Caturae

Caturae [[File: This article is missing a picture of the item or otherwise missing an image or screenshot of the content it covers. You can help by adding it. |px|left]]No life form under the skies of Vana'diel nor the crimson moon of Abyssea is more mysterious than the enigmatic caturae. It is believed that these impenetrable beings once served the leisure events of a forsaken and equally arcane civilization. To date, nearly every piece of minutiae regarding their existence has managed to elude Vana'delian observation. While sightings have been rumored among the wayfarers of the Abyssean landscape, contact with the creatures has been stymied by their exceptional elusiveness. Perhaps no such accounts exist because those unfortunate enough to witness the blood-stained claws of these tortured creatures would either be unable to recount the terror or would have never returned to speak of it.

Family Information Type: Unclassified Common Behavior: Weak against: Strong against: Common Job(s): Traits: Charmable: X Pankration: X Aspir: Drain: Notes:

Special Attacks

Notorious Monsters in Family

Name	Spawn Information	Level	Zone	Notable Drop(s)
Iratham			Abyssea - Tahrongi
Yaanei	Appears at the top of Parradamo Tor J-8 to K-9		Abyssea - Attohwa
Kutharei			Abyssea - Misareaux
Sippoy			Abyssea - Vunkerl
Quest NMs: None Mission NMs: None Battlefield NMs: None

Historical Background

Catura (चतुर or चातुर) is a Sanskrit word with various meanings. It may mean "of 4," "coach" (an enclosed carriage) or "clever," as well as "skillful at assuming different forms." Caturaṅga (चतुरङ्ग) is roughly translated as "Chess" and is the same name of the ancient game developed in Gupta India during the 6th century. The literal translation is "having 4 limbs or parts" and is used to denote "army" in epic poetry, in which battle formations were divided into 4 parts. Iratham, Yaanei and Sippoy are all playing pieces of the caturaṅga game.

Caturae denotes the plural of these terms and taxonomic title of this monster family; it represents a construction using Latin grammar rules, converting "Catura," in this case assumed to be a 1st declension noun, to the theoretical plural "Caturae" by adding the suffix "-ae."