Nifehrehn « Rabenschwinges Cavern blog

Posts Tagged ‘Nifehrehn’

Recapitulation – what happened over the last two years, part II

Posted by Rabenschwinge - Friday, November 7th, 2014

After the expedition fell apart, we – that is our small team of explorers, scientists and friends – continued to research, explore and write.
Our work was much more difficult – our ressources small, our time sparse.
And finally, even the few people left started to leave for the surface.

I was one of the few who remained – mainly working on my own ages, but sometimes I managed to pay a visit to ages like Risoahl, Resehren or even Yoshonah.

Then came the darkest day of the year 2013. On 20th of September, a small expedition, consisting of Shane Kennett, Alex, Noelle, Jack Rowe and myself, went to Nifehrehn.
We wore our maintainer suits to protect ourselves from the extremely harsh cold of the age.
When we left the abandoned D’ni outpost, we almost immediately got lost due to our compasses spinning around maniacally, which had happened never before in Nifehrehn.
As we were trying to find the way back, one of the apex predators of the age attacked us out of the blue – or rather, out of the white – and quickly locked jaws onto Jacks suit, ripping it open.
It would surely have killed him, if not for Shane, who had a D’ni stun gun with him. He stabbed the thing with the gun, and it shrieked terribly, rearing up and starting to run away. Some 20 meters (approx. 60 feet) away, it collapsed and – as we found out later – died. It seems, these creatures are extremely vulnerable to this kind of stunning device.

Jack lost a lot of blood, and the cold started to take a heavy toll on him. Fortunately, our combined efforts helped us to rescue him just in time, and then leaving quickly with our emergency books that led us back to D’ni.
Jack had to undergo massive medical treatment, but after a few weeks, he fully recovered from his wounds.
We decided not to go out into Nifehrehns dangerous environment until we would be able to protect us better.

After the accident, we played it safe – stayed in a few secure ages mostly, doing a lot of harmless research.
Alex and Noelle decided to leave the cavern shortly after the incident and wouldn´t come back until much later.

All these things happened from July to October in 2013.

Tags: age, Alex, cavern, D'ni, Jack Rowe, linking book, maintainer suit, Nifehrehn, Noelle Belfiore, Resehren, Risoahl, Shane Kennett, surface, Yoshonah
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Pest control

Posted by Rabenschwinge - Monday, February 20th, 2012

The Risoahl rodents have changed from a nuisance to a real plague. There are dozens of them living behind the walls of Afelahn (can only imagine how they managed to get there), nibbling and chewing on data and energy cables.

We´ve decided to take countermeasures – using mouse traps didn´t work, so we used rat poison, but they seem to be to smart to take the baits we used.

So we did it the hard way – cornering and catching them with nets and brailers (? right word?).

Managed to catch two dozens of them, but judging from the chirping sounds all over the place, there are much more.

I guess, I will spend the next weeks like this…

In the meantime, the council decided to close Dasharen for everyone. The age is deemed too dangerous to stay there for longer than a few minutes. This means, our research of the age has come to a sudden hold.

In Nifehrehn, we are making progress again, albeit slowly. The sabotage had destroyed much of the equipment. Shane and Tom Woods managed to replace and substitute some of it with similar devices from other ages, but some of them can´t be replaced.

Tags: Afelahn, age, Dasharen, Nifehrehn, Risoahl, Shane Kennett, Tom Woods
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More “features” of Dasharen

Posted by Rabenschwinge - Friday, November 4th, 2011

Well, after some days of intensive research on Dasharen, the seemingly supernatural happenings there appear to be quite natural.

The strange lack of data the seismographs did record – or, in fact, DIDN’T record – puzzled us all. But when Tom Woods, Shane Kennett and Carla Mastrelli used some of their equipment – don´t ask me, they explained it to me, but I didn´t understand more than “electromagnetic” and “field” and stuff – they found out, that there indeed are unusual electromagnetic energy flux thingymabobs (I`m sorry for the gibberish), which means, that Dasharens magnetic field is unstable and fluctuating in a strange manner.

That´s what caused the errors in our seismographs – overloaded their circuits, and so they stopped working.

I´ve heard that it was comparable to an electromagnetic pulse…

That makes Dasharen an age with:

earthquakes
electromagnetic – things
dust storms
arid desertlike environment

No wonder, the community of D’ni in this age didn´t stay there.

The status of Nifehrehn is devastating. The frost has destroyed much of the equipment, and most of the data about the age is lost. Fortunately, we had copied most of it and stored it in our computers.
Whoever did this vile act of sabotage, he or she managed to undo work of months.
It is really upsetting and unsettling to know there is someone out there wanting to harm us, or at least our work…

On the green smoke in Afelahn: When I searched the complex, I found a small D’ni device behind some crates in storage I. I think it was this thing, that emitted the smoke somehow – I´ve given it to Shanes team. Hopefully they can determine what purpose it has.

Yesterday I finally had time to finish the measurements for the new rooms. I´ve plans for Afelahn – GREAT plans. It will be expanded greatly. One of the new parts will be the residental area I´ve talked about – some private rooms for myself, and when it is determined how many people will join me in Afelahn, I’ll add more facilities for them.

Then there will be an atrium, with stairs and light and a fountain – or an artpiece, I´ve not yet decided that.

And some more labs will be necessary.
Well, a lot of work for the next weeks.

Tags: Afelahn, Carla Mastrelli, D'ni, Dasharen, Nifehrehn, Shane Kennett, Tom Woods
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Strange happenings

Posted by Rabenschwinge - Monday, October 31st, 2011

Today, some strange things happened in several of our ages.

First, we visited Nifehrehn after a break of over one week. When we linked in, we almost immediately recognized it was terribly cold. We linked out again and returned with our maintainer suits on.

Somebody had opened the airlock – letting the cold air from the outside into the complex! Work of months has been destroyed, many instruments and scales again are deeply frozen. Who did that? Who has access to Nifehrehn besides us? The books have been kept safe, nobody inside the expedition could have gone there without anyone noticing. So who was it?

The second strange thing that happened: When I linked to Afelahn today to take measure for the new living quarters I plan to add, the whole place was covered in greenish fog! Panicking, I linked out, fearing the worst. But as my skin didn´t dissolve and I didn´t feel any pain, I returned with a suit. The fog was gone again, and no residue was found.
Whatever it was, it seems to have been harmless – who might play such a sick prank on me? I´ve been scared to death!

The third thing that happened – and this one is REALLY weird – was told by B.P. He and a team had done research in Dasharen, when a huge quake hit. Well, that´s the normal part, at least in this age. But then they looked on the print-outs of the seismographs – and the instruments recorded NOTHING! As if nothing bad had happened.

Could all this phenomena have been caused by Bahro? Who else could have done that?
We are puzzled, and concerned. Trying to keep you updated.

Tags: Afelahn, age, B.P., Bahro, linking book, Nifehrehn
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Expedition news

Posted by Rabenschwinge - Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

A little status update about our work.

One of our teams has done extensive work in Nifehrehn, since Quaxo still hasn´t reported in. The age is deemed to dangerous for the moment, so we can´t let anybody in – and still, some of the equipment isn´t working yet – the frost of centuries has left some damage.

Tom Woods and Shane Kennett have made some small vehicles of spare parts of model cars, boats and airplanes, and equipped them with small cameras.
They affectionally call them the “Critters”. Critters 1 to 3 are land-based, with wheels or crawler tracks, Critters 4 to 6 are waterborne, 7 and 8 are airborne – and 9 is a small, floating thingy, similar to a balloon.
They will be used to explore hazardous or inaccessible areas.

Their first mission will be the research of a small ice cave in Nifehrehn. Our scientists suspect some creatures living in there.

I still owe you information about the other “unknown ages”.
Today, behold Unknown age 02:
It seems to have been some kind of submarine science station erected by the old D’ni. It is some kind of pod – but a different one than those we know from “Reziksehv” – with some observation cupolas. The marine life in this age is very different from what we know – there are no fish, but some strange, ribbonlike animals, which are slowly moving through the water.
The temperature seems to be quite hot – the pod is heavily insulated, but there are D’ni scales that show temperatures about 176° Fahrenheit (80° Celsius).
How these creatures can survive this hellish environment, is one of the goals of our research there.
Our interns have dubbed them “Hadesfish”, after the greek underworld.

Again spent some time in Shashodahl, this time for researches. The islands the resort is situated on are surrounded by a light blue, almost turquoise ocean, with abundant marine life.
There seems to be the wreck of a rather big ship in the vicinity of one of the minor islands – we haven´t been able to visit it yet, but our diving team (the guys from New Zealand, remember?) are planning to get there soon. I´m thinking about joining them – the water isn´t deep there, and even I as a absolute beginner in diving should be able to manage this.
And if Shane will have Critters 10 and 11 ready, the planned submarine-camera platforms, we´ll even have nice shots of the wreckage.
Looking forward to that!

Tags: age, Critter 1, Critter 10, Critter 11, Critter 2, Critter 3, Critter 4, Critter 5, Critter 6, Critter 7, Critter 8, Critter 9, Critters, Hadesfish, Nifehrehn, Quaxo, Shane Kennett, Tom Woods
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Update on Nifehrehn

Posted by Rabenschwinge - Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

After two more days of searching the vicinity of the Nifehrehn outpost, we´ve come to the conclusion, that Quaxo hasn´t visited the age yet. We didn´t find anything – no footprints, no cloth, no scientific equipment. So I guess, he is busy at the moment, and not in danger. We will stop our searches for now, until we have more information. Hope, we are right.

The other big news is what we call “The Big Blast of Dasharen”. Well, I´ve reported about the powermarble experiment in Dasharen, and how well it went… seems that I was too optimistic. Two days ago, a major explosion destroyed not only the powermarble, but the encasement as well. The sensors Tom Woods had installed to monitor the marble recorded an extreme energy peak shortly before the explosion, then they too ceased to work (and to exist…)

If this explosion would have happened in Afelahn, I think the base would be rubble by now. The powermarbles are even more dangerous than I´ve feared… how can we make the power room safe enough?

Someone asked: “You wrote about “Unknown age 07″, what about 01 to 06? Any information on them?”
Yeah, there is information on them. I´ll gather it over the next days and give you summaries about what we know.

Tags: Afelahn, age, Dasharen, Nifehrehn, powermarble, Quaxo, Tom Woods
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Nifehrehn search

Posted by Rabenschwinge - Friday, June 17th, 2011

We did a thorough search in Nifehrehn, to look for any signs of Quaxo. The age did everything it could to kill us… it was extremely cold, with stormy weather and heavy snowfall. We searched in teams, in a radius of about 2 miles around the outpost. Didn´t find anything or anybody. I really hope, he is just on vacation or something… wouldn´t have survived for a long time out there.
It´s scary, how people vanish in this age… first the three D’ni survivors whose journals we had found, now this.

For the first time, we watched one of the huge predators of the age. A mammal with long, white fur, four legs, and a long beak with razor sharp teeth. It didn´t see us, just walked around in some distance, sniffing around on the ground.
I definetly recommend carrying a gun when visiting the age, at least when you plan to leave the outpost.

Meanwhile, Tom Woods and Shane Kennett have built a prototype power device, based on the power marble technology used by the D’ni.
They brought the parts to Dasharens surface, assembled them and activated the device.
We had decided to test it in Dasharen, because there is not much to be damaged, at least on the surface – mostly deserted area.
The power device worked flawlessly for some time – further tests will be necessary, but we are cautiously optimistic.

Tags: age, D'ni, Dasharen, Nifehrehn, powermarble, Quaxo, Shane Kennett, Tom Woods
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Classified

Posted by Rabenschwinge - Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

I have two news, one good, one bad.
The good news: we have managed to open the jammed door in “Unknown age 07″.
The bad news: What we found there is not to be published (yet). The expeditions leaders agreed to classify any further information about the age and what we found there – I disagree, but I respect the decision. Believe me, when I say, that they didn´t take the matter easy.

Work in Afelahn is progressing – we now have some interesting designs for the power marble-generator, and for the room containing the generator (I´m calling it a “power room” – I know, it´s not elegant english, but it fits my needs best.). We plan to do the excavation work during the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, I´ve finished my Alitnee egg-project. The eggs I´ve prepared will be displayed in Afelahn, there are some beautiful eggshells waiting to be seen!
Added signs to the doorways in Afelahn, so orientiation shouldn´t be a problem for future visitors.

By the way: I´m planning the release of Afelahn – still work to do, but I think, I can let people in approximately in one or two months. The age will change frequently, so I guess, sooner is better than later.

Still no news from Quaxo regarding the Nifehrehn project. I´m honestly concerned now, didn´t read anything from him since weeks – I think, we should look for him in Nifehrehn. Hope he´s allright.

Tags: Afelahn, Alitnee, Nifehrehn, powermarble, Quaxo
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Unknown Age 07

Posted by Rabenschwinge - Monday, June 6th, 2011

That´s how we´ve named the age I mentioned in my last post. We don´t know its name, only that it was written by a D’ni.
Because we found it near Asheten mansion, it could have been Asheten himself, who wrote it – but that´s only assumption yet.

We managed to clear the rubble in the first room, revealing a doorway to another, bigger room. Found remains of at least two D’ni in this. Tom Woods says, he thinks, the cave-in had happened just some years ago, so the two must have been killed earlier, maybe at the time of the Fall.
Found some kind of weapons near the bodies. Were they maintainers on some mission? City guards? Or criminials? We don´t know yet.

Soundings showed that there is at least one more room, even bigger. The door that leads there is huge and heavy, and jammed. Will have to bring some heavy tools to open it but first we´ll have to inspect the integrity of the surrounding rock.

No news of Quaxo as of yet… I hope, he is allright? For those who didn´t see the post: We have been planning an expedition to Nifehrehn to do research on lifeforms there. You can find the thread at the D’ni Zoologist Society forum, here.

Tags: age, Asheten, Asheten mansion, city guard, D'ni, D'ni Zoological society, maintainer, Nifehrehn, Quaxo, the fall, Tom Woods
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Nifehren research

Posted by Rabenschwinge - Monday, December 6th, 2010

The last two weeks were really busy. Despite the newly recruited staff, we have a lot more work than we actually can handle at a time, so we concentrate on the most promising tasks.

One of my favorite works was the research on Nifehrens archives. I learned a lot about the fauna and flora of that barren, frozen wasteland. Dr. Shingler, our zoologist, and his assistant Jessie found information about a creature the D’ni called “Rehnuradoy”, a strange animal, roughly similar to a small reptile, with body fluids, that act as non-freeze liquids. This is a trait that it shares with a lot of other lifeforms of the age, but in its case the fluids are so potent, that it can live even in the harshest, coldest places of Nifehren. It is approximately a half foot long and nourishes on lichens. The most apparent feature of the creature are its “eye stripes” – instead of eyes like we know them from earth, they have two, deep blue stripes, from their heads to their hind feet, that are photosensitive, and with which they can see, even in the dark, cold Nifehren nights.

I also started to help out the new maintainers, with doing inspections on explorer written ages and restored areas. It is something I had wanted to do since a long time, and finally, after reading a call in their forums (Link: http://www.guildofmaintainers.org), I decided to do something.

Respondences were really positive, which is really motivating for me, and I´m planning to do at least one inspection for each age and area that is available right now. I won´t post any of them here in my blog – unless the writers want me to. Some of the ages are not yet opened for the public, and I clearly will respect the wishes of the ages writers.

Tags: age, Dr. Erik Shingler, D´ni, Jessie Teneyck, maintainer, Nifehrehn, Rehnuradoy, shafee, writer
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