Consider the moogle.
Thought by some to fictional -- hence moogles-taleĀ for fairy-taleĀ in some regional Gridanian dialects -- the moogle is a very real, though fantastic, creature. Composed mainly of fluff and adorned with a softly glowingĀ āpomā that is bigger than its skull, the moogle is a playful creature whose main preoccupation is kupo nuts.
But what isĀ a moogle? It flies, but it is no cloudkin (see: Thorpe et al, 1222 6th AE). It speaks, and is thus often classified among the Spoken, but some (including Humongous Eddy and myself) feel thatĀ āSpokenā not only fails to describe a monophyletic group, and is therefore useless for delineating a clade, but is not even consistently used as a classification. If the possession of speech is the sole characteristic which some creature must have in order to be consideredĀ āSpokenā, then plainly dragons, some birds, the common spriggan, and even perhaps the belching eel ought to be classified as Spoken; moreover, babies would notĀ be Spoken, and would have to be reclassified!
This, plainly, is nonsense.
But, once more, consider the moogle. As I have stated, and as is common knowledge, the moogle is chiefly concerned with kupo nuts. The kupo nut tree and the moogle have lived in mutuality for as long recorded history (or, at least, as long as either has been mentioned in recorded history, which isnāt really the same thing). This is not unlike the common sprigganās relation to geology -- as long as we have noted the existence of spriggans, we have also noted the existence of rocks, inasmuch as rocks are noteworthy. Like the common spriggan, the moogle is capable of speech; the moogleās may be more sophisticated, but I am personally acquainted with someone who entered into a commercial contract with a spriggan, so at least some exceptional individuals are able to speak and comprehend as much as the average worshipper of Naldāthal.
I have spoken with moogles at length about their love of kupo nuts, and have heard from multiple informants that without a kupo nut, a moogle will soon lose the will to live. This, too, is like a sprigganās relation to its rock.
I propose that the moogle is, like the spriggan, actually a soulkin. More research is required, but I am at the moment stalled in my work by a lack of moogles willing to volunteer for dissection. If you know a moogle who might be willing to donate their body to science, please contact me as soon as is practical. Compensation in the form of kupo nuts for the moogleās next of kin is available.
