matt writes...

would Zafiro and Una's lack of claws on their feet cause them to have alot of trouble climbing walls/cliffs? if not, is it because gargoyles mainly use their arms when climbing a wall/cliff?

matt writes...

in response to "The One":

i've been thinking an awful lot about gargoyle genetics and biology lately and i have some theories, not ideas, personal theories.

in evolution, the weak do not survive to pass on genes, and the strong do. among other things this makes most beings of a species very similar in appearence, at least from outside that species. gargoyles are different obviously, even us humans can see major differences among them, like the ones you mentioned. the reason for this, i think, is because they have bypassed evolution by not raising their young individually, but communally. the strong gargs help in raising the weak gargs and vice versa, this means that strong and weak gargs make it to adulthood to have their own children, this also means that weaker traits arn't dying off and any physical mutations that occur are accepted and continue on. generally though, gargoyles are pretty similar if you look at bone structure or DNA, its like dogs, we've selectively breed them to look different or be able to do different things, but a Poodle is virtually identical to a St. Bernard in its DNA. the fact that gargoyles don't keep track of who's kid is who's also means that occasionally two cousin's or second cousin's will mate and this may cause mutations that further vary what the species looks like.

as for the rookery generations, as Greg as said, there are never actually biological brothers and sisters among a generation, the closest relation is cousins, i even did the math and found that an uncle and niece for instance can't be in the same generation. i have another personal theory that gargoyles, to prevent much inbreeding, biologically find gargoyles attractive that are very different looking from themselves. i know alot of people would say, "What about who they love?" and i agree, but don't we all have some biological prefrences?

i have no idea why the London gargs evolved the way they did, i'm anxious to see Greg's answer to that one...

ok, i'm done with my ramble, what do you think Greg?

The One writes...

1) How do you explain the vast genetic difference in the Gargoyle gene pool? e.g. demon like appearance of the scotish breed, a lower half of the body resembling a snake in the South American, animal-like appearances in the english.

2) Why is there a particular convergance of traits in the English gargoyles to resemble animals? It seems to serve no evolutionary purpose.

3) Since the Gargoyles don't keep track on who are their biological parents and given the nature of their isolated populations, it's highly likely that the Gargoyles have inbred over successive generations. (Even in clans they refer to each other as brother and sister) Do the Gargoyles have the same stigma on inbreding that the humans do? If so, how do they avoid it?

Patrica writes...

Heya, was reading through the Garg Science section, when I came upon this thought, correct anything I say if its wrong. First I'll state what I found, then I'll sum it up with what I came up with.

Females can conceive every 20 years. It takes 6 months for the eggs to develop and be layed. Then it takes 10 years for the eggs to hatch.

Going by this, there would be eggs hatching and eggs laid every ten years. So, in the rookery, every ten years, on the Equinox (I forgot spring or fall... most likely spring) there would be eggs hatching, AND eggs being laid.

So, basically, every 10 years, a different set of females would be conceiving. It'd go every-other-10-years.

Example: Female A conceives and lays an egg. Female B hatches from that egg, 10 years later. At this same time, Female C would lay an egg. 20 years later, Female B conceives and lays an egg. Females A and B are on the same cycle, while Female C is on a cycle set off by 10 years.

Or, to put it another way:
Female A lays an egg. Female B hatches 10 years later. Female A lays an egg 10 years later. Female B lays an egg 10 years later.

Basically: Mother and Daughter alternate on the 10 years. If Daughter has a child, then that child, Granddaughter, would be on the same cycle as Mother. If Granddaughter has a child, Great-Granddaughter would be on the same cycle as Daughter, and so on.

I just looked at how many times I tried to simplify what I was saying... a lot!

I hope I got whatever point I had across.

Here's a note: It's almost midnight here, so if things don't line up well, let me know :).

Demona Taina writes...

Well, this is one silly question that I've been pondering about ever since.. well, ever since I first saw the Steel Clan. Why did Xanatos model them after Goliath? I mean, look at the hair, the wings, the face; it is clearly him. Why did he choose Goliath out of the other gargoyles?

Thanks for your time. :)

The One writes...

1) When the Magus died, why didn't Goliath try and use the Weird Sisters to resurrect him? Obviously, they had the power to keep MacBeth and Demona's lifeforce going on forever, it seems likely that they could also restore life.

2) Was the Katherine the Magus' only love? By that I mean did he ever have any other serious romantic relations or "crushes" on, and if so, with whom?

3) What was the Magus' real name? I assume he had another name and that his mother did not name him a word that's synomous with sorceror at birth.

Vashkoda writes...

Iron is obviously harmful to the fey--even deadly. However I don't understand why it is that once Puck and the Sisters were wrapped in iron chains, they followed the orders of whoever captured them. It's not like they weren't able to use magic to free themselves, as Puck was obviously able to cast spells for Demona. I don't see why they couldn't do something simple like turning themselves into mortals or teleporting away and leaving the chains behind. Similarly, I don't see why Oberon couldn't use his powers to escape from the bell (unless the bell shorted out his magic completely, but then I don't understand why this is more harmful than being in direct contact with iron chains).

Any clarification would be appreciated!

Josh Wurzel writes...

Dear Greg,

Puck seems like a pretty powerful little fae, what with the whole soul transferrence thing and turing all the humans in Manhattan into gargoyles (with help from Titania's Mirror) If Puck really wanted to, could he break the Weird Sister's spell over Demona and Macbeth? And why did he serve Oberon? Was he created/bred/conceived for that purpose? Or did he just sign up for the job? And if he did sign up for the job of Oberon's lackey, in god's name WHY did he do it?

One writes...

1) The Weird Sisters are capable of mental manipulation and coercion, e.g. MacBeth and Demona stealing the Eye of Odin, Phoenix Gate, and GA. So why didn't the Bean Sidhe simply extract the information that she believed Goliath, Angela, and Elisa through mental manipulation. Is she really fond of torture?

2) Why do Puck, the Weird Sisters, Oberon, and Titania use rhymes and iambic pentameter in conjunction with their magicks while other Oberati such as Anubis, Odin, Bean Sidhe, and the Lady of the Lake do not use such verse to tap into their magick? Is it preference or does the verse somehow enchance the effect of their magick given a certain amount of energy?

3) Since the fae can change their physical form on a whim, why does Odin prefer to stay in the physical form of such an old man?

Jim R. writes...

What was your very first job? And what was the first job that was relevant to what you really wanted to do for a living or that you enjoyed? Was it working on Gargoyles?