Gods of Winter

[Solar-Eclipse]

Thousands upon thousands of years ago, back when the world was covered in snow and ice, where berry bushes were an abstract concept, resided a place where only the strongest, most resistant creatures could survive. A place where it was every creature for themself, and if you were unable to survive in the harsh weather, then you were unworthy of others' concern.

In the midst of those cold, dark ages, stood three creatures...

The white and red one with horns larger than their own body was called Reellen. Out of his group, he was the strongest. A creature destined to hunt down even the largest of balance bears. A commanding creature unafraid of battle, yet still caring about his tribemates. He wears his mask like a knight's helmet. However, with no resistance to the coldness of the area, he will have to rely heavily on those who can to stay near him at all times.

The spotted one with antennae, capable of predicting when the next blizzard would arrive was called Elrera. Born female, but transitioned to male, Elrera was a creature with a nose capable of sniffing out any roots, even if they're buried miles deep into the ground. Heavily resembling a mouse in appearance and nature, Elrera is a smart creature that will make sure to provide for his tribe in even the harshest of times.

And last but not least, a blind creature with fur that stands out against everything except the shadows. However, this fur is long, and provides heat to those around her. Her name is Kutata, and she is a kind, caring creature who will take anyone underneath her wing no matter what genes they may have. Her acute sense of smell and touch make up for her lack of sight, allowing her to point out any creature lost in the snow, so that she may rescue them. 

These three come from three separate tribes. They joined together to form a safe haven for anyone out there in the snow, so that maybe these cold days could become a little easier. Nobody knows when, or if the earth will become warm, and some don't even know what warmth is at all due to how rare it is around here. However, these three strive to make a home for those hoping that maybe one day the earth will become more habitable, and hope that whoever becomes leaders of the tribe after them will help do the same.

[-X-]

(Updates will be posted below this introductory post! I hope you enjoy my playthrough!)

[Solar-Eclipse]

After leaving their initial patch of grass, the three young creatures make their way over to a nearby block of ice. Using his claws and antlers, Reellen delicately breaks it open to reveal the crimson-furred, purr-snouted creature inside. Going by the name of Tanupri, the young creature explains that he was separated from his family in a blizzard, in which his resistance to the cold proved futile against the biting winds. Tossed into the sea, he floated for the gods know how long, until he ended up on the current island and was freed by these three.

The three accept Tanupri into their tribe, and he quickly assumes the role of a scout, as well as a healer, as his speed proves to be higher than anyone else in the tribe with a number of three, and his purr snout will allow him to heal the wounds of others nearby. Due to being unable to gather, however, he will only be able to report when he finds something useful instead of picking it up himself.

While the four may seem to be alone, they most certainly are not. Looking up into the sky, a bluebird hovers ahead, watching the young nichelings intently. Luckily, everyone in the group is too big for the bluebird to carry off, so it stays above them in the clouds. Elrera perhaps thinks that this bluebird could be keeping watch over them, like a guardian, but Reellen begs to differ. Aside from that, Elrera predicts that in three days, snow will fall, and the land will grow colder. Everyone takes note of this, preparing for the inevitable weather.

An uneventful day goes by, with the four exploring what they can with their slow speed. While searching for roots that Elrera could dig up, Tanupri discovers that danger is nearby. Where one arctic ramfox is, there are always more. And this knowledge is proved right, as when Kutata moves over with Reellen, her duty being to keep him warm, she smells three more of the foxes in the pack. She can only hope Reellen will be able to fight them off, but she has high hopes due to his strength of twelve.

Snow falls on the days Reellen begins makes his way over to the ramfoxes, as predicted. Along with this, it is discovered that this biome is not as empty as once thought. With a walrus deer and a rogue male passing through, the group knows that if they want to create a safe haven here for anyone passing through, the amount of work that will have to be done to uphold the peace will be a larger amount than once thought. Slowly, the reality of the situation begins to settle in for the young creatures.

The next day, snow begins to coat the landscape, and as thought, Reellen is able to easily take down the ramfoxes. However, he has only struck down one, as his speed and lack of a third energy point due to being a teen prevents him from attacking more. However, Tanupri has grown into an adult nicheling, standing tall against the other three, acting as a beacon of intimidation against threats. And in the midst of the current events, the tribe sets their eyes on the wandering walrus deer nearby, wondering if they may be able to catch it..

Following suit with Tanupri, the other three grow up. Reellen takes down another fox, but would've been able to take down two in that same day had he been warm. The snow stops, and Kutata is reminded to stay near Tanupri at all times. And stay near she does, as she becomes his mate, and is now impregnated with the first child of the tribe. The child may possibly be blind, slow, a fighter, or a protector. It's up to nature to decide, but the parents hope that there will be a balance in there somewhere.

The next day, Reellen finally takes out the last two foxes, untouched by their claws due to his armored body. However, the tribe is not safe, as a balance bear is discovered nearby. Reellen prepares his claws for another battle, willing to defend his tribe even at the cost of his life. Kutata gently reminds him not to take risks that would put his or anyone else's life in serious danger, however. Elrera takes note of how the two balance each other out well, like a yin yang, with Reellen keeping Kutata on her toes and aware of the current situation so that she doesn't become so soft she won't defend herself, and Kutata making sure his ambition and fiery temper don't get the best of him and put him in danger.

Soon enough, with her mother kept safe by her mate, who is nearly finished with the balance bear, Ramesi is born. Her mother's recessive purr snout showing in her genes, and with eyes as golden as the sun, this raccoon-like baby is sure to be a little trickster when she grows up. And with an armored body and mammoth foot to keep her safe, this little one is sure to be untouchable by predators.

A couple uneventful days pass by after the balance bear is defeated, providing an absurd amount of food for the tribe. Tanupri finds a tree stump in the snow, and decides to call for other creatures that may be in the snow, to see if they could help the tribe. And while it seems that only two unwanted rogue males may have been attracted, a third creature with icy blue eyes appears. Her name being Ralen, this strong yet nearsighted creature provides a remedy for an issue that the tribe previously had: nobody was able to gather.

With a singular running paw, Ralen promises to collect as much nesting material as possible so that pregnant mothers unable to find a proper nest will be able to build one themselves if so needed.

. Another day, another daughter. Around three boring days pass, with Lare being born to the same parents as Ramesi. Each creature is given mutations based on their bad genes, snow begins to fall again, and the tribe slowly grows in size.

However, the tribe's dream of hunting down the gigantic walrus deer begins to come true, as several members of the tribe surround it and inflict 20 damage onto the poor creature. However, along with the good news comes the bad. A rogue male seems to have taken interest in Ralen, and to say the least, she isn't exactly pleased about it. She sends him packing the next day after restoring her energy.

Speaking of the next day, the tribe does successfully take down the walrus deer, providing them with more food! They rejoice in their achievement, and along with this, the prophet Elrera predicts that in one day, it will be sunny with one heat, a rare thing to happen in this cold biome.

And with that, I'm ending this update, as I suspect my friends may wanna play the final splatfest with me in a few minutes... hope you enjoyed reading this!

[takoyamaaaS]

NOOO! WALLACE!!!

rip Wallace, 2019-2019

[Solar-Eclipse]

It seems that misfortune might've settled itself upon the tribe after the death of the walrus deer. A balance bear has come in hopes of feasting upon small Lare, but her father and the warm-colored Ralen come to the rescue. However, perhaps Ralen should've stood back, as her defense is only one compared to the bear's two attack.

In the meantime, however, Ramesi begins to head out to join Tanupri and Elrera on their journey to expand the tribe's territory, and to find more hidden food. She also hopes to get her little claws on those rogue males that have been wandering about..

After defeating the balance bear, Kutata scolds Ralen after curing her bleeding for being reckless and going to fight the bear without thinking first. Ralen, embarrassed, apologizes, and Kutata sighs as she recommends her tribemate to go see Tanupri to get those wounds fully healed. In the meantime, however, Elrara has taken out one of the wandering rogue males as he searches for roots and clears out the piled up snow. Ramesi also contemplates if it was a good idea to travel alone after all, as the biting cold starts to get to her, making her tired.

The next day, a nearly-identical sister to Lare is born: Tare. The only difference between the two siblings being that instead of a bearyena claw, Tare has a runner leg, the placement of the mammoth foot on the two, and the fact that Tare has amber eyes. Meanwhile, however, Reellen gets approval from his mate to have a child with Ralen in hopes of keeping the immunity genes diverse so that the chance of inbreeding will be lowered.

The day after Tare's birth, however, the tribe finds something... interesting. Tiny little pink flower buds among all the white snow! Nobody seems to know what they are, however, some creatures speculate if this is an omen of good fortune. The tribe seems to agree on this suspicion, as it has not snowed in quite a while, and the land has been very peaceful as of late. And just to add on to this, the tribe has trapped the second rogue male found in the territory in the snow, and have brought an end to his treacherous life. With all this good news, who knows what's in store for the tribe?

...But it seems perhaps that they may have spoken too soon, as the next day, growls could be heard among the quiet noise of the falling snow. Three arctic ramfoxes have come to threaten the tribe as a new child, Koana, is born. Her mother is quick to take out the first one, and Reellen is quick to start closing in on the rest.

However, hope is not lost, as with the defeat of the foxes, the falling snow ceases, and more food is brought into the tribe.. as well as more members. With the birth of Kutata's first male child, Donvanvan, and the appearance of a velvet-furred stranger named Mera, the tribe grows to a size of eleven members. However, will they be able to keep up with these numbers and collect enough food to support everything?

The new member makes herself useful pretty much instantly, growing into an adult the day after she joins and collecting from the nearest berry bush. More flower buds grow in the snow, nearby, calling to the tribe. The tribe decides, that after spending so much time at the island's base, perhaps they should begin moving to its peak.

However, in their excitement and rush to begin expanding the territory, clearing out snow, digging up food and the such, the tribe makes a grand mistake in leaving young Donvanvan behind, unprotected... especially with three bluebirds circling overhead. Luckily, he grows old enough to be safe the next day, but this doesn't stop a fourth bluebird from flying in. 

Aside from that note, however, Elrera has finally found mates in Mera and Ralen, since nobody else is willing to take the three as mates. Ralen hopes that he can keep the digging genes alive with the two, as well as the genes that keep creatures resistant to the cold of the land, as all three of them have five cold resistance.

While proceeding on their mundane task of clearing snow, another balance bear is taken down. However, concern over the food stocks slowly begins to rise as it also slowly begins to dwindle. Nearby, however, a walrus deer stands on a log and eyes down the tribe. The tribe stares back at it, wondering if this walrus deer could be an omen of some sorts, as these deer normally do not climb onto large structures due to the weight their bodies carry combined with the risk of falling off and breaking a leg due to it.

Lare, Ramesi, and Tanupri decide to chase after the deer, in hopes of bringing it down for the thirty food that it will yield. During the chase, they stumble upon a permanent nest on accident. And at the same time, yet another life is brought into the tribe, her snout short and her fur dark. However, as promised, she carries over a digging gene so that she may help the tribe in the effort to collect enough food to support everyone. The tribe has also reached the top of the mountain, and Ralen and Kutata settle down to give birth to their own children.

It is the thirtieth day since the founders of the tribe have arrived on this mountain. The walrus deer is still being chased by the patrol of three, Ralen has birthed Vandukno while Kutata has birthed Tata, and the snow has stopped falling again. That doesn't mean the tribe's not getting buried in what did fall though! Also, Kutata seems to be picking up on a nearby, foreign scent... something small and furry, yet not a threat. Something who has tiny pawsteps that can barely be heard amongst the ambient noise of the mountain.

However, not all is well, as a balance bear has come to threaten the two newborns. And on top of this news, a rogue male that was previously hidden amongst the other scents of the mountainside has caught and mated with Tare, who was stuck in the snow due to being too cold to move back to her family while it had been falling. Frustrated and angry, she can do nothing but snarl as she walks away, unable to attack him due to having no strength. However, Elrera and Koana will be sure to teach the male a lesson...

Meanwhile, Ramesi, Lare, and Tanupri decide that going after the walrus deer was a pointless task, as its ability to simply plow through the snow constantly outpaced them as they tried to chase it. However, they began to set their eyes upon a new prize... a tiny, white creature sitting on a small burrow! They decide to name it the rabbil, due to it resembling a rabbit in body shape, but being mole-like in its nature to burrow into the ground. Of course, rabbits burrow into the ground too, however, only the females can dig with rabbits.

The tribe also discovers that perhaps they aren't out of luck with the deer, as two of them have waltzed right up to them like they own the place. Now, if only they could stay around long enough for Reelleen to get his paws on them...

The lighting is odd today, and it feels warmer than ever before. Perhaps the world is changing, and begging to ease out of its cold slumber? Who knows! Along with this, a new creature has been found in the snow. Pripripri, a sick double-immunitied creature with a crippled paw and a warm, orange pelt, and a body with not nearly as much fur as everyone else's. Elrera interprets this, saying that the world may soon change from a cold wasteland into something that not even he can imagine in his head.

 

...And maybe he's right. Instead of snow falling, snow is actually melting. The ancient genes are begging to fade away, more colorful pelts are splashed across the creatures that live here,

The next day, the tribe finally takes down one of the walrus deer, and Pripripri helps with collecting more food by being the first member of the tribe to strike down a rabbil. This increases the food stock to 83, and allows the tribe to live for another day.

The tribe increases in size, the food stores steadily deplete, and the tribe is slowly becoming more and more disorientated, as more members makes it harder to keep up with everything. Life becomes faster paced, and everything is becoming overall harder for the tribe. The most noticeable change is the heat.. since when has the earth ever been this warm? And with the discovery of strange new genes, the tribe is beginning to think that maybe the earth truly is changing.

And what convinces the tribe even more is this creature found in a block of ice... her name is Kora, and instead of having any visible ancient genes, she instead has completley strange ones! With water genes in her dominant and recessive, a large tail that stinks to no end, big ears to accommodate for a warm climate in her recessive, and even a bird beak as her recessive snout, this creature is a sign that the world's former state of snow and ice is definitely ending!

To be continued in the next update...

[Solar-Eclipse]

It hasn't snowed for over ten days now, and what's stranger is what has been found at the edge of the territory...

Everyone looks over. Questions are whispered left and right. Why is the ground over there green? What are those tall things growing out of the ground? Where does it go? Why does the place over there radiate heat as if the land itself has a heat body?

Nobody can provide any answer except an old prophet... Elrera. He steps up and speaks from the top of a tree stump.

"The world is changing. No longer do we live in a white wasteland, but instead, we now live in a warm place, where new plants and life are springing up all over the place. A place where creatures with shorter fur and bigger ears, creatures that dare to have different traits aside from the standard long fur and small ears, creatures who wouldn't survive during the past's weather, can thrive. I do not know what's out there, but I will not go to find out. However, I believe someone should."

Everyone turned to look at each other, before Elrera pointed at the youngsters of the tribe. 

"The youngest members of the tribe should go. I, and many others here, are growing old and unable to travel far. It would be best for those who still have a spring in their step, and genes that can easily adapt to it, to explore these new lands, while the rest of us remain here and uphold our age-old promise to keep this place a safe haven for whoever passes by. I will select a few creatures to go, and when they all gather near the water, we will say goodbye to them for the last time."

Everyone gathered around Elrera to hear who he would choose, and after some deep though, he pointed out to each creature one by one.

"Tata..."
"Vandukno..."
"Isana..."
"Kora..."
"Lare..."
"Valurnu..."
"Mera..."
"Koana..."
"...and Ramesi."

"The port seems to be able to hold ten creatures. All of you together make nine, and while some of you may not be perfect, I'm sure that if you all work together, you will be able to create your own tribe and keep it together just as well as me, Reellen, and Kutata have been doing for the past forty-one days of our lives. I would love to come with you and serve as your prophet, but I believe that this tribe needs me more. And besides, what's to say you won't find your own prophet?"

"Now then. I wish you all a safe journey. You may now leave to the ports."

The nine creatures looked at each other, some uncertain, and others excited. They all did as ordered, however, and began to make their way over.



And eventually, everyone made it over. The cold began to come back, however, it was not the freezing cold everyone used to know. Instead.. it was more like a calmer cold, bringing relief to those with longer pelts. As the creatures gathered on the port, everyone gathered around to say their goodbyes. To their relatives, best friends, acquaintances, whatever each creature meant to them.

Kutata and Reellen said goodbye to their children, Lare, Ramesi, and Tata. Ralen joined them in saying goodbye to Koana as well, as she was Ralen's daughter instead of Kutata's. Tanupri also said goodbye to his mate, and Isko to her mother, Lare. Elrera and Mesi did the same to Mera, with Mesi being Mera's daughter. Isana, Valurnu, and Kora didn't really have a heartbreaking goodbye with anyone, since Isana was taken in by the tribe and Valurnu and Kora were found in ice blocks. The last person to say goodbye was Vandukno, who bid his parents Elrera and Ralen goodbye.

And with all the special goodbyes done, the group of nine stomped on the travel ports until they broke off from the island to sail along their course to a new one, and looked back at their families for the last time. Isana jumped onto the rock at the front of the port, and stared out to the horizon, keeping watch for the new island that would greet them...

[-X-]

And that ends the Gods of Winter playthrough, to be continued in "A Warmer World"! I hope you enjoyed it despite its short length! The total amount of in-game days this playthrough went over was 45! Would've been more if the in-game weather continued to be snowy!

Anyways, see you next topic!