Jormag

This article is about the Elder Dragon. For the dragon champion in Frostgorge Sound, see Claw of Jormag.

Jormag

Race

Elder Dragon

Rank

Epic

Location

Dragonstorm Arena
(Dragonstorm)

“

You have accomplished so much. More than any creature before you. I am truly in awe of your achievements. Together, we can save what is left. I will help you to protect it. To defend it. Because I understand.

— Jormag

Jormag is the Elder Dragon of Ice and Persuasion, often referred to as the Ice Dragon, who dwells in the northern reaches of the Far Shiverpeak Mountains, dreaming about the Tyria that could be, at the expense of the Tyria that is. The Ice Dragon has powerful mental capabilities that alter their enemies' way of thinking, an ability also encountered on some of the champions of their sizeable army of corrupted minions, known as icebrood. Jormag has sometimes been referred to as being a living blizzard.

Whenever a group of norn attack Jormag or their champions, the men always return as icebrood, attacking the source of the group of norn in revenge. Women can become icebrood as well, but this is not welcomed by the Sons of Svanir, a cult of male norn worshiping Jormag, who typically kill the corrupted females. Unlike other Elder Dragons, Jormag does not corrupt to enslave but rather gives promises of power to those they want to corrupt; this can be seen through both the Sons of Svanir and the icebrood, such as at the Frost Portal.

Jormag's norn followers refer to them as Dragon, likening them to a Spirit of the Wild, while admiring Jormag's strength, and perceived viciousness and cruelty that in their view surpasses the might of the other Spirits. Despite this norn belief, Jormag's followers have not historically had the ability to go into the Mists on the Elder Dragon's behalf, nor do they have the gifts norn expect to see in shamans of the Spirits of the Wild.

Biography

Early years

The norn exodus.

Jormag was born as the scion of the Elder Dragon Soo-Won, at Mother's Lament. Initially mindless like the others, Jormag eventually developed their own personality and fascinations and left Soo-Won for the world, becoming hostile to their siblings and mother.

Like the other Elder Dragons, Jormag is thought to have last awakened 10,000 years ago, around the time of the disappearance of the Giganticus Lupicus, and then fallen back into slumber from consuming all the world's available magic. At some point in the past, Primordus, the Elder Dragon of Fire and Conflagration, struck Jormag in battle and littered the Drizzlewood Coast in the Ice Dragon's shards. During this dragonrise, Jormag caused the Dragonstorm, a powerful blizzard that lasted for many seasons and which the kodan still tell stories of. The Sanguinary Blade, a weapon made from Jormag's frozen blood, was forged around this time; anyone cut by the blade would instantly turn into Jormag's icebrood minion, while the sword's wielder would be corrupted over time. Dwarves made an enchanted scabbard for the sword to contain its power.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North

As early as 1078 AE, Jormag was influencing Tyria once again. Through their champion Drakkar, the Ice Dragon whispered promises of power to the norn hunter called Svanir, and turned him into yet another of their champions, the Nornbear; this was the first of Jormag's champions to be identified as such. The Elder Dragon also robbed Svanir's sister, Jora, of her ability to Become the Bear when she rejected the call, although some believed that the Spirits of the Wild had taken the power instead to punish Jora for doing nothing to stop Svanir initially.

Svanir's death inspired the founding of a cult of male norn known as the Sons of Svanir. The Sons began worshiping Jormag as the strongest Spirit of the Wild, referring to them simply as Dragon. They justified worshiping an Elder Dragon because in their view it was natural for the world to have predators and prey, and they considered Jormag to be the ultimate predator as well as the embodiment of all dragons. Over the years, Jormag drew on the cultists' powers and hastened their own awakening.

Interim years

Jormag awoke in the lands beyond the Far Shiverpeaks in 1165 AE, creating a bitter blizzard that lasted four years, and dividing the kodan sanctuaries and forcing them to flee from their icy sea homeland. The Ice Dragon's rise caused earthquakes that cracked and shattered the northernmost lands, allowing the icy northern ocean to flood through and create new, inland seas. This new inland sea was inhabited by some refugee kodan sanctuaries which fled south as they were harried by the Claws of Jormag. The norn heard of Jormag's march south and prepared for battle, some making their way north to confront it. The blizzard Jormag brought buried the northern passages, and the Ice Dragon's forces crushed Gunnar's Hold with a massive glacier. Some tales of skaalds claim that Jormag crushed norn fighters in the hundreds during this time.

Although powerful fighters, the norn were no match for the Elder Dragon and its minions of snow and ice, known as the icebrood, and were driven south into the abandoned dwarven territories. Jormag's forces occupied the area around Drakkar Lake and Gunnar's Hold. The Ice Dragon also attacked the Spirits of the Wild and devoured at least one of them, Owl, who sacrificed herself to buy some of the Spirits time to lead the norn to safety. It is said that Jormag destroyed Owl's spirit totally. Other lesser spirits such as Eagle, Ox, and Wolverine likewise stayed behind to buy the rest of the Spirits and the norn time to flee, and their fates remained unknown to the norn.

Frostfang's remains at Asgeir's Legacy.

However, according to a norn legend, a mighty norn warrior called Asgeir Dragonrender was empowered by the Spirits of the Wild and wielded a weapon enchanted with an ancient jotun scroll's fire magic. Using these boons, he was able to defeat Jormag's champion Frostfang and cut out a fang from Jormag's mouth, before leading his people south with the aid of the four Great Spirits of the Wild called Bear, Raven, Snow Leopard, and Wolf. The fang is now kept in Hoelbrak, and it is tradition for mighty norn to test their strength against the seemingly indestructible tooth. It is generally believed that if a hero manages to damage the fang, that hero will rally the norn and they would be capable of defeating Jormag once and for all to reclaim their northern homelands. However, some norn claim that the prophecy about damaging the fang is simply used to deter eager, young norn from venturing into the Far Shiverpeaks to challenge Jormag, and from losing themselves to the Ice Dragon.

Since their awakening, Jormag steadily pushed south. Though the Elder Dragon's territory was farther north, their influence caused heavy corruption in Frostgorge Sound, northern Wayfarer Foothills, Snowden Drifts, and even in Hoelbrak and northern Dredgehaunt Cliffs, thanks to the continuing spread of the Sons of Svanir cult. Besides spreading their corruption on the land, Jormag used the cult to gather minions and worshipers, be they grawl, jotun, kodan or quaggan, as well as magical artifacts, further strengthening their forces.

At some point in the past, Jormag became aware of the prophecy about the norn who would crack the Fang of the Serpent and how this norn and the Ice Dragon would clash in the future. Fate decreed that the norn of prophecy would either slay Jormag or fall to the Elder Dragon during their destined battle.

Edge of Destiny

In 1319 AE, the Dragonspawn, a dragon champion whose icebrood minions had been terrorizing the countryside around Hoelbrak, invoked Jormag's name to call upon their power when it was about to fall in battle against Eir Stegalkin, Garm, Snaff and Zojja. Jormag's presence filled the ice cavern, and the Dragonspawn used a portion of its master's power to force the band to flee while unleashing a blizzard in Hoelbrak and its surrounding areas in revenge. The Dragonspawn was eventually felled when Eir returned for a rematch with the strength of all of Destiny's Edge behind her, and Eir believed the fall of the champion had significantly slowed down Jormag's corruption.

Personal story

Kodan's Bane invokes Jormag's power to forcibly corrupt the resisting Honor's Voice in the Honor of the Waves.

A band of Sons of Svanir led by Styrr Frostblade managed to capture Havroun Solvi and use his spiritual powers to create portals to the Mists. Through these portals, Sons of Svanir and icebrood alike invaded the Mists with the goal of killing the Spirits of the Wild, but their plan was foiled by a party led by the Slayer of Issormir in 1325 AE. Sons of Svanir also attempted to lure local grawl and jotun to worship Jormag. They succeeded in converting Korag, a descendant of one of the giant-kings, to the Ice Dragon's cause, until Korag was slain in a duel with the Slayer of Issormir.

A Svanir Shaman Chief attempted to control a tribe of grawl in Wayfarer Foothills via a totem and unleashed a Greater Ice Elemental as well as opened portals to the Mists to spread Jormag's corruption throughout Frusenfell Creek, until he and the elemental were defeated by a band of local norn homesteaders and adventurers. Later that year, another band of Sons of Svanir led by Steag Frostbeard acquired the Sanguinary Blade and intended to use its power to invade Lion's Arch in order to gain Jormag's blessing, but the planned attack was prevented by Magister Sieran and a Novice of the Durmand Priory, who defeated the band and took the Sanguinary Blade to the Durmand Priory.

Despite these setbacks, the spread of Jormag's corruption did not stop as their minions were able to corrupt several quaggans and take over their village, Falooaloo, with the remaining villagers barely escaping with their lives thanks to the assistance of the Tyrian orders. Meanwhile, Sons of Svanir attempted to convert the grawl tribe of Ulukk's Hunger to Jormag's cause via the worship of a dragon champion known as the "Ice God," but the orders prevented the conversion and destruction of the tribe by killing the corrupted shamans and the icebrood champion.

Farther north, Kodan's Bane, Huntsman of Jormag invaded the kodan sanctuary of Honor of the Waves with a sizable band of Sons of Svanir and channelled Jormag's magic to forcibly corrupt the resisting Honor's Voice into an icebrood. The Huntsman and the corrupted Voice were slain by Caithe, Eir Stegalkin, Honor's Claw and the Pact Commander, while other adventurers traversed the sanctuary to defeat the Huntsman's remaining lieutenants.

Living World Season 3

A Crack in the Ice

In 1329 AE, the asura Taimi relayed information from the norn Braham Eirsson that Jormag had become active. According to Elder Ulf, Jormag was believed to have taken residence near a tundra overrun with Sons of Svanir and icebrood just beyond the Bitterfrost Frontier around this time.

Like Primordus, Jormag had also absorbed the latent magic of the slain Elder Dragons Zhaitan and Mordremoth, as seen with the Champion Unstable Abomination which the Pact Commander fought to acquire a sample to research this new type of icebrood. According to Taimi, proximity to the dead Elder Dragons might matter, considering that Primordus had absorbed more plant and death magic than Jormag.

Flashpoint

Simulation of the All becoming unbalanced due to a clash between the energies of Jormag and Primordus's spheres.

Theorizing that she could defeat Jormag and Primordus at the same time by mixing their energies, Taimi created a device using parts from Omadd's Machine, which became known as Taimi's Machine, to do so. However, this device was stolen by the returned, but weakened, human god Balthazar, who was looking for a way to increase his power by absorbing the Elder Dragons' magic. Shortly after the theft, Taimi discovered that one more Elder Dragon's death might lead to Tyria's destruction.

Balthazar brought the device before Primordus and activated it deep within the volcano of Draconis Mons, where the Fire Dragon was at the time located. He inserted himself in the magical stream and began absorbing the two Elder Dragons' magic. When the device was destroyed by the Pact Commander and Taimi, who had chased the fallen god into the heart of the volcano, the blowback and drained magic resulted in Primordus and Jormag being hit by each other's magic and entering a pre-awakening state. At this time, Braham had managed to enter Jormag's territory with his norn guild and planned to use Eir Stegalkin's bow, which he had enchanted with a jotun scroll's fire magic, to slay the Ice Dragon after cracking the fang in Hoelbrak with it. However, Braham could do nothing but watch as the affected Jormag vanished under the ice with an anguished roar before the guild could begin the attack.

Unbeknownst to the norn, Jormag retreated northwest to the Sanctum of the Wild in the Drizzlewood Coast, a site where the norn had first met the Spirits of the Wild long ago. Safe in the secluded location, the Elder Dragon encased their draconic body in ice while beginning to slowly heal from the injuries caused by the magic redirected from Taimi's device.

The Icebrood Saga

Prologue: Bound by Blood

To celebrate the defeat of the Elder Dragon Kralkatorrik, Knut Whitebear hosted the return of Dragon Bash in Hoelbrak in 1332 AE. This celebration saw the arrival of several Sons of Svanir and other norn praising Dragon, proclaiming that Jormag would rise again, while an Icebrood Claymore was spotted among the Sons preaching about the Ice Dragon's blessings. Some female norn were also seen arguing with the Sons of Svanir, claiming that they too had heard Dragon's call, and that the Sons could not ignore female followers of Jormag forever. Weeks later, Suspicious Travelers began appearing across the Shiverpeaks, speaking of the power gained by serving the Ice Dragon. A strange gale blew near these travelers, carrying eerie whispers spoken by what sounded like a female and male voice.

Following this, Blood Legion Imperator Bangar Ruinbringer called for an All-Legion Rally in Grothmar Valley for the High Legions' own celebration of Kralkatorrik's defeat. The Pact Commander and Dragon's Watch were also invited as honored guests alongside General Almorra Soulkeeper of the Vigil. The party was, however, a facade designed by Bangar to rally several dozen warbands to accompany him into the Far Shiverpeaks. The Blood Imperator viewed Aurene, the Commander's ally who had replaced Kralkatorrik as an Elder Dragon, as a powerful weapon which the Pact might use to eventually threaten the charr with.

Seeing himself outgunned and fearing for the future of his people, Bangar had his subordinate Ryland Steelcatcher steal Braham's fire-enchanted bow before heading north to subdue Jormag with his rogue warbands in order to even the odds. When the Commander's party tried to follow Bangar, an Icebrood Construct suddenly rose from under the ice and prevented them from following the rogue warbands into the blizzard.

Whisper in the Dark

By the time Almorra had reached the Vigil's northernmost base, Jora's Keep, to inform the soldiers there about Kralkatorrik's defeat, Jormag set a plan in motion. Although Jormag was still dreaming under the ice and recovering from Primordus's redirected magic, the Ice Dragon was aware of Bangar's aspirations and made preparations for the future. The Elder Dragon commanded the Fraenir of Jormag, the highest ranking officer in the Sons of Svanir, to expand the Sons' holdings throughout Bjora Marches. The Sons were assisted by several icebrood as well as Aberrant and Fallen thralls of the Ice Dragon, and the fraenir used them to harrass the Vigil soldiers stationed in the region while he invaded the Raven Sanctum to imprison Raven's shamans inside ice pillars and corrupt their magic to increase his own power.

Jormag also began reaching out to the minds of local, susceptible Vigil soldiers with whispers that turned out to be similar to those heard around the Suspicious Travelers, and slowly persuaded several male norn in Jora's Keep to betray their comrades and open the gates to the Sons of Svanir in the dark of the night. Almorra and Warmaster Jhavi Jorasdottir, who had been planning on finding a way to breach the Raven Sanctum and stop the fraenir's campaign, were captured while most of the resting Vigil soldiers loyal to them were caught unaware and slain.

Olar and Torrin, converted members of Braham's former norn guild, took the captives deeper into the wilderness. Although Almorra and Jhavi made an attempt to escape, the Sons of Svanir eventually caught Jhavi and sent a hunting party after Almorra who had vanished inside Darkrime Ruins. The Sons eventually learned of Almorra's demise in the ruined mine and gloated to Jhavi that the general had killed her last Elder Dragon although they refused to tell her about Almorra's death and who had been responsible for it. Jhavi was taken deep into the Boneskinner's den where Jormag's whispers tried to enter her mind and persuade her to join the Ice Dragon's cause, reminding her of her bloodline and that she was meant to finish what Svanir, her great-grandmother Jora's brother, had begun centuries ago.

Moving to the next stage of the plan, the Elder Dragon used Almorra's corpse to remotely communicate with the Pact Commander, who was unaware of what had transpired, and invited the Commander and other brave souls to Jora's Keep. As soon as the party reached the keep and discovered the slain Vigil soldiers, whispers began reaching into their minds in order to make them question themselves and one another's motives and use these suspicions to divide and weaken them.

Although the Commander's party succeeded in saving Jhavi from the corrupted norn, discovered Almorra's fate and disrupted the Sons of Svanir in the region, several Vigil reinforcements from all races began falling under Jormag's influence one by one, either being converted to the army of the Ice Dragon or wandering into the wilderness where they fell to the elements or became the Boneskinners' prey.

Jormag speaks through the possessed fraenir's corpse in the Raven Sanctum to offer an alliance to the Pact Commander while the rest of the party watches on.

The Commander, Braham, Jhavi, Crecia Stoneglow and Rytlock Brimstone eventually managed to breach the Raven Sanctum to stop the Sons' operations in the region. The fraenir gleefully welcomed the party, focusing on the Commander in particular. He admitted that he and his master had underestimated the Commander's skill of clearing obstacles but that they would not repeat the same mistake again. The fraenir announced that he had been called to something greater and that the era of Dragon was about to begin as he attacked the party.

Despite fighting with all his might and leeching power from the Raven shamans, the fraenir was ultimately defeated. Before the party could recover, however, the fraenir's body suddenly stood up, now manipulated by Jormag who began the next stage of the plan. Using the slain fraenir's mouth to speak through, the Ice Dragon explained that they did not have to be feared like Kralkatorrik; in fact, Jormag wanted to help Aurene end the war and bring eternal peace to Tyria. Jormag continued by pointing out that Aurene and her allies would eventually realize that they needed the Ice Dragon's help to face the "terrible things that lurk just beyond the horizon." Having said their piece, the Elder Dragon's presence left the fraenir's body which fell to the ground. The party came to the realization that Jormag had used Almorra's body to contact them and lure them to the region and may have also been influencing Bangar's actions all along, convincing the Blood Imperator to get his own Elder Dragon.

During the campaign against the Sons of Svanir in Bjora Marches, the Vigil made a shocking discovery within the frigid, mountainous confines of Asgeir's Legacy: a personal journal of Asgeir Dragonrender himself. In the journal's pages, Asgeir revealed that he had actually had a private conversation with Jormag after rending the Elder Dragon's fang, and that Jormag had explained how its violent actions had only been a form of self defense. Jormag had come to view Asgeir as a worthy warrior and had realized how much he cared for the norn, so the Ice Dragon let him leave alive with a choice: Asgeir could return with more warriors and watch them all die as the dragon continued defending itself, or he could use the severed fang to convince the norn to move south and live in peace with Jormag promising not to follow them as it had come to view them as a race worthy of being preserved. Realizing that the norn would stand no chance against the Elder Dragon even with the enchantments of the jotun scroll and the blessings of the Spirits of the Wild, Asgeir had lied that the Spirits, not Jormag, had instructed him to lead the norn to a southern sanctuary. Despite believing that the lie had been necessary, Asgeir had nevertheless felt deep down that he had given up when victory may have been within his reach and that uncertainty was a burden he would carry for the rest of his life.

Shadow in the Ice

Jormag continued using Drakkar as their mouthpiece, spreading their whispers throughout Bjora Marches. These whispers affected several kodan of Still Waters Speaking and turned them suicidal as they ventured into the wilderness to freeze to death and become Boneskinners. The Ice Dragon used the powers of the Lost Spirits to strengthen the icebrood with Wolverine's Aberrant and Ox's Fallen minions while infusing the Sons of Svanir with Eagle's corrupted essence.

By the time Jhavi and the local kodan leader Cloudseeker organized a joint kodan and Vigil operation to take the fight to Drakkar and end its whispers, Jormag took note of the army invading Drakkar's lair. Jormag tried to sway Jhavi's forces by explaining that the Elder Dragon had never given anything to anyone unless asked and pleaded the forces to cease their assault against Drakkar whom the Elder Dragon saw as a mere infant being forced to defend itself from aggressors. Jhavi and her allies pressed on, however, and ultimately beat back Drakkar who retreated deeper into the ice to recover from its injuries. Exhausted but victorious, Jhavi taunted the Ice Dragon by saying that she had reminded them that her family's legend still lived.

A party consisting of the Pact Commander, Braham, Crecia and Rytlock pursued the fleeing Drakkar whom Jhavi had weakened beforehand, and cornered the champion in a cave within the nearby mountains. However, Jormag used Drakkar as a conduit to spread whispers through the cave. The Ice Dragon first tried to reason with the party, offering to guide them to Drakkar unhindered if they laid down their weapons and came with peaceful intentions. When the party ignored the pleas, Jormag's whispers turned the worried Crecia and Rytlock hostile towards the rest of the party by telling them that the Commander would slay their son Ryland Steelcatcher after defeating Drakkar. However, the Commander was able to trick the charr pair into attacking the ice-covered walls with fire magic, eventually leaving only one exit for Drakkar who was forced to come out of hiding to battle the party while the Commander incapacitated Crecia and Rytlock so they could not hinder the campaign in their affected state.

Using the resulting chaos to his advantage, Braham, who had communed with the three Lost Spirits and earned their favor by proving his worth to them as the norn of prophecy, invoked three Spirits' power to kill Drakkar with a single attack. Before the party could celebrate, however, they noticed something emerging from Drakkar's corpse: the Whisper of Jormag, a piece of the Elder Dragon which had been the true source of the whispers.

The Whisper congratulated the party for making the Lost Spirits help them, and once again asked the party to lay down their weapons as they had already proven their strength to the Elder Dragon. Jormag began tempting Braham by offering to grant him the power to Become the Wolf after Braham's slaying of Drakkar still had not seemingly given him the blessing of Wolf that he had been looking for. Braham froze in his confusion, which allowed Jormag to focus on the Commander.

Accessing the Commander's mind, Jormag made them fight a Rimewhisper Doppelganger of the Commander. Pressing on, the Ice Dragon tried to appeal to the Commander's heroism by stating that they both wanted to save Tyria and could accomplish it by ending the cycle of devastating dragonrises with Aurene's help. Before the Elder Dragon could sway the Commander to their side, however, Bangar Ruinbringer and Ryland Steelcatcher arrived in the cave and managed to return the tempted party to the present. With the two charr's help, they were able to defeat the Whisper of Jormag but not before the Ice Dragon promised that they would all talk to one another soon.

Following the Whisper's demise, Bangar announced his intention of subjugating Jormag and becoming the Ice Dragon's champion while getting rid of any competition, and finished his announcement by shooting the Commander with the stolen fire-enchanted bow. Braham was able to force the charr pair to retreat when he finally managed to access his totem ability to become the wolf to save his friend, and the two parties fled from the cave.

Visions of the Past: Steel and Fire

Jormag dreaming beneath the ice within the corrupted Sanctum of the Wild in the Frost Citadel.

While recovering in the Eye of the North under Aurene's care, the Commander gazed into the Scrying Pool and witnessed visions of the past involving Ryland before the confrontation with Drakkar. The Commander saw how Ryland's Steel Warband had failed to establish a supply route through the northern paths because an unnatural blizzard, which had brought a horde of icebrood with it, had blocked their intended way north.

The unusual weather and the encroaching icebrood had forced Bangar and Ryland to take a detour for their forces through Darkrime Delves where they had encountered Almorra who had barely escaped from her Svanir pursuers. Upon learning Bangar's intentions to awaken Jormag rather than help the Vigil keep the Elder Dragon contained, Almorra had tried to stop the pair only to fail when Ryland had bested her in a duel. The clash had led to a heated debate between Bangar and Almorra, resulting in the angered Bangar killing Almorra in a move that had surprised Ryland who had wanted to spare the celebrated general. The visions convinced the Commander that Bangar had fallen under Jormag's influence and needed to be stopped before he succeeded in his goals.

Jormag Rising

Convincing several charr that he had been responsible for Drakkar's demise and was thus capable of enslaving the Elder Dragon as well in order to usher in an age of charr supremacy, Bangar rallied several charr warbands to join his Renegades and formed the Dominion. After several successful battles against the United Legions, the Blood Imperator took his forces to the Drizzlewood Coast in order to wake up Jormag. At some point in his campaign, Bangar allied himself with the Sons of Svanir who helped his Dominion build the Frost Citadel near Jormag's resting place. The Blood Imperator used the charr shamans and the Svanir to build a complex system of blood processors within the citadel which fed Jormag's blood into a machine that frost shamans could use to mass convert Dominion soldiers into the Frost Legion, an army of ice-empowered charr.

Jormag's ice initially blocked the United Legions' access to the Frost Citadel. Once Bangar's work was nearly done, however, the ice suddenly withdrew to allow the legions and the Commander's party to take the fight to Bangar's forces. While the United Legions assaulted the Frost Citadel's front gate to keep the Dominion forces distracted, the Commander, Braham, Crecia and Rytlock decided to invoke the power of the Spirits of the Wild to open a pathway into the Sanctum of the Wild and reach Bangar through the sealed backdoor.

With the party's help, Braham was able to invoke the Lost Spirits' power once again alongside the magic of several Lesser Spirits when he failed to get an answer from the four Great Spirits to open the door into the sanctum. To complete the ritual, he also invoked the power of the fourth Lost Spirit, Owl, only to realize that he had made a grave error upon witnessing Owl's totem lighting up with her essence as the truth was revealed: Owl had not perished to Jormag in the battle centuries ago but had been corrupted by the Elder Dragon. In order to prevent Jormag from abusing her power, Owl had retreated to the sanctum and cut herself off from the Mists, effectively appearing to be dead to her shamans. Because Braham's ceremony had brought Owl back, Jormag could use her magic to hasten their awakening while gaining her spiritual power in the process.

Upon reaching the heart of the sanctum, the party witnessed Bangar preparing a twisted ritual. The Blood Imperator had acquired totems of the four Great Spirits of the Wild from his Svanir allies and had managed to imprison the four Great Spirits into the totems with the intention to corrupt the Spirits and use them as a lure to control Jormag the same way the Ice Dragon had used the powers of Ox, Eagle and Wolverine to control Drakkar in the Bjora Marches.

A battle ensued during which the Commander's party was able to hinder Bangar until Ryland arrived and activated the totems, letting their power flow into Jormag rather than the Blood Imperator while he voiced his disappointment at Bangar's actions. Although the Commander was able to free the Great Spirits from the trap, the party was too late to stop Jormag's awakening and was frozen in place to witness the events that unfolded.

Jormag and their new champion, Ryland Steelcatcher.

As the Elder Dragon rose from the ice, Bangar greeted them, expecting to become the champion who would conquer the nations of the world with the Elder Dragon's power. Although Jormag promised to reward Bangar for delivering an army to them, the Ice Dragon named the Blood Imperator their new Voice instead, before letting corruption overtake the charr much to Bangar's surprise. The transformation forced a collar of frost around the corrupted Bangar's throat to entwine the Elder Dragon's presence with the Blood Imperator.

As Ryland approached Jormag next, the Elder Dragon focused on him and revealed that they had been watching his progress for some time. Jormag spoke of Ryland as a born leader who had waited his whole life for a role worthy of his talents. According to the Elder Dragon, Ryland possessed his sire Rytlock's ferocity and his dam Crecia's discipline, but most of all the young charr had rage seething under the surface. Jormag looked into Ryland's mind and saw what he had always wanted, and Ryland announced his desire to everyone present: he wanted to become Jormag's champion. The Elder Dragon granted the charr's wish, turning Ryland into a creature of ice and frost.

Following Ryland's transformation, Jormag told him to follow. Now that the Elder Dragon was awake, the next stage of their plan had been set in motion, and they needed to prepare for the future with their new champion by their side. Despite being aware of the prophecy involving themself and Braham and that one of them was destined to fall, the Ice Dragon chose to spare Braham along with the rest of the party. Before leaving, Jormag offered Bangar to the Commander's party as a gift, reminding them about the promise from the Raven Sanctum that they would all talk to one another soon and that the Ice Dragon would look forward to their future conversations.

Since the departure from the Sanctum of the Wild with Ryland, Jormag moved through Tyria, using their new powers to take advantage of the Mists as Kralkatorrik had once done. Unlike Kralkatorrik, however, the Ice Dragon chose neither to consume nor destroy anything in their path. Meanwhile, Bangar was taken into custody to the Eye of the North where Aurene fashioned an enchanted cage to hold him should Jormag wish to use him to communicate with the party. Aurene's enchantment ensured that Jormag could not use Bangar to listen in on the conversations within the structure without Aurene's permission.

Conversations in the Eye of the North

After Bangar's throat had been healed from the transformation, Aurene sensed a strong presence around him and decided to lower the wards around Bangar's cage to let Jormag's voice in. Despite Bangar's protest, the Ice Dragon spoke through the former Blood Imperator and courteously greeted Aurene as the dragon of prisms while complimenting her loveliness. In the conversation that followed, Jormag explained that they had made the charr wake them up so they could be free and continue preserving Tyria and that they were not an enemy to Aurene's mortals. When Aurene questioned these motives, Jormag reminded her that they were not driven to madness and mindless rampage like Kralkatorrik had been, which stunned Aurene into silence. Realizing that they had hit a nerve, Jormag apologized and left Aurene with her thoughts.

In the second conversation, Jormag pointed out their fascination with mortals who had changed since the previous dragonrise with all their accomplishments; however, the Ice Dragon still viewed their lives as pitiable and ephemeral. Aurene voiced her protest that looking down on mortals was a flawed mindset and that she had not bound the Commander to her but chosen them, and the Commander had reciprocated their bond. Jormag countered by pointing out that there were indeed some exceptional individuals among mortals and that the Ice Dragon finally understood Aurene's sentiment after having bonded with Ryland whose skills as a strategist were valuable to Jormag. The Ice Dragon revealed that they had been raising an army to guard the future and protect their freedom in the months following the events in Drizzlewood Coast. Before ending the conversation, Jormag once again reminded Aurene that they were not a threat and that Aurene should focus her attention on the threat looming in the future.

Champions

Chapter 1: Truce

After the fall of the Dominion, earthquakes began to occur throughout Tyria due to the stirring of Primordus. Concerned about the tremors, Dragon's Watch and Aurene spoke to Jormag through Bangar in order to learn about the source of the earthquakes. Noting that their brother was incapable of subtlety, elaborating that Primordus was awakening and that he would not awaken with the grace with which they had risen. Braham lashed out at Jormag, declaring that they had corrupted Spirits of the Wild and committed thousands of years' worth of crimes against Tyria, to which Jormag replied that they had a right and a will to live. Braham retorted that he was raised on the prophecies and tales of Jormag's history and that he knew their true nature. Speaking to Aurene, Jormag noted that mortals would cling to their superstitions in order to give their lives meaning. Braham told the dragon they were not invincible, and Jormag declared that the Elder Crystal Dragon would never reach her full potential if she surrounded herself with mortals, and that she would have to reach her full potential to kill Primordus. She responded that it was not her role and that the balance could be maintained but Jormag dismissed the balance as a mere mortal superstition. As Dragon's Watch spoke with Taimi, Jormag took their leave.

Chapter 2: Power

Jormag attempted to manipulate Aurene to take their side against Primordus, explaining that Primordus would bring terrible destruction to the world. However, Aurene was able to discern Jormag's true intentions which were to break free from the balance.

Chapter 3: Balance

Jormag's atrocities against the living were brought to light. In their desperation to defeat their twin, Jormag had been amassing an army by freezing living beings which condemned the Frozen to centuries of mental torment. Jormag continued their pleas to Aurene to help them against Primordus but Aurene was appalled at Jormag's cruel actions and their indifference to the suffering they inflicted upon the Frozen.

Chapter 4: Judgment

Jormag dominates Primordus during their battle at Anvil Rock.

Jormag, along with Primordus, was lured to Anvil Rock, a potent ley line nexus, where the twin Elder Dragons and their champions would be forced to face each other and fight. With Aurene and the help of allied forces, the Pact Commander had distracted the dragon champions, Braham and Ryland, and the flow of magic was redirected away from the dragons and changed via Aurene's prismaticite. Both Jormag and Primordus eventually became weakened and enraged, lunging at each other for a brief fight before ultimately destroying each other, leading to a magical fallout.

Legacy

Jormag and Primordus's deaths led to the magical imbalance stabilizing. The shock wave of their released magic radiated outward, coursing through ley lines and permeating the air. However, it did not strike the Eye of the North and was not absorbed by Aurene much to the surprise of both Dragon's Watch and Aurene herself. Instead, the released magic traveled south. Following the Ice Dragon's demise, their most heavily ice-infused minions were extremely debilitated with high fatality rates. The Frozen had begun thawing although it appeared to be a lengthy process; it was unknown how many of those who had been Frozen would survive.

Following the deaths of the Elder Dragons, the norn celebrated the Dragon Bash festival in Hoelbrak, with a holographic version of Jormag appearing to signalize the final victory over the Ice Dragon. However, some norn started to speculate about the existence of the deep sea dragon which they believed would be more powerful than all the other Elder Dragons.

Physiology

Body

Jormag appears as a colossal dragon, coated in snow and frost and with tusks protruding from their jaws. Two horns jut out from behind the Ice Dragon's eyes, and another two extend from their chin. One of the horns protruding from behind Jormag's eyes appears chipped, with the proportions of the area chipped off aligning with what appears to be a fang in Hoelbrak's Great Lodge, allegedly having been rent from Jormag's maw by the norn hero Asgeir Dragonrender. Jormag's snout extends outwards, ending a thinner point. Their maw glows with a bright blue energy, similar to that of their blood found throughout northern Drizzlewood Coast and the glow of the Sanguinary Blade, with the teeth on their lower jaw appearing as no more than nubs, while the upper section of their mouth contains much longer and sharper fangs.

Their eyes are surrounded by frost when they breathe corrupting ice, and while visible, their irises glow a bright white, with rings of deep blue surrounding them. Several maple leaf-shaped ridges can be seen running along their back, with the scales growing progressively smaller as they go further under the Ice Dragon's neck. Multiple ice spikes protrude off Jormag's legs and clawed feet, with many strands of something appearing similar to hair under their chin. Some describe the Ice Dragon as a living blizzard.

Powers

Jormag's minions are the icebrood, once living and breathing creatures which have become the Elder Dragon's frozen slaves who spread Jormag's corruption wherever they go. The corruption process can be seen in the Sons of Svanir and how these willing worshippers of the Ice Dragon slowly lose their free will as their bodies begin to freeze, eventually becoming icebrood, though corruption can be caused to occur instantly. This process may be caused by either corrupted ice; machines imbued with Jormag's magic, such as the Conversion Chamber, used to instantly transform charr of the Dominion into icebrood; or it can be caused by Jormag's corrupting breath, with the victim in this scenario being enveloped in a prison of ice and shortly afterwards being freed as the ice prison shatters, the victim either weakened or empowered by the corruption.

Jormag is also capable of corrupting ice, giving it either a darker appearance (as can be commonly seen around Sons of Svanir encampments in the southern regions of the Shiverpeak Mountains), or a brighter appearance, with glowing blue energy faintly visible flowing through the ice (as can be seen in the Far Shiverpeaks). They also have the ability to create what appears to be fog, though it is not known whether this fog can corrupt creatures or terrain. Jormag can also encase living beings in shards of corruption, causing them to transform into Frozen, a form of minion immune to destroyer attacks.

Jormag's blood, both liquid and frozen, is highly corrosive and can corrupt beings it touches. In the case of the Sanguinary Blade forged from Jormag's frozen blood, a nick or a cut from the blade is enough to instantly turn the victim into icebrood whereas the wielder of the sword is corrupted over time, though the blade's corrupting power can be avoided if it is kept in a special magical sheath. In northern Drizzlewood Coast, liquid blood can be found flowing through the terrain and contained in vats created by Frost Legion charr, icebrood members of the Dominion, with the Ice Dragon draining energy from the veins of liquid blood. Proximity to the blood's ice energy can also affect beings with nightmares and feelings of sickness. Meanwhile, proximity to Jormag themself will result in extreme, bitter cold, severe enough to kill victims nearly instantly if exposed to the dragon for too long.

The Ice Dragon can channel power through totems dedicated to them to grant their champions specific abilities, alongside attacking their champions' enemies through these idols. Several manifestations of this ability have been witnessed, from granting their champions protection known as Scales of Jormag or alternatively as Shield of Jormag, though Shields of Jormag reflect incoming projectiles as well as granting their champions immunity to harm. Other manifestations of this ability include summoning extremely powerful drakes such as Bane's Teeth in response to its champions' requests for power, pushing creatures away from totems, summoning crippling ice around totems, empowering Drakkar and granting boons to champions through totems.

Jormag is able to speak through others, most commonly through their Voices, a rank of champion, alongside creating whispers that can influence the minds of either targeted creatures or everyone within a specific area through powerful champions such as Drakkar (it is unknown if Voices specifically spread the whispers, or if it is an ability unique to Drakkar), and can corrupt victims if they willingly surrender to the whispers, though these may not succeed. Distance does not appear to be relevant to the effectiveness of the whispers, as they have spread as far south as Hoelbrak.

After Zhaitan's death, the Ice Dragon gained the ability to speak through corpses, though this ability has been only been demonstrated twice, once through General Almorra Soulkeeper of the Vigil, and a second time through the Fraenir of Jormag. When this ability is used, the victim generally displays jerky movements, Jormag's voice bleeding through their own, and other side effects.

Jormag was also able to make use of magic from Zhaitan and Mordremoth by imbuing one of their icebrood minions, the Champion Unstable Abomination with both death and plant magic.

After obtaining magic from Balthazar, either from his initial demise or through Kralkatorrik's death, Jormag gained the ability to travel through the Mists, as shown in the Frost Citadel.

Jormag has been known to channel newly-obtained magic specifically into their most powerful champions, such as Drakkar, causing them to change shape to suit the Ice Dragon's needs.

Weakness

After sorting through information left by the Rata Novans, Taimi discovered that the Rata Novans had acquired information regarding a potential weakness for Primordus: the idea of negating its unique magical spectrum altogether. Taimi theorized that Jormag's unique ice magic spectrum could be the unique weakness for Primordus. After the Pact Commander acquired samples of destroyers and icebrood enhanced by magic from the deceased Zhaitan and Mordremoth, Taimi was able to confirm her theory on a small scale. When Balthazar stole Omadd's machine, Taimi ran a simulation confirming that Primordus and Jormag were each others' weakness.

Location

Shiverpeak Mountains

• Dragonstorm
  • Dragonstorm Arena

Story involvement

The Icebrood Saga

• Episode 1: Whisper in the Dark
  • The Invitation (voice only)
• Episode 2: Shadow in the Ice
  • Voice in the Deep (voice only)
• Episode 4: Jormag Rising
  • One Charr, One Dragon, One Champion
• Episode 5: Champions
  • Chapter 1: Truce
    • Primordus Rising (voice only)
    • Tidings and Misgivings (voice only)
  • Chapter 2: Power
    • Roaring Flames (voice only)
  • Chapter 3: Balance
    • Jormag's Madness (voice only)
  • Chapter 4: Judgment
    • Dragonstorm

Event involvement

[Group Event] Follow Jhavi into Drakkar's lair (80) (voice only)

[Group Event] Defeat Drakkar (80) (voice only)

Combat abilities

During One Charr, One Dragon, One Champion

Effects

•  Bitter Cold - Freezing To Death (Applied to players)

Skills

• Ice Wave - Knocks back.

During Dragonstorm

Skills

• Breath of Jormag - Breathes ice along the ground in a massive AoE.
• Frost Lightning Strike - Blasts the target with frost lightning.
• Icicle - Drops icicles that deal heavy damage.
• Jormag Frozen Aura - Causes anything around them to freeze to death.

Dialogue

See: Bangar Ruinbringer#During the Confer with Bangar achievement

Gallery

Screenshots

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  Bangar Ruinbringer and Jormag during One Charr, One Dragon, One Champion.

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  Jormag and Ryland during Dragonstorm.

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  A totem made by the Sons of Svanir dedicated to Jormag.

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  A totem made by the Sons of Svanir dedicated to Jormag.

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  Fang of the Serpent, Jormag's tooth, in Hoelbrak.

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  Holographic Jormag and Primordus during Dragon Bash.

Concept art

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  Earliest concept art of Drakkar Lake, as seen in The Complete Art of Guild Wars. Originally Jormag, this became used for what became Drakkar.

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  Concept art by Levi Hopkins.

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  Unused 2007 concept art by Kekai Kotaki.

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  Concept art from the norn intro cinematic.

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  The Icebrood Saga concept art for Jormag and the icebrood horde.

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  Concept art for The Icebrood Saga announcement trailer by Juan Pablo Roldan.

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  Concept art for The Icebrood Saga announcement trailer with Jormag and Rytlock Brimstone by Juan Pablo Roldan.

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  One Charr, One Dragon, One Champion loading screen with Jormag and Bangar Ruinbringer.

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  Concept art by Zhengyi Wang.

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  Concept art by Zhengyi Wang.

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  Dragonstorm loading screen by Zhengyi Wang with Jormag and Primordus.

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  Champions Chapter 4: Judgment wallpaper with Jormag, Ryland, Primordus and Braham.

Renders

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  Render by Kate Pfeilschiefter.

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  Render by Kate Pfeilschiefter.

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  Render by Kate Pfeilschiefter.

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  Render by Kate Pfeilschiefter.

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  Render by Kate Pfeilschiefter.

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  Low polygon render by Kate Pfeilschiefter for Guild Wars 2 model viewer.

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  Render of Jormag's model during Jormag Rising.

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  Size comparison of Primordus (during Champions: Power), Jormag (during Jormag Rising), and Elder Aurene.

Miscellaneous

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  Sons of Svanir's emblem depicting Jormag.

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  Animation of the battle between Primordus and Jormag (open to play).

Related achievements

• Rare Collections: Jormag Defense Guide — Unlock all of the corrupted weapons in your wardrobe, and collect various Jormag related items. (10)
• The Dreamer III: The Lover: Dream of Jormag — Dropped by the Sons of Svanir.
• Frostfang I: The Experimental Axe: Essence of Jormag — Use a Corrupted Jar after defeating the Claw of Jormag in Frostgorge Sound to fill it with essence.
• Frostfang I: The Experimental Axe: Distilled Essence of Jormag — Distill your captured Essence of Jormag near the frost portal in the Drakkar Spurs region of Frostgorge Sound.
• Astralaria IV: The Cosmos: Jormag's Magic — Obtained from the chest after defeating Claw of Jormag in Frostgorge Sound.
• The Moot III: The Energizer: Respect Dragon — Show your respect for the power of Dragon by saluting the dragon totem at the center of The Barrowstead in Frostgorge Sound.
• Flashpoint: Excess Energy — Find all the lingering fragments of Primordus and Jormag energy in the Heart of the Volcano instance. (3)
• Jormag Rising: Confer with Bangar — Speak with Bangar Ruinbringer at the Eye of the North. (2)
• Jormag Rising: Shards of Jormag — Collect all Shards of Jormag in the Northern Drizzlewood Coast. (5)
• Dragonstorm: Cooler Than Cool — During the Dragonstorm encounter, dodge the Breath of Jormag attack 25 times. (5)
• Dragonstorm: Double (Elder) Dragon — Defeat Primordus and Jormag 10 times in the Dragonstorm encounter. (16)
• Dragonstorm: Put Them on Ice — During the Dragonstorm encounter, attack Jormag 30 times while they are exposed. (2)
• Return to Champions: Revenge of the Dragons — Defeat Primordus and Jormag 1 time in the Dragonstorm encounter. (0)

Notes

• Whispers believed by the Pact Commander to be Jormag can be heard throughout Bjora Marches although the source of the whispers is labeled as "Unknown".
• Jormag has a lengthy monologue that can be occasionally heard in the wind when standing near Idols of Jormag.

Trivia

• Jormag is voiced by Debra Wilson.
• Jormag has their own leitmotif, called "Jormag's Theme", which was composed by Stan LePard.
• Jormag may be a reference to Jörmungandr, the world serpent from Norse mythology.
• In The Icebrood Saga Announce Trailer, Jormag's speech is addressed to Bangar Ruinbringer.
• Jormag's silhouette, as seen in concept art in the norn intro cinematic, also doubles as the red dragon logo of the core Guild Wars 2 game.
• Jormag is not the dragon visible in Drakkar Lake in the original Guild Wars as many once thought. That was actually Drakkar, a champion of Jormag.
• Unlike Soo-Won, or Glint and her children, Jormag does not identify with any gender, preferring to allow their victims to perceive them in whatever manner will seduce them to Jormag's side. Consequently, the Sons of Svanir, Suspicious Travelers and some individuals such as Skaald Stjarna and Honor's Claw have been known to refer to Jormag using "he" or "it" pronouns, while asuran researchers, members of Dragon's Watch, Aurene, and Spirits of the Wild address the Elder Dragon with the pronoun "them."
• Jormag is sincere in saying that they love Tyria and want nothing more than to fortify and protect it. Jormag does not lie, and that is part of their strength.
• Sons of Svanir and icebrood appear in the Fractals of the Mists. However, it is unknown if this is due to their portals to the Mists, or if those are creations from the Mists themselves like most of the fractals.
• "Jormag's tooth" is a phrase used by norn. Norn who are not Sons of Svanir occasionally invoke Jormag's name with "Jormag take [someone]" in a similar manner to "to hell with [someone]"; in other words, wishing ill upon someone and cursing them to suffer the Elder Dragon's tender mercies. The phrase "Ice fortifies. Ice protects." is used by both Jormag and some of their followers such as the Suspicious Travelers and the Wandering Norn.
• If Skuld's claim about each creature on Tyria having its respective associated Spirit of the Wild is true, theoretically a Dragon Spirit should exist (or has once existed) as a natural embodiment of all Tyrian dragons. Although the Sons of Svanir view Jormag as a Spirit of the Wild called Dragon, they initially lacked the ability to enter the Mists on Jormag's behalf without using loopholes, unlike the havrouns who have the native Mists-traveling ability granted by the Spirits. This implies that Jormag and the Dragon Spirit may not be the same entity.
• The Plush Jorms accessory jokingly describes Jormag as "huggably cool and fluffy. Loves to gossip."

See also

• Family trees
•   Flight from Jormag
•   Jormag Energy
•   Scales of Jormag
•   Shield of Jormag
• Claw of Jormag
• Fang of the Serpent
• Sanguinary Blade
• Shard of Crystallized Blood of Jormag
• Shard of Jormag
• The Movement of the World
• The Whisper of Jormag
• Voice of Jormag

Associated items

• Corrupted weapons
• Carving of Jormag
• Dream of Jormag
• Durmand Priory Field Guide to Jormag
• Distilled Essence of Jormag
• Jormag Hologram Generator
• Jormag's Magic
• Jormag Dye Kit
• Jormag's Needle
• Icy Dragon Sword
• Plush Jorms
• Respect Dragon
• Shard of Crystallized Blood of Jormag

References

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Elder Dragons

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Religions of Guild Wars 2