by Sarah Lin
T neutral: I rate it 30/100. Thoroughly mediocre.
[Terrible Soulhome]
N disgust: Just... just what is this mess?
T disgust: This is what I meant when I said the previous one wasn't terrible.
N 06: I cannot imagine anyone in the Nine Worlds soulcrafting so haphazardly.
T neutral: They might have been from an outside world, just treating it like a game.
F neutral: ...I think I understand. They started with a plan to the west, then changed their blueprint as they kept building.
T smiling: Yeah, I think you're right. They began with a heart chamber, but after they built their first technique, they found some really valuable sublime material and built the circular chamber to take advantage of it.
N neutral: Young soulcrafters, take heed: valuable materials are better held for the proper time instead of thrown in at random.
F sad: Unfortunately, the cantae flow between the chambers doesn't make much sense. I think they would need to remodel to make this work.
N 09 minus the question mark: Looks like they just kept tacking on new techniques and a strength chamber as they needed them.
F smiling: The northern technique chamber is not so bad. It might be an upgraded technique, merging the flow from the heart and technique chambers. They are trying.
T disgust: 5/100, irredeemable garbage.
[Generic Farmguard Soulhome]
F 02: Oh! These were the blueprints they gave out at Myufuru!
N smiling: Yes, this is a common soulhome design for Farmguards. Note the extra large heart chamber evenly distributing cantae to every chamber.
F neutral: But this would be a soulcrafter at the peak of the first tier. Most of them have only finished some of the chambers and are thus weaker.
T neutral: The thing about common designs is that many generations have looked over them, so they're usually not bad, definitely better than the average hotshot with a random plan.
N neutral: I'm guessing you have some criticisms, oh wise one?
T frowning: Lining up the enhancing rooms and the technique rooms looks good on paper, but it's better to intersperse them. Strengthening rooms generate some cantae too, and that should flow into appropriate techniques.
N neutral: That's true. There's also no internal cantae flow within the soulhome, so the heart chamber has to keep up with every other room. But that's why it's larger than average.
F question: I am wondering... why is there an extra door to the west? There are already three technique doors.
T neutral: They probably built that room first and never closed up the door. If they did that... 50/100, serviceable.
F smiling: But they might reverse their blueprint on the second floor and send cantae upwards. That would improve efficiency.
N smiling: Archcrafter design techniques are too much for now, Fiyu. Let's move on to a more unique design....
[Generic Healer Soulhome]
T smiling: Good, we get to see a circular design. Circles are architecturally strong, so they can make soulhomes much more durable.
N 07: In my opinion, if someone can damage your soulhome, you've already lost.
F question: I have not seen a healer's blueprint before. Why are there so many chambers to generate cantae?
N neutral: Healing is complicated and extremely resource-intensive, so they need multiple sources.
T neutral: Yeah, you actually see designs similar to this everywhere in the Nine Worlds. It's a reliable blueprint.
F neutral: Hmm... I think they mix together different sources of cantae for different purposes? One pair for closing wounds, another for curing illnesses?
N 04: That's right, and each door is built as a sub-chamber so they can apply the cantae via specialized techniques!
T smiling: Healers are limited before they soulcraft multiple floors, but this is a solid 80 for a start.
Spoilers Ahead
F neutral: What is a spoiler?
T frowning: The next image contains minor details about how we soulcraft in the first book.
N smiling: You can skip the next part if you absolutely want to avoid all spoilers.
[Theo's Soulhome]
T smiling: My soulhome is a work in progress, but you can see the basic design.
N neutral: That vestibule to modulate cantae is seriously advanced stuff. Too technical to get into now, I think.
T neutral: Doesn't make a huge difference at early tiers, anyway.
F smiling: I like how the design is very orderly. All of the rooms are balanced and the connections are symmetrical.
N smiling: This is a good time to point out the subjective element. This would be a bad design for someone like a healer who wants fluid concepts, but it's effective because Theo wants many distinctly themed rooms.
F neutral: It is similar for me: I am better able to use light as a weapon because it is dangerous on my home world.
N neutral: It's worth saying that the sheer number of doors would be a weakness, if the heart chamber wasn't designed to set the cantae orbiting.
F neutral: That is true. It also loses some cantae space to the thick walls and pillars, but I believe our companion did this to support future tiers.
T smiling: You thought I was going to give myself a 100/100? No, the true strength of my design will barely be hinted before Archcrafter tier.
N 10: Your false humility is useless, when you've soulcrafted all this in just a matter of months.
F smiling: Can we see your soulhome next, Nauda?
[Nauda's Soulhome]
N neutral: I'm afraid my soulhome is rather modest, and my plans have been altered as I experienced a few difficulties in life.
F smiling: I like your heart chamber! Are the proportions based on the golden ratio?
N 04: Oh, good eye. Yes, I have powerful sublime materials in my heart chamber, so distributing their cantae effectively is important.
T neutral: The construction is solid, and you know I respect the craft on that telescope. But you're making poor use of the size of your soul, and it might not be easy to expand.
N neutral: I know, I know, you think I should build a tower.
T smiling: Separated soulhomes are rare, but there are legitimate reasons to design them that way.
F neutral: All of your chambers are mergers of cantae-generation, techniques, and strengthening. It is not how I was taught, but it is a consistent design.
N smiling: It's a more common model on Tatian than the previous Farmguard blueprint, honestly.
T neutral: Of course, the obvious thing Nauda has over either of us is that partially-constructed pyramid. When built high enough, it will make her an Archcrafter and unlock an entire second floor.
N neutral: I think ascension is probably beyond the scope of this introduction.
T neutral: Considering just the first floor... reasonably effective design, but with flaws. I'd say 65/100.
T neutral: Reasonably effective design, but with flaws. I'd say 65/100.
N 07: I'm humbled by your magnanimity, oh esteemable sage.
F smiling: I think that you are a 100, Nauda.
[Fiyu's Soulhome]
F 03: Umm... normally strangers shouldn't see this, but if this is non-canon, they can't tell anyone, right?
N smiling: I think you're safe, Fiyu.
T neutral: What's interesting about Fiyu's design is that it uses three different building materials, which would normally clash, but fuses them into several planned synergies.
F smiling: Yes. My relative said this blueprint was very difficult, but that it would be best for me.
N neutral: Which of the three materials is that entrance?
F neutral: ...
T neutral: Even though this breaks some standard rules, like having the walls and pillars not line up perfectly with the materials, in this case it's clearly done for a reason. You have to know when to break beginner rules.
N 04: I'm glad to see the window we helped you add to your sens
ory chamber!
F smiling: Yes, it is very helpful in these hellishly bright worlds.
T neutral: This is also a completely circular design, which makes good use of soul space and is highly durable.
N smiling: Honestly, the purity of the design doesn't do you justice, Fiyu. You have some powerful techniques in there.
F smiling: ...
T smiling: I'd say this is 90+, and only that because I don't know how well the blueprint flows into higher floors to justify the curve. It's clearly a design that's been refined over generations.
Conclusion
N 05: There you have it! A basic introduction to soulcrafting.
F neutral: Please follow precautions and obey your elder relatives when working on your soulhome.
T smiling: These principles would serve you well on every floor, but they're just scratching the surface of soulcrafting's complexity.
F smiling: But I think that is for future books.
N smiling: We'll see you in The Weirkey Chronicles!
(Again, if you'd like to see this conversation with full images, you can find it here: https://old.reddit.com/r/TheBrightestShadow/comments/k6vxt8/soulhome_architecture_101_with_theo_nauda_and_fiyu/)
