The Fallow Norn Story

Every good Shee geneticist needs a break once in a while, and our friend the Lone Shee was no exception. For now at least, he'd tired of fiddling with genes. Feeling a familiar sense of dissatisfaction and more than just a tickle of adventurous spirit, the Lone Shee decided to head out into the Warp once more. You could always count on the Warp to break the monotony!

Without any further thought he packed all his usual travel accessories into his bag and jumped into a nearby Warp portal. The plasma tickled against him as he passed on into its bright swirling blue.

And there he was, standing right at the open door of a massive wooden building. His jaw lowered - this wasn't what he'd expected at all. Then slowly but surely a smile began to creep onto his face. This was the kind of uncertainty that he loved about the Warp - you never knew where you would go! You were at home on the Capillata one minute, minding your own business - next you were off in the middle of some completely unknown place and time. Finding out where exactly you were was all the fun!

He walked forward into the building. It was all one large room, like a big meeting hall - everything was quite plain to see as there were wide, open windows on all walls. He sensed creatures of some sort lived here. But as he looked around the room it appeared none were to be found. There were no sleek and hunky Bondis strutting their stuff across a golden beach; no timid Treehuggers hugging something large and arboreal; and none of his brightly coloured Harlequins to shake even the smallest of sticks at. If creatures were here, they weren't obvious.

And then he smelt it - the thick, musky smell of male Grendels began to work its way into his nostrils. He didn't know how far away they were but the stench was getting stronger. He'd handled a few Grendels in his time, but en masse they could be much more than just an annoying interruption. Hurriedly he looked around for something to grab before he made his exit.

What he found shocked him to the bone and beyond. He didn't know how he had missed them, but there were mounted trophy heads stuck to the back wall of the room. They had looked at first like Reindeer or some other type of deer-like mammal. But they were not - they were the heads of Norns. Mostly ageing Stags with tri-point antlers posing with pride, but also a few Does - fixed forever in a furtive smile which must have been forced into place by some very twisted Grendel taxidermist.

It was obvious to him what must be done. Without hesitation he took two of the mounted heads - one Stag and one Doe. He may not be able to resurrect these individual Norns. But with the help of a couple of faithful Chi Chi Norns he could certainly produce a convincing clone or two.

The Grendel stench was becoming unbearable. Without further hesitation he threw everything into his travel bag and activated his portal device. And it was good he had hurried because two very large and powerful Grendels had just walked in and they did not seem to be smiling at him as he disappeared into the Warp.