Zho's Journal

If you fight Zho and her pet Black Moa, Onyx in The Norn Fighting Tournament (Gunnar's Hold, GW:EN) and successfully beat her, she gives you a journal chronicling her quest to hatch a black moa of her own, and suggests that you can follow the same steps to hatch a black moa for yourself.

This appears to be a new type of quest: it doesn't appear in the quest log, and there are no exclamation marks over NPCs' heads, or arrows or hints in the mini-map. The player must deduce where to go and who to talk to.

Captain Juno in Cavalon (Factions) sends you to Katharine in Gyala Hatchery to obtain an incubator for a Moa egg. Cost: 5 Platinum, 50 Spiritwood Planks and 10 Steel Ingots.

The egg is obtained in Regent Valley outside Fort Ranik (Prophecies). Follow the path directly south from Fort Ranik, fighting the Charr and Renegades that spawn outside. The path soon curves eastward around a bend - here you'll find a number of regular Moa Birds and their nests. Take an egg from one of the nests.

Next stop - back to Echovald Forest.

Contents

The Journey Begins

7 Songtahn 1584 CC. For years, the ache of my missing eye has haunted me. after all this time, I still wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, screaming and clutching at my face, fumbling for the socket where my eye used to be. The cry and chitter of every bird sends chills down my spine. As I remember that horrible day, sweat clouds my brow. Fear gnaws at me, but I've hidden it. My companions must never know. I had hoped the nightmares would fade with time, but there is no peace for me. I fear the terror will consume me, transforming me into a husk of my former self. Consumed, I will cringe and cower from gulls and chickens, babbling like an old crone. If I'm going to travel this world any further as a Ranger, I must tame what I fear. I must tame the Black Moa. Relentlessly, I will pursue this quest, even if it costs me my other eye. I will find that Moa, even if it costs me my life. It will submit, or I will die trying.

First Attempt

23 Saita 1585 CC. I have traveled to Echovald Forest, but the journey has been in vain. First, I went to the place where this madness began, the clearing where the Black Moa plucked out my eye and changed my life forever. It's funny how an event can loom in your mind, making it more than it was. My nightmares paint that place as a source of great evil, but now I find it to be quite unremarkable. It's a clearing surrounded by great petrified trees, and nothing more. To my chagrin, the moa I sought was nowhere to be foun, nor were there any tracks. Nonetheless, I have searched for it for months, travelling all over the Echovald Forest. feelings of failure have wormed their way into the pit of my stomach. My tracking skills are useless as I enter unfamiliar territory. Perhaps I should seek the council of those more acquainted with the forest.

Rumors and Tall Tales

10 Nemnai 1585 CC. I think I've found what I'm looking for, or at least the path has opened before me. My despair has faded, replaced with buzzing excitement. By speaking with the Kurzicks and reading what's left of their records, I've learned that the Moa is not actually native to these woods. Prior to the Jade Wind, there are no records of them in Cantha. For that matter, therer are no records of Moas here until recently, when foregeiners began to venture deeper into these lands. The kurzicks say that the forest changes things, corrupting its very essence and being. I've found an interesting account from an Ascalonian entrepreneur searching for amber in the forest. He claims that his pet Moa became increasingly agitated when they entered the forest. Eventually, the Moa was driven mad, attacking its owner and running off into the woods. Perhaps this is how the Black Moa came to be. Twisted and insane from exposure to the woods, pets and other imported animals are routinely abandoned in the woods. Facing betrayal, their unlucky owners have little choice but to leave them to their own devices. If I am to tame a Black Moa, I should acquire a normal egg and bring it here, infusing it with the essence of the woods. This way, the chick will be attached to me from the moment it crawls from its shell. I must travel to Ascalon, Where the Moa is native species, find an untended nest, and pilfer its prize. Before i go, I'll speak with the Luxons' Turtle Clan on how to transport it. After all, they're well acquainted with the hatching and care of eggs.

Discovery!

19 Beibacah 1585 CC. I have always loved it here. Frozen jade waves surround the clans, an ocean silenced forever by the Betrayer's death wail. For four weeks, I have stayed with the Turtle clan in Cavalon. I grow restless. I hadn't expected to stay here so long, but I met with good fortune. A scholar relocated here from Shing Jea not two days after my arrival. He was born into the Turtle Clan, but later worked for Minister Cho in his menagerie tending to various exotic creatures. He has more than a passing knowledge of how to care for a Moa Bird, whether it's a newly hatched chick or still in the egg. Three years ago, while he was on vacation here with his family, tragedy befell the Minister's Estate. Like many others, the plague took much from this man. While nothing left for him on Shing Jea, he finally came home to Cavalon. We've been talking for hours. I've learned much from him about the proper care for young birds, and one of the hatchery workers has taught me tricks for transporting delicate eggs safely. The leader of the Turtle Clan was kind enough to give me a small egg chest. It's fitted with ample cushioning on the inside, along with compartments for holding fire-warmed stones to keep an egg warm. Her words were cryptic, and she spoke of difficult tasks and rites of passage. Yet in her, I have found a kindred spirit these past weeks. I'll miss her. There is a sadness in her eyes. Something in her past haunts her as I have been haunted. Should I ever return, I'll investigate further, but for now, I need to start packing. In a day or two, I'll set out for Ascalon, the origin of my salvation.

Wintertime Blues

30 Yundinfang 1585 CC. Coming here so late in the year was an act of folly. My eagerness has gotten the best of me. Would that I had stayed in the Jade Sea a couple extra months, for it is cold here. It is not yet the mating season for these strange red birds. I will wait out in the snow in one of the southern forts, doing what I can to help in the war against the savage, cat-like Charr.

The Falls

4 Nongkam 1586 CC. I've traveled with the greatest urgency deep within the Echovald Forest. The gestation period for the Moa is longer than many birds, but it is still scarcely enough time to accomplish my goals. I'm on my way to one of the many falls here, so that I might subsume my egg in the flowing essence of the forest. I will completely submerge it where the surging water will wash over it. How I pray this will work!

Onyx

10 Mikan 1586 CC. The journey home went by in a blur. My thoughts were quite captivated by this tiny little creature who looks to me for sustenance and love. So helpless and sweet! How could I ever have been afraid of such a thing? I've decided to call him Onyx. The scholar from Minister Cho's estate told me that the Moa is particulary fond of sugary water, so I procured some honey to sweeten his water. He mostly eats various seeds and berries, but for a treat, I give him bits of herring or some imported berries from Elona. He's starting to get pretty big, but he still remains very fluffy and absolutely adorable.

Leaving The Nest

2 Nemnai 1586 CC. Onyx has started to become a bit restless. Perhaps he reflects my own restlessness. I have regarded the Monastery as my home for some time now, but this past month of flitting about the world has awakened my love of travel. I long for the road. As if to punish me for for beeing irritable, Onyx has abandoned his little nest, the chest given to me by the leader of the Turtle Clan. He has begun building his own nest away from my bed, sequestered in the far corner of the room. I keep jars of leaves, twigs, and herbs for my study of antidotes and salves, and he has begun pilfering them. He has lined his own new home with what's left of the supply of herbs I bought form a merchant in Kaineng. The trader claimed they came from far-off Vabbi, in the land of Elona. Although I miss having Onyx close by me at night, I will not deprive him of his little project. The way he snuggles into those Vabbian herbs is far too sweet a sight to miss.

Training

17 Yundinfang 1586 CC. Onyx is almost full-grown. We have started training together. I am learning the ways of a beastmaster, and Onyx is training for combat. We are learning to anticipate each other's movements and instincts. Onyx is an eager participant, for he sees it as a play. Though we are distracted by our training, our feelings of restlessness still remain.

Adventure and Beyond

Further info to follow as we progress. Please contribute if you have additional details!

Black Moa Chick has all the info.