Unexpected Events Across Albia

I braced myself for the impending death of Angharad. I put off my time in Creatures 1 for that exact reason, so I wasn’t surprised when a death announcement popped up after a few minutes. To my horror, though, it was Fflewddur who had met his demise at a relatively young age of 7 hours and 55 minutes. His good friend, Ellidyr, could only crouch beside him and watch over the body of his fallen companion. Farewell, dear Fflewddur. You shall never be forgotten in our hearts.

Fflewddur’s death was even more saddening, for he only had one child during his lifetime. I decided to try to lift my spirits by hanging out with one of the younger Norns, Melyngar. Though adorable, she was a feisty little one who refused to eat! This was mostly due to her mutation that hindered her learning. She managed to wolf down a carrot and a pot of honey, but the poor little one still looked miserable and confused. A shiny toy made her happy… For the moment! Norns have such short attention spans, after all.

Fortunately, young Orddu had the cutest face to brighten the sadness of Fflewddur’s death. She raced around the garden with a carrot seedling: Could it grow in mid-air if she went fast enough? Would she be able to fly away? Out of breath, she slowed down to eat some more carrots and let the seedling take its natural place in the ground. Orddu was already getting so big!

The small gang which had formed so haphazardly became very close: Angharad enjoyed the company of the younger males, Gurgi and Gwydion. They took a journey underground, and everyone made it safely to the other side. All, unfortunately, except for Gwydion… He looked a little queasy, and it was plain to see that he had enough rickety cart rides for some time! I looked on Angharad fondly: She was 11 hours and 30 minutes old, and only a handful of others had reached the twelve minute mark. As I left her with a smile on her face, I expected that it would be the last time I saw her alive.

My most pressing matter was to keep a watchful eye over the egg of Kaw and Henwen. They were head over heels in love! Silly Henwen decided to act like she couldn’t stand another moment with her beloved, but the grin on her face and sparkle in her eye told the real story. Kaw was rather confused, though he perked up when he followed Henwen and found himself the recipient of a kiss. Although Norns may not have fully fleshed out personalities, they never cease to entertain! That’s one of the unique, magical qualities about the Creatures games.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an icon in the Observation Kit. This was it: The death of Angharad. There was an icon next to her name… But I had to do a double take when I actually figured out what it was! Angharad had not passed away. She was pregnant! I also captured this at the exact moment when the event occurred: The pregnancy number will always match how many hours old a female is at the moment she conceives. It can be confusing, until one understands the quirks in the engine.

This Norn clearly had no intentions of going anywhere! Angharad had hardly slowed down, and she had actually developed better eating habits. Among her two suitors, Gurgi was the lucky father this time around. I wanted to scold him for taking advantage of an older female, yet this seemed to make her seem young again. It would be a long waiting game, while I feared the worst. Some may remember the story of Ingelill, who became pregnant at 11 hours and 55 minutes. I hoped Angharad could follow in her footsteps and share in the same ending.