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Another Dried Ghast Theory

Apparently we can craft Dried Ghasts with bone blocks and tears, which, at first glance, gives us the impression that we/Steve can create life. Which could be a fun theory! But I'd rather theorize that maybe the Ghast is a golem.

If we look at Minecraft's Mobestiary, it refers to the Ghast as possibly being a machine with mechanical details. If it's true that the Ghast is a machine/golem, it makes sense that we could craft them. It also makes sense that they suddenly like us if we craft or rehydrate them, versus naturally spawning Ghasts attacking us. There's one other naturally spawning golem: the Iron Golem.

If an Iron Golem is naturally spawned, it's main priority is the villagers. If you attack a villager or your reputation within the village is very bad, an Iron Golem is going to attack you. Because they built the Iron Golem. However, if we build an Iron Golem, it won't defend itself even if we hit it. It will also not attack you if you smack a villager.

This aligns pretty well with Dried Ghasts being craftable, and how they will be Happy Ghasts and they befriend you, even letting you ride them. Because we built them.

However I'm not saying this theory is 100% sound, since it does uproot my other theories on octopus death cycle and cryptobiosis, if they're machines, but it is interesting to consider

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Update to my Dried Ghast lore theory

We find the Dried Ghast in the soul sand valley, in a nest of skeletal remains. If we follow the theory that the Ghast has a sort of octopus death spiral- killing herself over time to provide for her eggs, dying before they ever get to hatch, we can make the theory that the mother Ghast is providing moisture for her eggs, perhaps inside her body or perhaps with her tears. And then when they hatch, those who thrive are regular Ghasts. And those who do not remain suspended in cryptobiosis, and need more moisture and a cooler environment to revive.

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While I was in the middle of writing lore for a third city, Concord, which included lore about Ghasts' regenerative properties, Minecraft Live dropped, with some absolutely wonderful new Ghast content: The Dried Ghast, The Ghastling, and the Happy Ghast.

The first thing we see is one of the fossils in the soul sand valley. Tucked underneath, we can see a Dried Ghast. A tiny little thing, with a familiarly sad little face. It begs the question of whether the fossil is the skeletal remains of a Mother Ghast, which has since died, either trying to keep it's baby alive, or as some sort of matriphagy (when a mother animal dies to feed her babies) or closer to the octopus death spiral (the ghast does look like an octopus, a bit), or if Ghasts simply nest their babies in old fossils of unknown and long forgotten beasts?

Either way, the Dried Ghasts are in some sort of cryptobiosis, a state of suspended animation in reaction to the dry and harsh conditions of the Nether. Once we pick up this poor creature (by breaking it with a pickaxe?? For some reason?), we can bring it to the overworld and begin the reanimation process by submerging the Dried Ghast in water. Now, we can see it slowly regain its colour and slowly begin to smile. And then, it emerges. A Ghastling. A playful and curious little baby, which imprints on you and follows you around, before it grows bored and floats off to explore nearby surroundings. Interestingly enough, the Ghastling will follow you if there is a snowball in hand, and will eat snowballs. They appear to hydrate the Ghastling and cool it down. And then, eventually, the Ghastling will grow up into a Happy Ghast. Our once scorned lady of the skies, who flies around the Nether wailing and spitting fireballs, is now a smiling, cooing friend. She can be harnessed and flown around.

Do the snowballs put out the fire within a Ghast, keeping them cool and happy? Are they miserable in the Nether? Do they mourn their dying babies? They're miserable in the nether, an angry, sobbing thing. Is she a woman scorned? If you look up the definition of ghastly, it has two definitions: 1) Causing great horror or fear; frightful or macabre. and 2) extremely unwell; washed out. The Ghast we know and fear is both. Horrifying and sick. She's pale. She's suffering. She switches from crying to angry in a heartbeat when she sees you.

As we all know, if you kill a Ghast, she drops a tear. Ghast tears are responsible for some of the most extreme regenerations in the game. You can use one in brewing to make a potion of regeneration, sure. But you can also use them to craft end crystals, which are seen in 2 scenarios: the Ender Dragon uses them to heal herself in the End, and you can craft them yourself to revive the Ender Dragon, completely bringing her back from the dead. Are we able to gain this tear because we are putting the Ghast out of her misery? Is she suffering in the Nether? Or is she crying because her baby is dying, and her tears, the only source of moisture in the Nether, are what keeps her baby barely alive, because a mother is willing to sacrifice for her baby? And if a Ghast is suffering in the Nether, how did they wind up there?

Lots of questions, can't wait to see what other theories are out there!

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A couple of Somnium maps + a little update about what I have been working on.

This first map is a general overview of the area. The spawn point, as marked by the compass, is Allay-by-the-Sea and the round island slightly northwest of it is Codcrest. Not all of the biomes info is correct because some of this map was loaded in 2023!

Here is a general chart dividing Somnium into its cities/districts, following this rough ring in the land surrounding Codcrest. Yellow being Allay-by-the-Sea. I'm brainstorming what types of towns I want to include still, and what their focus will be. Since Allay-by-the-Sea is meant to serve world market/trading hub, I think they should have different trades they focus on. Maybe a mining town, a farming town, and a kingdom.

I've been working on Codcrest still, there's now a third building, as well as a big nether portal build. I've been working on nether progress as well. I've just located the nether fortress, actually! And I will be preparing for the Ender Dragon fight soon. My current goals for Codcrest is 1. A lighthouse, 2. Map room, and 3. At least one dock + boat. And my goal for Allay-by-the-Sea is 1. a spawn point build, 2. A town hall, and 3. Some sort of tavern/inn with stables for travellers.

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Meet Cherry

Just a mini update today to share my new friend. Went exploring in search of an Allay (and found and rescued one!) and ended up stumbling across Cherry, a naturally generated pink sheep. It was quite difficult getting her back to Codcrest as I had no lead on me, but I managed to get one and bring her back to my small flock.

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First two buildings in Somnium. Welcome to Codcrest! These buildings are incomplete (I plan to add more texturing and details, and finish the second interior), and the first of many. But I wanted to get on here and show what I've been working on.

Codcrest

This little atoll is Codcrest, named for its crescent shape, with a small island floating in the center.

Codcrest is a small fishing town, known for its exports of cod to nearby cities. The inhabitants are known to worship an unknown deity of the ocean. 8 underwater Ocean Monuments are erected in a quasi-circle in the waters surrounding Codcrest. These monuments were built to honor the deity, heavily protected by guardians and elder guardians, and it is believed the deity provides the people with abundance of fish and is the god of preservation. This is why the elder guardian inflicts mining fatigue, to protect against griefing. This shared belief system is what united Codcrest with Allay-by-the-Sea as sister communities.

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Welcome to Somnium! This is my world-building map, where I'm exploring and expanding on the lore of Minecraft. Everything is vanilla, no mods, no texture packs, and no shaders, and I try to keep headcanons as vanilla-esque as possible. Pictured is my island, Codcrest, after most of the land terraforming has been completed, before any builds are added.

What's happened so far:

I've had this world for quite a while now but haven't really accomplished much. I've mined, I've terraformed one island, I've begun a nether hub and highway system (I have not found a nether fortress or bastion remnant yet), and I have one zombie spawner farm made. Other than that, there's no buildings, and not much has been done! So we're nearly starting from scratch together. I'll be sharing a screenshots of my land and builds, and writing lore about the cities and things inside of Minecraft, and providing general updates about what's been going on and what's to come.

Why Somnium? Somnium is latin for dream. When you defeat the End Dragon, you see the End Poem, where the Universe (the two voices) refer to the game as a dream. So I chose to refer to my Minecraft World as the dream. It's important to note that Somnium is the name of the world/map and is not the name of any of the cities I have planned.

The seed: -8155153873360547434

Places so far:

Codcrest

(pictured) A crescent shaped atoll surrounding a small round island. These two sister islands make up a simple fishing town.

Allay-by-the-Sea

The Spawn Point, the beginning of the world. A central hub known far and wide for it's markets and exports.

Tag along to see where we go! This post will be updated regularly to include new towns in the list, and a small paragraph describing what I'm working on right now, serving as a bulletin board for the blog.

I follow from my main, @cupidslullaby