Void Tech

The lost technology of the previous age...
If you look closely, some evidence remains that there was such a thing. My strongest info was a travel journal from one of the tradesmen, dated as the last few years before the Starfall. They mention a few 'rare new goods fresh from those western inventors' that most scholars write off as enchanted tools, or products of alchemy. And what's described is similar, I'll give them that. The description doesn't quite seem right for magic of that sort, its... odd, really. But what the trader mentions off hand about its origin in Void magic...
Void is a forbidden topic nowadays, which means that my findings can't be published. But if those before were experimenting with Void magic, and studying it, like the Academia is with alchemy... Perhaps the folklore denouncing Void magic has its origin in this? What happened with their experiments that almost universally people today despise it...
Sia Skiyon, historian
Before the the Starfall, the empire that ruled the continent thrived off the manipulation of Void magic and technology. The science behind all of their technology is lost to the disaster. However, the main logic of their inventions can be seen throughout: their technology enforced the 'change' attribute of Void magic to do one specific change, every time. Void magic changes whatever it touches, to the point of destroying what was there in the first place. That ancient civilization took that randomness and used technology to make what they wanted to happen instead.
All the different forms that this took are lost to myth and rumor now, though. Some say that all the cities in that age were lit with infinite stars, day and night. Some say that the lost empires had flying ships that could fly for weeks on end. Most say that their civilization was struck down by Tràyalià for trespassing in the realm of the gods. The truth of the matter is lost to time.
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Jul 1, 2018 05:30 by Dimitris Havlidis

That is indeed a show stopper technology - Nice one minttea!

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Jul 1, 2018 22:36 by Mint

Thank you! It definitely stopped someone's show, that's for sure.

Jul 2, 2018 20:19 by Ammy M

I'll admit, I'm a sucker for ancient, unexplainable technology, so this definitely piqued my interest! I'll definitely be looking to see how this article evolves as the tech is explored in more detail. A few questions for you to think about that may help:   How exactly does Void tech change matter? Is it like an alchemy machine?   How does it affect people? is it too dangerous to use on a person? Or can you use it to make the vain desires of man come true?   How powerful is it? Can I use it to destroy/"change" a city? A planet? The sun?

Jul 2, 2018 20:29 by Mint

I actually know the answers to most of this actually. I didn't want to go into in the article since the Starfall and the old civilizations are the main mystery of the setting. Void tech works off the principal that Void magic is basically a combination of entropy and a randomizer. When enough Void magic collects in a location it forces whatever it latches on to change. This change can be good, or you're now made of quartz. Void tech goes in there and directs the change. (Though if I say how, I'll never stop commenting haha) People have innate resistance to the magic powering Void tech, but after a certain point you get mana poisoning and eventually mutations. I mean, if you were careful and balanced the treatments you might get something else but... That's spoilers, haha.   And its very powerful. The issue is that, the bigger the change, the more magic you need to siphon to power it. And the magic is inherently unstable, so... Let's just say, just before the apocalypse they had a bright idea that required about a quarter of the Void magic on the planet. It didn't end well.

Jul 2, 2018 20:40 by Kai

great article! some sentences seemed a tad off ('The science behind all of their technology is lost to the disaster.' what disaster? maybe say 'was' instead of 'is' if it was a past event, also). i would like to know more about void magic and technology, maybe extend on how it works in more detail? otherwise, very interesting

Jul 2, 2018 20:46 by Mint

You're right, sorry about that. The 'disaster' is referring to the Starfall, which is an apocalyptic event, a thousand years ago. I'm... not really sure how to add that into each article? I added a link to its historical event at least...   And I might add a bit more information later! For one thing, its such spoilers, I haven't worked out the details too much. This article ended up as more setup than content about the technology itself, haha.

Jul 2, 2018 20:49 by Kai

ah, i can understand both your points. it was just a little confusing to me as someone who didn't know the full context. it's good that you linked it in the historical event! dont worry about the spoiler part as well. if you want to, just give a brief summary of how the magic is used, maybe something about its limitations and risks to the user?

Jul 2, 2018 20:56 by Mint

Yeah, thats not surprising. I have a bad habit of leaving information out by accident anyways. And I might add that info! Maybe not today though, I still haven't finished my article for today, actually.

Jul 2, 2018 20:58 by Heath O'Donnell

Love ancient tech! Especially when it is outlawed! Would love more information or breakdowns of the tech, as this feels more like a basic overview. What types of items were they?

Jul 2, 2018 21:12 by Mint

Admittedly, I'm not sure. I haven't built out this section of the world too much yet, mostly was taking advantage of the prompt to start. That civilization had managed what I'm thinking was about (steampunk) Victorian level technology before things went wrong. All I know for certain is that they had quite the airship fleet, lights, and some weaponry.