Wuk Lamat

Wuk Lamat is a character in Final Fantasy XIV, introduced at the end of Endwalker for a key role in Dawntrail. A Xbr'aal and daughter of Gulool Ja Ja, Wuk Lamat is responsible for petitioning the Warrior of Light's assistance in a rite of succession in Tural.
== History ==
===Before Endwalker===
Wuk Lamat was born in the small Xbr'aal village of Iq Br'aax as the daughter of the village elder Hunmu Rruk. As one of the few female Xbr'aal born in the village, Hunmu was overjoyed. Though she lived in the village for a few years following her birth, her time there would be shortlived when she was taken by surprise and shoved into one of the area's cenotes, having been knocked unconscious by the fall. Assumed to have been an attack by a Mamool Ja, Hunmu was furious and almost desired to take vengeance for the attack on his daughter, only being stopped by his wish to continue the peace between the Xbr'aal and Mamool Ja. Feeling he had failed Wuk Lamat as a father, he gave the small child to the Dawnservant Gulool Ja Ja, whom would raise her as if she were his own daughter. For most of her life, Wuk Lamat would grow up unaware of her origins or what transpired that day.
Raised by her handmaiden Namikka alongside the adoptee Hhestero Koana and Gulool Ja Ja's biological son Zoraal Ja, Wuk Lamat found family with her siblings and a mother in Namikka. While close to Koana, Zoraal Ja would remain distant from the duo. Wuk Lamat spent most of her days within the walls of Tuliyollal under Namikka's care, occasionally visiting the neighboring area of Kozama'uka while her brothers had already explored other parts of the nation and the world over. She would also befriend a Shetona from Xak Tural, Erenville early in her childhood. As the three siblings came of age, Gulool Ja Ja announced to them that due to his age, he would be offering up the throne of Dawnservant to whomever could complete his rite of succession, a journey based on the Tuliyollal Saga their father undertook when he unified the nation. He named each of them Promises as proof of their participation in the ceremony, Wuk Lamat being named the Third. Though more than eager to take up her father's challenge, she found herself wanting. She lacked the martial experience and support of Zoraal Ja and the knowledge and connections Koana obtained from his time abroad Sharlyan. Worse still, she had a recent third rival in the large brute Bakool Ja Ja, who was able to enter the rite due to recently winning in a competition. Though a small number believed in her cause to continue Gulool Ja Ja's benevolent rule, none would be able to or were willing to help her.
Her friend Erenville, recently returned from Sharlyan however had a proposition to even the odds. To help her on her journey, he offered her the aide of the Warrior of Light, a famous Eorzean hero of unparalleled strength who had recently saved the star and the universe from the Final Days, and a charitable adventurer besides willing to help anyone in need. Inspired and more than curious, the duo immediately set sail for Sharlyan to find them.
===Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker ===
Wuk Lamat accompanied Erenville from Tural to Old Sharlayan to recruit the Warrior of Light's support in the upcoming rite of succession for the throne of Tuliyollal. She asked Erenville about the greatest warrior in all of Eorzea, and he told her everything he could about the Warrior.
Wuk Lamat met the Warrior, G'raha Tia, and Krile Maya Baldesion outside the Studium. Excited about the Warrior, she asked for their help, but getting ahead of herself, she then asked them to join on a hunt to get to know the Warrior better. Erenville suggested they answer to a petition of hunting down the reason previously docile animals on the Isle of Haam had gone wild. Krile wanted to join as well, so she left to make preparations, while the rest traveled to the isle ahead.
On the isle, Wuk Lamat, the Warrior, G'raha, and Erenville put down a large colibri. When it got back up, Krile defeated it for good with the pictomancer skills she had been practicing. Wuk Lamat was convinced that the Warrior was just the one she wanted to help her. Krile wanted her to confirm the authenticity of the letter she had found addressed to her grandfather, Galuf. In the letter, he was asked to investigate the golden city in Tural. Wuk Lamat confirmed that while the letter's signature was genuinely her father's, someone else had written it for him, as the letter was in Eorzean and not in Turali. This made Krile to want to know more.
The hunters took the colibri to Last Stand for dinner, where Wuk Lamat told them about the succession rite. For eighty years Tuliyollal had been living in undisturbed peace, but her father was getting old and he had decided to surrender the throne to someone to carry on his legacy. There were four contestants, but Wuk Lamat was adamant that one of them could not be allowed to win. Erenville clarified that this particular contestant was way too ambitious. Now that the Garlean Empire was no longer a threat, he had set his sights on conquering lands of the east if he won, dragging Tuliyollal once again into a period of war. Wuk Lamat asked the Warrior again to help her, but the Warrior could not answer yet.
Later, after getting some background information about Tural, the Warrior decided to support Wuk Lamat. She also received the assistance of Alphinaud and Alisaie Leveilleur. When they heard about the cultural diversity of Tuliyollal, they thought the example could be useful for the Garleans to better form new relations with their neighbors. Wuk Lamat happily accepted their help.
===Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail===
== Characteristics ==
=== Appearance ===
Wuk Lamat has cream-colored fur, green eyes, a short snout, and long brown hair wrapped in Turalian dressing and feathers. She alternatively wears a golden tiara or head wrap, as well as and brown leather clothes with orange highlights. Upon returning to Tural from her trip to Sharlayan, she discards the head wrap.
Despite being a Helion, Wuk Lamat's eyes are capable of narrowing into cat-like slits similar to a Lost when overcome with anger.
=== Personality ===
When first introduced, Wuk Lamat is loud, jovial, and expressive with a tendency toward wanderlust when first visiting Old Sharlayan and the Isle of Haam. She is humble and informal despite being a princess to the Dawnservant of Tural, as Wuk Lamat dislikes the formal use of titles and such when first meeting with the Leveilleur Twins. Erenville is often the one who criticizes Wuk Lamat's "boorish" tendencies, especially her table manners and cursing during battles, and wishes she would consider her station. This suggests the two have known each other for some time, with Wuk Lamat stating they were as "thick as thieves" during their youth, though Erenville states they are merely acquaintances.
While Wuk Lamat projects a front of boisterous strength and fearlessness to the Warrior while hunting with them on the Isle of Haam, she is petrified with fear after encountering a giant colibri for the first time, especially being startled when the giant bird spoke. G'raha also noticed her hand trembling after Krile finished the beast off, implying that Wuk Lamat fears appearing weak in front of others. This confident front also led Wuk Lamat to make some more questionable decisions leading her to get in over her head, such as trying the spicy curry that Zero made popular: a decision she would come to regret but refused to openly state so and instead scarfing down more meat to wash out the taste of the spice. She attempts to do the same when Wuk Lamat becomes seasick as the group travels to Tural, or on any aquatic vessel, but none of her companions believe her claims that she is fine. It was only during the Feat of Pots that Wuk Lamat admits that she feels she has to appear strong and confident for the sake of her people, believing that they deserve someone they view as capable to lead their nation. However, after speaking her insecurities to the Warrior and her allies, and understanding what she really wants in becoming Dawnservant, that she finds the strength to overcome her fears and insecurities, renewing her sense of confidence.
Wuk Lamat is loyal and proud of her homeland, especially with her adopted father, the Dawnservant, Gulool Ja Ja, who raised her as if she were one of his own. Wuk Lamat wishes to honor her father's legacy by continuing the plentiful peace he had forged by winning the rite of succession contest but also to prevent another contestant, her elder brother Zoraal Ja, from claiming the throne who has ambitions of conquest. Angered that Zoraal Ja would ruin everything her father had built just to drag their nation back into war after Tural already suffered so many years of inner turmoil, Wuk Lamat refuses to allow that to happen. Wuk Lamat is not taking chances to prevent war from happening, hence why she seeks out the Warrior of Light's assistance in the rite. Wuk Lamat may enjoy a good fight and a bountiful hunt but war is out of the question for her. This puts her in contrast to her rivals in the contest, who see the position as Dawnservant as a means to an end to accomplish their goals and visions for their homeland. Wuk Lamat does not wish to enforce any beliefs or vision onto the people, only to continue the peace and happiness her father spent decades forging. However, as Gulool Ja Ja would surmise, Wuk Lamat only knows enough about her people based on her experiences of growing up in the capital city. As she partook in the the Feats, Wuk Lamat becomes amazed on how little she actually knew about the cultures, history and ways of her people but as she completed each Feat, the more she quickly grew to appreciate and love her people, proclaiming that their happiness is her happiness.
Beneath her boisterous and jovial front, Wuk Lamat possesses some insecurities regarding her bid for the throne as Dawnservant. Compared to her siblings, Koana and Zoraal Ja, Wuk Lamat has little to her name to back up her bid. She lacks Zoraal Ja's natural fighting prowess and Koana's academic talents, which led to many innovations being introduced to Tural. As a result, many within her homeland initially have little faith in her chances to win the rite of succession. Though Wuk Lamat is quick to turn the other cheek when hearing these opinions, it is clear that Wuk Lamat feels inferior compared to her more successful brothers. As Namikka, her nursemaid, would state, Wuk Lamat possesses a strength that her brothers do not, which would later be revealed to be her endless compassion and love for her people, her boundless interest in the various cultures of Tural, and of her desire to keep the peace her father had created. This makes her much easier for the Turali people to approach and connect with, ultimately making her more popular with the general populace. 
Her empathy, wishing to know her people, their ways and continue their happiness is what ultimately enables her to win the competition and become Dawnservant with Koana and Bakool Ja Ja conceding that she is the best candidate to lead Tuliyollal. However, Wuk Lamat remains very humble, never basking in the glory but she also knew her own limits as a leader, asking Koana to be the Vow of Reason to her Vow of Resolve. Further, seeing so many peoples live in peace and cooperation in Tural led her to believe that its possible for any peoples to coexist but her encounters with Sphene and the Endless, despite once being friends before becoming enemies, led her to understand that some peoples just can't coexist and her feud with Zoraal Ja led to accept that some cannot be reasoned with, especially after he murdered their father. In this, she lives up to her title as Vow of Resolve in being steadfast in her desire to protect her home and people. 
On a more humorous note, Wuk Lamat possess a strong aversion for alpacas, Tural's often choice of mount, having had a bad experience with them during her youth where after tugging on an alpaca's wool too hard, she got spat at. Though she would gain a slightly better viewpoint on alpaca's during the Feat of Gold, she still gives alpaca's a wide berth. Further, as mentioned, Wuk Lamat has shown to easily get sick when traveling by boat and would later show to have a slight fear of high heights when traveling by dirigibles. On the brighter side, Wuk Lamat is well known for her appetite, being known on a first-name basis amongst the restaurants of Tuliyollal and it always eager to either try out new dishes or share a hearty meal with friends and family. 
== Gameplay ==
Wuk Lamat is an NPC featured in Main Story Quests starting with patch 6.55 during post-Endwalker, appearing in quests, cutscenes, and solo duties. She then appears as a selectable party member in every story dungeon of patch 7.0 of Dawntrail through the Duty Support system. As a party member, she uses the Intrepid class, a variant of Warrior, which is unique to her. Depending on the player's role, she can either act as a tank or a DPS. She also appears at the end of these dungeons as a non-interactable NPC, speaking to the player when approached.
Wuk Lamat is playable during one solo duty in patch 7.0 of Dawntrail, in which she uses skills based on the Warrior job. Uniquely, Wuk Lamat is able to gain Limit Break gauge at set points during the solo duty when an attack is properly avoided, allowing her to use Limit Break attacks for high damage.
== Behind the scenes ==
Initially unidentified, Wuk Lamat first appeared in the final cutscene of Patch 6.5 of Endwalker, in the quest , seen from the waist down disembarking alongside Erenville. 
Throughout the cutscene, Wuk Lamat remains silent, teasing her presence for the then upcoming Patch 6.55. Upon examining the game's data, players discovered her model used for this cutscene included only the legs and waist, with holes cut out where her tail would be as to not give away her identity as a female Hrothgar. Datamining further revealed that the model had a unique rig and animations for certain emotes, further fueling speculation of the upcoming release of playable female Hrothgars.
She was fully revealed, alongside the full trailer and playable female Hrothgars, during the 2024 Tokyo Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival keynote. Wuk Lamat was the first female Hrothgar to appear in Final Fantasy XIV, although the Hrothgar are based on Ronso from Final Fantasy X, which did have women present.
===Voice===
In English, her voice actress is Sena Bryer, based out of Los Angeles. This makes Wuk Lamat the first main character, since Patch 2.55, to be voiced by an LA-based actor, following the change of the primary voiceover venue to the London-based Side UK, with Heavensward.
==Gallery==
Wuk Lamat from Final Fantasy XIV.png|In-game render.
==Etymology==
Like a few other Xbr'aal characters, Wuk Lamat seems to be named after a specific date from the Maya tzolk'in calendar, possibly her date of birth. The tzolk'in calendar is a cycle of numbered days running alongside a cycle of named days with a date format of (number)(named day). 
Wuk is the Classic Maya word for 7, and is associated with the "Jaguar God of the Underworld". The number 7 can be a reference to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, as well as Dawntrail being the patch 7.x series.
Lamat is the Yucatec Maya word for the 8th named day in the tzolk'in calendar cycle. It is associated with the planet Venus and the "Starry Deer Crocodile" god, which may symbolize the night sky.
Lamaty'i is a term of endearment used by Wuk Lamat's family, such as Gulool Ja Ja and Koana, and eventually her Scion allies.
==Citations==
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XIV
Category:Hrothgar
Category:Warriors
de:Wuk Lamat