Greetings From Norns, Grendels, and Antigen 5
A week away from Creatures seemed like a lifetime! Coll was the most excited to finally be able to move around again in Albia. I found him apparently dancing about the garden, where he had plenty of carrots and lemons to satisfy his hunger. I made a quick sweep around the world, and all seemed at peace. My one point of concern was still Angharad, whose life force continued to hover around 30% due to her brain disorder. Although she could look at food and recognize it, eating was more of a rare and random occurrence. Before I could dive into her care, Coll caught my attention again with a different sort of dance: The dreaded cough twirl.
The antigens were so excited to see me again that one decided to venture forth on a glorious journey! I laughed about the situation for a moment, until I found out what the illness actually was. Antigen 5 was a fairly nasty strain, and its corresponding antibody was rather slow to build up. There were also two different unknown toxins that had the exact same pattern, along with histamine B. Not only was it an unpleasant illness which could take some time to fight off, but it was also contagious. The one Norn I had to worry about was Angharad, who wasn’t too far away near the incubator. If she was to become ill, I knew there was a good chance that she could die from lack of glycogen. I steered Coll away from her, and successfully quarantined him! That was no small accomplishment, and he seemed to sense it.
Meanwhile, Achren had returned from the island to take a break from Ellidyr during her pregnancy. She took an immediate liking to Eilonwy, and then I realized why she was so drawn to this Norn: Eilonwy was pregnant, courtesy of Dallben! Time had flown by, for the youngest creature was an adult. It was my first time actually seeing a pregnant Norn and Grendel in Creatures 1 together. Although it’s mostly coincidence, I always have thought that pregnant creatures flock together.
On the desert island, the males had formed a sort of bachelor hideout in one of the caverns. All they needed was a honeypot, and they were good to go! Well, everyone except for Dallben. As the father of two of the three eggs, he seemed more of the settling type of Norn. Doli and Ellidyr watched him run away from them with perplexed expressions on their faces. The females were just a submarine ride away, and they had a pretty good thing going here! Dallben just wanted a break from everyone.
I was immediately alerted to another sick Norn, and I discovered, with a sinking heart, that I had not quarantined Coll for the entire duration of his illness. He had recovered, yet Dwyvach had become infected. She suffered from the illness much more quickly than Coll had. I watched her life force begin to rapidly fall to about 55%, and she did not want to listen to my suggestion to eat anything. Angharad was leagues away, yet the pregnant Eilonwy was nearby. I was in a desperate fight against this contagious illness, and I refused to let Dwyvach out of my sight. Thankfully, she took a rest and gave me a moment to ensure no one would go near her.
Try as I might, Eilonwy became infected. She never came in contact with Dwyvach, although she was a few steps from her when she traveled on the lift. Apparently, contagious illnesses have a bit of an airborne range. Eilonwy was an excellent patient, who ate carrot after carrot and even took several naps. After the ordeal, she even curled up with her freshly laid egg! Thankfully, this illness attacked some of the stronger members of the population. Had it been more ruthless, the outcome could have been much worse.
Amazingly, Angharad actually ate a carrot all on her own while I was away! Even better was the smile on her face: This was an even rarer event, since it was very hard for her to satisfy her drives. Creatures who need extra care can be more than a handful at times, and it’s often difficult to even help them lead somewhat happy lives. Angharad was another example of how it all could pay off, though. This one moment showed how she could be happy, as the others often were. And it was still wonderful to know that she had an unhatched baby who would not inherit her brain mutations!
Luckily, Dwyvach made a full recovery and was last seen chasing butterflies in the garden. I wish I had the time to do just that! Life has been pretty busy lately, and I realized I actually missed the two year anniversary of Discover Albia a few days ago! It’s hard to believe I’ve been writing and rambling for that long! My entries may be a little more sparse than usual and I know I have a few things to catch up on, but rest assured that I will certainly be updating when I can. Genetics lessons are on their way, as are more videos! Thanks to everyone who enjoys visiting and reading about my adventures. I hope my crazy enthusiasm and love for Creatures has at least inspired a few people to pick it up again, or for the first time!
I loved this post! Please keep writing about your adventures! When I’m not playing myself, I love reading about other people’s worlds. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Eilonwy’s child will be like (boy?? Girl??)
And I feel sorry for the poor bachelors all on their own, although maybe it was a good thing because otherwise they would have gotten sick too!!
Welcome back! This post brings up a curiosity i’ve had for a few years now and never have been able to figure out, despite all of the tests and experiments i’ve conducted! The question is… do illnesses of pregnant females affect the offspring? I always wondered that.
Also, happy two years. n.n
Sarien: Thanks so much! It was a good thing the guys kept to themselves: This was a pretty fast spreading illness, and it was difficult enough to keep one Norn somewhat healthy. I guess they had the right idea! It will be some time before any of the next generation eggs are hatched, but if all goes well, I hope to introduce some more members of this generation very soon!
Kittie: Thanks! To answer your question, a pregnant female does not pass along any illnesses to her unborn child, either before or after laying the egg. The baby can, however, catch an illness from her if he or she hatches while the mother is still ill. Those eggshells certainly protect against everything! I wonder if there are certain illnesses that can affect unborn creatures, though, although I imagine those would have to be modified.
Congrats on two years of Discover Albia!
I’m glad to hear that your creatures recovered from their illness as well! Contagious diseases in Albia can be very difficult to fight off. Also, I’m looking forward to reading about the next generation, and that photo of Angharad is darling :)
Wow, two whole years! Congratulations!! I am still catching up to the current entries (I think I have gotten up to entries made this year!) but they have been great to read and your attachment to your norns really shines through. I can only hope I am half as committed to mine!
You really have to wonder where all these awful diseases come from. Are there certain areas in the game where the norns are more vulnerable to picking up an illness? Or do the diseases simply materialise on an unsuspecting norn without any warning? Can you find evidence of bacteria growing in the world beyond your norn falling sick? I would suspect that the bacteria appear at the same time that a norn becomes ill but you never know with Creatures!
Jessi: Thanks! I had memories of the awful plague that killed off many of my Norns from a previous world… This illness easily could have taken a turn for the worse, but sometimes luck plays a nice role in keeping almost everyone relatively safe. At least most of the Norns and Grendels were ready for some nice photo opportunities, despite the rampant bacteria!
Exploringtheark: Thank you very much! I do tend to write a lot, so I know it’s a lot to go through for anyone catching up. I’m glad you’re enjoying everything, though! As far as I know, Creatures 1 illnesses pop up out of nowhere and can happen near the incubator, in the jungle, or anywhere else. I haven’t yet seen any evidence of whether certain creatures are more susceptible to illness or not: I could go on about how incorrect the immune system is, but suffice to say it’s more of a simple reactionary system that doesn’t really fight off illnesses. In C3/DS, I’ve seen bacteria materialize (courtesy of the spray) so it seems like illnesses can come about whenever and wherever. Non-contagious illnesses seem to be limited to one creature, though, no matter how many are in an area. Although I can’t say for certain, it looks like in C1, an antigen and any corresponding toxins are picked up by one creature. If histamine A or B is present, it then has the ability to be passed on. Yet without those two contagious elements, the illness becomes isolated to the primary host. It deserves some more study, though, and I’m sure there are some differences in C2 and C3/DS!