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Ancient's Almanac
This is the English version of the in-game guidebook. Warning: this is not the proper way to learn the mod's content! This page serves as an online passage reference if absolutely necessary; no images, crafting recipes, or special formatting are preserved. For the best experience, view the guidebook in Minecraft!
Welcome to the Ancient's Almanac, the ultimate compendium of the secrets of the past!
A brief introduction to the Almanac, its purpose, and how to use it.
The Ancient's Almanac is the result of countless hours of research and experimentation dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the past. The 'Ancients' are a mythical people that held valuable knowledge about our world; this reading will teach you how to wield it for yourself.
The explanations provided in this book assume that you have at least visited the End, but your journey begins in the far reaches of the dimension.
Familiarize yourself with navigating the End islands. Find an End City and its Elytra, then mark the location, as you should with every city you encounter.
The Almanac is split up into distinct categories that are meant to be followed in chronological order. If you skip ahead of your current progression, it will be incomprehensible, save for this category, the Introduction; you can go directly to the Basics category after this entry. The other entries in this category are dedicated to background information and our foundation.
We wish you the best on this endeavor. Become a follower of the Ancients, and you will wield powers untold.
- A.R.T. Sector, Spades' University
Throughout this almanac, we will refer to a people that we have named the Ancients. We know very little about their appearance, their demeanor, or how they communicated, but through examination of their technologies, we have uncovered their customs.
These people were always striving for progress, truly more advanced than their contemporaries.
Even though we have discovered much about them, many findings remain unexplained, such as the metaphysical properties of Warpaths and Purpeille Armor as you will recognize in later chapters.
Following the path of the Ancients is a journey of allegiance: one that will test your might, but gift you with unsurpassed power.
The Ancient Research Team, or A.R.T. for short, has been funded by the Spades University after our initial findings revealed a rich past that was lying under our fingertips.
We have been committed to this cause for many years and have uncovered many things, and do not plan on stopping prematurely.
As more about the Ancients are discovered, the Almanac will be updated accordingly.
If you'd like support the foundation, or simply have any questions, lightly tap the bottom of this page. Discord Link
If you are willing to embark on this journey, you have much to endure. This section explains the very basics; read carefully!
Some time ago, one of our research teams stationed at an abandoned End City started excavating the area. They discovered an underground material, akin to Purpur, but archaic in a way.
This discovery became the basis for our research on the Ancients, and, by extent, this almanac.
When aiming to find these remnants, you do not have to clear out a hostile End City, but they do contain valuable resources. You might not even need to come close: remnants are scattered around the cities in an at least 40-meter radius.
Our teams have found that explosives are a viable form of excavation, but they are a bit of a risk as the remnants are unstable.
Purpur Remnants are encased in a thick layer of End Stone that has built up over many millenia. Their dark-purple figure has been well-preserved, however, so you can spot them with ease. Mining remnants yields Remnant Chunks and Impure Preserved Dust; you can gather more of the former with good fortune.
This handbook hinges upon your obtaining a substantial quantity of both.
Unlike every other civilization, the Ancients discovered the true power of the void and embraced it. When exposed to the Void, most materials disintegrate under the tension, but some bind even closer together.
Both resources obtained from Purpur Remnants exhibit the latter property.
This process usually has the results appear at the center of the End, with varying radii, signaling that the Ancients must have controlled this area in the past.
Some materials break from this convention and the products appear roughly where the ingredient had been exposed to the Void. The source of both of these fluctuations is not yet clear, but outliers will be noted where possible.
At this point, the Catalog is of use. Regardless of your progress, it provides a brief explanation of any topic, either to refresh your memory or as a reference for new concepts.
The first two pages of the above entry should allow your advance. Link: 'Resources'
The prominent mystery that pervades this field of study is the question of Purpeille: why, if Preserved Dust is created through age, does Purpeille present itself as a purposeful invention?
Regardless, this metal unlocks a multitude of secrets within this world and it is foolish to preoccupy oneself with its existence.
Given that dust of this calibre was probably not meant to undergo this process, expect smelting it to take quite awhile. Use a Blast Furnace for the quickest results.
Purpeille, like other metals, can be used to create an assortment of tools, armor, and weapons. Our experiments have demonstrated that it is slightly stronger and more resistant than Netherite.
A keen follower would recognize that obtaining Purpeille requires significant effort for little benefit over the alternative. We implore you to be patient, as this material has more to offer yet.
Unlike most footwear, Purpeille provides the most durable sandals. Conventional boot designs were either too heavy or brittle. This shaves two ingots off the crafting recipe.
If you have acquired a sufficient quantity of Purpeille, not to mention Remnant Bricks, then you are ready to begin your journey into the beyond.
You must adjust to your newfound power as one of the few followers of the Ancients. From here, your story can only grow more encaptivating.
Purpeille is a powerful resource. This section will guide you through its uses and deeply hidden applications.
Void Tension is a vigorous force, but it has no effect on some ancient materials. The Purpeille Ingot, on its own, is one of these materials, although it exhibits behaviors even more unique than the Void.
Firstly, you can use Void Tension on Purpeille, just not in the ingot form.
All Purpeille tools, armor pieces, and weapons are Void-Resistant: Void Tension does not vaporize nor enhance their qualities. They will appear at the End's center like most other Void-affinitive materials. If you meet an untimely fate while navigating the End islands, rest assured that all your Purpeille gear will be preserved.
Despite its characteristics, Purpeille can be enhanced, but not generally: this new form of Purpeille has a specific use that will be discussed further in this category.
This form is called Smoldered Purpeille. For the moment, create only one ingot. You will be able to evaluate the necessary quantity after the following chapters.
Use the Catalog to learn how to craft Smoldered Purpeille. Link: 'Resources'
Smoldered Purpeille is used to engrave items into formations named Warpaths.
In some End Cities, we have found chalk inscriptions on the Purpur walls. The compound used seems to have been an ashen-metallic blend; when we tested it against Smoldered Purpeille, it matched.
The inscriptions were few, so we could not assemble a rigorous script, but the message was clear.
Warpaths can be engraved on any piece of Purpeille equipment. The most basic of Warpaths is created by placing one of those items and a Smoldered Purpeille Ingot in a crafting table. You can create a Warpath with any orientation; the slot of the ingot matters, but the equipment's does not.
Here is an engraved Purpeille Sword. Hold your finger over the illustration to view its Warpath. 'Totality' is a Revelation: the base component of a Warpath. This particular Revelation is created upon placing the Smoldered Purpeille in the third crafting slot.
You might also notice that holding this item will give a health bonus. Indeed, each Revelation provides a unique and temporary bonus to your person when equipped.
Tools and weapons should be held in your main hand, and armor should be worn for their bonuses.
Experiment with different Revelations, but do not craft the result yet; there is more to explore.
An Aspect is the second and optional component of a Warpath. An Aspect cannot be on its own; it must have a Revelation accompanying it, but that relationship does not reverse.
Aspects are created by placing Preserved Dust into a Warpath recipe.
This time, the 'Virtuous' Aspect is added onto the previous Warpath. Note the color difference, the orientation of components, and the bonus modifier. This Aspect is created by placing the dust in the ninth slot.
Try creating a Warpath of your own. Experiment with different combinations of tools, Revelations, and Aspects and find a bonus you like.
Be spare with your resources, but note that you can always remove a Warpath by placing an engraved item in a crafting table alone.
Warpaths have many intricacies that might not be discovered upon first inspection. The most important factor is the Tone system.
Each component, either Revelation or Aspect, has a Tone. Each Tone takes up one row of the crafting grid, and there are three of each component per tone.
However, Revelations and Aspects increase in different orders. Revelations begin at the top left and shift right, whereas Aspects begin at the bottom right and shift left. This means that the top tonal row for Revelations is the equivalent of the bottom row for Aspects.
Tones are important because they govern Synergy, or how well one component interacts with another.
Tones with opposing Synergy actually provide a detriment to the item's user. When Synergy is neutral, the bonus modifier is not changed. When Tones have the same Synergy, however, mix to form a great bonus depending on the components used.
The most useful Synergy type is Identical, which occurs when both components are equal but opposite in orientation.
This is a shovel with two components that have Identical Synergy. Notice the dramatic modifier increase as well as the writing below the Warpath. This is called the Rite, and it is communicated to the user through unknown means.
The last modifier is named Affinity. Every Revelation has a piece of equipment that it mixes more with than anything else. If that piece of equipment is used with the Revelation, a slight modifier bonus is applied.
Affinities are currently up to experimentation, but it should be relatively straightforward to find them on your own.
The climax in the story of the Ancients is their leap towards technology. This section explains how to construct and operate the machinery of the past.
In their journey towards mechanization, the Ancients' first step was isolating Void Tension and focusing it on a certain item. This process is called Void Focusing, and our recreation of their invention is the Ancient Oven.
Void Focusing involves drawing energy from the Void and directing it towards a single object. Doing so causes massive load on whatever tries it, but the Ancient Oven's casing is durable enough to withstand it... somewhat.
Every time a Void Focusing process is finished, the Ancient Oven takes a small amount of damage depending on which item is created.
The Ancient Oven has Dimness levels that indicate the damage taken. In dimmed stages, the top ring emits less light and the bricks become noticeably cracked. Additionally, upon a transition between dimness levels, the machine audibly degrades.
You must observe your Ancient Ovens very carefully, but don't fret, as there are means of repairing them.
By feeding natural resources into the oven, it seems to give back some power to the Void, reversing the dimness process and repairing the machine.
These natural resources include Iron, Gold, and Diamonds, each with their own times to complete and repairing value.
All of these resources output irrelevant earthly items, so it's best to filter them out.
The main power source for all Ancient Machines, except the Ancient Oven, is the Encased Core. It comes in various tiers, each with their own efficiencies and durability.
Encased Cores are temporary, albeit long-lasting, and cannot be refilled. For now, you should only create one.
To create the base Encased Core, simply cook an Eye of Ender in an Ancient Oven. It takes a significantly long time, but it is not very draining on the machine, so you can make quite a few before having to repair it.
Visit the Catalog to learn more about the different Encased Cores and how to use them. Link: 'Cores'
The Ancient Gateway is a time-dependent and configurable teleportation device that the Ancients used to travel between important outposts.
To prime the gateway, place an Encased Core inside it, which should immediately open and watch the front of the machine. The direction the eye faces is the direction that the user will travel.
After priming, power the machine with redstone continuously. With the base core, it charges at 5 blocks per second; this is modified with different core tiers.
To activate the gateway, cut off the power. Any user standing directly on top of the device will teleport in a straight line in the designated direction, with the distance depending on the time charged.
A Vacuous Core teleports the user in the direction they are looking regardless of the gateway's direction.
A major application of this machine is teleporting tens of thousands of blocks after having charged it up when working on other tasks. There is no inherent limit to how far you can travel using the gateway, but the core inside does degrade at the same rate of 20 blocks per durability regardless of tier. Even if the teleportation distance is less than 20 blocks, a single point of durability will still be deducted.
The Ancient Guardian is a machine soul-bound to its user that saves them from death. Doing so requires a great amount of energy and so it must recharge afterwards.
While technically a block, the Guardian takes on a shape of half the size of a normal person. It can face in all four cardinal directions; notice that its eye dictates where it faces.
To activate the guardian, place an Encased Core inside of it. Primarily, this sets your spawn-point to the Guardian's location; even if you de-activate it, you will be reanimated around here.
If you keep the Guardian activated, a mechanism will trigger upon your death. The Guardian establishes a connection to your soul when you place a core inside, and it can successfully detect when your vitality drains fully... upon which it sends the core to revive you. This is the extent of our knowledge, as it is still unclear how the signal is sent, although we know it uses the Void to bridge the connection interdimensionally.
However, for this 'signal' to be captured, you need to have some amount of Purpeille armor equipped. The material acts as a conductive base for the signal to reach and transfer to your body.
Any amount of armor will suffice, but the health regained after death is determined by the number of pieces equipped, each piece counting towards maximum health equally; in other words, each piece is a fourth of your maximum health.
This process damages a base Core by a fourth of its total, but this amount is split in half for every increasing tier. If a core breaks after use, the machine will deactivate, in which case you will need to refill it, but your spawn-point remains.
Additionally, upon use, the Guardian enters a charging state. The machine takes five minutes to regain its strength, and during this time, you are left vulnerable to death.
You can determine the charging state from its distinct purple emissions.
If any attempt is made to break the Guardian in its charging state, the machine will explode violently and destroy most blocks within a short distance. Despite the destructive force, the Core within remains intact.
If a Vacuous Core is used within the machine, two unique effects occur upon death. First, the core ejects a Vacuous Blast from your location, dealing a massive amount of damage and afflicting blindness upon all creatures in a 10-block radius. Afterwards, you are immediately recalled to the Guardian, regardless of previous location or dimension.
Be aware that the Vacuous Core can only withstand two uses in this machine.
This is an assortment of reference pages that you can fall back on if need be. It contains cursory explanations of all our compiled knowledge of the Ancients.
Although quite damaged, our observations show that the Ancients mass-produced this material and used it for construction. After experimentation, we've found that the Void can mostly repair this chunk into a usable state. It does not appear to be noteworthy otherwise.
An unmistakable grime cakes the outer layers of this dust. Just like a Remnant Chunk, it can be restored through the Void. The dust seems to be a fine mixture of the Ancients' building material and aged End Stone, which has us questioning why it is so useful.
These bricks are mostly repaired, but some cracks are still visible. Interestingly, this form cannot withstand Void Tension on its own; instead, it needs to be coalesced with other bricks first.
A purified form of dust preserved by remnants. Whereas before purification the grains were dull and stained, now they are quite sharp and vibrant. This mixture has an incredibly high melting point, but a conventional furnace or blasting chamber should yield results in time.
An extraordinarily durable and resistant material. Just like other metallic components, Purpeille can be used to create tools, armor, and weapons, but it also seems to be the backbone of some ancient technology. Our discoveries concerning this metal also kept our foundation afloat.
Although a concrete explanation is yet to be found, our research suggests that smoking Purpeille ingots is equivalent to other materials' undergoing Void Tension. Assembled alongside normal Purpeille, while results are unclear, it seems to awaken the spirit of an Ancient.
The refraction capabilities of Amethyst are amplified when undergoing Void Focusing, which results in this material: a far more vibrant and prismatic compound that is suitable for enveloping a core in photonic power.
We can't guarantee your safety when handling this material. This is the last ingredient required in order to upgrade a core to its fullest state, playing the part of electrical energy. We were correct in assuming that a conductive material would expel energy when Void Focused.
The base power source for Ancient Machines. Instead of amplifying the Eye of Ender itself, Void Focusing creates a porous shell around it that allows the Eye to transmit its power to machines.
The Ultraviolet Prism attached to the core captures correct wavelengths that augment the core's performance positively. It also complements the casing nicely.
Electrical energy is the ultimate stage of the core. Alone, it seems to perform poorly, but combined with the right wavelengths, it is the perfect combination of strength and speed. We originally thought temperature would be a problem, but endothermic reactions only empower the core further.
A theoretical stage of an Encased Core that has yet to be synthesized. It would be able to change its power at the user's will, and it would be impenetrable. It seems not even the Ancients were able to harness its power.
A core that has been exposed to the tension of the Void. Instead of providing energy, this core creates a direct connection to the Void. It powers the Ancients' Machines all the same, but with... side-effects. These cores are, comparatively, much shorter lived than their normal counterparts, being under such incredible strain.