Originally posted by Axioma
How would you make the sun rise and set ? I thought it was a cave. So that means the floor would be moving in relation to the ceiling ? Doesn\'t seem so realistic does it ?
from planeshift.it
The Crystal
The Crystal that brings light to Yliakum is an enormous raw stone of purest transparence and analogous to the sapphire that hangs from the roof of the stalactite\'s internal cave.
Named the Azure Sun by those people who still remember the surface, it emits a radiation that is more shifted towards infrared if compared to the light of the sun, but is suitable anyway for photosynthesis and survival of many animals, vegetables, or mineral species. This radiation decays, however, with squared progression with the distance. At the seventh level the radiation is just enough to penetrate the mass of the lake in order to light it, while on the first level it is so strong that it allows wonderful crops and the breeding of great cattle, which provide milk and meat.
To the great regret of the scientists, radiation from the Crystal keeps them from exploring too near. Using logic and common sense, scientists concluded that the nearer than twelve steps from the Crystal, the radiation dissociates matter, sometimes even generating random chain reactions that could be very dangerous. However, since the Crystal is such a powerful source of every kind of magic in the city, some fool will dare to get too close and risk the dangers.
Measuring Time
The Crystal draws its light from the surface and thus Yliakum is subjected to times of \"day\" and \"night\". However even while at night, it is not completely dark. Hours are measured by the level of the lake, which rises and falls in an extremely consistent manner. A wide band of the metal Orichalc was put on a section of the sixth wall and was used not only because it is the only metal that doesn\'t deteriorate whatsoever, but also because underwater flora cannot take root in it. The names of the six periods that divide each of the four seasons are carved on this band, and information about the periods is engraved over the level reports.
The year is subdivided into four seasons only because of the cultural heritage of the people coming from the surface and the observation of the cyclic phenomena of vegetable growth. During the twenty-four periods of the year, the Crystal\'s azure light varies marginally, helping to reinforce the different periods.
well, let\'s take the logical approach
we have a giant crystal that reflects/redirects light from the sun on the surface ...this way when the real suns rises on the east, our azure sun sets on the west with a pretty (glittering or rainbowy) effect, because the sun\'s light travels through the crystal
then the crystal\'s light passes towards east, while the real sun\'s passes towards west, and at the sunset we get a similar effect as with the rise (maybe a bit different because the crystal isn\'t symetric and the real sun\'s color may vary while setting or rising)
at night the sun isn\'t there, but the moon and the stars shine ...this produces a dim (probably blue or green) shine from the crystal ...it could be possible that the crystal itself would be seen at night, because at day it\'s too bright.
the stars\' light could also reflect/redirect in the crystal and this light would then (accidentally) point at several smaller crystals in the cealing that would each shine with it\'s own light ...these could \"turn on\" and \"off\" when the light (bacuse of the moving of the real stars and moon) from the crystal would pass them, producing the twinkling :]
why wouldn\'t the \"stars\" shine at day? well, for the same reason why then don\'t on the surface - the sun (_and_ the crystal our case) produces too much light to make them seen
imagine having a coloured, unevenly shaped large lens at the top of your house ...that\'s pretty much what we have here in planeshift :]
...maybe i should make a different topic out of this
[edited]
made a
separate thread
[edited]
