Part 16: Phalanx, the Thirteenth Colossus
Now then! Here's the really awesome colossus:
Blip - With commentary (Polsy) | No commentary (Polsy)
Youtube - With commentary Part 1, Part 2
Phalanx's location on the map: E-6
Since he's definitely a favorite, Phalanx has lotsa awesome pictures. BEHOLD
Artwork/Pictures -
Phalanx Centerfold, left page (Artbook)
Phalanx Centerfold, right page (Artbook)
Phalanx (Artbook)
Phalanx (Artbook)
Phalanx (Concept art)
Phalanx (Early version #1)
Phalanx (Early version #2)
Phalanx
Phalanx
Phalanx
Phalanx
Phalanx
Phalanx
Phalanx
Phalanx
Wander, Mono, & Lord Emon (Concept art for their costumes)
Dormin's Hint -
"The power of the sword will not get thou close to it..."
Notes -
- Phalanx is a dragon of sorts! He is 557 feet (170m) long and has a wingspan of 200 feet (61m). To put this in to perspective, Hydrus & Dirge were both right around 280 feet & 260 feet in length, respectively. His wingspan is over 2/3 of their lengths.
- The name Phalanx is Greek for "finger", which is a pretty good summary of his overall shape.
- As shown in the video, he is the only 100% completely passive colossus. Coincidentally, the only other colossus that comes close to his scale of passiveness is Avion, our other flyer.
- A small detail (but interesting one nonetheless) is that Phalanx has THREE eyes. One of these is on his right side, whilst his left has two eyes. I tried digging around on this, but, as you'd guess, Google results are full of DRAGON BALL Z and WOW RAID BOSS details
- Adding to the depressing mood as you down this guy, he has a very distinctive shriek/roar
Something to discuss...
So! We have our first appearance of storyline in quite a long time! You might recognize the important-looking-dude's mask from the opening cutscene (right after where Wander places Mono down in the Shrine). This guy is Lord Emon, and he is the leader (or a high-up member) of the sect that probably guarded the sword and views Dormin as evil. You can tell this by the scripture-esque lines about the Forbidden Land and Dormin in the intro played alongside a speech by Emon (and a display of his mask). Given how they happen to be showing up at this taboo-laden region while we are still at work, it's safe to say that they aren't coming by to sell bibles on sheer coincidence.
One nifty thing I've been curious about is the mask itself that Emon wears. You'll notice that all of the colossi are wearing a mask of some manner. Adding to that, Emon (who is probably a high-priest) is wearing one that is very similar in design. The touch of adding that seemingly minor accessory in gives rise to the idea that whatever god they follow/worship probably has some major tie-in (or common root) to Dormin as well as the Forbidden Lands proper. Maybe something happened in the past, and the people who built/followed Dormin in his lands ended up "bailing" and followed another god instead. Alternatively, it could just be an "us" versus "them" approach. Let's rule out the creeping suspicion that Dormin could be an evil spirit of sorts. Let's call him "neutral". Applying the same mindset to Emon's sect, you should bear in mind that the whole reason Mono is dead is because she was sacrificed due to some prophecy about her destiny/fate. Not exactly a warm-and-snuggly religion, if it took that approach.
Maybe you had two sects/approaches in the past, and one simply destroyed the other (Emon's on the winning side, Dormin on the opposing), declared their lands "tainted" since Dormin can't be removed from there, and forbade entry. In that case, there'd be human remains (you'd think), but we don't have a time window on how long it's been since this place was abandoned. They could have simply been buried or disintegrated by this point.
Also, on a minor note, you'll notice that their horsies resemble Agro, and their clothing is very similar to Wander's. There's some speculation that Wander is/was part of their sect on account of these.