Albia’s New Inhabitants

A fresh new world awaited my eager eyes as I entered Creatures 1. This would be the start of the third generation: The beginning of a generation that would combine the best of their Norn ancestors. The honeybees buzzed and droned on lazily, which created the perfect backdrop to such a peaceful and serene world. I particularly enjoy setting up a new world as it sits in the mysteriously peaceful time before any Norn, Grendel, or Ettin is born. Everything seemed perfect, down to the last detail! All Albia needed was its first egg to set everything in motion to experience virtual life.

The incubator flickered and gave off its unmistakable warmth to… A Grendel?! I decided to start off this new world with a very special Grendel, whom I named Achren. She was an Erzan Grendel, created by the talented Grendel Man! This breed is slightly more placid than the standard Grendel, although the main reason I chose this breed was its ability to suffer from hyperthermia, or too much heat. A quick glance over Achren’s genome showed many differences between her and a standard C1 Grendel. Perhaps most important was the fact that she possessed genes which would make her fertile. I did not plan on having breedable Grendels taking over Albia, but it was certainly a new concept! Achren was adorable.

My joy soon turned to panic. Achren breezed through her lessons, but I noticed that her life force had begun to fall. I convinced her to taste a carrot, yet that was all she would eat. I watched in horror as her life force began to rapidly fall below 20%. She could only spin around with a carrot or honeypot in her hands. I heard the pitiful cries of a Grendel in distress as her life force plummeted to a mere 5%. Since I had already grown very fond of Achren, I broke an unspoken rule and injected her with an emergency shot of energy. I simply had to save her life, regardless of my aversion to the injections. A few minutes of life was far too short for her.

Fortunately, that set her on the right track. Achren gobbled up several carrots, and glued the honeypot to her tiny hands. Could I have let her perish, and start over with a new Grendel? It was certainly an easy option, and would have cost me only a few minutes. This sentimental player couldn’t do it, though! This was the first time I used an injection from the science kit, and I doubt I will employ it again for a long time. Achren was saved, though, and I had absolutely no regrets. As she blossomed into life, I knew I had made the right decision!

The time came for the incubator to work its magic again. Was this to be the egg carrying the first Norn? Not quite! This male Grendel was named Smoit. He might look a little different: He is a Scortch Grendel from Grendel Man! Aside from his unique pigmentation, he also thrives on heat, and can use this as a substitute for food. Cold could prove to be lethal to him, particularly since some illnesses inflict cold. Smoit might also be a little more aggressive, although Grendel Man noted that these genes might not work as well as they were intended. In any case, I was thrilled to have two Grendels in the same world! Smoit wore a grin that stretched from one ear to the other. He was one very happy little guy!

These Grendel breeds are not only breedable, but also have the correct gene to die of old age. The only slight modification I made was to remove the gene that converts antioxidants into aging. Effectively, this gene can make a creature immortal with enough antioxidants. Achren might have escaped death once, but I wanted to be sure that both she and Smoit would live mostly natural lives from their genetics.

Update: Grendel Man provided more details about the Scortch Grendels. Namely, that they get coldness from the antigens, while other creatures experience hotness. Since coldness is the polar opposite of what this breed needs, a Scortch Grendel can die in under a minute when heavily infected. Hopefully Smoit will stay healthy!

I had left Achren in the garden while Smoit learned his vocabulary, and it was not long before they met one another. There was an awkward pause as they saw one another for the first time, but their first interaction was a friendly kiss. One baby Grendel is adorable enough, but the sight of two baby Grendels was almost too cute to endure! One might also notice a new addition to this world: The cloud layer butterfly! In an effort to isolate the starch glitch, this world has a very limited number of COBs. Most are official additions, although I also used a few Grendel-specific COBs. So far, the starch glitch has not appeared, and the world definitely appears to be in good working order. Perhaps this glitch was partially due to a COB or conflict with multiple COBs?

Smoit and Achren quickly became an inseparable couple. They constantly kissed or tickled one another, in an endless show of affection. Grendels are most certainly capable of showering love upon Norns and other Grendels! The most pressing matter might be the genomes behind them: In some ways, their breeds are polar opposites. Achren can perish in high temperatures, while Smoit revels in the heat. I looked forward to watching them grow, and wondered if their relationship would get more serious as they aged.

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