Shadow of the Dragon
Shadow of the Dragon
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“While some believe it is immortal and cannot die, others do not. To date, there is no proof in either direction.
The Shadow of the Dragon is the form taken by the shadow of evil that has infected the Dream of Dreams. If the player character is a sylvari, it blocks the path to their awakening and must be vanquished before the player can enter the world. Physically, it resembles a dragon champion and seems to be composed of plant matter, with an orange glow at its core not dissimilar to that of the Summoned Husks.
Although Caithe attributes its presence to the Nightmare Court, the Pale Tree believes it to be a manifestation of the player's Wyld Hunt to defeat Zhaitan.
Biography[edit]
Personal story[edit]
In early 1325 AE, the Shadow of the Dragon attacked the jungle of the Dream of Dreams alongside an army of the Nightmare Court's hounds, some suffering from more sinister influences, all aspects of the Shadow's poison. When a sylvari Dreamer, aided by Caithe, a sylvari hero, organised to drive off the beast, the Shadow of the Dragon exhaled poison at a plant bridge that would allow the group to fight back against it, collapsing it. Shortly after, it was repaired by Alboris, a fellow Dreamer, and the group charged the swarm of nightmare hounds defending the creature.
Destroying the nightmare hounds, the Shadow took notice and erupted from the ground, and was eventually driven off by the protectors of the Dream. When asked about it, Caithe explained that it was an aspect of the Nightmare Court's poison. However, the Pale Tree declared that it represented an Elder Dragon, namely Zhaitan, and also stated that Caithe's dream had been similar.
Living World Season 2[edit]
In 1327 AE, a year after Zhaitan's death, the Elder Dragon of Plant and Mind, Mordremoth, awoke with the aid of the crazed sylvari secondborn named Ceara. Mordremoth attacked several locations around Tyria and the Dreamer who had slain the Shadow's avatar in the Dream, now the Commander of the Pact, called a summit with several major world leaders hosted by the Pale Tree within the Grove. During this summit, the Shadow of the Dragon attacked the Grove alongside a number of Mordrem, including draconic tendrils that empowered it. It was then revealed to be a champion of Mordremoth and dealt near-fatal wounds to the Pale Tree. Though it was driven off, the wounds it dealt to the Pale Tree lasted for at least 5 years.
Around this period of time, a treatise on the Shadow of the Dragon was written by Scholar Caterin of the Durmand Priory, noting that while several sylvari had declared to have seen it in their Dream, only the Commander's testimony of its appearance had any validity and that all other accounts were likely hoaxes. It was also mentioned to exist within both the Dream and the physical world.
Later that year, while tracking down Caithe and Glint's Egg, the Pact Commander encountered the Shadow after reliving Caithe's memories of Wynne's death. While battling the beast, it summoned creatures of shadow to snuff out divine fire, along with shadowy tendrils resembling the ones it had summoned while attacking the Pale Tree. After a fierce struggle, the dragon champion attempted to flee the cavern where the battle took place and was finished off for good by the Pact Commander. However, its interference prevented the Commander from reaching the Pact fleet in time, and the fleet was destroyed and the Pact devastated.
Story involvement[edit]
Personal story[edit]
- Chapter 1: Following the Dream
Living World Season 2[edit]
- Episode 4: The Dragon's Reach: Part 2
- Episode 8: Point of No Return
Combat abilities[edit]
In Fighting the Nightmare[edit]
- Behavior
- Changes attack pattern at low health.
- Skills
- Summon Plant Wolves - AoE attack that summons Nightmare Hounds and Sinister Nightmare Hounds.
- Stomp -
Knockdown in melee range. - Bad Breath - A breath attack that inflicts a large amount of
Poisoned damage. - Entangling Thorns - AoE attack that does damage over time.
In The World Summit[edit]
- Behavior
- Has different attacks at each position taken.
- Only becomes vulnerable when all Dragon Tendrils are killed.
- Skills
- Summon Dragon Tendril - Summons Dragon Tendrils to fight for the dragon.
- Summon Mordrem - Summons a random Mordrem to the field.
- Dragon's Claw - Deals a massive amount of damage to any foe within a certain area.
- Draconic Impact - An area-wide attack that deals massive damage and knocks down.
- Draconic Impact - An area-wide attack that deals massive damage and
- Bad Breath - A sticky glob that damages and poisons.
- Tangle Line - Spreads thorny vines through an area,
crippling and 
Bleeding any walking through. - Thorn Spit - Traps the target in a Mordrem Pod.
In The Mystery Cave[edit]
- Behavior
- Phase 1: Dragon circles its thorny arena while jungle vine tendrils attack.
- Phase 2: The dragon will dig itself under the ground and claw and bite. Various explosive pods will spawn in the arena, exploding if the player gets too close. They also explode after a set amount of time.
- Phase 3: The dragon's head will emerge from the center of the arena, flailing about as it is stuck in the divine fire circle.
- After one cycle of the phases, the dragon will throw stones from the ceiling. Shadow creatures will also try to destroy lit parts of the divine fire circle.
- Skills
- Claw Burst - Slams its claw down at the target, inflicting heavy damage and knocking them down.
- Claw Burst - Sends a cascade of rocks along the arena, dealing light damage and crippling the target.
- Dive Impact - Roars, knocking back the target.
- Maw Burst - Launches its head out of the ground, sending the target flying into the air.
- Rock Fall - Causes parts of the cavern to collapse on the arena.
- Thundering Impact - Smashes its claw down in the center of the arena.
- Thundering Impact - Sends a wave of damaging sand up into the air along the edges of the arena.
- Tripvine Explosion - Explodes Triggerblossoms connected by a vine after it is triggered.
Gallery[edit]
Concept art
Notes[edit]
- Some of the dragon's abilities will instead show the attack being inflicted from an "Unknown" entity.
Trivia[edit]
- The Shadow of the Dragon is the subject of the book A Treatise on the Shadow of the Dragon found in the Durmand Priory's Special Collections.
See also[edit]
- Associated items
