#Ehcatl Nine

[battlecrazed-axe-mage]

Favorite beast men race?

Are we talking about just the ARR ones or the allied society quests in general?

If just ARR: I think I gotta go Sahagin, I genuinely love the whole process of helping out this overworked single dad of dozens, it's so comfy and nice. The Ehcatl Nine are a very close second though. The sylphs get an honorable mention because they're just so silly, I love them.

If all the allied societies: aaaaaaaa that's genuinely difficult, I love so many of them for different reasons. The loporrit quests genuinely made me cry, they're so lovely and I love the themes of reaching out to others when you need comfort or help. The hippo riders are great, I have nothing but support for these plucky young uber eats drivers. The coffee shop is such a great resolution for all the lost planets from Ultima Thule and I'm really happy they tied things up like that. (I really hope they do something similar for Living Memory--probably not a society quest, but something to put a proper ending on it.) The pixies are so sweet and unlock probably my favorite zone in the whole game.

Honestly I could probably list off every single one of them here, I love how they add another dimension to the characters we meet in the MSQ, let us spend a bit more time getting to know them. Maybe that's why I liked Dawntrail so much, come to think of it? It has that same vibe of meeting and getting to know people. I am the silliest social butterfly, I love meeting new people and making friends with them. You should see me at concerts, by the end of the night I've made six new besties in a state I don't live in

[paintedscales]

Sightseeing Log entry #48 :: Ixali Logging Grounds

"The place dubbed the 'Ixali Logging Grounds' laid mostly abandoned when I made a detour here. As it stands, however, it seems that some of the members of Ehcatl Nine have been taking the leftover materials left behind, as well as repurposing the dirigibles for their own use. A far better outcome than any lingering tempered Ixal that would threaten the locals and potentially start another summoning of Garuda."

Extras:

[twelvesblades]

Harpeia; the Forebearers of Iksalion?

june 11 2024

So these exist: the Harpeia. in the Cieldalaes specifically, Hullbreaker Isle. Acording to gamerescape they're only found here

sike they're also in Eureka Anemos but called 'Eureka Harpeia' so the database didn't pick it up:

and they have the same rig/ skeleton as the Ikalsion

(it's fucking dark in here; i had to pump up the brightness)

and i've been like: what's up with this? does this mean anything? then we get to Elpis:

so - Harpeia exist pre-sundering (called Harpuia. which is... barely a difference in name). but now they don't really show up much? (they also not in Norvrandt hint: Ixal do not exist in Norvrandt)

(Harpeia do show in Elpis alongside the predecessor of the mylodon, the ophiotauros and mylodons show up in Coerthas so maybe there are harpeia in Abalathia's Spine? time to visit sea of clouds)

So they are in the sea of clouds! i thought so. they are specifically north of Ok'Zundu on Mok Oogl Island! but the (Vanu vanu?) seemed to call them Tsanahale. There are no mylodon here though...

so. thousands of years ago, they were probably more wide-ranging and the Allagan took the Harpeia and used them as base for Iksalion but i guess they had… genetic nonsense going on

the Iksalion could also use a move called Furour (sp???) which looks like an expanding whirl of harsh winds. evidently they lost that power and now wield magic with catalysts like everyone else.

and they eventually settle in the Twelveswood but then the elementals take away the blessing for overharvesting and kick them out; suggesting the elements were shoring up their genetic struggles and the Ixal broke a symbiotic pact and were banished. But uh... i guess the Ehcatl Nine made up with them? but not that much. they still can't fly. hey. why don't the Ixal. build glider wings...

so Harpeia was the template for Iksalion who became more intelligent than their predecessors. however, the lorebook says: the harpeia is a cloudkin with an appearance of a man-like spoken. Interestingly, it also displays the intelligence of some of nature's more clever creatures like the Opo-opo.

link

so TLDR; Harpeia forebearer/template of Iksalion. potentially were more widespread once.

[anneapocalypse]

Ariane's MSQ Break To-Do List!

Level all crafters and gatherers to 80.

Level Machinist to 80 and clear out lower-level ranged DPS gear.

Level Black Mage and Red Mage to 80 and clear out lower-level magical DPS gear.

Finish Magical DPS role quest line.

Stop being afraid of tanking.

Level Gunbreaker to 80.

Do Tank role quest line.

Level all other low-level jobs to 50.

Ehcatl Nine tribal quests.

Postmoogle Quests

Out of game stuff:

Catch up on sorting/posting screenshots.

Start organizing what I wrote in November!

[hiraethwyl]

Prompt one: Steer

He still wasn’t entirely sure how they flew. He’d seen them up close, both Priarch’s and the one the Ixal of Ehcatl Nine had fashioned, but Lyrin’a had never really delved into the inner workings of either airships. Or any airships for that matter.

They used balloons for lift, most of them anyway. As for thrust… he thought the Ixal used wind crystals- or at least they had in the design he’d seen. He wasn’t sure what Priarch’s ship used. Ceruleum, he assumed.

He’s seen a wheel to steer it, something to do with flaps and rudders but honestly at a point it all sounded like gibberish to him.

Al he really did know, was whatever combination of technology and ingenuity was used to give man flight was..

“Magical…”

The keeper stared out over the sea, watching one such magical marvel drift from Limsa’s airship dock off into the distance.

He had never chosen a boon of Ghost for holding one of his stones. If he had, he might have chosen some means of flight, like Idristan had. Perhaps to become a ghostly bird, though he doubted something like that was possible.

Oh, though to wing through the sky like that. If riding aboard an airship felt exhilarating, soaring with wings of your own must feel like freedom.

[ffxivxd]

Sezul Totoloc of the Ixali is the chief of the Ehcatl Nine. At 15 year old, he was a notorious delinquent and tried to steal a war balloon. After a few disciplinary beatings, he pledged himself as the apprentice to Dezul Qualan, the balloon's engineer.

[talesfromeorzea]

Heat

FFxivWrite2023 Day 8 Prompt Shed

Whine

“I know, buddy it itches, I'm sorry, I know your fur got thick during our time in Coerthas I’m working on brushing it,” Eirina said as she put her shoulders into brushing her wolf friend Whisper.

The dire wolf leaned into the brush growling happily as she brushed out the thick matts of shedding fur the poor beast had been all but tearing his hide apart with his long claws due to how much his shedding coat was itching upon their return to the warmer climes of the Shroud compared to the perpetual chill of Coerthas.

Once she finished brushing all of the thick clumps of fur out Whisper gave a happy yip and began licking her in thanks.  The Half-Elezen just laughed and patted him on the head, getting him to settle down.  

She smiled as her mind drifted back to when she first met him.  She had been working with the Ixal attempting to aid them in getting their airship aloft when one afternoon the entire work camp was disrupted by a direwolf pup running through and  attempting to snatch anything edible.  The poor thing was overtly half starved and had no clue what ‘food’ was.

The Ixal were all squawking and shouting for as annoyed as they were. It was clear the pup was desperate so they didn't want to hurt it and due to how swift and wiley it was they were having difficulty catching it.

The Half-Elezen once realizing what was causing the chaos ended up pulling some jerky from her pack and managed to lure the pup over to her and then once it had eaten its fill it had placidly laid in her lap.

Sezul had gladly declared that the wolf was her problem now and made it clear that she was to keep it from disrupting Ehcatl Nine again.

Suddenly a questioning whine in her ear brought her back to present and she once again petted Whisper the wolf barking happily and dancing in place before looking down the nearby path in the wood and then at her.

The Half-Elezen gave him a huge grin, “Now that you no longer itch want to go for a run eh?”

Whisper gave an eager snarl and stepped closer so she could climb onto his back.  As soon as she was seated he bolted at a full run dodging in and out of the various trees tongue lolling out as he put everything he had into the run thoroughly enjoying himself.  She couldn't help but grin as they moved at breakneck speed.  It had been one of the best choices she made keeping that half starved pup.  He was now one of her closest friends and Twelve help anyone who thought to do her harm near him.

[plenary-indulgence]

wow the new post editor sucks thanks tumblr anyway here's tohka and her retainers!! from left to right: tataramu - tohka was raised by the ehcatl nine so naturally she was very involved with the beast tribe quests and got to know tataramu pretty well. they bonded over shirking their respective burdens of responsibility and he became a retainer for her so that he can continue to have his freedom and explore the world (his dad is soo mad about it) jajanpa - he and tohka go way back, childhood friends. they've stayed close over the years even after she got famous and is happy to help her out with his skills as a botanist. he loves plants and flowers and is constantly filling her house with them (he is also a bit scatterbrained and definitely has a hoarding disorder) lolojoni (joni for short) - a mercenary from thavnair who acts tough but is secretly a huge fan of THRICE (and tohka). when he found out the group was going on hiatus and tohka was going to become an adventurer he picked up everything and traveled to eorzea to dedicate his services as a retainer and bodyguard roronima - ive talked about him before but he's the flame thaumaturge that gets captured and tempered in the ifrit quests. she ended up sneaking him out from being executed and "hired" him even though he's not much good for actual ventures. he mostly wanders around her estate in a daze although there was about a two week period post-arr where he got lost and she found him in southern thanalan hanging out in an amalj'aa camp all dolled up in their ritual attire and ready for sacrifice like ehehe whoopsie let's just ah, get you back home, ok lmao

[toadeyes-miqote]

Taking inventory - 1

Somewhere Mor Dhona between 2.3 and bloody banquet

The large bird ruffled it's feathers, as it watched it’s Miqo’te rider unpack the saddlebags. The Miqo’te’s ear twitched in annoyance at the smell that came from one of the packages before she swiftly tossed it in disgust into the slop bucket. Confounded that despite the smell, whatever it was managed to stay hidden so long.

To one side of the table, fishing lure had been set aside. Into the slop bucket went items that couldn’t be kept for the next trip out. The variety of seafood and meats that she managed to salt and dry went into the small crate. Hopefully Higiri or F'lhaminn would be able to make something out of it.

She couldn’t help but to gather this and that, a part of her still thinks like the hunter she was, the part of her that was hoping that he would delight in the new assortment of meats and vegetables for the kitchen when he sees them. He had a fondness of stews and roasts.

Brushing thoughts of the past aside, she set to work on another crate, ore that was prospected on request, commissioned items for her guilds and Ehcatl Nine to be handed in on the next trip back. She was rather fond of the renegade Ixali tribe that focused more crafting items for their dream of flight.

Even if their requests had led her to brave the cold sinus crushing winds of the Coerthas Central Highlands and the ever-watchful eyes of the Knight Commander of Camp Dragonhead. Granted she was not keen on the cold weather robbing her of her sense of smell and inflicting upon her the face crushing migraines whenever she had to be there longer than she liked.

She shuddered at the thought of the highly enthusiastic Knight Commander. There were leves that she opted not to take on, out of suspicions that it was a ruse by the charismatic Knight to have her drop by Camp Dragonhead and have her accept his invitations for longer stays in person.

It was not so much that he tried to proposition her. But that he had been constantly giving her this feeling of a hunt going wrong. The lack of a scent to associate him with only made it worse. It had set her senses on edge to be in the same room with him and it took much willpower to not freak out when speaking with him. She was thankful that his office was always filled with people, they afforded her multiple focal points to redirect her focus away from him.

Her nose twitched, she could smell him before she could hear the courtesy crunch of sand and straw beneath sandaled feet. The scent of too many Mqio’te claiming him mixed with ink and a rather faint trace of an expensive and fine oil for blade care, all that beneath a fresh soap. Her eyebrow twitched on recognising one of the Miqo’te marks left upon him. 

“I heard you came back.” He offered a warm smile and a warm mug of beverage. He was wary enough of her chocobo to stay out of pecking range. A click of her tongue and the big bird “kweh” at her in reply. It gave her companion a critical eye and a shudder of it's feathers before retreating further into the stable. A sharp “chirrup” from the Miqo’te and the bird bow before the rogue who return the courtesy with a flourish.  

part 2 of this eventually

-----------------

Yarn is an IRL curse too

The amount of procrastination that goes into transcribing stuff and reading my handwriting.... My poor Mor Dhona shorts are all in bits and pieces. Gosh I want my DPS parkour short.... looks at the Cid short

Hunter, alchemist, forest Miqo'te who relies on her nose a lot. she associate people with scent and tracks them through it. Probably only a few NPCs suspect this but dare not ask her how they smell to her.

Totally regretting not actively screenshotting stuff pre Stormblood. Now I risk getting gas lighted by patches. XD

[semi-imaginary-place]

side stuff

been doing the kojin quests too and... what sherlock holmes speculation is this. all there is is a boy and his training bow. also how did it become legendary.

my headcanon is that the water blessing the party recieves from the kojin is just temporary and so it gets renewed everytime the player character does the daily quests for the kojin afterall they tell you they're just doing an abdridged version of the ceremony not a real one. the blessing the raen received was a different type that was much stronger and lifelong.

1 samurai quest has more about gladiators than 30 levels of gladiator quests. vigilante justice eh maybe we should introduce murosai to the rouges guild.

ahhh arr eorzean sex slavery its been too long... /s

fufulupaaaaaaaa TTATT

alright so we were tracking a serial killer 20ft in front of the rouges guild and now "the law is too good for you"

the weeb hired people to cosplay samurai and ninja.

a dude harassed 2 people to suicide. yeah jail but death penalty?

uh murosai i think you might be a little trigger happy. we never did get like a lot of empirical evidence for any of these people before we killed them

murosai is gonna ask us to kill him isn't he

oh wow this is a proper samurai story they actually killed him. i liked the 50-60 sam quest line

so minus the black chocobos, flying mounts are because of the player character like for beast tribe quests if you have unlocked flying all those quest mounts can fly and if you haven't then the cant' fly. flying is dependent on the player character not the mount itself. so one person could ride a mount and fly and another person could ride that same mount and not fly

sam 60-70 ewwww they want me to be a cop

ewwwww im a cop

sooo we're going to fight back against cultural norms and caste hierarchy by defending those who benefit from the caste system the most. uh huh.

more hildibrand: the yojimbo plot thread was wasted should have had him working for greg or something. like greg is back and thats it. and whats with the yojimbo in the gold saucer. i do like how our involvement has made things worse. when things started we had a robin hood thief and a bunch of angry robbed merchants. after we got involved we got wolfy on death row, the shiggy and now the sword is back with waluigi and wolfy's in jail.

godbert section was good. first of course he breaks out of the unbreakable mind control, and he does it out of love for hildy and then smashes him into the ground. love it. the whole nashu stalker plot thread was also dropped.

more side quests: back to azys lla: ehcatl nine did it! they're soaring the skies! Piliot! tact! rude! they're having an existential crisis here.

doing the ixal quests might be one of the worst experiences in the game but ehcatl nine are some of my favorite characters. they just want to fly. they weren't made for it but they're going to do it anyways.

[tonberrykins]

For those who have not found it, I suggest opening and running the dungeon The Fractal Continuum and its Hard Mode; Heavensward and Stormblood respectively. Gives you a lot of Allagan stuff to chew on AND your guide for one of them (I can't remember which at the moment, but I believe it's HM) has an Ixal guide for you who ties into the Tribe Quests for the Ehcatl Nine.

hey. ffxiv lore question that's very serious and very important

why do chocobos even exist on the first

[autumnslance]

Things Learned Doing Ixal Dailies

So this daily has you go fish up “snow smelt” from “the Dragonhead latrines.”

Yeah, OK, gross but...

Wait....

Hey isn’t that...

...OK, Commander, I feel like we should have a talk about how you train and/or punish soldiers...

I looked on the Merriam-Webster website to see if maybe the game was pulling another “archaic term meaning X” thing on us but no. No. There is but 1 definition of the word “latrine.”

I tried, guys. I’m sorry.

EDIT:

OK. Whew.

[eternalshadowxiv]

Post ARR Bonus Journal 2: Flight.

uI started an entry about the Ehcatl Nine I befriended while I worked on unlocking the shears of destruction technique before, however it got lost during my travels so I have to try and recount what happened to fill in the blanks of this journal.

It all began with a mission from the Twin Adder, my chosen Grand Company, regarding the recent behavior of the Ixal.

Turns out it was because of the activity of a group of Ixal engineers building their own Airship and...I decided to join them because why not. It took a lot of work, many days of tireless work, tests, and working with the rich heir Tataramu.

There were hardships, tears, sweat, and some blood. But in that labor of building the Dezul Qualan, we forged what I could only guess was a lifelong friendship. A fellowship for the mutual love of soaring.

There was adversity though, from either Tataramu's commanding father, or from the violent zealots of the Natalan Ixal. Still, somehow we got the airship to work and we watched her soar like a bird. However, after that point, it was just a job of refining the airship, a job for Sezul and Tatarmu as I was sent to report back to the Twin Adder and return to my work as a Scion and Adventurer.

I hope those two are doing well and I hope to meet them again in the future.

-Eternal Shadows

[the-wardens-torch]

WOL as a Recruitable NPC (DA-Style)

I fell down an FFXIV blog rabbit hole and found this delightful meme by @vaniccio​ and wanted to do it despite the fact that I only played one DA game (Origins, which I didn’t actually finish, eheh.) and have barely any knowledge of the Tarot, aside from vague descriptions of the higher arcana.

Anyway, thank you stranger! This definitely helped me in my continuing quest to get my imagination warmed up in time for FFXIVwrite2022!

- - - - - - - -

Name: Falerin Arcita

Alternate Name or Alias?: None

Race & Job: Hyur Midlander BRD/SMN (for all intents and purposes)

Nickname: Fal

Default Tarot Card: The Tower

Do they have the Echo? If so, how did they discover it?: He does not, although he does have other unique talents.

How/where does the WoL meet them?: Unbeknownst to the WoL, they actually met him on the night of the Bloody Banquet in Ul’Dah, where he was a chamber musician at a pre-party. He was very taken with the WoL, and after the unfortunate events of that night, helped sabotage efforts to find them and ‘bring them to justice.’ He didn’t believe for a second that the WoL was capable of such a crime and helped engineer a sort of grassroots “no snitches” pact, particularly among the Ala Mhigan refugees, and various other folks that had been aided by the WoL.

How are they recruited into the Scions?:  Riol recruits him once the heat dies down after the banquet (sometime during HW) Officially, his abilities are information gathering and light espionage, and acting as a sort of self-appointed morale officer, keeping everyone’s spirits up with a nigh-endless supply of songs and stories. His arcane abilities (including a very unique and flexible aetherial familiar and the ability to use arcanima without a tome) also do not go unnoticed and probably clinched his membership in the eyes of the more studious Scions. This annoys him greatly as they are not what he wishes to be defined by.

Romanceable?: Yes (he’s a cis male and pansexual.)

Where they are in the open world:

(As a Scion): The Seventh Heaven in Mor Dhona.

(As a NPC): Rotates between the bars/inns of the big 3 city-states.

Default saying:

(As a Scion): Hello there, friend! *smiles and does the  /welcome emote* Business or pleasure?

(As a NPC): We’ve met, haven’t we? I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to lately!

What do they typically do off-screen?: He’s usually out carousing at bars/performance venues or dropping in on friends unexpectedly (he curbs this to an extent if he becomes a Scion and will gladly go on information gathering/diplomacy missions... and combat missions as well, if its absolutely necessary.)

Things they Generally Approve of:

Sassing authority figures who abuse their power.

Aiding/protecting vulnerable people (particularly refugees)

Curiosity/an inquiring temperament.

Things they Generally Disapprove of:

Violence for its own sake.

Societies/governments that prioritize tradition/custom/tribalism over the happiness and well-being of people (any people.)

Pretentious/arrogant behavior.

Are they in a Grand Company? Which one?: He got his chocobo from the Order of the Twin Adder, but doesn’t swear fealty to them.

Friends:

Within the Scions:  Thancred (he just knows there’s a bon vivant under that dadly exterior just dying to get out again), F’lhaminn (she lost a Hyuran child, he lost a Miqo’te mother, they comfort each other) Hoary Boulder (Gods know the Scions need more cheerful folk like him) Tataru (Most underrated Scion.)  (He’d make it his business to befriend everyone else too though...)

Outside the Scions: Momodi (he enjoys trading lusty stories with her,)Tiamat (its a long story) Guydelot (fellow spoony, probably-not-heterosexual bard) Methuli (he makes and delivers leather to the Ehcatl Nine and they enjoy teasing each other.) A few of my friends’ PCs.

Small side mission:

When the WoL gains access to Sharlayan, they will be surprised to find Fal in the studium library, reading up on arcanima. If pressed about it, he’ll eventually reveal that he’s trying to find something he can talk about with his estranged-until-quite-recently father, who is a scholar living in Idyllshire. *insert some dialogue trees and travel back to Idyllshire here followed by more dialogue trees*

Ultimately it turns out Fal’s father has no desire to relate to his son in a loving parental fashion, and the reconciliation ultimately fails no matter what the WoL does. Fal acknowledges that he never thought it would work anyway, and loves (platonically or otherwise) the WoL all the more for trying.

The reward for this quest is a broken ruby statuette of a bee that considerably boosts Fal’s magical abilities.

Potential tarot card changes:

If accepted into the Scions:  The Sun

If romanced by the WoL:  The Magician

If not recruited/kept as an adventurer:  The Hermit

Might as well tag some folks?  @captainkurosolaire, @lettersnorth, @nutley-rp​ and @kich-rp?

[yokasaris]

Prompt #17- Destruct

FFXIV 30 Day Writing Challenge "Look, Vhier's comin' back." Rekhad pointed up the mountain to where Vhier was still picking her way down the jagged paths. Waes and a pair of Ixal followed after in her wake.

Zhan'a shook the water from his ears. "Nice catch, kit. Now get back inside the tent, keep your fur dry." He already had a rebuttal at the ready for when his niece would inevitably refuse, but, surprisingly, she ducked back inside without a word. That left him with nothing more than the gentle rain and troubled thoughts as he waited for the party of four to make their way to the temporary camp.

Once within a few dozen yalms of the ring of tents, Waes quickened her pace. "Drowned old bat waitin' for us," she snickered, darting past him. She poked her head into one of the tents before motioning the others to follow. "Oi, got room for us here."

Though Zhan'a gave the Ixal a nod, he grabbed his sister's arm before she could join the others. "We need a word, yeah?"

"They wanted to come. I ain't gonna tell 'em they gotta rest when they ain't seen their mum in gods know how many years. We'll take the trip slow for 'em." Speaking of rest, it looked as though the bird folk weren't the only ones that needed some. Dark circles ringed her eyes.

Sighing, Zhan'a shook his head. "That isn't what this is about. It's about who's going to be waiting for us when we bring them home."

"Their mum."

"Besides her. Look, sooner or later you're going to have to talk to me about what happened. You know. When you disappeared." He shifted when she averted her gaze, determined to remain dead center in her field of vision. "I just want to help, okay? But, I can't do that when I don't have all the information."

Clenching her jaw, Vhier closed her eyes. "Ain't nothin' to say. I don't remember anythin'. Them folk at Ehcatl Nine found me in the woods, helped me. That's it. All I got."

"You're scared of her. She tried to have you killed out there in 'those woods' and still you won't speak against her." Zhan'a pointed toward the tent where Waes had settled in, fully aware that Vhier could not see. "Think of the Ixali envoys you're bringing into our home. Think of your own children that sleep in her camp. She will kill each and every one of them if it means getting her way, and you know that. Look, I am glad that today went well, but you can be bloody well sure that she will not abide this truce with the Gridanians. She will destroy everything we've worked for the past year."

"I know what she can do," Vhier snarled, eyes snapping open. "I know better'n anyone. But, I ain't gonna talk 'bout it here. Not now. I just want one evenin' where things ain't a livin' hell 'cause'a her." With a lash of her tail, she wrenched her arm free, though there was little force in the motion. Still, Zhan'a let her go.

One evening. Fine. Then they were going to have to deal with their esteemed sister. Hopefully together, but increasingly that seemed doubtful.

[hiraethwyl]

to fly

“Staring at the sky like a lost bird, featherless one is. Do not Miqo’te keep to trees?” 

An Ixal slowly approached the Keeper until he could crouch not far away, craning his neck a moment to follow Lyrin’a’s gaze upward. Tuzal had become acquainted with this particular featherless one years ago, and though the Keeper held no real engineering or craftsman skills, his exuberance and basic aetherology had been enough to earn him the good will of the Ixal of Ehcatl Nine. 

Silver eyes turned from the break in the canopy to Tuzal. Lyrin’a offered the Ixal a smile before he found himself looking back up. “Miqo’te do keep to the trees, yes. Usually.” They were quiet a moment, both enjoying the simple comforts of sunlit warmth and a soft breeze.  “...I keep dreaming of flying,” Lyrin’a said at length. He did not mention that in his dreams it was often in the form of a great iridescent serpent. Tuzal turned his head to peer at him, tilting it slightly. “Ah.. the dream of every Ixal. To fly.” While an Ixal’s expression seemed to lack the ability to take on what one would call a smile, Tuzal’s  look bordered on thoughtfully amused. 

“To fly, featherless one wishes? And come to Ehcatl Nine, you did?” A rumbling noise something like a laugh rolled through him when Lyrin’a turned back to regard him, surprised by the question.  “Well no, I just-  I wanted to check on the camp I... There are a lot of things lurking in the Shroud these days.. I just thought..”  Tuzal opened his beak and barked what was more obviously a laugh. A large clawed hand reached out to pat Lyrin’a’s shoulder, causing the Keeper to jostle with the strength of it. 

“We can sense the change. Know better than to wander when the winds blow ill, Ehcatl Nine do. Besides,” he continued, pushing himself up to stand at his full height, “newly finished small ship Tuzal has helped build. Test drive it needs. ....a ride featherless one might like? Soar above the Shroud we will!” The excitement was palpable, though he settled a bit with a soft added,  “....magic wouldn’t hurt.” Lyrin’a’s bewildered look faded into a smile by the time Tuzal had finished. Then he reached for the large hand offered to help him down from his perch. 

“I’d love to help.”