Hydros
| Hydros | |||||
 Hydros, from Ultima VIII | |||||
| Species: | Elemental Titan | ||||
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This article is about the Titan of Water on Pagan sometimes known as the "Lurker". For the water-dwelling creature, see Lurkers.
Hydros (also known as the Lurker) is one of the four Titans of Pagan, and personifies the element of water. She appears in Ultima VIII.
History[edit]
The Rise of the Titans[edit]
Hydros and her kind became the ruling deities of Pagan when the people of the world turned to the worship of the natural elements, abandoning their previous adherence to the Zealan gods of emotion. Such titanic worship rose to prominence following a gambit by the Guardian, who deceived the people of Pagan into believing that an evil entity known as the "Destroyer" would soon attack, and that the threat could only be turned aside by the living elements.
Unbeknownst to the people of Pagan, the Guardian and the Destroyer were one and the same. When the Destroyer seemingly arrived, the Titans manifested and appeared to defeat him, and thereafter turned their wrath upon the land, decimating the Zealan people and destroying the majority of Pagan's landmass. During this age of upheaval, Hydros assailed the realm with floods and storms, dragging those who drowned in her waters down into the Sea of Rains to become her servitors.[1]
The First Tempest[edit]
After the Earth Titan, Lithos, established his pact with Moriens, the people of Pagan began to inter their dead in the ground. Jealous that the bulk of mankind's dead should belong to another, Hydros flooded the city of Tenebrae, and drowned the beloved of the Necromancer, Kalen.
Kalen, desperate to have his lover's body, travelled to the Lurker's underwater city and begged that she return the woman to him, only to be rebuffed by the cruel Titan, who taunted him as she paraded her new servant before him. Determined to have his revenge on Hydros, Kalen used the blackrock-rich silt which littered the crater atop Mount Morgaelin to seal the Titan within her Temple. When he threatened to destroy the trapped Hydros by demolishing her resting place, she offered him the return of his lover and a modicum of her powers should he let her live. Kalen accepted her offer and thereafter became the first Tempest, passing magical mastery of the waters on to his blood descendants throughout the centuries.[2][3]
Defeat by the Avatar[edit]
During the Avatar's travels in Pagan, the hero came to Hydros' resting place at Carthax Lake and asked that she teach the art of Tempestry. The Titan agreed to grant this boon should the Avatar free her, but her promises proved empty when the hero ultimately did so, with the deceitful entity bidding the adventurer be glad for the gift of a spared life.
Later, the Avatar would face Hydros on the ethereal plane and use the Tear of Seas to defeat her, reaping her powers so as to use them to forge a means to escape Pagan.[4]
Personality[edit]
Hydros was universally regarded as a deceitful and cruel being, whose wrath could only be stayed by the might of the Tempests. The denizens of Pagan greatly abhorred the notion of dying at sea, for fear of coming into her power.[5]
Lore[edit]
| “ | Then tragedy befell them as Hydros, considerably displeased with the pact between Lithos and the Pagans, sent a great wave to wash across the city, pulling Kalen's beloved into the seas. As the people began repairs to the city, Kalen headed to the Temple of Flowing Waters. There Kalen begged for the return of his betrothed, but Hydros refused his request. Instead she revealed to him the image of his love in her new form, pale and sickly as that of one of the Lurker's minions. – from The Chronicle of Pagan (Ultima VIII)
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Trivia[edit]
- Hydros' name derives from the Greek word ὕδωρ (hydro), meaning "water."
- When freed, Hydros boasts that she will kill the newly discovered Tempest, Devon, but never makes good on her threat. After her initial declaration, this plot thread is never again mentioned and may be evidence of material which was cut from the final release.
- Hydros is voiced by Christina Saur. In the French and German translations, the character is played by Florence Gomard and Kathrin Tucker, respectively.
- When hostile, Hydros will manifest two additional "tentacles" (seen below).
Gallery[edit]
Hydros displaying three "tentacles" as opposed to her usual one.
External Links[edit]
- Ultima VIII – Talking to trapped Hydros (YouTube) – The Avatar meets Hydros for the first time
References[edit]
- ↑ Morris, Andrew P.. "History". The Chronicle of Pagan (Ultima VIII). Origin Systems Pages 4–5.
- ↑ Morris, Andrew P.. "History". The Chronicle of Pagan (Ultima VIII). Origin Systems Page 7.
- ↑ Mythran. The Objective History of Pagan (Ultima VIII – in-game).
- ↑ Hydros. Ethereal Software’s Ultima VIII transcript. Ultima VIII.
- ↑ Devon. Ethereal Software’s Ultima VIII transcript. Ultima VIII.