narrative description of how your dragon is adjusting (or not) to their new life, new clan etc., written from their perspective or an outsider's. It can be as short or long as you'd like :)
Price decreases are planned. After the 50th hatchling, prices drop 50g to: M-200g, F-250g. After the 70th hatchling, prices reach their lowest limit of 145g for both poses, at which rename scrolls will no longer be provided.
Last edited on Jun 10, 2025 22:09:42 by disconcerto
ghost. FR+0.
@disconcerto
← now serving lattes... ← craving a cup?
for IKTR, fandragon tab
[img alt="lore archive for Nouveaumancers"]https://i.imgur.com/xsHyZCH.png[/img]
<insert dialogue about the archive. to those who saw the honse from tumblr, pinglist post is [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938100]here[/url]>
[hidden title="Edge's notes from the Nouveaumancer Project"][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]
2022/01/01
I thought I already had enough work on my hands; under my tireless care, I’ve raised NOV-013’s comprehension to the level of an adolescent. He can speak standard draconian, albeit frequently interrupted by gaps of silence, and he’s even gotten rather good at fishing. Of course, there are always surprises with these creatures, and today another of these anomalies appeared on the scene. The new one seemed to recognize 13 immediately and they’ve become inseparable. They don’t speak draconian to each other, though, and their body language together is unrecognizable. This is an excellent opportunity to investigate the unique form of inter-subspecies communication they must be using. At least I’ll get a break from all the hands-on naturalization interaction and get to go back to being an observer.
2023/03/15
If I could put guttural screaming on parchment, I would. The blasted South Winds turned me into an ice cube for several months and I’ve just barely finished clawing my way out of the thawing ice. My head is spinning, but I must record the start of something truly magnificent. Sadly, my two specimens have frozen solid, but I don’t need them anymore. In all that time in the ice, I was half-awake, with only my thoughts and memories to entertain me. Being the genius I am, by replaying memories I unlocked a revelation!
I remember thinking that NOV-13 looked different when he interacted with his compatriot than when he spoke to other dragons. That difference was actually the way his Starmap scales sparkled. Firstly, the stars sparkled more actively near the other Nova, and the other Nova would sparkle brightly back as if in response. Under more scrutiny, I noticed that on occasion the sparkles followed recurring patterns, indicating that they might have been communicating in a yet undeciphered language of the stars. Lastly, I saw that the patterns I recognized also appeared when I spoke to NOV-13, though more dimly. Whether the stars are speech or thought, mark my words: I will find no rest nor sleep until I’ve cracked this code.
2023/04/20
Broke into the Frozen Sanctum a couple times. Multiple different elemental sanctums. Successfully located and coaxed another Novamancer to “join my team for an important scientific project.” Think they were mostly convinced by the pile of magically charged rubbish I’d stolen and not the fancy words. While they were docile and entertained with their new hoard, I visually and magically recorded their Starmap fluctuations. Also collected that data during various different psychological experiments, I won’t go into details. The stars do match with their thoughts, there’s flashes of magical energy that are similar to neurons. I’ll call them star-neurons.
I’m not happy with my current sample size. Hunting down the Novamancer took ages (around 312 accumulated dedicated hours and too much continental travel), the Association appears to have completely forgotten about them, few leads from clans. Novas come from space, right? Using a large source of magical energy to inhabit a physical draconic form? At least that’s what the research concluded. I think I’ll test the validity of these conclusions. (Haven’t slept all month by the way, if these notes seem scattered.)
2023/05/04
Should stop hoarding all this information in my brain, but I can’t tell how intelligible it all would be on parchment. Borrowed from The Source and set up my own lab over a ley line. Fired an explosive amount of magic into the sky. Multiple times actually, to no success. Until I accomplished just the right tweaks to the parameters. Behold, an Imperial Novamancer. It’s never been reported that they’ve taken the form of an imp. This is all so novel. I’m going to sleep now.
2023/06/18
Right. So I slept for several weeks and woke up thinking that my mind would be clearer. But after reviewing the data and the parameters used, I feel like my head is heavier than ever. Does it make logical sense that the creation process only worked after I turned every knob to the max? Can what is essentially a rushed import of magical living space dust even be boiled down into a structured engineering process? I’m just going to go run the equipment again, on the same settings, and see if the same thing happens.
Update: The same thing did happen, and I have yet another Imp for my language studies. Am I insane for doing the same thing and expecting a different result, or is this whole Nova creation business the insane thing? I think the only logical thing I can do is spend several months studying magical instrument engineering to actually understand what all this junk does internally. Or to discover that this is all the result of several scientifically unsound steps that snowballed into a proper result. At least the observation research will be relatively easier: the current goal is to understand whether my three Novas all use their star-neurons the same way, and then figure out the patterns for some basic concepts. Might need to brush up on my neuroscience too…
2023/07/24
So. I got quite impatient and bored having to present the Novas with various activities and objects to think about. And I thought I’d gained a sufficient understanding of the equipment to change the parameters, to try obtaining a Nova that wasn’t an Imp. It backfired massively (several days ago) and all that “borrowed” equipment actually exploded (vs. being forced to the brink of explosion). I thought I’d just been taking extra precautions to escape the attention of any nosy magisters by setting up the majority of my operations away from the high-powered equipment. Now I’m actively trying to escape their attention. It doesn’t help that I discovered three Nova Imps wandering the ruins just today, and managed to lure them back to the research cavern right before a team of investigators arrived. It’s difficult to stay untracked when you have to wrangle six entities of varying intelligence, five of them being extremely large.
Edit: I’ve been so frazzled that I forgot that I wanted to record the stroke of genius I conjured pre-explosion, by combining my two endeavors into one: Send a signal in their language along with the huge magical lure. I reckon that it might result in enticing varying personalities to take the bait, and I would have more avenues of research to pursue. For this past explosion, I did try to imbue the magic with the corresponding fluctuations for feeling joy, fear, and love. However, I fear that the collected signals I based the wavelength on are still far too noisy for any practical use, and these emotions might be too general. Would this have contributed to the explosion, maybe? I think I should try different feelings that are more specific next time.
2024/01/01
I remembered these dusty parchment records just in time for the new year! I have many achievements to celebrate other than the fact that I haven’t been properly documenting anything. To be succinct, here are major points:
[LIST]
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Fired signals today encoding the more primal feelings of pain and hunger, creating two Imps
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Developed a dictionary of sorts for star-neuron signals related to the basic experiences of a living thing
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Working on determining the level of complexity the Nova language covers w.r.t. concepts, grammar etc.
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Developed a standard set of experiments for each new Nova to experience and for me to gather data from. This helps with determining if all Novas’ star-neurons function in approximately the same way
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Investigating star-neuron patterns when Novas are introduced to Sornieth novelties; do they combine existing patterns or form something new?
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Observed personalities of all Nova imps received so far, especially w.r.t. the prompt I stuck onto the magical bait. They all exhibit higher amplitudes of neural activity when I signal the prompt to them, so the prompt really gives rise to a strong reaction.
[/LIST][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]
Now onto some issues I’ve deliberated about. These Imps eat a lot of magic, much more than my Wildclaw Nova intern. And even upon rebuilding my equipment and tweaking parameters in a way that it all wouldn’t explode, today’s batch was still Imperials. (Perhaps it would be haughty of me to say that I’ve discovered a way to shape Imperials without the power of the gods.) I can’t keep creating Imps without finding somewhere or someone to take them when I’m done with my research. I’m straining the local ley line enough with star-fishing, and I think the Frozen Sanctum’s still got their eyes on my operation.
So, the obvious solution: Find an innocent clan to handle them. I’ll have to really embellish why they should hand over their treasure for an adult dragon who has seemingly failed to develop cognitively past the hatchling stage. Would using a fancy name, say for example “The Nouveaumancer Project,” be able to sufficiently pull wool over their eyes? It certainly would be nice to earn enough money to pay for a legal tap into the ley line. Time to learn marketing.
2024/02/05
Marketing was a success! I see there’s no shortage of foolish wyrms who’ll believe anything they’re told; I don’t even think I was particularly convincing. The flaws in the product were clearly visible too: one seemed socially awkward and another was socially avoidant. Which brings me to another issue which I’ve tried to mitigate with this batch, the issue being that the last batch’s prompts of primal, survival-related emotions are too primitive, producing ‘dragons’ of varying capabilities. NOV-13 and his friend clearly knew each other. They must have developed sentience together, lived together. I’m imagining that these magical space creatures form a colony, which also explains the shared language that they all possess. (Well, most of them.)
So, this time I sent out a few lures containing the most frequent messages that my intern communicates to freshly created Nuvos. Thanks to my newest invention (a star-neuron data collecting wearable circuitry kit; I’m very proud), it was very efficient to decipher that he’s telling them there’s plenty of food, no danger, and plenty of new friends. Not that I really need to translate that last bit, ‘friend’ seems to be his favorite word in both languages. Now he has three more friends to chat with, and I have three more creatures to observe.
2024/02/29
My intern really is a wonderful asset. It was worth it to forgo that entire month of sleep to find him. My brain has also been wonderful, of course, what with the wearable circuits and number-crunching algorithms and all. But my project wouldn’t have progressed even 15% as far as it has now without all the valuable translations I’m juicing out of him. The last kiddos we got were indeed especially interested in the messages we sent out, and they all seemed like they could adjust to living as dragons relatively easily.
Which got me thinking: what if I could pre-adjust them? Instead of just sending a message in their language, I could send an entire education. And I did just that. Or, at least it was an averaged signal of the star-neurons of my intern and a few Nuvos while I taught them about virtue. (Specifically: I taught my intern about virtues and then had my intern try to translate that to teach them.) I’m a little concerned that “virtue” is a bit of an advanced concept, but who knows? There could be an advanced civilization of pure magic space things creating notions far beyond a humble dragon’s imagination. Though, looking at the new group of five, something may have gone amiss with the prompts I sent, because some of them don’t act in the most virtuous of ways. I might have to refine my marketing again; I’m thankful now that I chose to invest all my batteries’ magical energy for a “hatch” on this quote-unquote special day.
2024/04/08
After last batch’s failure, I took a step back to think about what went wrong, and concluded that it must have been the abstract concepts. I’m not too sure that my intern fully grasped the idea; I’m not sure anything complex goes on in his head at all. Must be nice to be so carefree. Let’s not even mention the data from the other Nuvos.
So I’ve pivoted to something different this time: physical movements. If dragons’ neurons are anything like star-neurons, then there’s relatively fewer neurons that control body actions. It took a couple sleepless days to confirm this hypothesis, involving a lot of trials where I put the Nuvos through various repetitive movements and identified the neurons that consistently spiked. It’s still curious that these creatures have nervous systems that work similar to ours; is it related to our shared affinities for magic? I’m not one to believe the seers or in prophecy, but I wonder if even the Tidelord would have any answers regarding these aliens.
Anyways, I managed to prepare a couple recordings of the simplest gathering occupations: fishing, foraging, and digging. Today was an excellent day to send those recordings into space. One of Sornieth’s moons lined up to perfectly cover the sun, and it seems most of dragonkind flocked to Dragonhome, where totality would be visible. The Southern Icefields were even emptier than normal, other than these three new Imperial monstrosities. I think they might be spending a little Too much time gathering. I think I’ll tackle some more advanced physical skills next.
2024/05/14
The past month has been an adventure, to say the least. I’m convinced that I’m on several local watchlists as a potential dragon trafficker, traveling clan to clan asking if they would allow my band of sparkly Imperials to use their tools so that they can experience working in various professions for their “career development.” Would it have been more effective to explain that the whole situation was actually a science experiment and that yes, the large humming machine was also part of it? Let’s not mention that the lava-fanatic Coatls of the Ashfall Waste kept staring at me as if I was repulsive. I promise I’m perfectly happy and healthy, however dull my feathers are.
Clearly, I did not enjoy the smithy portion of the trip. But the data collected looked consistent across the Nuvos, and that’s what’s more important here. After a more pleasant tour with the shipbuilding companies at the Churnscar Wharf and yet another explosive magical launch back home, I reckon that my two newest gigantic guests will develop into an excellent blacksmith and shipwright respectively. Just as soon as I collect more data from them; I have to test their abilities in the field.
2024/06/23
I will admit that it’s rather relaxing to spend time away from the lab and all its frigid misery. I expect that my intern feels the opposite, now that he’s working double time to keep our Imp friends in line during our travels. We first headed back to the Hearth and Wharf to obtain confirmation from professionals that our baby blacksmith and shipwright indeed demonstrate aptitude (ignoring their current state of clumsy unfamiliarity with their bodies). Then we all flew to my beloved sanctuary, the Lightning Farm, for an efficient sampling of the following professions: tailoring clothes for those Goldensparc snobs, defending against rogue products of failed experiments, and laying down the cables for new structures in which I assume more failed experiments are bound to occur! The energy and drive for progress is palpable, and it sparks from feather to feather.
I’ll miss this, and all the silliness that results from watching my intern blunder through these vocations and then have to teach it to the Nuvos. But I’ve been finding it to be so unstimulating to run the experiments and have everything turn out as expected. To have legitimately marketable products. Science should be mad, not marketable. Even if the data isn’t consistent, I’ll send the lures! For progress!
2024/07/28
I was impassioned. So impassioned that I failed to see a bigger picture. I’ve been sending out education lures, but I’ve been curating them, cleaning the noise. Real life hatchlings don’t have curated education. They get real-life experience, and a lot of it, and it takes them years to fully develop. I don’t have the patience to last years, but at this point I have the data of many Nuvos’ accumulated life experiences. So I built a machine that could play out every neuron-signal that’s in my database. It was a magic-hungry beast, and now it’s floating somewhere out there in space, beeping away until it dies. But just looking at the physicality of our latest arrivals, I think I’ve finally reached the answer to their intelligence problem.
Now, the original puzzle of the characteristics of their native Nova language remains. And yet again, I failed to think of the most direct way to go about this. I have all this technology to record their neurons on Sornieth; why don’t I just send this out to space? I would just have to figure out how to retrieve the data, but if the Aethers could find their way back, so can we. It’s time to GET BACK TO WORK.
2024/08/31
I’m missing a few feathers from when the wiring got a bit testy, and I might have significantly reduced my lifespan thanks to prolonged exposure to pink chalcedony, but the space probe Stargazer is now complete! The less fun part of this job was figuring out where to put a giant satellite dish in a place that is inconspicuous. I only hope that travelers through this area will be watching where they tread through the deep snow instead of looking up at the surrounding ice spires and realizing that one of them is much wider and rounder than normal. Annoyingly, I had to fork up treasure to some Imp contractors to build it; I refuse to build anything that large, and if I tried to employ the Nuvos I’m sure they’d ruin it. They signed a magical NDA though, so the information is unlikely to leak. Now, onto the real excitement of seeing off Stargazer.
Update: A couple hours after a successful launch, a few Nuvos manifested in the area. I suppose the power used in the launch, like the lures, functioned as a breadcrumb trail to bring them here. Which raises concerns that these nuisances will continue to appear, since the Stargazer continually transmits data as a magical radio wave beelining straight to Sornieth. Whether I’ll see more Nuvos, whether there’s anything to be gleaned from the data itself; now it’s all a waiting game.
2024/10/05
Oh, the delicious data. The signal attenuation readings showing the Novas’ spatial movement. Evidence of their curiosity for my machines. While I waited in agony, I distracted myself with more statistical models to parse their language. And the data I have here on Sornieth too, of course. A few takeaways from the number-crunching and translating I’ve been up to:
[list]
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Sentence structure appears to be topic-comment. Surprisingly, they appear to have personal identifiers, and when initiating communication, they repeat their identifiers quite a bit. The introduction stage, I call it. A call-and-response chorus.
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Space data shows a much smaller subset of morphemes than Sornieth data. So they are indeed creating new words to cope with all the new concepts here.
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]This space-recorded morpheme subset seems to categorize nicely into “food,” “enemy,” and “friend/family” origins. Which makes sense if the only activities these creatures get up to is running from the Shade, huddling together, and pursuing the source of even the tiniest signal of food.
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]The aforementioned new words appear to reflect the magical signatures of the unfamiliar objects on Sornieth. For example, lava emits magical radiation that most dragons can sense as having Fire origins.
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Relatively abstract words, especially those related to bodily experiences, then take that magical signature and tack on a “-feeling” suffix signal. A Nova that is physically hot would describe it as “Fire-feeling.” “I’m happy” is “eating-feeling.”
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Regarding that suffix, although their star-neurons display/emit both thought and speech, thought is a weaker internalized signal while speech is a directed signal to the recipient. (I feel bad for them. I’d go insane if anyone could read my mind if they only looked at me.) And the “-feeling” suffix briefly interrupts that outward pointed signal with an inward signal, which the recipient can still read.
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Other abstract words show reduplication. For example, the idea of a general “thing” is essentially “food-food.” And of course there’s more instances of affixation and compounding just like in our language.
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Stargazer was a very delicious source of food, because the signals being picked up got stronger. And numerous. And multiple signal waves overlapped each other as those Novas all congregated around. However, I’m a little concerned they might be munching on magic a little too giddily. Stargazer’s battery is already halfway empty, after a month? That was supposed to last 2 years…
[/list][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Oh and of course 3 more Nuvos decided to show up on my doorstep as I was writing this. They just couldn’t get enough, huh? I’m going to attempt to communicate with them in their language with the translator machine I’ve been working on. Wish me luck.
2024/11/24
The communication speed is slow, but the translator works. I tried using it to ask about what it’s like to live out there in space, or how they even started to exist as a conscious being, but I can never get a perfectly clear answer. It’s like they experience sudden onset infantile amnesia once they get here. And I can confirm that they Do have infants among their kind; that one Nuvo from the last batch simply couldn’t hold any conversation, and the others flat out told me it was young. Which raises so many more questions: What timescale do they age at? Does that development rely on magic? Do they all live in a colony and care for their young? And can I shake the answers out of them as easily as I can shake candies out of a tin? (The answer is: no, not as easily as I can interview them.)
And another point; even though they experience amnesia about their lifestyle, they can still recall the personal identifiers of Novas that meant something to them. Just like my frozen NOV-13 and his buddy. I must admit I haven’t been studying their intraspecific interactions, but the Nuvos all act in allyship of each other. Sometimes with more or less deference than the average. Should I let this become my next research goal?
Let’s review what I’ve accomplished so far:
[LIST]
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]I’ve cracked the language. I just have to write it all out formally. Which if these poorly organized notes are any indication, will be an absolutely detestable but crucial step to formalizing my research results.
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]I messed around with improving their intelligence, which just boils down to: fast-tracking all their experience on Sornieth by shoveling it into their brains while they’re still in space. Not sure how I would present these results.
[*][font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]I managed to create Nuvos in the first place. A very unscientific process of rocketing explosive amounts of magic out into those hungry stars. When I write about this, the only thing I’d have to say is: I turned every dial to the max.
[/list]
[font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]Taking a step back, it doesn’t look to amount to much. I’ve spent years with these creatures, at this point. I am the only expert in this field, yet I doubt I could get published with the Association, because no one’s publishing research about these creatures anymore. I bet the Association even forgot that I was assigned to NOV-13 in the first place. And let’s say I self-publish. For who? One reader would probably try, and it would be my intern, bless his illiterate heart (though he has been learning).
And the “New Nuvos!” alarm is ringing now, so I have to go see what they want. No, literally. I’m just going to ask them what they want. Seeing as I don’t quite know how to answer that question for myself.
2024/12/24
They answered with such stunning clarity, it’s envious. They’re so free. Free from knowing their limitations, their own expectations. Just a pure singular focus. One of them even wants to help with exploding magic into space! Says they care about the ones they left behind. That signal playback machine has made them so capable, I could shed a tear at the success of my work.
Except I won’t, because it would freeze immediately. I’ve deduced why I was so sentimental in my last entry. All brilliant minds experience burnout, but in my case it’s freezeout. Cold and alone in a cavern of insanities. No fierce rivalries with some other brilliant mind in the Association. The accursed frost always stuck to my feathers. I need out.
So I’m making a big change. I’m leaving. This whole “Nouveaumancer Project” semi-legal business front we’re running is no longer worth my time, but I do still want to continue my research. I’ve rigged the machines to send the data to me remotely. The aforementioned spunky Nuvo seems confident they could keep the place going without me, and my intern is now rather capable of fending for his own. What I owe them is a research paper so compelling that the Association sees a never-before-seen meteoric rise among their ranks. And then as Association President, I could ensure that no magisters ever come to shut down my lab, no matter its dubious establishment and operations. Not to mention more Nuvos means I could study their social structures! And produce more research! I must decipher everything about them, and stake that claim to knowledge as mine!
The Nuvo alarm again brings me to reality. Excellent opportunity to onboard my two replacements. And to build that failsafe.
[right]♦
[/hidden]
[hidden title="old Novamancer subspecies lore"]
[center][size=5][color=#345563][b]overview[/b][/center]
[color=#345563][b]The Novamancers[/b] are pieces of space fleeing from the Shade, which seeks to devour them. At the end of the Third Age, when the Shade shattered the magical barrier of the gods' Pillar, some of the barrier's magical energy radiated into space. As a result, some parts of space that were not yet swallowed by the Shade gained partial sentience, becoming aware that in order to continue existing, they must take refuge. Slowly, nebula clouds gravitated toward the seemingly safe world of Sornieth, and, recognizing that nebulae were not acceptable physical forms, morphed into dragon-like appearance. These fragments of space then assimilated into clans that were willing to accept them, finding protection under welcoming wings. However, will they continue to find peace in these troubling times, when the increased strength of elemental magic is causing more chaotic dominance battles, when more scientists are becoming aware of the anomaly of their existence, and when dragonkind in general has forgotten about the threat of the Shade?
[center][size=5][color=#345563][b]novamancers: the origins[/b][/center]
[hidden title="Novamancer origins short story"]
[color=#345563]It was the sound of an explosion. Perhaps it was not even a sound, for it was so deafening compared to the previous silence, it may as well have never happened. The sound’s energy was of such great magnitude that even the stars shook gently, and new ones were born from interstellar gas. When the wave of sound and magical energy eventually dissipated, the universe surrounding the newly ravaged world of Sornieth returned to its relative silence. But it was not the same.
As the dust of the World Pillar settled, and as the deities awoke from their slumber, the remnants of energy that the destruction of the magical barrier had released into space began to gravitate together. More magical energy clustered around where physical particles formed giant clouds of gas. Before long, the concentration of magic was so powerful that a spark of life was generated. What previously were lifeless clouds of dust were now beings with the one important primal instinct that was characteristic of life: to survive.
For a time, these living parts of space continued life as they had previously existed. Their instinct to survive had little use. Their existence was not threatened.
Until the Shade arrived to devour their magic.
Without their magic, these pieces of space would no longer exist. This they understood. And as the shadowy tendrils began to encroach upon them, clawing the heat and light from stars and leaving only darkness in its wake, the surviving bodies awakened into action. They began to flee.
They moved gradually, at a speed that was just enough to escape the Shade. To an unknowing dragon's eye, Sornieth's night sky may as well have never changed. But the magical fragments of stars and space dust were drawing closer toward the home of dragonkind, to its ceaseless supply of magic, to its relative safety.
Eventually, the fragments arrived at the perimeter of Sornieth's atmosphere. Even there, the threat of the Shade persisted, so they took advantage of the magical lightning streams of the Shifting Expanse to descend to the earth. The lightning carried them swiftly from the clouds toward the tall spires, where the fragments diverged from the energy stream as sparks and re-congregated into their nebula cloud form. But the fragments recognized that this appearance, a floating cloud of dust and small lights, was unnatural. It could draw unnecessary and potentially dangerous interest in their existences. Thus, they drew the extra lightning magic around them and infused it into their bodies, shaping their form into one that appeared to guarantee the most safety: that of a dragon.
These newly formed dragons knew none of the mannerisms expected of them, nor did they feel the need to master them. As they meandered aimlessly among clans of dragonkind, searching for magical sustenance and groups to assimilate into, they became a crude imitation of what a dragon ought to be. They spoke only when absolutely necessary, and even then their language was stunted, formed from words they heard but could not understand. They pretended to eat only because they observed all other dragons eating. And so, these fragments escaped suspicion, and managed to live the life of peace they desired.
But these space fragments would not be the only ones to seek refuge. As dragonkind began to wage fierce wars to protect and expand their elemental territory, more magical energy dissipated into space, once again sparking new life. Life that would then flee the Shade's hunger by fleeing to Sornieth.
Gradually, the number of living space fragments in Sornieth increased. They dispersed into other flights, remaining neutral in times of elemental war. Their mission of survival was complete.
However, their immigration was soon noticed by a very small association of astronomers who recognized that there could be some relationship between the unnatural changes in nebula shapes and star positions, the especially strong surges in Lightning voltage, and the strange dragons that would be found wandering around the spires soon after. As these scientists began their research into the manifestation of these space immigrants, opting to refer to them as "Novamancers" based on their universe-like appearance alone, the nature of Sornieth's elemental magic also began to change, becoming dramatically more concentrated and powerful. Caught in the midst of the growing elemental chaos and threatened by the potential for the knowledge of their existence to become widespread, these space fragments would find themselves facing danger they never expected, in the very place they now called their home.
[/hidden]
[center][size=5][color=#345563][b]physical attributes[/b][/size][/center]
[color=#345563]Novamancers feature bodies resembling a dark starry sky and wings patterned like a nebula cloud. In addition, their faces and limbs glow with runes in the colors of their wings, similar to the glow of distant galaxies. Most Novamancers have been observed to take on the forms of pearlcatchers or spirals. Researchers have determined that the reason they do so is because of the high concentration of pearlcatcher and spiral workers in the lightning farms where these Novamancers appear. Once the Novamancers arrive on Sornieth, they desire to form draconic bodies, so they use these workers as a reference. Scientists also believe that since pearlcatchers and spirals are relatively smaller on average, it takes less magical energy to create those bodies, making those breeds more appealing to the Novamancer.
[center][size=5][color=#345563][b]social[/b][/center]
[color=#345563]Novamancers have not been observed interacting with any dragon. They actively avoid those who attempt to approach them. However, observational studies of Novamancers show that over time, they are able to crudely adapt the mannerisms of the dragons they live with. Some Novamancers even began to exhibit stunted but coherent speech.
Novamancers are generally observed as refraining from eating, even when there is no dragon to scare them off from doing so. In the cases that they have been observed eating, it was usually due to peer pressure from other dragons. Research has determined that they do not need to eat food because they subsist off magical energy. This explains their preference in magical items and also how magical items hoarded by Novamancers eventually lose their magic due to the Novamancer "feeding" on it.
[/hidden]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/e6h0NLb.png[/img]
[center][font=georgia][size=2][color=19232F][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_3306852]front desk[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938095]available hatchlings[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938096]nouveaumancers[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938100]interns[/url] / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55938106]contractors[/url] / lore archive / [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/3306852/1#post_55996641]misc[/url]
<insert dialogue about the archive. to those who saw the honse from tumblr, pinglist post is here>
Edge's notes from the Nouveaumancer Project
2022/01/01
I thought I already had enough work on my hands; under my tireless care, I’ve raised NOV-013’s comprehension to the level of an adolescent. He can speak standard draconian, albeit frequently interrupted by gaps of silence, and he’s even gotten rather good at fishing. Of course, there are always surprises with these creatures, and today another of these anomalies appeared on the scene. The new one seemed to recognize 13 immediately and they’ve become inseparable. They don’t speak draconian to each other, though, and their body language together is unrecognizable. This is an excellent opportunity to investigate the unique form of inter-subspecies communication they must be using. At least I’ll get a break from all the hands-on naturalization interaction and get to go back to being an observer.
2023/03/15
If I could put guttural screaming on parchment, I would. The blasted South Winds turned me into an ice cube for several months and I’ve just barely finished clawing my way out of the thawing ice. My head is spinning, but I must record the start of something truly magnificent. Sadly, my two specimens have frozen solid, but I don’t need them anymore. In all that time in the ice, I was half-awake, with only my thoughts and memories to entertain me. Being the genius I am, by replaying memories I unlocked a revelation!
I remember thinking that NOV-13 looked different when he interacted with his compatriot than when he spoke to other dragons. That difference was actually the way his Starmap scales sparkled. Firstly, the stars sparkled more actively near the other Nova, and the other Nova would sparkle brightly back as if in response. Under more scrutiny, I noticed that on occasion the sparkles followed recurring patterns, indicating that they might have been communicating in a yet undeciphered language of the stars. Lastly, I saw that the patterns I recognized also appeared when I spoke to NOV-13, though more dimly. Whether the stars are speech or thought, mark my words: I will find no rest nor sleep until I’ve cracked this code.
2023/04/20
Broke into the Frozen Sanctum a couple times. Multiple different elemental sanctums. Successfully located and coaxed another Novamancer to “join my team for an important scientific project.” Think they were mostly convinced by the pile of magically charged rubbish I’d stolen and not the fancy words. While they were docile and entertained with their new hoard, I visually and magically recorded their Starmap fluctuations. Also collected that data during various different psychological experiments, I won’t go into details. The stars do match with their thoughts, there’s flashes of magical energy that are similar to neurons. I’ll call them star-neurons.
I’m not happy with my current sample size. Hunting down the Novamancer took ages (around 312 accumulated dedicated hours and too much continental travel), the Association appears to have completely forgotten about them, few leads from clans. Novas come from space, right? Using a large source of magical energy to inhabit a physical draconic form? At least that’s what the research concluded. I think I’ll test the validity of these conclusions. (Haven’t slept all month by the way, if these notes seem scattered.)
2023/05/04
Should stop hoarding all this information in my brain, but I can’t tell how intelligible it all would be on parchment. Borrowed from The Source and set up my own lab over a ley line. Fired an explosive amount of magic into the sky. Multiple times actually, to no success. Until I accomplished just the right tweaks to the parameters. Behold, an Imperial Novamancer. It’s never been reported that they’ve taken the form of an imp. This is all so novel. I’m going to sleep now.
2023/06/18
Right. So I slept for several weeks and woke up thinking that my mind would be clearer. But after reviewing the data and the parameters used, I feel like my head is heavier than ever. Does it make logical sense that the creation process only worked after I turned every knob to the max? Can what is essentially a rushed import of magical living space dust even be boiled down into a structured engineering process? I’m just going to go run the equipment again, on the same settings, and see if the same thing happens.
Update: The same thing did happen, and I have yet another Imp for my language studies. Am I insane for doing the same thing and expecting a different result, or is this whole Nova creation business the insane thing? I think the only logical thing I can do is spend several months studying magical instrument engineering to actually understand what all this junk does internally. Or to discover that this is all the result of several scientifically unsound steps that snowballed into a proper result. At least the observation research will be relatively easier: the current goal is to understand whether my three Novas all use their star-neurons the same way, and then figure out the patterns for some basic concepts. Might need to brush up on my neuroscience too…
2023/07/24
So. I got quite impatient and bored having to present the Novas with various activities and objects to think about. And I thought I’d gained a sufficient understanding of the equipment to change the parameters, to try obtaining a Nova that wasn’t an Imp. It backfired massively (several days ago) and all that “borrowed” equipment actually exploded (vs. being forced to the brink of explosion). I thought I’d just been taking extra precautions to escape the attention of any nosy magisters by setting up the majority of my operations away from the high-powered equipment. Now I’m actively trying to escape their attention. It doesn’t help that I discovered three Nova Imps wandering the ruins just today, and managed to lure them back to the research cavern right before a team of investigators arrived. It’s difficult to stay untracked when you have to wrangle six entities of varying intelligence, five of them being extremely large.
Edit: I’ve been so frazzled that I forgot that I wanted to record the stroke of genius I conjured pre-explosion, by combining my two endeavors into one: Send a signal in their language along with the huge magical lure. I reckon that it might result in enticing varying personalities to take the bait, and I would have more avenues of research to pursue. For this past explosion, I did try to imbue the magic with the corresponding fluctuations for feeling joy, fear, and love. However, I fear that the collected signals I based the wavelength on are still far too noisy for any practical use, and these emotions might be too general. Would this have contributed to the explosion, maybe? I think I should try different feelings that are more specific next time.
2024/01/01
I remembered these dusty parchment records just in time for the new year! I have many achievements to celebrate other than the fact that I haven’t been properly documenting anything. To be succinct, here are major points:
Fired signals today encoding the more primal feelings of pain and hunger, creating two Imps
Developed a dictionary of sorts for star-neuron signals related to the basic experiences of a living thing
Working on determining the level of complexity the Nova language covers w.r.t. concepts, grammar etc.
Developed a standard set of experiments for each new Nova to experience and for me to gather data from. This helps with determining if all Novas’ star-neurons function in approximately the same way
Investigating star-neuron patterns when Novas are introduced to Sornieth novelties; do they combine existing patterns or form something new?
Observed personalities of all Nova imps received so far, especially w.r.t. the prompt I stuck onto the magical bait. They all exhibit higher amplitudes of neural activity when I signal the prompt to them, so the prompt really gives rise to a strong reaction.
Now onto some issues I’ve deliberated about. These Imps eat a lot of magic, much more than my Wildclaw Nova intern. And even upon rebuilding my equipment and tweaking parameters in a way that it all wouldn’t explode, today’s batch was still Imperials. (Perhaps it would be haughty of me to say that I’ve discovered a way to shape Imperials without the power of the gods.) I can’t keep creating Imps without finding somewhere or someone to take them when I’m done with my research. I’m straining the local ley line enough with star-fishing, and I think the Frozen Sanctum’s still got their eyes on my operation.
So, the obvious solution: Find an innocent clan to handle them. I’ll have to really embellish why they should hand over their treasure for an adult dragon who has seemingly failed to develop cognitively past the hatchling stage. Would using a fancy name, say for example “The Nouveaumancer Project,” be able to sufficiently pull wool over their eyes? It certainly would be nice to earn enough money to pay for a legal tap into the ley line. Time to learn marketing.
2024/02/05
Marketing was a success! I see there’s no shortage of foolish wyrms who’ll believe anything they’re told; I don’t even think I was particularly convincing. The flaws in the product were clearly visible too: one seemed socially awkward and another was socially avoidant. Which brings me to another issue which I’ve tried to mitigate with this batch, the issue being that the last batch’s prompts of primal, survival-related emotions are too primitive, producing ‘dragons’ of varying capabilities. NOV-13 and his friend clearly knew each other. They must have developed sentience together, lived together. I’m imagining that these magical space creatures form a colony, which also explains the shared language that they all possess. (Well, most of them.)
So, this time I sent out a few lures containing the most frequent messages that my intern communicates to freshly created Nuvos. Thanks to my newest invention (a star-neuron data collecting wearable circuitry kit; I’m very proud), it was very efficient to decipher that he’s telling them there’s plenty of food, no danger, and plenty of new friends. Not that I really need to translate that last bit, ‘friend’ seems to be his favorite word in both languages. Now he has three more friends to chat with, and I have three more creatures to observe.
2024/02/29
My intern really is a wonderful asset. It was worth it to forgo that entire month of sleep to find him. My brain has also been wonderful, of course, what with the wearable circuits and number-crunching algorithms and all. But my project wouldn’t have progressed even 15% as far as it has now without all the valuable translations I’m juicing out of him. The last kiddos we got were indeed especially interested in the messages we sent out, and they all seemed like they could adjust to living as dragons relatively easily.
Which got me thinking: what if I could pre-adjust them? Instead of just sending a message in their language, I could send an entire education. And I did just that. Or, at least it was an averaged signal of the star-neurons of my intern and a few Nuvos while I taught them about virtue. (Specifically: I taught my intern about virtues and then had my intern try to translate that to teach them.) I’m a little concerned that “virtue” is a bit of an advanced concept, but who knows? There could be an advanced civilization of pure magic space things creating notions far beyond a humble dragon’s imagination. Though, looking at the new group of five, something may have gone amiss with the prompts I sent, because some of them don’t act in the most virtuous of ways. I might have to refine my marketing again; I’m thankful now that I chose to invest all my batteries’ magical energy for a “hatch” on this quote-unquote special day.
2024/04/08
After last batch’s failure, I took a step back to think about what went wrong, and concluded that it must have been the abstract concepts. I’m not too sure that my intern fully grasped the idea; I’m not sure anything complex goes on in his head at all. Must be nice to be so carefree. Let’s not even mention the data from the other Nuvos.
So I’ve pivoted to something different this time: physical movements. If dragons’ neurons are anything like star-neurons, then there’s relatively fewer neurons that control body actions. It took a couple sleepless days to confirm this hypothesis, involving a lot of trials where I put the Nuvos through various repetitive movements and identified the neurons that consistently spiked. It’s still curious that these creatures have nervous systems that work similar to ours; is it related to our shared affinities for magic? I’m not one to believe the seers or in prophecy, but I wonder if even the Tidelord would have any answers regarding these aliens.
Anyways, I managed to prepare a couple recordings of the simplest gathering occupations: fishing, foraging, and digging. Today was an excellent day to send those recordings into space. One of Sornieth’s moons lined up to perfectly cover the sun, and it seems most of dragonkind flocked to Dragonhome, where totality would be visible. The Southern Icefields were even emptier than normal, other than these three new Imperial monstrosities. I think they might be spending a little Too much time gathering. I think I’ll tackle some more advanced physical skills next.
2024/05/14
The past month has been an adventure, to say the least. I’m convinced that I’m on several local watchlists as a potential dragon trafficker, traveling clan to clan asking if they would allow my band of sparkly Imperials to use their tools so that they can experience working in various professions for their “career development.” Would it have been more effective to explain that the whole situation was actually a science experiment and that yes, the large humming machine was also part of it? Let’s not mention that the lava-fanatic Coatls of the Ashfall Waste kept staring at me as if I was repulsive. I promise I’m perfectly happy and healthy, however dull my feathers are.
Clearly, I did not enjoy the smithy portion of the trip. But the data collected looked consistent across the Nuvos, and that’s what’s more important here. After a more pleasant tour with the shipbuilding companies at the Churnscar Wharf and yet another explosive magical launch back home, I reckon that my two newest gigantic guests will develop into an excellent blacksmith and shipwright respectively. Just as soon as I collect more data from them; I have to test their abilities in the field.
2024/06/23
I will admit that it’s rather relaxing to spend time away from the lab and all its frigid misery. I expect that my intern feels the opposite, now that he’s working double time to keep our Imp friends in line during our travels. We first headed back to the Hearth and Wharf to obtain confirmation from professionals that our baby blacksmith and shipwright indeed demonstrate aptitude (ignoring their current state of clumsy unfamiliarity with their bodies). Then we all flew to my beloved sanctuary, the Lightning Farm, for an efficient sampling of the following professions: tailoring clothes for those Goldensparc snobs, defending against rogue products of failed experiments, and laying down the cables for new structures in which I assume more failed experiments are bound to occur! The energy and drive for progress is palpable, and it sparks from feather to feather.
I’ll miss this, and all the silliness that results from watching my intern blunder through these vocations and then have to teach it to the Nuvos. But I’ve been finding it to be so unstimulating to run the experiments and have everything turn out as expected. To have legitimately marketable products. Science should be mad, not marketable. Even if the data isn’t consistent, I’ll send the lures! For progress!
2024/07/28
I was impassioned. So impassioned that I failed to see a bigger picture. I’ve been sending out education lures, but I’ve been curating them, cleaning the noise. Real life hatchlings don’t have curated education. They get real-life experience, and a lot of it, and it takes them years to fully develop. I don’t have the patience to last years, but at this point I have the data of many Nuvos’ accumulated life experiences. So I built a machine that could play out every neuron-signal that’s in my database. It was a magic-hungry beast, and now it’s floating somewhere out there in space, beeping away until it dies. But just looking at the physicality of our latest arrivals, I think I’ve finally reached the answer to their intelligence problem.
Now, the original puzzle of the characteristics of their native Nova language remains. And yet again, I failed to think of the most direct way to go about this. I have all this technology to record their neurons on Sornieth; why don’t I just send this out to space? I would just have to figure out how to retrieve the data, but if the Aethers could find their way back, so can we. It’s time to GET BACK TO WORK.
2024/08/31
I’m missing a few feathers from when the wiring got a bit testy, and I might have significantly reduced my lifespan thanks to prolonged exposure to pink chalcedony, but the space probe Stargazer is now complete! The less fun part of this job was figuring out where to put a giant satellite dish in a place that is inconspicuous. I only hope that travelers through this area will be watching where they tread through the deep snow instead of looking up at the surrounding ice spires and realizing that one of them is much wider and rounder than normal. Annoyingly, I had to fork up treasure to some Imp contractors to build it; I refuse to build anything that large, and if I tried to employ the Nuvos I’m sure they’d ruin it. They signed a magical NDA though, so the information is unlikely to leak. Now, onto the real excitement of seeing off Stargazer.
Update: A couple hours after a successful launch, a few Nuvos manifested in the area. I suppose the power used in the launch, like the lures, functioned as a breadcrumb trail to bring them here. Which raises concerns that these nuisances will continue to appear, since the Stargazer continually transmits data as a magical radio wave beelining straight to Sornieth. Whether I’ll see more Nuvos, whether there’s anything to be gleaned from the data itself; now it’s all a waiting game.
2024/10/05
Oh, the delicious data. The signal attenuation readings showing the Novas’ spatial movement. Evidence of their curiosity for my machines. While I waited in agony, I distracted myself with more statistical models to parse their language. And the data I have here on Sornieth too, of course. A few takeaways from the number-crunching and translating I’ve been up to:
Sentence structure appears to be topic-comment. Surprisingly, they appear to have personal identifiers, and when initiating communication, they repeat their identifiers quite a bit. The introduction stage, I call it. A call-and-response chorus.
Space data shows a much smaller subset of morphemes than Sornieth data. So they are indeed creating new words to cope with all the new concepts here.
This space-recorded morpheme subset seems to categorize nicely into “food,” “enemy,” and “friend/family” origins. Which makes sense if the only activities these creatures get up to is running from the Shade, huddling together, and pursuing the source of even the tiniest signal of food.
The aforementioned new words appear to reflect the magical signatures of the unfamiliar objects on Sornieth. For example, lava emits magical radiation that most dragons can sense as having Fire origins.
Relatively abstract words, especially those related to bodily experiences, then take that magical signature and tack on a “-feeling” suffix signal. A Nova that is physically hot would describe it as “Fire-feeling.” “I’m happy” is “eating-feeling.”
Regarding that suffix, although their star-neurons display/emit both thought and speech, thought is a weaker internalized signal while speech is a directed signal to the recipient. (I feel bad for them. I’d go insane if anyone could read my mind if they only looked at me.) And the “-feeling” suffix briefly interrupts that outward pointed signal with an inward signal, which the recipient can still read.
Other abstract words show reduplication. For example, the idea of a general “thing” is essentially “food-food.” And of course there’s more instances of affixation and compounding just like in our language.
Stargazer was a very delicious source of food, because the signals being picked up got stronger. And numerous. And multiple signal waves overlapped each other as those Novas all congregated around. However, I’m a little concerned they might be munching on magic a little too giddily. Stargazer’s battery is already halfway empty, after a month? That was supposed to last 2 years…
Oh and of course 3 more Nuvos decided to show up on my doorstep as I was writing this. They just couldn’t get enough, huh? I’m going to attempt to communicate with them in their language with the translator machine I’ve been working on. Wish me luck.
2024/11/24
The communication speed is slow, but the translator works. I tried using it to ask about what it’s like to live out there in space, or how they even started to exist as a conscious being, but I can never get a perfectly clear answer. It’s like they experience sudden onset infantile amnesia once they get here. And I can confirm that they Do have infants among their kind; that one Nuvo from the last batch simply couldn’t hold any conversation, and the others flat out told me it was young. Which raises so many more questions: What timescale do they age at? Does that development rely on magic? Do they all live in a colony and care for their young? And can I shake the answers out of them as easily as I can shake candies out of a tin? (The answer is: no, not as easily as I can interview them.)
And another point; even though they experience amnesia about their lifestyle, they can still recall the personal identifiers of Novas that meant something to them. Just like my frozen NOV-13 and his buddy. I must admit I haven’t been studying their intraspecific interactions, but the Nuvos all act in allyship of each other. Sometimes with more or less deference than the average. Should I let this become my next research goal?
Let’s review what I’ve accomplished so far:
I’ve cracked the language. I just have to write it all out formally. Which if these poorly organized notes are any indication, will be an absolutely detestable but crucial step to formalizing my research results.
I messed around with improving their intelligence, which just boils down to: fast-tracking all their experience on Sornieth by shoveling it into their brains while they’re still in space. Not sure how I would present these results.
I managed to create Nuvos in the first place. A very unscientific process of rocketing explosive amounts of magic out into those hungry stars. When I write about this, the only thing I’d have to say is: I turned every dial to the max.
Taking a step back, it doesn’t look to amount to much. I’ve spent years with these creatures, at this point. I am the only expert in this field, yet I doubt I could get published with the Association, because no one’s publishing research about these creatures anymore. I bet the Association even forgot that I was assigned to NOV-13 in the first place. And let’s say I self-publish. For who? One reader would probably try, and it would be my intern, bless his illiterate heart (though he has been learning).
And the “New Nuvos!” alarm is ringing now, so I have to go see what they want. No, literally. I’m just going to ask them what they want. Seeing as I don’t quite know how to answer that question for myself.
2024/12/24
They answered with such stunning clarity, it’s envious. They’re so free. Free from knowing their limitations, their own expectations. Just a pure singular focus. One of them even wants to help with exploding magic into space! Says they care about the ones they left behind. That signal playback machine has made them so capable, I could shed a tear at the success of my work.
Except I won’t, because it would freeze immediately. I’ve deduced why I was so sentimental in my last entry. All brilliant minds experience burnout, but in my case it’s freezeout. Cold and alone in a cavern of insanities. No fierce rivalries with some other brilliant mind in the Association. The accursed frost always stuck to my feathers. I need out.
So I’m making a big change. I’m leaving. This whole “Nouveaumancer Project” semi-legal business front we’re running is no longer worth my time, but I do still want to continue my research. I’ve rigged the machines to send the data to me remotely. The aforementioned spunky Nuvo seems confident they could keep the place going without me, and my intern is now rather capable of fending for his own. What I owe them is a research paper so compelling that the Association sees a never-before-seen meteoric rise among their ranks. And then as Association President, I could ensure that no magisters ever come to shut down my lab, no matter its dubious establishment and operations. Not to mention more Nuvos means I could study their social structures! And produce more research! I must decipher everything about them, and stake that claim to knowledge as mine!
The Nuvo alarm again brings me to reality. Excellent opportunity to onboard my two replacements. And to build that failsafe.
♦
old Novamancer subspecies lore
overview
The Novamancers are pieces of space fleeing from the Shade, which seeks to devour them. At the end of the Third Age, when the Shade shattered the magical barrier of the gods' Pillar, some of the barrier's magical energy radiated into space. As a result, some parts of space that were not yet swallowed by the Shade gained partial sentience, becoming aware that in order to continue existing, they must take refuge. Slowly, nebula clouds gravitated toward the seemingly safe world of Sornieth, and, recognizing that nebulae were not acceptable physical forms, morphed into dragon-like appearance. These fragments of space then assimilated into clans that were willing to accept them, finding protection under welcoming wings. However, will they continue to find peace in these troubling times, when the increased strength of elemental magic is causing more chaotic dominance battles, when more scientists are becoming aware of the anomaly of their existence, and when dragonkind in general has forgotten about the threat of the Shade?
novamancers: the origins
Novamancer origins short story
It was the sound of an explosion. Perhaps it was not even a sound, for it was so deafening compared to the previous silence, it may as well have never happened. The sound’s energy was of such great magnitude that even the stars shook gently, and new ones were born from interstellar gas. When the wave of sound and magical energy eventually dissipated, the universe surrounding the newly ravaged world of Sornieth returned to its relative silence. But it was not the same.
As the dust of the World Pillar settled, and as the deities awoke from their slumber, the remnants of energy that the destruction of the magical barrier had released into space began to gravitate together. More magical energy clustered around where physical particles formed giant clouds of gas. Before long, the concentration of magic was so powerful that a spark of life was generated. What previously were lifeless clouds of dust were now beings with the one important primal instinct that was characteristic of life: to survive.
For a time, these living parts of space continued life as they had previously existed. Their instinct to survive had little use. Their existence was not threatened.
Until the Shade arrived to devour their magic.
Without their magic, these pieces of space would no longer exist. This they understood. And as the shadowy tendrils began to encroach upon them, clawing the heat and light from stars and leaving only darkness in its wake, the surviving bodies awakened into action. They began to flee.
They moved gradually, at a speed that was just enough to escape the Shade. To an unknowing dragon's eye, Sornieth's night sky may as well have never changed. But the magical fragments of stars and space dust were drawing closer toward the home of dragonkind, to its ceaseless supply of magic, to its relative safety.
Eventually, the fragments arrived at the perimeter of Sornieth's atmosphere. Even there, the threat of the Shade persisted, so they took advantage of the magical lightning streams of the Shifting Expanse to descend to the earth. The lightning carried them swiftly from the clouds toward the tall spires, where the fragments diverged from the energy stream as sparks and re-congregated into their nebula cloud form. But the fragments recognized that this appearance, a floating cloud of dust and small lights, was unnatural. It could draw unnecessary and potentially dangerous interest in their existences. Thus, they drew the extra lightning magic around them and infused it into their bodies, shaping their form into one that appeared to guarantee the most safety: that of a dragon.
These newly formed dragons knew none of the mannerisms expected of them, nor did they feel the need to master them. As they meandered aimlessly among clans of dragonkind, searching for magical sustenance and groups to assimilate into, they became a crude imitation of what a dragon ought to be. They spoke only when absolutely necessary, and even then their language was stunted, formed from words they heard but could not understand. They pretended to eat only because they observed all other dragons eating. And so, these fragments escaped suspicion, and managed to live the life of peace they desired.
But these space fragments would not be the only ones to seek refuge. As dragonkind began to wage fierce wars to protect and expand their elemental territory, more magical energy dissipated into space, once again sparking new life. Life that would then flee the Shade's hunger by fleeing to Sornieth.
Gradually, the number of living space fragments in Sornieth increased. They dispersed into other flights, remaining neutral in times of elemental war. Their mission of survival was complete.
However, their immigration was soon noticed by a very small association of astronomers who recognized that there could be some relationship between the unnatural changes in nebula shapes and star positions, the especially strong surges in Lightning voltage, and the strange dragons that would be found wandering around the spires soon after. As these scientists began their research into the manifestation of these space immigrants, opting to refer to them as "Novamancers" based on their universe-like appearance alone, the nature of Sornieth's elemental magic also began to change, becoming dramatically more concentrated and powerful. Caught in the midst of the growing elemental chaos and threatened by the potential for the knowledge of their existence to become widespread, these space fragments would find themselves facing danger they never expected, in the very place they now called their home.
physical attributes
Novamancers feature bodies resembling a dark starry sky and wings patterned like a nebula cloud. In addition, their faces and limbs glow with runes in the colors of their wings, similar to the glow of distant galaxies. Most Novamancers have been observed to take on the forms of pearlcatchers or spirals. Researchers have determined that the reason they do so is because of the high concentration of pearlcatcher and spiral workers in the lightning farms where these Novamancers appear. Once the Novamancers arrive on Sornieth, they desire to form draconic bodies, so they use these workers as a reference. Scientists also believe that since pearlcatchers and spirals are relatively smaller on average, it takes less magical energy to create those bodies, making those breeds more appealing to the Novamancer.
social
Novamancers have not been observed interacting with any dragon. They actively avoid those who attempt to approach them. However, observational studies of Novamancers show that over time, they are able to crudely adapt the mannerisms of the dragons they live with. Some Novamancers even began to exhibit stunted but coherent speech.
Novamancers are generally observed as refraining from eating, even when there is no dragon to scare them off from doing so. In the cases that they have been observed eating, it was usually due to peer pressure from other dragons. Research has determined that they do not need to eat food because they subsist off magical energy. This explains their preference in magical items and also how magical items hoarded by Novamancers eventually lose their magic due to the Novamancer "feeding" on it.
ghost. FR+0.
@disconcerto
← now serving lattes... ← craving a cup?
for IKTR, fandragon tab
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[font=georgia][size=4][color=19232F]¤[sup]¤[/sup][sub]¤[/sub] thank you for visiting the space lab. [sup]¤[/sup][sub]¤[/sub]¤
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Edge's notes from the Nouveaumancer Project
