Eyries of Neopia: No Longer Forgotten and Ignored

My Eyrie brothers and sisters:

Today I would like to inform you of a grave injustice that has been committed. For far too long, The Neopets Team (hence known as TNT) has ignored and shunned our noble species, preventing us from winning the recognition that we deserve. According to TNT’s own records on the number of Neopets that have been born, Eyries are the 8th most popular pet. However, when you examine the appearance of Eyries in Neopian culture, you see that our beloved species of pet is one of the least represented.

The best example of this deliberate absence of Eyries is in sitewide events. Over the course of Neopian history, a few species of pets have dominated the starring roles in site plots and site events, like Lupes (Jeran, Captain Scarblade, Tomos, King Altador, the Spirit of Slumber), Usuls (Hannah, Garin, Gilly), Ixi (Nabile, the Commander, and Hanso), and Aishas (Lisha, the Court Dancer, Caylis and Isca, Princess Amira, Hoban, Abigail).

Now count the number of Eyrie characters in site plots. The only major Eyrie character who has ever shown up in a site event is Lord Kass. Granted, he was the most important character in the Battle for Meridell, but in the six years since his defeat, there has not been another Eyrie character in a sitewide plot.

The absence of Eyries is not limited to sitewide plots; it can also be seen in other parts of Neopian culture. The NC Mall is another major area where Eyries are discriminated against. A large number of NC Mall clothing items are unsuitable for Eyries. TNT’s fashion designers created most clothing items for bipedal Neopets. This is apparent in items such as shirts and jackets, which do not look flattering when worn by a quadruped pet, and handheld items, such as swords and fans, which must be lain on the ground. Additionally, even though there are a few clothing items that look flattering on quadruped pets such as Unis and Lupes, most of the fashionable details of these clothing items are located near the collar and chest, where they are covered up by our thick, flowing manes. And don’t forget the issue of shoes! Eyries often are forced to go barefoot because our claws poke through the fronts of our shoes!

Clothing is not the only area of the NC Mall where Eyries feel the sting of favoritism towards other pet species. When our owners redeem a Neocash card, they receive a special gift, such as a card, a toy, a bakery item, or a trinket. However, there are many Kacheek-, Draik-, Mynci- and Lupe-themed Neocash gift items (along with a few other species), which can be collected and added to species-themed galleries. Unfortunately, there are no Eyrie-themed gift items awarded by Neocash cards.

Beyond the items given away at the NC Mall, the number and type of Eyrie items which stock in Neopian stores is also limited. This makes it difficult for collectors to amass a large number of Eyrie items, because TNT has not created as many available items for Eyries as they have for other species. There are no magical plushies for Eyries, which many other species like Chombies and Cybunnies have. Eyries have no species-specific groups of items, like how Chias have magical Chia pops, Usuls have Usuki dolls, and Quiggles have Quigukis. Lupes and Chias are extra lucky because both species have tons of species-specific items (especially when you count Lupe and Chia treats, which are collectable by fans of both species). The limited amount of Eyrie-themed items is further worsened by the absence of Eyrie heroes and villains in Neopian culture. While members of other species can bulk up their galleries with tons of items for multiple characters, we Eyries have items from only one major character (Lord Kass) and a few more minor characters (Talinia, Cap’n Threelegs, Branston, Jahbal).

There are a few other areas in which the absence of Eyries is apparent. Currently, there are no Eyrie Key Quest tokens, so if we wish to play Key quest, we must use the token of another species. Additionally, there has never been a real-life Eyrie plushie for our owners to snuggle or an Eyrie action figure for them to play with while we are flying around the Neopian skies.

“Why?” you may ask yourself. “Why are there so few Eyries in sitewide plots? Why is there little fashionable clothing and no Eyrie plushies and tokens?” The answer is simple, my friends, and ironically, it is a result of our beauty. The Eyrie’s notable features, which include a long flowing mane, long graceful wings, and noble carriage, and because of the complexity of our bodies, we are very difficult to draw. Rather than spending several hours drawing all of our complex features for each installation of a plot’s comic, TNT instead chooses a pet species which takes less time to draw (i.e. Lupes, Kyrii, Usuls, Aishas, etc). But is it our fault that our species is so incredibly complex, so detailed, so beautiful? No! But we are being punished for it.

But, my dear feathered friends, do not despair. On the 10th of Collecting, all of Neopia will gather to celebrate Eyrie Day. The Art Gallery will fill with beautiful pictures and the Poetry page will abound with epics. Eyries will show off dazzling new paintbrush colors and the Caption Contest will leave you rolling with laughter. Best of all, many new Eyrie-themed items will be released for our collecting pleasure!

TNT may use Eyrie Day as an opportunity to help us achieve our true potential by creating new celebrities, Eyrie-friendly NC Mall clothing and rewards, merchandise, and a Key Quest token or two. But for these changes to occur, we must make sure that our voice is heard. The only way that we can achieve our goal is to tell TNT that Eyries demand our proper place in Neopia! Petition your local friendly TNT staff member and let them know that we Eyries demand the recognition that we deserve!

I humbly thank you for willingness to listen to my arguments and your eagerness to join in our cause. Together, we can see our vision of a new, brighter Eyrie future come into life.

Skandranon