The Golmore Jungle
72. Golmore Jungle: Panther
GENUS: Beast
CLASSIFICATION: Coeurl
[1/2] Observations
Being a great flesh-eater, with pale rippling-blue fur, and long whiskers extending from the corners of its mouth.
These predators move in packs of two or three, dividing roles as do hunters with a far greater than animal intelligence. The breadth of their territory varies with the amount of prey available and in those places where food is scares, they increase their range so as to avoid starvation.
[2/2] Sage Knowledge (72 of 78)
Golmore Jungle
A sprawling jungle in the Jagd Difohr, it remains much as it always has been, untouched by the hand of Man.
Though the viera make their villages within this jungle, the ways to their enclaves are tangled and hidden.
Barriers throughout the jungle, too, prevent easy passage. These were erected by the viera to prevent outsiders from intruding, the blessing of their people needed before one may pass.
73. Golmore Jungle: Treant
GENUS: Plant
CLASSIFICATION: Golem
[1/2] Observations
A variety of golem, having a body like the trunk of a tree. Indeed, they are known for their habit of blending into wooded surroundings, silently waiting to bring their massive fists down upon any who disturb the peace of the forest. It is said they are the manifestation of the forest's lament at the lost of trees to the jaws of insatiable industry.
[2/2] Sage Knowledge (71 of 78)
Eruyt Village
Hidden village of viera in Golmore Jungle. Viera enclaves are scattered throughout the jungle, but all are warded against entry by those of other tribes or lands. Viera are reclusive by nature, living separate from the world outside, shunning even the society of their own kind, save when necessity demands. This isolation is in part made possible by the viera ability to hear the spirit voice of the Wood, and thereby know all that comes to pass within her borders. Throughout the history of Ivalice, rarely have the viera ventured beyond the borders of the Wood, and few outsiders know of their laws or customs.
Viera villages are formed of massive trees linked by suspended paths, with dwellings and small shrines to the spirit of the Wood encircling the trunks. During the day, many viera come to a clearing in the village, where a glistering spring bubbles up from the earth, to meditate. Their leader resides in the center of the village, and governs according to the Word of the Wood. Those who perform the sacred ceremonial duties of salve-maker or wood-warder stand at her side, defending the ways of the village and of the viera.
Compared to other races, the viera seem to move at a slower, more contemplative pace, more at peace with the flow of time. However, some younger viera have begun to question the wisdom of rejecting change in the midst of a rapidly developing Ivalice.
74. Golmore Jungle: Hellhound
GENUS: Beast
CLASSIFICATION: Wolf
[1/2] Observations
Being a hunter of the highest order, with a body of jet black, and an aura of eldritch ensorcelment, it would chase its quarry to the very gates of the underworld.
Originally a type of hyena, a steady diet of malign, magicked creatures transmogrified it into what it is today.
The sharp horn on its nose and long fangs jutting from its upper jaw are like to arrested magma. When they die, their color fades, becoming naught but dull, black stone.
[2/2] Sage Knowledge (32 of 78)
Kerwon
Largely forested continent lying to the southeast of Ordalia. Climate varies greatly by region, and many less hospitable areas are uninhabited. In the west of Kerwon dwell the garif, in the wooded north dwell the viera, both living in piece, apparently unaffected by the expansionist hunger which has so dominated hume history.
Though the hume presence is strong on the other continents, in Kerwon they can only be found in the eastern highlands, on the slopes of the holy mountain of Kiltia, Bur-Omisace.
75. Golmore Jungle: Diresaur
GENUS: Dragon
CLASSIFICATION: Tyrant
[1/2] Observations
Being a creature of dubious origin: either a wyvern that has lost its wings, or a creature of the water that became like to a wyrm.
Sheathed in armor-like scales, its upper body is highly muscular, serving to support a giant head set with powerful jaws. It uses the horn on its nose to charge and stab like a longspear.
[2/2] Talk About Town
Did you know that servants are only legally allowed to wear garments of certain fabric? Turns out, this law is a relic of the time when it was necessary to differentiate slaves from their owners, and perhaps it still serves the same function today. Funny thing is, servants have to wear the selfsame fabric used to make slaven harnesses.
Ah, 'tis an evil law, perpetuated by evil people.
Rimo, Spearman
76. Golmore Jungle: Malboro
GENUS: Plant
CLASSIFICATION: Malboro
[1/2] Observations
Being a hideous creature with brownish-green mottled skin, and writhing tentacles.
It eats only flesh, drawing no sustenance from photosynthesis as do common plants. Favoring stealth, it approaches its prey in silence, then strikes without warning, swallowing its victim whole. Its maw is filled with powerfully acidic saliva, and breathing the miasma that is its foul breath causes poisoning and madness.
[2/2] Sage Knowledge (22 of 78)
Clans
A group formed for the main prupose of driving beasts and fiends from civilized areas, called to action in particularly bad cases, when individuals and town watches are not deemed equal to the task. Able to react more swiftly than equivalent military units, the clans are used by many smaller municipalities as rapid-response peacekeepers.
As a result, few clans' activities need heed the boundaries between territories, and they move freely across wastes and sacred lands alike.
77. Golmore Jungle: Gargoyle
GENUS: Fiend
CLASSIFICATION: Gargoyle
[1/2] Observations
Being a creature with a visage so hideous, even other demons are said to avert their eyes. Their form is derived from the carvings on churches and shrines designed to keep away evil spirits.
The reputed effectiveness of such carvings led to their placement on many buildings throughout the world, until their grotesque form became a common sight.
This angered the demons, and in the spirit of wicked playfulness, some of them took the form of the very creations meant to drive them away.
[2/2] Aletap Rumors
When is a sword like a torch?
When it's a flametongue!
If I'd some lumber, and a malboro vine, and a little bit of fire stone, even I could make one. Well, I could have one made... provided I could find a good enough smithy, that is.
Leut, Warrior
78. Golmore Jungle: Great Malboro
GENUS: Plant
CLASSIFICATION: Malboro
[1/2] Observations
On reaching an advanced age, some malboros have been known to transform into an entirely different variety of malboro, gaining rank within the vegetative heirarchy, as it were.
This phenomenon, known as the spirit-tree flux, is found only in plants and related beings (for few other phyla enjoy such long life), and is thought to be due to the absorption of Mist over several centuries. Such malboros' bodies turn the color of a rich, argent ore, the salive in their maws emitting a still fouler stench than before.
[2/2] Research Notes
The question of how exactly malboros produce their infamous bad breath has puzzled researchers for generations. A situation made all the more frustrating by the knowledge that understanding the production process would be the first step toward creating a neutralizing agent, not to mention adapting the stench for military use.
However, years of painstaking inquiry have revealed only that the noxious fumes emanate from the foul liquid that constitutes the creature's salive: a substance which can be manufaced by no means known to Man.