Two weeks post experiment. It has been quite… chaotic… here recently, but it seems that we’re starting to return to a state of something resembling order. The doll has been assisting me around the lab, as had been intended, although a secondary reason to do so has also shown itself. I have found that leaving the doll to its own devices leads to emotional outbursts much like the one when it was first created, so giving it tasks to complete helps keep it distracted when I’m not running tests on it. It’s also worth noting that it has displayed capability for a range of emotions, and when it’s not upset I would describe it as having a generally cheery disposition.
Another reason to maintain its emotional state is that certain moods seem to have adverse effects on its body. I previously described how its legs detached from its body after it first woke up, but the same thing can happen to all of its body parts when it's upset. I’m still not sure why this occurs, continued inspections of the body indicate that it should take a notable amount of force to remove its limbs or head. It’s almost like the body wants to do this whenever it gets upset. A doll that literally falls apart under pressure won’t be a very appealing prospect to witches, regular dolls can already have their fair share of issues, but the good news is that keeping its mood stable seems to keep the body intact as well.
As for the tests I’ve been running, I haven’t been able to answer many of the questions I’ve had about the doll, and the few that I did find leads on have only led to yet more questions. I have been able to confirm that the high levels of magical energy I had previously reported are coming from the substitute for a soul I created, which wasn’t something I intended it to do, or even something it should have been able to do, but unfortunately I can’t investigate it further without temporarily removing it from the body, and the doll has made it very clear that it isn’t on board with the idea, so I’ve decided to put that off unless new developments require me to do so.
That’s not to say there haven’t been any discoveries regarding the magic, however. The doll has indicated to me that it’s able to detect the energy, and can feel it flow through them to some extent. This is admittedly quite abnormal, dolls can often sense their own witch’s magic, but being able to detect other forms of magical energy is outside the scope of what they’re usually capable of. Regardless, this is a lead that will require further investigation. If it’s able to feel the flow of magic within its body, perhaps it’s worth seeing if it can alter that flow in some way.
Another curiosity is the doll’s behaviour when it comes to food and drink. Dolls do not need either of course, but they still tend to enjoy them, even if their tastes can be very… non-traditional. This one has shown no such interest in any form of nourishment, however, not even for testing purposes. I suppose I can understand a wooden doll having an aversion to liquids, but even with solid food I’ve gotten no further than having it try to chew on something for a short period of time before it claims it doesn’t “feel right”. Could this suggest there’s some sort of disconnect between the body and the fake soul that may be inhibiting certain emotions and sensations? More investigation is required.
I don’t believe there’s too much else to report on at this point in time. Despite not being bound to me, the doll is happy to help out around the lab, and does a decent enough job as long as its mood doesn’t spiral. There haven’t been any other physical changes since the start of the experiment, although I do need to note that its face is very animated, much more than it should be, considering it was capable of about as much expression as a children's puppet when the body was crafted. Current hypothesis is that this change was also caused by the magic contained within, if only because I lack any other feasible explanation.
That will do for today’s report, I will continue to investigate just what’s going on with this doll, and record more reports as needed.
One month post experiment, or perhaps a month and a week? It’s been quite busy and I was never the best at keeping track of time. Having the doll around to help out has been quite beneficial, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t creating extra work for me at the same time. It turns out that you can only organise a lab so much before there’s nothing left to organise, and cleaning up after my experiments and work for clients is far from a full time job, so the previously mentioned issue of needing to give the doll work to keep it distracted has come up again since the last report.
As a result, I’ve spent the last week or so seeing how it can go running errands for me outside the lab, such as delivering items to nearby clients, or going into town for ingredients. The doll was very eager to assist with these matters, and seemed to like the idea of getting to see what the world looks like outside of this building. The fact that I both live and work here means that there hadn’t been much reason for it to leave up until this point. That being said, it has faced certain difficulties completing some of these tasks, and isn’t ready to handle them on its own just yet.
The doll doesn’t seem to have any issue following the instructions I give it, and after some guidance has been able to find its way around town without much difficulty, but it has shown hesitation when it comes to interacting with new people, as well as lacking a lot of general knowledge that is generally required when partaking in society.
I am hoping that both of these issues will be resolved in time. I have been successful in at least teaching it the basics of currency and trade, which are both important aspects of these tasks, and I would expect that it will have an easier time talking to people after getting more experience doing so. This is its first time interacting with anyone other than me after all, and it does seem to open up somewhat after I introduce them to it.
If nothing else, there have been a few successful interactions so far, which will hopefully boost its confidence. The economic situation in this kingdom has changed for the worse ever since the king took over a decade or two ago, but the townspeople are doing their best to take care of themselves, and have always been amicable to me. Thus far they have been the same towards the doll, and if all goes well that will continue.
As far as other matters, we’ve made a significant discovery regarding the magic emanating from the doll's body. It has demonstrated the ability to channel the magic, much like how a mage would use the magic in the area around them, although at this time they don’t seem to be able to use it for much beyond basic healing magic. I have to admit I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a doll displaying potential talent as a mage, perhaps this is a side effect of the fake soul?
Once I have a better understanding of the doll and the situation has calmed down, it may be worth having it undergo some mage training to see if it can learn other types of spells, there’s that academy not all that far from here after all, although I can’t begin to hypothesise how it learnt the healing spell in the first place. There might also be merit in bringing in a mage at some point to see if it can also channel the magic from the doll’s body, my understanding is that some mages use magical items to enhance their abilities, perhaps I’ve inadvertently created one when constructing the soul, but once again I can’t say that with any certainty without removing it.
All of the behaviours I’ve mentioned the doll displaying in previous reports have continued without notable change, and there is a new one to report as well. I have noticed that it will sometimes start making these… melodic sounds while it works. More than humming, but it doesn’t form actual words, so I’d be hesitant to call it singing either, I would describe it as random syllables to the tune of an unknown song.
I’ve attempted to learn more about the behaviour, but the few occasions I’ve asked about it has resulted in the doll suddenly becoming anxious and embarrassed, so it has been difficult to gain more information on the topic. The only thing I’ve been able to observe is that it seems to occur more often when the doll is in a better mood, perhaps it happens when it is “in the zone”, as they say, and considering how it reacts when I bring it up, it’s possible it doesn’t always realise it’s doing it.
The promising news is that this is one behaviour that isn’t all that uncommon for dolls, even if the specifics are somewhat unusual. Many of them have some sort of sound or tune they like to repeat, which is theorised to be a result of the magic that has been combined with their soul. The biggest difference is that this doll isn’t sticking to a single tune. At this point in time it’s difficult to say if it simply has more than one song inside of it, or if it has the capacity to make them up on the spot, but either way I have to admit that the lab having a bit more sound than the usual quiet is nice.
I’ve also been thinking recently, this doll has been around for quite a while now, and while there are still a lot of things I don’t understand about it, it hasn’t displayed any critical instabilities, and has been a genuine help in the lab, even if more work is needed for it to be able to properly assist outside of it. I went into this experiment with the knowledge that the fake soul I constructed was unlike anything attempted before, and even if it worked there was no guarantee it would be stable enough to last more than a few hours or days, let alone the lifespan of a witch.
One month isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but the fact that the doll has continued to function this long without obvious signs of anything going wrong is quite promising. Unless there are any developments or irregularities that haven’t shown themselves yet, it seems that the doll is stable enough that it won’t cease to function any time soon. If that’s the case, then I believe I am comfortable with starting to think about a name for it.
…I may need some time to decide, however. Naming is another of those things I have never been the best at…
