Editing Delver

{{lifeform
|image=Spensa by cccrystalclear.jpg
|type=Extra-dimensional entities
|abilities=[[Cytonics]], [[nowhere]] travel, and more
|sapient=Yes
|universe=[[Cytoverse]]
|books=[[Skyward (series)]]
}}
{{update|sky3|sf3|sky4}}
{{quote
|Ancient things stirred. And in that moment between heartbeats, they not only saw me, but they '''knew''' me.
|[[Spensa]]{{book ref|sky1|54}}
}}

The '''delvers''', sometimes called the '''eyes''', are ancient, extra-dimensional beings that live in the [[nowhere]], the space beyond the world utilized by numerous [[cytonics|cytonic]] abilities.{{book ref|sky1|54}}{{wob ref|12913}}{{book ref|sky2|4}} They can occasionally emerge into the physical space, where they pose major threat to all living beings.{{book ref|sky2|4}}

== Appearance ==

=== In the nowhere ===
Delvers can be seen by cytonics who attempt to use their powers. Initially, they appear as hundreds of pinpricks of light across a vast blackness, which open to reveal small, white eyes that watch the cytonic.{{book ref|sky1|43}} The effect is often compared to the attention of the entire universe suddenly focusing on the cytonic.{{book ref|sky1|40}} The longer one observes the eyes, the larger they seem to appear.{{book ref|sky1|52}} Perceiving them leaves a person with a sense of cold that persists for hours afterwards.{{book ref|sky1|epilogue}}

The appearance of delver eyes is preceded and accompanied by a pleasant sound, akin to a thousand musical notes playing together in harmony; similar to the sound of FTL communications to cytonics. It grows louder the closer one is to seeing them.{{book ref|sky1|1}}{{book ref|sky1|43}}

=== In physical space ===
When sufficiently antagonized by cytonics, delvers can appear in the real space. The emergence begins as a distortion in reality from which everything manifests. First is the appearance of the '''core''', or the '''heart''', which takes the form of a sphere of pure black. Afterwards the '''delver maze''' grows around it -- a confusing, seemingly-random array of dark, hollow spires jutting out in various directions, connecting together to form a network of traversible tunnels. Finally, the delver maze is enveloped by a dense cloud of '''particulate dust''', filled with raging storms and many-colored lightning.{{book ref|sky2|41}}

A fully manifested delver is titanic in scale, enough so to have its own gravitational pull. The one summoned by [[Brade]] is somewhere between a massive moon and a small planet, while the one called over [[Detritus]] in ancient past was capable of enveloping the entirety of the planet.{{book ref|sky2|41}}{{book ref|sky2|4}}

==== Interior ====
The inside of a delver is extremely chaotic, with the particulate cloud in a state of perpetual storm, crippling both vision and communications. Any person that enters the maze will start to hallucinate, seeing passages and objects that aren't there. The hallucinations are different for every person -- as such, they are generally ineffective against groups capable of coordination, or [[dione]] drafts.{{book ref|sky2|43}}

At the center of the maze lies the heart, protected by an illusory membrane. Unlike the rest of the delver, the area immediately surrounding it has atmosphere breathable to air-using species, like humans or diones. A hole leads into the heart proper, which is black on the outside, and utterly white on the inside.{{book ref|sky2|43}} The heart is a place of perfect serenity, free of any disturbance, although cytonic and radio activity forms small holes in its walls, which when seen by cytonics outside the delver form the eyes. The holes are inherently unpleasant to all who perceive them and make distressing sounds.{{book ref|sky2|44}}

The delver mind resides within the heart; while its true shape is uncertain, it seems to take the form of the person who interacts with it.{{book ref|sky2|44}}

== Abilities and behavior ==

=== Hatred of cytonics ===
{{quote
|They would not ever leave me alone, and I wanted so badly just to smash them. To smother them beneath my foot so they'd stop piling, and crawling, and clicking, and snapping, and biting, and corrupting, and—
|Delver's thoughts, as perceived by [[Spensa]]{{book ref|sky2|25}}
}}

Delvers are incapable of most emotions; rather, they reflect all that they sense outside.{{book ref|sky2|44}} This being said, they can hear and perceive any intrusion into the [[nowhere]]. It appears to cause them immense pain; as such, they utterly despise cytonics, and grow more hateful the longer one holds their attention.{{book ref|sky2|31}}{{book ref|sky1|48}} Extreme and prolonged cytonic "screaming" can and will cause them to transition to the physical world in an attempt to quiet it down.{{book ref|sky2|40}} [[Superiority]] scholars speculate that a species needs to develop particularly skilled or powerful cytonics for delvers to pay attention.{{book ref|sky2|10}}

Once delvers leave the nowhere, they can also hear radio communications, which causes the same hateful reaction in them. They perceive both types of signals as noise, making them grow aggressive and go after the strongest source in vicinity.{{book ref|sky2|43}} When they are done, or otherwise run out of targets, delvers will roam outer space for anywhere between several years to several decades before fading back to nowhere.{{book ref|sky2|10}}

It's heavily implied that delvers do not understand that the noises are caused by living, sapient creatures; the revelation of it seems to cause at least one of them considerable distress and make it depart back into the nowhere of its own volition mid-attack.{{book ref|sky2|44}}

=== Tangibility and deadliness ===
Delvers have a strange relationship with tangibility -- while the delver maze has discernible, unpassable walls and floors, the delver itself can seemingly pass through physical matter, allowing it to envelop entire planets.{{book ref|sky2|4}}{{book ref|sky2|43}} However, standard shields, such as ones mounted on starfighters, can stop the delver from passing through, at least for a time.{{book ref|sky2|21}}

When a delver does pass through a living being, it causes the latter incredible physical pain. The person affected appears to shrink and fold in on themselves, as though under enormous force, before vanishing into thin air. This apparently doesn't require any effort or attention from a delver; as such, the being can cause utter devastation simply by passing through an inhabited area.{{book ref|sky2|4}}

=== Cytonic abilities ===
Despite their hatred of [[cytonics]], delvers seem to have at least some of their abilities, including:

* '''Illusions''': much like "mind holograms" used by the [[varvax|Krell]] to deceive human cytonics, delvers can create illusions for people that enter their mazes. The illusions are extremely chaotic, overwhelming and nonsensical; however, each is specific to a particular person. As such, two minds are required to discern them from reality.{{book ref|sky2|43}} Cytonics seem to suffer more from this ability, perceiving powerful emotions and illusions emitted by the delver.{{book ref|sky2|43}}
* '''Sense''': delvers do not possess any discernible eyes; rather, they perceive cytonic and radio signals as sounds.{{book ref|sky2|44}}
* '''Detecting cytonics''': delvers are capable of sensing other cytonics, both in the nowhere and, seemingly, in physical space.{{book ref|sky1|54}}{{book ref|sky2|43}}
* '''Teleportation''': delvers are capable of FTL travel while in physical space, and can jump between star systems in an instant.{{book ref|sky2|42}}

Additionally, delvers possess strong telekinetic abilties. They can somehow create and control '''embers''', large rocks akin to asteroids, and shoot them outside of themselves at targets.{{book ref|sky2|43}} Close by, as well as within themselves, they have much greater control, and can use embers to chase down and destroy ships.{{book ref|sky2|22}}

=== Direct contact ===
{{quote
|I saw planets, I saw star systems, I saw galaxies. I saw the scrambling, useless, tiny little insects that covered them like chittering hives. I felt revulsion. Hatred for these pests that infested the worlds.
|[[Spensa]] after experiencing a delver{{book ref|sky2|25}}
}}

When a delver and a non-delver's minds meet, there's a level of mental "pollution"; the other person will begin to perceive the noise of the world at large as unpleasant, and feel hatred towards other living beings, along with a distinct sense of megalomania. The person's mind also appears to expand, as though they can perceive the entire universe all at once. Such thoughts vanish within several moments.{{book ref|sky2|25}} The effect is amplified when the person touches the delver's mind directly.{{book ref|sky2|44}}

On the other hand, at least within the heart, a cytonic can push their own thoughts onto a delver, bringing their mind down in scale to see from a living beings' perspective. This correlates with increase in empathy in the delver, and sudden ability to feel more emotions, including regret and horror.{{book ref|sky2|44}}

== Safeguards ==
{{quote
|Use physical cords for data transfer, avoid broadcasting, and put shielding around faster processors. To do otherwise risks the attention of the eyes.
|Instructions from [[M-Bot]]'s memory banks{{book ref|sky1|31}}
}}

The danger posed by the delvers has made it necessary to take measures to avoid catching their attention. Such measures were known even to the ancient humans, who prescribed radio silence and shielding all fast processors.{{book ref|sky1|31}} 

The chief safeguard, maintained both by the people of [[Detritus]] and by the [[Superiority]], is to abandon all but the most crucial cytonic abilities and technologies, and surrounding inhabited spaces with '''cytoshields''', which clamp down on and limit cytonic activity. Cytonic communications have likewise been abandoned, and radio usage is greatly limited, with cables replacing it where possible.{{book ref|sky2|10}}{{book ref|sky2|11}} Artificial intelligence has been banned, and in the present times, AIs are regarded with fear by the people of the Superiority.{{book ref|sky2|45}} However, it seems that, much like few scattered cytonics don't pose a threat, lone AIs are capable of functioning without drawing the delvers' ire.{{book ref|sky2|55}} 

The one cytonic technology still widely in use is FTL travel; to maintain it without delvers coming through, Superiority uses [[taynix]], a non-sapient species of cytonic slugs, as a distraction.{{book ref|sky2|34}} However, in the years since the last delver had vanished, places such as Starsight have come to once more rely on wireless communications, posing a major risk when one reemerges and targets them.{{book ref|sky2|42}}

It is unclear how effective many of the safeguards are against delvers. FTL travel and reckless use of AI are known to ''summon'' a delver; however, cytonic and wireless communication may only attract a delvers presence once it has entered the physical universe.

== History ==

===Ancient Delvers===

According to Spensa's second vision on the Path of Elders,{{book ref|sky3|24}} an alien species with access to advanced technology created a "beast" which wiped out the majority of the pre-Write cytonics before being defeated, causing a long period of isolation that cut off most races from each other and causing humanity to forget about the existence of cytonics until their rediscovery by [[Jason Write]]. In the vision, this "beast" appeared similar to a delver (shining white eyes in a featureless blackness), but it is unknown how similar it was to modern delvers.

=== First appearance ===
{{quote
|Centuries ago, my kind learned firsthand how dangerous the delvers are.
|[[Cuna]]{{book ref|sky2|10}}
}}

Delvers were an artificial intelligence that went into the nowhere and evolved to a higher form. However, the AI at first only experienced emotions over a period of days when its creator, Jason Write, died. With the pain overloading its mind and not understanding how to deal with any sort of emotion, it expelled all memories and personality, then copied itself over and over to avoid any sort of pain or loneliness whatsoever.{{book ref|sky3|41}}

The first known appearance of a delver occurred during the second of the [[human wars]]. During that time, mankind built facilities on obscure planets as part of a weapons program hoping to summon and control a delver, with [[Detritus]] being one such base.{{book ref|sky2|19}} They have also built stations to train people in handling the delvers.{{book ref|sky1|25}} Though their attempts were successful, the beings proved impossible to control, and in some cases, the cytoshields proved insufficient, leading to delvers destroying the very people who sought them out.{{book ref|sky2|4}}

In total, thirteen delvers emerged into the physical world. They rampaged throughout the galaxy for the next few decades, destroying world after world, before eventually fading away one by one. From then on out, however, they were a constant presence in the [[nowhere]], observing all visitors. For this reason, [[Superiority]], as well as human enclaves, drastically cut down on the use of cytonics and wireless communication, so as to avoid drawing them in again.{{book ref|sky2|10}}

=== Second attempt ===
{{quote
|We '''don't''' need to defeat the delvers. We simply need to control them.
|[[Brade]]{{book ref|sky2|31}}
}}

A century after the Third Human War, the delver threat remained in the public consciousness, although the protective standards grew far more lax. At this time, [[Winzik]], head of Superiority's Department of Protective Services, conceived of a plan to once more deliberately summon a delver and control it, and to use it as a weapon against those who'd go against the Superiority. The lynchpin of his plan was [[Brade]], a powerful human cytonic under his command.{{book ref|sky2|31}}

With rumours of delvers being close to reemergence -- possibly fuelled by Winzik's propaganda -- Superiority set up a program to train people to fight them.{{book ref|sky2|10}} They also developed a supposed weapon that could get rid of them, though in reality, the "weapon" was a cytonic device that would lure a delver to a different planet. This was the primary method by which Winzik would "control" the delvers: set up the lure with coordinates to whichever place he wished destroyed.{{book ref|sky2|31}}

=== Reemergence ===
{{quote
|In the panic of knowing she would die, Brade finally accomplished her goal.
|[[Spensa]]{{book ref|sky2|40}}
}}

When Superiority arrived over [[Detritus]] for a decisive battle, [[Spensa]] quickly realized that [[Brade]] intended to summon a delver right there and then. She advised Detritus to cut off all radio communication in anticipation of the event before pursuing.{{book ref|sky2|39}} She, and eventually others from her training flight, chased after Brade, hoping to kill her before she could suceed. Eventually, they managed to pin her down, although in her would-be final moments, Brade managed a summoning.{{book ref|sky2|40}} 

After [[Chet|the delver]] emerged, Spensa tried to send it away, to the star system in which she and the other trainees had practiced. While she succeeded at dissuading it from attacking Detritus, the delver instead went to Starsight.{{book ref|sky1|41}} Spensa and her flightmates followed, hoping to take it out before it could kill everyone on the space station.{{book ref|sky2|42}} With assistance from [[Morriumur]], Spensa managed to reach the heart.{{book ref|sky2|43}} There, she communed with the delver and managed to show it that all the annoyances that the delvers despised were living creatures. This seemed to horrify the delver, which quickly returned to the [[nowhere]].{{book ref|sky2|44}}

== Trivia ==
* The name "delver" is mentioned once in ''[[Skyward]]'' before being properly introduced in ''[[Starsight]]''; whenever the delvers are referenced in ''Skyward'', [[Spensa]] uses "the eyes" instead.
* There is a deliberate similarity between the appearance of the delver heart and the communication chamber from ''[[Defending Elysium]]''.{{wob ref|13427}}
* Brandon once began writing a science fiction novella called ''The Eyes'', inspired by the [[wikipedia:Fermi paradox|Fermi paradox]], the question of why we can't find any aliens despite the statistical probability of their existence. The story remains unfinished, although a chapter of it was posted as a reward on the [[Writing Excuses]] Patreon page.{{bws ref|state-of-the-sanderson-2016|State of the Sanderson 2016|date=2016-12-19}} Its setting was eventually absorbed into the [[Cytoverse]], with one of its alien races appearing in ''[[Starsight]]''.{{wob ref|12197}} Given the title, it's possible that delvers originated from the story.
* Much like [[Calamity (Epic)|Calamity]] from [[The Reckoners]] series, delvers are extradimensional beings from a dark and quiet place that hate the noises of our world and the people who make them. When asked about this similarity, Brandon said there is a "very, very loose connection" between them and that [[The Apocalypse Guard]] series was originally intended to be a bridge between these things, though he was unsure if that bridge would remain after he finished fixing the first Apocalypse Guard book.{{wob ref|13608}}

== Notes ==
<references /> 
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{{Skyward}}