#kuyutha

[burningfestivalpersona]

One funny thing about the first Etrian Odyssey games is how they’d have FOEs that only spawn when you step on a specific tile. Like the Kuyutha guarding that chest, or a non-trivial number of wolves, or that Raptor in Hallway of Class-specific Shortcuts.

In terms of making sure the movement puzzle is set up correctly and the player can’t screw themself by entering the area at the wrong time, it’s not the worst idea, but you had to kill that one Kuyutha to get at the chest it was guarding anyway, and this was also the method that locked you in a room with a Surprisingly Aggressive Ragelope. (Was that meant to be a Kuyutha at one point, and they put in a deer on accident? We’ll probably never know.)

Related to this is the hilarious bit where another Kuyutha can’t be bothered to return to its regular position and teleports back to its starting point while you’re not looking.

[godzilla-and-aang-monsters]

Kuyutha

Altura: 150 metros

Longitud: 320 metros

Peso: 200 toneladas

Primer Avistamiento: Dubái [Tierra: Teratoverso]

Guarida: Desierto del Sahara [Tierra: Teratoverso] Desierto de las Pirámides Gigantes [Avatarverso]

Aspecto: Euceratherium

Controles: Agua Control [Nado, Salto Acuático] Energía Control [Cuernos Iridiscentes, Bramido del Alba] Tierra Control [Reforestación, embestida de deslave]

Aliados:

Kaijus y otras bestias: Godzilla, Anguirus, King Kong, Mothra, Rodan, Litra, Cernunnos, Moccus

Enemigos:

Humanos: Aang, Katara, Soka, Iroh, Zuko, Ozai y Azula

Kaijus y otras bestias: Ramarak

[noxhawthorne]

Bahamut

Similar to one belief about the Amemasu, Bahamut (or Bahamoot) is believed to be a giant fish that serves as the base of the Earth’s support structure. This is according to Zakariya al-Qawanzi, an Iranian comsographer and geographer from the 13th century. His idea of the world was that the Earth is supported on the shoulders of an angel that stands on a slab of gemstone. The slab is on top of an ox, sometimes referred to as Kuyutha’, and said ox stands on the back of Bahamut, who is in its own suspended body of water for its support. The name is thought to be derived from the biblical Behemoth, however, the original Behemoth never appeared as a fish. Some scholars think that the Behemoth and the Leviathan were mixed up in a retelling or translation.

Edward Lane, a British orientalist, lexicographer, and translator, summarized Bahamut as being the second-to-last layer of the structure, with the final one instead being the Falak, a colossal serpent. This, however, can’t be entirely trusted, as Lane’s source for this is unclear. In fact, much of the information related to Bahamut has discrepancies. For example, al-Qwazani’s The Wonders of Creation claims that below the fish is water, air, and then a region of darkness. In Ibn al-Wardi’s Kharīdat al-ʿAjā'ib (“The Pearl of Wonders”), there is claimed to be a sandhill between the ox and the fish.

Al-Wardi, as well as Yaqut al-Hamawi (Mu’jam al-Buldan), both cite Bahamut with connections to natural phenomena. The main one connected to the great fish is the level of the sea, as it drinks the water that spills from the Earth. However, even mythical fish become engorged, and when that happens, it is believed that’s when Judgment Day will come. There’s also a tale of Bahamut almost causing an earthquake, but it was distracted when God sent gnats to its eyes. Another account says that God sent a sword-like fish that Bahamut became enamored with. It should be made clear, however, that most of the earthquake phenomena involving this structure mostly pertains to the ox.

[queencoldart]

Who are the dragon gods? What's their lore? I notice they seem to be the ones from DnD.

They share names with DnD dragon gods and they take after them appearance-wise. They are not the same gods, however. They may share a few similarities here and there, but they are basically OCs.

Before I go into the details about the Gods, I need to clarify how dragons see them. To dragons, the Gods are higher beings but they do not possess the omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence or morality that Judeo‑Christian‑Islamic peoples associate with the term "God". They are more fallible and more vulnerable. They are mortal, too. If anything, they're much more like eldritch beings than divine beings. The relationship dragons have with them is very metaphorical and transactional in nature. Many dragons do not believe in their existence, or they believe they were powerful dragons who lived once and were deified for the impact they had on dragon history. Assigning patron god status to creatures and objects is still done by dragons today. Dragons who beseech the Gods definitely do not expect these deities to manifest themselves before them or actually aid them in any real way. It's more akin to an insect drawing a circle in the sand for a human to see. A human may notice the circle and become interested.

Living gods:

Io is the great creator of all dragonkind.

Bahamut is the God of enlightened justice and the good of dragonkind. He is also the God of self-cultivation.

Tiamat is the Goddess of vengeance, spite and the general evil of dragonkind.

Astilabor was originally the goddess of acquisitiveness and wealth, but is now associated with greed growth (greed-induced bigness), bad omens and vice due to the catastrophic effects of greed growth.

Task is the God of healthy greed.

Garyx is the God of fire, destruction, and renewal. He is closely associated with lava, fertility and the indiscriminate nature of the universe.

Hlal is the Goddess of humor, inventiveness, and pleasure. She is the messenger of Io and can be a bit of a trickster.

Kereska is the Goddess of dragon magic. Since it has become forbidden knowledge that all dragons possess ability to practice magic, she is associated with the the blood stone scepter instead.

Kuyutha is a demigod who served Bahamut.

Lendys is the God of harsh justice. Despite the moral implications of this title, Lendys is completely neutral. He is pure rage and will smite anyone for causing a disturbance.

Chronepsis is the God of death.

Falazure is the God of pestilence, undeath and decay.

Tamara is the forgotten Goddess of mercy and healing.

Zorquan is the God of dragonkind. To be specific, he represents the non-gem dragons who dominate the lands and skies of the western half of the world.

Sardior is the God of gem dragons.

Leviathan is the God of sea dragons.

Deceased gods:

Lernaea was the God who created hydras. It is said that when Tiamat killed him, hydras lost their ability to reason with other creatures.

Azharul was the first deity killed by Tiamat. He was a master of magic.

Kalzareinad was a demigod of magic who practiced the arts in exceedingly self-serving ways.

Odassa was the dragon God of protection of hatchlings, and of the wrath against those who harm them.

Honorable mention: the creatures who were posthumously conferred patron god status.

[r-yui]

OG Bahamut & Leviathan lore in Ascension

Other than biblical references, Ascension also seems to refer and incorporate a part of an original Bahamut & Leviathan lore, in quite direct fashion too.

The original lore of Bahamut and Leviathan lies in a particular Persian work on cosmography. In this conception of the world, the earth is shouldered by an angel, who stands on a gigantic gemstone, which is supported by the cosmic beast (bull) sometimes called Kuyutha (most likely from a corruption or misrendering of "Leviathan"). Bahamut carries this bull on its back, and is suspended in water for its own stability.

The very interesting part is how FF16 incorporated the actual mythology into the song considering no other Final Fantasy series did this (or it did but not as far as I recalled). Here's the comparison:

Seven worlds of teardrops falling to the sea

OG lore: There were seven earths that, in some manner, connected together. The earths were originally unstable.

On wings of an angel... Burden shouldered

OG lore: God created an angel of immense size and of the utmost strength, and ordered him to carry the earths on his shoulders.

Fire on ruby mountaintop

OG lore: But there was no support for his feet. So God created a rock of ruby, the size of which none knoweth but God, whose name be exalted; then he ordered this rock to stand under the feet of the angel. This is the part of the lyric that made me curious, like why ruby specifically?

And the whole second to last paragraph of the lyrics just screams OG reference:

Tides of fury flowing, ebbing Mists of malice whorling, wending Veil of nothing, never-ending Dare not seek what lurketh down beneath No!

OG lore: To support the rock, God created Leviathan. And to support Leviathan, God created Bahamut. The earth is upon water ; the water, upon the rock ; the rock, on the back of the bull; the bull, on a bed of sand; the sand, on the fish ; the fish, upon a still, suffocating wind ; the wind, on a veil of darkness ; the darkness, on a mist ; and what is beneath it is unknown (there's an other opinion stated that darkness is at the lowest, not the mist, so the last quote is 'and the knowledge of mankind fails as to what is under the darkness'). Hence, dare not seek what lurketh down beneath.

Surprisingly FF16 Bahamut and OG Bahamut is the one of the trio (Baha, Levi, an angel) who's closest to the darkness, similar to what is depicted in the mural. Also Bahamut in the mural is under Leviathan, same as in OG lore. Who knows, it could be Koji Fox's addition to hint a metaphorical connection between the lore and the game. Maybe Bahamut and Leviathan in game are associated/tied with each other.

[a-book-of-creatures]

Out of curiosity, what is the silliest most impossible biology you've seen or heard on a mythological creature? Like, "what am I even reading" tier.

I get that all the time!

We kind of take it for granted, but the Chimera is the original "this doesn't make sense" creature. Even the ancient Greeks figured that it had to have been inspired by some real-life event, like a volcano with lions, goats, and snakes on it.

The goat was the biggest issue. Nobody quite knew how it was supposed to be involved. My favorite interpretations are the ones where a whole half goat rises like a tumor out of the chimera's back, which I tried to replicate.

And since we're on the subject of Greek monsters that are confusing, what about Scylla? Homer gives her 6 heads and 12 legs and sticks her in a cave where she yaps like a puppy. Greek artists apparently couldn't figure out how to draw that so she evolved from a multi-headed dragon-thing into a mermaid with dogs coming out of her middle. As they do.

How do they go for walkies?

And then of course there's Typhon with his frankly ridiculous number of heads and arms, and then Nonnus decides to one-up that with his description of Campe in the Dionysiaca.

Moving on from Greek silliness though, you've got to appreciate the sheer what-the-heckery of the creature described by Iambulus and which, for lack of a better name, is called a geluchart.

It may be a turtle. Or a pufferfish.

And there's a bunch of weirdos in the Shan Hai Jing. Heard of multi-headed creatures? How about one head and many bodies?

The heluo-fish is weird.

And on the subject of multiples, what about Kuyutha? How does something have 40,000 eyes, 40,000 noses, 40,000 ears, 40,000 mouths, 40,000 tongues, and 40,000 legs?

I gave it a shot.

The creatures described by the Inuit mystic Anarqâq are also bizarre - if it wasn't for his drawings of them, I'd have no idea how to depict them myself. Igtuk, for example? He has arms and legs on on his back, one big eye level with his arms, ears on the same level, nose inside a cavernous mouth, and a tuft of thick hair on the chin.

Friendly!

I should probably also mention the chemosit. Because, you know. Nine buttocks.

What about life cycles? Basilisks and basilisk-adjacent creatures go through some absurd life cycles. The basilisk's is actually the simplest one - just have an egg laid by a rooster and incubated by a toad. Easy! But if you want a skoffin, you'll need a male fox to reproduce with a female cat, have the kittens born with their eyes open, and then have them sink into the ground to mature for 3 years before emerging as deadly monsters. And for a gallo de la muerte - a ROOSTER OF DEATH - you need a kite to lay a red egg in a gorse bush, the resulting black and white bird to live for fifty years, and then for a green worm to emerge from its decaying corpse and become said rooster of death.

But personally I think the prize for the most Outrageous and Downright Most Bizarre Creature I've seen yet goes to the Butatsch Cun Ilgs. That's right, the Swiss lake monster that's a giant cow stomach covered in thousands of eyes that can make fire erupt.

Defender of the peasantry!

That's all I've got off the top of my head. There's definitely more but that would have to wait for another time...

[3y3]

Ishtar, kuyutha

[lostperceptionfr]

Kuyutha & Regina Nest - 60g/ktr

Brown Wasp/Latte Striation/Sand Capsule/Fire Common

Ginger Wasp/Sable Striation/Carrot Spines/Fire Common

Sable Wasp/Sable Striation/Cinnamon Spines/Fire Common

Links in the reblog!

[sageadvicednd]

I want to know if Elminster knows if Kuyutha is revered in either in Abeir or Toril? How you been? I want to know if Elminster knows if Kuyutha (a demigod in the service of Bahamut) is revered in either in Abeir or Toril?

[zoraydas-domain]

1, 4, 8, 11, 12, 14, 18 for Ilweth cuz she's my fave, 1, 2, 4, 18, 20 for Jasttor, Helmi, and Teg if you're feeling generous!

Ilweth

01. Full name:She doesn't actually know her full name :c She's just Ilweth, with no title for now because she wasn't accepted into the cult as a full member.

04. Favorite color:Silver and lavender.

08. Favorite food:She tried cinnamon-sugar crispy bread one time from this cart she passed by and it was the tastiest thing EVER to her. But she can't find it again and doesn't know what kind of food it was besides just delicious.

11. Biggest fear:Never being accepted anywhere by anyone.

12. Biggest fantasy:Being powerful and respected. Having a family.

14. Biggest regret:That she will likely never be accepted back into her cult (in her eyes, a family, even if it's a broken one) because she failed and is compromised as a member.

18. Biggest insecurity:Having to be in control of everything or she feels attacked/cornered

Jasttor

01. Full name:Jasttor Ghelin Varshoth Bloodmaw, sometimes known as "bright eye" (itmen sauriv) to his elders if back at the clan

02. Best friend:In order of life events: Lilothibra, Andrel Ashwing, Tally. He's starting to get close to the others too, and has a weird sort of love/hate friendship with Medericus.

04. Favorite color:Green, like, bright oceanic green.

18. Biggest insecurity:He feels like he has to overcompensate for running away all the time with his family and tries to be "brave" constantly. He hates backing down or running.

20. Role Model: Kuyutha, the famous dragonborn who used to train paladins of Bahamut many years ago.

Integrity

01. Full name:Before she was Integrity, she was Stherla Zenhex Emberheart. (Family name Zenhex, so nobody would hear of that unless they were very close to her).

02. Best friend:She doesn't really have anyone as a "best friend" at the moment. She's closest to Jasttor, but even with him there's a bit of distance.

04. Favorite color:She likes gold :)

18. Biggest insecurity:Not being "enough". Not strong enough, not smart enough, not fast enough to be of any use to anyone.

20. Role Model: ...Honestly? Probably her dad. He was a very good man, as far as she remembers.

[burningfestivalpersona]

I think one of the best things about the Emerald Grove is the sheer variety of FOEs.

There’s the Ragelopes, of course. Such a classic that Heroes of Lagaard let them rule over an entire floor. (The Fafnir Knight didn’t, because it embraced the dinosaurs.)

And then, depending on the version you play, there’s either Kuyutha, which is a more aggressive Ragelope, or the Boulder Boar, an ambush predator that is technically visible in the overworld, but will mostly just make you paranoid about rocks.

On the third floor, you meet The Shadow That Reaps Everything, who cannot keep a consistent English name between titles. It’s been named a lot of things, from Stalker to Indignant Mantis.

And once you’ve passed a floor of those, you meet the wolves. Of which there are two kinds.

I’m not sure any other Stratum in the series quite meets the biodiversity of the Emerald Grove, FOE-wise. The Ancient Forest might try, though. It depends on how you count things that are related to bosses.

[burningfestivalpersona]

Bits of the Emerald Grove that have probably been tripping a few people up:

The chest hidden behind the first Kuyutha you’re likely to see.

The area around that, which is connected perfectly fine but you can’t actually safely reach the stairs from the north because there’s a deer at the end of the line.

The one Stalker that acts different to all the other Stalkers in the game and only cares about a straight line instead of the whole room. (This is also a thing in Heroes of Lagaard, and it feels weird there too.)

Ambush Predator Furyhorn. You know the one.

Whatever the fuck is going on with the fifth floor.

[burningfestivalpersona]

I would like to welcome the Fender, the Kuyutha, the FOE variant of the Iron Turtle, the Omnivore, the Nightoad, and the Goudarat back to the series after their long absence.

[burningfestivalpersona]

One interesting thing about the first Etrian Odyssey in particular is that, while the games in general aren’t complete strangers to palette swaps where one is a regular enemy and the other is an FOE, I can’t think of any other games where the exact same sprite was used for both versions... and both appeared in the same Stratum.

Let us have a moment of silence for Fender and Kuyutha, who never got any farther in favor of the Furyhorn and the Warbull.

[3y3]

Wepwawet & Báyaḳ, kuyutha

[3y3]

Gaokerena, kuyutha