Sap

Overview

The Sap is a golden substance discovered in sealed silos and cisterns throughout the City of Scholars. Arjun theorized that it is the preserved sap of a world-tree that once stood between twin peaks depicted in the city’s frescos, which the ancient inhabitants channeled and exploited until the tree died.

Origin Theory

During excavation work in 393 AC, Arjun observed a fresco depicting a great tree covered in leaves, nestled between two twin peaks, with roots connecting to a multi-tiered city below. This led to the theory that the Sap was channeled from this world-tree. The city’s inhabitants exploited the Sap until the tree could not survive the treatment, leading to both the tree’s death and the city’s eventual decline.

Physical Properties

The Sap appears as a golden, translucent, sticky liquid that can be stored in tanks, cisterns, and converted containers. Axiom energy specialists successfully converted Kelonic cylinders to store the substance, extracting a more or less stable energy yield. While process efficiency still requires improvement, this significantly eased strain on Kelon reserves depleted after crossing the Storvhit.

Solid Form

When transformed into solid form, Sap exhibits extremely high resistance. Solidified Sap replaces alloy parts in armor plating, tools, armor joints, robotic limbs, and exoskeleton components.

Tumult Resistance

Sap acts as an insulator that provides protection against the chaotic activity of The Tumult. Machines treated with Sap are less affected by molecular changes and recompositions inherent to Tumult exposure. This insulating property appears in many artifacts recovered from the City of Scholars, including a diving suit designed to withstand Tumult singularities.

Applications

The Sap has proven extremely versatile across multiple uses:

Energy Source

Axiom researchers converted Kelonic cylinders to store the Sap, producing stable energy output. The Refinery on The Screed was converted to collect and process Sap into an energy solution adaptable to all Axiom machinery. The substance now powers vehicles, autonomous machines, robots, drones, and flying devices through cartridges, cylinders, and tanks. Technicians aboard the Mesektet study the ship’s turbines to determine feasibility of a Kelon-Sap fuel mix that could boost flight range and speed.

Machine Maintenance

Brassbugs technicians use Sap as a maintenance oil with reparative properties, acting like an ointment for machines rather than humans. The substance repairs small cracks and mechanical weaknesses in robotic constructs.

Agriculture

The Farm uses the Sap as fertilizer through various application methods: solid, liquid, sprays, compost layers, and grafts as adhesive. Plants grow faster with bigger, more plentiful produce while taste remains intact. Bumblebeets, pollinator insects from The Crow’s Eye vertical gardens, now also fertilize Farm crops, spreading Sap effects to plants that had not been directly exposed. The Muna study Libellumines, flying insects whose legs glow in the dark when coated with Sap.

Culinary

Hestia developed recipes incorporating the Sap at The Mess after Bravos cooks discovered its edibility. The substance proves not only delicious but extremely nutritious, with dishes enhanced by Sap helping explorers work without hunger throughout the day and providing comfort after hard labor. Sap appears in beer, soda, and other drinks served at camp canteens. Bravos drinking contests emerged around Sap-enriched beverages, and rumors circulate about a “Scholar” version Eat-Me bar and a secret still for Sap brandy using diverted potato supplies from The Farm.

Consumable Stimulant

The college of chemists discovered the Sap’s invigorating and stimulating properties. Axiom workers adopted the practice of sprinkling it on food or dissolving it in drinks.

Magical Enhancement

Nilam Spires established a workshop dedicated to Sap study. Raw Sap proved unsuitable for magical applications, but refinement into decoctions provided mental comfort. Inhaling Sap vapors sharpens focus for Mana manipulation during magical operations. Yzmir mages now carry infusion sachets prepared by Nilam Spires—first inhaled, then drunk—with vapors affecting the mind while the liquid relaxes the body.

Sigil Tattooing

Gephyromancy practitioners experimented with incorporating Sap into the emulsions used for tattooing magical Sigils onto flesh. When introduced into the mixture and applied via specialized apparatus, the liquid turns purple and produces tattoos that glow with a blue phosphorescent tint upon contact with the recipient’s essence. Unlike traditional Sigils that fade over time, Sap-enhanced Sigils appear to graft permanently onto the bearer’s being through osmosis-like integration, enabling them to make ideas their own and feed off concepts directly.

Artistic Applications

Lyra musicians use Sap as instrument wax, improving durability and sound clarity with more refined harmony. Singers gargle with Sap before performances to preserve their voices for hours without strain. Writers adopted the Yzmir infusion practice to enhance creative mindset.

Safety Status

The Ordis urges caution regarding Sap ingestion, advising against consumption until official botanical results are published. Botanists are close to confirming its harmlessness according to preliminary reports, though no cases of food poisoning have been confirmed. Health inspectors have been dispatched to The Mess to investigate. An audience member at Tang Lang’s lecture questioned whether Sap might be a drug given its psychoactive properties; the professor could only respond that further research was pending.

Historical Context

Wall frescos throughout the City of Scholars depict the Sap flowing from a massive world-tree and being used in every facet of society: poured into artificial beings, consumed, inhaled, shared, gifted, distributed, stored, and used in cultivation. The ancient inhabitants built their entire civilization around this resource.

The city’s decline began when the world-tree died from over-exploitation. The inhabitants sealed massive quantities of Sap in deep reservoirs and retreated to upper levels, eventually abandoning the city. The presence of numerous stelae and coffins in upper chambers suggests the population may have let themselves die rather than abandon their home entirely.

Strategic Implications

The Sap reserves discovered in the City of Scholars are finite. Arjun warned that reliance on the Sap would be a mistake, as it represents only a temporary reprieve for the Expeditionary Corps. The same over-dependence that destroyed the City of Scholars’ civilization must be avoided.

Connection to Caer Nilam

Substance residues found in Caer Nilam suggest the City of Scholars’ inhabitants established a colony or outpost there before the cold overtook the region, when the climate was milder.

Relationships

• Arjun: Muna Exalt who theorized the Sap’s world-tree origin (393 AC)
• Axiom: Faction that converted Kelonic cylinders to store Sap
• Bravos: Faction whose culinary facilities incorporate Sap
• Caer Nilam: Region where Sap residues suggest ancient outpost
• City of Scholars: Primary source of Sap reserves
• Hestia: Bravos culinary director developing Sap recipes
• Kelon: Energy source whose cylinders were converted for Sap storage
• Lyra: Faction consuming Sap for psychoactive effects
• Muna: Faction using Sap as fertilizer at The Farm
• Ordis: Faction urging caution on Sap consumption pending botanical tests
• The Farm: Muna facility using Sap as fertilizer
• The Mess: Bravos facility serving Sap-enhanced cuisine
• The Nilam: Dead world-tree at Cais Adarra, similar to City of Scholars’ tree
• The Spindle: Living world-tree in Asgartha that Muna protect from similar fate
• Treyst: Axiom engineer involved in Sap extraction operations (393 AC)
• Tang Lang: Professor who delivered comprehensive lecture on Sap applications (393 AC)
• The Refinery: Axiom facility converted to process Sap
• Mesektet: Ship whose turbines are being studied for Kelon-Sap conversion
• Brassbugs: Machines repaired using Sap as maintenance oil
• Nilam Spires: Yzmir facility researching Sap for magical enhancement
• The Crow’s Eye: Location of vertical gardens with Bumblebeet pollinators
• Yzmir: Faction consuming Sap for psychoactive effects
• Gephyromancy: Yzmir Sphere using Sap for permanent Sigil tattooing