Update on the Aged

Lately, Mithos has been spending a great deal of time with some of the Norns in the area near the cannon. I've found him to be, if anything, more obedient than my Norns, which is surprising as Grendels lack instincts to obey the hand. I'm trying to keep a closer eye on him using the Grendel Selector, as his age and the fact that he doesn't appear in the Observation Kit are cause for concern.

In my game, I've replaced the default Grendel genetics. Mithos and other Grendels born in my Albia are able to breed and have several genes from the Ron Norn breed, including the flight-or-fight genes and the new instincts. They also have the die-of-old-age gene. They are based on the many-colored Grendel genetics created by Slink.

Things have been peaceful for the elders of Albia recently. Kratos and Regal, the two firstborn of this generation, seem to have retired permanently to the island, specifically the middle level where it's easiest to watch the sealife. Regal makes occasional trips across the sea in the cart to visit the other Norns, but he always returns to the quiet of the island in the end.

Of course, Kratos has already spent most of his life on he island! At almost ten hours old, his health has started to worry me. Elder Norns often become stubborn eaters. This is made even more frustrating by Kratos's ever-present reluctance to listen my suggestions to eat and sleep. My paranoia is exacerbating my growing dread that the oldest first generation Norns will soon pass on.

But none of the elders are showing any sign of slowing down! Here are Raine and Presea in the latter's favorite spot between the outlook and cliff. Although they are both elders, notice how much Raine has shrunk! The Life Kit breeds become smaller in their old age, which can make mixed-breed elder Norns look a little odd. Raine seems to have been a good influence on Presea, who is finally eating on occasion before her life force drops into the 50s.

Norns with the die-of-old-age gene live about ten to twelve hours. Although I consider myself a generally logical and scientifically-minded person, I can't help but get attached to my little digital pets. Although they aren't literally alive,

Uneventful Albia

Albia saw its first elder this time! Mithos has aged gracefully and, thanks to the fan-made Grendel sprite expansion, is now sporting a silver curl of hair. I'm surprised he was the first to age to elder, as he's about 20 minutes younger than the oldest Norn, Kratos, who at 8 hours and 50 minutes still has a full head of hair.

Regal made his way from the island to the wishing well area, where he met Presea. They had a bit of a romance some time ago; he is the father of both her eggs. He seems worried about her, and rightfully so, as her health hovers consistently around the 50% mark due to her refusal to eat. I was able to convince her to eat a single carrot recently, but that was only after much coaxing. Maybe the presence of another Norn will encourage her.

Meanwhile, some of the younger Norns have congregated in the garden and temple area. Here Emil is desperately trying to escape Marta's affections by taking the lift to the treetops. These two still have very distinct personalities: Emil dislikes crowds and flees after too much time around others, while Marta actively seeks out the company of other Creatures. Considering that some of the other Norns have genetic changes of a similar scale that have little effect on their behavior, I'm surprised at how entertaining these two are to be around. I had almost excluded them because I wasn't sure I could care for so many Norns at once. Now I'm glad I changed my mind!

Emil fled all the way to the island, where he was finally able to get a nap. He later took the submarine back to the mainland without even seeing the island's usual inhabitants, Kratos, Raine, and Mithos. Maybe he realizes there's more room to run away from others on the mainland.

Seles and young Genis took a nap in the kitchen. Seles is another Norn with a very striking personality, literally: she's clearly the most slap-happy of everyone in Albia, and she often does it with a huge smile on her face. I think she must think slapping is a game! I'm concerned that she might never breed -- remember that these Norns have an altered Conservative Norn gene that reduces sex drive when they are slapped.

Genis took the teleporter to the garden, where he was promptly stung by a bee and turned right around to head back to the safety of the incubator area. On the way, however, he was distracted by the bright yellow lemons growing on the trellis near the boabab. It never occurred to me before, but I'm pretty sure lemons don't grow on vines in real life. Apparently Albian lemons are different.

Surprisingly, there have been no new eggs for quite some time now. Usually an overabundance of eggs and kisspopping is the problem! I take back what I said about these Norns breeding easier than expected! Until now I haven't been encouraging them much, but I may need to start in order to ensure a healthy supply of second-generation eggs.

Two New Arrivals

Using the wonderful Multiple Grendel Button cob (available from Treesprite's Creatures Grove), I was able to select my world's Grendel! This is Mithos. He uses an updated Grendel genome that includes the fight-or-flight and die of old age genes. I also have the third-party baby Grendel sprites (available from the Universe of Ettins). And I accidentally altered his color, making him much darker and grayer than a normal Grendel. Grendels have long been misunderstood by Creatures fans. The manuals always paint them as heartless, red-eyed monsters bent on the torment of your kind, furry Norns. In the first two games especially, this is a complete lie! Grendels are more prone to anger than Norns, but, given the chance, they can prove to be just as lovable as their more traditionally cute cousins.

Mithos spent a great deal of time hanging around in the treetops near the grendel mother, happily chowing down on honey. When it was empty, I took it to the beehives to refill it. I'm sure he thought I was stealing his precious honeypot permanently! When I returned it a moment later, he promptly went to sleep, as if to show he was never worried at all.

Meanwhile, my second first generation Norn hatched from a nice green mottled egg! This is Regal, who has normal Norn genes with only the few edits I made to all my starting genomes. He's supposed to have a very little bit of a greenish tint, but he doesn't seem to have turned out that way! As soon as the little horse Norn hatched, he sat down and struck this contemplative pose. He was slightly slower at learning his verbs than Kratos was, but he seems to be a less reluctant sleeper.

Regal is learning to multitask! Here he is picking up a piece of cheese and playing with the ball. I've never started a world with a male Norn before, and due to the theme I chose, now I have two! Because females mature more slowly and tend to be somewhat fertile even into old age, people generally recommend starting with a female, but I wanted to mix things up!.

When he grew into a child, Regal took off to explore the temple and caves below. He seems to be a budding entomologist, as much time as he spends watching the butterflies and chasing the bees! Even being repeatedly stung didn't deter his investigations. He would grab at the bees, get stung and cry "ouch!", the turn to me and frown, as if it were somehow my fault! Maybe he will learn eventually?

Regal also contracted a brief illness, but recovered quickly after eating several carrots and pieces of cheese. I was surprised at how quickly his heath began to drop, but luckily it never even dipped much into the 60s. I think Mithos was also ill but had an easier time shaking it. While all this excitement was going on, Kratos was far away on the island, watching the sealife. I've been bringing him food frequently, as the coconuts that grow on the island don't constitute a balanced diet on their own.

Kratos is now over an hour old! I'm not worried about breeding my Norns -- males are generally fertile until at least seven or eight hours old, I think. The next Norn I hatch will be a female, though! I hope they all get along.