what if those obsidian ravagers are a pale remnants of some celestials themselves? remember that the war of the gods was won by celestials who succumbed to the powers of the void. and maybe like c’hthon, they got shattered too.
i dunno, those four arms and somewhat eldritch like appearance kinda reminds me of korvaak himself, who is also four armed and looks like lovecraftian eldricth beings.
great idea. there are lots of gd items with interesting backstories and mysterious characters. imo item lores themselves are like 30% of the entire grim dawn lore.
Hi, this is a sequel of the short story I showed last time.
some unique names appear in this time, a journey of the young man has just started!
and enjoy Happy Halloween!
–
Prologue 2
Family line of the young man has produced shamans in the past, and he was able to feel the existence of spirits from an early age. Since his father was the eldest son, he entrusted his children with the dream of becoming a shaman. It was natural for the young man to aim to be a shaman, probably because he was raised in the middle of five siblings and was said to have more spiritual power than the other four, so he had no particular doubts.
Fortunately, there was an active shaman in his village, and the young man was able to receive various guidance. The teacher was over 100 years old, but due to the power of the spirits, he was far younger than a normal person, and seemed to be only about half that age. The old shaman rigorously taught young man how to fight, traditional knowledge of travel, and the nature of the spirits, but because of his youth, all of them seemed to be annoying, and he only worked seriously on combat-style training.
While traveling, he was keenly aware of the importance of the teachings of that time, but that would be the path everyone would take to grow.
The young man barely crossed his first goal, the Ambar Mountains, and walked along the river to the west. On a clear day, He proceeded while tanning the skins of small reptiles caught along the way and replenishing valuable water when it rained. In the mountains before coming here, when he encountered a flock of wolves with sharp fangs or a giant bear, he fought if he could kill them, otherwise he threatened from a distance and avoid the fight. However, because he was so poorly equipped, he was inevitably hit by a painful blow When he was exhausted and caught off his guard.
“Well, routinely, the prey you kill should be separated not only for food, but also for fur, claws, horns, bones, and other usable items.”
He regretted every time he heard a voice of shaman saying, and decided to collect materials by the next destination.
Combining tanned skin with fish scales creates a cushioning material called Scaled Hide. Also, selecting fur such as a wolf and sewing it in a bundle, it will become a cloth ‘Dense Fur’ that can withstand a certain amount of cold. Simply putting these things on the back of jacket or breastplate will greatly reduce the burden of impact when hit.
Of course, it would be good if the equipment itself could be replaced with a sturdy one like a high quality ‘Explorer’s Garments’ , but there was no sign of a village that could supply. Still, it won’t be wasted if he make the material while he moves on the flat ground, and the surplus can be sold eventually. “The cheap stuff you wear is enough if maintained properly, and the expensive ones put you at risk,” said the old shaman.
The things young man had prepared in advance for the journey were of little use, but the familiar Cleaver was the correct answer. Even if the blade broke, it could be used as a blunt instrument, so he didn’t have any problems with the weapon for the time being. And how many times has he been grateful for the sturdy leather bag given to him by his teacher? If it rained a little, he could store anything without getting his luggage wet. The young man’s footsteps were still light, and while eating dried meat, he headed for the Tachinoa Valley, which is a border far away.
A few weeks later, there was a young man walking on a mountain road in the rain with large polka dots. Looking down at the river that walked along, he was overwhelmed by the magnificent nature that spreads forward, and he admired the huge flora and fauna, insects and birds that he had never seen.
The large flowers blooming on the steep cliffs turned upwards hard while being hit by the rain, and a fist-sized bee made an eerie feather noise in search of its nectar. Immediately behind, a lizard about one meter in length sticks to the rocky area, waiting for an opportunity for insects to stop on the petals. In the sky, big birds over 5m in size were flocking in spite of the rain.
This land, far from civilization, apparently retains its ancient appearance, and the young man expected there to serve his purpose. After crossing this valley, he will enter the territory of Urigit, a great power in the west.
The Tachinoa Valley is located in the middle of a mountain range that straddles the border diagonally, and the Nuzoo Mountains, which cross from the arid region on the west side to the cold region on the east side, boast the greatest ecosystem. Further to the west, the Sid Mountains leading to the desert area are connected, and the three mountain ranges including the Ambar Mountains that young man have crossed were called Cairn’s Ark or the Garden of the Gods.
The Nuzoo Mountains, located in the center, have appeared in the myths and fairy tales of various countries due to their abundant nature and its geographical factors. Among them was a legend about shamans.
At one point, a petite shaman who was too bored said. “Let’s see who can climb the fastest to the top of the highest mountain in the Nuzoo Mountains.” It is said that the gods and thier servants live on the summit, And older shamans who were afraid to offend them objected, but other shamans who were very bored accepted the proposal.
In this way, a petite shaman, a tall shaman, and a fat shaman competed. From the foot of the mountain, they went on different roads and aimed at the summit while overcoming obstacles and monsters along the way, but in the end all three could not reach the summit. The petite shaman who was the closest to the spirits lacked physical strength, the tall shaman who had outstanding weapon skills lacked wisdom, and the fat shaman who was proud of his power lacked agility.
However, the three wanted to meet the gods and cooperated to aim for the summit again. This time, they reached near the top, but they finally gave it up because of the eternally unclear thunderstorm “Yellow Snake Cloud” near the summit. The three were so disappointed that they tried to leave the mountain. At that time, a voice is heard from the sky after lightning strike.
“Son of man, you have entertained us to the fullest. We will reward you. You can come again anytime.”
And when the thunder and lightning stopped, there was a statue of a snake on the ground, allegedly carved by the gods. It is said that the delighted shamans brought back the statue and worshiped it in the village for generations.
There is another anecdote in this story. The gods gave them a set of adornments, not statues, and each shamans insisted on his own deserving of the gift. None of the shamans would compromise on their opinions, Finally they fought fiercely each other and did not return to the village.
Regarding the whereabouts of the adornments, they fought for three days and three nights, but they couldn’t settle and wore each of them in three parts, or one who survived the battle took them away, or the adornments were burned by a lightning strike of the angry gods after all three died in a fight, etc, and there were various endings depending on the area where it was handed down.
What the stories all have in common is that three settlements were formed by the believers who followed after the three shamans. The myth of The Stormserpent says, three villages still remain and worship the first shamans and the celestial gods.
The young man quickly realizes that the unexplored region where there is no shortage of adventures of such heroes is a place that humans cannot easily enter.
-to be continued on Prologue 3
彼の一族はシャーマンを輩出したことがあり、自身も幼い頃より精霊の存在を感じる事ができた。父親は長男であった為、シャーマンを目指すという夢を子供達に託した。若者は5人兄姉の真ん中で、他の4人より強く精霊の力を宿した子と言われて育ったせいか、シャーマンになることは自然な事で特に疑問は持たなかった。
幸い、村には現役のシャーマンがおり、様々な指導を受けることが出来た。指導者は100歳を超えていたが、精霊の力により常人より遥かに若々しく、その半分ほどの年齢としか思えなかった。老シャーマンは、戦いの心得、旅の知識、精霊の性質などを厳しく教えたが、若すぎる身にはどれもお節介としか感じられず、彼が真面目に取り組んだのは実戦形式の立ち合いぐらいだった。
今、旅の最中に当時の教えの大切さを痛感していたが、それは人が成長する上で誰もが通る道であろう。
若者は、最初の目標であったアンバール山脈をやっとの思いで越えて、西に向かって川沿いを歩いていた。晴れた日は、道中で捕らえた小型の爬虫類の皮をなめしながら、雨が降れば貴重な水分を補給しながら進んだ。ここに来るまでの山中では、鋭い牙を持つ狼の群れや巨大熊に遭遇すると、仕留められそうであれば戦い、そうでなければ遠くから威嚇して戦いを避けていた。しかし、あまりにも粗末な装備をしていたがゆえに、疲労がたまったところに不意を突かれると、どうしても手痛い一撃をもらってしまう。
「良いか、日頃より倒した獲物は食用のみならず、毛皮や爪、角、骨など利用できるものにばらしておくのだ。」
という声が聞こえてくる度に後悔し、次の目的地までには素材を集める事にした。
なめした皮と釣った魚の鱗を組み合わせれば、Scaled Hideと呼ばれる緩衝材ができる。また、狼などの毛皮を選りすぐり、束にして縫い合わせれば、ある程度の寒さにも耐える帷子~Dense Fur~となる。こういったものを外套や胸当ての裏に仕込むだけで、打撃を受けた際に衝撃の負担はだいぶ少なくなる。もちろん装備そのものを頑丈な品に交換できれば良いが、調達できそうな人里の気配は全く無かった。それでも平地を進んでいる間に素材をこしらえて置けば、無駄になることは無いだろうし、余ったものはいずれ売ることもできる。それに「身につける物は手を入れた安物で十分、高価な品は身を危険にさらす」と師である老シャーマンも言っていた。
旅に備えて事前に用意した物は、ほとんど役に立たなかった一方で、使い馴れたCleaver(肉切包丁)は持ってきて正解だった。刃ぼれしたとしても鈍器として使えたので、当面武器に困る事はなかった。そして師より渡された丈夫な革袋に何度感謝したことか。多少の雨であれば荷物を濡らさず、大げさに言えばなんでも収納できた。まだまだ若者の足どりは軽く、干し肉を食いちぎりながら、遥か先の国境であるタチノア渓谷を目指した。
数週間後、大粒の水玉が降り注ぐ雨の中、山道を行く若者の姿があった。沿って歩いて来た川を下に眺めながら、前方に広がる雄大な自然に圧倒され、巨大な動植物や見たことのない虫、鳥類などに彼は感嘆した。急斜面の崖に咲く大きな花は、雨に打たれながらも懸命に上を向き、その蜜を求めて、拳大にもなる蜂が不気味な羽音をたてていた。すぐ後ろでは、体長1mほどの蜥蜴がピタリと岩場に張り付き、花弁に虫が止まる機会をうかがっている。空には5mを越える大きさの怪鳥が、雨をものともせず群れをなしていた。
文明から遠く離れたこの地は、どうやら太古の姿を残しており、若者は目的が果たされる期待を抱いた。この渓谷を越えると西の大国ユリジットの領土となる。
タチノア渓谷は、国境を斜めにまたぐ山脈地帯の中ほどにあり、人を寄せ付けない西側の乾燥地帯から、東側の寒冷地帯へと横断するヌーズー山脈は随一の生態系を誇る。さらに西側には、砂漠地帯へと続くシド山脈が連なり、若者が越えてきたアンバール山脈とを合わせた三連の山脈地帯は、ケアンの方舟とか神々の庭などと呼ばれていた。なかでも中央に位置するヌーズー山脈は、豊富な自然とその地理的要因から、様々な国の神話やおとぎ話に登場し、その中にはシャーマンにまつわる伝説もあった。
・・・千年よりもはるか昔、まだ神や精霊が人々と共に暮らしていた頃、村には常に数人のシャーマンがいた。その年の数は4人で、精霊の扱いに長けた彼らのおかげで村はいつも平和だった。
ある時、あまりに退屈であった為、ヌーズー山脈で一番高い山の頂上まで誰が最も早く登れるか試してみよう、と小柄なシャーマンが言った。山頂には神々とその僕が住むと言われ、その怒りを買うことを恐れた年長のシャーマンは反対したが、とても退屈していた他のシャーマン達はその提案を受け入れた。
こうして、小柄なシャーマンと背の高いシャーマンと太ったシャーマンの3人が競争することになった。山の麓からそれぞれ違う道を行き、道中の障害物や怪物を退けながら山頂を目指したが、結局3人とも登頂を果たせなかった。最も精霊と親しかった子柄なシャーマンは体力が足りず、武器の技量が抜きん出ていた背の高いシャーマンは知恵が及ばず、力自慢の太ったシャーマンは俊敏さが欠けていた。
しかし、どうしても神々に会いたくなった3人は、協力してもう一度山頂を目指した。今度は頂上近くまでたどり着いたが、山頂付近の永遠に晴れることのない雷雲「黄蛇の雲」に阻まれ、ついに登頂を断念した。3人は肩を落とし、山を去ろうとした。その時、天から稲光と共に声が聞こえてくる。
「人の子よ、そなた達は存分に我らを楽しませた。褒美を取らす。又いつでも来るが良い。」
そして激しい雷鳴と落雷が止むと、地面には神々が彫ったとされる蛇の彫像が佇んでいた。喜んだシャーマン達は像を持ち帰り、村では代々それを大事に祀ったとされる・・・。
この物語には別の逸話がある。神々が贈ったのは彫像ではなく、一組の装飾品で、シャーマン達は自身こそがそれを身につけるに相応しいと主張し、互いに譲らず、激しく争い村には帰らなかった、というものである。装飾品の行方については、三日三晩戦ったが決着は付かず３つに分けて各々身に付けた、戦いで生き残った1人が持ち去った、３人とも相討ちで死んだ後に、怒った神々が落雷で黒焦げにした等、伝承した地域によって様々な結末を迎えた。共通しているのは、村に帰らなかった彼らを追って信奉者が集まり、３つの集落が出来上がったということだ。今も集落は残っており、初代のシャーマンと天空の神々を崇めている、とThe Stormserpentの伝説は語る。
そうした英雄達の冒険譚に事欠かない秘境は、人が容易に侵すことが出来ない地だということを、若者はすぐに思い知る。
in grim dawn reality however… cheap stuff are for levelling. expensive stuff are for permanent convenience. no repairs needed! unless we can consider buying buff potions & salves as repairing activity.
if i had to guess roughly… the story must be taking place around asterkarn mountains & valleys. those places are the prime location for shaman tribes. but sadly we only encounter groble tribes & beasts there.
speaking of groble tribes… the grobles, half-trolls & trogs also have strong shamanistic cultures it woulf be interesting to see how the human shaman tribes interact with them.
i sense that the luminari or some inquisition organizations will inspect the shaman tribes at some point. the stormserpent cult was outlawed because of them. who knows how many tribes got the bad ends when the luminari goes merrily in its purge of ‘heretical’ cults. though there are also some inquisitors who make good uses of shaman powers & items to aid their quests.
yes, thanks. I sketch it watching screenshot of GD
I like lore of luminari and inquisitor also. they often intersect other masteries as you say.
it can be said that the luminari & inquisitor class represent the ‘good lawful rulers’ of cairn alongside the main empire in grim dawn story (erulan empire), due to their reverence for empyrion who is the leader of primordial celestials & their massive holy purge of ‘heretical’ dark cults.
that being said, i think shaman tribes does perform a somewhat neutral role of keeping the balance in cairn by protecting the wild beasts & lands under mogdrogen’s subtle guidance. they must have been fighting against occasional c’hthonians & evil spirits that tries to corrupt cairn for their agendas. i wish there’s another shaman factions in grim dawn besides the pacifistic rhowari & evil barrowholm… shaman tribal factions like the winter king’s/korba or the stormserpent.
or maybe even a friendly groble tribe. the groble tribes are present in a lot of areas around cairn (even the cursed korvan lands). perhaps mogdrogen had some hands in their civilizations? because as of now, groble tribes & their dranghoul masters had lots of unexplored potential lores, which could deepen our understanding of cairn’s shamans.
beautiful!!
Hello everyone! My name is Alexander (or Aleksander if you want :D) Big fan from Russia. I have been playing Titan Quest since 2006 and waiting for Grim Dawn since “Titan Quest 2” rumors. Spent almost 2K hours playing these games. TQ was my favourite game since I was a kid but when GD was released I immediately fell in love. The lore of this game is stunning. I was so impressed by aetherial concept/aesthetics so I decided to compose a whole music album! 
I would like to thank all Crate Entertainment team for such experience! Much love!!!
The album can be found on all streaming platforms and bancamp but I will leave spotify link only:
Creepy, heavy, deep, I really enjoyed this album. Thanks for uploading!
its either an occultist, shaman, or necromancer that tries to convert into menhir/targo/empyrion/oleron cult.
the hammer deals physical/fire damage. but the clothes enhances vitality/bleed damage.
or maybe she’s using illusion on the hammer. or the clothes. who knows. maybe it is meant to be a thor 2h lightning shaman build.
woo, nice! it is Mantle of the Patron? Don’t summon great raven please!
I’m getting a Conjurer or Cabalist vibe from the ‘look’ of this, but the lack of birbs has me pontificating if this is a secret build that crushes Crate of Entertainment in under 9 seconds and we all need to just bask in its awesomeness.
I had no idea Scorv was taking interns!
Cute 
I wonder, what is the hammer supposed to be? One or two handed?
Yep! I was going for Shaman (think picture of shaman on skill tree window) with Cowl of Mogdrogen and Mantle of the Patron! Didn’t have enough time to buy or make antlers, but still pretty happy with how it all turned out 
Sky of Cairn 
[To view the pictures in full size, right click > show image or right click > download]
The Devotion window with constellations’ stars, but lines and graphics removed. This is what people of Cairn see when they look up to the sky in Grim Dawn 
During this project I have realized how beautiful are those 5 nebulas when you don’t have to mask them in the program. Here are 5 more pictures of Grim Dawn nebulas with Constellations’ stars:
Ascendant
Chaos
Eldritch
Order
Primordial
Updated, fixed a small mistake with nebulas
The 2560x1440 version with all nebulas, but some constellations’ stars are lost
It’s funny that I can immediately imagining Dying God or Oleron there, but clueless af where the crossroad is until I open grimtools
