Tuskarr Dailies

 When Caius wrote about the Tuskarr, he also included a brief description of the on-going assistance these fine people need to help them out in their daily lives.  It seems that each of the villages he visited had a representative who was in charge of recruiting visitors to their causes.

The first real village that Caius came to was Kaskala.  Kaskala has been over-run by the Kvaldir Clan of the sea vrykuls.  There is a constant stream of landing vrykul vessels disembarking the giant Kvaldir warriors.  The Kalu’ak are fighting as best they can, but Kaskala has been lost.  The only reason any tuskarr are there at all, as far as Caius could determine, was to gather as many bundles of supplies as possible to aid the refugees in other villages.  It is for this gathering of supply bundles that Utaik is enlisting the aid of any willing adventurers. 

Utaik is standing at the western end of the remains of Kaskala where adventurers will find him easily as they approach the village.  This gives him a chance to warn the unwary traveller of what they will find in the village and to ask if the will aid the Kalu’ak in “Preparing for the Worst” by gathering Kaskala supplies.  Here he stands every day, hoping that the kindness of wayward adventurers will help the plight of the refugees.

From Unu’pe village, just a short jaunt up the coast from Kaskala, Caius caught the Giant Sea Turtle to Moa’ki Harbor in Dragonblight.  Here, camped just outside the Inn and across from the Flight Master where he can see all of the travellers coming and going, is Trapper Mau’i.  Trapper Mau’i is concerned with the plight of the Snowfall Glade Wolvar.  The tuskarr are in competition with the wolvar for the resources in the local area and as such, they have determined that the wolvar numbers need to be thinned.  Trapper Mau’i is concerned that the hunters will be a bit too zealous and that the wolvar may be wiped out.  To try to stave off this dismal future, he is seeking the aid of adventerous travellers in his “Planning for the Future”.  He sends the willing adventurers into the hills above Moa’ki Harbor into the wolvar villages to capture 12 of the Snowfall Glade pups.  This is not exactly a pleasant task as the Den Mothers defend their pups with great ferocity.

After his successful collecting for Trapper Mau’i, Caius again went to the docks and travelled by Giant Sea Turtle to Kamagua in Howling Fjord.  Here he found another tuskarr worried about the local ecology.  Anuniaq is worried about the local Reef Lion population, but he is shy with strangers and Caius had to do a few other tasks for the locals before Anuniaq would confide in him. 

Thing is, much to Caius’ consternation, the very problem Anuniaq sees with the Reef Lions seems to be one that Caius himself brought on while performing a task for someone else.  The result of that other task is that now, the Reef Lions don’t seem to be mating.  Anuniaq is asking adventurers to take a net and catch some Tasty Reef Fish to be used to lure a Reef Bull to a Reef Cow so that they can get to know each other.  The assumption seems to be that for most males, “The Way to His Heart” is good food.  In this case, Caius says it works like a charm.  The Reef Bulls follow behind to get the fish and after gobbling enough to get across the Twin Shores ford, they seem very happy to chat up the first Reef Cow they come to.  I’m sure male advernturers all over Azeroth are wishing it were only that easy  

Until next time, keep safe and have grand adventures. 

~Zyrena

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Tags: Anuniaq, Kalu'ak, Kamagua, Kaskala, Kvaldir, Moa'ki, Planning for the Future, Preparing for the Worst, The Way to His Heart, Trapper Mau'i, Tuskarr, Utaik, wolvar

Kamagua and the Tuskarr

 After recovering from the shock of my last missive from Caius, I thought maybe I’d share some of his more tame observations with you all.  In his travels in the cold of Northrend, he has come across a race of very interesting people.  The Tuskarr live on the coasts of the Borean Tundra, Howling Fjord and the Dragonblight.  The influence of the sea, mainly fishing and whaling, can be seen in almost every aspect of their daily lives.  I’d even go so far, after reading some of Caius’ observations, as to say these livelihoods are as much a spiritual observance to them as a means of daily sustenance.

Caius sent me a picture of the village of Kamagua to share with you.  The structures they build even resemble the fish and whales to whom they owe their existance and are made with support beams of whale bones.  I found the Kamagua Inn especially interesting.  It is mostly dug into the ground with an above-ground appearance similar to an angler fish, right down to the lantern dangling above the entrance shaped like the fishes maw.  I’m not sure how long it would take me to get used to descending into what seems to be the mouth of a creature to settle in for the night.  Caius says the dwellings are very warm and cozy though.

The Giant Sea Turtle that travels between Moa’ki Harbor and Kamagua is in at the dock.  I am in awe of these great animals, and I have yet to lay my own eyes on one.  Caius tells of the smooth ride offered on the “decks” attached to the shells of these magnificent creatures, and the speed at which they glide through the water.  I can’t help but wonder if the Tuskarr got it right when it comes to traveling on the seas.  Ships built by man and elf seem so clumsy and intrusive by comparison.

Caius was very impressed with the harmony in the Tuskarr communities.  He writes that they are very family oriented and that the communities are very tight knit.  Every member of the community is expected to do their share to make sure the community is secure and well provided for.  Everyone helps out with the various chores that make the community run well.  I can see how beneficial this way of living would be.  In this way the health of the community is assured as all are protected and provided for…and everyone is too busy to cause problems   This “rule of providing” applies even to guests in their villages.  Caius writes that while he was staying in the Tuskarr villages, he had many jobs to do that helped the locals in their daily lives.  He aided them by performing many tasks that they either were too short handed to manage easily on their own, or that seemed suspiciously designed to test his moral fiber.  He must have done well for himself as they call him “friend” now.

Caius writes that the Tuskarr seem to be a very spiritual people.  Their Shamans are very highly regarded and consulted in all matters of importance.  They conduct rituals to heal, to aid in the catch and to adjust the weather.  They offer guidance in the areas of marriages, births, deaths and many other occurances of importance in daily life.

Caius noticed that the spiritual or revered places of the Tuskarr are usually marked with beautiful kites.  He has yet to find out if these are offerings to the spirits, beacons for any tuskarr travelers or simply weathervanes.  But I must agree with him on their beauty against the northern lights.

I’m hoping to hear from my intrepid cousin again soon so I can share more of his observations of the peoples and places of the frozen north.  He mentioned something about “Dragon Shrines” in closing this last one and I’m eager to read what, exactly, he meant by that.

~Zyrena

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Tags: Borean Tundra, Giant Sea Turtle, Kamagua, Northrend, Tuskarr

Post Cards from Caius – Northrend Travel

 Hi All.  Zyrena here again with more interesting things from my intrepid cousin, Caius, up in Northrend.  This time he sent me a letter talking about some of the neat ways he’s encountered to get around since he got there.

According to Caius, he can’t fly his pretty white gryphon there yet. While the gryphon has no issues, Caius himself needs to learn how to cope with the colder air temperatures at such a northern climate before he can use her.  Yet another indication that my cousin may be a bit more…umm…delicate… than I had previously realized.  Ah well.

I mentioned the great icebreakers to you all before when we talked about Caius’ journey to Howling Fjord and Valgarde.  The Northspear can get through almost anything the northern seas can throw at her and do it with grace.  But Caius sends home word of another kind of ship used up there to get between the Tuskarr villages.  It seems they employ Giant Sea Turtles.  The Tuskarr tame these huge sea animals and build cabins on their shells.  I noticed from Caius’ picture that they are using a bunch of carrots on a stick to get the turtles to go where they want.  I’m guessing that at each port the magnificent creatures are rewarded for their service.  Otherwise, I’d think they’d get tired of the monotony and just dive.  That would be a rather uncomfortable situation for any passengers I’d think.  Apparently, there are sometimes traveling merchants on these vessles who can take any extra goods to help adventurers lighten their packs and sometimes there are even Tuskarr adept at gear repair aboard.

While wandering one of the Tuskarr villages, Caius came upon some personal water craft that he found noteworthy.  The Tuskarr use small outrigger canoes to go out on the water to fish and to get about on personal business.  These small craft are fitted with metal plating on the bows.  Caius surmised in his letter that this plating must protect the skin of the vessle from shell ice and burgs floating around that are too small to bother paddling around.  The metal plating also had serrations along the keel and bow-sprit.  The only uses I can think of for this would be for traction on the ice if one were to drive the bow into an iceflow, or to dig into the ice after the bow was dragged up on a flow.  Maybe this is how the Tuskarr keep their outriggers from floating away as they hunt over the ice.

The next interesting mode of transportation Caius wrote about is the cable-boat.  I know that sounds odd, but I’m not sure what else to call it.  It is a suspended cable system with a goldola in the shape of a small long-boat.  It has one end anchored above the Tuskarr village of Kamagua in Howling Fjord.  The Kalu’ak, the local Tuskarr, call this “The Ancient Lift” and it runs up from the Isle of Spears to the mainland, just to the south west of Ember Clutch and to the north west of New Agamand.  Personally, I’m not so sure I’d be using something called “Ancient” that travels over open northern waters and traverses such verticle distance.  I’m starting to think that for someone so delicate, Caius is much more adventurous than he should be.

Or that’s what I thought until I read on farther int he letter and saw the next two modes of transport he tried up there in the frozen north.  I mean really.  A Gnomish float plane with a cable hook on the back?  What do they use that cable hook for anyway?!  I’m not really sure I want to know.  I also couldn’t help but notice in the picture he sent me that the pontoons have maniacly grinning faces painted on them.  That must be to show the state of mind of any pilot crazy enough to fly one of these things.  And the plane hardly looked big enough to be carrying around a draenei of Caius’ stature.  May the Naru help him if they happen to encounter any low flying water fowl!  I really am starting to doubt the sanity of my cousin.

One more paragraph and I knew we had come to the end of Caius’ mental capacity.  He’s not “adventurous”…he’s insane!  Apparently Gnomish flying contraptions are not quite exciting enough.  Without a picture from an incredulous by-stander in Valgarde, I never would have believed this next one.  Caius writes that he was sent up above Wyrmskull Village to see a man called Icehammer.  That man sent him on a couple assignments having to do with massive harpoon guns.  At the end of the last mission… at the end of the last mission Caius was sent back to Valgarde.  Not by horseback, not back through Utgarde Keep… but…. on the back of a harpoon.  Yes, my brilliant cousin, the renouned priest, fired himself out of a harpoon gun.

I think I have to go and lay down now.

Until next time, have fun and keep safe

 – Zyrena

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Tags: Ancient Lift, Icehammer, Northrend, Tuskarr, Valgarde, WoW