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Soo-Won

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Mortals are little flames—brilliant, hot, then gone. Those who face eternity easily forget what a lifetime means. What an ending means.

End of Dragons teaser trailer

Soo-Won is the Elder Dragon of Water and Life,[1] often referred to as the Water Dragon or the Deep Sea Dragon, and the second Elder Dragon to awaken in modern times.

Biography[edit]

Early years[edit]

Before the world of Tyria existed, there was only the void,[3] that is when Soo-Won created the world and the other Elder Dragons (her children, or scions) in Mother's Lament, so as not to feel alone. Initially the other five dragons were created as mindless tools to bring balance and harmony to the fabric of magic, by filtering the Void into six domains of magic in the All. Over time Soo-Won's children began to develop personalities and fascination, so they soon left Soo-Won for the world, becoming hostile towards their siblings and their mother.[4]

Soo-Won awakens in the Unending Ocean.

Soo-Won, like the other Elder Dragons, is assumed to have last awakened 10,000 years ago, around the time of the disappearance of the Great Giants, and then fallen back into slumber after consuming all the world's available magic. Little information about this dragon has survived to the present day. Ancient jotun stelae mention a "sextet of swallowers" which are said to have consumed the world several times over.[5]

The Tome of the Five True Gods, believed to have been written by the first humans to walk on the face of Tyria, has a section dedicated to the Elder Dragons albeit it has been damaged over the following centuries. In it, the Six Human Gods revealed the names of the Elder Dragons although the section detailing the deep sea dragon, including its name and spheres of influence, is illegible with portions damaged and missing.[6] The same tome also indicated that the first letter of Soo-Won's name was "S" (which would later be corroborated by Taimi).[7]

Interim years[edit]

Dragonrise

The effects of Soo-Won's alleged influence during the latest dragonrise were first felt when the krait suddenly and unexpectedly erupted into quaggan lands around 50 years ago, circa 1275 AE, invading their territory and destroying their civilization and seemingly killing their goddess Mellaggan.[8][9] Given that Elder Dragons had been awakening at approximately 50-year intervals, and the fact that the krait did not flee by choice,[10] scholars began speculating that the krait had been fleeing from the newly-awakened Soo-Won.[11] Some quaggans mentioned fleeing not just because of the krait but because of the Elder Dragons as well.[12]

Rising of Orr

In 1219 AE, the Elder Dragon Zhaitan's awakening caused the Rising of Orr, creating a tsunami that threatened Cantha. With the assistance of the saltspray dragon Kuunavang, Soo-Won shielded Cantha from destruction. Kuunavang went on to become her champion, hearing the Water Dragon's thoughts but not controlled by her.

Over a hundred years later, the Durmand Priory scholar Decimus the Historian wrote the documentary, The Movement of the World, which mentioned an Elder Dragon rising from the deepest parts of the seas and creating tentacled minions out of the water and sporadic shipwrecked sailors washing ashore.[13] However, this document was being constantly challenged and revised, and kept from public view.[14]

Personal story

In 1325 AE, the Inquest captured what they identified as a dragon minion and were preparing a water-themed area called "Zone Blue" in the Infinite Coil Reactor for it to be stored in before the Reactor's destruction. However, the minion proved to be so big that the Inquest had to overhaul the hub for the subject.[15] The lab focused on Elder Dragon minions, and that zone was not attributed to any of the other five Elder Dragons.

Living World Season 1

Later that year, the aquatic karka migrated to the island of Southsun Cove in the Sea of Sorrows, having fled their home. In fleeing, they avoided Orr for similar reasons that made them leave their habitat.[16]

Path of Fire
Dragon depicted during The Way Forward. It is later shown as a blue triangle, the color representing Soo-Won.

In 1330 AE, the Pact Commander was subjected to a vision while exploring the Forgotten city of Kesho deep in the Elon Riverlands. In this vision, which explained Glint's plan to replace the ravenous Elder Dragons with more benevolent balancers of magic, the Commander briefly saw a menacing glimpse of what may have been Soo-Won.

The Icebrood Saga

In 1332 AE, the asuran researcher Taimi wrote that Canthan and Elonian sailors had recounted tales of strange creatures heretofore unknown emerging from the oceans, possibly tied to Soo-Won's resurgence.[17] She also speculated that the Elder Dragon might possess a degree of control over water and the oceans. The Pact Commander did not see any evidence of these creatures during their recent campaign in Elona, however.

Following the deaths of the Elder Dragons Jormag and Primordus in a clash at Anvil Rock in 1334 AE, the norn celebrated Dragon Bash with the belief that the Elder Dragon threat to Tyria had finally come to an end. However, some norn speculated about the existence of Soo-Won which they believed would be more powerful than all the other Elder Dragons and was surrounded by tentacled beasts of terrible ferocity.[18]

End of Dragons[edit]

Act I
The massive Jade Monument of New Kaineng City built in honor of Soo-Won, celebrating the prosperity and technological advances she provided to Cantha.[19]

While the latest ascendant Elder Dragon Aurene was recovering from the Aetherblades' attack at Seitung Province in 1335 AE, she was contacted by the deep sea dragon. Aurene had heard the voice in earlier brief conversations but had not recognized the voice as belonging to an Elder Dragon until she had arrived in Cantha.

Caithe and the Pact Commander, the people who had bonded with Aurene, were pulled into a strange underwater vision and witnessed the latter half of the two remaining Elder Dragons' conversations during which Aurene identified the deep sea dragon as Soo-Won. To Aurene's surprise, the deep sea dragon revealed that she was the mother of the other Elder Dragons and thus Aurene's great-grandmother. Having learned of the deaths of her scions and the damage they had wrought to the world, Soo-Won wished Aurene to take her place as the One Elder Dragon to balance the All, just like Soo-Won herself had once been the only Elder Dragon before the birth of her scions.

However, the Commander and the rest of the Dragon's Watch guild remained skeptical after the exchange had ended. They reminded Aurene of her earlier interactions with the manipulative Elder Dragon Jormag, and that Soo-Won could also have ulterior motives. Aurene assured them that Soo-Won was different from Jormag although she would need time to think about her great-grandmother's proposal. Listening to the exchange, the guild's latest ally Joon informed them that Soo-Won was well known in Cantha as the legendary dragon who had saved the nation from the aftermath of the Great Tsunami and how Soo-Won had formed a pact with the saltspray dragon Kuunavang to protect Cantha since. Despite their role as protectors, however, the two dragons had hardly been seen in public since those days.[2]

Act II

In the Future in Jade, it is discovered that the jade power used throughout Cantha contains dragon magic, specifically Soo-Won's. Aurene reveals that the creation of jade power was not solely Joon's idea, and that Soo-Won has contributed to this idea. Joon then volunteers that Soo-Won resides within a top secret reactor facility. The underwater Yong Reactor facility is explored during Deepest Secrets. It is noted that Soo-Won has volunteered to be at the facility, and that she is not being held captive in the reactor chamber. The flow of magic between Soo-Won and the ley-lines is managed/filtered, and magic shed by Soo-Won is harnessed into dragonjade. Soo-Won states that unfiltered magic has slowly become more corrupted.

An Atherblade incursion into the facility by Ankka with her extraction device causes loss of reactor control. Soo-Won however escapes the facility, and begins to lose her mind due to the void magic.

Act III

During Fallout, Navan is revealed to be Soo-Won's champion Kuunavang in mortal form. Dialogue with Kuunavang provides further background information on the void corruption and the now-failed reactor agreement with Joon. In To Catch a Spider, Aurene and Caithe catch up with Soo-Won in the Jade Sea, and ally with local forces - confrontations with the void are occurring more regularly following the destruction of the reactor facility. The intention was to Ankka's extractor to extract the void magic from Soo-Won, but the subsequent events in Empty prevent the commander from using it.

Act IV
Aurene, Caithe, Joon, Navan, and the Pact Commander giving their goodbyes to Soo-Won.

Due to their bond with Aurene, the Commander and Caithe were pulled into Soo-Won's mindscape again when the Commander was about to visit Joon. The pair witnessed how the Water Dragon's mind had been growing more and more corrupted from the Void's influence. Upon sensing the Commander's presence, Soo-Won asked them why they had not killed her yet to prevent the Void from overwhelming her. The Commander urged Soo-Won to hold on a little longer until Dragon's Watch and the Canthans could come up with a solution to purify her. However, the Water Dragon revealed herself to be too far gone when the Void began speaking through her tormented mind, culminating with Void creatures attacking the Commander and Caithe in the mindscape.

Aurene suggested that killing Soo-Won without first draining the magic within her could unleash the Void onto Tyria.[20] An agreement was eventually reached between Joon and the Commander in order to create new extraction devices to drain the Void from Soo-Won.

Act V

The extractors were replicated by Joon, and the Commander helped install the perimeter devices throughout Dragon's End. During the Battle for the Jade Sea, the Void-corrupted Soo-Won lured additional Void magic into the Harvest Temple, however this battle only delays the onset of the void. Aurene shared her power with the Commander to enable deployment of further extraction devices during The Only One, resulting in the cleansing of aspects of the six domains of magic, ending with the extracted Dragonvoid being defeated. After Soo-Won's graceful death, Aurene takes Soo-Won's place as the one remaining Elder Dragon to balance the All.[2]

Locations[edit]

Cantha

Story involvement[edit]

End of Dragons story[edit]

Event involvement[edit]

The Battle for the Jade Sea
Invasion (map icon).png [Group Event] Quell the Branded Void corruption (80) (voice only)
Red Boss.png [Group Event] Defeat Soo-Won (80)

Combat abilities[edit]

Story[edit]

Open world[edit]

Primary article: Defeat Soo-Won#Walkthrough
Effects
  • Vengeance (Mordrem).png Enraged - Increases damage dealt by 100% (at 20% HP)
Skills
  • Bite - Charges to the other side of the platform and deals massive, unavoidable damage to all enemies caught in her path. Invulnerability can mitigate this attack.
  • Claw Slap - Swipes the area in front, dealing heavy unavoidable damage, Knockdown.png knocking down enemies, and applying 10 stacks of Bleeding.png Bleeding and a stack of Crippled.png Crippled. Invulnerability and stability can mitigate this attack.
  • Nightmare Devastation - Channels a massive tsunami with her tail that deals lethal, unavoidable damage. Invulnerability can mitigate this attack.
  • Severed from Body - Failed to return to your body after wisp phase, deals 99,999 damage.
  • Tail Slam - Slams its tail for massive, unavoidable damage and knocks back enemies. Invulnerability can mitigate this attack.
  • Tsunami Slam - Slams an area and deals lethal, unavoidable damage, unleashing a watery shockwave that deals heavy damage, knocksback enemies, and applies 5 stacks of Vulnerability.png Vulnerability and a stack of Weakness.png Weakness. Invulnerability can mitigate this attack.
  • Void Cataclysm -
  • Void Purge - Discharges void energy onto the ground that pulse low damage and the Void Corruption.png Void Corruption effect.

Dialogue[edit]

Primary article: Mother's Lament#Ambient dialogue

Gallery[edit]

Screenshots
Concept art and wallpapers
Renders
Portraits
Other

The following pieces of concept art are speculated to be of subjects related to Soo-Won.

Related achievements[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • Initially unnamed, the deep sea dragon's name was teased to start with an S in the Special Collections during Living World Season 2. Her name was eventually revealed as Soo-Won during the Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons story mission Your Kind of People, along with other information, including her relations with other Elder Dragons.
  • Soo-Won's awakening date is unclear based on the different sources available in-game. The timeline of her suggested actions in The Mostly Harmless Quaggan blog post and in various in-game NPC dialogue do not seem to align with the cinematic shown during The Machine, which depicts the Elder Dragons as parts of The All, with each Elder Dragon represented as an orb, awakening in order.[21] This cinematic would suggest Soo-Won awakened at some time between 1120 (the awakening of Primordus) and 1165 AE (Jormag).
    • In City of Hope, minions of every Elder Dragon except the deep sea dragon are fought in the same sequence as in the cinematic during The Machine. Where a minion of the deep sea dragon presumably would have been fought, the player instead has to contend with springs of damaging salt water that erupt from the ground. Some players suspect this represents the order of awakening, which would mean that the deep sea dragon awakened sometime between Primordus and Jormag, much earlier than previously thought.
    • Despite this, there are several sources which explicitly state that Jormag, not Soo-Won, was the second Elder Dragon to awaken,[22][23] although these sources do predate the Living World and expansions in which the above content appear.

Trivia[edit]

  • Soo-Won is voiced by Kelly Hu.
  • Soo-Won has her own leitmotif, called "Soo-Won's Theme", which was composed by Maclaine Diemer.
  • Soo-Won has been planned to be the Mother at least since Living World Season 4.[24]
  • Soo-Won was named after the mother of one of the cinematic animators at Arenanet, Da-Hee Im.[25]
  • Soo is a Korean name, with the most common meaning being "water" (水; 물 수).
  • The lack of information about Soo-Won was meant to give a sense of foreboding for the open oceans.[26]
  • While her existence and exact nature are not well-known to the average Tyrian, before appearing in the game Soo-Won was described as having "the desire to consume, corrupt, and destroy."[27]
  • Due to the lack of an official name, players tended to refer the dragon as the "deep sea dragon" (or DSD for short), a name that has now been used by characters in-game.[28] Others, even those as powerful as Imperator Bangar Ruinbringer, know nothing about the Deep Sea Dragon.[29] Another popular nickname was "Bubbles", but after learning the dragon's name could begin with the letter S, the nicknames "Steve" and "Selbbub" (bubbles backwards) became popularised.
  • Soo-Won's model was created by Kate Pfeilschiefter.[30]
    • "The elder dragon of the deep, mother of the elder dragon pantheon, and essentially the primary deity to the Canthan nation."[30]
    • "Soo-Won is intended to be elegant, wise, ancient and a bit worn around the edges from her vast amount of time in existence. She was originally going to be a lot more pale and ghostly but lookdev ended up skewing her more colorful over time."[30]
    • Various fishes were used for the inspiration for the scales and fins; koi, betta fish, fancy goldfish, arapaima, salamanders, salmon, eels, frilled sharks, baleen whales, coral, feather duster worms and others.[30]
    • Both Soo-Won and Kuunavang use a special iridescence material ArenaNet developed with the intent to be used on all the scaled Canthan creatures.[30]
  • During the Defeat Soo-Won event and while in Mother's Lament, Soo-Won's model is the only one unaffected by the Bobbled! effected grated by the Bobblehead Laboratory. [31]

See also[edit]

Related items

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Facet of Water and Life
  2. ^ a b c Your Kind of People
    Unknown: When I...created the others, I thought..."I don't have to be alone anymore."
    Aurene: The other Elder Dragons...? You were their...
    Unknown: Mm. I was imperfect, you see. Attuned to water, but not the other elements.
    Unknown: I thought my children would bring balance and harmony to the fabric of magic, but...
    Aurene: Then what happens now, Soo-Won?
    Soo-Won: Now you take my place, little one. [...]
    Caithe: That was the first Elder Dragon—the mother of all dragons. Isn't that right, Aurene?
    Aurene: Kralkatorrik's mother. My great-grandmother... [...]
    Aurene: We'd spoken before. A few times. I didn't know who she was until we came here. [...]
    Aurene: Soo-Won isn't Jormag. [...]
    Joon: Well, Soo-Won is the hero of that story. Rising from the depths, turning back the waters and the dead. Poetic stuff.
    Joon: People say she formed a pact with Kuunavang to protect Cantha. Saltspray dragon. Local. Hero in her own right.
    Joon: But, aside from a few rumors here and there, they've hardly been seen since.
  3. ^ Fallout - Dialogue with Kuunavang
  4. ^ Mother's Lament ambient dialogue
  5. ^ Scholar Caterin
  6. ^ Tome of the Five True Gods and dialogue about it from Hidden Arcana
  7. ^ Taimi's Game
    Taimi: Nothing on Kralkatorrik, and ditto for... Oh, what's its name? Brain malfunction. Starts with an s...?
  8. ^ Pastkeeper
  9. ^ The Mostly Harmless Quaggan
  10. ^ Nanacatl
  11. ^ Magister Ela Makkay
  12. ^ Bullablopp
  13. ^ The Movement of the World
  14. ^ Ghosts of Ascalon Follow-Up Interview, KillTenRats.com
  15. ^ Infinite Coil Reactor ambient dialogue
  16. ^ Post by Matthew Medina in "No Risen Karkas", Old Guild Wars 2 Forums (Archived)
  17. ^ Elder Dragons: Notes from the Field
  18. ^ Dragon Bash ambient dialogue
    Local (female): Well, we did it, I guess. All the Elder Dragons have been...bashed.
    Local (male): There's one more.
    Local (female): Maybe.
    Local (male): There is.
    Local (female): What's it matter to you?
    Local (male): Jormag, and the Sons, are gone, and that's a good thing.
    Local (male): I just believe the stories, and that there is one more dragon...
    Local (male): More powerful than all the others. Deep beneath the seas. Surrounded by tentacled beasts of terrible ferocity.
    Local (male): "S."
    Local (female): Okay, okay, I think you need to go talk to a shaman.
    Local (male): No, no! I just find it interesting.
  19. ^ Jade Monument (Hero Challenge)
  20. ^ Weight of the World
    Caithe: If the Void's made it to the deepest corners of her mind...
    <Character name>: Then it is over.
    <Character name>: Is it true? Do we have to kill her?
    Aurene: Yes, but...not with all of this inside her... It would unleash the Void onto the world...
    Aurene: And the world would not survive it.
    Aurene: Go, Champion! You must reach Joon! She's the only hope we have!
  21. ^ Animated gif of orbs in the cinematic
  22. ^ Dialogue with Thyrie Bylund says that, as far as the norn are aware, Jormag was the second Elder Dragon to awaken, and did so in 1165 AE.
  23. ^ The Art of Guild Wars 2
    A hundred and fifty years ago, the second of the great dragons awakened in the far north, driving the norn into the southern Shiverpeaks. Some creatures—and norn—were not lucky enough to escape the dragon, and became corrupted by its icy power. We foreshadowed this in Guild Wars: Eye of the North, but it got better and better in concept art for Guild Wars 2.
  24. ^ Tweet by Connor Fallon, Twitter.com:
    Deciphered from Rot13, it says "The Deep Sea Dragon was always "Mother." That's why there were waves heard when Kralk said the word. Was really subtle, haha, Tom Abernathy had to point out that they'd planted it there to me"
  25. ^ Tweet by Da-Hee Im, Twitter.com
  26. ^ Ghosts of Ascalon Follow-Up Interview, KillTenRats.com
  27. ^ Interview GW2 Univers Virtuels, GW2.univers.virtuels.net (Archived)
  28. ^ Hidden Arcana
    Historian: That's a map of the All. I like to think of them as spirit realms. That's Tyria in the middle. All those other circles are spheres of influence and powerful magic.
    <Character name>: What about the letters? Are those...
    Historian: Yeah. First letter of each dragon's name.
    <Character name>: Who's S?
    Historian: Don't know any more than that. That was all they could get from the Tome of the Five True Gods. It's too damaged. Some of these scholars in here would kill to know the full name of that dragon.
    <Character name>: Is it the deep sea dragon?
    Historian: They think so. Me, I think they probably got the letter wrong, but who knows. They're still translating and trying to fill in lost pieces.
  29. ^ Post by Julia Nardin in "About the Charr victim complex, and Anet's hatred for Ascalon", Guild Wars 2 Forums
  30. ^ a b c d e GW2 End of Dragons: Soo-Won, artstation.com
  31. ^ Post by commander-gloryforge, tumblr.com