📜🐧 Pebble & Friends and The Vagrant Penguins — The Lore
PEBBLE & FRIENDS
Pebble — Named after our token / penguins use Pebbles to attract mates
Manaaki — Meaning to cherish, conserve, and sustain
Hau — Meaning Wish or Wind
VAGRANT PENGUINS
Vagrant va·grant | ˈvā-grənt
Definition:
- a: wandering about from place to place usually with no means of support b. of an animal: wandering outside its normal geographic range, especially of a bird: found outside its normal geographic range or migration route.
2. a: fleeting, wayward, or inconstant quality b: having no fixed course
Vagrancy is a phenomenon where an animal appears outside its normal range; these are known as vagrants. There are a number of factors that may cause an animal to become a vagrant. Surviving vagrants may colonize.
VAGRANT PENGUINS MASCOT
Carl Got lost at a festival and is still missing today (reference Rothbury festival) — Order Carl Figurine
THE LORE
Growing up in the Waddle, life was great for Pebble, Manaaki, and Hau. There were clear blue skies, icy hills to race down, and plenty of fish to share with their family and friends.
As the penguins grew older, their world drastically changed. Summers got hotter and winters came later. Even the fish stopped swimming in the pools that once reflected the rainbow colours of their scales.
The Waddle went out into the ocean to forage for food, even though they were afraid they might run into predators, or worse — fishermen. They were so determined to find food that they were willing to take that risk.
As they foraged further into the unknown, Hau began to feel strange.
Something in the water felt off, but he couldn’t put his beak on it. Day by day more penguins got sick and their feathers turned to a smoggy green.
At that moment, Pebble Manaaki, and Hau set out on a journey across our planet. They would cross frozen tundras, tropical rainforests, and arid deserts in search of better food for their family and a place to call home.
They would meet a variety of animals along the way that help them understand how climate change impacts life of all kinds. With each new friendship, the penguins’ faith in themselves grew and they became more confident that they could save their colony.
Their first encounter was with a group that drifted away from the Waddle to become known as the Vagrant Penguins. These penguins lived differently than the rest of the colony. While the Waddle hunted for food, the Vagrants hunted for costumes. While the Waddle slept, the Vagrants danced under the stars in their iglooseum nightclub.
When Pebble, Manaaki, and Hau met the Vagrant Penguins, they discussed their journey and the looming famine that threatened their species. They were welcomed into the clan like birds of a feather with open wings and a celebration that gave them a proper send-off.
As the first golden rays of dawn began to break on the glistening snow, our trio said their farewells and waddled down to the ocean, setting out with a fresh stride in their swim and a new beat in their hearts to guide them.
Further up the glacier, a group of Vagrants sat huddled around a burning fire as their Elders shared a story of an otherworldly relic that lay hidden in their land. The relic held great power, they said.
The Vagrants listened intently as the Elders told them about the ancient beings who once roamed their land. Legend has it, these creatures possessed powerful magic that could be used to augment reality.
Initially, they were skeptical of the existence of magic. But as the Elders continued, the Vagrants began to notice signs of these enigmatic powers all around them. Strange lights appeared in the night sky, inanimate objects moved on their own, and mysterious energy flowed through the land.
Meanwhile, some Vagrants were seaside in search of clothing washed ashore from the last festival season. As they splashed further into the waves, the sounds of their own laughter lured them deep into an underwater network of caves that lead to the ruins of an ancient civilization.
Determined to uncover what secrets lie ahead, the curious penguins wiggled their way through a seemingly endless labyrinth of narrow passages, then entered a magnificent chamber.
A sense of awe washed over them as they cautiously stepped inside. The air around them buzzed with unfamiliar energy as they tried to decipher the symbols carved into the walls.
In the center of the room, an icy monolith held a glowing crystal.
Strange energy pulsated through the Vagrants with every heartbeat.
Feeling drawn to the crystal, one of them reached out to touch it. As soon as their wings made contact, a flash of magic flooded the entire cavern with radiant light. The penguins’ hearts were filled with wonder as they felt themselves floating in the air, looking around in amazement at the dazzling display of colorful lights surrounding them.
The crystal began to tremble and flicker erratically — casting strange shadows across the cavern. Cryptic glyphs on the walls appeared to come to life, illuminated by an ethereal glow. A rumble echoed throughout the chamber, sending shivers down the penguins’ spines.
The Vagrants broke free from the crystal’s trance in a desperate moment of clarity. They scrambled out of the caves, clutching any piece of the ruins they could find as evidence of the alien world that lay beneath them under the ice.
They once believed that the ancient myths were simply folklore and fantasy, but now they suspected that the Elders’ tales might be true.
Pouring over the artifacts for hours each day, the Vagrants became obsessed with learning how their ancestors used them. The more they understood about their power, the more concerned the penguins grew.
Worried that the relic would destroy everything they loved, the penguins considered destroying the ruins to hide the crystal from the humans. But humans are relentless beasts that will find a way to exploit anything.
So the Vagrant Penguins began to seek out more radical solutions. They discussed moving far away from the land they call home. Or the possibility of using the crystal to protect their glacier.
Some Vagrants, like their migrating relatives, looked to the sky for salvation…
A strange light flickered on the horizon one day. Anxious and excited by the phenomenon, the Vagrants climbed to the top of a cliff to get a better view.
Using a telescope they had discovered on an abandoned houseboat, the penguins peered into the blackness of space.
They stood there frozen as the flash of light grew larger, and it became clear that it wasn’t a star but a doorway leading to another dimension.
One by one formations made of gas and rock slowly floated through the wormhole each more obscure in matter, shape, and size than the last.
As they entered our planetary orbits so would their inhabitants, hundreds of thousands of new species calling our milky way galaxy home. Planets and stars illuminated the sky where darkness once loomed. — Earth was no longer the third rock from the sun.
The Vagrant Penguins began to think they may be able to escape humans altogether embracing a whole new way of living on one of the new planets…
