The Great Warrior
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This article is about the prominent Ancient who fell in love with the Siren Queen. For friendly Ancient phantoms encountered during The Sirens' Prize, see Ancient Warrior. |
The Great Warrior was an Ancient human that lived in the Sea of Thieves long before it was rediscovered by the Pirate Lord. He eventually became the Sea King, after falling in love with the Siren Queen. His story is detailed in the Sunken Pearl and Siren Shrines.
Lore
The Great Warrior
The Great Warrior, or simply known as the Warrior, was an Ancient who was revered for his prowess in hunting and combat amongst his people. There are various accounts of him; some with conflicting information, which are detailed in the Journals found in the Sunken Kingdom Siren Shrines.
Most depictions of The Great Warrior show a man holding a spear, sometimes with an eagle roosting on his arm. However, he is also depicted as a man holding two swords above his head.
At some point during his life, The Great Warrior met the Siren Queen and fell in love with her, a love which the Siren Queen returned. They desperately wanted to be together, so the Great Warrior began searching for a means to do so.
The Merfolk and the The Ancients forbade their love, believing it to be unnatural. They saw the Great Warrior as dabbling in unnatural forces, According to an account found in journals written by Magpie's Wing crew member Mercia, it was widely believed he was trying to harness the magic for his own selfish gains. The other Ancients decided to stop the Great Warrior, so the High Priest; another prominent Ancient, created a draught that altered his voice, mimicking that of the Sea Queen's. Using this mimicry to lure the Great Warrior, The High Priest positioned himself on a high cliff and shot the Great Warrior with a poison dart. However, the Great Warrior resisted the poison. As retribution, the Great Warrior threw the High Priest from the cliff, killing him.
The Sea King
Following the Ancients' assassination attempt, the Sea Queen proposed using the Mermaid Gems to turn the Great Warrior into the a Mer; an act that was staunchly opposed by both the Merfolk and the Ancients, believing that doing so would upset the balance of the forces in the Sea of Thieves. However, the Sea Queen and the Great Warrior believed their love would overcome this, and performed the ritual anyways.
The ritual transformed the Great Warrior into the Sea King, but unleashed the Whispering Plague upon the Sea Queen and her court in the process. This plague decimated the Merfolk as it could be spread by a single scratch and severed the Merfolk their Song, transforming them into Sirens. Consequently, the Sea Queen became the Siren Queen, and the two were exiled from the Merfolk Kingdom.
The Ritual and Binding
The Ancients, despite exiling the Great Warrior, still feared his immense power. Under the pretense of establishing peace with the Sirens, the Ancients lured and then trapped the Sea King at the Shrine of Tribute. He was able to break free of their chains but did not survive the ensuing onslaught. Another ritual was performed, locking his soul in the Chest of Everlasting Sorrow. With the Sea King bound for eternity, he no longer posed a threat to the Sea of Thieves.
The Siren Queen was enraged by the Sea King's trapping, vowing to punish both the Merfolk and any who walked on land for what happened to the Sea King. The Ancients' vessels were attacked; the crew dragged to the bottom of the ocean where they were transformed into the Ocean Crawlers. The Siren Queen would make use of her army of Ocean Crawlers to wage war on land.
The Ancients, who were too weak to fight without the support of the Great Warrior and having become complacent due to the protection of the Shroud, had no chance of winning this war. However, a new warrior would rise from the Ancients. She took up her blade and strode into the sea, vowing to bring an end to the war at last. Harnessing the power of the Mermaid Gems, the Sirens were put into a deep slumber, putting an end to the war.
However, the new Warrior's victory came at a terrible cost, as she had been afflicted with the Curse of a Sunken Sorrow. Stoic until the end, she agreed to be sealed in the Shrine of Ancient Tears.
Many years later, the Sea King's bones and the Chest of Everlasting Sorrow were found by the second crew of the Silver Blade. Pursued by Skeleton Ships, they sailed over the Siren Citadel, where the cries of the chest awoke the sirens from their slumber. They believed their king had finally returned and scrambled to rescue him, dragging the Silver Blade down to the depths.
The Siren Queen did everything in her power to free her beloved's soul, but to no avail. She chose to lock it in the Silver Blade and placed his bones in a chamber outside her Throne Room, where they can still be found, adorned with his crown and his Trident of Dark Tides.
Notes
- The Sea King is never described as a Siren and his bones match that of a human, possibly meaning he was unaffected by the Whispering Plague.
- Before the Reaper’s Hideout was constructed, flowers around the grave at the northern island would light up in the shape of the Great Warrior constellation.
- The Great Warrior is described by Sudds as having a thirst for war that may live on. This could mean that he may return to life at some point.
- The Sea King's face appears on the Chest of Sorrow and the Chest of Everlasting Sorrow.
- Ramsey created the Chest of Sorrow. It is unknown how or why, as the curse upon the Chest of Everlasting Sorrow was created by the Sea King's despair.