A Silver Lining in Albia
Written onWhen Aldra learned that she was going to have her picture taken, she could hardly contain herself! I held back a laugh as I looked at how her body parts and sprites did not line up perfectly. So is the curse of Creatures 1, although I rather like the odd combinations. The funny thing about Aldra, and all female Purple Mountain Norns, is the crazy amount of bright red lipstick they wear, and the apparently immortal life it has! I have no idea what goes on up in the mountains of Albia, but I guess lipstick and makeup play an important role. Thank goodness it’s a localized phenomenon!
One of the Norns who had thankfully never bothered with lipstick was Stokka! Although she was much younger than some of the others, her hair turned a brilliant silver color and her body shrunk a tiny bit in old age. I watched her settle down in front of the deathcap mushroom as she contemplated her life. At just over seven hours old, she still had plenty of life left in her. As I watched her and thought of some of the moments from Stokka’s life, out of the corner of my eye I noticed her life force: 45%. Rather than admit her mistake, Stokka attempted to hide the missing deathcap mushroom from me. Clever, but not really! It took her some time to finally eat a couple of carrots, yet she easily survived. Thank goodness she only decided to devour one of the colorful, but dangerous, mushroom caps.
Ytteren had most recently isolated herself on the island, and I spent a little time coaxing two potential friends to join her. Full of energy and smiles, Aldra led Pettvika to the sunny shores. As suspected, Ytteren shied away from the newcomers and did not know what to make of these two. They were very patient, though, and tried to befriend the befuddled Norn. It certainly was a parade of silver and white hair, though! At least Aldra and Pettvika had plenty of food and entertainment as they waited for Ytteren to warm up to them.
Underneath the garden, Nordmela found herself entering old age. With no tufts of hair to turn to gray, she was blessed with a literal silver lining across parts of her face. Stokka had recovered from her deathcap mushroom incident, although she determined that old age gave her the privilege of taking frequent naps. Nordmela wanted to travel across in the cart again, although her traveling companion was in no position to move. I could just imagine the adventures these two could have as little old ladies traveling around the world: One would always be rushing, while the other would always be sleeping!
Almost on cue, Stokka proceeded to fall asleep as she was riding on the cart! Nordmela had abandoned her in frustration, but the old Forest Norn was not about to stay alone forever. This was one of the best pictures I had snapped in some time: Stokka looked so excited as she rested and held onto a honeypot. Truly, what more could a Norn want?! A new chapter in her life had begun, and I was thrilled that she was not completely slowing down. Aside from the naps and rest, Stokka was ready to take on Albia! I just hoped that the rest of the group could adjust to her: Stokka certainly deserved some quiet time, and I wondered if the males had received the memo. Leave this one to herself! Maybe if Stokka strategically planned her naps, she could avoid kisspopping!
Speaking of the male Norns, I found Oppeid alone in the garden. Although I had already attempted to take care of him and increase his fertility, he was once again completely infertile. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but all of my male Purple Mountain Norns and crosses seemed to suffer from decreased fertility much more than the other males. Oppeid had fathered six eggs already, though, so it was far from a failure on his part! At least he had another opportunity to sit quietly with the hand and eat. I only wished that it would be the last time he needed a break.
Not even Skuld could escape the wispy, gnarled fingers of old age. She actually took to the change quite well, at least in terms of her appearance! The loss of her golden curls disturbed her enough to send her off to the dormant area near the incubator. Skuld paced around, until she finally hunkered down with a honeypot. Determined to protect it, she wrapped her Grendel body around it. Lucky for her, honey never gets old! She was in much better spirits after a meal of honey and a nap. Old age surprised her, all the same, and she dreamed of her younger days.
Ure was the most adorable creature when he rode in the cable car! However, try as I might, there was not one photo opportunity to show him with his joyful smile. We fought over the controls so much, that he promptly fell asleep on the platform! Photograph sessions are not all fun and games sometimes. Ure had recently kisspopped with Ramsvika, but Bringsli was the one to keep an eye on: He seemed to call forth Norn eggs wherever he went! I hope to finish up the second generation soon, which might mean less detailed updates. However, all of these Norns will still form the main family group: The next generation will just be much smaller… Thankfully!
I honestly can’t believe the number of eggs we’ve been getting. I can remember playing when I was much younger, it was so hard to get children. I used to have to watch the females fertility cycles to even have a chance. I’m pretty sure it has a lot to do with knowing how to keep the Norns healthier, thus giving them higher sex drives.
I, too, remember the times when it was almost impossible to breed Norns well enough to make sure the next generation would survive. When a female had two or three children, it seemed like a major accomplishment! I played for a bit today, and despite the fact that there are only two fertile males in the world, I ended up with three more pregnancies!
In the process, though, I found a gene which combines adrenaline and testosterone into a decrease in sex drive. In a way, adrenaline creates stress, which reduces the production of testosterone, and it also eats away at testosterone while reducing sex drive. Apparently my male Norns are not really experiencing the effects that much, though!
One unhatched egg has a mutation in this gene which causes adrenaline and testosterone to reduce anger, rather than sex drive. Kind of interesting! Another unhatched egg has the first “major” pigment mutation: One gene switches on at childhood, rather than birth.
Interesting mutations to come! A mutation that reduces anger rather than reducing sexDrive. That could go a long way to making a Norn more fertile. It’s also interesting that a stressed out Norn will actually be less anger…
Can’t wait to see the pigment mutation. Hopefully it means the baby will have some interesting colours before returning to normal later in life. I’ve never managed to get any real colour mutations in C1, so I’ll be very excited if you’ve managed it.
I’m also looking forward to the pigment mutation! I’m pretty sure it will be pretty minor, since it’s just one gene, yet I’m still hoping for some sort of obvious color change. I don’t think I’ve ever managed a clear color mutation, either: Most pigment mutations are just too minor to notice, especially since the base sprites are already colored. We’ll have to see! Maybe you’ll get lucky with a pigment mutation very soon, too!
I just read that your PMN’s show a loss of fertility at some point. This makes me feel better, I’ve spent quite some time trying to figure out why my male PMN’s stopped being fertile after a while (by the end of the 7th hour or so), but if yours are too and you don’t know why, i do feel better, as you seem far more experienced than I am in norns caring lol
Hi Pierre! It’s actually something which affects all males, although my PMNs seem to suffer from infertility more often. There are a couple of genes which convert excess stress into reduced testosterone production and a lowered sex drive. I used to believe that older male Norns were just designed to be infertile, but they can come back from it! I’ve “refertilized” some males by isolating them and giving them plenty of food and attention. It takes a good ten or twenty minutes, yet they can become fertile again! It’s frustrating, yet it can be worth it if you have a limited number of males. Good luck!