Introducing the Lovely Lutari!

The day dawned bright and clear, and unsuspecting Neopians everywhere awoke to a very exciting news bulletin – the much-rumoured and highly anticipated Lutari had arrived! With a cheer, crowds thronged to create their very own Lutari, not knowing that upon their arrival this brand new fascination would be unavailable – unlike other recently discovered pets, the Lutari is limited edition.

This means, of course, that it is extremely difficult to get hold of a Lutari of your own to love. Throughout the day, more and more Lutaris appeared and found good homes, but at the same time many Neopians waited outside, waiting and waiting, in vain.

Perhaps more Lutaris will be discovered soon? Perhaps not. It is impossible to say at this time, but if you were able to come away from this joyful day with your own Lutari, you should be very happy!

For those of you who perhaps missed the festivities, I will take a moment to describe to you the Lutaris, in all their glory. Of course, this does not come anywhere near to actually being with a Lutari and seeing one for yourself; however, it is better than nothing!

Firstly, there is the blue Lutari. Slim, sleek, agile and lithe, this Lutari has a cream stripe along the belly, a long, muscular tail, and a cerulean shade of blue for colouring. Topped with a cheeky grin and gorgeous, deep-blue highlights, this is my personal favourite colour for the Lutari.

Then we have the green Lutari. All Lutari love to swim and dive, and let me tell you it would be pretty difficult to find this Lutari when playing Kacheek Seek in the sea! Two tones of light green complement the cream wonderfully, and this colour Lutari would match perfectly with all of your other pets.

Yellow Lutaris, early research suggests, resemble the sun in both appearance and in nature, since they are unfailingly smiley and cheerful. Totally loyal, these Lutari will defend themselves, their owner, and their friends with complete determination. For a Battledomer, the yellow Lutari is the perfect pet- ferocious, yet not overly serious about winning. For this Lutari, it’s all about the taking part, and earning the accolade of having done their best.

And last, but not least, the red Lutaris, always waiting for a cuddle. Feed a red coloured Lutari well, play with him / her often, and you will find yourself a friend for life. The red Lutaris seem to be more elusive as of right now, so we can only assume that they are more shy than the others, so I would recommend that you approach slowly and that you wear a friendly smile.

Of course, there will be many more colours for Lutaris as more are discovered, but so far, these are the only four colours available.

Whilst the Lutaris have revealed themselves and many have left the wild to become the pets of loving Neopians, many more Lutaris remain hidden in secret. There are wild rumours that a place known as Lutari Island may exist somewhere in Neopia, and that this is where the Lutaris have remained hidden from the rest of Neopia.

It is said that on this island, the Lutaris swim and dive in crystal clear streams all day long. They return to the shore at night to talk and dance in the light of the moon, and sleep in small round homes dug into the riverbank. The berries there are sweeter than anywhere else in Neopia, even more so than those from the farm in Meridell, and that the Lutaris feared to reveal themselves since they thought their island would be overrun my Neopians seeking to pick and profit from the delicious berries.

Of course, this is just a rumour, and should only be taken as such. On such a day as this, you can’t quite believe everything you hear! Take it with a pinch of faerie dust, as any wise faerie would say. It would be wonderful to visit this island though… Perhaps someday, when the Lutaris grow more trusting, we will be able to visit and learn more of the place. Until then, we must suffice with the rumours.

Thanks to a little digging on my behalf, I was lucky enough to find a brave Lutari willing to be the first ever Lutari to be interviewed in the Neopian Times. This Lutari wishes to remain anonymous, however, and so will simply be referred to as ‘L’, so that we might respect her privacy.

Interviewer (me!): Welcome, L! Thank you so much for consenting to this interview. I and the rest of Neopia are extremely grateful to you. You can call me Doughnut.

L: Hello, Doughnut, and you’re welcome. {L smiles sweetly at me, at this point}

Interviewer: So, L, how does it feel to be the first Lutari in Neopia to give an interview?

L: Well, a little scary, to be honest. I’m not quite sure if the other Lutaris will approve, but then we revealed ourselves, so I suppose it is better to get it out of the way. Then hopefully the pointing and gawking stage will wear off more quickly.

Interviewer: You get that a lot?

L: Oh yes, an awful lot. Imagine, I’ve only been here for one day, and already I’m tired of it… All I have to do is poke my nose out of my owner’s neohome, and then instantly there are dozens and dozens of pets staring at me. It’s rather embarrassing, really.

Interviewer: I’m sure it will wear off quickly. Take it as a compliment – we’re all so thrilled to see you!

L: I suppose so. We are happy to be here. We would not have come, if we had not wanted to.

Interviewer: What made you decide that the time had come?

L: A lot of things, really. We all had to agree unanimously, and so it took a long time for everyone to agree. We knew we had to wait until Neopia was ready for us. {L shoots me a quick smirk} We Lutaris aren’t just any other pet, you know.

Interviewer: Indeed, how very true that is. What is the best thing now, about no longer being in hiding, as it were?

L: New waters. New oceans and rivers, new streams, ponds and lakes. There are so many new places to explore! {L grins} It’s really exciting that we can go to so many new places now without having to worry about being seen or caught.

Interviewer: And the worst thing?

L: I miss my home, a little…

Interviewer: An-

L: {interrupts} I know you’re about to ask me where my home is. But I can’t tell you. Not yet, anyway. Maybe soon. {L winks at me}

Interviewer: Well, I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait. I won’t keep you any longer, thank you so much for coming today, L. We really appreciate it!

L: You’re welcome, have a nice day now.

And so there we have it. Neopia has a newly discovered species, the lovely Lutari! And the Neopian Times has its first Lutari-interview, too. Thank you for reading everyone, and please remember to take care of your Lutari, if you were lucky enough to get one. =)