Urgoz
“Urgoz comes at night, night, night...
To give us all a fright, fright, fright!
Don't break a branch or stomp a shrew...
Or Urgoz will break you, you, you...
Urgoz...will...break...you!
Urgoz is the spiritual incarnation of the decay of the Echovald Forest, and one of two spirits of the Echovald, alongside his twin, Dreslav.[1]
Biography[edit]
Early years[edit]
Urgoz acted as a spiritual protector of the Echovald Forest, ensuring that the creatures and plants of the forest would decay while his twin Dreslav had them grow. The two balanced each other, keeping the forest in equilibrium. Some time prior to the Jade Wind, the great-great-great-grandmother of the Kurzick Dunmel Gorhopf would discover a link between Urgoz and the wardens of the Echovald.[2][3]
In 1382 CC (872 AE), the Jade Wind caused by Shiro Tagachi's death wail struck the forest, petrifying its inhabitants and driving Urgoz into a frenzy. Urgoz began blaming humanity for the damage done to the forest and became more aggressive.[4] Dreslav attempted to stop his twin's rampage but was struck down by Urgoz and forced into the body of a warden.[1] Considering the forest his domain after striking down his sibling, Urgoz began a campaign to rid the forest of its human inhabitants, leading an army of his wardens alongside corrupted dredge refugees, drinkers, and wurms. He twisted the plants of the forest into hostile and animalistic forms, driving them to attack the Kurzicks.[4] Following the wardens beginning to attack Kurzick settlements, the Kurzicks speculated that Urgoz could have been either corrupted or slain in the chaos of the Jade Wind.[2] While his servants battled the Kurzicks, Urgoz went into a resting state in one of the most productive amber mines in the Echovald, and only awoke upon the return of the vengeful Shiro Tagachi's spirit and the Affliction.
Guild Wars Factions[edit]
During the time of the Affliction in 1582 CC (1072 AE), the Kurzicks became desperate enough to plan to take the fight to Urgoz. They did not believe the tree spirit could truly be defeated as it could mean the end of the forest itself, but they needed to open access to the amber and keep Urgoz's forces in check, or their entire economy would collapse. They managed to persuade a group of human heroes to break into the spirit's lair and carve a path through the beasts which the embodiment of decay had claimed for himself. Eventually, Urgoz himself went to confront the intruders, mocking their attempts as "folly of fighting the inevitable" while suggesting that he had foreseen their arrival and that they were destined to die in his warren. However, the spirit was seemingly destroyed after a fierce battle in which he had used the plant life of the forest against the adventurers. With Urgoz having seemingly disappeared, his twin was freed from his imprisonment.[1]
End of Dragons[edit]
Over the years, the children of the Echovald developed a rhyming game named after Urgoz. One child would put on a blindfold while the others linked hands in a circle. The blindfolded child would spin in a circle with a stick in hand, leading the chant. At the end, they would rip off their blindfold and tackle the child the stick pointed at. The rhymes acted as a reminder of Urgoz's status as punisher of those who dared harm Echovald.
In 1845 CC (1335 AE), Dreslav encountered the Pact Commander, and speculated on Urgoz's ultimate fate, and whether he had been slain for good. Dreslav explained that he hoped that someday Urgoz would recover so that the twins could once more balance the forest together.[1]
See also[edit]
- Associated items
References[edit]
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The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Urgoz. |
- ^ a b c d Dreslav
- ^ a b Wicked Wardens
- Dunmel Gorhopf: For generations, my family has worked to protect the forest and its precious resources. In fact, it was my great-great-great grandmother who first noticed the connection between the wardens and the spirit of the forest. She realized that the wardens were doing the work of the forest spirit, protecting innocent travelers, punishing those who harmed the forest's creatures, and helping to guide the forest through the cycle of life and death.
- Dunmel Gorhopf: After the Jade Wind came, we thought that the forest spirit had been destroyed or corrupted, for the wardens turned hostile and began attacking anyone and anything in sight. And now, this new plague seems to have made them even more crazed and hostile.
- ^ Vash
- Vash: Years ago, Urgoz was the protector of Echovald Forest. At that time, we Kurzicks worked in tandem with Urgoz and his Wardens, maintaining order and balance within the forest, and keeping it free from any evil taint. After the Jade Wind passed over Echovald, the Wardens became increasingly violent, attacking our people on sight, and Urgoz himself is now more of a demon lord than forest guardian. Perhaps this sounds extreme, but I really don't think he will be satisfied until he has slain every last one of us. We need to destroy him before there are any more Kurzick casualties. By chance, I have found a secret way into his very lair. If you are up to the challenge and wish to show your loyalty to my people, I will send you in there.
- ^ a b Guild Wars Factions Prima Guide
- Urgoz has gone mad and will stop at nothing to eliminate the human interlopers on what he considers his territory. As the spiritual incarnation of the Echovald, he commands remarkable abilities as well as dozens (perhaps hundreds) of corrupted servants. [...]
- Urgoz, the ancient, tree-like spirit of the forest, was corrupted by Shiro's death wail two hundred years ago. As Shiro's residual influence slowly transformed the tree spirit, he became more hateful and twisted, and the creatures of the Echovald fell under his sway (especially wardens and the Dredge). Now Urgoz has declared war on the Kurzicks infecting "his" forest, and as luck would have it, he has chosen one of the most productive amber mines in the Echovald as his home base. The Kurzicks do not believe the tree spirit (now more demon than spirit) can truly be defeated—if it was, it could mean the end of the forest itself—but they desperately need to open access to the amber and keep Urgoz's forces in check, or their entire economy will collapse.
