Mordremoth
Mordremoth
Image(s) |
The Mouth of Mordremoth, his physical body. An avatar of the mind created to fight the Pact Commander in the Dream. |
“I am power itself. I am life itself. To deny me is to embrace oblivion.
Mordremoth is the Elder Dragon of Plant and Mind, and is often referred to as the Jungle Dragon. He[1] is the most recent of the Elder Dragons to awaken in the world of Tyria. The common Tyrian did not know about Mordremoth's existence until 1327 AE, when his corruption and minions, the Mordrem, began to spread across Central Tyria from the ley line networks underground. His existence was common knowledge, however, to the Durmand Priory, Inquest, and Pact, among other more learned individuals.[2]
The Mordrem are unlike most other Elder Dragon minions as they are primarily grown from Blighting Trees rather than being corrupted beings. Some, however, do appear to be corrupted plant-life, and others are animal corpses that appear to be made puppets for Mordrem plants.[3]
The sylvari originate from the Jungle Dragon as well, as the Pale Tree is a purified Blighting Tree—how it became purified remains unknown.[4]
Mordremoth is capable of accessing the Dream of Dreams, though does not appear to be the source of it as both the Dream and the Nightmare act as barriers against Mordremoth. This barrier is imperfect, however, as Wyld Hunts and Dark Hunts allow Mordremoth's influence to seep through to implant thoughts into sylvari.[5] Through this, Mordremoth is capable of convincing weak-willed sylvari—who cannot separate their own thoughts from those he implanted—to serve him, and these influenced sylvari become the Mordrem Guard. |
Biography[edit]
Early years[edit]
Mordremoth was born as the scion of the Elder Dragon Soo-Won[6] at Mother's Lament when the world of Tyria was still young. Soo-Won split the magic of the All between herself and her scions to stay the Void's unrelenting push towards entropy which was threatening the existence of Tyria; Mordremoth received the domains of Plant and Mind.[7] Initially mindless like his siblings, Mordremoth eventually developed his own personality and fascinations, learning to cultivate the earth and spread his roots, and left Soo-Won for the world, becoming hostile to his siblings and mother.[1] |
In the distant past, Mordremoth may have had a traditional draconian body, but as he fed and grew he became a being more of mind than body. His power grew into the ground, spread vines and roots as offshoots of his physical self, while at the same time his mind grew to encompass this huge mass. As such, Mordremoth no longer resembled one single entity unless he was viewed as the whole of his corruption.[8] The core of the Jungle Dragon's domain centered on his remaining corporeal body, dubbed the Mouth of Mordremoth, while his mind housed itself in a massive and ancient tree which became known as the Heart of Thorns.[9][10][11]
Mordremoth, like the other Elder Dragons, 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.[12] He hibernated deep beneath Dragon's Stand in the Heart of Maguuma. The Tome of the Five True Gods, written when the first humans walked upon the world of Tyria, documented the Elder Dragon's name and his spheres of influence as Plant and Mind.[13] However, despite the information found in the tome, the common Tyrian did not know about Mordremoth up to the present day.[2]
The Jungle Dragon had left behind seeds which, if planted, would grow into Blighting Trees meant to produce dragon minions known as the Mordrem. While exploring the jungle millennia later, the human Ronan came across a cave guarded by terrible plant monsters and successfully stole one of the seeds within before fleeing. He eventually planted the seed in what became the Grove, leading to the growth of the Pale Tree which was freed from Mordremoth's influence via unknown means.[14][15]
As she grew and began producing sylvari, the Pale Tree became the caretaker of the enigmatic Dream of Dreams.[16] Mordremoth's influence was felt in the mindscape of the Dream, however, manifesting itself in dark forms such as the Shadow of the Dragon fought by sylvari who were about to be awakened. Although the Pale Tree became aware of her origins, she did her best to shield the truth, and Mordremoth's whispers, from sylvari. While asleep, the Jungle Dragon continued trying to find ways to breach the Pale Tree's protection in the Dream and lead the sylvari to their intended destiny as his minions. |
Living World Season 1[edit]
Mordremoth's rise was initiated by Scarlet Briar, a sylvari who had gone mad after hearing his whispers in 1321 AE after entering Omadd's Machine, to whom the dragon had shown "images of death, destruction, and destiny."[17][18] Following ideas she believed to be her own, Scarlet gathered resources and armies to locate a powerful ley line hub while she was being taunted by Mordremoth's constant whispers.[19] Mordremoth's influence was growing and spread to the Toxic Alliance through their living Tower of Nightmares, physically and mentally changing the sylvari and krait who were exposed to the Tower.[20][21][22]
In 1327 AE Scarlet finished her preparations and launched a full-scale invasion of Lion's Arch, which was situated above the ley line hub she was after. Though Scarlet died in the invasion at the hands of the Pact Commander, her airship, the Breachmaker, dug deep into the ground and struck the ley line hub. The impact sent magical energy deep into the Heart of Maguuma and into Mordremoth's sleeping but waiting maw, allowing him to awaken. His roar was then heard across Tyria.
Living World Season 2[edit]
“The truth was...inevitable. And now they know.
Mordremoth's initial rise was only known to Tyria through a single dragon's roar, but no indication was shown that Tyrians knew which dragon was heard.[23] The Elder Dragon successfully turned the sylvari Aerin to his side by driving Aerin to near madness and sent him after Glint's Egg which was hidden among the Zephyrites. Mordremoth revealed his plan to Aerin who hastily scribbled ambiguous notes in his diary about the death of an unnamed leader making others fall in line.[24] The turned sylvari was unsuccessful at stealing the egg from the Master of Peace at first and sabotaged the Zephyrite flagship to crash into Dry Top where he was ultimately killed by the Pact Commander's party while pursuing the Master of Peace and the egg.
Within a year's time, Mordremoth spread his body and his corruption through vines, assaulting waypoints along the ley lines which he had access to and draining them of magic. The Jungle Dragon's forces grew expansive enough for him to send Mordrem to Kryta, the Shiverpeak Mountains, and even Ascalon, invading fortified locations such as Fort Salma and Concordia which held magical artifacts to feast upon. When leaders of the five nations gathered at the Grove for the World Summit, Mordremoth sent the Mordrem, led by the Shadow of the Dragon, to the summit to kill the leaders. Although the leaders survived the assault, the Mordrem did enough damage to the Pale Tree to severely weaken her and thus lessen her protection over sylvari.
Following the attack on the Grove, Mordremoth sent another champion, the Vinewrath, to strengthen Mordrem presence in the Silverwastes and to assault the Pact's staging ground of Camp Resolve. Although the Vinewrath's efforts were thwarted, the attacks forced the Pact to speed up their schedule for the assault on the Heart of Maguuma and leaving for the jungle with haste.
Mordremoth also manipulated the sylvari Caithe with his whispers which were masked as desires and impulses, making her confused about who to trust, which resulted in her taking Glint's egg from the Master of Peace, who had been fatally injured in a Mordrem ambush, and retreat deeper into the Maguuma Wastes.[25][26]
Heart of Thorns[edit]
- Act I
In early 1328 AE, the Pact gathered its airships and launched a full-scale invasion on the Heart of Maguuma where Mordremoth and his minions were heaviest. Within a matter of moments after firing upon the jungle, however, gargantuan vines stretched forth and tore into the fleet. At the same time, the Jungle Dragon used his connection to the Dream and the Nightmare, and the weakened state of the Pale Tree, to his advantage to sway hundreds of sylvari to his side via false Wyld Hunts and Dark Hunts.[5] The weak-willed Dreamer sylvari upon the airships could no longer differentiate their own thoughts from the Elder Dragon's voice, so they turned against their fellow soldiers and assaulted the Pact as their burning airships fell from the sky.
The turned sylvari formed the Mordrem Guard, adapting stronger and more grotesque forms to serve their dragon master while leading the Mordrem in the jungle. Under Mordremoth's orders they captured Destiny's Edge members Eir Stegalkin, Logan Thackeray, and Zojja—as well as Pact Marshal Trahearne and the Nightmare Court's Grand Duchess Faolain—and transported them deeper into the jungle for the next stage of the Jungle Dragon's plan, which involved placing captured beings in pods as living templates to mass produce improved Mordrem, which would then be unleashed on Tyria. Although the Pact Commander's party successfully located and freed Eir and Faolain from their prison, they were unable to prevent Faolain from being taken or save Eir from being slain by the vinetooth, although they avenged the slain norn heroine by killing the vinetooth shortly after.
- Act II
Mordremoth turned Faolain into a vinetooth and sent her after Caithe, who was carrying Glint's egg, which the Jungle Dragon's minions had been after. He also bred an increasing number of vinetooths: specialized minions with the ability to counter the uncorruptable Exalted and kill them by tearing off their masks. The Pact Commander's timely intervention prevented the corrupted Faolain from getting the egg, which was placed in Tarir, the Forgotten City where it was guarded by Exalted and where the egg showed the Commander a dire vision of what Mordremoth was attempting to do with the captive Destiny's Edge and Trahearne.[27] Mordremoth sent his minions, led by the Octovines, to breach Tarir's defenses and get to the egg while the rest of the Elder Dragon's army focused on killing any opposition and bringing more beings to Blighting Trees to increase the numbers of Mordrem.
- Act IV
Though many of the Pact had survived the crash, they were beaten and battered with too few defenses in the jungle. However, under the leadership of the Pact Commander, Laranthir of the Wild, and Shashoo, the Pact recovered, gathered new allies from the native Itzel, Nuhoch, Exalted, Rata Novan golems, and even Nightmare Courtiers, and marched southward towards the coast of the Heart of Maguuma: Dragon's Stand. With the assistance of their allies and goading the aggressive chak, fungi, and saurians to fight the Mordrem, the Pact was able to breach into the Jungle Dragon's territory.
After pushing through Mordremoth's greatest champions, the Pact and its jungle allies faced down Mordremoth's physical body. The Pact Commander's party used the distraction provided by the Dragon's Stand|battle to sneak behind enemy lines, where they saved Logan and Zojja from the Jungle Dragon's clutches and defeated the corrupted Faolain. The party pressed onward to find the trapped Trahearne and, after a brief conversation, the Commander realized that they needed to confront Mordremoth where he was weakest: his mental connection to the Dream. Trahearne's bond with Mordremoth allowed him to open a pathway into the Dream, which the Commander and two allies could use while the rest of the allies would protect the physical bodies which the Commander's strike team would leave behind on the physical plane.
Upon entering the Dream, the Commander faced Mordremoth, who mocked the party's efforts. The Elder Dragon attempted to break the resolve of the Commander's party by manifesting Blighted versions of their loved ones in the Dream, but the party ultimately overcame the manifestations and turned them against the avatar of Mordremoth, who grew increasingly furious at the party's defiance and was close to incapacitating the sylvari members of the party with his overbearing mental presence.
However, assaulted both from within and without, which forced him to divide his attention on multiple fronts, Mordremoth eventually fell as both his physical and mental avatars were defeated at the same time. However, one last hateful vestige of Mordremoth's consciousness possessed Trahearne and threatened the Commander's party while Trahearne tried in vain to contain the Elder Dragon. Having no other choice, the Pact Commander followed Trahearne's advice to end both him and Mordremoth with the sword Caladbolg, ensuring the Jungle Dragon's ultimate death.
Mordremoth's demise led to an explosion of magic which left his body and traveled along the ley lines in four directions. The ley line going north hit Glint's egg in Tarir and caused a marked change within the egg. The rest of the ley line's magic continued further north to Bloodstone Fen, where it was absorbed by the volatile Maguuma Bloodstone.
Legacy[edit]
The magic released from Mordremoth freed some of the spirits trapped in the Maguuma Bloodstone, creating the ghostly entity Gorseval the Multifarious and causing unforeseen consequences among the bandits and their superiors operating in the Forsaken Thicket.[28] As a result of absorbing part of Mordremoth's magic, the Maguuma Bloodstone began growing at an alarming rate despite being mined daily for bloodstone shards and created unstable magical phenomena in the area and people around it and threatened to engulf Kryta in a magical fallout if left unchecked.[29][30] Mordrem Vines found in the Forsaken Thicket had become lifeless upon Mordremoth's demise while the rest of the jungle, which was not bound to the Jungle Dragon, thrived.
In 1329 AE, the asura Taimi theorized that the other Elder Dragons had consumed the Death spectrum of magic after Zhaitan's demise, allowing them to use corpses in the manufacturing of minions. Taimi suggested that the reason that Mordremoth was able to use corpses in the Blighting pods was because of his consumption of the Death spectrum. Upon being empowered by magic released from the deaths of Zhaitan and Mordremoth, Primordus and Jormag began experimenting on Mordremoth's Plant spectrum in 1329 AE by creating new minions such as Vine-Touched Destroyers and the Unstable Abomination.[31][32] Thanks to the influx of Mordremoth's magic, the dragonling Aurene finally hatched from Glint's egg with her infant form's face resembling Mordremoth's.
After dying in the rogue god Balthazar's ambush in 1330 AE, the Pact Commander's soul appeared in the Domain of the Lost where all spirits which experience sudden, violent deaths end up in. While recovering their name and remembering their purpose to be properly judged, the Commander was subjected to fragmented visions of past deeds, including the campaign in the Heart of Maguuma and the ultimate defeat of Mordremoth during which the slain Elder Dragon's memory was briefly visible.
Following Balthazar's demise in the Battle of Kodash Bazaar in Elona, the Elder Dragon Kralkatorrik began experimenting with the new magics he had consumed to enhance the Branded. In 1331 AE, Kralkatorrik used Mordremoth's Mind spectrum to synchronize the hive mind of Branded so the minions would react to each other's stimuli as if sharing a single mind and act together as if they were a single entity.[33] During the final battle against Kralkatorrik deep within his body in 1332 AE, the Pact Commander and the dragon Aurene fought against facets of the magic which the Crystal Dragon had consumed and which were tormenting him.[34] One of these facets was the Facet of Root and Madness which appeared as the bipedal avatar once conjured by Mordremoth's mind in the Dream. Aurene sealed the facet upon defeating it and later consumed it upon Kralkatorrik's demise, taking Mordremoth's magic into herself.
Some of the magic from Mordremoth's demise had traveled through the Bitterfrost Frontier up to the Far Shiverpeaks and affected Jormag's champion Drakkar in Bjora Marches. As the Ice Dragon's champion absorbed the magic from each slain Elder Dragon over the years, Jormag's whispers grew louder and began affecting people and wildlife in the region.[35][36]
In 1335 AE, the Pact Commander, Kralkatorrik's benevolent successor Aurene, and their Canthan, Elonian and Tyrian allies confronted the Elder Dragon Soo-Won atop the Harvest Temple near a major ley line hub after a fierce battle. Their goal was to extract the Void, which had been twisting the minds of Soo-Won and the other Elder Dragons over millennia, from her exhausted body. However, the extractors could not contain all the released magic and led to the Void emerging from Soo-Won's body and coalescing into the Dragonvoid, a malicious manifestation of all the six original Elder Dragons. As the Commander and their allies fought against the Dragonvoid which began spreading the Void across the world of Tyria to end all life, the coalesced entity took the appearance of each Elder Dragon, including Mordremoth. While in its Mordremoth manifestation, the Dragonvoid called back to the Jungle Dragon's foreboding speech about oblivion, implying that Mordremoth had been subtly referring to the threat of the Void all along.[37] The allied forces were ultimately able to defeat the Dragonvoid and save the world, allowing Aurene to consume Soo-Won to become the Only Elder Dragon who would ensure that the Void would not coalesce into a threat again.
Physiology[edit]
Due to Mordremoth's powers, he is often referred to as having an expansive body that stretches across the Heart of Maguuma, seen with the writhing vines in the depths of locations such as Verdant Brink. According to Canach and Trahearne, Mordremoth is the jungle itself, though this in actuality refers to the Elder Dragon's corruption. While Mordremoth is an entity of mind and dream, his physical, non-plant-like body is called the "Mouth of Mordremoth".[8][38][39] Snake-like in appearance, he grows his vines from across his body and remains rooted near a gigantic tree, the Heart of Thorns, within the Dragon's Domain.[9] Like the Mouth of Mordremoth, the Heart of Thorns tree functions as a physical body for Mordremoth after he woke up in this dragon cycle.[10] While using his Mordrem to invade Tyria, Mordremoth and Blighting Trees remained in his domain to consume the enormous ley energy from the nexus to increase his own power, and to resurrect his most potent Mordrem Guard champions when the Pact invaded.
Though his physical body can be destroyed, Mordremoth is capable of regrowing his body from his corruption and, if necessary, moving his mind to another connected host due to his power of mind and connection to the Dream.[8][40] As Mordremoth has rapidly spread his corruption through the Heart of Maguuma and extended throughout Tyria, these proprerties made him essentially immortal. This leaves Mordremoth's mind as his sole weakness: if his mind and the last seeds of his consciousness are destroyed, there is nothing left to transfer to a new body and resurrect.[41]
Mordrem Vines go motionless without Mordremoth's mind to animate them. Even after the Elder Dragon's mind is destroyed, the Mouth of Mordremoth appears to antagonize the Pact again, causing some Pact members refer to it as the physical manifestation of the dragon's hunger before it is put down for good.[42] When the Mouth of Mordremoth is defeated, all of the vines and foliage covering it burn away, leaving only a draconic body behind.
Powers[edit]
After the death of Zhaitan, Mordremoth obtained the ability to create Mordrem from deceased bodies by placing them in Blighting Pods.[43] However, living hosts created stronger clones, prompting the Jungle Dragon to capture victims alive when possible.[44] Mordremoth also appears to have gained the ability to imbue powerful champions such as the Shadow of the Dragon with magic from the Shadow domain of Zhaitan to create shadow-like Mordrem with the ability to snuff out Divine Fire. Mordremoth has also used similar abilities within the Dream of Dreams to create similar creatures not enshrouded in shadow.[40]
Weakness[edit]
Recordings left by the Forgotten and Exalted in Kesho show that Mordremoth's unique weakness is his mind which is also his most powerful asset.[45] Despite gaining the ability to corrupt and create minions out of corpses after Zhaitan's demise,[44] Mordremoth's Plant spectrum of magic appears to conflict with Zhaitan's Death spectrum of magic as seen with the Unstable Icebrood Abomination in Bitterfrost Frontier which was damaged by killing larvae infused with Death and Plant magic in its vicinity.[46]
Location[edit]
Story involvement[edit]
Living World Season 1[edit]
- Episode 5: Battle for Lion's Arch
- Scarlet's End (cinematic only)
- Living World Season 1 (historical)
- Episode 19: Battle for Lion's Arch
- Scarlet's End (cinematic only)
Heart of Thorns story[edit]
- Act I
- Torn from the Sky (as Voice of Mordremoth) (if sylvari)
- The Jungle Provides (as Voice of Mordremoth) (if sylvari)
- Act II
- City of Hope (cinematic only)
- Act IV
- Bitter Harvest (as Voice of Mordremoth)
- Hearts and Minds
Living World Season 3[edit]
- Episode 1: Out of the Shadows
- Eir's Memorial in Hoelbrak (optional recap cinematic only)
Path of Fire story[edit]
- Act III
- The Departing (as a memory)
Event involvement[edit]
Combat abilities[edit]
In Dragon's Stand[edit]
- Skills
- Corruption of Mordremoth - Flings numerous small AoE attacks that deal massive damage
- Dragon Fear - Roars, causing Fear and Torment
- Shock Wave - Pulses for moderate direct damage when players touch the Mouth of Mordremoth's body and hits for extremely high damage when the Mouth of Mordremoth causes waves by headbutting an island
In Hearts and Minds[edit]
- Abilities
- Summons
- Massive Area Attacks
- Behavior
- Teleports and evades.
- Becomes a mobile Confusion ring. 240 radius.
- Effects
- Occipital Mastery — Immune to blind and cripple, 10% chance to apply blind on hit.
- Frontal Mastery — Immune to confusion, always reflects projectiles.
- Empowered — Your next strike applies Blowout.
- Parietal Mastery — Permanently stable, uses Blowout every 10 seconds.
- Temporal Mastery — Immune to slow, 15% chance of quickness.
- Quickness
- Weakened — Invulnerable to all but Rift Overcharge.
- Skills
Phase 1 (100-25% health):
- Ley Strike - Swipe twice at foe to deal damage. 2 hits. Hits with left arm first.
- Temporal Leap - Leap a short distance at foe.
- Furious Blows - A cone PBAoE that deals multiple damage and applies Knockback each strike to foes in front. 1s activation. 4 hits. 480 radius. Huddles then displays a red cone AoE indicator before attack. Hits with right arm first.
- Ley Storm - Create a PBAoE ring field that apples Knockback to foes that cross the inner line and Pull to foes that cross the outer line. Field deals damage, applies Blinded and causes Knockdown to foes. 480 inner radius. 960 outer radius.
- Ley Fire - Fire a ground projectile that creates 9 damage fields. Fields grant Quickness (1s) to self and applies Slow (1s) to foes on hit. 1200 range. 120 radius. 10s duration.
- Ley Lightning - A timed strike of lightning shoots for large AoE damage.
- Ley Storm - A massive strike that pulses damage across the entire ground. Performed at 80% and 60% health after defeating Blighted summon, and at 25% health.
- Ley Boulder - Massive projectile that Knockdown.
- Tormenting Volley - Summon a floating orb that shoots multiple Tormenting projectiles at multiple foes. 10s duration. 25 projectiles. 1200 range. (only after 80% health)
- Ley Slam - (only after 60% health)
Phase 2 (25-1% health):
- Unnamed skill — AoE channeled lightning that deals massive damage.
- Stolen-skills
Gallery[edit]
- Concept art
Concept art by Kekai Kotaki.
Concept art by Ruan Jia.
Concept art by Carlyn Lim.
Concept art by Daniel Dociu.
- Renders
Avatar of Mordremoth render by Marcus Jackson.
- Size comparisons
Size comparison of all Elder Dragon and dragon champion models as of War Eternal.
- Screenshots
Mordremoth in the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns Launch Trailer.
Representation of Mordremoth's brain inside Hearts and Minds.
- Portraits
- Miscellaneous
An image of Mordremoth channeled by Kralkatorrik in The Crystal Dragon.
Related achievements[edit]
- Heart of Thorns: Act 4: Flights of Fancy — Avoid getting hit during all forced-flight sections of the final encounter. Entering a protective shield negates qualification. (5)
- Heart of Thorns: Act 4: Migraine — Complete the mission while Challenge Mode is active. (Challenge Mode is intended for parties of 5.) (5)
- Dragon's Stand: Dragon Bombardier — Grab an unstable mortar shell from a crashed chopper and drop it on the Mouth of Mordremoth. (5 )
- Dragon's Stand: Mouth of Mordremoth Master — Slay the Mouth of Mordremoth in Dragon's Stand in under 20 minutes. (25)
- Dragon's Stand: Mouth of Mordremoth Slayer — Slay the Mouth of Mordremoth in Dragon's Stand. (10)
- Lightbringer's Pack: Recovered Order of Whispers Seal — Defeat Mordremoth in Dragon's Stand.
- Magister's Pack: Recovered Priory Seal — Defeat Mordremoth in Dragon's Stand.
- Warmaster's Pack: Recovered Vigil Seal — Defeat Mordremoth in Dragon's Stand.
- Astralaria IV: The Cosmos: Mordremoth's Magic — Obtained from the chest after defeating Mordremoth in Dragon's Stand.
- Chuka and Champawat III: Tigris: Dragon's Stand Tiger Refuge Sign — Defeat the Mouth of Mordremoth in Dragon's Stand.
- HOPE IV: The Catalyst: Mordremoth's Core
- Nevermore IV: The Raven Spirit: Flight Lessons: Air Combat — Show your raven your flying skills while fighting and beating Mordremoth in Dragon's Stand.
- The Legendary Facets of Aurene: The Facet of Plant and Mind — Unlock all legendary Mordremoth weapon variants. (0 )
Notes[edit]
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Trivia[edit]
- Mordremoth is voiced by Nolan North.[48]
- Mordremoth has his own leitmotif, called "Mordremoth's Theme", which was composed by Maclaine Diemer.
- The first half of Mordremoth's name is similar to Mordred, the traitorous knight who fatally wounded King Arthur in Arthurian legends. The latter half resembles the name Behemoth, a thirsty and hungry creature lying in the cover of the trees in the Bible, which has metaphorically come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity.
- Aside from appearing in the name of one of Subject Alpha's attacks in the Crucible of Eternity (explorable), Mordremoth's name was mentioned during Scarlet's Secret Room for the very first time. At an unknown point the name was retroactively added to the preceding Prosperity's Mystery story instance, fixing an earlier problem that the player character knew the Elder Dragon's name out of nowhere.[49] However, even before the fix it was implied that the dragon's name as well as the naming of his minions as Mordrem were already well known to both the player character and their companions.[2]
- Mordremoth was not originally intended to become a world boss for Dragon's Stand and was only added very late in development with animators spending eight weeks to turn the concept into a final in-game model. As shown in rough animation concepts and hinted at by the final cinematic upon defeating the Mouth of Mordremoth, the final battle originally had an additional phase within the Heart of Thorns tree before the battle was polished into its current, shorter form. The guideline was to make the player feel as small as possible in the presence of the Elder Dragon by using a scene from Cast Away, where Chuck Noland played by Tom Hanks sees a giant ship floating by, as a reference.[50]
- In one of the early concept arts, Mordremoth was referred to with feminine pronouns.
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See also[edit]
- Associated items
- Legendary Mordremoth weapon variants
- Mordrem weapon skins
- Mordremoth Dye Kit
- Mordremoth Mandible
- Plush Mordy
References[edit]
- ^ a b Mother's Lament ambient dialogue after Dragon's End meta
- Soo-Won: Mordremoth was busy learning to cultivate the earth. His roots spreading so early. [...]
- Soo-Won: They were all changing, as if some last piece of them lay dormant and one day awoke, forming who they really were...
- Soo-Won: Until they were strangers to me, and too often at each other's throats. And my own.
- ^ a b c Post by Bobby Stein in "Naming Mordremoth", Old Guild Wars 2 Forums (Archived)
- ^ Post by Scott McGough in "Lore Q&A", Old Guild Wars 2 Forums (Archived)
- ^ "Chapter 7: Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns", The Complete Art of Guild Wars: ArenaNet 20th Anniversary Edition by Indigo Boock:
- "She [Pale Tree] was purified, somehow, and is remarkably benevolent."
- ^ a b Points of Interest Episode 18 Summary, GuildWars2.com
- ^ Your Kind of People
- Soo-Won: When I...created the others, I thought..."I don't have to be alone anymore."
- Aurene: The other Elder Dragons...? You were their...
- ^ Mother's Lament ambient dialogue after Dragon's End meta
- Aurene: What is this place?
- Soo-Won: It was the beginning...
- Soo-Won: Where I brought my children into being when all was timeless, cold, and empty...
- Soo-Won: And with their coming, I watched as the world grew all around...full of hope in the warmth of a maturing sun.
- Aurene: Primordus, Kralkatorrik, the others...they were all here as the world formed?
- Soo-Won: A while, yes. I created them as tools—mindless as Nature—to stay the Void's unrelenting push toward entropy...
- Soo-Won: But here, so long ago, there was a time they called me..."Mother."
- ^ a b c Post by Matthew Medina in "Of Bodies and Minds: Mordremoth", Guild Wars 2 Forums (Archived) (Alternate Source
- ^ a b Elder Dragons: Notes from the Field
- ^ a b The Complete Art of Guild Wars: ArenaNet 20th Anniversary Edition
- ^ The Only One
- ^ The Ruined City of Arah (explorable) Jotun path
- Varra Skylark: This is an amazing discovery! The jotun's sky-sweeper shows a stellar match with the last time the dragons awoke.
- <Character name>: When was that last time?
- Varra Skylark: Around ten thousand years ago. You know what this means? The Elder Dragons may have been responsible for the extinction of the Giganticus Lupicus!
- ^ Hidden Arcana
- Magister Ela Makkay: In conclusion, let's recap. The five confirmed dragons are Kralkatorrik, Jormag, Primordus, Mordremoth, and Zhaitan.
- Magister Ela Makkay: We believe there is another deep in the oceans, but its entry in the Scroll of the Five True Gods is partially missing.
- Magister Ela Makkay: The scroll, written in ancient times, has a section dedicated to the Elder Dragons, but it came to us in bad shape.
- Magister Ela Makkay: It is written in an ancient form of old Krytan. We're still attempting to decipher the damaged portions.
- Magister Ela Makkay: Each dragon has two spheres of influence. For Mordremoth, that's mind and plants. Zhaitan ruled shadow and death. [...]
- Ogden Stonehealer: Much of what we know about them comes from a document written by the first humans to walk the face of Tyria: the Scroll of the Five True Gods. [...]
- Ogden Stonehealer: In it, the gods revealed the names of the Elder Dragons: Mordremoth, Kralkatorrik, Jormag, Zhaitan, and Primordus. [...]
- Ogden Stonehealer: The gods expound on how Tyria's health is tied directly to them. This portion is somewhat abstract, however.
- ^ Dream and Nightmare
- ^ The Complete Art of Guild Wars: ArenaNet 20th Anniversary Edition by Indigo Boock, "Chapter 7: Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns"
- "She [Pale Tree] was purified, somehow, and is remarkably benevolent."
- ^ The Heart of Nightmare
- Avatar of the Tree: No, dear heart. I do not control the Dream. I am simply its caretaker.
- ^ Short Story: What Scarlet Saw
- ^ Scarlet Briar's Journal
- ^ The Dead End: A Study in Scarlet
- Scarlet Briar: Ever since I came out of Omadd's machine, you've been taking credit for my ideas. They are mine! Not yours.
- Scarlet Briar: Let me be clear. I'm not doing this for you; I'm doing it for me. Nobody tells me what to do. Not ever.
- Scarlet Briar: It's not true. None of it. I don't have to listen to you. Get out of my head!
- ^ Post by Angel McCoy in "How important is Lore for you", Old Guild Wars 2 Forums (Archived)
- ^ The "Tower of Nightmares" track introduced in the Tower of Nightmares release was the first time Mordremoth's leitmotif was heard as it was played subtly alongside Scarlet's leitmotif to suggest the puppetmaster behind Scarlet's actions and the change experienced by the Toxic Alliance. This is further supported by the same oppressive leitmotif overcoming Scarlet's fading leitmotif in the Battle for Lion's Arch Finale Cinematic which shows the redirected ley line going straight into Mordremoth's waiting jaw after Scarlet's death.
- ^ Designing Dragons And Internet Orchestras With Guild Wars 2's Maclaine Diemer, GameSpace.com
- ^ The Dead End (Aftermath)
- <Character name>: I think all of Tyria heard that dragon's cry.
- Kasmeer Meade: Is that what you think it was? A dragon? Oh, it would make so much sense to think that Scarlet was messing with the dragons.
- <Character name>: I believe that was her plan all along. Her drill caused one of them to stir.
- Kasmeer Meade: Yes, we heard it too. Which one do you think it was? Primordus? Kralkatorrik? Jormag? Do you think one is sleeping beneath Lion's Arch?
- <Character name>: No. I think Scarlet disturbed the ley lines, knowing they feed the dragons.
- Kasmeer Meade: I don't understand.
- <Character name>: The dragons consume magic. The ley lines are currents in an ocean of magic.
- Kasmeer Meade: And Scarlet threw a giant rock in that pool, sending ripples out to the dragon. It makes sense. You're brilliant.
- ^ Cornered
- The left half of the paper is missing, but the remaining piece says, "...leader will die. The rest will fall in line. We will not fail." The rest is unreadable.
- ^ A Shadow's Deeds
- Caithe: My Wyld Hunt, Mordremoth's voice...they were tearing at each other and sometimes I didn't know which was which.
- Caithe: I was very confused, and I felt like the only person I could trust was me.
- <Character name>: That's the very time you should have leaned on your friends!
- Caithe: Don't you see? I didn't know who my friends were! Enemies, friends, even Faolain—it was all gray.
- ^ Requiem: Caithe
- ^ City of Hope
- <Character name>: What? I think the egg...showed me that.
- <Character name>: Mordremoth is using Logan, Zojja, and Trahearne... If we don't get to them soon, we'll be fighting an army of them.
- ^ Journal Entry
- ^ Apprentice Kasandra's Diary
- Mordremoth's death has greatly accelerated the growth of the crack in the bloodstone. It's no longer a matter of months until it ruptures, but a matter of days. Every simulation I have run indicates that catastophic failure of the stone will create a blast large enough to engulf Kryta in magical fallout.
- ^ Grand Savant Valis the Learned's Research Journal
- Another dragon felled, and the stone reacted far more than when Zhaitan died. We have now harvested enough magic to activate the Unseen One's ancient guardians. [...]
- I have been ordered to double our efforts. With the increased harvest rate, we've begun experiencing more...side effects. Magical storms have begun to appear in the area around the bloodstone, and the magic leaking out of the bloodstone seems to be driving our harvesting slaves mad with a sort of hunger for magic.
- ^ Taimi's Game
- Taimi: They changed! It's... That's why Mordremoth was able to... The Mordrem, Commander!
- <Character name>: What about them?
- Taimi: The ones who came from the blighting pods! Mordremoth had its minions, the sylvari, right? But it was able to create more, new ones from the dead! That power came from Zhaitan!
- Taimi: Killing Zhaitan caused the other dragons to absorb the death spectrum, but we only saw it in Mordremoth because it was active.
- Taimi: Then we killed Mordremoth, and now Primordus has absorbed some of the death and planty-ness! I think...
- ^ Precocious Aurene
- Taimi: We confirm the theory in the lab, utilizing small amounts of magic to see if they'll actually counteract one another.
- Taimi: And we'll need an icebrood sample—one showing signs of influence from our dearly departed Mordremoth and Zhaitan.
- ^ The Road to Rata Primus
- PA Announcer: Imagine! Communications technology enhanced by the unique hive-mind abilities of Kralkatorrik's minions.
- Taimi: What? Their hive mind?
- Taimi: I wonder if that ability is something Kralkatorrik absorbed after Mordremoth's death. Some piece of its magical nature...
- ^ Descent
- Aurene: I can feel all the magics in him. They're not in harmony. [...]
- Aurene: He's...fractured. Warring with the other magics.
- ^ A History of Still Waters Speaking: Part Two
- ^ Bjora Marches Vigil patrol ambient dialogue
- ^ The Only One
- The Dragonvoid: Embrace oblivion. [...]
- The Dragonvoid: You are a part of me, or you are nothing. [...]
- Canach: Did that dragon just turn into another dragon?
- Sayida the Sly: So it would seem.
- <Character name>: They're just echoes—the Dragonvoid taking whatever form it finds most convenient.
- ^ House Rolic Cadet
- ^ The Only One
- ^ a b Hearts and Minds
- ^ Hearts and Minds
- Braham: So how do we kill it? Burn every field and fell every forest?
- Trahearne: No...it can't be defeated that way. It'll just grow back. Its roots have spread too far, too deep.
- <Character name>: Then we destroy the root: Mordremoth's mind. Its strongest attacks come from its mind, from the Dream. That's our target. [...]
- <Character name>: What? No! Mordremoth is dead. We destroyed its mind from the inside.
- Trahearne: But I still hear its voice. Mordremoth is alive. One last hateful vestige...a terrible seed planted deep in my mind.
- Trahearne: You must kill me, Commander. Before that seed grows...before Mordremoth reclaims what it has lost.
- ^ Laranthir of the Wild
- ^ Axel Trueshot
- ^ a b Post by Andrew Gray in "Elder Dragons Zhaitan and Mordremoth", Guild Wars 2 Forums
- ^ The Way Forward
- Josso Essher: The most important lesson an Exalted must learn is: though Elder Dragons are unimaginably powerful, they can be killed.
- Josso Essher: Each has a distinct flaw.
- Josso Essher: Mordremoth, for example, dominates thought. But its most powerful asset—its mind—is also its greatest liability.
- ^ The Bitter Cold
- ^ Comment by Tom Abernathy in "Q&A with the Narrative Team", Guild Wars 2 Forums
- ^ Destiny, Uncharted Actor Nolan North Voicing Guild Wars 2 Expansion, GameSpot.com
- ^ Comment by Bobby Stein in "Living World S2E7 Seeds of Truth SPOILERS", Old Guild Wars 2 Forums (Archived)
- ^ Art of James Van Den Bogart, Vimeo.com
- James Van Den Bogart: Originally we were planning to not make a world boss at all. It was added very last minute. I recall being told something along the lines of we have one month to create a world boss before code and content. We were given more time in the end. I would say I spent about 8 weeks from concept to final in-game model.
- James Van Den Bogart: I think your feelings about Zhaitan are shared by most. So we made a group effort to have the player make contact with Mordy. We wanted to make the player feel as small as possible. My analogy to everyone from day one was to make him feel like you were Tom Hanks in Castaway when the giant ship floats by.
- ^ Design document for Heart of Thorns – Story Mission 02 – The Jungle Provides, in Mindful Game Design
- ^ Design document for Heart of Thorns – Story Mission 03 – Prisoners of the Dragon, in Mindful Game Design
- ^ Prisoners of the Dragon
- <Character name>: Faolain? Why is Mordremoth locking up so many Nightmare Courtiers?
- Faolain: You know nothing of the court. We seek freedom, and Mordremoth's yoke is even more onerous than the Pale Tree's.
External links[edit]
- Guild Wars 2 - Battle for Lion's Arch Finale Cinematic, YouTube.com
- Scott Dickey Guild Wars 2 Mordremoth Animation Reel, YouTube.com
- Video of Mouth of Mordremoth's animations, Vimeo.com