Gaia Xenowyrm

Gaia Xenowyrms were released on June 27, 2015, as part of the "June Release 2015" alongside the Astrapi, Chrono, Mageia, Pyro and Thalassa Xenowyrms. This release was the first to introduce Wyrms into Dragon Cave. This dragon sorts as "Xenowyrm Dragon", between White Dragons and Dinos (Yoshi), in breed sort.

Egg
"Mana courses throughout this glassy egg."

Hatchling
"Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. But... where are its legs?"

Mature Hatchling
"Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. But... where are its legs?

''And look! It has gotten bigger and is now able to use magic. It must be close to maturing."''

Adult
"Originating from a single species that thrived in ancient times, Xenowyrms have become an incredibly diverse breed whose appearances vary depending on their habitats. Each Xenowyrm subspecies is heavily reliant on the power of different types of mana, making them powerful magic users. Gaia, despite their large size, are the lightest of all Xenowyrm subspecies. They possess the ability to use incredibly powerful life magic, though most of their efforts are concentrated; to them, nothing is more important than letting plant life thrive. Adult Gaia will use their magic to grow vegetation around themselves so they can spread it wherever they travel."

Sprite Artists

 * Birdzgoboom (All)

Breeding
Breeding patterns have been confirmed by Birdzgoboom, being based on biomes, and are as follows:

Situation 1: Xeno x Non-Xeno (regular biome):

Outcome 1: the Xeno breeds its same variation

Outcome 2: you get an egg from the Non-Xeno breed

Outcome 3: you get the Xeno corresponding to the Non-Xeno's biome

Situation 2: Xeno x Non-Xeno (Cave):

Outcome 1: the Xeno breeds its same variation

Outcome 2: you get an egg from the Non-Xeno breed

Outcome 3: you get a random egg from the other 5 Xeno variations

Situation 3: Xeno x Xeno:

Outcome 1: They have a chance to breed the Xeno variation from parent A

Outcome 2: They have a chance to breed the Xeno variation from parent B

Outcome 3: They have a smaller chance to breed one of the other 4 (or 5 if both parents are the same variation) Xeno variations.

Trivia
During the breed's release, the initial mature hatchling description displayed a glitch: the standard mature hatchling message ("And look! It has grown wings") was displayed as well as the custom one meant for this particular breed. This has since been removed.

Additional Information
Birdzgoboom posted the following in the release thread shortly after TJ's dragons grew up: "Birdzgoboom"

- Xenowyrms concept art.png XENOWYRMS

Yeaaahhh, Wyrms! And not just one, but six. Well, I guess they count as one, kind of, since they're all Xenowyrms-- ehh whatever, they're all wildly different enough from each other. SIX.

Astrapi Xenowyrms are aligned with Lightning. They're...spiky. And pointy. And kind of mean.

But they mean well, really, they don't generally be mean just for the sake of it (usually).

Thalassa Xenowyrms are aligned with Water. They have thick frills and are squishy like sponges.

They also have gills, as can probably be seen in the sprite!

Mageia Xenowyrms are aligned with Magi (shocking, right?). They're super smooth and reflective.

Incredibly wise, don't like dealing with too much stupidity, but do like to teach those that are willing to learn.

Chrono Xenowyrms are aligned with Time. They're... also spiky. And they glow. A lot. Seriously their underbellies are super glowy.

They also have flowers that grow on their bodies that bloom and perish with their Time magic.

Gaia Xenowyrms are aligned with Life. They're more matte and smooth in a way more like wood that's been stripped of bark.

They have frills that are made of something akin to the wings of a bug, but they are not wings.

Pyro Xenowyrms are aligned with t3h ph1r3 Fire. They have a temper. But they're also super toasty and probably make great night lights,

since they have lots of little glowing spots all over them.

Each of their adult descriptions vary, so be sure to read those if you wanna know some neat info on each different Xenowyrm subspecies!

Birdzgoboom has since been doing Q&A replies on the forum's release thread with the following information to offer:

Show/Hide Information "Birdzgoboom"

- What's the reason behind the name "Xenowyrm"?

The reason behind the name [Xeno] is because of how old the species itself is. The Xenos are from a realllyyy freaking long time ago, which, if you look at say, a map of today compared to a map of what probably was the earth millions of years ago, it looks like a pretty foreign planet, no?

Anyway, that was the main reason behind the name.

ALSO THEY'RE NAMED THAT BECAUSE I WAS JUST REALLY FEELING THE SOUND OF XENOWYRM.

Are the names you listed in your post all the singular form?

Yep. Well, you can call them "Thalassa Xenowyrm(s)" or also shorten it to "Thalassas," "Gaias," "Chronos," etc.

--Edited to further clarify now that I am no longer tired:

Singular: Astrapi/Thalassa/Mageia/Chrono/Gaia/Pyro [Xenowyrm]

Plural: Astrapi/Thalassa/Mageia/Chrono/Gaia/Pyro [Xenowyrms]

Shorter Plural: Astrapis/Thalassas/Mageia/Chronos/Gaia/Pyros

How did you come up with each individual name? O:

Names that fit the elements as close as possible, save for Gaia, which means more of "earth" than it does "life." I didn't like the actual name for Life, so I went with Gaia. It fits enough because they have plants all over them, too... They follow a Greek theme.

Birdz, how large are these babs? What do they eat?

They're pretty gigantic. Seeing as though they stem from what I'd like to think of a more prehistoric species, I would bet they're pretty darn large compared to a lot of other dragons (another reason why they have some pretty big sprites). EDIT: Oh, they all have different diets.

So Chrono's can create lag?

Yes. THE LAGMONSTER IS REAL. Hide your scrolls.

After getting over the shock of the knock-out punch you delivered with these guys, I was wondering. Were they inspired after the Chirstmas and Valentine's events with the mana stones? I can't help but see a resemblance. Especially with the whole mana theme.

Ahaha, not really, but helping head the Christmas event was a great way to gain more knowledge on how mana works in DC. The mana theme just came from me liking the mana theme. If the material to build off of is there (i.e: the mana lore), why not take advantage of it? 8D

So Birdz...how do they breed...even though I just want to love them and stuff them together in pairs xD

IT'S A SECRET TO EVERYBODY.

Yes, is it possible you sprited 12 varieties, one for each type of mana, and that we'd be able to breed the other 6?

I would be dead if there were 12 of them. (Really, TJ might have killed me. nahjk)

The mageia are already stated to be 'incredibly wise', but how about the others? Do they all vary?

Yeah, they all vary, though none of them are inherently "stupid." You've just got varying degrees of intelligence.

Some of them are stronger (i.e: Pyros) and some of them are smarter (i.e: Mageia).

On a scale of intelligence, I'd probably put them at this:

Mageia > Chrono/Gaia > Thalassa > Astrapi/Pyro.

If you put one of each all together in a room would they get along?

Rofl, put an Astrapi in a room with a Pyro alone and see how well that goes.

The Astrapis/Pyros would probably have a harder time getting along with anything than the others would. Especially the Gaias, they're pretty much benevolent sweethearts.

How exactly do you pronounce Xenowyrm?

I personally pronounce it like the 'X' is pronounced like a 'z.' Zee-no wyrm.

Six Xenowyrms, one from each biome, slither into a bar, and they all get drunk and start arguing. Which one would win the "Grumpiest Noodle" award? For the purposes of this question, assume the bar is large enough to accommodate colossal spiky spaghetti monsters.

Definitely the Mageia. It has such a quick wit, really. It could express its grumpiness very eloquently.

What would be the reactions of each of the six xenowyrm types if a desipis came and tried to hypnotise it?

Well, none of them would like it, that's for sure lol. But I imagine it would be especially hard to control the Mageia due to how intelligent it is, same goes for the Chrono and Gaia.

How strong do the Cassies affect each of the Xenos?

Well, since the Cassies suppress the magical energy, it would probably leave the Xenos very disoriented, especially since they're pretty heavily reliant on their magic.

Do you have any info you can share on Xenowyrm breeding and courtship habits? 8D

Nooot yeeettt! I'll share one thing, though: Chronos like to grow more of their glowy flowers whenever they see another dragon they really like. ;D It makes them look even more magnificent to the potential mate, I bet.

How does the strength of their magic compare to the strength of a GoN's magic?

They're not as strong as the GoN. I can't really measure it since there's no clearly defined "POWER METER" for the GoN, but they are still very powerful. Just not as strong as the GoN. GoN is based DC god.

How are their relations with humans (not so much official, just your head cannons.)

Depends for each subspecies. Thalassas and Gaias probably would get along most with humans. Anything further would more than likely be elaborated upon in the Encyclopedia entries.

Do the orange ones (Mageias) get along well with Magi dragons?

I'd like to think that Magis and Mageias get along. Kinda like brothers. Just.... one of them stole all the limbs. Whoopsie.

Do these flowery growths make the Chronos smell better to potential suitors? If so do male Chronos' flowers produce any specific scents, such as super-manly-man Old Spice-like pheromones?

W-well. I'd assume they have a nice fragrance, seeing as though they're flowers, but it's probably how glowy and elegant they look that makes them more appealing.

Does the type of flower vary from Chrono to Chrono, or is it just generic flowers blooming?

They can bloom a variety of flowers, but they'd always be white. The sprite itself actually has two different kinds of flowers-- the tiny flowers all over its body are different from the bell-like flowers that are on the end of its tail.

''And beyond that- if the flowers do vary, do they vary based on intensity of emotion, the breed the emotion is directed towards, the specific dragon it's directed towards? I'd think it more of a "what kind of flower would be most appealing to this mate?" situation. They'd probably do their best to guess what the other dragon likes and impress them that way, but really, growing flowers all over oneself is already probably impressive enough as it is, lmao.''

Which Xenowyrm did you come up with first?

YES. I WAS WAITING FOR THIS QUESTION. I made the Gaia first! The Gaia Xenowyrm is the original babbu that started the snowball of creation of all the other babbus. I was so enthralled with how it turned out that I was like, "What would it be like if I just. Made more. Omg." And that's how that train of thought went.

"Their beautiful yellow scutes are reflective and smooth like glass, making them very valuable to collectors." Does this mean Mageia or others might be rarer to hunt down than other Xenowyrms? / There's also this line in the Chrono description: "Chronos are often considered to be the most elusive of all Xenowyrm subspecies: they live in the darkest and densest forests, far from civilization."

Flavor text for species lore building. Nothing more. All Xenowyrm subspecies are the same rarity in-game.

Birdz, do you have a favorite snek babbu?

Yeah, I'm a bad mother and have a favourite babbu. My fav one is the Gaia. It has a special place in my heart.

How did you choose each magic type? Why not ice, or earth?

I went through a few different phases trying to figure out which ones to make, tbh. I wasn't sure if Alpine should be Lightning, Air, or Ice, I wasn't sure if Jungle should be Life or Earth, I wasn't sure if Desert should be Magi or Earth... etc. In the end, I went with the final elements because I just had the most inspiration for them. I started out each sprite like a silhouette, and built off from there design-wise, and each of them just kind of morphed into their own thing. It was a really awesome learning process... //rambling

Birdz, how long did you work on each adult sprite??

Oh man. I'm not sure.

I know the Gaia and the Thalassa took a long time. Those two are probably the ones that took me the most time... the Astrapi/Mageia were the fastest two, but they still took me a while. I stayed up really late a few days in a row to try to get one adult done a day, but I don't remember if I was actually able to do that with more than just a few or not. I had to take a break from the Pyro once because he was making me annoyed, lol.

Did you have any thought related to these time flowers (on the Chrono) from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew or not?

Nah, they're not a reference to the movie (great movie, though). It was more of the symbolism I was going for-- flowers are pretty delicate. We have some incredibly beautiful bearded irises by the side of my house, but their lifespans are so short, that their beauty is pretty much just fleeting. That was my main inspiration for using the flowers as symbolism for Time. That, and they really needed something other than shades of teal, haha. White complements the shades of teal fairly well.

Along the same vein, the Gaia also has symbolism there with the Life element-- when I think of life, one of the things I think of (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) is something coming from a cocoon. That's what inspired the more insect-like design elements on the Gaia (like the frills looking like bug wings and the actual dragon itself being more matte and wood-y). I suppose the Chrono and the Gaia are a bit more obscure with their inspiration when compared to, say, the Pyro, eheh.

Can any of these guys fly? Like via levitation or whatever? Or are they all purely 'land' dragons / swimmers?

''They can indeed fly, and yes via levitation. You'd see a Gaia flying much more often than say, a Thalassa, however, seeing as though the Thalassa is more of a water-dwelling variant. (It does give it room to do some pretty cool tricks out of the water though, huh?