warden/ancient city thoughts …
Anicent cities aren’t actually cities, they’re actually massive temples instead that devoted themselves to a certain god (im not sure what god the old builders would worship akandk)
They laid many people to rest in those underground crypts, that a bit of their souls leaked out of the bodies and infected the glowing cave vines, resulting in a strange mutation of sculk
and as more people died and got places in those tombs,,, the more sculk spread
Eventually some worshippers caught notice of this and assumed it to be some gift from the gods, so they continued to add fuel to it, experimenting with it, etc, finding out that when a creature dies— instead of the soul ascending to an afterlife, it is instead pulled down by the sculk and merged into what was like a sentient hivemind of connected souls working together to become something akin to an organism
At some point, as evolution of the sculk furthered and sculk sensors formed, it eventually led to a sculk shrieker
and after worshippers activated it a couple times in a row,
It summoned the massive, blind hulking beast known as the warden. It harvested as many souls as it could from the worshippers as it chased after them, leaving no one in it’s wake, before retreating back into the biomass until the next time there is a significant amount of soul that alerts the shriekers once more
Ok mini rant story thing over. i like to think that sculk works in a weird sort of method
Catalyst farm and form the extra sculk needed to begin an infection —> sensors pick up on sounds made by noises that supposedly could be creatures with a soul —> shriekers sound a scream that helps determine if a warden should form —> warden harvests any nearby creatures to help the sculk spread. if killed, the warden drops a catalyst, so it can all begin again
The warden itself is a weird amalgamation of human souls stuck together fused with the sculk. the main reasoning for it being blind (other than cave animals usually being blind since low to zero light requires little need for eyes) is because detecting sound means a very high chance of something w soul
Sculk sickness …. Possibly a rare disease only picked up by deep miners. nasty no good and probably hurts as the sculk eats you from the inside out
Illagers came across the ancient cities and set up camp for a short amount of time to try and study the sculk . you can imagine what happened to them
[ i like to think every ‘living’ creature in minecraft has a soul. that keeps them alive and thinking and breathing and stuff. and undead mobs have soul residue which leaves them with very basic instincts or things they subconsciously remember how to do ITS A FUN THOUGHT ]
[ in my little au illagers love experimenting w souls . because the more you experiment the more messed up results you get (vexes being the fused collective of 2-3 allays, or creating abominations via sticking two different mob souls together… possibly how ravagers came to be since they look a bit like villagers that got turned into beasts . fun theorizing ]
Hey invention? Phanon? I love your mind, it's wonderful. Have a drawing!
I've never drawn a warden before, mostly because it's been very daunting, but I think I got it out the way I wanted it to!! Sculk itself is kind of like... a fungus-y tentacle-y mixture, and i got some inspiration from the devil's fingers fungus irl! Really cool, I suggest giving it a look-see.
In my head, sculk would start off kind of like little eggs or pips or... whatever those things are... there's a name for it, when a plant or a cell decides to split off to make a new plant or cell? Mitosis? Bulbs? Plantlets? There's a word I'm looking for. Anyways. They'd probably grow mini sculk bits off of more mature ones so they can drop off and spread on their own, kind of like some types of succulent if that makes sense? Which explains the little sticky-outy bits on the wardens' horn things. Man, there's gotta be proper terminology for this, my brain is not finding the right words today.
They'd release some sort of bioluminescence when disturbed, and have an almost tar-like substance produced to trap smaller mobs (spiders, bats, etc.) that happen to wander too close, akin to fly traps. It wouldn't work as well for humans, but it's not uncommon to have your foot tugged on by some sculk in the hopes it can digest you.
I went off "The warden itself is a weird amalgamation of human souls stuck together fused with the sculk" because it's FREAKING COOL, so !!! Yeah!! I've got some of the larger/longer sculk tendrils used as arms and 'fingers' in a sense, though they're not all that precise in use. It just opts to smack the heck out of people usually. The bones in the shoulders and feet I thought were really cool on the in-game design, so I feel that the sculk would grow around any sorts of bones it had access to to keep a more stable structure. Keeping yourself upright if you're a soft mass of plantiness/fungus-yness would be a little tough, I think. Also, keeping bones close to the sculk might make it easier to tether souls together? Who knows!
It'd be neat to see what types of matter the sculk would attach to to form a warden-- it could be enderman bones, for all we know! Big and long and short and stubby, and all of the bones are in the wrong places. Using femurs for toes, or ribs for arms... it'd definitely not be fun to see in person.
Sculk sickness sounds SO NEAT TOO!!! I imagine you might be able to inhale it, like spores? Since it feeds off of xp or souls, you just keep fueling it once you're infected whether you like it or not. Does it have any cure, or would you have to have some sort of surgery to try to remove the existing sculk from your body? That'd cause a heck of a lot of complications, if it were to block anything internally. Wild, but neat to theorize about.
And YES on the experimenting with souls thing! Especially with the update so vexes look a lot more like allays-- definitely experiment material. I wonder how many more mobs are out there that we haven't seen because they haven't been made yet? Just mish mashes of any sort of soul they could get their hands on, inhabiting a body that doesn't feel quite right. Kinda interesting!
Thank you for sharing as always ily you rule. Your theories slap, may your inventory be full of diamonds or something. May the Nether's fire guide your way, idk. More piglin-y, as per my blog, lol.
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Phantom In The Deep Dark: The Nether
@lasnevadaspolycule @cr0wseye here ya go!
The Nether or, Malsupro as players call it, is a dimension commonly accessible via Nether portals, which have been in use for at 500 years, allowing for many centuries of piglin-player trading and marrige. Piglin-Player hybrids make up nearly a fith of all hybrid or 'halfblood' players, with it's largest concentration being in the Helmath settlement In the northern range of the nether, right by the iconic lava falls.
The most common structures you will see are Piglin bastions, the Netherian equivilent of a village. Piglins do trade with players- but be warned. The piglins are not a group to be trifiled with, especially in their own territory. Just as it is expected for a Piglin or Enderman who goes to the Overworld, a player must conform to the traditions of their host dimension.
The Nether, with it's lava, fire, mobs, and difficult to navigate terrain is considered too dangerous for most players under the age of 14 to go too, hence why nether portals have to be blocked off, as well as put in more discreet locations to avoid children accidentally wandering through them.
Once a child turns 14, it is a common practice for them to spend one overworld night in the Nether. They go with a set of iron armour, tools, and food that they have prepared, and must wait out the night alone. Of course, the areas of the nether in which this practice is done are always near the safety of a friendly piglin bastion. Likewise, a common piglin tradition is to spend the night in an overworld forest nearby a village.
Once a young player returns home, they are considered mature enough to go dimension traveling, which they will do with a mentor until they manage to safely navigate all biomes. Although some insist that a player must do this alone, sibling or close friends of the same age may camp together.
The Nether also holds an abundance of rare minerals, the most valuable of which is netherite ore or as it's more commonly called. Gold and quartz are also popular exports, as well as netherwart and blaze powder, both key ingredients in most potions.
The Nether's most notable trait over all is it's distinct lack of water. Although water can form in the nether, particularly in colder places underground and in milder climates such as the crimson and warped forests, it is not not as prevalent as in the overworld.
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What does memento mori mean to you?
I know momento morí in two separate concepts:
In Ancient Rome, slaves followed around kings in the streets during victory parades and ocasionaly told them “momento morí“ (remember that you die) in order to remind the kings to not get too egotistical and reckless, but instead remember that they are only human in the end.
in the Victorina era there was a type of photography called “momento morí”. These photos were of the recently deceased (mainly babies who died young/ were still born) and they were taken in order to give the living family something to remember the deceased. A lot of the time the bodies were positioned in order to look more alive for the photo.
As for what it means for me, I think it’s fascinating. The historical context is interesting wouldn’t you say? It’s things like this that makes me so interested in learning about different cultures! I’m probably not articulating this quite right, but I don’t know how else I can explain the pure joy I get from learning about different people, times, beliefs, etc!
…But you were probably asking for what it’s meaning means to me personally, correct? Well, for context I believe in reincarnation. the universe is constantly recycling itself, so why would we be any different?
Momento mori, one day you will die: your lungs will be filled with water while your skin is painted in a purple-ish blue; mushrooms will decompose your flesh, and the scavengers will eat you whole; flowers will blossom from your fingertips, and the roots will cradle your bones; life will feast on the dead in order to thrive. You will die; and the earth will thank you for it. As you leave for your next life, you will realize that death is not the end, it is merely a new beginning. Death and decay is oddly beautiful in this way.
I know it’s not good to romanticize death; sometimes life can be mercilessly ripped away from people and there’s nothing soft and whimsical about it. But I don’t wanna see life without through a dark lens of pessimism, nor the blinding light of optimism. life isn’t black and white so why can’t death be seen as anything more than a tragic end?
Extra fun facts:
Apparently socraties also said it but I don’t know much about that
momento mori is Latin
the opposite of momento mori is memento vivere (remember that you must live.)
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