Microstory 597: Last Giant Dies

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The shortest-living intelligent species in the world was the giant, and the ultimate consequence of this fact was realized yesterday when the last giant died following a life of heart disease, along with other health complications. Wizards first drew up the plans for giant humans centuries ago, though never actually created them, likely due to the problems they eventually endured. Unfortunately, the fairies ended up getting their hands on this information, and had no problems acting on it. The average human is about 7.5 sheam in height, with the upper limit sitting right around 10 sheam. Species that are related to humans, like elves and veratope, tend to fall within the same range. Meanwhile, werewolves and dwarves are generally shorter. Giants, on the other hand, average twice the size of the standard human, towering over the ground at 20 sheam. Prehistoric avians, of course, could get much larger than that, but they evolved with certain biological characteristics that prevented them from experiencing the same issues as giants did. The first thing to understand is that scaling up a creature does not require a linear formula. Though giants were twice the size of us, they were eight times our mass, which meant that they weighed upwards of two shemratra, which is equal to 2,080 sheamtra. This made them the heaviest beings living on land at the time. Cetaceans only survive as heavy as they are by benefiting from weightlessness perception in the ocean. This is what causes beached whales to die; their organs can’t withstand the weight of each other. Land animals do not possess this advantage, which means that giants were literally unable to move.

Giants were discovered in the Bogs of Linctavia decades ago, having apparently been left there by the fairies, which are notorious for abandoning their experiments and creations. The water and mud of the bog allowed some movement, but not an adequate amount. The giants had somehow managed to develop some kind of symbiotic relationship with the marble fintys in the area. Marble fintys are known for their evolutionary quirk wherein they never learned what their bodies were capable of consuming, which means they eat just about everything, and regurgitate anything that their digestive system can’t handle. These strange birds figured out that they could do this near the giants, and that not only would the giants not harm them, but other predators would avoid the area for fear of them. Sadly, not even this was enough to keep giants alive as their numbers experienced diminishing returns over a few short generations. The last giant was named Kirabo Endison, and his last words were, “take care of my [pet marble finty] Faven.” He was seven years old, and is survived by all of us.

Microstory 531: Special Devices Allow Elves to Swim

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While some scientists are working to cure cancer, or send man beyond the solar system, others are working on more practical needs. One thing that makes humans so special when it come to the animal kingdom is that we’re not physically great at anything in particular, but we can display a middling performance in just about everything. Humans are not the fastest, largest, strongest, most agile, or swimmiest. We can’t jump all that high, we don’t always land on our feet, and we definitely can’t fly. Some individuals are more adept at certain skills than others, but in general, we’re all about the same. But what does that mean for human subspecies, like vampirs, dwarves, or the subject of our story today, elves? These other types of humans have their own advantages, but they also have some disadvantages. The most obvious of these is that vampirs have a less efficient oxygen-carrying system in their blood, but one that may be looked over is an elf’s inability to swim. Elves have denser bones, and a disproportionate weight distribution, favoring their upper body. They can’t swim, because just like standard humans, they still need to be able to come up for air, which is something their bodies won’t let them do. There are exceptions, of course. The Ferene Prince, for instance, is known for having succeeded in a sacred and dangerous rite of passage underwater that not even non-elves on their home islands were able to master. Unfortunately, most elves were not able to experience the joy of swimming through the water...until now. An eclectic group of scientists gathered at an old submarine base in Alabama’s Jouri Bay, and remained there for weeks, perfecting a technology the industry had never thought was necessary. Details on the design have not yet been released as patent proceedings are still underway, but these scientists have confirmed that their technology works. Special devices allow a wearer to both move through the water, and surface for breath, when needed. As previously stated, intellectual rights first have to get situated. After that, the device needs to go through rigorous safety standards with the Usonian government, and also with the Confederacy, if they wish to enter the global market. A spokesperson for the group has stated that they expect to put these devices on shelves within the next year.

Microstory 525: Savons Are Barely Not Human

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Ever since savons, elves, dwarves, and hiniaur were reintroduced to the world, scientists have been eager to learn more about them. We don’t know exactly where they came from, or how they came to be. All we know is how different they are than us. Elves are generally leaner, taller, and top-heavy when compared to humans. The bones in their upper body are denser than ours, which is why they are unable to swim. They can’t get their heads above water in order to breathe. What they lack in the water, they make up on land. They’re faster, stronger, tougher, and possess a greater amount of endurance. On the superficial side, they also have an almost silvery, powdery, tint of purple eyes and hair. Like elves, dwarves are known for their stamina. They require very little sleep, and are particularly adept at manual labor. They are, however, short and stout, and are technically capable of swimming. They’re nothing when compared to hiniaur, though, which are at their best in the water. Every hiniaur is born with gills, but not always in the same place of the body. They’re capable of walking around on land, but require considerable amounts of salt in order to survive. They will carry little pouches of salt around their necks in case they ever find themselves too far from saltwater. It is often unsettling when first meeting a hiniaur. They grow up normal to an adolescent stage, but then they stop aging. They’ll live nearly another 120 years, but will show no outward signs of it. Biologists believe they were created long ago in an attempt to cure aging; one that failed...but not completely.

Perhaps simultaneously the most interesting, and the least interesting, of the new races are the savons. They are noted for their tendency to speak in riddles and noncontextual metaphors. More research needs to be done, but they claim to have some kind of insight into the future; one that may or may not rival that of prophets. As far as their biology goes, they can possibly be considered the opposite of hiniaur. Their bodies age extremely rapidly for several years, before hitting a plateau, and appearing elderly for the rest of their lives, which will likely be somewhat longer than humans. Despite their advanced age, they are indistinguishable from humans, and some have even been hesitant to believe that they exist. Geneticists have found this to be not too far from the truth. Testing has shown that savon genes so similar to normal humans that results are often negligible. They appear to have such minor differences that it is almost not worth treating them as a separate human subspecies. A full report will be released to the public next month.