Ragnarok incoming?

[perilisk]

So, obviously PoE is a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate.

 

In Norse Mythology, Baldur is often described as a god of light. He is most known, of course, for his death -- every plant on earth except for mistletoe had pledged not to harm him. Loki crafted an arrow of mistletoe, and tricked Baldur's blind brother Hoder into shooting it at him, killing him. This was the first in a chain of events that led to Ragnarok, the death of the gods and the old world, and the dawn of a new age (in which Baldur would be reborn).

 

Now, the death of the god of light at the hands of another god (with wood playing a bit of a role...), due to the machinations of a third, malicious one... it sounds a little like the situation in the Dyrwood, yes? It could just be a coincidence, but I'm wondering if the Saint's War was the first step in a chain of events leading to a reckoning for the gods, and I'm also wondering it there was deliberate parallel with Norse mythology.

Edited April 30, 2015 by perilisk

[gkathellar]

Aside from the death of a god, I don't really see any parallels.

 

To be honest, I don't really see any resemblance whatsoever between Norse myth and PoE's divine hierarchy. I guess you could argue that Magran is sort of distantly Loki-esque, if you squint and are blind.

[perilisk]

Aside from the death of a god, I don't really see any parallels.

 

To be honest, I don't really see any resemblance whatsoever between Norse myth and PoE's divine hierarchy. I guess you could argue that Magran is sort of distantly Loki-esque, if you squint and are blind.

 

The death of the god of light, specifically. The death of Eothas is one of the major lore items that plays a large role in initially introducing the setting, especially in Act I with the temple, Eder, Raedric's wife, etc. It just seems like a hell of a coincidence, given that he is the equivalent of the god that gave its name to the game's spiritual predecessor.

 

I was thinking of Magran as Hoder, since depending on dialog choices toward the end, you can easily come away with the notion that she was tricked into aiding Woedica by destroying Eothas (making her "blind"), though we all know better. At any rate, your main connection to Magran in-game is Durance, and she is in fact completely blind to his existence. Woedica and Thaos, for the sake of this story, share the role of Loki, the scheming, shapeshifting plotter who is something of an outsider in relation to the other gods.

Edited April 30, 2015 by perilisk