World

Tending a World
Once planted, the new World needs to be tended by the Apprentice using their Alchemist's Tools and the Song of Myora. Initially this consists simply of clearing traces of The Withering (in the form of stone and/or wood detritus, Weeds, and Withering grass) and nurturing the World's Flora (in the form of Flowers, Shrubs and Trees). Doing so will cause groundcover Grass to grow automatically around the Flowers, Shrubs, and Trees once each one has been fully-tended and is full-grown. (The tall, scythable clump type of Grass which yields Fodder will spawn in some of the locations where the Apprentice cut down Withering grass.) Flowers require one day of tending to be fully grown, while Shrubs take two days and Trees three. More Flowers and Shrubs will spawn on the second and third days of tending a new World, but more Trees will not — until the World's first expansion.

Expansion is a mechanism by which a World which has been tended for some time develops a new Disc or Discs overnight. The new areas will have more traces of The Withering to be cleared and more plants to be nurtured, but Critters will also begin to appear on the World at this point; some may appear on the initial cared-for Disc and be ready for the Apprentice to begin taming, but any on the new Discs will be afflicted by The Withering and the Apprentice will need to cleanse its traces away over multiple days. Insects will also appear and be afflicted by The Withering, which can be removed from them by using the Apprentice's Mallet to stun the manifestation of The Withering encasing it so that the Insect can escape. Fish will appear as well, but seem unaffected by The Withering, and the Apprentice can use their Fishing Rod to begin catching Fish immediately if they have time to spare.

Blooming a World
After the Apprentice has tended the World for at least six days, a second and final expansion will occur, following the same pattern as the first. When the Apprentice completes all tending tasks on a given World, Book will inform them that the World Seed is ready to bloom, and the Apprentice must return to the Seed on its dais on or near the first Disc in order to Sing to its World Seed. Doing so causes an ethereal, glowing turquoise Myora Tree to appear above the World Seed, its leaves and branches distinct but its trunk composed of shifting, aurora-like curtains of light reminiscent of the heart of the Evertree.

Worlds may be left in an all-but-complete yet un-bloomed state indefinitely; however, some Critters may not spawn on a World until the morning after its Seed is Sung to, potentially confounding completionist Apprentices. A fully-bloomed World can, at the Apprentice's discretion, be set free into the Cosmos to make way for a new World Seed to be placed in its Seed Planter. (Since the Care and Prosperity Update in January 2022, PC, PlayStation, and Xbox users have been able to release Worlds without first blooming them; this change is expected to come to Switch soon.)