Stolas (Final Fantasy XVI)

Stolas is a species of owl in Final Fantasy XVI used as a messenger bird, typically for royals and nobility. The birds have a lithified gem, commonly called "third eye", on their foreheads, capable of storing thoughts of those the bird is attuned with as aether and imparting the thoughts onto an intended recipient. Stolases are commonly used to deliver urgent and/or secret messages, and are favored by royals and nobles and the rich and the powerful, commonfolk having less access to these valuable creatures.
==Characteristics==
Stolases are small white owls with a yellow beak and striking blue eyes. They have a glowing blue gem or crystal on their forehead. Their head is large in comparison to their body.
To send a message on a stolas, one needs a bird that is attuned to the sender. The sender looks into the owl's eyes and mutters the ancient incantation "O mia lost elan. Tu isag elythe." that loosely translates to "My will is now thy burden. Ne'er cleft our bond shall be." The sender's thoughts and whom they wish to deliver them to are channeled into the stolas's third eye as aether, and the gem and the bird's eyes light up. The bird takes off and flies to the recipient to deliver the message. Only the intended recipient can receive the message, making the stolas a more secure way of correspondence than sending letters or a messenger. Neither the recipient nor sender also need to be literate to use a stolas. One can still intercept the intended message by capturing or killing the stolas en route.
When not out on a delivery, the stolases are docile and tend to sit on a perch in the owner's office.
Stolas plumes are commonly made into quills, with the belief that the numerous messages they have delivered has also imparted some quality of knowledge to the plumage itself, making for excellent writing instruments.
==Behind the scenes==
In the real world, the homing pigeon is the only type of messenger bird, and were commonly used to carry messages until the introduction of telephone. A messenger dove appears in Final Fantasy VI. Stolases in Final Fantasy XVI may have also been inspired by messenger owls featured in Harry Potter, the most notable of also being a white owl.
The Final Fantasy series also has another creature with a gem on its forehead: the recurring summon Carbuncle.
==Etymology==
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===Citations===
Category:Creatures
category:Final Fantasy XVI