The same happens with some supernatural beings described in the Bible. Angels are generally depicted as pretty pale guys with feathered wings when they were described more like multi-eyed abomination that needed to introduce themselves with a “fear not” for people to not freak out at their sight.
in real world holy texts from various religions, messengers of God such as angels, or polytheistic deities themselves also assume many forms when meeting humans. maybe their various appearances that causes many contradictions between stories are somewhat influenced by humanity’s innate nature to be curiously excited with supernatural things that can’t be properly explained.
maybe in gd, the celestials themselves think this human behaviour is amusing, and also keep the humans to be always in awe with the celestials, also indirectly restraining their roiling chthonian blood flowing inside them.
Reading from lore notes and information from the npc in malmouth, It seem there’s not much difference between malmouth before and after the attack (besides the destroyed building and giant flesh). Hell, it reminded me of Detroit scene from scary movie 4.
I can picture it in my mind that if the official malmouth artwork with green glow changed the green glow to black smoke, the Malmouth resident would be like “yep that’s pretty normal”.
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malmouth is the industrial center of erulan empire. so its probably already infested with smogs and black paints everywhere before grim dayum.
erulan, the capital city, would be quite different from malmouth. its most likely filled with grand cathedral like buildings, with many palaces and great temples to empyrion & menhir. kinda curious how empy & menhir depictions in their temples look like.
sadly we won’t know if empyrion has eldritch tentacle eyes like korvaak, or super grand beardstache until groovy dawn 2.
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nice fanart corner 
Kinda went too deep with lore guys 
But what can I say? That’s the power of Bane’Gargoth’s epicness!
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well, kinda went too deep into the lore, mostly because i don’t recall if we ever see a depiction of empy inside the game other than swirling light consellation. he’s the most important deity in grim dawn lore yet there is probably 0 artwork of him anywhere.
anyway, about bane’gargoth and the obsidian golems, they are quite a wonder, due to how they pop into existence in the void. they are basically sentient chthonic obsidian stones that one day just got bored lying in the ground forever and then started walking around. their collar-like carving beneath the neck made me wonder are they headless.
https://forums.crateentertainment.com/t/grim-misadventure-51-act-3-monster-menagerie/28642
The void houses some of the most terrifying creations humans have ever had the misfortune of encountering. Among them is the gargantuan Obsidian Defiler. A Ch’thonic creature formed from the very material which makes up much of the Ch’thonian void, the Defiler is incredibly durable and brutally powerful. Its four arms will shred flesh like paper, but its true power lies within its chaotic core. Should you find yourself within reach of a Defiler, it is advisable to run.
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Patiently waiting for the patch. I must say I haven’t played GD much recently, it’s because I wanted to try Terraria after it’s Journey’s End patch. This game is so addicting it’s shocking to me 
I like building things in it, it’s way quicker than minecraft! So when I got my first obsidian blocks I knew I had to use them 
And here we are! Another Obsidian Defiler, this time in Terraria 
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Created some Gazer pixel art 
The common Gazer we meet during out Grim Dawn journey
An angry Gazer! Stop farming overseer’s eyes
A happy Gazer, because you wear the gazerman
And he thinks you are one of them
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i wonder whats gazer species’ relationship with dreeg. because dreeg’s infinite eyes doesn’t seem to have any connection with aetherial gazers.
they are one of the few enemies where its really worth it to turn off gore in options to see them ragdolling around. even more hilarious when their body parts get too stretchy from all that ragdoll shenanigans.
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Hi everyone!
I made Grim Dawn’s gameplay with my song “Battlemage in Aether Village”…The game’s OST and caotical ambience inspired me for composing this song. Thanks 
GRIM DAWN - BURRWITCH VILLAGE | VETERAN | NEW SOUNDTRACK
Phoenix - Battlemage in Aether Village
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Dude, that´s one nice piece of soundtrack you composed there!
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hi everyone, do you enjoy new patch?
This is my first post on forum of GrimDawn.
I will show you my contents; another story of GD I imagined.
When I play new character, I make a little story for the character, probably you do too.
Of course I like almost all contents in this game. And especially I like Items, as components, weapons, equipments, etc, but also flavours of them.
So the story is inspired many many items and flavours.
Please enjoy short story in your break time with coffee !
- Original sentences are written by Japanese.(will post at a later date)→Done add at the bottom
- Let me know if you find out my ‘deadly’ mistake on English texts , because of using automatic translation.
Prologue 1
-Old lore passed down to the northern peoples-
~~
Look at your neighbor.
They don’t know languages, but they know people more deeply than you.
Since ancient times, nature has always been one with itself and things around. They knew and accepted each other without being aware of it. However, civilization gave birth to the ego of people, and eventually, people began to divide themselves from nature. So people have forgotten to look at themselves.
Look at your neighbor.
It is the beast, tree, rain, and wind.
They are familiar with everything by nature. As the beast fills hunger, as the roots of trees, as the rain soaks the earth, as the wind turns around. Seeing its existence, listening to it, smelling it, feeling the flow, and evoking ancient memories.
Look at your neighbor.
Are fellow people and those of other tribes keeping our teachings?
The beast, the god of guidance, transforms into a whim and watches over the world in subtle ways. Be one with nature and get his blessing. Then by catching a glimpse of a part of his power, you becomes a skilled guardian.
~~
The words spoken by old people to young are always boring, and even though the clothes they wear are different, their contents do not change. It is common for listeners to sigh when the old man is repeating the same thing and to suspect certain symptoms. On the other hand, it means that the important things are always the same. It’s immutable, so it’s not novel, but It is transmitted as a lesson to because of its correct
A tribe in the northern part of Cairn, when they reach adulthood, a young man aiming to be a shaman leaves the village where he had grown up for a wandering journey. The journey lasts from a few years to more than 10 years, and some never go home alive. They go to mountains and unexplored areas to obey old traditions for be recognized as new guardians, but in fact no one knew what to expect at the end of the journey. There is no particular endpoint such as getting an emblem of shaman, meeting a folklore person, or performing a ritual at the summit,The wandering journey continues until “Go around the area where the spirits live and be recognized as a new shaman”.
Therefore, it would be fine to aim for spirits, but Cairn had numerous spirits, which were also present in the mountains where the tribes live. However, there is nothing that became a shaman without going on a journey, and since spirits do not speak human language in the first place, they cannot communicate.Only Shaman can do that. It is believed that among the tribes, it will be recognized in some way after traveling to various places to introduce new shamans and being well known to the spirits.
“When I noticed, my body floated far above and looked down on the mountains of Cairn. Birds blessed me in the sky, and plants blessed me after I landed on the ground.”
The long-lived shaman talks about his memories of the trip,then the younger one also talks about his experiences while grooming the Wildcaller ornaments they wear during ceremonies.
"When I was led by an ancient forest and entered a cave, a huge tree that pierced the bedrock and expanded its roots was shining, and when the blue glittering fruit came to fruition in front of me, I could understand that I was blessed by the earth. "
furthermore,
"… I was spending time in a tent without being able to go down the mountain because I couldn’t cross the pass due to the blizzard. One night when I couldn’t go out for a few days and ran out of food, I suddenly heard a rumbling. I was prepared for an avalanche, dragged my frostbite body and turned my face out to see the final scenery, and a horde of yetis descending the summit rushed towards direction of me with splashes.
The terrifying sight caught my eyes, and without knowing whether I was shivering with cold, only a loud noise pierced the whole body. Then, at dawn, the snowstorm stopped, and countless huge footprints remained around. The long-lasting traces were littered with dead animals and nuts, and I gathered them hard to survive and filled my hunger.
Surprisingly, the mountain creatures that were hiding during the snowstorm flocked to the footprints, just like I did, and took advantage of them. It was like a tropical paradise, and the small animals and insects that were there shared time like a family."
Shamans pull out the stories of the heroes that is handed down to the tribe. All of them were unbelievable things that happened in reality, but there was no doubt about the shamanic power of those who were recognized.
The shaman was the pride and guardian of the tribe, so in the event of an emergency they fought bravely with the power of the spirits. Some summoned a storm, some manipulated creatures, and some swung a large ax, leaving it to the desire for blood, to knock down the enemies that were rushing in. Its appearance has been handed down and became a legend, and by the time the baby born in the village, especially the boys, became aware of it, everyone longed for it.
But reality is often different from ideal. Although they finally reached adulthood and left their hometown with joy and courage, some returned without being able to endure the harsh journey, some died on the way, and some lied that they were recognized by the spirits.
Family feelings are also more complex, and if a child becomes a shaman, it is a great honor and can contribute significantly to the prosperity of the tribe for decades. However, it was unlikely that he would return safely from his wandering journey, and that was almost always the last farewell.
The youth are a promising workforce and the next generation, so the village couldn’t afford to lose it. Candidates were carefully screened by the tribal chief and voluntarily decided whether to embark on a journey. Most were boys with qualifications of the second child or younger, and if there were any members of the same family who had traveled in the past, they had to be at least 20 years later. Less than 10% of people can become a long-sought shaman after a harsh journey through such a guidance.
In the village , shamans were often the only one at a generation , and of course there were ages when there are no shamans. Powerful nations seeking to expand their territory may attack the areas where ethnic minorities live, so the existences of shaman were rarely made public to the outside world.
The “wandering journey” , it was customary to send quietly one person out of the village every few years, but with hope of all over the tribe. And here too, there was a young man on a wandering journey with the tribe and his own expectations in mind. It was almost a year since he left his hometown.
-to be continued on Prologue 2
Original texts written by Japanese
北方の民族に伝わる古い伝承
～
汝の隣人を見よ。
彼らは言語を知らないが、人について汝よりも深く知っている。
太古より、自然とは己と取り巻くものが常に一体であった。意識せずともお互いを知り、そして受け入れた。だが文明は人の自我を生み、いつしか人は自身と自然とを分かつようになった。それゆえ己を見ることを忘れてしまった。
汝の隣人を見よ。
隣人とは獣であり、木であり、雨であり、風である。
彼らはその自然体によりあらゆる物事に通じている。獣が飢えを満たすように、木が根を張るように、雨が大地を浸すように、風が果てを廻るように。その存在を見て、音を聴き、匂いを嗅ぎ、流れを感じ、古い記憶を呼び起こすのだ。
汝の隣人を見よ。
同胞や他の部族の者は我らの教えを守っているか。
導きの神たる獣は気まぐれに姿を変え、それとなく世界を見守っている。自然と一体となることで彼の祝福を得られよう。ついには力の一端を垣間見ることで、熟練の守護者となる。
～
いつの時代も老人から若者に語られる言葉は大概退屈であり、纏う衣は違えどもその内容は変わらない。聞く側は、老人がまた同じことを繰り返していると溜め息をつき、ある種の症状の疑いを持つのが世の常だ。それは一方で、大切な事はいつも変わらない事を表している。正しいからこそ伝えられ、不変であるがゆえ目新しさは無く、教訓として刷り込まれるのだ。
Cairn北部地方のある部族では、成人を迎えると、シャーマンを目指す若者が今まで育った村を離れて、放浪の旅に出る。旅は数年から１０年以上の期間に及び、中には二度と故郷に戻って来ない者もいる。彼らは古い習わしに従い、新たな守護者に成ることを認めて貰う為、いくつもの山地や秘境へ向かうのだが、実のところ旅の終わりに何が待っているかは誰も知らなかった。シャーマンの証を取ってきたり、伝承者に会ったり、山頂で儀式を行うとかいった類いの具体的な終着点は無く、「精霊が住まう各地を廻り、新たなシャーマンとして認めてもらう」まで放浪の旅は続く。
では精霊を目指せば良いということになるが、ケアンには無数の精霊がおり、部族が住む山々にも存在していた。しかし旅に出ずしてシャーマンに成ったものはおらず、そもそも精霊は人語を話さないので意思の疎通などできない。それができるのはシャーマンのみだ。部族の間では、新たなシャーマンの顔見せの為に各地を旅し、精霊達へ十分に知れ渡った後に何らかの方法で認められると考えられている。
「気が付くと、体が遥か上空に浮かび、ケアンの山々を見下ろしていた。空では鳥達が、地上に降り立った後は草木が祝福してくれた。」
長寿のシャーマンが旅の思い出を語ると、儀式の際に着用するWildcallerの装飾品の手入れをしながら、年少者も自らの体験を話した。
「太古の森に導かれ洞穴に入ると、最奥では岩盤を貫き根を拡げた巨木が輝いており、その青く煌めく果実が目の前に実ったとき、大地に祝福されたことが理解できた。」
さらには、
「・・・猛吹雪により峠を越える事が叶わず、下山も出来ないままテントの中で過ごしていた。数日間外に出られず食料も尽きたある夜、突然地鳴りが聞こえてきた。私は雪崩を覚悟して、凍傷した体を引きずり最後の景色を見るために顔を外に出すと、山頂を下るイエティの大群が、飛沫を上げながらこちらへ猛進してきたのだ。
恐ろしい光景に目は釘付けとなり、寒さによる震えなのかもわからないまま、けたたましい音だけが全身を突き抜けていった。そして夜が明ける頃に吹雪は止み、周辺には彼らの巨大な足跡が無数に残っていた。その長く続く跡には、動物の死骸や木の実が散らばっており、私は生きる為に懸命にそれらをかき集め、空腹を満たした。
驚いたことに、吹雪の間は身を隠していた山の生き物達が、私と同じように足跡に群がり、その恩恵に預かっていた。その様はまるで南国の楽園のようで、あの場に居合わせた小動物や虫達が家族のように時間を共有した。」
と、部族に伝わる英雄譚を引っ張り出すのだ。いずれも現実に起こったとは信じられないような事柄ばかりだったが、認められた者のシャーマンとしての力は疑いようが無かった。
彼らは部族の誇りであり守り手でもあったので、有事の際には精霊の力を駆使し勇敢に戦った。ある者は嵐を呼び、またある者は生物を操り、またある者は血の欲求に任せるまま大斧を振り回し、押し寄せる敵をなぎ倒した。その姿は語り継がれ伝説となり、村で生まれた赤子、特に男子が物心つく頃には誰もが憧れる存在であった。
だが現実はしばしば理想と異なる。ようやく成人を迎え、喜び勇んで生まれ故郷を発ったものの、過酷な旅に耐えられず帰ってくる者や、途中で命を落とす者、中には精霊に認められたと嘘をつく者もいた。また家族の想いはより複雑で、我が子がシャーマンとなれば大変な栄誉であり、数十年に渡って部族の繁栄に大きく貢献できる。しかし放浪の旅から無事に帰ってくる可能性は低く、それが最後の別れとなる事がほとんどだった。
村としても若者は有望な労働力、次世代の担い手なので、おいそれと失うわけにはいかなかった。志願者は部族の長が慎重に審査を行い、その自由意思によって旅に出るかを決めていた。多くは第2子以下の資質を備えた男子で、さらに同族で過去に旅に出た者がいる場合は、少なくとも20年以上経過した後でなければならなかった。そうした巡り合わせを経て、過酷な旅路を終えて念願のシャーマンとなれる者は1割に満たない。
彼らは、その時代その村の唯一の存在であることが多く、当然ながらシャーマンがいない時期もあった。勢力の拡大を求める大国は、その時を狙って少数民族が住まう地域を襲うことがあるので、対外的にシャーマンの事が公にされることは少ない。
「放浪の旅」は、ひっそりと期待を込めて、しかし村をあげて数年に一人を送り出すのが慣習であった。そしてここにも、部族と自身の期待を胸に放浪の旅をしている若者がいた。故郷を出発してから、まもなく1年が過ぎようとしていた。
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Oh man… That was fantastic!! Keep this going, please!
Thanks replying and link! I’ll keep it up!
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Please do! The community could use more of this, many of us do it already from time to time but more is always welcome, and i really enjoyed what you wrote.
Now that, is TALENT.
Props sir!
when talking about shamans in cairn, you cannot left out mogdrogen at all. he’s the god (titan god?) of cairn’s wilderness & patron god of shaman guardians of cairn’s nature after all. the ravager/wendigo, the huntress, the animals constellation & amatok constellations are also related to shamans. quite a lot of gods & spirits there.
that being said, its good to see shaman stories in cairn. imo crate needs to expand more into the shaman tribes lore of cairn to delve more into mogdrogen’s mystery. the bits about shamans we have in AoM is nice, but it only explores cannibalistic ugdenbog shaman tribes. there are more kinds of shaman tribes out there.
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thanks advice. It is true. I implied a little it about mogdrogen at the 3rd sentences in the old lore.
basically I write the story for the sake of items in GD. I want to intend them more familiar to everyone(especially newbie).so in the future when I will focus items such as, set of Mogdrogen’s Tranquility, Herald of Amatok, Ravager’s Bite, I must write more deeply about gods. And maybe I guess I can show you a example of it in next posting
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Obsidian Defiler for a wallpaper 
My love towards those enemies is intriguing at times, which parts of their concept, design and story makes me gravitate towards those magnificient creatures
First argument would be having 4 arms, because my second favourite design is animated statue enemy from FG.Maybe I will find the true answer after 50 obsidian golem fanarts later
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