Mordremoth, the Jungle Dragon
Mission Overview
In my most recent assignment, I was tasked by my superiors to investigate a peculiar mention brought upon by the Vigil’s allies within the Durmand Priory. The Priory Scholar Trueclaw has reported that the Tome of the Rubicon make mention of five races surviving six Elder Dragons. This has piqued the interest of said superiors, as we have only seen the influence of five such Elder Dragons, and even one is so minor that knowledge of it is scarce and kept to the Pact’s allies. These Elder Dragons are: Primordus, Jormag, Zhaitan, Kralkatorrik, and the aforementioned scarcely known one, who’s name remains aloof to us. My task was to investigate what I can find of this unknown sixth Elder Dragon - does it still live? Where is it? When will it awaken? What is its elemental domain?
To do this, I crossed the accessible lands of Tyria, seeking the answers. My first obvious stop was the Durmand Priory, however they told me nothing of the sixth Elder Dragon, aside from that there’s mention of six Elder Dragons. Whether their tightlipped-ness is due to them not knowing or refusing to share is unknown, though given our shared interests I will presume the former. Knowing I’d get little to nothing more from the Priory, I went to gather information from the group outside of the Pact forces that holds interest in the Elder Dragons: The Inquest.
Investigations from Inquest Research
Before continuing my report, I shall clarify in the off chance that the readers of this report are unaware of the Inquest’s research on the Elder Dragons. Within the Steamspur Mountains is a large facility of the Inquest dubbed the Infinite Coil Reactor, and at the center of this lies the Crucible of Eternity – a lab led by the now-deceased Kudu with the primary intent of researching and utilizing the Elder Dragons’ unique magical energy. Foul as it is, it seems that they made decent progress. I’d also like to point out that records show that the Infinite Coil Reactor was the successor of the Thaumanova Reactor found within northern Metrica Province – established after Thaumanova Reactor had a meltdown. As such, not only did the Inquest research the Elder Dragons, but chaos energy. This is something I shall bring up again later, but for the most part is not relevant at the moment.
Thanks to the Pact’s efforts, the Crucible of Eternity has been demolished before I got here, so I had to refer primarily to reports from Agent Spire who was in charge of infiltrating the base and destroying it. The foundation of the Infinite Coil Reactor is that of a hexagon, with six corners. Each corner is referred to as a “zone” which contains a lab beneath. Each zone, and by extension lab, holds a single theme and color (from northern going clockwise: Green, White, Purple, Blue, Black, and Red). The important part is that four of these zones are explicitly tied to Elder Dragons: White to Jormag, Purple to Kralkatorrik, Black to Zhaitan, and Red to Primordus. Blue holds aquatic themes, tying it to the allusive Elder Dragon of the Unending Ocean. This leaves Green without a known or suspected dragon, and it is nature themed. This was the first real step I found regarding the Elder Dragon.
From records Agent Spire recovered, there is mention of a “Subject Alpha” – an abominable creation tied to four of the Elder Dragons’ power with the addition of an earth theme. Along with this, there is mention of a unique name to Subject Alpha, used in the same means as the other Elder Dragons’ names (specifically Jormag and Primordus). Sadly, it’s never said to be related to the Elder Dragons, but this name may be related to them nonetheless, and if the Inquest somehow managed to get more knowledge on the Elder Dragons than the Durmand Priory, this holds horrific implications – specifically, the implications that somewhere out there is another Elder Dragon active we do not know about. This name is “Mordremoth.”
There is one final, and far more peculiar, mention of this “Zone Green” and “Experimental Green Lab” which may be tied to this “Mordremoth” (this name is used in reference to the earth theme mentioned before, and not anything water-related, thus it seems to be related to Zone Green and not the Elder Dragon of the Unending Ocean). This is the subjects within Experimental Green Lab. Within Red Lab were Destroyers; within White Lab were Icebrood. And within Lab Green were Husks and Nightmare Hounds. Both are plant creatures utilized by the Nightmare Court.
The Sylvari’s Connections
I have seen many philosophical debates upon the purpose of the sylvari in this world. And lately, I have seen an argument that the sylvari may be related to the Elder Dragons (specifically being that the sylvari are minions), despite their opposition, due to various reasons – and these arguments are coming about at an increasingly alarming rate. I, personally, having fought and worked beside sylvari and seen their rather peculiar culture for myself find such arguments hard – if not impossible – to believe. However, I fear the above research may push these arguments into feasibility. But the Vigil has no need for mere speculation and unproven discriminations. So I set out to investigate the most direct connection the Inquest’s research has: the Nightmare Court.
This led me to travel through the Maguuma Jungle, where I found a number of interesting facts. Firstly, as I learned in Brisban Wildlands, it appears that the Nightmare Court and the Inquest have allied themselves – and knowing that the sylvari are immune to draconic corruption (something I should denote now that is unique unto them and not shared with dragon minions), I considered the possibility that the Inquest built their Green Lab in order to study this immunity, rather than to study dragon minions. But I continued forth with an open mind, to not be clouded by personal hopes.
My travels led me south into Wychmire Swamp, which gave me a very peculiar observation. The Wardens stationed at Falias Thorpe told me that there were dark magics happening in the swamp. One of the sylvari there, a Wyld Hunt Valiant known by Gamarien, told me that there was a large number of husks that did not seem to be related to the Nightmare Court’s own presence in the swamp – but rather, he suspects, something darker. This felt like it was related to my research, so when he went on patrol and asked for assistance, I eagerly agreed. During the patrol, Gamarien happened upon this dark force he mentioned. Rotting-looking husks, grubs, mortars, and vines appeared from seemingly nowhere and began attacking all. These creatures were collectively referred to as being Blighted. All of which were accompanied by a giant jungle wurm, almost seemed like they were led by it even. After all was said and done, and the threats neutralized, there was little more to gain. Only that the darkness remained after the great wurm’s death.
I then went into Twilight Arbor, located in the depths of Wychmire Swamp, to investigate the Nightmare Court directly. When I arrived, Faolain had been cast out and the three Nightmare Courtiers seeking to obtain the Nightmare Tree dead and the tree itself burned down. It is regrettable, but I still gained what I wanted to know – or rather, what was relevant to my investigations. I went to Twilight Arbor to investigate the husks – what they are, how they come to be. I didn’t get much there – or elsewhere for that matter. However, one of the three aforementioned Nightmare Courtiers, Vevina, employs husks in large numbers. One is of particular interest to this, called The Defiler, which is (or rather, was) part of Vevina’s guard. What makes this particular Husk interesting is its appearance, sharing the same appearance with the “Avatars of Blight” I witnessed within Wychmire Swamp. Overall, the husks seem to be the sole connections between these three groups (for reminder’s sake: the Crucible of Eternity, the Nightmare Court, and these “Blighted”), but little more – so it’s hard to find where the relations truly end, as it is too coincidental that an Elder Dragon research facility and a swamp with an unknown dark force, both use something otherwise unique to the Nightmare Court.
My final piece of research regarding this was in the Sylvan Hounds. I knew from past experience that they are canine-appearing plants born from the Pale Tree just as sylvari are human-appearing plants born of the same Pale Tree. But I needed to know more. I traveled to Town of Cathal just south of Wychmire Swamp. This little village is used as a place to train Sylvan Hounds into proper pets for the Wardens. I inquired Warden Fila regarding the Nightmare Hounds, and she told me something interesting. To use her words, “it’s more than just their heart that is tainted by nightmare. Their very bodies shift into something that is darker and more malevolent.” And their physical appearance does indeed change! They become darker and appear with almost rotting foliage. A different Warden, Gwynda, makes mention of powerful “nightmare magic” at work in Wychmire Swamp, which the Wardens prefer to keep “hush-hush,” as she says.
There is one more thing I must note regarding the Nightmare Court: it was often said in my interactions with the Wardens and the Nightmare Court that when sylvari turn to the Nightmare – that is, the force behind the Nightmare Court’s belief, the opposite of the sylvari’s Dream of Dreams – they are unable to return. It is a permanent twisting. Much like that of the Sylvan Hound’s inability to return to its previous state, and much like an Elder Dragon’s corruption.
Potential Dragon Influences
At this point, I am led to believe that the Nightmare Court is – knowingly or, most likely, not – spreading this Mordremoth's influence, and that the special denoting of the Dragon’s corruption is twofold: a darker, rotting plant-like appearance (whether flesh turns to bark or vines like how Branded turn to crystal or Icebrood to ice is undeterminable in my findings), and holding a poisonous relation. The rotting plant appearance I had covered, but the poison I had not. Within Zone Green and within Wychmire Swamp, poisonous plants were in abundance, so I feel that it may also hold ties to this Mordremoth.
Using this as a basis, I dug through records to see if there were any previous presence of this. I found little, but there was one thing of interest I found.
For this, I returned to the topic of the Thaumanova Reactor. Knowing that it was the predecessor of the Infinite Coil Reactor and Elder Dragon research, I went to look into the fallout reactions. To my interest, there are five different elemental showings alongside the chaotic mess of teleporting creatures from across the continent. Four are obvious: the northern area has been engulfed in flame; just south is a river that seems to come from nowhere; to the southeast is a section engulfed in plantlife; to the southwest is a section covered in ice; and, very rarely found, to the west in a cave is a purple crystal. Knowing its background, this isn’t too surprising. But what’s interesting is what occurs in the southeastern section: poisonous rotting oakhearts periodically get warped in there (just as Icebrood seem to periodically get warped into the southwestern corner of the facility).
When I had dispatched one of these such oakhearts, it reminded me of something. Its appearance was surprisingly similar to mosshearts which were twisted by the Nightmare Court in Ogham Wilds. Not only this, but I have seen similar oakhearts within Greatheart Weald of Queensdale. Most interesting about this discovery was that a Seraph hunter mentioned that the rotting oakheart could spread corruption to the rest of the forest if left alone. I now wonder if said hunter was a Whispers agent in disguise, sadly he left far too soon to question what he meant, and the term “corruption” is used in more than just Elder Dragon influence. If not for my investigations above, I would not consider linking these together at all, but the similarities are becoming too commonplace to ignore.
After this, while on my travels I happened upon a wandering oracle who was asked which Elder Dragon should the Pact go against next. He mentioned almost every dragon, perhaps in an attempt to avoid answering the question, but there was one line most peculiar: he mentioned a “Jungle Dragon” within the Maguma Jungle. It so happens to be that these odd influences are all within, or near, the Maguuma Jungle – sans, of course, the Infinite Coil Reactor complex.
Conclusion
I shall leave each reader of this report to their own conclusions. I found nothing conclusive in my investigations, but I do believe there are existing patterns to what and where this “Jungle Dragon” – perhaps named “Mordremoth” – is. My personal view? I suspect that Mordremoth is still slumbering, only influencing the world like how Jormag influenced it through Svanir over two centuries ago. And the influence is being channeled through the Nightmare Court – perhaps via the mysterious “Nightmare” itself.
Report written by Vigil Tactician Lambert Caito