The friendship we share grows amidst the craggy rock pond; reeds of water spray fireflies scented with bonfires. - Bradley Chicho
I can think of no better description for life in the swamps then the quote above. Those of us who live there revel in its peaceful serenity. Many of us came from other areas - the treehouses of the forests, the cute bungalows in the meadows, and the spacious mansions of Alakol are all lovely, but for us, home is in our well worn and well loved fire bog houses. One of our greatest joys is our ability to care for and maintain swarms of fireflies - both in the wild and in our homes.
It's become an art, really. One resident, acreditando, has spent hours making his home a welcome retreat for the little twinklers. Every room of his house is home to a swarm or two and visitors have the joy of walking through a haze of fireflies.
I, on the other hand, focused my attention on my basement yard and growing my swarm across the ceiling from one side to the other. Hundreds of fireflies twinkling away. Watching them move to and fro was mesmerizing - and far more relaxing than any focusing orb could hope to be.
Here's a lovely photo of me, dressed in a holiday costume, caring for the swarm.
Then, tragedy struck the flickering firefly. An unknown disease spread by something called an Update took over the swarms resulting in what is best described as Yellow Goo. This disease does not appear to affect swarms in the wild in the same manor, but swarms inside are all at risk. It seems to strike upon opening a jar - something I had the misfortune of doing last night.
Here is a photo of the Yellow Goo, but beware, it may be distressing.
After many attempts at spreading the swarm, I enlisted the help of acreditando. Together we worked tirelessly (and to the death!) to try and spread the swarm. But, no matter what we tried, the little buggers would gravitate to a single darkened corner of the basement to join in mass with the others... in a big ball of Yellow Goo.
So please, dear firefly lovers, care for your large swarms but be sure to never open another jar in your home (that was the trigger for mine). And please, dear devs, help us combat this terrible plague. The Giants couldn't be so evil to have imagined this, could they?