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When two or more sippers decide to bring new life into the world, they mix their magic energies together and seal it within an egg. Although intimate, this is NOT an erotic act, and it's possible for entire communities of sippers to come together and contribute. Since a certain threshold of magic is needed to successfully coalesce into an egg, the 'parent' sippers would either need to be very powerful, or there would need to be many 'parents' participating. This also means that during times of magic scarcity, sipper birthrates sharply decline, making eggs and young especially precious.
Once formed, the energies inside need time to merge before they can form new sipper, which may be an extremely slow process. Magic should be surrounding the egg at all times to encourage incubation, the most common methods of doing so are taking turns sleeping with it, or by placing it within a colony of dusterpuffs. The egg is completely invulnerable to harm, and will always hatch regardless of unfavorable conditions, even if it takes centuries to do so. The shell is made of crystals, and can come in any variety of colors and patterns. They're often sparkly, opalescent, metallic, etc. and can have a smooth or textured surface.
For a majority of incubation, the egg remains so still that one would assume it a lifeless object, were it not for the magic detected within. When it becomes close to hatching though... things get a little wild. Eggs become intermittently mobile, the punching and kicking of the little one inside causing it to hop around, often to the exasperation of it's caregivers. They become more active as time goes on, cracks beginning to form until finally...
A sipper hatchling emerges!! Or very rarely, twins! Also known as sipperlings, these tiny creatures are born alert with open eyes and ears, full of energy and ready for adventure! Which is exactly what they do, whether their caretakers like it or not. Hatchlings are possessed by a strong wanderlust and, in combination with an unnatural ability to escape any confines, these little escape artists literally can't be stopped from setting out and exploring, though they will always return home for naps. Caretakers need not worry too much, since all hatchlings keep parts of their eggshells on their body, which retain the same invulnerability magic from when they were still incubating, keeping the hatchling safe from harm! The style a hatchling wears depends on its individual personality and will change over time, since parts of it chip off and are absorbed into their bodies as they grow. As a result, hatchlings with more shell tend to be younger, while hatchlings with less shell tend to be older! Below are some examples of different styles the eggshell can be worn in.
Pipped: All hatchlings begin at this stage! The egg is cracked just enough for the them to peek out at the world. You can tell if a pipped hatchling is awake or not, since its pupils glow brightly in the dark.
Peek-a-boo: The top of the shell is separate from the bottom, allowing it to pop its head up to say hello, or squat back down for privacy.
Bottoms: The bottom of the shell remains. The hatchling's feet are actually separate from the body, allowing it to move freely where the shell would logically be in the way otherwise. Hatchlings with this style tend to be less energetic due to expending magic on their feet, and are sleepy or grumpy more often as a result. Note: this is NOT a diaper, sippers don't excrete waste like that, though it might visually evoke the same 'baby' look that a diaper would.
Helmet: The top of the shell completely covers the hatchling's head and face, and often has a crack for it to see out of. Hatchlings with this style tend to be more shy, but are still very capable of adventuring!
Cap: A portion of shell sits just on top of the hatchling's head. They often have an outgoing personality, and make for good leaders.
Bib: The shell is secured like a necklace and rests over the front of the hatchling's chest, they often have a particularly insatiable appetite.
Safety pads: Only small bits of shell remain, resting over the hatchling's elbows and knees like safety pads. These hatchlings are often particularly rowdy and love physical activity.
(the styles below are ideas credited to satuwn!)
Cone: Shell is worn around the hatchling's neck, curving upwards to hide the bottom portion of the its face. They tend to have a silly personality, but may get into trouble more often.
Turtle: A large portion of shell remains to cover the hatchling's back, like the shell of a turtle. They tend to feel more secure and confident.
Poncho: Similar to the bib style, except the shell wraps around the hatchling's neck fully. They tend to especially love collecting things.
Eyepatch: A strip of shell hangs on the hatchling's head, covering one eye. These hatchlings tend to have a richer imagination.
Skater: Bits of shell cover the hatchling's feet, allowing them to move very quickly over flat surfaces, but slower over other terrains. They tend to lack patience.
Other than shell styles, colors/markings, and different fur styles, hatchlings look mostly the same as pictured here (note that the lack of shell here is for reference purposes only). They lack the self control to keep themselves from over-exerting their magic via shapeshifting, and are prevented from doing so by the same shell that protects them. They're incapable of forming wings, or using external magic for the same reasons. Only after a hatchling absorbs all of the magic in its shell, which can take years, will they become a juvenile capable of changing their appearance (including special features). Even markings tend to change at least a little as they grow.
While adventuring in the meantime, they rely on recruiting other creatures to make ends meet! The following are common companions for hatchlings (more will be added in the future):
- Luxies especially sunbulbs, are easily attracted by the pure hearts of hatchlings. They're often used to light up dark places or for comfort during bedtime as night lights.
- Mystkats tend to be very timid around hatchlings, possibly being off-put by the magic emanating from their shells. If a bond can be formed, they're good combat companions in both munchkin and feli form, and can be used as a mount when in the latter form as well!
- Petite idyllwings can be used as aquatic mounts, but often don't listen to orders very well.
- Cozikyrns, or baby pegakyrns are the perfect mount for hatchlings due to their friendly personality and love for adventure that they have in common!
- Dusterpuffs aren't very useful during adventures, but make for great pets. Sippers incubated in a dusterpuff colony tend to get along especially well with them.
- Striped pipers find hatchlings very irritating since they're incapable of stinging them, but will begrudgingly follow along as combat companions.
- Shellphones are often kept by hatchlings, so they can easily contact their caregivers or other companions.
- Sneeps ccould be used as mounts in theory, since hatchlings can't be harmed by their acidic goo. However due to their lethargic nature, they don't tend to suit the role.
Hatchlings also tend to group up for adventures as well, forming miniature parties! Adventures often consist of exploring, overcoming obstacles, learning new things, and playing games amongst friends. If they're lucky, they return home with treasures, which could be innocuous items like stones and seeds, discarded toys, etc, or could be actual treasure like enchanted objects! The most valuable find for a hatchling, however, is a type of flower known as the sugarbell!
These rare plants are very similar in appearance to an earth flower (lily of the valley, which are poisonous, please DON'T eat any part of them, preferably don't touch one at all) which droop downwards to form a bell-like shape, and produce liquid magic inside, known as nectar! This nectar is the most delicious thing to sipper hatchlings, and the flavor of sugarbell nectar they consume as a hatchling can influence their favorite type of magic an adult! The top of the sugarbell grows sealed to prevent any nectar from leaking, but enzymes from a hatchling's saliva allows them to pierce the flower with their straw-like tongues to drink. The top re-seals itself after the tongue is removed, and the stem of the flower connects to form a handle-like shape, which doubles as a base to keep the flower from rolling around. It seems as if the plant was created specifically for sipper hatchlings, leading many to wonder if they were once cultivated by ancient sippers, before the event that caused everyone to lose their memory.
These are treated as a minor sipperworld species
Although they aren't technically MSS, since they're just baby sippers, they are treated the same as them in the sense that: Anyone who owns one or more official playable race design(s) may create them for free! There are certain guidelines that need to be followed (the same guidelines as usual for MSS), which you can read at the bottom of the page here: Etherheim Ownership Rules
There are some additional rules for hatchlings:
- In order for an adult version of a hatchling to be recognized as official, you'll need to either purchase an use a MYO slot, or participate in an event that allows you to age them up. Additionally, hatchlings sold as adopts (from official sources: Fumi-LEX or guest artists) always come with a free MYO slot for the adult form. You may create an unofficial version of the adult form, but it won't be treated the same as an official one (for example, they can't be used during events in place of an official sipper)
- DO NOT sell, trade, or transfer a hatchling under the pretense of it being an official adult sipper. Doing so is considered scamming and may result in warning (and a subsequent species ban, if done purposefully to scam someone, particularly if it's done again after previously being warned)
- Sipper design owners may create hatchling versions of their sippers. However, these are considered to be the same character and can't be transferred separately from the adult form.
- Although you don't need multiple sippers to create hatchlings, you can technically pair sippers up to have 'children' if all owners of said designs are asked beforehand and give consent. However, if the resulting sipperling resembles any of the 'parents' closely, it should either always be transferred with the 'parent' (soulbound), or the design must be changed to look more unique before they can be transferred separately.
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