Hope's Boomerangs: Final part

Weapon: The last of Hope's second tier weapons and his ultimate

Appearance: Final Fantasy XIII

Tezcatlipoca from the Borgia Codex. Note the missing foot.

Hresvelgr

From Norse mythology. Hresvelgr is mentioned in the Vafþrúðnismál  of the Poetic Edda. In the form of a great eagle the giant Hresvelgr sits at the edge of heaven. And from his wings come the northern wings. The name itself means 'corpse-eater'

The Vathruthnismol can be found here, at Sacred-Texts.

Tezcatlipoca

From Aztec mythology. His name means 'smoking-mirror' in the Nahuatl language. Obsidian, which was used to make mirrors, was one of the items under the god's domain. Like many Aztec gods it is very difficult to pin down depictions of Texcatlipoca in art. He does seem to like dark banded face paint and wielding club and shield.

Tezcatlipoca appears in several creation myths where he is often with Quetzalcoatl, his brother at times. These two gods don't tend to see eye to eye. In one creation myth Tezcatlipoca became the first sun to light the mortal world. Unfotunately, as he was a god of the night, he didn't do a very good job of it. So his brother knocked him out of the sky and took his place as the second sun. Over time the humans of the world lost their peity and Quetzalcoatl stepped down as the sun. The rain god Thlaloc became the next sun. Tezcatlipoca stole his wife who, as a goddess of sex and flowers, was probably quite the looker. As any cheated husband might do Thlaloc wallowed in grief causing the world to flood both with water and fire. Tezcatlipoca then instated another new wife as the next sun. Apparently he makes for a lousy husband as this wife found out he never really loved her and so drowned the world in tears of blood. Quetzalcoatl eventually got another god, Huitzilopochtli to become the fith and final sun which we still know today.

Naberius

From Johann Weyer's 16th centuary demonology, Pseudomonarchia daemonum. Naberius is a marquess of hell who takes the form of a crow. He specializes in teaching men rhetoric for the price of their dignity and honor.


Caladrius

From Greek and Roman mythology. It is said to be a pure white bird that resides in royal house holds. 

Nue 

From Japanese mythology. The usual depiction of this yokai is of a chimaera like beast. It sports the face of a monkey, the body of a tanuki, tail of a snake and feet of a tiger. In the Heike Monogatari, which describes this fabulous beast, it says that this creature has the voice of a Nue bird.  The actual Nue was a 'monstrous' bird that terrorized the palace until Yorimasa shot it. A normal, if anoyying, bird isn't as memorable as a fantastical chimaera.

The Nue in its fantastical appearance

Monsters: Aspidochelon & Thalassinon

Aspidochelon & Thalassinon:  Two giant rare game turtles

Appearance:  FFXII

We're back after a weeks holiday. To celebrate, in the Monday Monster slot we'll be starting on some of the Rare Game monsters from Final Fantasy XII. So each week for the next while there will be one or two of the creatures covered. To start off we have two giant turtles.

The Aspidocheolon, FFXII

Aspidochelon:

The Aspidochelon appears in the 2nd to 4th Centuary bestiary Physiologus. The bestiary describes plants, animals, and certain other natural phenomenon couched in moral and spiritual lessons. The text was originally written in Greek. Aspidochelon comes from the words ἀσπίς (aspis) and  χελώνα (chelona)  meaning 'asp' and 'turtle' respectively. 

According the bestiary the Aspidochelon was a sea creature of immense size. Its rough skin mimicked a craggy island and it girt the outer edges of it's form with dunes and vegetation. Many a ship was said to land on these tempting shores. The sailors set up camp, lighting their fires and cooking their meats. Then, all of a sudden the great beast will dive to the ocean's depths dragging the men and ships alike to a watery grave. 

A translation of the Physiologus can be found here.

  

The Aspidochelone, from a 1633 manuscript in the Danish Royal Library

Thalassinon:

The English name is most likely derived from the Greek work for the sea, 'θάλασσα' (thalassa). This turtle spawns on the Phon Coast so this name makes sense. 

 The Thalassinon

Hope's Boomerangs Pt 3

Weapon: Hope's second tier boomerangs

Appearance: Final Fantasy XIII

Onto the second last entry for Hope's boomerangs. Lucked in with two different vulture kings this week from different corners of the globe. On a side note there will be no entries for next week as I will be away.

Ravana cutting off Jatayu's wings. By Raja Ravi Varma.

Skycutter:

A boomerang that cuts through the sky.  Not much to this one

Eagaltalon:

Eagle + Talon, pretty self explanatory.

Urubutsin:

An Amazonian deity from the Mamaiuran people. Urubutsin was a great vulture who was king of the birds. In the beginning there were so many birds in the sky that the world was draped in eternal darkness. The people of the land lived in fear of constant attacks from wild beasts. So it was that two brothers, Kuat and Iae, decided to take on Urubutsin. They hid themselves by an animal carcass and presently Urubustin came down to feed. The brothers captured the great vulture and 'pursuaded' him to release some of the light. Kuat became the sun while his brother Iae became the moon. 

Jatayu: 

Jatayu is another vulture king, this time he heralds from India. In the epic poem the Ramayana, an elderly Jatayu fights with Ravana the king of the Rakshasa (akin to demons). Ravana had taken Jatayu's daughter-in-law. The great vulture vowed to do everything in his power to save the girl. Though he was able to inflict many wounds on the King of Rahshasa, Ravana eventually slew Jatayu with his sword.

Monster: Lamashtu

Lamashtu: Demoness of nightmares

Appearances: Final Fantasy X

Lamashtu drake from Final Fantasy X

Another one of the drakes from Final Fantasy X today.

Lamashtu comes from Mesopotamian mythology. She was a malevolent demoness who acted on her own impulses rather than receiving instructions from the gods. The deaths of pregnant women and young infants were often attributed to Lamashtu's doing. She would drink the blood and eat the flesh of her victims. The demon could also bring disease, nightmares and wither plant-life. An incantation against Lamashtu notes that she is eternally angry and childless. Her childlessness may be what causes her to pray on infants. A common form of the demon was that of a lion headed human suckling a dog and a pig. She can also have a donkey's body.

Reference:
http://www.ancientneareast.net/mesopotamian-religion/lamastu-lamashtu/

Plaque showing Lamashtu in the center

Equipment: Hope's Weapons pt 2

Weapons: Hope's Basic Boomerangs part 2

Appearances:  Final Fantasy XIII

There were two many base level boomerangs to fit in one post last week. So this week we have the last four of Hope's basic weapons.

The demon Malphas

Vidofnir:

Vidofnir or Víðófnir is a creature that appears in a single 17th century Norse manuscript- the Fjölsvinnsmál. Vidofnir is mentioned as a cockerel. Fjolsvith says that is the only meat that will 'leap within' his hounds whilst they eat. The bird is said to live at the top of Mimameith, Mimi's Tree, which is most likely another name for Yggdrasil the World Tree. Mimi's spring was said to lie at the base of one of the tree's roots. You can find a translation here. Vidofnir is mentioned in stanza 18.

Simurgh:

The Simurgh does appear in other Final Fantasy games and I'll most likely redo this creature again with new details and in a different context. The Simurgh is primarily from Iranian mythology but can be found across several countries.

The Simurgh generally takes the form of giant bird like creature strong enough to carry off an elephant. It can either appear as something akin to a phoenix or bearing a closer resemblance to a griffon. It can have a canine, leonine or human face. There is a tale that the Simurgh is comprised of a flock of thirty birds. Some say the creature's body is that of a peacock, yet others give it coppery plumage. One thing that stays the same is that the Simurgh is benevolent and female.

Malphas:

Malphas is a figure from medieval demonology. He crops up in John Weir's 1583 Pseudomonachia daemonum. There he is described a crow like demon which wears human clothing. He is apparently quite the builder of high towers.

Alicanto:

This bird comes from southern Chilean mythology. It is said to be a large nocturnal bird which subsists on precious metals. Its feathers are said to glow with a soft golden light. Because of it's ascociation with gold and silver there is a mining company that bears the bird's name.

One of the several forms that the Simurgh can take

Monster: Zaghnal

Zaghnal: A Powerful beast

Appearances:  FFIX, FFXII

Zaghnal from Final Fantasy XII

In all the appearances of the Zaghnal it is a bulky beast type monster, yet it's name is actually take from a weapon. Today's entry is a little more on the short side.

A zaghnal is a type of shafted weapon from India. They generally have one or two heavy curved blades mounted on an axe shaft. The curved blade resembles a crows beak, hence a common term of 'crow beak' or 'crow bill'. These weapons may have been used to hamstring horses though they would have been equally effective at delivering armor piercing blows. The Rajputs of northern India are noted to have used these weapons.

For a rather in depth debate about zaghnal check out this forum.

An example of a real zaghnal