Magic wood(spoilers)

[kazimmoinuddin]

 BOth books and ships are said to havea kind of soul, so i wonder if this is from the wood it is made from. Just like how the silk is special here, wood is important.
 I hope that the destroyed temple library is one day restored and perhaps enlargened. It could a spire wide project, with donations from many rich people. I wonder if hte last two books carry the remains of that developed soul at all.
The trees in this would might have unique properties. I have this idea that Grimm could develop powers similar to the ones Folly and her master have, but insteaad of his being getting holes he fills with madness, he could fill it with his ship. The ship could act like that cane or the collection of tiny crystals Folly has. It would be a perfect focus for gimm, as he hates being away from his ship.
 I can imagine like how the ship tracked the collection, it creates a star for albion and one for mist shark, and other key points. A ship that is never lost, able to point to every spire it has every visted, and track ships even though the thickest mist is invaluable. If it can percieve the ether and the currents, it could sail in almost any condition.
 I am imagining them being magical sips, similar to the live ships from the robin hobb books. They are aware ship with magical powers.
 I wonder what would happen if they started to show those trees in the spire, or simply a bonsai version of them.

[Sully]

Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders explores this.  Though it's sail, not steampunk.

[kazimmoinuddin]

I wonder if it is possible for a giant tree spire, a spire formed from a living tree or formed nearly entirely from wood.

[Sully]

That'd be a pretty damned big tree.

[kazimmoinuddin]

It won't be large enough for a true spire nation, but it could act as an outpost for activities on the surface, I am imagining giant tree house complexes. We have all heard the dangers of the surface, so they would need safe havens if they wish to visit the ground on a long term basis.

[Tsunami]

It won't be large enough for a true spire nation, but it could act as an outpost for activities on the surface, I am imagining giant tree house complexes. We have all heard the dangers of the surface, so they would need safe havens if they wish to visit the ground on a long term basis.

Welcome to Kashyyyk :-)

[kazimmoinuddin]

Wookies are kind of giant squirrels, I could see a feral cat population on the surface. I wonder if the is a sentient population on the surface possibly good possibly evil or simply neutral.

[Sully]

Wookies are kind of giant squirrels, I could see a feral cat population on the surface. I wonder if the is a sentient population on the surface possibly good possibly evil or simply neutral.

I think you might get an arm pulled out of the socket for that comparison.

[KevinSig]

I personally don't think the wood is magic, just that being organic its a good container for souls.  However, I think its a mistake to equate that the library soul, and the soul of the Predator are the same thing.  Books, as described contain pieces of soul, ending up with a conglomerate soul, of sorts.  The soul of the Predator, is an entirely new soul, and it isn't just the wood, but it's crystals are part of it.

Hence, why Folly was only able to hear the Predator once it had a new set of crystals installed.

[kazimmoinuddin]

The silk has its own unique properties, so it would seem does wood. But only in sufficient quantities. And it need not only volume but it needs to be imbued with emotional energy. It can't be mass produced, their creators and careers must invest time and energy to make it so.

[Morenath]

Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders explores this.  Though it's sail, not steampunk.

That's exactly what I thought during my first read through too.  Parallels are obviously being drawn, at least in the post production personality side (I doubt the wood is dragon spit in Jims books)

[kazimmoinuddin]

If a ship could make the wood join to together without joints or seems, it would be strong enough to endure all kinds of strains and pressure.
 The live ships were able to absorb organic mater and memories, I can see ships acting as a similar manner as the personal crystal of etherialists. So that cane or collection of tiny crystals would be an example. Etherialists are said to develop holes in themselves which cause madness, I was thinking a ship could fill in the holes for captain Grimm if he becomes an etherialists.

[Snark Knight]

It won't be large enough for a true spire nation, but it could act as an outpost for activities on the surface, I am imagining giant tree house complexes. We have all heard the dangers of the surface, so they would need safe havens if they wish to visit the ground on a long term basis.

Gwen's explanation of the Aurorans' once-a-generation cycle of aggression suggests they do periodically conquer other nations' outposts, so smaller structures than full spires must exist. The question is whether these outposts are smaller spirestone towers built to a similar design, or constructed after the cataclysm either within trees or from heavy masonry.

[Mith]

The soul of a ship is the power crystal.  I do not think there is anything special about the wood.  I would think the power of books is the power of the perserved Art, so in a way paintings and physical works of art would also possess soul.  Books may also gain a bit stronger importance by the fact that they hold knowledge as well.

[nedserD C B yrraH]

I am curious about how the wood interacts with the ether. Twice Master Ferrus goes outside a wooden room to examine a patient. We know, thanks to Folly, that Ethersight can look through Spirestone and that Spirestone can channel ether. Maybe wood acts as an insulator similar to earth electricity. Maybe it magnifies it, allowing a better look at the wound. Maybe wood stores soul energy better and Ferrus is taking an xray and recording it on/in the door.