#it's either their natural habitat or their spawn point

[phonydiaries]

there are so many pinocchio artifacts at every single thrift store, its like their watering hole

[stankycowboy]

In the fading red orange of a dying day, Severen sat out on a park bench; unprotected, unveiled, basking in the death knell of the sun. His growing tolerance of the light was still somewhat new, or at least newly explored. It was hard to not be hesitant when approaching the world still lit by her once deadly guardian. But he had trusted her word when Lira said he might find himself less vulnerable; and could not hide an eagerness to find out if his former limitations had been expanded. Sunsets were not so far distant in his memory as to be revelatory in viewing, but actually being present was oddly invigorating. Whether it was because he was ( free ) out in the wild when he was not supposed to be, or the prospects of new adventures calling, Severen could not help smiling openly at the rose hued world. Approaching from behind him, Lira came around to sit; handing him a homemade popsicles of sorts in a gradient of reddish hues. They had been treats devised for their devilish spawn, but her parents had similar tastes as well, and what would the little gremlin know if two were missing? Knocking the edges of their popsicles together they share a small laugh. The lingering rays made the gold in Lira’s eyes blaze, drawing an admiring stare from her husband. He moves a wild strand of iridescently hued hair back behind her ear so he can better see her face. Hyper vigilant eyes scouting every familiar part of her, appreciating each detail as if it were the first he’d seen of it; never growing tired of how inhuman her human shape was—that mortals could be so blind to not see what lay beneath.

Around them the last of the human stragglers were packing up to leave the gathering place for idle recreation, respecting the signs posted declaring: “park closes at sunset”. The fact that humanity thought that they could bar access from nature herself was insulting, if not laughable, no less so to the pair observing the pestilential beings as they scattered. Before long they are left with the warbling of the last cries of diurnal creatures running to their beds, while the chorus of the night began their churrs and chitters. Severen wraps an arm around her shoulders, running his tongue long and thoroughly up the side of the treat that had not yet begun to melt. His mouth does not aid in this either. He mostly tastes the frozen moisture surrounding and not the true substance that had solidified. Unable to cause the mass to soften, he is forced to relent to other means. With mild irritation he takes a bite, crunching through with wild abandon. There is a hint of the original flavor, a lot of it lost in sensation. He does not resent the snack though, least of all the chance to chew; despite the lack of satisfaction. Lira’s lips redden as her own treat melts against them. Perhaps on purpose, she lets a little run down her chin. Severen is all too eager to catch the drip. His mouth sings with warmed blood. He leaves a cold trail up to the corner of her mouth; lips numbingly chill as they press against her. The horizon, once fiery, moves toward more familiar shades. Purples and deep blues take the heat from the world, leaving them to darkness. As much fun as it is to play in daylight, this time is best. There is no begrudging his more natural habitat, he has never had cause to regret anything of his being; least of all a simple drawback as this one. Forsaking the sun had been the easiest choice of his life, never once did he question being led by the moon. They relax in the comfort of each other’s presence, soon down to wooden sticks (Severen’s gnawed between his freshly pointed fangs); waiting to hear the distinctive flutter of leathery wings to inform them they are no longer alone. Now the night begins in earnest. They hunt as a pack for fresher game.

@ulfhrafnx

[mariacallous]

Salmon are legendary for their commitment to procreation. You know the drill: They wander the ocean before returning to rivers where they hatched, fire themselves upstream to spawn, and then drop dead. It’s not such a rigid life cycle, though. In fact, it’s a system that’s allowed a species like the chum salmon to find new habitats: Some individuals actually seek out different rivers and spawn there. Now, scientists say, chum salmon are spawning in the Arctic, a sign of rapid climate change.

As the Arctic warms up to four times faster than the rest of the planet, species are migrating to higher latitudes, both because the Arctic is becoming more hospitable to them, and because their native habitat is becoming less so. The region is greening, for instance, as shrubs and tree species get a foothold in the new climate. Native fishing communities along the North Slope of Alaska have reported catching chum salmon here and there over the last few decades, but they are now finding more. Last month, scientists confirmed finding around 100 chum salmon in the Anaktuvuk and Itkillik rivers. 

“We saw not only fish that were actively spawning, or had finished spawning and were still alive, but also carcasses—fish that had been spawning and already died,” says Peter Westley, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. “It's really consistent with that clear harbinger of climate change: this shift toward the poles.” The scientists don’t know yet, though, whether that spawning actually resulted in the successful development of young fish—just that it happened.

Instead of returning to spawn in their home rivers, the University of Alaska team thinks, at some point individual chum salmon strayed north. In warmer years, in fact, there are higher rates of straying. “Salmon are fascinating in that they are just constantly curious, and are always sort of probing and waiting to take advantage of a newly suitable habitat,” says Westley. “What seems to be happening is that these Arctic rivers are just now starting to become suitable. I think about them as sort of being ‘hopeful’ colonists in past years, that maybe now either are successful—or are on the cusp of being successful—in terms of reproducing and establishing populations.”

Scientists have only just begun to investigate the ecological consequences of their arrival, but chum salmon may interact with the native fish species that northern communities have long relied on. While these new populations are currently small, if they continue to grow, they could compete with native fishes for space and resources, shaking up the ecology of the system. If their numbers grow substantially, they might attract a new commercial fishing industry, a concern raised by some North Slope community members during a workshop held last year, says evolutionary ecologist Elizabeth Mik'aq Lindley, of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. “Salmon have been in the North Slope for a long time, but what is changing is the species that are being encountered, and the number of them,” says Lindley.

By laying eggs in the rivers, the chum salmon might actually help native fishes by providing food for them. These frigid Arctic waters aren’t particularly productive, biologically speaking, meaning there isn’t normally a tremendous amount for native species like Dolly Varden and Arctic char to eat. “When salmon are spawning, it's just a natural part of the process that there are some eggs that fail to get buried,” says Westley. “The Dolly Varden can eat those eggs that aren't going to be viable anyway. So it's not hurting salmon populations, but it's certainly helping the Dolly Varden and resident fishes.”

More warming in the Arctic means more liquid water, especially during the critical winter period when water is usually locked up as ice. Liquid water can come from the degradation of permafrost—frozen soil, basically. (It sometimes thaws so rapidly that it gouges holes in the landscape, known as thermokarst.) Permafrost thaw can also allow for the connection between groundwater springs and the surface river. 

Melting glaciers, in regions outside of the Arctic, are also spawning new rivers for salmon themselves to spawn in. That could provide more habitat to support more salmon, which may crowd out native fish species or increase competition for food or other resources. But for salmon to be ultimately successful in the Arctic, the water has to be just right for them to reproduce and to complete their life cycle. “They need liquid water, and fishes that also need liquid water are culturally important subsistence species,” says Lindley. “They dig nests in the gravel, lay their eggs, and they incubate. And there's very specific temperature requirements that they may need.”

The researchers have been deploying sensors to get a better idea of whether observed spawning sites are within ideal incubation conditions for chum salmon. If the water temperatures are suitable for reproduction, this could result in more salmon, which in turn could have implications for competition with other species. “Knowing the temperature where the embryos are is a really important part of the puzzle,” says Westley. “How quickly they would develop is tied to temperature. So we're able to estimate really accurately when they would hatch and when they would emerge.” 

The Arctic is dramatically transforming as it warms, and some of those changes are feeding a brutal climactic feedback loop. Taller shrubs are becoming more abundant, which could trap more snow against the ground, preventing the winter chill from penetrating the soil and keeping it frozen. That could accelerate the thawing of permafrost, which in turn would release planet-heating methane. As the landscape becomes more fire-prone, wildfires burning in the far north will emit still more carbon into the atmosphere, further accelerating climate change.

The chum salmon are far from alone in their response to ever-higher temperatures. “This is just one more example. There's a lot of different organisms in the ocean and out of the ocean that are shifting their ranges as a result of climate change,” says Luiz Rocha, curator of fishes at the California Academy of Sciences, who isn’t involved in the research. “It's happening at the local level, too, everywhere. There's a lot of species that are being found higher in mountains. The higher altitudes are getting warmer, so the species are moving up and up.”

Arctic species that can adapt will do so, while others from lower latitudes will journey north to exploit the new climate regime. Chum salmon may be the harbingers of this transformation. “The Earth—as a planet, as an ecosystem—everything is going to adapt. There's no way around it,” says Rocha. “Whichever species are most adaptable to change, are the ones that survive.”

[gatheringbones]

["I didn't know why hatchery salmon needed to be grown in Elk River. I knew dams on the Columbia and urban pollution in the Willamette had nearly destroyed the salmon runs in those rivers, but there were no dams and minimal pollution on Elk River. The propaganda that passed as outdoor education didn't speak of the effects of clearcutting on salmon habitat. No one explained that as spawning beds silt up with logging debris and disappear, fewer and fewer wild salmon can spawn. I never heard that if the trees shading a creek are cut, the direct sunlight warms the water. And if the water temperature rises enough in a watershed, salmon, which require relatively cold water to survive, are put at risk. Nor did the propaganda speak of over-fishing. The commercial salmon fishermen who made their livelihoods fishing the summer salmon runs off the coast of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska hadn't yet heard of sustainable yield. The salmon runs seemed endless.

The powers-that-be didn't teach us that hatchery salmon differ from wild salmon, that they are genetically more homogenous, more susceptible to disease, and less hardy once at sea. To raise salmon year after year in a hatchery, biologists use formaldehyde and other chemicals each summer to combat recurring diseases that kill thousands of hatchery fingerlings. The continuous pumping of water from the river washes these chemicals into the ecosystem. And each winter when the hatchery salmon don't return to the hatchery in large enough numbers, biologists go to natural spawning beds and net wild salmon, taking them to the hatchery to augment their supply of spawn. Soon wild salmon might not exist. The propaganda neglected these details.

My classmates and I were taught by teachers who worked for schools funded largely with timber taxes; by US Forestry Service rangers and their brochures; and by industry-supported textbooks, slide shows, and tours. The point isn't simply that we, like schoolchildren across the country, were taught half-truths about trees and salmon. Rather we learned even more fundamental lessons, that trees and salmon are endlessly renewable commodities. This view of the natural world, which puts clearcutting, replanting, and hatcheries at its center, conveniently supported the two industries, logging and fishing, that sustained the towns we lived in.

Not until I left Port Orford did I come into contact with other worldviews. Living in a city for the first time, I met people who knew salmon only as frozen patties, who used paper but had never been to a paper mill. For them trees were the tall, skinny maples, oaks, and beeches that grew along sidewalks. They navigated the seemingly impossible parking structures and bus stops with ease and comfort. Some of them believed that trees and salmon were more than just commodities.

They created a fuzzy, romanticized version of nature, combining memories of Walt Disney nature movies with their occasional summer vacations to overcrowded national parks. Or they believed in a white urban version of tree spirits and Mother Earth. Either way, my new acquaintances held trees and fish in an awestruck reverence as they talked about the dangers of nuclear power and the destruction of rainforests in Brazil, about clearcutting as rape. I simply listened. Surrounded by concrete and high-rises, I slowly stopped taking the familiar plants and animals of the Siskiyou National Forest for granted. When I returned home to visit, I caught glimpses of what was beautiful and extraordinary about the place I grew up in, and what was ugly and heartbreaking. I started to believe that trees and salmon weren't just harvestable crops. I read Sierra Club literature, the Earth First! Journal, Dave Foreman's ecotage manual, learned about Love Canal, Three Mile Island, the Nevada Test Site, Big Mountain; and started to turn from a right-wing, Libertarian-influenced childhood toward a progressive adulthood. I never grew into the white urban reverence of tree spirits and Mother Earth, a reverence often stolen from Native spiritual traditions and changed from a demanding, reciprocal relationship with the world into something naïve and shallow that still places human life and form at the center. Nor did I ever grow comfortable with the metaphor of clearcutting as rape, the specificity of both acts too vivid for me to ever compare or conflate them. But I did come to believe that trees and fish are their own beings, important in and of themselves, and that I— as activist, consumer, and human being among the many beings on this planet— have a deeply complex relationship with them."]

Eli Clare, Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation

[mostlysignssomeportents]

One of the very last events I attended before the lockdown was a thing in Silicon Valley attended by many old friends, but the best moment of all was the chance to hang out with Kim Stanley Robinson, a friend and inspiration.

That's when Stan told me he had just finished a book that might be his last-ever novel, The Ministry For the Future, and that his future work would be nonfiction, starting with his long-planned book about the Sierras.

I was stricken. Robinson's novels are a lifeline for me.

The first Robinson novel I read may just be my favorite: Pacific Edge, a green utopian novel about a successful transition to a post-climate-emergency, just and stable world. Re-reading it is a vacation from all my anxieties, still.

https://memex.craphound.com/2015/01/15/pacific-edge-the-most-uplifting-novel-in-my-library/

My first novel, DOWN AND OUT IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM, wouldn't exist without Pacific Edge. That was the book that taught me that small disputes over beloved local treasures could be as dramatic as (and microcosms for) global conflicts.

I have been both dreading and anticipating MINISTRY FOR THE FUTURE, not wanting to read my last KSR novel but also wanting so badly to read this one, because it's the book in which he imagines the end of capitalism.

You've heard the phrase, "It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism," variously attributed to Frederic Jameson and Slavoj Žižek. As the author of a couple of postcapitalist novels, I have a real appreciation for the details of that truism.

It's actually not all that hard to imagine a postcapitalist society - but imagining the actual END of capitalism, the euthanasia of the rentier, the reversal of the doctrine of virtuous selfishness, the abandonment of the idea that some are born to rule, that is damned hard.

And while PACIFIC EDGE is my favorite KSR novel, my favorite KSR series is the string of books that starts with 2012's 2312 - a string of books that really leans hard into imagining the actual end of capitalism.

xhttps://memex.craphound.com/2015/01/15/pacific-edge-the-most-uplifting-novel-in-my-library/

2312 is set 300 years into postcapitalism. It's a novel of solar-system-scale civilization, riven by its own problems and contradictions, filled with tech marvels, a tale of natural wonders that showcase Robinson's incredible, John-Muir-grade genius for pastoral writing.

2312 was followed up by Aurora, one of the best space-exploration novels ever written, about the arrival of the first-ever generation ship at its destination world, and the hasty retreat it is required to stage.

https://memex.craphound.com/2015/11/02/kim-stanley-robinsons-aurora-space-is-bigger-than-you-think/

The book provoked a vitriolic reaction from science fiction's great reactionaries! I love a book that enrages the right people, and I was delighted to publish Robinson's rebuttal to their peevish complaints.

https://boingboing.net/2015/11/16/our-generation-ships-will-sink.html

From there, we move on to New York 2140, a novel of a pivotal moment in the transformation of capitalism and its relationship to the climate emergency.

https://memex.craphound.com/2017/03/18/new-york-2140-kim-stanley-robinson-dreams-vivid-about-weathering-climate-crisis/

These are like an artilleryman rangfinding a mortar, first overshooting his target and then walking his fire back, drawing closer to his bullseye. For Robinson, bullseye is the moment at which our society is transformed into one that can survive the coming emergencies.

It's telling that the 2312 books never got there. It is so fucking hard to imagine the end of capitalism.

But that is what The Ministry For the Future Does.

Sort of.

It's a novel about a specialized UN agency, chartered through the Paris Climate Agreement to represent unborn generations and the natural world in legal proceedings related to climate devastation.

Talking about this book, Robinson has described it as a kind of futuristic documentary, told in many voices, as a way of describing a phenomenon as vast as this global transformation.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/14/final_ver2/#ksr

Like many docs, it follows a couple of main characters, but weaves in dozens of other voices, some of whom we hear from only once or twice, recounting pivotal moments in which a moment calves away from our reality as we know it - moments of shear, giddy and terrifying.

Robinson is so good at this stuff. This is the book that he has been practicing for all his life. The vignettes are superb little jewels, mostly illuminating flashbulb moments in the lives of strangers met fleetingly.

But some of the most powerful moments don't even have characters: there's a transcript of the openng a fictional congress of global climate remediation groups after the crisis that is just an alphabetical list of countries and their associated projects.

This literally made me burst into tears of joy, bursting with hope at the thought that we could, as a species, spawn so many evocative and hopeful projects to save our world, our species, and our nonhuman cohabitants.

Robinson's versatility is on glorious display here: from long lists of hypothetical ecological projects, he veers into closely told moments of human endeavor in the natural world, showcasing his pastoralism with scenes so vivid you could reach out and touch them.

But all that said, the most interesting thing about this book is the stuff that Robinson couldn't or wouldn't put on the page. Robinson's hypothetical scenario for the end of capitalism is a baroque scheme of global cryptocurrency money-creation tied to carbon drawdown.

His technocrats trick capitalism into spending itself out of existence in a plan that is by turns brainy and daffy (as all blockchainism tends to be), with some pretty epic handwaving (especially when it comes to the breakup of tech monopolies).

But all of that would fail were it not for acts of absolutely brutal, ruthless terrorism. Robinson's transformation isn't merely about the carrots of double-bluff get-rich-quick schemes, it's heavily dependent on the stick of terror.

The aviation industry isn't (just) replaced by airships and rail because it's better and cleaner - but also because parties unknown use drones to bring down every private jet in the sky, and then commercial liners, until the aviation industry seizes up and dies.

And the world doesn't abandon beef because vegans win the moral argument or because greenies win the practical one - the decisive factor is drones that dart an unknowable plurality of the world's cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

There's more - pitiless, remorseless, anonymous. And while Robinson gets up close and personal with one traumatized individual who engages in an ecologically motivated, short-lived (and nonlethal) kidnapping, we never meet any of the terrorists or their victims.

The terror that begets the transition is recounted in the dry language of an encyclopedia entry, not dramatized like the pivotal moments of so many other characters.

It's a very telling omission.

My 2019 novella "Radicalized" is about an online community of men who, after watching their most treasured family members die slow, painful, preventable deaths because of insurance company fuckery, become suicide bombers who murder health execs.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2019/05/who-says-violence-doesnt-solve-anything-a-review-of-radicalized-four-tales-of-our-present-moment-by-cory-doctorow.html

Writing that story was an intensely uncomfortable experience (and, judging from reader comments, it can be uncomfortable to read, too).

It's one thing to recognize that a systemic problem might not be solved without grotesque, mass violence, and another to put yourself in the shoes of either the perpetrators or the victims.

Robinson's end of capitalism is, superficially, a story of a transition, not a spasm, not a capital-T Terror. The lives we inhabit in this novel are people who are engaged in struggle, but not mass-murder.

But right there on the page is Robinson's uncomfortable and only partially elided conviction that we're not in for a transition, but rather a bloodletting, a reckoning commensurate with the ecocidal crimes that led up to this moment.

MINISTRY is a book that, on first consideration, feels like a utopia - not merely for the beautiful descriptions of people, animals and environments finding a way through the emergencies, but for the emergencies resolution.

But on closer examination, MINISTRY represents the dark fears of one of our brightest, most hopeful writers, that the world can only be saved by means that are literally too terrible to contemplate up close.

It's an uncomfortable read. It's a brilliant book. If it indeed turns out to be Stan's last novel (oh please don't let it be Stan's last novel), it will be a fitting capstone. But the subtext of this book is that we are past the point of no return.

Not only will rescuing our planet entail sacrifices of species, habitats, and coastlines - it will also entail sacrifices of the moral convictions that make vast spectacles of bloodletting unthinkable.

[sepublic]

Kojol and his Rahi

           Kojol was someone who delighted in knowledge and secrets. He was a cunning, brilliant linguist, and frequently dabbled in coding and decoding hidden messages, archiving knowledge, and solving dialects. He was well-versed in the art of communication, owning both a Kanohi Rau and a Mask of Incomprehension as well. He prized the archival of knowledge… But it was an elitist safeguarding of secrets, as one would often have to pry what Kojol knew right out of his mouth- He was very selfishly, possessively protective of what he knew.

          Kojol delighted in the secrets he held over others, what he knew that they didn’t- And it gave him a heightened sense of superiority over everybody else, as if he were privy to everything while everyone else was an ignorant fool. Through various intermediaries and scouts, Kojol almost always heard something down the grapevine, and had a clever way to archive this information. It was his work that established the Makoki Stone, after all, by collaborating with various Toa as an anonymous informant.

           His Rahi reflected his passions well. Kojol enjoyed the art of not only creating Rahi, but also studying them out in the wild- He loved to observe Rahi in their natural habitats and environment, and in particular studied fervently the way animals would communicate with one another. He appreciated social creatures that communicated and was quite adept at understanding the ‘languages’ of these creatures… One could call Kojol a ‘Rahi Whisperer’ in a sense, and not just from the Rau he owned either. He was a Rahi linguist and analyst of communications and dialects across all living things, not just sapient civilizations.

           Many of Kojol’s Rahi were clever, knowledgable creatures that could transmit ideas and messages between one another. Kojol experimented in different means of communication, from chemical smells, to dancing patterns, audio cues, etc. For example, he once collaborated with Bitil on a species of swarm insect that regularly sent out scouts. Once scouts returned to report a discovery, they would convey how to get there through a complex dance, one that Kojol understood intimately.

           Another species of Rahi were Corvids that were able to communicate with one another. These creatures were clever and could use techniques and tools to access food, such as by dropping durable nuts in the paths of trampling creatures to be cracked open, and then feasted upon. Almost all of Kojol’s Rahi were curious creatures, and unlike him were much more open about their findings. Kojol’s corvids would often teach others, be it young or new members to the flock, how to use certain tools, techniques, and tricks.

          Many of Kojol’s Rahi displayed a unique ability to transmit the ideas of images and faces to one another as well- For example, if a Matoran wearing a Kadin disturbed a Corvid, it would tell other members of its flock about the culprit. Then those other flock-members would fly off, and encounter and transmit knowledge of that accursed Matoran to those beyond the flock, and so forth. Many of these corvids would’ve never seen this Kadin-wearing Matoran before; But as soon as they did see them, after hearing of how cruel they were to a fellow bird, they would fly down and harass the unlucky soul. Kojol’s Rahi remembered well, and if they ever forgave, they certainly never forgot. A researcher once observed Kojol’s Proto Drakes in captivity- After one was painstakingly taught to perform a flying leap for a treat, the Drake immediately transmitted this realization to the rest of its pod, and soon all of them knew the trick within an hour.

           Kojol’s Rahi were communicators and made excellent intermediaries. One species he created was a species of bird Rahi that would mimic the words and speech of others, perfectly… And then recognize the meanings behind these words to an uncanny extent. Some subspecies of this bird Rahi would even fake the voices of sapient beings to scare off potential predators. Kojol manufactured quite a few messenging Rahi that could travel long distances to carry messages, sometimes by carring a tablet, other times by literally parroting the exact words told to them by their owners upon arrival at a destination.

           The memory of Kojol’s Rahi was impeccable. They recognized flight patterns well, and how to navigate areas and get back to the nest. Ancient techniques were regularly passed down through generations. Additionally, Kojol’s Rahi were creatures adept at survival, and incredibly long-lived with everlasting memories. Knowledge was useless if it was impermanent- Kojol created many Rahi with incredibly long lifespans, beasts that could live for an eternity and retain all of their knowledge. It was Kojol who devised the clever Dermis Turtle, which utilized its memories of the local environment to hide. Many of his Rahi would be characterized in myths as wise, sentient beings that held hidden secrets to be carefully gleaned.

           Kojol wanted his Rahi to last, so amidst them having long lifespans, many were durable, while others required little sustenance and could enter long periods of hibernation. Some were adaptable, capable of being transplanted from one environment, to the next, and doing well there. If an environment was ravaged, Kojol’s Rahi would outlast the rest, oftentimes by simply packing things up and migrating to new lands to survive. There was even a species that would go out of its way to amass food and bury it in hidden locations to remember. Kojol prized the mind, intellect, and memory of his Rahi, and their ability to last… He was fond of a clever type of octopus that could figure out solutions and be creative. The Frost Beetles, rumored to be able to absorb knowledge from crystals, spawned from Kojol.

           Kojol didn’t just want his Rahi to retain information and discover it with curiosity- He wanted them to be creative, to be thinkers and problem-solvers in their own way, further lending to the adaptability of his species! The aforementioned Proto Drakes realized they could do away with parasites by hijacking molten furnaces and pits and bathing within them. One species of cephalopod was able to figure out how to undo its lock, and memorize the routines of a security guard in order to escape. Kojol loved puzzles, as did his Rahi- And his obsession with training the mind led to some species becoming sapient.

           This only inflated Kojol’s sense of importance even more, and he made it a point to be worshipped by his sapient species. Many of them regarded Kojol, and these incidents served as inspiration for other Makuta to be worshipped themselves… Many however became jealous of Kojol, which when combined with his rather uncooperative nature, gave him no shortage of enemies. When Miserix assigned Makuta across various regions, he sent Kojol on a search to decipher clues and mysteries, and pinpoint the location of Artakha- Kojol naturally succeeded, and made his passive, observational intents clear to Artakha.

          Artakha allowed Kojol to retain knowledge and oversight of his region, so long as he did nothing to disrupt things- All Kojol needed to do was ensure that Artakha wasn’t outright threatening the balance of the Matoran Universe, and they could each keep their secrets and allegiances. As a result of this deal, Kojol made it a point not to tell anyone else the location of Artakha, and while frustrated, Miserix allowed this because he knew of Artakha’s role and authority in the universe. Kojol ended up being the Brotherhood’s sole intermediary and messenger between Artakha and Destral, yet another accomplishment that filled Kojol with pride.

           Although Kojol promised to merely observe from a distance, inevitably he got closer and more curious, and sent in a few Spy Rahi or two. Artakha himself wanted to know more of the art of Rahi-making, and one day employed a few tips from Kojol in order to create his Crystal Serpents. They were a disaster, but this nevertheless laid the foundation for Kojol and Artakha to interact more, and for Kojol to get closer and closer to the builder’s secrets and workplace. Artakha even allowed the inclusion of a new species of Kojol’s bulls, named after the builder, into his own island! With the help of Spy Rahi, Kojol learned of the Avohkii’s creation, and Mata Nui’s wariness of the Makuta. It was Kojol who helped code the Makoki Stone, and decipher Mutran’s ramblings into a coherent message that revealed the truth of their universe.

           Kojol ended up betraying Artakha’s trust, although he justified it to himself as Artakha having betrayed the Makuta first, by creating the Mask of Light in the first place. Using his hidden knowledge of Artakha’s island, he led a successful raid to seize the Avohkii, and was able to navigate his strike force through the city thanks to his past memories and expeditions. During the raid, Kojol came across many more secrets of Artakha and hid them away as coded messages that required other coded messages to decipher the locations of. Kojol made it a point to keep many secrets to himself as leverage…

           After the raid, Artakha retaliated towards the betrayal. The Order of Mata Nui assassinated Kojol during a visit to Xia, leading to an investigation by Antroz over the incident. Ever since his untimely demise, various groups and factions have scrambled to find Kojol’s hidden caches, archives, and secrets scattered across the Matoran Universe, ranging from the Dark Hunters, to the Order of Mata Nui, to many of Kojol’s Makuta brethren themselves! Any Spy Rahi he had were killed by the Order of Mata Nui to keep them silent. Many of Kojol’s messengers that remained were hunted down and interrogated, to see if they could divulge any knowledge or messages that had been passed through- One beast was eventually inducted into the Dark Hunters and codenamed Minion.

           Kojol’s sapient rahi, some of them, mourned his death. Many of Kojol’s Rahi became targets of those after his secrets, as countless studied the creatures and their patterns in hopes of a clue. Kojol’s Blade Burrowers remained an enigma to some, and many wondered what he intended when he’d programmed them with their abilities. Some conspiracy theorists saw messages in the movements and migratory patterns of his creatures, and little quirks of communication that seemingly made no sense, but when combined with other species of Kojol, supposedly built up into one grand, hidden message. Kojol’s Rahi would sometimes be dissected to see if there was a hidden message programmed into their minds, or carved inside their very bodies. Some believed the chemical physiology of some creatures even hinted at the makeup of the viruses he’d devised to cast Mata Nui into an eternal slumber.

           It was not out of the question for many of Kojol’s Rahi to bear, knowingly or otherwise, clues and secrets that the Makuta had amassed over the years. It all felt like a riddle and a puzzle hunt deliberately set up by Kojol in case of his death- Many of his Rahi species changed their behavior to become far more elusive and solitary following his demise, as if they could sense it. Rumors to the extent of Kojol’s knowledge were abound, with some believing he had information privy to the Great Beings themselves, and Artakha remained eternally paranoid of any information that the Makuta had secretly discovered and hidden elsewhere.

          Some in the Order of Mata Nui regretted assassinating Kojol, instead of interrogating him- But to Helryx, some mysteries were better left unsolved, with secrets left lost to time. At the very least, she figured it’d be more trouble than it was worth to make Kojol confess what he knew, and decided it was for the best that nobody could access Kojol’s knowledge by killing the Makuta off entirely. Some things weren’t meant to be known… And the knowledge of Kojol’s hidden secrets out there, and things he somehow learned, remained a potential liability to be discovered by others. Kojol kept many secrets as a contingency plan, to ensure his survival as insurance- But in the end, it was this amassed knowledge that made him know too much, and led to his assassination. He had unknowingly guaranteed his own demise.

          Even so, Kojol’s secrets remained a lingering curse for everyone. There was the threat of those secrets being revealed to the public after Kojol’s death, as a spiteful message to the universe on his posthumous behalf towards those who’d killed him. There was always that dreadful feeling that Kojol had planned contingencies for his assassination, or even that his greatest secret –to some conspiracy theorists- was that he was still alive, this entire time! Everybody had considered killing Kojol back when he was alive, but when it finally happened, they all regretted it. Everyone knew that the issue of Kojol couldn’t just be solved with brute force by killing/torturing him... at least they were pretty sure it wouldn’t work that way. But Helryx took her chances and her gamble seemed to have paid off... so far.

[thessalian]

Molly!Warden vs Cultists In Their Natural Habitat

Eirik: Infidels! Die!

Molly: Hey, Wynne? Remember that spell you worked so hard to learn after the Circle Tower mess and everything?

Alistair: Waitwut.

Wynne: Yes. Yes I do.

Eirik: Waitwu--

Wynne: *initiates Mana Clash*

Eirik: *falls over*

Dragon Cultists: ...the FUCK?!?

Molly: *blades out* Okay, so who’s next?

Dragon Cultists: Permission to run, screaming, for our lives?

Molly: Will you tell us where Brother Genitivi is if we agree?

Dragon Cultists: ...probably still slightly more afraid of our gods than we are of you, so no.

Molly: Eh, never mind, I see that secret door in that wall anyway. In which case, permission denied.

Stabnation: *ensues*

(Later, behind a secret door...)

Genitivi: I am in significant pain and have broken ribs and things but I want to climb up a mountain with you to see the temple!

Molly: Aren’t those ribs going to end up poking into your lungs if you’re not careful?

Genitivi: Totally worth it!

Molly: Okay, fine, but if you die and end up making me do all the historical research and shit, I’m going to be pissed.

(One long climb later...)

Genitivi: Ow. Can’t really go any farther.

Molly: Wynne? What’s the statute of limitations for surfacers for a good solid “I told you so”?

Wynne: You are well within your rights.

Molly: Good. Because I used to hang out with Leske and with all his shenanigans, I became the fucking Paragon of “I told you so”.

Wynne: I imagine so did he.

Molly: He never hit Paragon level. Words? Not his strong suit. He couldn’t even come up with a decent rhyme for ‘caste’. Look, just ... doodle or write or whatever, stay warm, try not to die.

Alistair: We’re just going to leave him here? What if more cultists come?

Molly: They’ll be way too busy following the rivers of blood we fill this place with to worry about one guy.

Wynne: Charming.

Zevran: And oh-so-poetical!

(Much later...)

Alistair: Look. You opened a door, and that big ... horned ... thing came out and tried to gore us.

Molly: That was a bronto and you weren’t complaining about him when I served him for lunch.

Alistair: Waitwut?!?

Molly: You wanted another lunch of jerky and that bread that cracked one of Sten’s teeth?

Alistair: ...Point. Taken. Anyway, all the side doors we’ve opened have led to either more cultists, ash wraiths, or both. And now even the chests are getting into the act.

Zevran: At least, in the respect of ash wraiths. It would be difficult to fit enough people to truly inconvenience us in a chest.

Alistair: So ... just ... the first two chests just spat out wraiths. Could we ... just ... maybe ... skip the next couple?

Molly: Oh, it’s fine. How likely is it to happen again?

Chest: *spawns three ash wraiths once opened*

Wynne: You had to ask that question.

(An awful lot of drakes later...)

Kolgrim: Andraste is a dragon and she is to be worshipped!

Molly: Y’know, before I met Flemeth, I’d have said you were insane. Now, though, that just opens a lot of theological questions I don’t want to deal with right now.

Kolgrim: So you’ll mix dragon’s blood in the Ashes?

Molly: Okay, I’m not much of a ‘faith’ person, but the idea of having to put the blood of your god in the ashes of your god makes a gear in the logic centres of my brain go clunk in unpleasant ways and Wynne’s glaring at me so I’m going to go with ‘no’, and also ‘your pets tried to eat me and your people tried to stab me so fuck you’.

Kolgrim: They are not pets! They are children of my god!

Molly: Well, whatever they were, they’re going to be some spiffy damn armour for Zevran.

Zevran: Too kind; you have my thanks.

Kolgrim: They ... you ... what?

Molly: What, you thought this was just human blood we were covered in?

Kolgrim: *shrieking berserker rage*

Molly: Oh good; I was tired of theological debate with crazy.

(One rather short period of stabnation later...)

Molly: I must be getting inured to the surfacer life. Never thought I’d say I was glad to see open sky--

High Dragon: ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!

Molly: .........

Alistair: Molly. Molly, no.

Wynne: Arl Eamon’s life comes first. Slay it later, if you must.

Zevran: Oh, come now! She cannot really want to slay that thing! ...Can she?

Molly: All right, fine, we’ll get the Ashes first but then I’m coming back for this battle royale! If you can make good armour out of drake scales, imagine what we could make out of bits of her!

Zevran: While I did say that you are royally tough to kill, I ... did not mean to challenge the statement quite so much.

[equiuszahhak]

equiuszahhak D --> How do you think I'm... Doing D --> Apologies, that is broad, but it is a vast sentiment

@indulgentarcher D ==> I mean, ye got yeself some sweet quads, nice style, ye seem happy enough?

equiuszahhak D --> I suppose

indulgentarcher D ==> As happy as our line can be ha

equiuszahhak D --> Perhaps. I just feel - empty, Dilwyn

indulgentarcher D ==> Almost like the void is in your blood D ==> Have you tried tapping that?

equiuszahhak D --> The void? In some ways

indulgentarcher D ==> A hollowness that stems from stagnation can be quickly changed by tapping your called on aspect D ==> Do ye wish to learn how we used the void before that game came along?

equiuszahhak D --> Yes

indulgentarcher D ==> B)c D ==> Ye live in the bubbles aye?

equiuszahhak D --> Yes, and i have felt the void within them

indulgentarcher D ==> Hear it call ye. I will find you in a quiet place D ==> I shall meet ye there, your mind will guide you B*

equiuszahhak D --> Okay [ He... Does that? ]

indulgentarcher >> It's true. His mind would guide him via the STRONG pull of Dilwyn's mayjiks in the void. It leads Equius to a deep, dark forest with bioluminescent mushrooms as the only light. Faint whispering is all around them. >> And going fourth in the clearing, there he sits on a stump, looking old and serene in an actual wizard's robe, arcane runes printed in a shimmery silver around the sleeves. He stands with his very-suspiciously-staff-like "walking stick" with a clear magical gem on it, to his full 8' 5". "Hello little one, are ye ready to hear the void's whispering call?"

equiuszahhak Equius gasped, eyes wide. What in the fresh bubbly hell? He rubbed his eyes, before shaking his head as he looked around. The sight of Dilwyn was something else, and he didn't know how to react until spoken to. "Hn. Yes." He nodded, standing just above two feet shorter than the large troll. "I am ready."

indulgentarcher >> The old fart gave him a warm smile, holding out his hand to him. "Step one, let your guard down. It's the hardest step of all usually ..."

equiuszahhak That really was. Equius took a deep breath, before sighing. He'd tapped into the void a little at a time, but not in the way this man obviously had. Sure, his guard could be let down. He'd try. Without a word, he takes his hand.

indulgentarcher Dil hummed softly as he took his hand, giving him a firm but gentle squeeze. It was a grip only a Zahhak could appreciate.   "Just breathe." He coaxed as he let a low thrum of void energy start to flow from his fingertips into his descendant's. It flowed up, up, up like a cold stream of water in his veins that was definitely *weird* but not inherently painful. It spread up the side of him up to where his mind was, a whisper of "let me in" ringing quietly inside.

equiuszahhak Equius already closed eyes squinted, the cold a tingle that felt... Familiar. The echo in his mind headed, as he shivered, squeezing tighter to Dilwyn's hand. Something in him shifted, though he didn't know what, and an odd sense of calm washed over him. "And?" He asked, internally.

indulgentarcher "And hear us..." The whisper spoke louder. Suddenly the whispering wasn't alone, many voices all at once. Different times but all.... Soft... Nothing in common either. All was Eldritch. "Do you hear me?" A deep voice asked, cutting through the chattering. "Do you hear your ancestry?"

equiuszahhak Equius brows raised, as he felt in another world, in the darkness. Floating serene, like adrift at sea. "Yes."

indulgentarcher "Such a good listener!" "What a good boy!" "Yes yesss! Fresh in the blood!" Various voices whispered in pleased tones, "Have ye ever felt the tinge of grimmness touch your bones?"

equiuszahhak Equius' brows rose at the praise, somehow cute and disturbing at once. But he smiled, shaking his head. "I have not."

indulgentarcher "Do ye- Do ye want a taste? I refuse to turn ye. Just a dose...." Oh that deep, deep voice? That was Dilwyn. Jeeze. That was barely a trollish voice.

equiuszahhak Equius laughed in the face of all of that, nothing but entertained by Dilwyn's tone. This was probably the best person to do something like this with, he figured. "Yes." He finally said, a smile on his face

indulgentarcher Dil felt the joy radiate off him. Had.. had he finally found one of his bloodline who would walk this path with him? There was a flutter of unknowable joy and excitement in his stomach as his hopes raised juuust a bit. "U̷m̸b̵r̶e̸y̶t̷a̸ ̷í̶ ̷s̴k̷u̸g̶g̸a̴..." And with that, the transformation of grimdarkness would begin and those whispers where about to get a WHOLE lot louder.

equiuszahhak And they did. A wash, inundating and many. His pan was assaulted by the heady calls, mysterious ringings, and low tones of the darkness. Was this the void he'd but only glimpsed in his death? His skin tinted, his eyes darkened, and he fell to his knees.

indulgentarcher Dil weant down with him, still holding his hand firmly he swooped his tail around to offer more support to his back and carefully pulled him in close. He'd let him lean against him if he was willing. "Breathe. Breathe. Focus on me. Focus on what's outside your head now."

equiuszahhak Equius did, curling into the touch that was offered to him. He'd never felt so simultaneously in danger and safe. He pressed into Dilwyn, an aura over taking him, black eyes, a gurgle in his throat before coughing up salt water, brine. Focus, focus. Feel his warmth, listen to his voice.

indulgentarcher Dilwyn knew exactly what he was going through. He held him tight, very tight. "You are out here. Your body has to adjust. Your mind has to change with it. Tap me if it's too much, I promise it's fine."

equiuszahhak Equius nodded, not knowing where the FUCK the tentacle spilling from his mouth came from. He gagged on it, gripping into the ground, before a whole ass octopus bulged from his throat and onto the ground. His skin glowed a bit, though still dark. Deep breaths, deep breaths. The water dribbled from the side of his face, and he looked wrecked in general. Though it was starting to fade, and the voices, stronger, were becoming orderly. Looking up to Dilwyn, he offered a weak smile, staggering to stand up,

indulgentarcher Dilwyn hissed sympathetically when he finally coughed out the beast from his soul, taking care to now lift it up too in his tail to cradle it. It wasn't uncommon for a miniterror to spawn but he can't say he expected it THIS time in particular. He had a rough one. "Hey... Hey no. Stay down... Shhhh... Don't try to stand yet.'" he cooed, moving to scoop the octopi into his arms. "Congratulations! It's an abomination." He teased, hoping to ease some of the tension with humor.

equiuszahhak Equius wasn't very amused, leaning into Dil. What was the point of this? Oh, to connect with the ~void~. He coughed again, though when he tried to speak, nothing would some at first. He merely looked over the miniterror, wondering what it meant. Hopefully, the look on his face would earn an answer.

indulgentarcher Dil let out a soft chuckle, "Don't worry ain't serious. Sometimes when ye first connect ye have one of these inside ye forever. Sometimes ye cough em up. It's a 50/50 chance really. Behold the birth of a minor horror terror, whom I shall now release to it's natural habitat *promptly.* " He explained before opening up a raw portal into the void, sliding the baby in and closing it right back up. "How ye feelin' love?"

equiuszahhak Equius nodded, and tried to speak again. This time, warbled, but surely Dil wound understand. "I feel strange. Though - Like my consciousness is expanding. Dissociative, yet present more than I have my entire existence."

indulgentarcher "Welcome to seeing the bigger picture. The terrors welcome you, child of my blood, child of the void." He cooed, his hand reaching up to both cup his cheek and brush the hair clinging away from it. "They want to teach you so many things. I do as well.... How to transport objects, beings and souls through the void. How to sense another user. How to speak festertounges.... How to slip your consciousness between existence and non-existence casually... There are so many things hidden in your mind. I am very excited to teach you if you'll let me."

equiuszahhak Equius leaned into the touch, intimate and reassuring. He nodded, silent, and closed his eyes. "Please teach me."

indulgentarcher "wonderful..... Ah- we could start by simple object displacement. I will warn ye there's still a chance of this form getting too much as you explore your power. Do tell me, because I know this form can be very hard on the newly awakened..." He cooed, thumbing his face so gently. He would take Precautions damnit. "... Ah but, before displacement actually ... First let's try this. Hold your hand out... Try to manifest a little blob of the void in your palm...." He coaxed, doing just that. A stable, swirling little blob of void hanging just above his palm.

equiuszahhak Equius squinted at the warbling mass, before nodding. He took a breath, steadying himself on his knees. He... thinks about it? Channels it?

It isn't immediate, but a tadpole-esque shape swims to life in his hand, circular. It flattens itself out over time, hazy at the edges and pitch black, looking almost like portal than what Dil had. "Is - is this it?"

equiuszahhak "What it should be?"

indulgentarcher He chuckled, shaking his head. "it doesn't have to be anything exactly. Just a form. Ye've done it here! Ye did very well for the first go too!" He chimed, tail thumping- oh yes. His tail wagged like a dog's. "When ye get more practice ye can do things like this...." He mused as he made the voidy blob in a ball that he played with almost like a waterbender as he swirling it in the air around his hands, keeping the shape ever moving like water. "You are learning to control chaos by giving it order."

equiuszahhak That... sounded lovely. Equius felt like he'd been trying to go that his whole live, unlife. Give order to things that didn't want it, control things that didn't need controlling safe for himself. But this... Yes, this was something he could do. By now, the form vanished from his hand. It took some energy, for sure. "You are right, this is tiring. One more time." He nodded, trying to bring the mass back. This time it sputtered like inverse fire flies, flitting around his hand,  dissipating. He slumps, breathing hard, tapping Di's leg. "I think I am spent."

indulgentarcher Dil chuckled softly, putting his hands on both of his cheeks and whispering, "V̵e̷r̸ð̷a̸ ̷h̷o̶l̴d̴ ̴a̸f̵t̴u̸r̷" The process in reverse was still a bit tiring but significantly less shitty. "Ye eat meat little one?"

equiuszahhak He shook his head, "I do not." Letting all his weight fall into the hands that held his face, exhausted and drained. It was like he couldn't move at all, not that he wanted to try anyway.

indulgentarcher What was it with his descendant's and not eating meat??? Damn herbivores. More for him. "I got granola in my syladex then, here...." He told him, plopping a clearly meant for children granola in his hand-" ah wait that's.... Uh. That's my kids snack ones.... Hold on hold on....." Watch this old man flip through the most cluttered syladex you'll ever see. Oh look adult food. "Ok here." There we go, adult troll sized Granola bar. With chocolate chips of course. "Ye need to eat something trust me."

equiuszahhak Equius laughed weakly at that, languid as he settled into the ground, opening the *correct* granola bar. "Thank you." He huffed, taking it in small bites. "How... Often do you think this will happen?" He shuddered at the thought of another venture, but hoped that another little beast wouldn't fall out of him. Oh, that was weird.

indulgentarcher "Mmm, as often as ye want it to. We can make it into a weekly training session if ye like? It gets easier with practice." He noted, scrolling back to pull out some jerky. Snap, snarfle, crunch the old man was DEFINITELY less civil than most folks.

equiuszahhak Equius didn't mind, not as much as he would have used to. Dil had certainly proved himself a force to recon with. Finishing his bar, sprawled on the ground, Equius didn't see why the fuck not. "Okay."

indulgentarcher "Wonderful!.... What the fuck day is it?? ....ahhhh... Oh! It's Wednesday, apparently. How about every Wednesday then ah? We can play by ear for the time I guess." He suggested, laying down right next to him. "Ye did really well this time little one. Ye show great promise."

equiuszahhak Equius nodded, burping as the last of the salt water in his system dribbled down his cheek. How embarrassing... "I am... Glad you think so." A pause, as he closed his eyes, fingers laced over his chest. "I believe it would be good to practice, yes." So he didn't end up on the ground like this every time

[ask-the-clergy-bc]

Ghoul Headcanons - Elements, Sub Types, and Tribes List

(Taking a break from my requests to write some world building. <3 A lot of this is inspired and collaborated with my friends. A big shout out to @knoife-ghoul and @blacklight-ghoulette for writing with, putting up with, and sharing with me. <3 A lot of inspiration has come from collaborations for personal works. But this is a refined version of my personal takes on the concepts.

Definitely check out these two for some awesome ghoul fics! their work is impeccable!! Thanks for creating with my ya’ll <3

Quick note: I might add to this in the future should more types come up!)

Ghoul Elements and Tribes 

The ghouls are an elementally imbued species split into five main elements, as illustrated by the band.

Fire, Air, Quintessence, Water, and Earth. Fire and Aether being the most powerful. 

Though a lot of the elements can be broken up into tribes or packs. Even two tribes of the same element might not HAVE the same exact powers. Tribes can be broken up by either power type or geographical location. Because ghouls have existed for so long, many have adapted to their specific environment. It’s probably impossible to map out EVERY single individual tribe or clan of ghoul, but here are some all encompassing categories.  

Fire - Funnily enough the least varied yet powerful group of ghouls. They mostly all live in Volcanic or high flammable areas of Hell. So their tribes are broken down into individual family clans and power strengths. They aren’t known to have particular ‘sub types’. But tribe independence is fiercely guarded. 

“Metal” ghouls - Fire ghouls that have taken to smithing and jewelry. Are known to be excellent crafters. They convert their element to make something useful. They boast the ability to harness raw volcanic material. These tribes tend to be more mountainous or dwell in deeper caves under ground. 

“Dragon” ghouls - not their own subtype or anything, but considered naturally the most powerful of fire types. These are just kin related tribes that take more dragon like features. Typically with hard scales, bigger horns, and thicker tails. Usually thought to be the direct descendants of Hell’s first fire ghouls. 

Air - besides the Aether tribes, not a lot is known about Air ghouls. Mainly because they are very secluded and stay to themselves. The fun fact of Air ghouls is that they tend to take on the most attributes to their environment. They often combine their natural powers with their habitat to create new magic. 

Storm Ghouls - The most dangerous type of Air ghoul. Through magic they have learned to control the weather around them. These types usually dwell in higher grounds. Be it mountains, hilled areas, or even high cliffs near the ocean. You can usually spot Storm ghoul territory by a sudden, violent change in weather. Some humans have speculated there might even be a collaboration between air and water elements to have spawned this tribe. 

Wind Ghouls - Considered the most common and aloof. Very hard to spot. It was thought that at one point these ghouls might have had wings or the gift of flight. Their tribes are often small and nomadic- to avoid interaction outside of their kin.  

Water - Water ghouls don’t vary in much of locations, but they do display a wide variety of physical appearances! Like fish, they often come in many scale and gill styles. The two main offsets of water ghouls are like, again, fish. You will typically have salt water and ocean water ghouls. 

Ocean ghouls - The original type of water ghouls, as birthed in Hell’s oceans. Known to have sharper teeth, bigger claws, and bigger scaled hides. Their water magic is more destructive and can even be weather based. 

DEEP ocean ghouls - Thought to be long died out. Considered the fore-bearers of the water tribes. Some of the oldest type of ghoul to have ever been spawned in Hell. If they still exist, no one sees them. They look very fierce and predatory compared to a common ghoul from these days. From what tribes have said, they are the only type to completely be able to live without going on land. 

River ghouls - The most common type of water ghoul currently. They are considered more docile than most, but don’t let that fool you. Their water magic is both powerful and the only element to heal that isn’t Aether based. Emotion tuned, sensitive, but ready to drown prey at a moments notice. Some ‘river’ fresh water ghouls will even have an entire lake claimed by one tribe. You will see more color in freshwater ghouls and finer scales with smaller gills and fins. 

Swamp/Marsh ghouls - (blow kisses for Blacklight Ghoulette, cause she made this a thing and it’s perfect). Ghouls, like any species, learn to adapt. And these ghouls are just as rare as their old ocean counter parts. They have developed more than just gills, but claws and rough hides. Think gators. Save these ones are way more territorial. Despite being powerfully built, they don’t use their elemental powers as often as their other kin.

Earth - The easiest of the tribes to differentiate. Mainly because they have become the most adapted to their individual environments and display as such. Earth ghouls like to mark their tribe by these locations and areas in Hell they call home. 

Plain Ghouls - Considered the ‘Original’ type of Earth ghouls. Common tribal powers encompass both plant and earth based magics. They are the most encountered of the Earth tribes and have a vast area they dwell in. Not very nomadic by nature. 

Stone (or Mountain) Ghouls - Ghouls that have migrated into either mountainous terrain or mining areas. They are known for their more rock based use of the element. Also known gem experts and are uncharacteristically tall for Earth ghouls. 

Forest Ghouls - Ghouls that dwell in the forests of hell. Marked by their elemental talents in growing plants and over all having a green thumb. 

Aether - These ghouls are incredibly hard to find in the wild, and not much is known about them. It is thought that these were the very first of the elements and first ghouls to be raised in Hell. All elements are thought to come from the earliest aether ghouls. Since this was so incomprehensibly long ago, only Satan himself could confirm it. Tribes are also very small and tend to be individual clans. All ghouls of this ilk do share the same powers. But certain ‘types’ show more talent or skill in the same tribe. 

Fortune Ghouls - Aether ghouls that are gifted in fortune telling and predictions. They have the most supernatural sense out of all. It is especially amplified in the human world. 

Empath or Aura Ghouls - The ghoul tribes who are thought to be able to read minds. Truthfully, their Aether abilities let them understand the world around them. Gifting them with the ability to ‘read’ any living being and understanding it’s nature. They tend to be able to know you better than yourself before even meeting you! 

Quintessence ghouls - Those who can manipulate the fabric of the universe around them. These are your teleporters and those who create and destroy matter. They are an exceptionally rare breed to come by, due to their powers. (Omega himself is rumored to hail from this tribe). 

Mind benders - Ghouls from this tribe are reported to be able to penetrate the mind and manipulate with great ease. These include memory wiping, memory viewing, or even mind control (should said ghoul be exceptionally powerful). 

Shape shifters - there is much debate if these ghouls even exist, even among other ghouls! It is thought that this long dead clan managed to bend the aether to nearly impossbile, demonic lengths. A demon kin skill that no ghoul should be able to master. The ability to change their shape to such an extent where no glamour is required. If the Clergy is to be believed, only one ghoul like this exists...

[whatiflifesnolongerforlivin-blog]

What if life is no longer for living?

The notion of death being a cruel, evil aspect of life is outdated. It's a point of view that is fear-fueled, but also a point of view that is culturally enforced. All theologies and cultures have a solution for death, either in the form of a better divine place, or a cruel punishment. These points of view are enforced on life and restrict people. The greek philosopher Epicurus stated:

'So death, the most terrifying of ills, is nothing to us, since so long as we exist, death is not with us; but when death comes, then we do not exist. It does not then concern either the living or the dead, since for the former, it is not, and the latter are no more.'

This goes into the idea of death being of importance to the individual. Death on an individual and personal basis should be meaningless, because when we do face it, we would not be here to realize it. This strain of thought would ideally give sight into new-formed thoughts on death. It helps us to shift our attention to death in relation to other aspects. For example death in relation to nature and our environment, which of course does hold great value to us as humans.

So life and death in nature (which humans obviously belong to as well) is a different aspect. Mainly because it is seperate from societal and theological values. It simply is the quite literal interpretation of these aspects. Death is decay and the passing of, and life is birth and the process of life forming. Life however does have multiple meanings, which could refer to either the span of a lifetime, or the earlier mentioned birth and the process of life forming. In this duality of life and death, life is obviously defined by the latter.

Nature however is an aspect that does very much thrive on death. From a biological standpoint it is simply necessary that things decay and break down over time, albeit a flower or a corpse. Death is necessary for the continuation of the eco-system and without it life would become an overbearing presence and burden to this earth. Human life in particular is already an overbearing burden to the earth. And with the destruction of eco-systems, habitats and the reduction of bio-diversity we are already testing the limits of this earth.

Therefore it is important to note that destruction and death are not the same thing. Destruction can lead to death, but destruction goes beyond the passing of a subject. Destruction reduces subjects to waste, a barely usable thing (at least for nature). For example a forest fire reduces the trees, animals and vegetation into ash, burnt wood or smoldering corpses. Do they possess the trait to still give back to the eco-system? Yes, but in a way that is significantly smaller than a natural cycle of the eco-system. Through destruction things would go back to a smaller scale and restoration or regrowth of this hypothetical forest is still questionable.

From a theological point of view death mainly focuses on what is after life or your actions during life. It barely touches on it's dynamic with life, it simply chooses to ignore it. Death in theology is incredibly human-centered, and it's a rare sight to see a religion go into depth about the relation of death in regards to other aspects. Greek mythology however does go into depth about this dynamic.  

The myth of Persephone and Demeter for example doesn't go into depth about death in relation to humans. It does however explain death in nature and why it occurs. Being that the goddess Demeter misses her beloved daughter Persephone so much that her grief causes the earth to go into a state of decay. Plants wither away, sunlight hides behind rain-loaden clouds and warmth is replaced by cold. All of this happens until Persephone returns and the cold is once again exchanged for warmth, which happens bi-annualy.

This myth also plays into the idea of nature being guided by a divine force and her willingness to play along. Which is quite interesting since humans are generally speaking not particularly willing to depart from life. This brings up an interesting question, which is: is nature just a marionet to the gods needs or is nature divinely aligned? In Greek mythology we of course have Gaia, the earth mother. But Gaia does not play her part in the decay of nature, since this is Demeter's doing. Gaia can however be held accountable for the beauty of flowers, but yet again this is a feat also belonging to Venus and other gods and goddesses. This unshackles nature from our perception of being a divine entity. Gaia may be the embodiment of plants and flowers, but parts of her do wither away. Her divinity does not influence nature and therefore nature exists on the same plane as humans do. This assumption redefines nature in relation to Gaia, as her being the creator but not the one who spawns nature. She is engrained in every flower, but she does not exist in them.

[ravnica-rpg-resource]

The Owlbear in Ravnica

Man is there a monster more classic than the owlbear?......... well Beholder, don't worry we'll get to them eventually.......but the owlbear! there is just something iconic about it that feels right, equal parts menacing and ridiculous! Let's talk about how you can put this adorably ferocious monstrosity into your Ravnica game!

The monster?

You can find the owlbear on page 249 of the fifth edition monster manual, but there first appearance in Dungeons & Dragons was in the greyhawk supplement for first edition D&D by Gary gygax himself!

Owlbears are described the as a massive bear standing at least 8 feet tall if not taller, in addition to the fur that coats there body they also have patches of feathers especially on their arms and Paws. Instead of the head of a bear they have the distinct face of an owl with piercing frontward facing eyes and a razor sharp beak! 

These creatures are known to be aggressive, attacking anything that could be considered large enough to be a meal! Their preferred method of attack is to get their opponent into a bear hug and then tear them apart with their beak while in the embrace. Family units usually contain a mated pair, they raise their offspring until they are old enough to take care of themselves. Habitats are usually caves or other locations for a den such as dungeons or abandoned man-made structures.

The fun part about owlbears is that no one knows where they come from..... but everyone has their own story. Some will claim that owlbears are the result of a Mad Wizards experimentation, some claim that they are The Offspring of some strange forgotten Forest God,  the dwarves tell scary stories of how a ancient group of dwarves got lost in the forest and were transformed into owlbears, but if you ask the elves they will tell you that they were brought over from the feywild of course. With so many conflicting answers and almost no proof any of these could be true......or all of them.

What colors would an Owlbear be?

I firmly believe that if they were to ever print an owl their card in Magic the Gathering it would be a green creature with trample!

they thrive in Woodland environments and seem to fit into nature quite well. as far as secondary colors? The red seems to fit the most, but depending on the backstory you want to go with any color works. If they are faithful guardians of nature perhaps give them a little white, scavengers and cruel opportunist hunters sounds black to me, adaptive experiments that got loose? make them simic! The owl bear can fit in any green aligned Guild!

How to fit an Owlbear into the lore?

I think the most important thing to keep when moving owlbears to Ravnica is the mystery of their origin. Make it fun! A mistake of polymorph magic that only got half of the transformation correct, a result of what happens when an two creatures enter one of the Cities more active leylines, or maybe a joke gone horribly wrong. Perhaps people claim that owlbears have always been around since before the signing of the guildpact!

I suggest having both wild and domesticated owlbears. Wild owlbear tend to stay on gruul turf and other abandoned parts of the city including the undercity and Wildlife Reserves. They make their home in abandoned buildings and hunt anything that wanders into their territory being one of the alpha predators of their food chains. Wild owl bears would be known for their ferocity and feared by those who find themselves all these outskirts of civilization in the city.

On the other hand due to their adorable nature I imagine “trained” owlbears would be a popular pet option. I imagine most people buy them for their children when the creatures are small and especially adorable not expecting them to grow into large lumbering beasts, this has resulted in many abandoned owlbears in highly residential areas. Abandoned owlbears turn to Scavenging through rubbish bins until large enough to cause issues usually resulting violent incidents and the Boros Legion being called. Those who properly train their owlbears find out that the creatures make excellent Guardians and beasts of Burden.

The Owlbear and the guilds?

In this part of the post I'm going to focus on the green Guilds of Ravnica since that's their main color, but just because the Guild does not have green and its color alignment does not mean that they can't have owlbears! Imagine a very successful azorius judge with a pet owlbear, or a member of the boros legion with a trained guard owlbear, if you want a ring of rakdos to do Pit fighting perhaps one of the Monsters they're holding to attack combatants is a hunger owlbear! But let's get on with the Green Guilds!

Gruul Clans

The gruul are the premier beastmasters of ravnica! they don't tame their Animal Companions they let them Thrive as they were meant to as primal and Savage as nature would allow. The Gruul would look at the owlbear as a representation of two of Nature's greatest Hunters the bear and the owl. The gruul would tell stories of how the owlbear is a relic from the old world a sister Spirit to the Raze-boar’s offspring that should be respected.

The subgroup of the Gruul the Zhur-Taa clan would train these savage beast as hunting companions, having ones skull on your outfit would be a sign that you were a great warrior. Perhaps a coming of age ritual of the Gruul could be going off to find a lair of a owlbear and bringing something back the bigger the trophy the more respect it brings. The trophy can be anything such as the bones from the owlbear’s last meal, the head of the Beast itself which you fought and killed or the owlbear accompanying you as a companion whom you would gain the respect of!

Selesnya Conclave

The selesnya tell a story about the origins of the owlbear, in their story the creator of these beasts was Mat'Selesnya herself. Back just after the signing of the guildpact when the world tree was still just a sapling Mat'Selesnya created them for her domain. noble sage like beasts to protect The Guild these were the first owlbears, These stories say that these owlbears were sentient druids who knew the old ways of nature magic. Their offspring unfortunately we're not intelligent, all owl bears are descended from these progenitors it is said.

No matter if the story is true the selesnya hold the owlbear in high regard, it is not uncommon for one to be allowed to inhabit a selesnya gardens or sanctuaries if one does it is treated as a member of the conclave. It is not a uncommon sight to see a selesnya trained battle owlbear covered in armor, they fight beside a bonded selesnya Warrior for the honor of the conclave.

Simic Combine

Many trace the origin of the owlbear back to an experiment before the dissension that shatter the guildpact by the original Simic. The experiment in question case file 0-l7w, its original  purpose was to create a more sturdy, strong, but intelligent Beast of Burden for the merchant District. There seems to have been an accident and when simic guards were able to reach the laboratory it had already been torn apart, scientists have been viciously attacked and the experiment was nowhere to be found.

Some people point to a rare deformity that occasionally appears on owlbear hide when trying to connect the owlbear to the simic, this deformity looks like a patch of scales like that of fish and lizards. many members of the combine claim that this is a result of the current experiments that they do on owlbear and cite the lack of evidence that they are responsible for the creatures creation. Responsible or not the simic view the owlbear as an interesting creature and research it in hopes of using it to help create better krasis.

Golgari Swarm

On The Fringe of civilization where the city meets the undercity many owlbears have adapted to life as scavengers eating both meat and fungus. The Golgari view these creatures as nothing more than a part of the circle of life and while the creatures are living pay them little heed other than as another scavenger that lurks The Rot Farms. Occasionally a particularly aggressive owlbear has to be dealt with by the swarm, but it is not until an owl joins the Rot that the Golgari truly welcomes them to the Swarm.

Undead owlbear make for excellent guards for the rot Farms, they're large foreboding frame keeps away those who would want to steal from the Swarm. Even though dead their Brute Force remains making them excellent Beast of Burden in their reanimated state. As the Swarm does not actively raise owlbears the reanimated ones are either those who passed away of natural causes or those killed in conflict with the Swarm.

The way I plan on using them!

Let's review what we just talked about and put it together in a coherent little text blurb. Owlbear away!

“The owl bear is an aggressive predator that lurks on the outskirts of the city and the undercity places where civilization has a hard time taking a foothold. They are massive creatures standing 8 feet tall, but record show that can get much more larger. Owlbears have large Bear like bodies with the heads and talons of owls. this creatures preferred manner of attack is holding down its opponents in a form of bear hug and then using their sharp beaks to rip away at their prey. Owlbear territories are usually defended by a mated pair and will consume anything larger than a mouse.

The origin of the owl there perhaps just as odd as the creature itself as no one quite agree where they came from. Stories of a failed simic experiment are sometimes told, while others claim them to be manifestations of the ancient spirits of Ravnica long forgotten when the city was built. Some popular explanations are as follows, an izzet teleportation experiment gone horribly horribly wrong, creations of some powerful entity(some say the Nephilim others Mat’Selesnya and still others spawn of Utmungr the raze boar) as Protectors of nature and others claim that they existed long before the city was built. It is a common game for young children to try to tell the best story about the origin of owlbears whoever can tell the best most Outlandish story wins!

It's a recent trend that owlbear cubs have become highly sought-after pets. The adorable Cubs are usually bought when they're still small and manageable by owners that do not expect them grow as quickly or as large as they eventually do. An owlbear when trained properly make for excellent guards and loyal family pets, but due to their size food and upkeep can be rather expensive for these creatures. Unfortunately many owlbears are abandoned by their owners when they become to unwieldy to keep as house pets, many of these owners simply kick these creatures to the streets where they have to fend for themselves as scavengers eating the garbage of highly populated areas. it is unfortunate truth that I released owlbears are more likely to attack humans than a wild owlbears due to desperation for food. The Boros have teamed up with the selesnya in hopes of catching strays before it becomes too late, under the care of the selesnya they are taken care of and trained to be guard animals or simply released back into the wild where these majestic creatures belong.”

Thanks for reading this was a fun one! On Saturday I'm going to post a review of the week and quick links to all of my articles. As always if there is a creature from the monster manual that you want to see fit into Ravnica or a card from the magic the Gathering game from a ravnica set find a stat black message me and I'll see what I can do.

[retrogameessays]

Living the Life of a Horror Hero in Zombies Ate My Neighbors

25 Years Later, Zombies Ate My Neighbors still provides a unique take on horror

LucasArts, founded as Lucasfilm Games in 1982, didn't make its first Star Wars game until Star Wars for the NES in February of 1991. The primary reason for the delay was that the Star Wars brand had been licensed to other development companies (Atari had the rights to Star Wars in 1982). The more romantic perspective is that George Lucas didn't want his company to just make games based on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones properties, but to make more ambitious, technologically advanced works. The early efforts of Lucasfilm Games support this point of view. Habitat, in particular, was released in 1986 and was a way-ahead-of-its-time, graphical, massively-multiplayer online game, that allowed for customization of player avatars, bartering for resources, marriage, and even player-versus-player violence. Either way, the fact that Lucasfilm Games was unable to make Star Wars titles opened the door for the slew of critically-acclaimed adventure games the company became known for. In his keynote speech at Pax Australia 2013, Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert said that, “Had we been able to make Star Wars games, I’m sure that’s all we would have made. Not being able to make those games creatively freed us in ways I don’t think we understood at the time. Without that freedom, there would be no Maniac Mansion, or Grim Fandango, or Monkey Island, or Loom.”

Zombies Ate My Neighbors for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis is very much cut from the same creative cloth as those titles, and yet serves as proof that adventure games were not necessarily the mandate at LucasArts. It's difficult to even say exactly what kind of game Zombies is. It's a top-down, free-scrolling shooter wherein the player must rescue at least one and as many as ten “neighbors” per level from (usually) infinitely spawning monsters. If a monster touches a neighbor before the player does, the neighbor dies. As with a player's lives, the number of neighbors saved carries over to the next level. If the player runs out of lives or neighbors, the game is over. Zombies is similar to Gauntlet in that it's an action game with maze-like level layouts, but also contains shades of Defender in that it's a shooter that requires the player to save victims while defending themselves against an endless onslaught of monsters.

I find your lack of panic disturbing

The game that specifically inspired Zombies Ate My Neighbors' creator, Michael Ebert, was an obscure arcade title named Kyros from Alpha Denshi Corp (better known as ADK and for their collaborations with SNK). Kyros is a top-down, vertically scrolling arcade brawler in which the player must fight through endlessly spawning hordes of monsters to reach the top of a haunted mansion. The visual resemblance is striking; both games use the same perspective and contrast a horror-movie theme with a bright color palette. The gameplay differs greatly in that Kyros is a fairly straightforward brawler while Zombies is a shooter with victims to rescue, but both games include power-ups to augment the player's abilities and fast-paced, relentless action.

In addition to being influenced by Kyros, Ebert told Gamasutra in 2007 that Robotron and Smash TV, which were also arcade titles, were two of his favorite games. The influence of these two games may not be as direct, but both were critically-acclaimed shooters and Robotron included saving humans as a play-mechanic. Action games dominated arcades in the late eighties, so it was only natural that as consoles began to take off in the early nineties, game designers like Ebert would try to replicate those experiences for the home market.

The influence of these arcade games is evident not only in Zombies Ate My Neighbors' play mechanics, but in the game's difficulty. Most monsters spawn indefinitely and randomly, making it virtually impossible to get through any one level unscathed. Enemies will occasionally even spawn near a neighbor that the player cannot reach, making them impossible to save. In arcade games, intentionally random design conventions are meant to coax more quarters out of patrons, but without some way to balance out the randomness, they can be frustrating for console gamers who have already invested 200 or more quarters in buying a game at retail price.

Zombies' designers balanced the game's difficulty by using another relic of arcade games, the player's score. For every 40,000 points scored, the player gets another neighbor to replace any that have been lost, and if the player already has the maximum of 10 neighbors, they receive an extra life. The concept of a score had become less relevant in console games of the time because beating the game had become the point of playing rather than earning a high-score. Zombies brilliantly takes a somewhat outdated concept and makes it relevant again by weaving it into the fiber of the game's design, and in doing so created a risk-reward cycle that adds depth. Exploring every corner of a level can yield bonus point pick-ups and more ammo, but at the risk of taking too much damage or wasting too much ammo in defense.

While the arcade influence is somewhat subtle, the influence of classic horror movies is overt. Every bit of the game's visuals and audio pay homage to horror. Level titles are often parodies of classic horror titles (“Evening of the Undead” vs. Night of the Living Dead), enemies include both classic Universal Pictures monsters and more modern frights (ax-throwing dolls reminiscent of Child's Play and a chainsaw-wielding maniac that combines Leatherface with Jason Vorhees' hockey mask), and the music uses surf guitar and howling theremin samples to evoke a spooky-sixties atmosphere. (Incidentally, if there is a connection between Star Wars and Zombies, it's that Peter Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars, appeared in a number of the British Hammer Horror Films.)

More childhood nostalgia: mowing the lawn

The combination of Ebert's nostalgia for eighties arcade games and horror films create a uniquely terrifying experience. The aforementioned difficulty in saving all the neighbors is part of the game's horror atmosphere. There should be a sense of anxiety and loss because that is indeed what happens in a horror movie; people die. Victims are even assigned point values based (subjectively) on how likely a movie-going audience would be to sympathize with their death. Cheerleaders, babies, and dogs are at the top of the list, while men and schoolteachers are at the bottom. In Zombies Ate My Neighbors, the player becomes the protagonist of a horror film. Monsters appear from unexpected places, weapons are fashioned from household items, and sometimes a victim just can't be saved.

George Lucas has always had a talent for creating experiences that connect with people and capture their imaginations, often by riffing on the films and shows that captured his own imagination in the past. Whether it was by his influence or coincidence (or perhaps a bit of both) the game studio that he founded has had a similar knack for capturing gamers' imaginations. If there is a connection between Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Lucas' two most famous franchises, its that they were all born of their creators' nostalgia. In the same way that Star Wars was Lucas doing Flash Gordon and Indiana Jones was Lucas and Spielberg modernizing the movie serials of the '30s and 40's, Zombies was Mike Ebert combining his love for arcade brawlers and shooters of the '80s with horror film nostalgia. It is a testament to the importance of history and shared experiences in pop culture. Someone who plays Zombies may not have the same affection that Mike Ebert has for horror films and eighties arcade games (and almost certainly has not played Kyros), but Ebert's experiences, like Lucas' love for Flash Gordon, are passed along through his art.

Sources:

Kalata, Kurt (October 19, 2012) Kyros/Desolator/Kyros no Yakata. Retrieved from https://hg101.kontek.net/kyros/kyros.htm

Kuchera, Ben (July 19, 2013) Adventure Games Took Off Because Ron Gilbert Couldn't Make Star Wars Games. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20130721093143/http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/article/ron-gilbert-was-saved-because-he-couldnt-make-star-wars-games

Szczepaniak, John and Derboo, Sam (October 19, 2012) Zombies Ate My Neighbors Legacy. Retrieved from https://hg101.kontek.net/zamn/zamn1.htm

Wallis, Alistair (January 11, 2007) Playing Catch Up: Zombies Ate My Neighbors' Mike Ebert. Retrieved from http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12360

[covid19worldnews]

Health Officials Report 23 New Cases Of COVID-19

Vermont reporters provide a roundup of top news takeaways about the coronavirus, the Nov. 3 General Election and more for Monday, Nov. 2.

Want VPR’s daily news in podcast form? Get up to speed in under 20 minutes with The Frequency every weekday morning. How about an email newsletter? Add our daily email briefing to your morning routine.

The latest coronavirus data:

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More From VPR: A Guide To Voting In Vermont For The 2020 General Election

1. 23 new cases of COVID-19

The Vermont Department of Health reported 23 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. According to the data from the department, the state identified 123 new cases in Chittenden County over the last 14 days. Of the new cases reported Monday, 19 are in Chittenden County. Cases were also identified in Essex, Windham and Orleans counties.

Over the weekend, Vermont added more than 50 new COVID-19 cases. The Health Department tracked 14 cases Friday, another 24 on Saturday and 17 on Sunday.

Chittenden County saw 23 of those new cases, while eight other counties saw cases rise in the single digits. The county surpassed 1,000 total cases this weekend, and now has more than 100 active cases.

There are currently three people hospitalized in intensive care units in Vermont, and one person is hospitalized under investigation.

The seven-day average percent positivity rate is 0.5% statewide. The health department is currently monitoring 151 people as close contacts of confirmed cases.

– Abagael Giles and Matthew Smith

UVM Health Network still under cyberattack

The University of Vermont Health Network continues to respond to a cyberattack reported last week.

The UVM medical center in Burlington was most affected by the attack, which was carried out by Russian hackers, according to national reports.

Scheduling and record systems were compromised, and COVID-19 test results were also delayed.

Services at network’s the six hospitals remain available. But appointments at UVM Medical Center are still impacted, and the health network is encouraging patients to double-check appointments with their providers this week.

President and Chief Operating Officer of UVM Medical Center Stephen Leffler told Vermont Edition on Monday they were able to perform about 50% of their normal operations last Friday.

We did about 50% of our normal operations and procedures again today. Every single day at noon, we have our clinical leaders from surgery, anesthesia, nursing and the laboratory, pathology, coming together to figure out what care needs to be delivered tomorrow and can we do it safely,” he said.

Leffler said the medical center is now accepting all critical traumas, heart attacks, strokes and sick children. UVM’s partner hospitals and medical centers have taken in some of the less critical patients.

Read the full story, here. – Anna Van Dine

2. 63 cases now connected to outbreak at St. Michael’s College

The COVID-19 outbreak at St. Michael’s College has increased from 41 to 63 cases since Friday. The outbreak has been linked to the hockey and broomball outbreak in central Vermont.

Deputy Health Commissioner Tracy Dolan told Vermont Edition that, so far, most of the people involved in the outbreak have been compliant.

“We’re continuing to work on it. We are past the point where it’s just contacts, we are seeing some tertiary infection, as well as it has spread into other populations,” Dolan said.

Dolan said Vermonters must quarantine after traveling and keep social circles small to prevent outbreaks like this from occurring, especially in the colder months.

Listen to the full conversation.

– Emily Aiken

3. Ongoing legal challenges threaten Green River Reservoir

A small Vermont utility has asked federal regulators to reject a state permit for the Green River dam and reservoir.

Morrisville Water and Light controls the dam that created the 650-acre reservoir in Hyde Park. The site now includes a popular state park.

For years, the state Agency of Natural Resources has pressured the utility to limit how much water it takes from the reservoir in winter. The state set new operating conditions on the dam to protect the shoreline habitat, where fish feed and spawn.

Morrisville lost a series of legal challenges in Vermont courts. Now it has asked federal regulators to intervene.

Penny Jones is the utility’s general manager. She says the utility may tear down the dam and drain the reservoir unless it gets the feds to overturn the state’s environmental restrictions.

“We’re hoping that if that waiver petition is successful, that we will be able to continue to operate the Green River Reservoir Dam, as we have for years,” Jones said.

A federal agency is expected to rule on Morrisville’s petition by the end of the year.

Read or listen to the full story.

– John Dillon

4. 75% of the state employees to stay remote through March

The Scott Administration says thousands of state employees who have been working from home because of the pandemic will continue to do so until at least the end of March.

Administration Secretary Susanne Young said the decision will affect roughly 75% of the state’s workforce in Montpelier.

Young says the Administration had hoped to bring a number of state employees back to their offices by the end of year but she says that timeframe has now been extended.

“Flu and cold season is here and we’re all moving indoors and it just makes absolute sense to allow those who can tele-work to remain home and to keep the density in our state buildings in terms of number of employees low,” Young said.

Young said the decision won’t affect government offices that interact directly with Vermonters like the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Tax Department.

New taskforce assigned to assess impact

The Scott Administration has created a taskforce to study the short and long term impact of having thousands of state employees permanently work at home and not return to their state offices.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last Spring, as many as 75% of the state’s workforce in Montpelier has been working from home.

Administration Secretary Susanne Young said many employees have indicated a desire to continue to telework once there are no longer health and safety concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think it is definitely going to make a change,” Young said. “I can’t see us going back to, what we would call normal before the pandemic, but I guess I also don’t foresee being totally remote either, so somewhere in between [is likely the outcome we’ll see].”  

Young said the taskforce hopes to have recommendations by the end of the year.

– Bob Kinzel

5. Six cows shot and killed in Orwell Friday night

Vermont State Police say six cows were apparently shot and killed in Orwell late Friday night.

Troopers located six deceased cows with apparent bullet wounds after responding to a report of several people in a pickup truck firing at the animals.

Several local farms in the area were contacted, but authorities were unable to locate the owner of the cows.

State police provided no updates Sunday morning but asked anyone with information to call the New Haven Barracks.

– Nina Keck

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or tweet us @vprnet.

We’ve closed our comments. Read about ways to get in touch here.

https://www.covid19snews.com/2020/11/03/health-officials-report-23-new-cases-of-covid-19/

[aquatictimes]

Channa micropeltes, the Giant Snakehead

WARNING: VERY LONG POST

This is Beast.

Beast is a sub-adult Channa micropeltes, or Giant Snakehead. As the name suggests, he’s going to get fairly enormous: around the 4′ mark, eventually. He’s currently 18″, wearing his near-adult markings and has yet to develop the aggression associated with his species that arrives at sexual maturity. 

Giant Snakeheads, as a species, get a very bad wrap, portrayed by the press as child-eating monsters that’ll literally walk into your garden for a meal. From an environmental perspective (largely with regards to the US and Europe), they’re viewed as highly invasive fish that could single-handedly destroy freshwater ecosystems. However, whilst all snakeheads are capable of breathing air, surviving for long periods of time out of water and even moving across dry-ish land, these abilities are not hunting aids. The organ used for breathing air is useful primarily to allow them to survive in stagnant, dirty waters that would otherwise be uninhabitable. On land, they’re generally slow, clumsy and only in search of another body of water. It’s true that they are highly adaptable and very hardy (it’s why snakeheads have been around for more than 50 million years), but they’re not going to be snapping at your ankles while you’re out for a picnic. 

The only time at which these fish do present a danger to humans is during spawning season. They are extremely protective of their young and are very aggressive in their defence of their brood and spawning sites. In the majority of cases, injury can be avoided simply by understanding this behaviour and avoiding situations in which contact is likely. 

As to the second accusation - that they’re highly invasive and capable of immense damage to any non-native environment - this is only partly true. Unlike the majority of snakehead species, micros are fully tropical and do not adapt well to the large swings in temperature that are required by many of their genus to remain healthy. Temperature ranges in their natural environment range from approximately 20-30 degrees centigrade, and any temperature drop significantly below that would be lethal. It’s possible that a single specimen could survive in colder waters for a time, but the species could not become established. Sightings of micros in the US have been sporadic, several unverified and there is no evidence to suggest that there’s been success in breeding. That’s not to say that snakeheads aren’t a very real danger to their non-native ecosystems, just that micros are rarely the perpetrators in non-tropical waters (look to C. argus and C. marulius as the main culprits...not that there’s any point in blaming them - they’re fish).

Micros are certainly pervasive in their natural waters (the majority of South-East Asia), but numbers are controlled by natural predation and human intervention, as they make an excellent food source. They’re even farmed for this reason.

When it comes down to it, they’re just animals - large, aggressive predators, yes - but that only implies that they should be treated with the respect we would show any other large predator. And not introduced to foreign waters. Shock.

That being said, this is not an animal to keep in the aquarium. Frankly, it should never have been introduced to the hobby at all.

In the pictures, you’ll notice that the area around Beast’s mouth/jaw has pale patches amongst the darker areas of skin. This is because, despite the tanks in which he’s lived appearing to be big, he frequently bumps into the glass, causing wear, scraping and bruising. A degree of this is inevitable: this is a very large, active fish that would ordinarily have huge stretches of water as its territory. Only the largest of public aquaria would ever be able to achieve the footprint required to mimic his natural habitat. 

Unfortunately, micros are seen far too frequently in the aquarium trade, usually as very small, pretty juveniles with a bright red stripe running along the lateral line (hence their other common name, the Red Snakehead). People buy these, thinking they’ll make an attractive and interesting addition to their community or moderately-sized monster tanks (or even very spacious monster tanks), but are often surprised by how quickly they grow, how large they get and how aggressive they become.

Some people then release them into the wild where, as well as wreaking havoc during the summer months and potentially introducing new diseases to local waterways, they cannot survive the seasonal drop in temperature and then perish. Some people are more responsible, and attempt to donate the fish to local or national public aquariums. However, due to their size, territorial demands, disposition, and poor state in which they’re often offered (cramped conditions leading to stunted growth) as well as the public aquariums being overwhelmed with donations of large fish bought by unknowing individuals, it’s rare that they’ll be accepted. There are even times when they’re put down if owners or stores are unable to relocate them.  I saw a couple on eBay going for £30 each just today, and another seller offering juveniles. I hate to think what’ll happen to them.

Minimum tank size for an adult is 12x5x4′ - frankly, even that, massive as it sounds, is too small, in my opinion. Micros, unlike the majority of other Channidae, are fully pelagic and require considerable tank length in order to be even remotely comfortable. I’m hoping (and I haven’t told my bank account yet) to give him a footprint of 16x5′. Genuinely a terrifying thought, but that’s the nature of caring for animals of his size and disposition, and even that will never match up to the ideal.

A frequently-overlooked feature of micro care is the importance of decor/planting. Their natural habitat is heavily vegetated, especially around the banks of the swamps and slow-moving rivers they favour. Of particular importance is surface cover, without which they will be exceptionally shy/stressed, as a lack of cover implies that they’re at risk of predation. More than this, as ambush predators, they are most often found in shallow, densely-planted areas at the water’s edge where the cover provides an ideal hunting ground. This is a common failure of the majority of captive conditions. Tanks are often entirely bare, with no cover or decor available and therefore no ability to exhibit natural behaviours. If there are tank mates, it also means that there is nowhere for any occupants (the snakehead included) to hide.

Once at maturity, snakeheads should be fed on a diet of frozen whole fish, muscles, shrimp and large insects no more than 3 times a week to prevent bloating, to which micros are very prone. Feeder fish should be avoided unless absolutely necessary (for all the usual reasons), but - contrary to popular belief -Channa are easily weened onto frozen, and even dry, foods. Many snakehead keepers have reported success with feeding large carnivorous cichlid pellets. Beef heart and other mammalian/bird meats should be avoided, as snakeheads are unable to properly digest the lipids these produce, leading to excess fat deposits. As to the size of their prey, they will eat anything smaller than themselves, and are capable of killing fish of equal size and weight. I wouldn’t recommend feeding anything longer than 3-4″, though.

For this reason, tank mates are extremely inadvisable. Some success has been noted in keeping these with others of their own species or with similarly-sized fish, but the likelihood that there will be problems down the line is very high. Channidae are known to be highly temperamental: even a bonded, proven pair which have lived peacefully in the same tank for years can suddenly turn on each other. Experienced snakehead keepers have found that this is often linked to sudden changes within the aquarium, such as the removal or addition of decor or sudden changes in temperature - even water changes are likely to cause fights to break out. Any previously peaceful aquarium can become chaos overnight. For this reason, many snakehead owners avoid water changes where they can (unless keeping a single specimen), and instead use powerful filtration, careful feeding and very heavy planting to lower the need for frequent water changes. Obviously, the more fish in the tank, the more waste will be produced and the more water changes would be necessary to keep the water clean. Therefore, a rise in stocking increases the likelihood of violence between the inhabitants. Best to avoid the issue entirely.

On top of this, micros are an extremely powerful, aggressive species, and certainly dangerous in the captive environment if not treated with caution. They have the largest teeth of their genus and, given their preference for ambush hunting, are capable of incredible speed when motivated. They will attack either by swallowing prey whole or by biting it in half, disabling the prey and allowing the snakehead to return for the rest of the animal. Because of this, tank maintenance is...a challenge. Sticking fingers, hands and arms in is asking for trouble, and leaning over the tank is certainly nerve-wracking. The store which held onto him for me mentioned a guy who nearly lost his fingers when he decided to wiggle them enticingly above Beast’s head. In Beast’s case, this is currently more an issue of misidentification than aggression - food comes from above, therefore everything that comes from above is food - but the risk remains the same.

So why did I decide to keep him???

Basically, I fell in love with him. I’d admired and researched snakeheads for some time and, knowing his future care requirements, was very worried that this would be another micro to end up in a cramped, sparse environment with too many (read: any) tank-mates and a diet of feeder fish. Youtube is full of videos of fish in exactly those conditions. 

When I first saw him, he was looking very stressed in the corner of a 6′ tank at my lfs. Apparently (and unsurprisingly), he’d been traded to the store having outgrown his previous shared monster tank. I asked about him, and was told that if he wasn’t sold he’d be added to a peaceful monster tank at the store (where there are snake neck turtles and fish of an ideal size for nibbling?!) or offered to a public aquarium. Not especially comforting, given the circumstances, but at least they seemed determined to do their best for him.

At the time, I wasn’t in a position to do anything about it and knew I had to leave him where he was. I hoped that when I next visited, someone responsible would have taken him home and I wouldn’t need to worry anymore.

Of course, he was still there when I went back. There had been interest, but while the staff were understandably content with the potential buyers, I was less-than-pleased to hear about 10′ community and monster tanks. I tried not to think about it too much: I didn’t have the money, I didn’t have the space and I was recovering from some severe health issues. He’d have to be someone else’s responsibility. Didn’t stop me from asking questions and researching means of housing him temporarily, though.

However, my circumstances changed dramatically in late spring, and it suddenly became feasible to keep him. So. Here he is.

His current tank is just adequate for a fish of his size at 8x3x2′. He will have outgrown it within a year but, hopefully, by then he’ll have his permanent tank to grow out in. He eats every other day, snoozes in his caves and wiggles at me when I come to sit next to him. Haven’t worked out yet whether that’s a territorial display, begging or curiosity, but I’m not sure it matters, either way.

In short, if you can spare the time, money and space for a single, massive, bite-y poop-machine, then maybe the Giant Snakehead is for you. Otherwise, steer clear.

*note: the white patch on his head is from a loose scale, and is fairly normal for snakeheads of his age, who drop head scales in order to develop larger ones as they grow. I’m keeping an eye on it, but I don’t expect it to be a problem.

**note-note: I live in the UK, where snakeheads are not currently banned (though the EU/DEFRA are proposing to alter that. Bastards. C. argus is banned, thankfully.). For readers in the US, I’m afraid that all Channidae are (somewhat unfairly) illegal to own as pets. At least it prevents micros from entering your trade, though.

***note-note-note: these guys are extremely difficult to sex (so forget breeding pairs - not that breeding would be any kind of good idea in this instance), but I’m leaning towards male with him. It’s been noted anecdotally that, along with being thicker in the body, females are more an olive-green compared to the adult male’s blue-green. Beast is currently fairly slim-bodied and definitely very blue in colour, but there are no guarantees - particularly because he’s nowhere near full maturity yet.

****note-note-note-note: I am not an expert, and much of this information is anecdotal and garnered from conversations and informal posts from other snakehead keepers. As such, if anything here appears to be inaccurate, please let me know!

Largely unverified and informal, but useful, info: x, x, x, x, x, x, x

I’d also recommend joining the groups Channa Headquarters and Only Channidae on fb, if looking for more.

[anabantoid]

Venturing into Indonesia and Beyond: Setting up a Biotope

In our journeys through the hobby, one way or another we will come across the term “biotope”, which is a miniaturized reproduction of a fish’s natural habitat in a captive setting. You’ve most likely seen them before without even knowing it. Think about the last time you went to the aquarium and recall the exhibits you saw. All the fish were organized by where they lived, most of the tanks probably had some real or fake plants, rocks, and driftwood. There may be resin stone outcroppings built into the background and sides to replicate the bottom of a Rift Valley lake, or fake mangrove roots choking a still water way to mimic an estuary where many brackish fish live. Even the saltwater tanks are constructed in a way that copies an approximate image of where that fish came from. Like a good zoo, a good aquarium will want to showcase the fish in the most enriching environment they can while also educating the public, and that usually means that they will replicate a fish’s home. Sometimes seeing fish like this at an aquarium can change your perspective on how to keep them, and you may want to set out and adjust their living space as you think is necessary for them to be happy, or it inspires you to want to start up a whole new tank for a specific fish or multiple species from a specific river, lake or country and make your own mini-aquarium at home. This can seem like a daunting task, and it may sometimes be hard to know where to start, and I won’t lie, there is a lot of time and research devoted into this, but the payoff is extremely rewarding.

WHERE DO I START?

Generally, it’s like planning any new tank, but in this instance, you’re going to have a narrower focus.  You usually start out knowing at least one of the fish you want to keep, so you look up where they are from. With that knowledge, you can begin to find other fish from that same area. Fish Base will be your new friend in this situation. NOTE: You won’t want to exclusively use Fish Base for things like caresheets, but it’s a great site for finding different species that inhabit the same bodies of water or country as your selected species.

For example, say you know you want a pearl gourami (Trichopodus leerii) as your centerpiece in your new 75 gallon tank but you don’t want to have one large tank with just 3 fish in it (1 male and 2 females). You’ll pop on over to Fish Base and look them up, seeing where they are from along with some basic care information such as water parameters and a habitat description.

You can scroll down to countries to see a map of their range, which includes native and introduced.

From there, you can choose which country you want to focus on. We’ll choose Indonesia. You can click on the links and take a closer look into Indonesia if you’d like, but you’ll go back to the search screen at Fish Base.

I find it easier to search with the above selections marked off.

From here, you’re basically going hunting. This can take you a while, you can narrow down which fish interest you and check to see if they are compatible with the pearl gourami. You already know you’re going to need a heavily vegetated tank with soft, acidic water and minimal lighting, so you’re looking for fish with similar needs, while also taking temperament into account. You don’t want aggressive, boisterous fish that will scare the pearls away during feeding, so you’re going to be looking for peaceful, small fish that won’t bother them. You settle on the chili rasbora (boraras brigittae), kuhli loach (pangio kuhlii) and red line rasboras (Trigonopoma pauciperforatum) as all these fish require dimly lit, soft, acidic waters with marginal current and dense vegetation with the bonus of being peaceful and small.

OKAY, SO IS THERE MORE THAT I NEED? WHAT SHOULD THE TANK BE FILLED WITH OTHER THAN JUST, WELL, FISH?

Great! You know your stock! But what do you furnish it with? And how do you find this out? At this point, you’re going to start googling. A lot. You can use youtube to find videos that may be uploaded from the natural habitats the fish are from, in this case, Sumatra and Borneo.

A lot of the time, you won’t find nice examples that you can see, but you’ll read descriptions that you can visualize. What does soft water usually have? Decaying vegetation that lowers the pH and creates soft water with a lot of dissolved organic solids, so leaf litter and driftwood would clearly be required. These fish require densely planted, dimly lit water. Finding out what plants you need is as simple as googling “aquatic plants from Borneo/Sumatra/Indonesia”. You’ll find that a lot of the plants are the common crypts, which do well in dimly lit tanks and aren’t particularly fussy to begin with. There’s a lot of diversity within crypts, so choose them as you see fit. A lot of the time, plant species will be entirely up to you and how you plan to scape your tank. Then comes the matter of substrate, which can sometimes be hard to find information on, though many caresheets nowadays will mention what substrate is best for this fish. At times you might not be able to replicate the loamy bottom of Lake Inle, so you can choose to either go with sand or try a dirted tank. Sometimes it’s simple, a hillstream or river tank will be comprised of sand and gravel, as the water movement in the wild will erode the rocks and crack them against one another, creating fragments that turn into smaller and smaller fragments over time.

If you want a different kind of biotope, you can start with a totally different kind of habitat and apply the same basic search methods. Maybe you want to stay in Indonesia but want a hillstream tank? Or an African tank? French Guyana? The same way you searched for the pearl gourami tank, you can search for all these others. If you read that a reed fish lives in soft, acidic swamps that are heavily planted with low oxygen content, then you’re going for a tank that has almost no water movement, a somewhat lower water line, and filled with a lot of leaf litter, some driftwood and lots of plants. If you want emerald dwarf rasboras and read that they live in a relatively cool, karstic, shallow but vegetated lake in Myanmar, then you’re going to be looking into a hard water tank with plants that can be found in that lake. This example is Lake Inle, where these fish are exclusively found in, so your entire focus will be pretty much on this lake, with some information on plants from Myanmar. You can even go looking into your own backyard and get hands on, planning a biotope based on native fish and learning something about your local wildlife and habitats.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Some fish need to be kept in a natural habitat because that’s all they know, and it makes them more comfortable that way. If you have a wild caught fish in your tank, you’ll want to make sure that your tank is as close to where they came from so they can thrive. What is thriving? Beyond being alive, thriving for a fish means it displays its natural behavior, it eats regularly without issue, and may even attempt to spawn in captivity if there’s another sex of the same species in the tank. This is as close as you can get to determining whether or not a fish is “happy”.

Even if your fish is not wild caught, they will still benefit from an environment from which they evolved in over thousands or millions of years. Some fish may have never inhabited a vegetated peat swamp in their entire lives because they’ve been captive bred, but if you keep them in hard, alkaline water with no plants, their lives will be shortened and they will be unhappy and unhealthy, unable to display natural behaviors. Think of the betta splendens, a fish very much removed from its natural habitat nowadays. For a moment, pretend you have a perfectly healthy plakat. It doesn’t have the dragon scale mutation so it’s not going to be prone to tumors or cancer, it has short fins that bettas naturally have so it’s able to move about quickly like a betta is hard wired to. A betta without décor or with a sparsely planted tank maybe shy or inactive, eat irregularly and be stressed, susceptible to illness and disease.  I’m not saying this is the root cause to the issues bettas have, that’s a nebulous topic that can be another 1700 word post on its own, but in this situation we’re imagining the ideal, healthy betta. If you place this betta in a habitat that more closely mimics the one the b. splendens evolved within, it will feel more comfortable and display more of the betta-y behaviors we all know (and love). It’s difficult to change what a fish needs in its environment to thrive, a fish has evolved over time to fill a niche in a habitat and placing it within a captive setting won’t change their instincts or needs.

But does this mean every fish needs to be in a biotope? That all fish should be separated by their location, regardless of the fact they can inhabit the same conditions that a fish from another continent does? 

Nope! Biotopes, for the most part, are for the pure aesthetics of the keeper. You ultimately don’t have to find plants specific to a river, lake or country, that’s entirely up to you if you want to do that. You don’t have to place pearl gouramis with just chilis, red lines or kuhlis, you can place them with peaceful tetras, pencil fish, a pleco, corydoras and honey gouramis (which are from India, not Indonesia). A biotope is just a method of scaping a tank and keeping fish, it’s subjective. There are clear benefits to it, but those benefits can also be had by just furnishing a tank the right way. Put swords in a betta tank with rotala, barclaya, banana lilies and hygro, your betta will still feel happy and safe as long as there are a bunch of plants in there. A biotope is for you.

[evolutionsvoid]

For many cultures and species, the night time is one that instills fear and dread. To be surrounded by darkness, unknowing of what lurks in the shadows around you. When darkness falls, many retreat to the lighted safety of towns and villages, hiding within their warm, cozy homes. The darkened world only offers horrors and other monstrosities, waiting for foolish prey to leave the safety of the light. For some parts, these superstitions and fears are silly, as the night is just a time when other animals and creatures come out to hunt and forage. The daytime offers plenty of carnivores that hunger for meat, and you don't see people barricading themselves in their homes on a sunny day. It is just the chill of a darkened world that heightens paranoia, making people think there are monsters behind every corner. While I do say some of this stuff is silly, there is some truth to a few of their fears. The night can bring some nasty monsters, though not the kind some may think. People go on about horrid beasts from the sky that rip apart ignorant prey, or abominations that can wield the darkness like a blade and slice through exposed necks. In truth, these stories may have been spawned by less terrifying critters, like the nipper wyrm. Then again, the nipper wyrm may still fit the role of "horrifying, flesh eating beast" to some people. Nipper wyrms are small, aerial creatures that can dwell in a variety of environments. Their preferred habitat is rocky places that have caves for them to set up their roosts. Mountainous regions or even arid environments can house the nipper wyrms, as long as there are caves to sleep in and nighttime prey to feed on. Nipper wyrms are nocturnal creatures, spending the daylight hours in their cave roosts. At that time, they are either sleeping or socializing with their fellows. Nipper wyrms have suckers on the ends of their tails that allow them to hang from the ceilings of caves. During the day, they spend most of their time upside down, easily able to sleep or clean while dangling from above. If they wish to move, they usually detach, flutter to a new spot and suck back onto the rocky surface. When night falls, that is when they leave their roost and go out to hunt. 

Nipper wyrms are well known by their night time activities, as that is when they deploy their famous hunting technique. When darkness covers the land, the wyrms will leave their cave and scatter into the night. Since their eyes are small and poor of sight, they rely more on their sense of smell to detect prey. The wyrms will follow their nose to the scent of prey, seeking out animals that are large in size and slow in speed. At night, the larger creatures of the land are usually asleep, which the wyrms are counting on. Creatures like moose, bear, cow, deer or other large mammals are what they are looking for. When a wyrm finds a suitable target, they will flutter down and land on them. Being small in size and light in weight, many sleeping creatures hardly notice them. They will scramble to the creature's side or back, looking to keep away from tooth and claw. When they find a good spot, they will suction their upper lip to the victim's skin to anchor themselves. When properly attached, they bite down with their razor sharp lower jaw and twist their bodies around. This movement will tear out a plug of flesh, which they will quickly swallow while they beat a hasty retreat. Megafauna may not notice the tiny creatures, but they will sure feel the sharp bite carving through them. By the time the victim awakens and tries to attack, the nipper wyrm will be back in the sky and soaring free from danger. Nipper wyrms only a require a few mouthfuls of meat to satiate them, then they will go back to their cave to digest and rest. These wyrms can also scavenge off of carcasses, taking advantage of prey that will never wake up again. When nipper wyrms breed, they create sticky egg sacs that they hang in their roosts. During the day, the females will hang next to these cocoons and wrap them in their wings. When the young hatch, they will be held by their mothers until they can properly attach themselves to the ceiling. There they will hang for days, getting their meals from their mothers. The females usually digest the meat into a soup, which they regurgitate into the young ones' mouths. After a few weeks, the young will be strong enough to hunt on their own and the mother who cease to care for them. While nipper wyrms are small creatures, they are big problems to a lot of people. It should be no surprise that these creatures are seen as pests, especially to farmers who raise livestock. Cattle, sheep, goats and pigs are perfect for the hungry flyers, who will come at night to feed. If the farmer has not properly sealed up their livestock for the night, they can expect to find their animals to have bloody holes in them the next morning. These bites are usually not fatal, as they are shallow and small, but they can leave an opening for infection. If the nipper wyrms are having a hard time finding food, they may focus their efforts on the livestock and attack in swarms. One or two bites are not too devastating, but if a dozen of these hungry creatures descend upon a single cow, things don't turn out very pretty. With that, farmers are quick to locate roosts in the area and get rid of them. They may either scare them off or kill them, whichever works for them, as they just want them gone. While they are a harm to livestock, many act like these creatures are a danger to humans and other fleshy civilizations. You will hear plenty of stories about how swarms of them descend upon towns and rip through the screaming inhabitants, or how people wander off into the night to return with bloody holes in them. I will say right now that most of these stories are simply untrue. Nipper wyrms do not target humans or other similar prey as they are too fast and small for their liking. The key to their hunting strategy is stealth, as they do not want to be noticed by their prey. Humans who are awake and moving make difficult targets for them to feed on, so they simply won't do it. They prefer fat, lazy cows instead. Now can I say for certain that nipper wyrms have never fed on a human being? Well, no. I can't rule out that one of these guys has nipped someone before, but I would say it is extremely rare. Vicious they can be, but they are still quite fragile. None of them want to be in a fight, as they will not last long. Flailing screaming humans are a surefire way to break a wing, so they won't risk it. Like I said, nipper wyrms feeding on humans is probably an incredibly rare thing, so I wouldn't worry too much about. That being said, don't think that is an invitation to write me and complain that I gave you false information if you wind up getting bit. Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who wants flying, cookie cutter shark-esque critters?! Who wouldn't love having the sky filled with the biting little buggers?! Isn't that fun?! Goodness, this fantasy world would probably actually be a nightmare to live in. I will also preemptively point out the fact that I called this creature a "wyrm" which some people may say is not a proper word for these creatures. In truth, I liked the sound of "Nipper wyrm" so I put it as that, as I thought wyrm was a word for more serpent like dragons or creatures, wings or no. Turns out that isn't really the case, and the classification in differences between dragons, wyverns, lindworms and what not is so muddled and baffling that I just kind of gave up on it. And to be fair, this universe already throws a lot of stuff out the window, I mean c'mon, the manticores are mollusks and the arctic dragon is a mammal, I think we can have some fun here. So it's called a wyrm!