Flight Rising Discussion

[emoji=special eyes size=1] [emoji=special eyes size=1] ping me for more lore, please

Please ping me for lore!

[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/670539554507456522/767141674169925672/ror_small_divider.png[/img][/center] ------ As they continued, the darkness pressed in around them, the swirling water swallowing the beam of their flashlight only a few inches from their noses. "What [i]is[/i] this?" Pest frowned, swatting at the darkness. "Darkness," Their light doubled as Conta joined them. "Really, [i]really[/i] absolute darkness. The only reason it looks like anything is your light reflecting off of minerals in the water. Which means we're close." "Close to what?" Muta was near-attatched to Conta's leg. "Our next destination. Watch your step," they added. "And be careful. The water around has toxicity levels that are probably comparable to the Wyrmwound, so much Sulfhydric acid, bicarbonates and nitrites." "[i]Wow,[/i]" said Pest. "How can anything survive down here?" "Most things can't," answered Conta. "That's why we're looking here. Anything that can survive here is definitely an extremophile. Keep an eye out for anything that's unusual. Probably on the ground - swimming at these depths would take a [i]lot[/i] of strength. If the magics didn't hold, while we might survive the toxic water as children of the Plaguemother, only the Tidelord's blessings can stop the pressure from squashing us flat." A briefly grim silence fell over the group. Conta decided the best way to fill silence was with facts. "We're nearing the Ashfall Wastes now - but most importantly, we're getting close to the place where Wind, Fire, and Water all meet. Did you know that all the continents sit on their own personal piece of Sornieth?" They looked expectantly back at their pack, who were exchanging unsure glances with each other. Undeterred, the green mirror continued. "Well, they do. And in some places, where the pieces meet, you'll find deep fissures in the crust. And you know what's underneath the crust?" "Magma!" Chirped Muta. "Yep. And sometimes the magma comes shooting out. And in places like that, you can find some pretty extreme creatures, surviving on the toxins in the water." They paused. "Well, surviving on a [i]bacteria[/i] that survives on the toxins in the water." Their light shone on a thick, rubbery tube. "Things like this." They drag their beam upwards, following the length of the creature up into the ocean. "This is a [b]tube worm.[/b] And yes, they are indeed related to other segmented worms, but their way of surviving has turned them into really special critters, as they surrendered their eyes, legs, jaws and even the palpi of their mouths, things that other families of the Polychaeta class take for granted, to be able to protect and farm bacteria inside themselves." [center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QffkyLYB_PA][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/332208677891080202/768118326622552064/unknown.png[/img][/url][/center] Conta walked slowly around the huge creature, rooted to the ocean floor. "As I mentioned earlier, they do rely in a friendly community of Germs, that pick the chemicals the worm carefully give them in order to create organic molecules and gather energy, that then they share with the Tube Worm. The worms use their branchial plumes filled with Hemoglobin rich blood to capture the Oxigen, Carbon and Hidrogen Sulfide from the water, which is then, along heavily toxic concentrations of Nitrite, pumped by their heart towards the trunk of the worm, where they host the bacteria in a special, comfy spongy tissue where they are protected from external harm. Then the bacteria communities in there turn the molecules provided into organic matter, including amino acids and proteins that in turn feed the Worm." "That revolutionized the concept of Life as we knew it, from being entirely dependant on Sunlight as source of energy, to be capable to exist wherever there was [i]Anything[/i] that had the potential to make chemical reactions. In this case the whole reason it is possible is because of-- ah! Here." The light falls on a craggy set of columns, dark plumes spouting from them. "That looks like smoke," Pest said. "That's because it's basically a soupy mix of toxic chemicals and minerals. This is a hydrothermal vent, and it's what makes all of this possible. It's not boiling because the pressure down here is too much for even water to have the room to boil. The fact that these things are out here just growing around so freely is amazing. And look!" Conta pointed at something inching its way around one of the columns. "A [b]scaly-foot snail![/b] they're known for their unique Iron shells, they're so Metal!" The joke was received with deadpan faces, so much was going on... [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_jrc9j-plA][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/332208677891080202/768147741519642624/unknown.png[/img][/url] "Ejem, back to the snails, they also thrive upon making symbiosis with germs that turn Sulfhydric acid into energy sources, along with other bacteria hosts to make use of other organic materia they filter through their mouths. The thing is, when they live so close to mineral-spewing fumes like this, their bacteria uses iron to ease the sulfur-related reactions, creating Iron Sulfide that then is deposited in the snail's shell and foot. Iron sulfide is highly toxic and painful for most animals, but the snails of this community have ridiculous high levels of genes that allow them to tolerate it, making them able to create such an impenetrable armor that they can survive the crushing pressures and the attemps of attacks from all kinds of crustacean scavengers that show up to try and feast into the critters that surround the ecosystem started by the Tube Worms". "So, if they're both down here, that means they're both extremophiles, right?" Muta peered closely at one of the snails as Conta retrieved their camera. "Yep," answered Conta, adjusting their lens. "Two for the price of one. I knew this was a good place to look!" [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wdyiNLi.png[/img][/center] ------ [center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/670539554507456522/767141674169925672/ror_small_divider.png[/img] [quote=Lore pinglist] @Finlandia @Swampman @MossWood [/quote] My apologies for no updates yesterday, real life caught me until really late, thus yesterday's lore update comes live now! [emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][/center]

Btw, who else thinks that that particular colony of worms filmed by the EVNautilus resembles a pipe organ? I sure do, which made me wonder about what kind of ambient sounds do abyssal creatures coexist with. I guess it has to be one of the secrets of the water flight.

[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/670539554507456522/767141674169925672/ror_small_divider.png[/img][/center] ------ Though the mirrors were protected by the magic of some of the Tidelord's best, there was still a strange sensation of lightness as they continued on. "It's not as deep now," Muta guessed, looking to Conta for confirmation. They nodded. "While we're still quite a ways from sunlight, if we keep going this way we'll eventually reach the edge of the Windswept Plateau. We'll probably find a couple coral reefs before we reach the surface." Pest glanced around at the craggy rocks surrounding them. "What about at this depth?" "At this depth?" Conta squinted into the dark. "Nothing that does a lot of moving. There's no toxic nutrients, and no sunlight. It's a weird sort of limbo. Most of what you find at this depth is scavengers. Lobsters, crabs, that sort of thing." "What about this?" Muta's voice came from several metres ahead. "Is it even alive?" Xe rapped the structure gently. "It looks like glass." The quartet bounded over to their packmate, crowding around the delicate set of porous tubes that xe had found. "Yes," Conta said, eyes shining. "This is a [b]glass sponge[/b] - and this one is still alive!" They looked at their surroundings and found themselves at the edge of a "forest" of crystal pipes, globes, mazes, hair-like structures and everything in between. [quote=Caution: Low-key Trypophobia inducing picture and video][quote][quote][quote][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKfafV91Ycs][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/332208677891080202/768540232517419008/unknown.png[/img][/url][/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote] "Sponges are probably the most basic kind of multi-cellular animals, and one of the most diverse and unknown too. Basically they are composed by a linning of cells that work either fused or in coordination to form a spongy skeleton, push water through it, capture bacteria, micro-animals, and other organic matter that comes in with the ocean's currents, and produce larva that will freely swim or be dragged by the currents before adhering to the ocean floor to form a new adult sponge. The glass sponges are a sub-class that has the special characteristic of building their skeletons out of Silica, making them really sturdy in comparison to all other sponges, which grants them the title of piezophiles: creatures that are specially well adapted to thrive at crushing depths, in conditions where normal cells are unable to as they get too tight to even transport nutrients due to the external pressure of water. Some species have bioluminiscent properties, and others are capable of fixing toxic substances like surfur to their skeletons, giving them bright colors." "Are all sponges extremophiles?" Asked Pest. "No. Other classes of sponges prefer to live in far more shallow, warm water, and thus use way less sturdy materials and work with common molecules, being members of coral-reef ecosistems. Glass sponges are the ones that prefer to thrive in depths of at least two or three thousand feet up to five or six kilometers, making them the only critters that would sit and form a permanent ecosystem in this limbo, offering housing to other species of scavengers that use them as camping bases when searching for carcasses. To make a living permanently fixed in this otherwise deserted area, critters have to be extreme, and this one definitely is," answered Conta, grinning at their friends as they steadied the camera. [quote=Caution: Low-key Trypophobia inducing picture][quote][quote][quote][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6blHswQ.png[/img][/center][/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote] ------ [center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/670539554507456522/767141674169925672/ror_small_divider.png[/img] [quote=Lore pinglist] @Finlandia @Swampman @MossWood [/quote] My apologies for no updates yesterday, real life caught me until really late, thus yesterday's lore update comes live now! [emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][/center]

[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/670539554507456522/767141674169925672/ror_small_divider.png[/img][/center] ------ The ocean was far behind - and below - the pack: they were climbing the sheer cliffs of the Reedcleft Ascent, wings tucked against their backs as they carefully ascended the steep, steep heights. The wind shrieked past them, but they held on. "I hope you have an idea of what we're looking for!" Cried Muta at xyr friend, who was above xyr and several metres to the right. "I've heard rumors," shouted Conta, squinting up into the winds. "Of animals that can survive up here!" Pest scrambled up a few more feet, yelping as a rather strong gust of wind threatened to rip it off of the cliffside. "This doesn't seem so extreme, though," it said, raising its voice to be heard. The others stared at it. "Really?" Gino laughed. "We can barely hold on - the air's real thin - and I don't see many plants growing on these cliffs, do you? That seems pretty extreme to me!" "Gino's right," Conta yelled. "With the atmosphere this thin, the temperature at nighttime is literally freezing, and there's not a lot that can survive with this little oxygen. We better hurry - we want to be elsewhere before it gets dark!" For a few moments, the pack climbed in silence. Conta reached the top of the plateau first, and when they did, they gasped, motioning for the rest of the pack to be quiet as they crested the ridge. "Look," Conta said, pointing. "That's a pack of [b]vicuñas[/b]!" "As the vegetation in this altitude doesnt receive much rainfall, it is scarce and even the dry grass growing in the salt lake in this plateau has almost no nutritive properties for a vast majority of hervibores, being Vicuñas and their close relatives the exception. In this conditions the food chain is not supposed to support such big animals, but here they are. They are considered Oligotrophs by some researchers: they can survive consuming only the few and scarce food that exist at their surroundings, where most animals starve to death. Because of that, they are adored by some clans in the plateau as signs of fertility and thriving." [center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qWWdgTjKmA][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/332208677891080202/768862874859864114/unknown.png[/img][/url][/center] "And they are jumping and running as if nothing!" Exclaimed Patho. The whole group of mirrors had eyes and mouth wide open, probably still trying to catch their breath. "Exactly! The blood-cells of these camelids is more resembling to those of high-soaring birds than to other mammals, becoming long-oval shaped to ease blood-flow across all their bodies to compensate for lack of oxigen and nutrients. But that is not sufficient to live in here, as they also have specially adapted haemoglobin -the molecule that captures and transports Oxigen and Carbon dioxide to move it through the body- that is cappable of fixing way more Oxigen than normal blood can, allowing them to be really tireless, and the fastest of land-dwelling creatures of the high plateaus. You would need an incredible amount of good luck to try and catch them!" "Wow, that's more extreme than I thought it'd be," whispered Pest. Conta grinned as they set up their camera. "They may not be very vicious, but they're definitely survivors." [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/hm8JOZM.png[/img][/center] ------ [center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/670539554507456522/767141674169925672/ror_small_divider.png[/img] [quote=Lore pinglist] @Finlandia @Swampman @MossWood [/quote] [emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][/center]

Lore pings please! :D

[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/670539554507456522/767141674169925672/ror_small_divider.png[/img][/center] ------ Their quest across the Reedcliff Ascent proved useful: they encountered a Wind clan that was willing to provide them with Breath enchantments, so they could keep a clear head and not suffer from oxygen deprivation. They knew they were going to need it: their next destination was the Observatory, in the center of the Starfall Isles. While many dragon breeds could ascend the Focal Point with ease, mirrors - with their stocky, muscular body and wings more built for gliding than flapping - did not have such luck, which led to the pack climbing to the impressive heights, gliding from one free-floating island to another in order to scale to higher and higher heights. With high winds biting at their hide in frequent gusts, there was little space for conversation, so their climb was mostly in silence. That is, until Pest let out a yelp and jumped back from the ledge it was climbing. It glided a few meters, catching ahold of the next floating isle over, and motioned at the rest of its pack. It took a little work, but soon all five of them were clustered on the same small chunk of rock. "Look," Pest yelled, pointing above them, where a flock of strange birds hovered, their wings flapping infrequently. "This is the first time I've seen birds in awhile. Are they just migrating?" "I think they live at this height," said Conta. "That looks like a flock of [b]Rüppell's griffon vultures[/b]." He stood quietly trying to follow the elegant flight of one of the vultures. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_m39F4Gd4M][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/332208677891080202/769214786327674920/unknown.png[/img][/url] "Although they are well known as scavengers down in the savanna and forests, they are also mountain dwellers". The pack sat as they discovered how the birds were nesting and raising their chicks in caves and bushes at the edge of the cliffs. Like natural gliders, the vultures took advantage of the mountains air currents to rise to high altitudes and search for carcasses. Their flight seemed calm and effortless, inspiring Conta to start his speech: "Just like other vultures, they have a ridiculously keen sense of smell and awesome eyesight that allows them to detect food hundreds of kilometers at their surroundings, and one of the most acidic stomachs known, able to destroy almost every poison and pathogenic organism that they ingest before those could cause them any harm." [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCraf4n_eEw][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/332208677891080202/769220031250432020/unknown.png[/img][/url] "As all birds, they have a far more efficient respiratory system, that relies more in securing airflow across multiple air-cavities inside their bodies instead of exclusively pushing air through their lungs like other animals do. But you may be guessing that it is not enough to fly in here, and you are correct. The air here is so thin that most birds would be fatigued in minutes as there is just not enough oxygen for the brain and body to stay conscious and keep itself warm. That's the reason why high-altitude critters also have a bigger heart and specially well irrigated brain and muscles, with plenty more vessels and capillaries to secure oxygen supply. But yet again, that is still not enough." "These particular vultures and a very few other extreme birds have evolved a specially modified Haemoglobin (that transports oxygen in blood) and Myoglobin (that keeps oxygen in muscles) that are more resistant to the alkalosis caused by the lack of oxygen in the body, while being more efficient transporting gas molecules. That helps them to secure their oxygen supply and stabilize their body acidity levels preventing Altitude sickness, and helps them prevent that changes in air pressure force the molecules of gas to scape the cells when they soar, which would otherwise form bubbles and cause them Decompression sickness." "In resume, to fly so high they have adaptations down to the last fiber of their bodies." Conta grappled with the camera hung around their neck. "Not many animals can even breathe this high up, let alone survive. They're pretty extreme." [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/08eixnt.png[/img][/center] ------ [center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/670539554507456522/767141674169925672/ror_small_divider.png[/img] [quote=Lore pinglist] @Finlandia @Swampman @MossWood @TinyGayTiefling [/quote] [emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][/center]

[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/670539554507456522/767141674169925672/ror_small_divider.png[/img] [size=2]big thanks to @Neffi for lending us the use of her clan to help our Pack continue their adventure![/size][/center] ------ The Pack reached the top of the Focal Point, where they collapsed atop each other, puffing and panting. "The air's...[i]real[/i] thin...up here," managed Muta, struggling to catch xyr breath. Conta nodded, taking slow, deep breaths. Slowly, the rest of the mirrors followed their example. After a few moments of this, they drew in one final deep breath, and spoke. "The arcane clans that live up here have adapted to this atmosphere. I don't know whether they use enchantments to help with that, though." Pest, having somehow recovered faster than the rest, was already halfway to the Observatory doors. "Let's ask them!" Conta's eyes widened. "Pest, the magics of the Observatory are [i]extremely[/i] volatile, not even the dragons who live here can entirely predict them. We really shouldn't go in uninvited!" Either Pest couldn't hear Conta, or it didn't care, because it made no move to change or stop its course, heading straight for the Observatory entrance. The rest of the mirrors leapt to their feet, the four of them racing to try and intercept their packmate before it could open the doors. A misplaced step sent Muta barreling into the rest of them, and the quintet bowled over into the Observatory, crossing the threshold with a crackle. With their stamina not yet recovered, this left all of them once again in a panting heap, which is how Sayrith found them. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/25886747][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/258868/25886747.png[/img][/url][/center] Having just stepped out of the foremost of the chambers belonging to clan Nebula, she peered quizzically down at the heap of mirror in front of her. "Are you lost?" Pest spoke first; though it didn't move, remaining on its back atop its packmates. "No, we meant to come in here. How d'you breathe?" Startled, Sayrith took a step back. "I just breathe. Why, are you having issues?" The group nodded, half of them still wheezing, the other half practicing the deep breathing that Conta had showed them outside. With a light shake of her head and a gentle smile, Sayrith ushered them into the chambers. "Well, let's see if we can do something about that before we send you on your way." [emoji=arcane rune] The room they were led to was massive, and Sayrith gestured to a sitting area in front of a large window. On the other side of the room, a group of four dragons of varying breeds busied themselves with books, beakers, and notes. They seemed to take no note of the newcomers. "Don't mind them," Sayrith said. "They love their work, and don't particularly care for being interrupted. Would you like some tea while you catch your breath?" The mirrors nodded, almost in unison, and made themselves comfortable, careful not to make too much noise. When they looked out the window, they were startled to see that the ground was far, far below them. "Excuse me, miss Sayrith?" Conta looked at their host. "What floor are we on?" Sayrith, putting a kettle on a bunsen burner, glanced out the window herself. "Hm? Oh, you are on floor 745." At their startled expressions, she smiled, amused. "Not what you expected? The Observatory is funny like that." "I bet that results in all sorts of weird and extreme creatures," said Muta. The pack looked at xyr's partner, who looked thoughtful. "I don't know much about the extremophiles of the Starfall Isles," they said slowly. "I've never been very good with magic. But I bet there's all sorts of wild interesting extremophiles all over Sornieth that have adapted to magic. In fact, I know there's one extremophile that survives in all of the biomes. Even space." "Space!" Exclaimed Muta. "Nothing can survive in space." Conta smiled knowingly. "Tardigrades can." From behind them, someone cleared their throat. "Actually, tardigrades aren't extremophiles." [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/43465096][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/434651/43465096.png[/img][/url][/center] Behind her, two of her companions had also stopped working and were turning to see what had distracted the guardian. Conta blinked up at her, surprised."They aren't?" "No." Sniffing, she fetched a book from one of the shelves, beginning to page through it. "According to the notes taken on--" "Just being able to survive isn't enough to make an organism an extremophile," interrupted the spiral. Lyra huffed, but fell silent, scowling at her. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/42319009][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/423191/42319009.png[/img][/url][/center] "Sorry, Lyra's about to bore your ears off with a three hour lecture about what I can tell you in just a few sentences. I'm Astrid," she said, sticking a claw out, "And that's Lyra. And back there's Avari-" The skydancer waved. "And Spell." Spell, the fae, did not acknowledge their presence or their acknowledgement of his, carefully measuring fluid into a beaker. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/41468912][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/414690/41468912.png[/img][/url][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/44545283][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/445453/44545283.png[/img][/url][/center] Conta took her larger claw in both of theirs, shaking it cheerfully. "I'm Contagion. That's Mutagen, Pathogen, Gino, and Pest." [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62955223][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/629553/62955223.png[/img][/url][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/60760876][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/607609/60760876.png[/img][/url][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/58650886][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/586509/58650886.png[/img][/url][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/59631847][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/596319/59631847.png[/img][/url][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62759587][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/627596/62759587.png[/img][/url][/center] "Nice to meet'cha. Anyway, to be an extremophile you have to make a home in a place - and [i]thrive[/i] there." Behind Astrid, Lyra and Avari had both started taking notes. Astrid continued. "Although they have been found in moss subjected to a 100-years-long drought, in icicles formed in the Icewarden's personal freezer at -270 C°, and in some of our most anaerobic floating islands, all of those findings and many other survival experiments (yes, we did send some to the space and back), shared two things in common: first, those were conditions where tardigrades were not able to graze, move, grow or reproduce; and second, the tardigrades had entered a state of Cryptobiosis, under which they prepared themselves to suspend their metabolism, becoming almost inert little tuns, key word almost, as if they managed to survive the extreme condition they came back to life once their enviroment becomes suitable again, with the right amount of oxigen, humidity, temperature, radiation, salinity and pressure for them." "In fact, tardigrades complete their whole life cycle in aquatic environments: some in marine water, others adhered to plants in rivers and lakes, and the more terrestrial ones in water films collected by moss and other plants. However, sometimes they may be exposed to enviromental extremes, specially those that inhabit liquid films, as that habitat is prone to suffer dissication or freeze, and so they have adaptated to enter in their state of cryptobiosis to survive. They don't enjoy extreme conditions, they just manage to survive through them, as many other animals, sometimes including ourselves, do when life becomes dificult. So while they are very interesting creatures, they aren't classified as extremophiles, even though a lot of people still think they do!" "Wow," Conta said, eyes round. "I learned something today." Astrid grinned. "I have a colony of a few different species of tardigrada, actually. Would you like to see them before you go?" [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kux1j1ccsgg][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/332208677891080202/769535100307898368/unknown.png[/img][/url] The mirrors nodded. Behind Astrid, something exploded with a sudden [i]bang[/i], startling the mirrors - and only the mirrors. The other dragons in the room seemed nonplussed. "That's just Spell," Astrid said, shooting a thumbs up at the small fae, who was covered with charred ashes. Spell returned the thumbs up, polishing his goggles with a small cloth he'd fished out of his pocket. "That just happens. Don't worry about it." [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/kjSnV0U.png[/img][/center] ------ [center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/670539554507456522/767141674169925672/ror_small_divider.png[/img] [quote=Lore pinglist] @Finlandia @Swampman @MossWood @TinyGayTiefling [/quote] [emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][emoji=rainbow star 2 size=1][emoji=plague rune size=1][/center]

Ooh, I like your theme! Can I be added to the lore pings?