The Paramina Rift

87. Paramina Rift: White Wolf

GENUS: Beast
CLASSIFICATION: Wolf

[1/2] Observations

Being a variety of wolf adapted to life in frozen mountain regions, with long white furs to protect it from the bitter cold, and camouflage it against the snow.

Their shining blue eyes can see even in the fiercest blizzard, useful in judging the position of others in the pack when coordinating attacks.

[2/2] Sage Knowledge (77 of 78)

Paramina Rift

Comprising a great ravine running through the mountains of the Jagd Ramooda, this is a barren land covered in hoarfrost and deep snows. The spent shells of airships hang in the frozen river, and here and there can be seen the ruins of great cities built during the years of the Galtean Alliance.

Many are the scholars who believe that the Paramina Rift was once a rich and verdant land, and that a climate change brought about by Mist made it into the cold, harsh jagd we see today.

88. Paramina Rift: Twintania

GENUS: Dragon
CLASSIFICATION: Plate Wyrm

[1/2] Observations

Being a strain of plate wyrm residing in the dark reaches of the Paramina Rift, having evolved a feathered covering to protect against the harsh cold.

Its smooth, metallic carapace is coated in an oily secretion which prevents snow from adhering to its surface.

According to legend, mages once used these creatures in the working of a great magick, powerful enough to destroy all Ivalice, yet little is recorded about the magick itself.

[2/2] Aletap Rumors

The undying phoenix is said to call back souls from the heavens, but to win the attention of such a fabled bird, you must give up a feather as an offering. The best are the downy feathers of the tail...hence the term phoenix down, see?

Mark well that not just any feather will do. Depending on quality and size, the blessing received varies greatly.

Displeased?

You get what you pay for.

Kirrik, Pugilist

89. Paramina Rift: Lizard

GENUS: Beast
CLASSIFICATION: Toad

[1/2] Observations

Being a flesh-eating beast with four horns atop its head, sheathed in scales much like those of a dragon.

Lives in humid grasslands, where it digs tunnels with its powerful forelimbs.

Its extendable tongue, situated toward the front of its mouth, is divided into four at the tips. The creature uses it as a whip to snare prey. Thus captured, still-wriggling meals are bound in viscous saliva, and stored for later consumption.

[2/2] Street-Corner Mutterings

You've heard of wind stones and ice stones, right?

Well, my friend, there is a stone more powerful than either...magicite!

Oh...you, er, knew that, did you?

What's that you say? There's aught more powerful than even magicite?

Crystals, they're called!?

Well that's something I've not seen.

Eh? And there's another stone more powerful still?

Kennie, Time Mage

90. Paramina Rift: Emperor Aevis

GENUS: Dragon
CLASSIFICATION: Plate Wyrm

[1/2] Observations

Called "emperor" for the intricate pattern upon its wings, much resembling exquisite embroideries such as one might find upon an emperor's robe.

Living mainly in deep ravines and gulches in mountainous terrain, their eyesight as deteriorated in the dark so that now they hunt primarily by their other senses. They sense much through their distrinctive horn, which serves withal as vicious weapon for the impaling of foes.

[2/2] Sage Knowledge (28 of 78)

Wyrmbreath

What could be more terrible than the breath of the mighty dragon? Not many know that this fearsome weapon is indeed a wholly natural emission generated in a large gland, rather prosaically named "the breath-sac." Thus, the wyrmbreath is a purely physical manifestation of searing flame, and one that has provided an impromptu pyre for many an overzealous adventurer.

91. Paramina Rift: Garuda-Egi

GENUS: Avion
CLASSIFICATION: Diver

[1/2] Observations

Being the legendary foe of the wyrms, as told in The Legend of Dragoons.

Living atop only the highest peaks, they feed primarily on serpents.

Natural philosophers have confirmed the existence of two distinct kinds: the garuda, whose glimmering gold wings distinguish it as original stock, and the garuda-egi, whose wings have lost their brilliant luster.

Many are the cultures that regard these creatures as gods for their auspicious appearance.

[2/2] On the Extraction of Elements

Now, it is generally held that the sun has an affinity for fire. However, according to those natural philosophers who have studied white incense, the sun's allegiance lies not with the flame, but with holy power. This, of course, discredits the theory that the sun is but a large, fiery sphere, and has led wiser men to suggest that the sun is indeed a holy object, to which flame has clung: a base light yearning for a higher power.

92. Paramina Rift: Dark Skeleton

GENUS: Undead
CLASSIFICATION: Skeleton

[1/2] Observations

Being the black-boned demon-skeleton of man whose strength faltered and failed in a place rife with darkness.

They are driven by the need to create more of their ilk, and so they exude dark energies, polluting all around them.

The greater their number in a given area, the more likely it is that others will join their eternal vigil.

[2/2] The Jobber's Gazette

'Tis a well-known fact that black mages head off into the wilderness several times a year, clutching a death's-head from a dark skeleton tightly in their hands, but few know why they travel or where they go. Rumors speak of shady gatherings, or pilgrimages to the underworld, where demons impart dark secrets to them in return for grisly sacrifice, but such explanations are little more than idle conjecture.

Though nonetheless prized for their skills, this mysterious custom has earned black mages a rather unsavory reputation.

93. Paramina Rift: Slaven Warder

GENUS: Giant
CLASSIFICATION: Slaven

[1/2] Observations

Being beasts once used to pull freight sledges filled with heavy materials over rough, mountainous terrain.

With innovations in transportation, they grew scarce, and now only a few remain, and these feral.

Stores of fat under the thick hide of their backs provided sustenance when famine visited the cold, barren climes where once they worked. Observers have attested to the impressive efficacy of these deposits, individuals having reportedly survived for over a year without nourishment.

[2/2] The Art of Collecting, Excerpt

Those who are slaves to another, be they humanoid, hume, or beast, must wear a harness with the brand of their master, proving owndership.

Most such brands bear the mark of noble houses, and amongst them can occasionally be seen the crests of houses long since fallen. Scholars and collecters covet the harnesses of such forgotten dynasties either for their historical value, or merely for their rarity. Of these, the slaven harness is the most prized.

94. Paramina Rift: Skull Knight

GENUS: Undead
CLASSIFICATION: Skeleton

[1/2] Observations

Being an ancient knight whose elegant bearing betrays nothing of the weight of his thick steel armor. He wields a spear with the expert grace of elder times.

In the distant past, in a war fought in a land of extreme cold, those that lost their lives became undead, being hence forth called "The Brothers of Bone." Their numbers being equal to the losses on both sides, returning them all to the land's warm embrace would be an epic undertaking.

[2/2] Sage Knowledge (76 of 78)

Mr Bur-Omisace

The sacred mountain of the Kiltia sect, located to the north of the Jagd Ramooda. A temple was built here by believers to mark the place where the founder of the Light of Kiltia began to spread the teachings. There are accounts of the holy city here dating back to writings from the age of the Galtean Alliance.

In its long history, Mr Bur-Omisace has never fallen under the control of any foreign power. On the understanding that Kiltia's followers would exempt themselves from political dealings in other lands, Kingdom and Empire both formed a pact to guarantee the holy city's independence, an agreement which stands to this day.

It would not be an error to call Mr Bur-Omisace itself a shrine to Kiltia. Apart from the temples, there are only a few residences, with roadside shops catering to the steady stream of pilgrims.

In recent years, refugees from war-torn lands have gathered here, forming camps on part of the mountain. The priests of Kiltia give them aid tht they might live here in peace.

As Mr Bur-Omisace is surrounded by jagd, the faithful must cross the Inner Naldoan Sea by boat in their pilgrimage to the holy city.

95. Paramina Rift: Yeti

GENUS: Giant
CLASSIFICATION: Behemoth

[1/2] Observations

A thick coat of fur is the perfect protection against the cold in the snow-covered mountain ranges where these creatures reside.

In olden times it was said that mountain gods lived in the snowy crags, and villagers woud offer them sacrifices for their good favor. Now it is widely believed that these "gods" were, in fact, yeti who had succeeded in cowing superstitious local residents.

[2/2] A Curious Treasure

Now, it is a well-known fact among researchers of arctic monstrosities that the yeti possesses lungs of particular fascination, operating as they do at a temperature colder than ice, making them well-suited to the breathing of frigid air.

Unique structures within the yeti's lungs cause atmospheric moisture to form icy tubes, with the openings on either side which permit the flow of air.

Over time, these tubular structures grow ever more intricate, and when they are later forcibly removed from the yeti's chest cavity, they become the curious objects known as arctic winds, and are highly collectable.

96. Paramina Rift: Ice Elemental

GENUS: Ice Elemental
CLASSIFICATION: Elemental

[1/2] Observations

Being an elemental of ice from the freezing blizzards of the North.

The coming of such beings is perceived differently by the various peoples of Ivalice: to some, it is a holy thing, blessed and ephemeral as the passing of the seasons; to others, it is the harbinger of hard times.

As a matter of fact, cold spells do visist the places where ice elementals father, but research into the precise nature of their relationship with the weather is frozen, so to speak, no new discoveries having been made in years.

[2/2] Aletap Rumors

Know you the magepower shishak?

'Tis said it is a helm made to heighten the magickal powers of knights! Helpful when you spend long years training your body, and few years training your mind. I've heard they use chimera heads to give it the magicks it needs.

Gives one cause to think that even the savage chimera's brighter than your average sword-swinger.

Floe, Seer of the Way

97. Paramina Rift: Wild Onion

GENUS: Plant
CLASSIFICATION: Mandragora

[1/2] Observations

Thought to be a variant of mandragora, for the vines that reach up from its collar, covering its face like a mask.

Notes the famed naturalist Merlose: "It weareth its skin in layers, much like to the root of similar name, perhaps for the proffering of protection 'gainst the cold. Men say the great gaping orifice on its head was gouged by a shard of ice born of midsummer blizzard. Though its former mouth was passing small, befitting naught but low whimp'ring, its prodigious new one screameth full loud and full much as the foul beast could want, thence earning its name."

[2/2] Street-Corner Mutterings

There's plenty of work in the world.

I don't know what it is you want to become, but take my advice: look at the tricks of many trades, and look well. If nothing else, the knowledge you gain will help you on your travels.

And visit shops frequently: you'll find what you need sooner or later.

Nakhiro, Onion Knight

98. Paramina Rifts: Leshach Entite

GENUS: Leshach Entite
CLASSIFICATION: Elemental

[1/2] Observations

Long ago, the gods looked down upon the warring peoples of this land and were displeased.

Wishing to contain their violence, the gods arrested time upon the battlefield, thinking to imprison those who fought there.

But the violence would not be so contained. It spread beyond its confines, contaminating other lands,and soon conflict was rampant once again.

In their grief, the gods made a scourging blizzard to rage and when the blizzard lifted, men looked to the skies and found they were alone.

This fateful tumult is said to have given birth to the leshach entite.

[2/2] The Entite Pact:

Madman! Seal all you love in ice, yet know that in that ice you will see not your own reflection, but that of others. Jealousy! With raging thunderbolt held high, take the fickle ice captive. Only then will you heart be freed, and from within the ice, the shining electrum be revealed.