In the new Qitari quests that came with patch 5.2 for the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV , one of the topics revolves around a “magic word” that should make quite a few players laugh.
Qitari? Can you eat that? The Qitari are the new tribal faction, whose quests FFXIV players have been able to complete daily for about a week. You collect reputation through the quests and unlock more rewards over time, such as new companions or mounts.
The rat-like race of the Qitari once served, according to the story of FFXIV, the powerful kings of Ronka, a long-gone civilization.
When the flood of light came, which wiped out a large part of the world, the Qitari hid deep in the dark Rak’Tika forest. Now they return to find the treasure of their tribe, the memorial stones, accompanied by their own great serpent from Ronka.
A community meme becomes established lore
What magic word is it? In one of the short daily quests of the Qitari, it is about going to a fallen statue and speaking the magic word “La-hee!” to it.
In the old language of the Ronka, it means “Wake up!” It is said that some people can hear this word in the whispering of the wind and leaves when they travel through the forest.
The quest refers to the soundtrack of Shadowbringers
And why is La-hee funny now? The word “La-hee” originally comes from the song that plays as background music in the Shadowbringers zone Rak’Tika Forest.
It is the first piece of music that players hear when they enter the forest for the first time. And it leaves an impression like hardly any other:
Actually, the song is called “Civilisations” and has no deeper meaning, as it is sung in a made-up language. So “La-hee” carries no meaning. However, it became a popular meme among FFXIV players from the very first second.
At night, an alternative version of the song played in the Rak’Tika forest, but as soon as the in-game clock switched to 6 AM, the normal song began, and players went wild:
The song also led to various “misheard lyrics” videos, in which players humorously tried to “translate” the song lyrics.
The popularity of La-hee was likely not unnoticed by the developers. Accordingly, the localization manager, Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, decided to incorporate the meme permanently into the lore of Final Fantasy XIV.
Koji Fox is generally known for sneaking many jokes and memes into the English version of the game, such as the FATE “Smells like Tree Spirit”, which is a reference to a hit song by the band Nirvana.
It is therefore only logical that he and his team decided to take over the running gag La-hee from the players. So from now on, when you ride through Rak’Tika, remember: It is the gods who speak to you.
