Bats, Carrots And Potatoes

[everblue2er101 905]

I first wrote this three months ago exactly, as a means to introduce new features of the Minecraft 1.4 update. It was forgotten and I just remembered it. The idea with this is not to explain what bats look like, or how carrots best grow, or how many varieties of potatoes have been developed. This is purely explanatory, to describe how these things first came into being in Asulon.

 

For several days, nearing a week, the seas in the far south of Asulon were turbulent. Great waves crested and swelled, crashing into small islands and sending whistling winds across cliffs. The area is largely uninhabited, and little notice is taken by most. Those who do notice are, for the most part, nonplussed. This is a desolate, isolated region that only those who seek solitude and independence reside in. They continue on with their daily lives, adapting to the weather.

Finally, the rain begins to subside and the skies regain a hint of blue. Those living in the region step out of their cottages and houses, eager to repair any damage and continue on with life. Some even benefit greatly from the storm, finding that the wind and water have delivered useful and odd items to the beaches that they live near. Great piles of driftwood can be used for building and as fuel, and dead fish can still be cooked and eaten. Some find things even stranger...

A fisherman was the first to notice, as he slowly walked down the beach in front of the shack he lived in. Mixed in among the seaweeds, fish and wood on the beach was something else, small and black. Curious, he made his way slowly through the soaked sand to investigate. He was surprised to discover that it appeared to be a dead animal, but unlike one he had ever seen. He thought it looked vaguely like a bird, with delicate wings, but black fur as well. Glancing up and down the beach, he saw nothing similar. He carried on with his walk, questioning the strange sight but not being overly concerned with it. He had seen many strange things in his life, and was now focused on catching enough fish to stay alive another day.

But the fisherman was not the only one to notice an oddity. Across southern Asulon, there were several others who found this strange new sight. Most reacted in the same way, curiosity and then disinterest. But for some, the sights were even stranger.

Inland and farther north than many of those nearer to the water, the Halflings of the Vale did not face the same severe storms. In fact, they noticed almost nothing out of the ordinary except for a little more rain. The Halflings continued to tend to their fields of wheat, melons, pumpkins and sugarcane, and their pens of livestock. The first sign of something out of the ordinary came the night after the rain stopped. Several Halflings thought they noticed odd disturbances in the dark skies, rather like birds. Since birds flying at night were a rare sight to them, they took notice and tried to determine what they were. Unable to see anything in the dark, there was near unanimous decision to return to their warm burrows and investigate further in the morning.

The next day, news traveled quickly through Branborough that odd sights had been seem in the sky. Those who had spotted the flying creatures were adamant in what they had seen, while others were skeptical. No one was entirely sure what the creatures were, and the conflicting stories and rumours only added to the confusion. The sudden disappearance of any sign of them only bolstered the quiet claims and assumptions that nothing out of the ordinary had been seen at all, and perhaps some of the little folk had drank too much ale the night before. Then, though...

As the day wore on, Halflings all across the Vale suddenly came face to face with the creatures. Some found them in trees, or in small caves, or inside dark corners of burrows. Word once more spread quickly, and soon a reasonably coherent and accurate picture was being painted. These creatures seemed to be very small, scarcely larger than a baby chicken, and had wings like birds. But they lacked the feathers associated with birds, instead having black or brown fur and rather thin wings. Nearly all of them found had been in dark places, and strangest of all, they seemed to have been hanging there upside down with their feet. Many Halflings ran in terror after they entered a dark area and found a large group of these creatures who, when startled, took flight.

At first the creatures were referred to as ‘the strange birds’ or ‘the little flying beasties’. Soon, though, the new word ‘bat’ took root among the Halflings. None were entirely sure where it came from, although some adamantly claimed that a wee Halfling had seen one of the creatures and proclaimed it as such. At any rate, the name bat was established quickly. Most Halflings were initially wary of them, but soon learned that were scarcely seen. Only at night did the bats take flight, soaring high above the Vale. As the initial fervour died down, the Halflings slowly became used to the new creatures, and would sometimes see them in shaded places. Other than that, though, the arrival of the bats passed by smoothly.

Except for one thing. Some sharp eyed Halflings noticed something else odd about the bats – some had things attached to their fur. Small, little things that didn’t appear to be of much importance, or at least at first. Soon, though, some Halflings noticed that larger bats had larger items in their fur, things that actually looked like seeds. Curious, as Halflings are oft to be, some of them carefully plucked the seeds from the fur of the bats. Those who planted them were delighted with the results. Some of the seeds, reddish in tinge, produced a very unusual crop. It was long, and orange, and crisp. Even stranger, it actually grew underground, with a leafy green top poking through the soil. These new crops sprouted quickly, much more so than wheat. The name ‘carrot’ caught on, named after a Halfling farmer who had developed the crop. Other seeds produced another type of produce. These too grew underground with leafy green tops that came through the soil. They had to be dug up with a shovel or spade and produced a crop that was small, round, brown and numerous. Some Halflings tried to eat them raw, like carrots, but the taste left much to be desired. Cooking them proved to soften the crops and make them much more palatable. They became known as ‘potatoes’ or ‘taters’. Both crops quickly spread throughout the Vale, since they were easy to grow. Rain helped with their growth and they didn’t require much space. Furthermore, growing underground meant that even if the tops were trampled by careless Halflings, monsters or farm animals the crop wouldn’t be ruined, as was the case with wheat.

The process was not immediate, of course, but it did happen quickly. Soon Halfling fields were even more bountiful than they had been before. Carrots and potatoes became a regular feature of Halfling meals. Soon, visitors to the Vale took notice of these strange new crops. Inquiries led to excited proclamations by the Halflings about the arrival of the seeds, a story that many dismissed as the fanciful dealings of the little folk. The spread of carrots and potatoes was slow, but over time all of Asulon began to cultivate them.

And of the bats? The Halflings were vindicated quickly, for they too spread. It wasn’t long after the storms that bats arrived in the west of the Holy Oren Empire, where many believed them to be a sign of evil. They then moved on into Hanseti and north into the rest of the Human lands. Although they never adapted well to the deserts of the far north, some places proved excellent places for homes of bats. The dark caverns of Menorcress were quickly inundated with the small beasts, as were the dark Elven forests. It took some time, but in the end bats became as common throughout Asulon as pigs or sheep.

 

After Asulon fell, the survivors who left on their ships took what they could with them. Potatoes and carrots featured prominently among the foodstuffs taken to provision the ships during a potentially long voyage. In the world of Elysium they became some of the first crops widely planted, and were found to thrive. Potatoes especially seemed to grow well around the soil near the volcano. Perhaps the ash given off by frequent eruptions helps their growth. Bats, too, were spotted on occasion in the new world. Since the origins of the crops and bats were never fully known, it is entirely possible that they first originated in Elysium, or somewhere even farther off...

[Lvke 1000]

+1! I approve greatly of this. This explains so much, well for the being of bats, carrots and potatoes being in LoTc.

[Jistuma 1995]

I always rp'ed there always being these vegetables in LOTC, and I rp many more.

 

I don't think any lore is needed for them, they have just always existed.

[Telanir 6432]

Awesome, I guess we need an explanation for everything these days in LotC.

Quite a bit of effort was put into this and it makes a lot of sense. :3

[CaptainCake98 0]

This is good, It helps with general understanding of lore, for all physicians, botanists, etc... If only jeb would stop adding new things xD

[Jistuma 1995]

Again, why is there lore for potatoes and bats? They already existed before, we now just have something to rp it with.

[LaCabra (Soda) 1515]

The real question, Jistuma, is why not?

[cruzazul 2807]

The real question, Jistuma, is why not?

[Jistuma 1995]

Because they existed before and adding lore saying how they were found out is like saying they didn't exist before.

 

[edit] Considering I rp watermelons, lemons, cabages, elks, tomatoes, berries, deer, rabbits, bears, cinnamon, oranges, moles, monkeys, will that make them disapear and lore made for their new existance if any of them are made in MC mechanics?

 

[edit2] Also, the arcane mages that produce animals make snakes, frogs, rats, etc. Any of them can maybe be done in a future upgrade of MC, and there shouldn't be new lore for it because... well... they already existed.

[LaCabra (Soda) 1515]

Not every bit of lore needs a purpose. Some people like to lore write for fun.

[Soin Darrell (dakydaky) 2]

+1, sounds really good to me!