#also all three commanders participated in raising a seige turtle. his name is eclipse

[axe-trio-commanders]

So I've decided I need no provocation to talk about my characters and a post about mounts earlier got me thinking.

So- all my commanders sort of have their primary mounts; they all get two. I'll set one of them to the sorta default mount on 'x', usually the one I'd otherwise use the least, so I'm using these 'signature mounts' more often in-game- but canonically they're more-or-less the only mounts they have- though they lend some mounts to each other. Zori taught Seremnis how to call her skyscale if need be, and seremnis' griffon sometimes follows Enkkioh around when she's bored.

But!! what main two mounts each of the three has sort of follow themes related to their characters.

Zori has a skyscale (named Roro. after prince rorick. bc she's a nerd, which she got via already cannon skyscale quest in lws4) and a skimmer (named Strawberry, yes this is the same skimmer Strea had, that's why they bonded so fast). Both mounts are highkey geared for good, thorough, exploration- she loves heights, she loves swimming, she loves finding cool, hidden stuff.

Seremnis has a raptor (named Aria, that she summons from the realm of torment, and has the temperment of a puppy) and a griffon (named Requiem, a grumpy grumpy girl who only likes this weird salad, that seremnis got via the canon quest but after lws4, at the same time zori was doing the skyscale quest. She wasn't even an actual sunspear griffon she was just chilling there when the sunspears finally decided she could keep one, and now they are besties and seremnis lets her fight things and sometimes help dispose of. evidence). Anyways the theme is Seremnis likes to go fast, and likes to do so at least relatively quietly. There and gone, like a ghost. But also going that fast is just really fun, death 'defying' (like she'd actually stay dead) stunts and all.

And Enkkioh?

Enkkioh has a springer (named G-Force, because she's a nerd, which she bonded with because of the springer's genetic lack of long ears or tail and a similar color patterning to her own- and, fine, he's cute, stop looking at her like that) and a rollerbeatle (named Kinetic Friction, Kinetic for short- because I am also a nerd- which she got through the cannon quest, as a sort of apology to Gorrik and Blish for distrusting them so much at first. Of course, the result was so absolutely cool that she now apologizes by trying to take gorrik on rollerbeetle rides. C'mon gorrik. It's so cool gorrik. I updated the belt system so you won't fall off this time gorrik.)

...And the theme here is that not a single one of these is a flying mount. (Also neither of them are in any way quiet or subtle.) Enkkioh likes a good leap, sure, but there's always obvious ground in sight, she never gets high enough that landing would be an issue. Enkkioh is in both the literal and metaphorical sense my most grounded character- asuran came from underground, and she feels that in her bones.

In short- she's afraid of heights.

...And she's the character I'm playing through SotO with.

An expansion where you can't traverse the whole map, or even most of the map, without a flying mount.

Yeah she's having... a time