Truly_happy Posted January 18 Posted January 18 Quote And a last detail about this: I found by mistake, ofc that you can add frames to almost every graphic in ZT as long as it has an .ani file attached. So, this animal has an animated menu icon! I thought ZT would not support it, but it worked. However, any issue that you may notice, please feel free to notify! 🤯 MUST SEE!!!
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted January 18 Author Posted January 18 On 1/17/2026 at 5:58 PM, Zarawatto said: FILE TEMPORARILY REMOVED DUE A SUDDEN MINOR BUG FIX... IT WILL BE BACK IN A FEW MINUTES I swear it was less than half an hour, but in those minutes, my internet service went down and didn't recover until today morning... Anyways, the file is back again for anyone who wanna give it a try: File removed Jan 20th 2026. Link to get. 1
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted February 9 Author Posted February 9 I'm working on some species of animals that went extinct due to human actions in recent times... I'm considering five species, but the first two are already finished. Feel free to take a look at them and give a try! Report any issue you find Instead of the usual facts and biology descriptions, the plaque contains a short tale I wrote to depict how these species were wipped out from existence... I expect them not to be too dark, just real enough. King Island emu. The last captive specimens died in 1822 in Jardin des Plantes, Paris. ~~ King's Last Heir ~~ Patience is not a gift, but a skill that has to be developed well in the roughest environments. Patience to learn how to find the hideout of the drops after the rain, patience to fold yourself out of the wind strikes. Patience to learn how to listen. I was a great listener. King Island shaped me that way. We needed patience since our legs were pretty short. There was no need to flow across endless plains. I used to listen the wind scoured grass and the whispers of the scrub from my homeland, until the trees started yelling sharp screams when falling down with no storms and the island eventually grew louder, harsher, less like a place that was able to held you with it and more like it was pushing you back instead. It suddenly got completely reformed without asking if we could bent with it. The ground was not able to offer us nests anymore, as the hooves crushed completely lacking care of their step and the chicks weren't returning from the edge of the woods. The bigger ones were never aware what being afraid of anything was until that time. That's the reason why we were easy to get caught when they started looking at us like a mistake that needed to be corrected. I was a great listener. I noticed how, one by one, the voices of my kind thinned and eventually vanished. The last time I met another like me, we were standing far apart, pretending not to notice how quiet it had become. No answering calls, no rustle of feet through the grass, just the echoes of the axes slicing the wind until hitting the logs. After that, I walked alone. I reached every corner of the island, expecting it to remember and bring us back into existence. However, my shadow would not split in two just for a miracle. When I got found, the island was no more speaking my language. They seemed to be pleased, probably amazed. "There is another one!" they said. "Let's take it with the others!". In that moment, I almost lost all hope to find another like me, I was tired. Not wounded at all, just done. They toke me to met my kind again. I was a great listener, but my kind was now just quiet. As the island language is not the mine anymore, I never understood the meaning of the word "collection". ~ Spoiler Steller's sea cow lived in the Bering Sea until 1768. ~~ The Archipielago that bled off ~~ Odd to find how green is the water today. If you asked me yesterday if it would be this intensely colorful, I'd say that was never going to happen. Nevertheless, we're here. Silent as usual, chilling as usual, serene as usual, but below the surface, the leaves of the kelp forest are making fun of us in an endless wobble that gets lost in the depths of the ocean, down where sun barely reached in the clearest summer ever. In past days, the islands toke the main component of the landscape, blocking our view of the kelp forest below them. They were the ropes or anchors that kept the land in place, and we came from afar alongside the sunrise, just to find our feast, ready to keep us with it until the sun again was getting tired of dancing in the sky and falling again into the horizon, constraining us to follow it to the south if we weren't willing to get lost into the endless night. Today, instead of nourishment, this green moorland, dazzling, ominously gorgeous is our recipiency. However, all of this starvation that ravens our flock it is not the kelp forest's fault at all. They didn't swallow the islands. That wrath that arises from the horizon with infernal blizzards and the north's breath never sank the Archipielago that selflessly granted us plenty of feeding source and shelter for more than five thousand trips of the sun. One day, the islands went under a hideous transformation. They came out of the water in parts and aberrated into beasts with multiple heads with twice times arms. They became louder, with a noisy yell every time they managed to succesfully beat the surface. But most of all, they became faster. One by one, all the islands swam away from sight, leaving behind a trace made by the leftovers of its previous life. Each day, there were less islands and eventually, as fast as a wingbeat, we found almost no place for us to take a rest of the migration and even less of its delicacies that grew, awaiting for our pleasure. I have this theory: The islands got tired of us. That's why the kelp is gloating on our wretchedness. I can distinguish the whispers and the gossip comming throughout the waves of the sea. They are not here anymore and are not wishing to return. Our promised land is no more than a legend. What are we going to say to our offspring? Actually, how far am I supposed to fly today? ~ Spoiler Have a nice download! Files deleted Feb 24th 2026. Link to newest versions here! 📖📖 1
Fern Posted February 9 Posted February 9 I had to zip them to get them to Jay so the zip name is irrelevant. From Jay: Here are the results from the checkers. There are no errors, but there are warnings that look like should be fixed. For the emu, some are because of a "b," incorrectly in the [BehaviorSet\bTense] section. The other things should be more obvious on how to change. Even though there are warnings, overall the results look good. fernDownloadsZWEmuNSeaCow.zip: ZwKingEmuV1.ztd * Efficiency: animals/57a0d033/icostric/icostric.pal not used, so not needed. * Efficiency: animals/57a0d033/lsmostri/lsmostri.pal not used, so not needed. * Efficiency: animals/57a0d033/plostric/plostric.pal not used, so not needed. Results From Configuration Checking (2022-10-29 checker version): 57A0D033.uca date: Sun Feb 01 01:53:00 2026 *** Warning: f= has b, but there is no BehaviorSet\b]. *** Warning: f= has 10, but there is no BehaviorSet\10]. *** Warning: f= has 30, but there is no BehaviorSet\30]. *** Warning: f= has 15, but there is no BehaviorSet\15]. *** Warning: f= has Baby1, but there is no BehaviorSet\Baby1]. *** Warning: Action stand is in BehaviorSet, but is not in Animations. * Efficiency: Line pair with 2nd being 'v=0' not needed in cCompatibleTerrain. Animal Type: 57A0D033 King Island emu ~~ King's Last Heir ~~ Patience is not a gift, but a skill that has to be developed well in the roughest environments. Patience to learn how to find the hideout of the drops after the rain, patience to fold yourself out of the wind strikes. Patience to learn how to listen. I was a great listener. King Island shaped me that way. (plus 7 other paragraphs) Animal Characteristics: Habitat: Savannah; Location: Australia Cost: 2100; Crowd number: 30 ZT Family: Bird; ZT Genus: Ostrich Minimum happiness needed for chance of breeding: 99 Exhibit Preferences: Foliage: Acacia Caffra Tree, Thorn Acacia Tree, Eucalyptus Tree, Hard Quandong Tree Red Gum Tree, Thorn Bush, Yellow Fever Tree, Baobab Tree, Umbrella Thorn Tree Tall Grass, Water Lily, Water Reed, Grass Tree, Broadleaf Bush, Khejri Tree Bald Cypress Tree (DD), Horsetail (DD), Monkey Puzzle Tree (DD) Sigillaria Tree (DD), Sea Anemone (MM), Barnacles (MM), Beach Grass (MM) Brittle Sea Star (MM), Clam Bed (MM), Orange Cup Coral (MM) Divercate Tree Coral (MM), Feather Duster Worm (MM), Fire Coral (MM) Kelp (MM), Sea Lettuce (MM), Red Gorgonian (MM), Sargassum (MM) Sand Dollar (MM), Sea Cucumber (MM), Sea Star (MM), Seaweed (MM) Sea Grass (MM), Sea Sponge (MM), Stove Pipe Sponge (MM), Tube Worm (MM) Purple Sea Urchin (MM), Senegal Date Palm (ES) Rocks: Medium Savannah Rock (DD), Medium Aquatic Rock (DD) Small Ocean Floor Rock (MM), Medium Coral Formation (MM) Large Ocean Floor Rock (MM), Medium Ocean Floor Rock (MM) Large Coral Formation (MM), Iceberg (MM), Isle Rock (MM), Termite Mound (ES) Exhibit Construction: Number of animals allowed per exhibit: 2-12 with 10 squares for each adult Exhibit size (for 2 adults): 20 grid squares Terrain (for exhibit with 20 grid squares): 9 Savannah Grass, 3 Grass, 3 Sand, 5 Salt Water Foliage (for exhibit with 20 grid squares): 2 grid squares should contain foliage. Foliage that would give the most happiness: Beach Grass (MM) Since this is a small plant, greatest happiness will occur if each of the 2 grid squares contains 4 of this plant. Rocks (for exhibit with 20 grid squares): 5 Small Ocean Floor Rock (MM), which is its most liked rock ----- fernDownloadsZWEmuNSeaCow.zip: ZwSeaCowV1.ztd Results From Configuration Checking (2022-10-29 checker version): FAE4203D.uca date: Sun Feb 08 18:58:58 2026 *** Warning: Action 2_submerged_sick is in BehaviorSet, but is not in Animations. *** Warning: cUnderwater or cSurface not 0, but no 'surfidle=' action setting. *** Warning: cUnderwater not 0 + cSurface=0, but no 'subidle=' action setting. * Efficiency: Line pair with 2nd being 'v=0' not needed in cCompatibleTerrain. Animal Type: FAE4203D Steller's sea cow ~~ The Archipielago that bled off ~~ Odd to find how green is the water today. If you asked me yesterday if it would be this intensely colorful, I'd say that was never going to happen. Nevertheless, we're here. Silent as usual, chilling as usual, serene as usual, but below the surface, the leaves of the kelp forest are making fun of us in an endless wobble that gets lost in the depths of the ocean, down where sun barely reached in the clearest summer ever. (plus 6 other paragraphs) Animal Characteristics: Habitat: Aquatic; Location: Arctic Ocean Cost: 7500; Crowd number: 35 ZT Family: Sirenia; ZT Genus: West Indian Manatee Minimum happiness needed for chance of breeding: 99 Needs Marine Specialist. Animal can swim in tanks with minimum depth of 4 levels and must stay in tanks. Cannot be used in original Zoo Tycoon: cKeeperFoodType (12) is not 0 to 5. Exhibit Preferences: Foliage: Ulmo Tree, Mangrove Tree, Elephant Ear Tree, Foxtail Palm Tree Llala Palm Tree, Rainforest Bush, Rainforest Fern, Orchid Tree, Water Lily Water Reed, Kapok Tree, Thouarsus Cycad Tree (DD), Bald Cypress Tree (DD) Fern Bush (DD), Horsetail (DD), Leptocycas Tree (DD), Williamsonia Tree (DD) Sea Anemone (MM), Barnacles (MM), Beach Grass (MM), Brittle Sea Star (MM) Clam Bed (MM), Orange Cup Coral (MM), Divercate Tree Coral (MM) Feather Duster Worm (MM), Fire Coral (MM), Kelp (MM), Sea Lettuce (MM) Red Gorgonian (MM), Sargassum (MM), Sand Dollar (MM), Sea Cucumber (MM) Sea Star (MM), Seaweed (MM), Sea Grass (MM), Sea Sponge (MM) Stove Pipe Sponge (MM), Tube Worm (MM), Purple Sea Urchin (MM) Fallen Rainforest Tree (ES), Rainforest Stump (ES), Rafflesia (ES) Giant Ficus Tree (ES), Durian Tree (ES) Rocks: Stone Ruins, Rainforest Rock Formation, Medium Aquatic Rock (DD) Small Ocean Floor Rock (MM), Medium Coral Formation (MM) Large Ocean Floor Rock (MM), Medium Ocean Floor Rock (MM) Large Coral Formation (MM), Iceberg (MM), Isle Rock (MM) Mossy Rainforest Rock (ES), Limestone Rock (ES) Exhibit Construction: Number of animals allowed per exhibit: 2-6 with 50 squares for each adult Exhibit size (for 2 adults): 100 grid squares Terrain (for exhibit with 100 grid squares): 100 Salt Water Tank Foliage (for exhibit with 100 grid squares): 20 grid squares should contain foliage. Foliage that would give the most happiness: Water Lily Since this is a small plant, greatest happiness will occur if each of the 20 grid squares contains 4 of this plant. Rocks (for exhibit with 100 grid squares): 48 Small Ocean Floor Rock (MM), which is its most liked rock 1
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted February 9 Author Posted February 9 Thanks for your feedback Fern! Odd... I remember running the checker by myself and none of these messages showed up... Guess that was because I made several "last minute changes"... I'm fixing them for the final versions which I'm gathering into the whole final pack 1
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted February 24 Author Posted February 24 I'm not working in the whole species pack yet. I'm having some new projects on my writting, so I'm just updating the versions with the fixes that needed to be done. Get the newest version of King Island Emu and Stellet's sea cow here! I'm not quitting this pack, but I'm taking a break until finishing my other stuff... Stay tuned!
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted Sunday at 09:26 PM Author Posted Sunday at 09:26 PM Goosifer & the admin team of ZooTek where this pack is hosted... And anyone else following my works are gonna kill me after this, but I had to do a last change to this pack despite said it was definitively concluded. A couple of months ago, we were having a very enrichment dialogue at discord about the use of AI. I'm not changing my mind on the use of AI as a tool for some stuff. However, I already told that this is my most personal work ever and I didn't even include some text written by me, despite how much I actually like it! For anyone who already got my skinwalker or my extinct animals, I've been adding some short tales instead of some random animal fact text taken from wikipedia or similars. I guess some ZT players do not read the plaque, so I'm adding this detail in an attempt to induce reading habits again! I toke my time to read several chinese traditional fables, so I can make mine a tribute to chinese literature. I'm not Shakespeare or Confucius, of course, but I want you to enjoy the short reading of these. Hope you like it! Also, I replaced all AI pictures from the plaque window and inserted some pencil sketches I made in order to display the fables. Despite trying my best with GIMP, with the game resolution, you'll probably miss most details. That's why I'm posting the pictures in this thread alongside the fables. Enjoy! Changelog: - All AI generated images and text in animal info plaques were removed. - Added fables written by myself into the animal plaque info text. - Added handmade drawings made by myself into the animal plaque image. ZwLoongV6.ztd Spoiler Spoiler ~ When they owned the water ~ Youngling Sha made his daily trip towards the river. He had an old clay vase used to collect the water needed for his family. As his father was sick for nine days by now, he was the one attendant to manage the water carriage to home every morning. That day, after the dawn, Sha was already kneeling nigh the flowing streams, plunging the vase beneath the surface. It was a matter of a few seconds. Walking the way from his house and back from the river was absurdly long in contrast with the time spent filling the vase. He was still there feeling the cobblestone nailing the skin at his legs getting worse with the weight the vase gained, when a powerful pump rose sharply from the vase. From the drizzle, a majestic entity showed in front of him. A golden loong five times longer than his home is tall and such a wingspan wide enough to shelter his cattle rose from inside the vase. "Thou happened to catch Ji-Liu, ruler of the river" said the loong. "Thou ought let thy divinity accomplish its appointment immediately releasing the water back in the flow. Otherwise, thou shall achieve some faction of the work and thy divinity's mightiness shall grant thee a worthy retribution". "Thy majesty Ji-Liu" started Sha. "I happen to keep my father in sickness by nine days. When I attain the aims, could thou bring him back his strength?". "Thy divinity has such a fathomless power to return the human all health" replied Ji-Liu. "Hence, thou shall lead the way unto the nine villages where the river satisfies their thirst needs and share with them all the water contained within the vase. However, as long as thy divinity presence stays inside the vase and goes farther, it shall be easier for drought entities to show up and take part. Choose wisely." Lacking any hesitation, Sha made the loong return inside the vase and committed himself into the wilderness on the path to the villages. When the sun met the horizon at the west, he barely reached the first town. At his home, his mother was concerned due its lengthy absence as she was left alone with the illness of her husband. "If Sha does not return before dawn, I'll go after him and bring him back" stated his father. The dread he felt for his son was larger than any sickness. The next morning, he did so. After debriefing in the neighboring village, he met Sha in the third town following the river stream that was almost dry. The water quitted running during the night and that morning, the nine towns would wake up with the worst drought in centuries. "What are you doing this far from home, Sha?" said the father. "Please come back with me, your mother is uneasy". "What are you doing this far from home, father?" questioned Sha. "You are supposed to be sick. Please go and take a rest and I'll go back with your cure". "I do not understand what you mean at all." replied his father. "Can't you see how I made it to regain my health?". "Spare me, father" told Sha. "Nonetheless, I'm carrying a divine sedulity right now. If I do not finish this, all the villagers will suffer thirst". "Only a divine entity may achieve such a divine assignment" asserted the father. "Let's end this all for once". Father and son went after the dry rocks of the riverbed and released the remainder water. Immediately, the river recovered all of its burst and the loong demonstrated again after them. "Thy majesty Ji-Liu" manifested Sha. "I did my best in order to perform thy task. However my father is already recovered, so I no longer require thy reward". "Thou happen to miss what thy divinity earlier spoke" interposed the entity. "Thy divinity has such a fathomless power to return the human all health, so it already befallen and the proof is standing next thee". "Thy majesty Ji-Liu happens to be a loong, and a loong is supposed to be a wise and comprehensive entity" claimed Sha. "How come thou this deceiving?". "Thou are not mature yet to encounter thy lesson" explained Ji-Liu. "Today, thy father is strong enough to keep sustaining thy home. Anyhow, he shall eventually get old and inevitably perish. When the time comes, thou shall sift out thy responsibilities. Such a responsibility thou may not withstand is an actual burden". There are lots of people around the world like Sha, bearing responsibilities they cannot perform. Meaning of the names: Sha3: Foolish. Ji1Liu2: Torrent. Partially homonymous with: Ji4Lue4: Discipline. ZwQilinV4.ztd Spoiler Spoiler ~ Rebirth from the fire ~ Ashes started raining in front of the face of the widow Zhi, mother of two daughter twins. Her always living gaze, merged with the smoke of the incense sticks was now printed in a thin paper sheet, since she's deceased by five months now. The picture of madame Zhi was put on a tidy shrine between the incense burner, two jars that never missed a day of water and marigolds and a small steel figurine of a qilin. Madame Zhi always told the tale to her daughters about how she, while she was a youngling, met this creature on a trip across the mountains. She told her daughters how the sight of this beast is an omen of a sage arising soon. However, despite how much they asked their mother, she never revealed if any sage actually showed up after that or at any point. The twin sisters made up the shrine to the remembrance of their mother including the display of the qilin, since their mother was the wisest person they ever met. Despite being nearby sisters to each other, they were pretty different. Zhi-Xing was closer to their mother and, because of that during her last days, she went over protective on madame Zhi as she became older and ill. On the opposite hand, Zhi-Yue was aware of how her mother's destiny was an unavoidable torrent of a river flowing to meet his death in the sea, so she accepted it as a part of life itself. How to figure out why, but five months after her demise, the incense hot ember fell right on the cloth in the middle of the night, setting fire to the shrine of madame Zhi. The last trace of what her face was like, was consumed by the flare with the rest of the house as her daughters fled from the searing flames, The light of the moon and the stars went overshadowed by the bonfire recently created with the leftovers of sparkling wood and creaking glass. Both sisters, standing each next to the other and right in front of where the house that saw her grow was now being consumed by the fire, they witnessed the unthinkable. The stomps of hooves started echoing from inside the warmest point of the heart of the blaze. Slowly, the shape of a resplendent qilin was taking a walk immersed in the ravenous hearth like it was the smoothest of the breeze. The sisters realized how all the adages of their mother were true as the creature started dancing and running in slow motion between the fire, until the height of the flames started shortening until they were again in the dark, with the sole companion of the moonlight right above them. The qilin was gone with the heat and the last material memories from the past. Insomuch as the last bond between the sisters was now consumed and reduced to ash and dust, being carried away with the wind, both sisters started their new lives in separated ways, pretty far one from the other. Both managed to raise their own family, build their own lodgings, being known by their achievements and leaving the night of the fire now as another chapter of a distant past. Nonetheless, there was a significant difference distinguishing the sisters. Zhi-Xing was irremediably hurt because of her mother's perish. To her perception, the night she saw that majestic beast was the night she lost the only remembrance of the past and became rancorous with the qilin and all the meaning around its legend, since no sage ever came around related to that demonstration. For her, the qilin was nothing more than a remembrance of the night she lost it all. On the other hand, Zhi-Yue realized that the burn of her mother's house was a chance to leave her past behind and start a new story. Even without the raging fire of that night, her mother was already lost forever and Zhi-Yue kept her memories from that day until the very end. She understood that there was no character to wait for, as such a forthcoming erudite was herself from the future, with all she learnt across her life. In the end, both of them made great things during the later days after the fire swallowed her mother's house and managed to keep their paths. Yet, when the last day came for the sisters, only one faced it peacefully. Meaning of the names: Zhi4: Wisdom. Xing1: Star. Yue4: Moon. ZwFenghuangV5.ztd Spoiler Spoiler ~ Temple built of wood ~ The first time Zi-Hao heard about the legends of the fenghuang, he was five years old. His mother recited numerous tales about the ruler of the forest and all birds, with the most beautiful of the chants and more colors than nine thousand flowers during spring. He could swear how multiple times he listened to a singing in the sunrise, deep into the woods, although nobody believed him. When he grew strong enough, he took a journey across the mountains, seeking for the king of all birds he heard during his childhood. Zi-Hao spoke to the cranes during his trip, who kindly answered "In order to reach Qian-Xun, the Lord of the forest, thou shall pay attention to its chant during the dawn and pursue the call". The explorer carried out so, and after years of just guessing the semblance of such a magnificent bird, he felt way disappointed. Qian-Xun was in fact the most gorgeous creature he ever was able to shape in his imagination, but it was lying in a small hut of mossy wood at half the height of an old tree. Zi-Hao had in mind a worthy shrine for such a lord of all living beings, huge and dazzling above all other things. "Are you the actual ruler of the forest?" questioned Zi-Hao to the bird. "Thou are correct" answered the fenghuang. "Then, why are you in such a small home?" asked the young one. "You can barely fit inside it". "However, I fit." replenished Qian-Xun. "That's everything I require". "Also, this hovel is just above the ground." pointed out the outsider. "Thy shrine should be placed above everything found in thy domains!" "This forest is my kingdom, not my own," replied the ruler. "Thou shall notice where I dwell just here, since a ruler must be found near its realm as we are all the same. No living beings are beneath me despite how I result to be their leader". "What a crassness!" shouted Zi-Hao. "I'm building my own shrine above yours and I'll become the new ruler of the forest. Mine is going to be made of steel and gold, garnished with all kinds of porcelain in five hundred rooms, just as a true ruler deserves!". Resentful, Zi-Hao made his way back to his town and gathered all the building stuff and tools he needed. After nine years, he departed in the way of Qian-Xun's dwellings, just to build his own in the tree right in front, just to make the ruler clear who was going to unseat its throne. The fenghuang was still there. Aided with ropes, the challenger made it to the top of the highest trees in the forest, where his temple would allow the best landscapes of his upcoming realm. As soon as he realized how much time was needed to carry the equipment from the city to the forest and then to the top of the trees, he started working immediately. It took him another nine years to accomplish the first half of the opus. What it was in the beginning, an ambitious shrine, was directed to be a whole palace. The building didn't go unnoticed by the inhabitants of the forest, who came to Qian-Xun, worried about the impending conclusion of its ruling. "Thy majesty, are thou sure about allowing that mortal surpass thy autority?" queried the monkeys, who already climbed to the top of the forest and witnessed the construction. "If Zi-Hao is such an apt ruler so I shall render up my reign, so be it" was Qian-Xun's last remark. The Fenghuang saw his contender going up and down daily in his construction works, growing older and weaker. After a whole life of works, Zi-Hao was ready to claim the throne of Qian-Xun. He covered his withered skin with a pearl shinning silk robe and prepared himself to take seat on his golden throne. When he was in his sacred place, with his last breath, he sighed "Finally, I'm the ruler" and died on the spot. He spent his better years following a goal which he never had any profitable reward back, ignoring the miracle of having a sacred entity in front of him every day. When the cyclons came, the weight of the rain and the onslaught of the wind made the trees below the temple weak, breaking and reducing the work of Zi-Hao to debris, meanwhile the old temple of Qian-Xun, covered with the cloak of the leaves and branches beared the storm. After it cleared up, the sun met the forest just to find the ruins of the temple of Zi-Hao reduced to rust, meanwhile the fenghuang was hosting bees, since the weather brought a swarm of flowers to the temple built of wood. Meaning of the names: Zi4Hao2: Pride. Qian1Xun4: Humble. ZwNianV3.ztd Spoiler Spoiler ~ Return to the earth ~ Mistress Chen was tired of a long, toilful life. Every year, when the time comes and the town was ready to dress those red signs and start the noisy parade, she felt very unwilling to do so. Every year, when the time comes, she notices how her body gets weaker than the last year. Her son married and moved to a far city and her husband died five years ago, so she decided to take this New Year in the lone of her home. Her hands were too brittle and her knees too frail to start the decoration of the house by her own self, so she was just taking it at her old chair like any ordinary day, despite the explosions and music in the streets. She spent hours diving into her ruminations, wondering if the younger ones ever had in their mind the meaning of the New Year celebration. Probably, the boys under the flamboyantly garnished lion mask don't even know about the legend of the nian, a ferocious, ever hungry feline-like entity all set to guzzle on the whole villagers when the spring comes as it arises from the deepest trench of the sea. Those kiddos are meant to mock about the beast and intimidate it with the loudy rituals of the New Year in order to frighten it to go back to its liar. Year of the dragon was coming on in a few hours. This was the last sunset of the cycle. Mistress Chen was about to stand up from her old chair, and decided to try to become the only sleeping person in the whole town in the next minutes, when an unexpected clatter came from the backyard. Her back door was now a small foil of thin paper, crushed and rolling across the house, just to unveil the bodeful presence of the nian, menacingly standing about to enter into her dwellings. "Thy home results to be the sole place overall the village with no disturbances" warbled the nian. "For I am Mao-Yao, dweller of the depths. Therefore, thou shall satisfy my starvation this spring". "Can't you see how flimsy I am?" replied Mistress Chen. "Under this pale, bitter skin, you shall find just dry bones for an endless nibble. I'm no good nourishment, so you ought to find another meal". After a long silence, Mao-Yao finally growled and agreed to leave the place. "Anyhow, shall the hunt outcome conclude with no success, then I shall return to thy place, as it seems as the sole niche where I may peacefully find whichever source of dinner". As the heavy paws of Mao-Yao lead its steps back into the wilderness, an old turtle that might be missed to the sight due its similarity with a pebble, poked its long, wrinkled neck into the beam of light that came from inside Mistress Chen's home, right onto the backyard. "Not in 150 years had I ever catched sight over a nian this close! No wonder why it came to your home, since it is the only silent place in the whole town this night" remarked the old turtle. "Cherished turtle!" cried Mistress Chen, "the nian is coming back later tonight! I have no doubts that I'll be an easy prey as everyone is taking part in the parade right now. I'm aware that probably I'm not reaching the next New Year, but I'm not willing to meet my death in the claws of Mao-Yao and I have nothing here to expel its attending". "I can assure it. That beast is coming back to this place later when the parade starts and the noise reaches its peak" added the turtle. "However, take it easy my dear. I can show you a way to kick out the nian when the time comes. Just pay attention to my words as I speak". Mistress Chen followed the instructions of the turtle. She took out all of her kitchenware. Lots of pots and pans made a fuss in the ground. She picked the longest of the scoops found in her utensils. All her glassware was carefully arranged in a circle at the center of the room. Finally, she spent her last portion of pu'erh in a jar full of tea, which she used to stain all her white clothes in red. "It is all set up!" asserted the turtle. "You know how to deal with this, but you also need my direct aid". "How are you meant to help me face Mao-Yao?" inquired Mistress Chen. "You are too small and too slow in contrast to the beast!". "So you are." answered the turtle. "However, we aren't quitting. When the nian strikes in, just throw me in that direction and I'll do my best". The last minutes of the year wore out, just like the harmony inside the house. Mao-Yao, covered in a thick layer of sweat that made its fur look like a bunch of thorns, came across the same previously smashed door. The parade, the noise and the fireworks made him nervous and startled, besides the hunger it was unable to soothe. Mistress Chen and its serene building were its last resort. She was there, sitting behind the kitchenware scattered on the floor, wearing a blanket around her neck, dyed in the red color of the pu'erh. Just like a child in a playground, Chen threw the turtle towards the glassware. As the shell started bouncing and spinning in the ground against the vases, they started shattering into pieces. Mao-Yao tried to stop the dancing shell with its huge paws, but it slipped away between its fingers. With every roll, the turtle started biting the padfoots of the nian. The pain was no more than feathery stings, but before it could notice, all the floor was tainted in its blood. A nian is afraid of nothing, but the red color. Meanwhile, Mistress Chen started thrashing her kitchenware with the scoops as much as her strength allowed. At every second of the New Year, Mao-Yao started figuring out that the old lady would not kill its hunger. The beast was unable to flee, as the streets were crammed with the parade. It was a matter of a breath for the inside of the house to turn even more bustling than the festival outside with all the metallic echoes. The turtle, still spinning across the room, flew throughout the window right into the parade, where a pile of firecrackers was about to burst. All of them blew in different directions when the shell landed in the spot, but the animal managed to guide them right into Mistress Chen's house, banging directly on Mao-Yao's chest. People attending at the parade turned into the old lady's place, worried if she was damaged due the explosions taking part inside, but all they found was her, still knocking her pans wearing the red blanket, as if she were living lots of amusement in comparison with everyone outside. The nian was gone with the detonations and no one ever saw it again. That year started with a huge lesson for everyone there: Mistress Chen realized how it does not matter how old and experienced she was, there was a lot to learn yet, and her neighbours remarked that, despite her age, elderly persons still can have fun. Meaning of the names: Chen2: Dust. Mao1Yao3: Cat bite. ZwPixiuV2.ztd Spoiler Spoiler ~ Dreaming about metal ~ Tan had nothing left because of debts, consequence of a life of gambling. He was never married and had no sons since nobody was worth sharing his, every day less, resources. One day, the tired neighbourhood and all the people that had the misfortune of meeting Tan in the lone street, where his bamboozling words and hands were used to scam the foolish, gathered with the determination of finishing his misdeeds. "We're gonna get all our money and belongings back or we're gonna kill you and throw your limbs to the pigs!" told the old lady, leader of the troop against him. "I'm sorry, but I already spent all of my wealth and have nothing saved" lied Tan while the sweat flew across his face. "If you give me a couple of days, I can get some gold to provide a part of my debts with you!". The villagers agreed to give him two days to refund the gold spent, but Tan was thinking more of fleeing from the town with the small amount of savings he still kept yet. During the night, as he was packing his belongings in order to leave the place, he started noticing metallic steps into his house. Suddenly, there it was. A feline statue made of copper, furnished with two wings as thin as two blades ready to slice the toughest logs, standing in the center of the room started talking to him. "They call me Yin-Bi. Thou shall feed me with the purest of the treasures and I'll bring you back them multiplied by five" said the beast. Tan knew he was facing a pixiu, a sacred beast he only saw in his greediest dreams. It was right in front of him inside his house. Tan fed Yin-Bi with the silver brooch he had in his clothes at that moment and the creature immediately spit out a necklace of the brightest jewelry Tan ever had the pleasure to put his gaze and fingertips on. The pixiu was able to fulfill not only his debt, but also to build a whole fortune for himself. It was his salvation. Just after the next dawn, Tan went to his neighbours and joyfully stated "Feel free to come tomorrow to my dwellings. You can take my house and everything inside as a payment for all my debts, before I can move to a new life far from here forever. As proof that I'm no longer lying, take this necklace as the first part of my compensation!". The lady, leader of the mob, stunned with the gift, committed herself to get on track to Tan's house when day breaks next sunshine. Tan slept nothing during that night. He started moving all of his belongings into the room where Yin-Bi was still standing, ready to accomplish his tasks. When the big shining started leaning in on the horizon between the hills, Tan started introducing all of his golden coins inside Yin-Bi's metallic jaws. Fists overflowing with all the items he snatched from the villagers were now getting down the pixiu's throat. One after another, all the treasures went from the wooden floor right into the mouth of the creature in a matter of a wingbeat of a beetle. Bluffly, the knuckles of Tan struck right into a wall of glittering items that were clogged between Yin-Bi's tongue and teeth. Its innards were already overloaded of all the stuff inserted and resulted in a heavy obstruction. The statue shaked, tried unsuccessfully to spit all those things back and, in a quick move, its body fell on the side, dead by the suffocation due all the objects blocking its mouth. The skin in the fingers of Tan started peeling and bleeding as he tried to clear the mouth of the beast, but Yin-Bi was still there, motionless above a messy bed of precious items. At any moment, Tan's neighbours would arrive just to notice not only that he lied again and had no refund, but he would also kill a sacred beast. The crowd was already outside Tan's house, ready to get back all what was lost and promised back, but Tan stepped outside and tried to convince them to leave. Raging, all the victims of Tan refused to leave and started pushing right into his house ready to take part of him all for once. Tan strongly closed his eyes ready to finally meet his fate, but what they found inside his house was just amazing. All of the rooms of the house were covered from floor to roof with all kind of treasures. All kinds of fine pottery figurines, clothes made of fabric only found in the wealthiest families, jewelry made of gold, silver and gemstones with more colors than a rainbow. Not even Tan was able to believe what happened in there, but there was no sign of Yi-Bi or his carcass. "Thanks for giving us your house and returning all our valuable items! Now, you can leave!" said the leader of the crowd, as she closed the door, leaving Tan alone. He had nothing left for himself. Somehow, the pixiu saved his life, just to make him spend his last days in misery as a reminder of the consequences of his reckless greed. Meaning of the names: Tan1: Corrupted. Yin2Bi4: Silver coin. ZwBrownPandaV2.ztd Spoiler Spoiler ~ Our last bamboo sprout ~ Far away, deep into the wilderness of the Southern Mountain Range, there were two concealed panda villages, characterized by their brownish fur, colorized the same as decaying leaves from the trees during autumn the same way the pandas themselves were slowly going driven to the complete deletion from the land. In the east of Zong-Se river, the pandas built their burrows with wood, since they were all enlighten with understanding of natural phenomena and analytical skills to coexist with their environment. They met the sun during the morning indicating the start of their working times. On the other hand, the western side of the river was inhabited by pandas who made their burrows with stone, since the western villagers were all spiritually merged with nature, their emotions and all the other living things. They met the sun during the afternoon indicating the start of their rituals. Eastern and Western settlements shared their knowledge to each other with harmony and with all the foreigners that came from distant lands to learn all the disciplines from the brown panda folk. One day, both folks started a war. However, this was not a violent war. Both leaders stated suddenly that no panda from their villages might ever meet the other town again by any means. No panda died from bleeding, but from silence. Such an abrupt isolation brought several issues. All technical abilities got eroded at the rocky western buildings and all values rusted from in the woody eastern caves. Eastern pandas forgot how to manage their soil and the development of plants at the right time, the same way the western pandas forgot how to dig, grab tools and properly sow their grounds. Slowly, both towns started collapsing in ignorance. Lacking awareness of this clash and guided by the legends of the panda towns lying in Zong-Se river basin, a philosopher called Sheng-Wu climbed across the range until reaching the western village five years after the initial conflict took place. Sheng-Wu was eager to learn from the greatest literates. Instead, the place of scholarship told in the tales was quite unpleasant. The brown pandas were about to get wiped from existence. The philosopher embarked towards the leader of the western folk and asked why their village was that close to a ghost town. "Eastern pandas lack inwardness and that brought them selfish. Five years ago, no rain met the range for several months and the river turned almost dry. My realm was about to starve, so I went to the Eastern Leader and pleaded for a portion of their bamboo sprouts, but I only got disregard in exchange. They refused to yield their last bamboo sprout. I erred my mind thinking they would learn from us and would be graceful. Since their leader was willing to our starvation before sharing their resources, I halted all interaction with the easterns. From that day, my folk is about to vanish". Concerned with the plight, Sheng-Wu thought this would be just a misunderstanding and decided to listen to what the Eastern Leader had to say. The next morning, the philosopher addressed the Eastern Leader's dwellings and, before trying to even say a thing about being in the Western village earlier, interviewed the leader about their disagreement with their neighbour town. "Western pandas lack willpower and that brought them lazy. Five years ago, no rain met the range for several months and the river turned almost dry. My realm was about to starve, so I had to distribute our last portions of bamboo sprouts among the population. When the Western Leader came, I only had our final portions of bamboo left. I knew that yielding that would mean to lose my only food resources to restore the fields. I erred in my mind thinking they learned from us and would be determined. Since their leader was willing to take our last bamboo sprout instead of working for their own, I halted all interaction with the westerns. From that day, my folk is about to vanish". "If the Western Leader asked for thy pardon, would thou embrace it?" queried Sheng-Wu. The Eastern Leader asserted it, so the visitor requested its presence next to the river the next noon. During the afternoon, the foreigner went back to the Western Leader and after their nocturnal rites, made the same question. The next day, when the sun was at its summit, after the easterns finished their labour and before the westerns started their ceremonies, Sheng-Wu was in the middle of the river over a pile of earth when the leaders showed in, each at their side of the flowing water. They said nothing and were just sharpening their inquisitorial glare towards the other. "Both of you are way too blind to notice what is happening here" started Sheng-Wu. "This misconception strikes up due to a bamboo sprout that there is no more. Both of you now have plenty of bamboo around your town so they shall not starve. Nevertheless, your realm is sunken because of a choice you made so long ago and today is completely meaningless. If you hold this attitude, brown pandas will perish not because who got the last bamboo sprout, but because of your haughtiness. Your folk keep suffering not because of hunger, but because they need each other. Your expertise has to be shared and complemented with new ones". Right in its celestial throne, the sun beheld how both leaders made into the water and drawed their paws near the body of Sheng-Wu. After a short thought of the pandas tearing the body of the philosopher, the luminary witnessed how they hugged their new master. Instead of learning from the pandafolk, the leaders learned a new lesson from a foreigner. Meaning of the names: Zong1Se4: Brown. Sheng1Wu4: Biology. Stay tunned for when they are uploaded as a whole pack again!! 🧧🧧 1 1
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