[SpaceShibe]

Youkai questions tiiiime.

1) Can Youkai talk outside their natural realm? Like, outside the doors? I know they can communicate telepathically with their summoner, but what of by word of mouth/beak/whatever?
2) If they can, would they know know other languages too depending on where they came from? Like Onigan if they came from an Onigan door?

[Turadis]

Roughly what percentage of Gold's population died as a result of Gold's Curse?

[RobotPan]

If you could drink a god's blood, what would happen?

[Mikuel]

Can lich change their phylactery after the initial one, even if it means reperforming the lichdom ritual to obtain new phylactery?

(Mostly wondering in the case people track current phylactery down and swapping it might be useful)

[Sarah54321]

Are amalgamas made from the whole souls of the deceased or just the residual spirits? If its the former would it not mean they'd have to trap the soul upon death? In the original release and in the wiki it says 'Souls', but it's been said elsewhere it's 'Spirits'. Souls and Spirits have been said to be different, so I'm hoping to figure out which is which.

[Neus]

where’s the zoo

Where is the best zoo in the world.

Do they have giraffes?

Is their food overpriced?

I'm not sure where there'd be an actual zoo, but I think an Alstalain zoo would be pretty cool with all the deadly monsters and whatnot.

Sure.

Nah.

So, questions that'd popped up multiple times in my head... 
1. If an elf is at a beach on Mersales looking out to the waters... Would they see any ships or boats floating on the waters but those people can't see them?

2. If someone sailed right at Mersales, they'd just see nothing and magically phase through with onlooking elves watching in horror? Or is it a two way thing where those looking out also don't see anything?

3. And does Mersales have animal life? What kinds?

1) Mersales is not anywhere near where there'd be ships sailing about. In a hypothetical scenario, they could see them. People on a ship would just see foggy water.
2) See 1. In a hypothetical scenario, the currents and winds around Mersales would simply prevent the ship from approaching.
3) Not much. Primarily birds and insects.

Does anything else go into the creation of a humanoid chimera other than monster blood and Black Beast corpses? The reason I ask is that the main homunulus page seems to imply that other humanoid races are involved, with the following passage:

Capability for reproduction wildly varies depending on the method of creation. Typically, only fusion-based homunculi can reproduce, and only with species they were compatible with before fusion. Since the homunculi's body is magical, the progeny will never be a homunculi, and always the race of their partner. Homunculi can never create offspring with other homunculi.

The only fusion based Homunculus is Chimera.

1) Chimeras are not an exact science - they can be created by fusing different monster races, although they may lack some of the 'evolving' capabilities.
2) The homunculi page lore is not about only the existing homunculi races. It is a general summary of it that also applies to any of those races added in the future, and so should be read in that context.

Does Hyoya still have a bustling mining industry going?

If yes to the above, are there any unique metals in the mountains you won't find anywhere else, IE like Echorite in Alstalsia?

1) Yes.
2) I don't think there would be any unique materials, but there would be a lot of Arctic Gold, which would realistically be much rarer on other continents.

I know that you don't have an answer as to where/what the epicenter of the Great Six may be when it comes to medicine/doctors, but where do most people generally congregate to learn to become doctors, if such a place exists? Do doctors have any kind of oversight, whether it be based where they're working (such as Doctor Gorri in Dormeho/his boss (see: medical head) being overseen by a board of sorts on Sigrogana) to keep ethics and accountability? And what is the upper limit of knowledge/skill a physician (general) and a specialist physician (such as a surgeon) would be able to reasonably attain/have, considering that the world is very much fueled by magic?

I know it's a loaded question based on some unknowns, but this has been a hot topic for a few years now as well.

1) I think there'd be a few options. First and foremost would be from the Mercalan faith, since it is obviously of importance to their tenats. Secondly would be any sort of established hospitals in the various regions (player made or otherwise). Thirdly would be as part of an alchemy study, even in places such as Karaten where it is more prominent. Fourthly would be from elves, who are well versed in the practice in most cases. Fifthly would be from wild elves or tribes on Egwyn, since they rarely have access to priests, hospitals, and so on, and would develop that knowledge on their own.
2) It would depend on the region. There's not a uniform, large overarching assembly that oversees such things. In general, it would be up to the local governing bodies to moderate such things as they wish (IE, the medical heads), and they would likely disallow anyone from owning a practice if they could not provide a quality service. Travelling medics would have an understanding of 'employ their services at your own risk'; if they were causing active harm, they'd be arrested.
3) It's hard for me to say, to be honest. Specifically I think it would be not very likely that organ transplants would be successful, beyond that I'd have to hear specific questions.

Taking a break from Spellthief questions for this month, and instead asking some things regarding Herons on behalf of someone else.

Can humanoid Herons procreate with other races? If so, what would the outcome generally be? If a humanoid Heron procreates with another humanoid Heron (or even a true Heron), would they only create more humanoid Herons? Or are humanoid Herons only created by true Herons mating with mortals/asexually?
Is it possible for a humanoid Heron to be the offspring of a true Heron, much like Wyverns and Wyverntouched?
How long do humanoid Herons live?
Are the humanoid Herons born in the skies/clouds, as it is implied in lore, like true Herons? Or when you said skies/clouds, did you more-so mean high mountaintops like where Phenexes reside?
What kind of cultural norms do Herons have, in general? What is a day-to-day life like for a Heron, specifically the humanoid ones? How do they view the world, despite being hunted?

0) Just to get this out of the way since it feels like a common misunderstanding, but 'true' Herons are similar to the 'great old beasts' for the beast Kaelensia in that they are large birds. They are seen as the potential patron 'deity' of the Heron race, are extremely rare to see for any non-Heron (and even then, are quite flighty), and are the origin of the Heronic language, which the Herons can also use.
1) They have the same reproductive capabilities as any other Kaelensia.
2) No. They have the same average lifespan as other Kaelensia.
3) They can be born anywhere, but they aren't born literally in the skies. It would be a high place, such as those listed.
4) Herons outside of civilization often live very simple lives. They sing, they eat, eventually they find a mate. It's a very innocent and basic existence, almost animal-like (although they are capable of verbal communication, regardless). They have a natural curiousity of the world beyond their territories but are also distrustful of strangers.

Can Amalgamas be siblings in a 'biological sense'? IE: Is it possible for them be born or develop the same blood (in a familial sense) once they're animated if they're by the same maker and start being able to bleed outside of things like transfusion?

Or can this apply technically in a spiritual sense if the souls that were spliced together in two different amalgamas were related to each other while they were alive?

1) I'm not sure what you're asking. 'Same blood' is a little confusing. Amalgama have blood, so yes, they can bleed. There can be some similarities between two Amalgama if they have the same creator, but the whole process is a bit unpredictable.
2) You are free to explore this in your roleplay if you want, but generally Amalgama only have faint flashes of memories/emotions of the souls used in them.

I wanted to know how long a spellcaster can't use their spell after it gets spell snatched. I saw somewhere that it was after the battle ends in-game it comes back, so its basically the same time frame. But how long is a round IC? Is it the same as DnD rules?

1) It's a simple process but only one that can be done with concentration outside of battle. Spell snatching in general is not a very clearly defined act, mainly to allow player expression, but in general it involves either stealing a page from a spellbook, or muddying the mind of the mage by capturing the spell as it's being incanted. In either case, the mage either makes a new spellbook page, or refreshes their memory of the spell, which is not difficult for them, but cannot be done in the chaos of battle.

Is it plausible to say Homunculi can be 'transmogrified' into life like you'd see in Full Metal Alchemist, as a method of creation? (I.E, placing the right ingredients in a magic circle and performing this hidden Albedo ritual to make them come to life)

What about in a jar or barrel of goop, or vault, like one of those lab-created monsters you see in literature but ending as a person or at least the vessel body of one?

Mostly to know if there's a way they can stand out from how a Mechanation is produced, given Homunculi can bleed and die if killed, yet is told they're "artificially made", which makes some believe it's 1:1 on Mechanations.

1) If you mean is 'make a magic circle, put the ingredients and shell in it, and the perform a ritual' a valid way to roleplay the creation of an Amalgama, then yes.
2) I'm not sure what you mean here precisely. The details aren't super restrictive provided you are using the correct materials (souls, shell, etc.) and ending with the correct product (an Amalgama).
3) Mechanation production is not at all similar to Amalgama production. Mechanations have bodies constructed from parts which the Llarian Scar can then control. Amalgama are produced via necromancy with a much less meticulously crafted body (in a lot of cases).

Youkai questions tiiiime.

1) Can Youkai talk outside their natural realm? Like, outside the doors? I know they can communicate telepathically with their summoner, but what of by word of mouth/beak/whatever?
2) If they can, would they know know other languages too depending on where they came from? Like Onigan if they came from an Onigan door?

1) While summoned, they can, even if they have body parts that would normally physically limit them (such as no lips, etc.) While unsummoned they can only communicate telepathically with the summoner.
2) Would likely depend on the Youkai. Since youkai can have previous masters, one could argue that any language the previous master could know, they could come to know as well, so there's no hard restriction. In general, I'd say based on the origin, they might know more languages naturally, such as Seiryuu/etc knowing Onigan.

Roughly what percentage of Gold's population died as a result of Gold's Curse?

1) Ultimately the amount of death caused by the curse isn't that large. It was higher during the last year of the war, but even that would be a relatively small number of the overall population (we'll say 5% at most.). The curse forced relocation of a large amount of the population to other area less affected by the curse, or to different continents, and/or smaller, off-shore islands.

If you could drink a god's blood, what would happen?

1) Nairyf's blood is basically magma, Argent's blood is likely poisonous. You'd probably die, in short.

Can lich change their phylactery after the initial one, even if it means reperforming the lichdom ritual to obtain new phylactery?

(Mostly wondering in the case people track current phylactery down and swapping it might be useful)

1) They cannot change their phylactery. The one you make is the one you're stuck with.

Are amalgamas made from the whole souls of the deceased or just the residual spirits? If its the former would it not mean they'd have to trap the soul upon death? In the original release and in the wiki it says 'Souls', but it's been said elsewhere it's 'Spirits'. Souls and Spirits have been said to be different, so I'm hoping to figure out which is which.

1) They are made from souls.
2) Souls can linger after death, so not immediately.
3) Spirits are the things which involve the spiritualism talent. They are a minor entity that have lost all sense of identity over time and are mostly based on emotion. Souls are classified as such because they have not lost this quality.