Eldritch Miku Omgggg

Writing Notes: Realistic Injuries (pt. 3)

Hostile Environments

It’s not uncommon for your characters to find themselves stranded somewhere with less than ideal conditions.

Cold

There are the obvious risks of hypothermia and frostbite.

The time for these to set in can vary drastically with temperature and windchill.

In both cases, warming should be done slowly or risk blistering of the skin and other complications such as shock.

Like burns, frostbite is classified into degrees of severity:

First degree frostbite – Numbness and whitening of skin.

Second degree – Outer layer of skin frozen, blistering likely when warmed.

Third degree – Skin is white or blue and blotchy. Skin and the tissue beneath it is hard and cold.

Heat

Risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Heat exhaustion is caused by insufficient water and salt intake. It is easy to develop without realising it.

Heat stroke is more severe and often follows untreated heat exhaustion. It is extremely dangerous and can be fatal.

Symptoms of Heat Exhaustion

Headache

Dizziness, faintness

Confusion and irritability

Thirst

Fast and weak pulse and breathing

Clammy skin and cramps

Additional Symptoms of Heatstroke

Hot, dry, flushed skin

Sweating stops altogether

Nausea

Disorientation up to and including hallucinations

Abnormal blood pressure

Elevated temperature

Unconsciousness

Treatment focuses on lowering the body temperature and rehydrating the person as quickly as possible.

Oxygen Deprivation

Apart from the obvious – lack of oxygen is rather bad for you (6-8 minutes for permanent brain damage) – the reason for the lack can have side effects of its own.

For example smoke, chemical or water inhalation can do physical damage to the lungs making breathing difficult even when the person is removed to a safe place.

Exposure to Vacuum

In short, your major problems would be…

Oxygen deprivation

Exposure to extreme cold

Expansion of gases within the body – meaning that holding your breath would be a Big Mistake, but not one you’d live to regret for very long

In a sudden decompression there would also be the risk of decompression sickness (the bends) and of getting hit by flying debris during the decompression itself.

Assuming you survived the initial decompression you’d have about 10 seconds of consciousness to do something about it and about one and a half minutes to live.

Parts of the body exposed would suffer from swelling, frostbite, and interrupted circulation.

Leaky spaceships

50% atmospheric pressure is enough to have people suffering from hypoxia (oxygen deprivation).

15% and you more or less, may as well be in vacuum.

Source: Leia Fee (with additions by Susannah Shepherd) More: Part 1 ⚜ Part 2 ⚜ Word Lists (Sick) (Pain) ⚜ Drunkenness ⚜ Autopsy

The Helebrost Incident

Statement 11-07-1310. Helebrost Department of Safety.

This statement outlines the approximate times of major events pertaining to the major incident which occurred at the Helebrost Institute of Magics, 7th of Malice, 1310. Long Live The Emperor.

11-07, 1:45 PM Significant Smoke seen rising from west tower, HIM. Call for brigade organization sent to HDS Nature presumed mundane

11-07 1:54 PM Brigade assembles outside HIM, West. Flame seen engulfing the tower's top floor

11-07 2:01 PM Intel from on-site staff indicate fire possibly due to run-away magic, details unclear. Request for Riot Control sent to HDS Request for more manpower sent to HDS and nearby districts.

11-07 2:13 PM Riot Squad arrives and establishes zone of control. Fire Brigade begins work clearing the building

11-07 2:17 PM Brilliant light seen emanating from top of HIM, West Tower. Request for more manpower sent to HDS Roof partially collapses inward. Radius of control is expanded.

11-07 2:28 PM City wide fire brigades assembled, Pumping station is functional. Water is observed to be reduced to steam without contacting the tower

11-07 2:45 PM Explosion is heard as tower partially collapses inwards, Floors from 4th upwards are destroyed and fall into the tower. Blinding light from 2nd floor is visible. Light and falling debris causes injuries in some emergency persons.

11-07 2:48 PM Fire spreads to HIM Helderon Hall Cordon Order given by Lucas Armsten, HDS. Efforts begin to isolate the burning buildings from the rest of campus, assume full loss of afflicted buildings. Light from Tower reported to ignite materials on contact within 50ft of tower. Unconfirmed

11-07 4:11 PM Water deemed ineffective on primary source, switched to damage control by order of Lucas Armsten, HDS Deafening howl reported from HIM, West Tower.

11-07 4:53 PM Explosion felt across the capital at 4:53 PM, Origin is HIM West. Burning debris seen flying hundreds of feet into the air.

11-07 4:59 PM State of Emergency Declared in Helderon South, evacuation order given. Debris seen up to 5 miles away Hundreds of fires reported Dispatch order given to all state and military personnel.

11-08 1:00 AM Coordinated efforts by military and emergency persons complete evacuation of Helderon, South Quarter. Est. 1200 persons missing or dead.

11-08 6:30 AM Fires spread through low income district unimpeded, inner gates blockaded in effort to prevent spread to the upper city. South Quarter completely locked down

11-09 10:00 AM Fires isolated from initial source and Low income/market area under control Lower City Cordoned by Mages' guild in effort to control the wildfire.

11-09 8:45 PM Wind Shift causes fire to break containment, West Avenue Wall evacuated Reports of Fire tornadoes confirmed Eastward Expansion contained, Northward slowing. Nothing left southward to save.

11-10 3:17 AM West Avenue Wall collapsed in 1/4 mile stretch, near fishmarket street. Cordon Efforts proving effective in stopping Northward spread

11-10 4:00 AM West District Emergency Declared to allow for cordoning efforts in highly populated areas

11-10 5:27 AM Moderate rainfall recorded Wind slows significantly

11-11 6:00 AM East and Northward Fronts quickly retreating. Fire has exhausted its fuel in those sectors Westward spread is slowed Diplomats dispatched to Tarbrind seeking humanitarian aid.

11-11 11:21 AM Wind shift blows Southward into open land. control deemed unnecessary. West District Deemed contained

11-11 2:00 PM West district Emergency lifted All fronts rapidly pushed back towards ground zero

11-11 9:47 PM HIM grounds reached by emergency personnel, no survivors found. No remaining corpses found, determined to be incinerated. Stonework of West Tower is reportedly in a molten state.

11-12 6:00 AM South District Lockdown lifted, Salvage operation ordered by HDS Council

11-12 12:00 PM Emperor Tours desolated areas Military on patrol to prevent unrest

END OF REPORT TIMELINE

ADDENDUM

From 11-12 to 11-16, Multiple small fires were reported and controlled. An estimated 3.5 Square miles of city were completely destroyed in the conflagration. Near ground zero, stonework was observed to be melted, with evidence that liquid stone was flowing down the streets.

The initial explosion is estimated to have killed nearly 1300 people, most of whom were emergency response persons. The following blaze killed another 500, as many were trapped by the hundreds of fires sparked by the explosion. Nearly 100,000 people were left without homes.

Aid caravans began arriving 2 weeks later, carrying valuable food and medicine, as well as tools and most importantly, many people seeking work.

The practice of large scale magic was banned within city limits following the catastrophe, and the school of magic was not rebuilt until nearly a decade later, located almost 3 miles from the city walls. A large public square with the largest fountain in the city was erected on the site as a memorial to those who gave their lives to combat the flames. It depicts some 200 life-sized figures of wrought brass in various active poses amidst an enormous reflecting pool. The names of all known lost souls are engraved around the base of the pool. The square is overlooked by the Emperor's Honor guard to this day.

So y’all know the classic edge trope of “my blade cannot be sheathed until it has tasted blood”? What if a magic sword that has that requirement, except it’s sort of inverted. A sword that, instead of being inhabited by an evil spirit which once awakened cannot be lulled back to sleep except by blood sacrifice, was inhabited by a benevolent spirit who would not allow the sword to be drawn unless bloodshed were the only possible solution. A sword whose power could never be misused because it would only allow itself to be used in situations where it was justified. What about a Paladin who spends their entire journey fighting with a sheathed sword, incapacitating but never killing or maiming. The party believes that the Paladin has taken an oath of no killing, until they face the big villain. And it is in that moment, and that moment alone, that the sword will allow itself to be drawn.

Idk, this image set my mindwheels a-turning.

But do y’all see the vision?

You don't need anyone's approval for the stories you write and the art you create. But it's also absolutely valid to want some approval from your audience. Kudos and likes don't determine your creation's worth. But it just feels amazing to receive them.

"In nature, our sacred creed, Honor the rot that feeds the seed. Praise to life that springs from stone, From death to breath, from flesh to bone.

Glory to roots that delve so deep, To rivers that run on mountains steep. Honor the deep where crawlers roam, Bless the soil, our toil, our life, our home.

Praise the worms that break the clay, Where maggots dance and life decay For corpse lays down, and death takes hold, And in the rot, new life unfolds.

Blessed be the fallen wood, In crumbling mold, the world has stood. In dance of birth, decay, rebirth Praise, O Man, the living earth."

When people say, “nature is my religion” are they talking about flies that feed on shit, maggots in decomposing corpses, lionesses with stained teeth and mouths full of blood? Are they talking about floods and fires and things from which we should always run? Are they talking about carcasses, rot, death?

Or do they just mean “this particular copse of benign trees is my religion”

Not quite as cool as pirating, but its a lot easier! Stick it to em!

I was worldbuilding two bog standard fantasy species, wise old tree dudes and impulsive little rat guys, when I realized it was far funnier if they had each other's personalities.

The rat guys think fast and talk fast, but they're incredibly conservative and like to cover all the angles before they take any action. This comes with being a prey species: their ancestral environment had lots of clever traps and devious hazards, so you get rat councils wisely working the problem.

The tree dudes speak and move slowly, but they will propose and then do the most insane things you can imagine. They can slot together a rocket in an afternoon and will then use it without so much as a test fire first. They test new potions by quaffing them down, sometimes not even waiting for it to cool (though they're tree dudes, so I guess quaffing a potion just means pouring it over their root legs). This comes from the ancestral selection process too: the tree dudes that won were the ones that took big risks, that grew faster, stronger, and tried new things without worrying about consequences. The tree dudes evolved in an era when they had no natural predators and their only competition was each other.

And this is, of course, initially confusing for any human who makes contact with them. If a giant bearded tree nods at you solemnly and tells you to go through a portal, your first thought is not that he's curious about what will happen to spacetime. And if a hyperactive little rat guy tells you with some urgency that you must accompany him into a ruined city, you won't immediately think that this is step 11 of his branching 27 step plan.

Celethon the Ancient

Note recovered from the Library of Tarbrind, following the disappearance of it's author, John Heldefson, Field Scholar.

A great dragon of the ancient world, Celethon has evaded discovery for many decades. Once a close friend of the Tarbrind King, he went into seclusion after the Great Slaughter. Although the details of his current status remain uncertain, I believe that if Celethon were dead, the consequences would be felt across world. According to historical records, Celethon is approximately 750 years old, one of the most powerful and revered of the True Dragons. He holds a unique position of authority among his kin, serving as the closest thing they have to a leader. Before the Great Slaughter, Celethon was instrumental in founding an elite order known as the Dragon Knights, or Dragoons, under the Tarbrind monarchy. The Dragoons bore Celethon's blessing and symbol, acting as an elite force of warriors and diplomats between dragons and humans, and acted as the hand of Celethon wherever he could not reach himself. They represented the alliance of human and dragon-kind. Nearly all of them perished in the Slaughter, and with Celethon's disappearance, the order collapsed. The survivors reformed as the Firewatch, who to this day carry Celethon's symbol, though they now defend against other threats. Despite his rather pervasive role in history, especially up until 150 years ago, mentions of Celethon, especially physical descriptions are surprisingly sparse, and in some texts, even seemingly censored. I am looking into the matter with the help of the Library of Tarbrind, though I believe there is another who may offer some insight. Either way, Celethon was described as a truly massive dragon, nearly 600 feet in length. His scales were purest black, each one coarse and leaf-shaped, measuring about the length of a grown man's arm. His breath, said to be the hottest fire in all the realms, was used to smelt the impervious metal wolfram, discovered by the Church of the Raven within a fallen star. In personality, Celethon was calm, wise, and deliberate. He was slow to anger, but in battle, he was a force of unparalleled power, capable of rending enemies apart with ease. His might was displayed when he single-handedly slew the dragon Celic the Black, who had razed the city of Oscillia, ripping the rebel dragon in half over the burning city. Hope remains that this titan of the ancient world will one day surface again. Searches have been conducted for decades, although they have become far less frequent due to the lack of results. Personally, I believe he still watches from the shadows, protecting the lands he once called his own.