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This is stated much more strongly than it is written in Starsight. I think we need to hedge a lot more bets than this currently says.
LadyLameness (talk | contribs) (This is stated much more strongly than it is written in Starsight. I think we need to hedge a lot more bets than this currently says.) |
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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 ==
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 the 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 ===
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}}
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
=== Cytonic abilities ===
* '''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}}
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 ==
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 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}}
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