Ragnarok Monster Lore : Gloom Under Night
While this RML attempts to focus on Gloomy, it is hard to cover him exclusively without going into the temple as a whole.
Rachel Sanctuary is a twisted visualization of The Books of Ezekiel and Zechariah from the Holy Bible. The former details the fall of Jerusalem and the latter rebuilding of the Jewish temple and it is here we can find the inspiration for Ragnarok Online's Sessrumnir.
Beneath the grand cathedral Sessrumnir lays a place so sacred the pope herself is unable to step foot in it despite being the leader of the religion... The holy ground, once sacred, has been defiled by the corruption of the church. Despite their diplomatic approach, the moderates in the church gave rise to all manner of unsightly creatures including the unholy Gloom Under Night through their use of unstable imitation pieces of Ymir's Heart. This false method of resurrecting Freya results in a false idol.
Ezekiel 8:8-12
"So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beats... Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery?"
Ezekiel is shown by the Lord what has become of the church the defilement that is observably worse the deeper into the temple that they go.
Ezekiel 9:2-6
"And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher fate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand;... Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary."
This line may not be referring to the carpenters found in Rachel Sanctuary as there is a more definitive verse in Zecheriah concerning them but I thought it was worth sharing as they are given instructions by the Lord to begin slaughtering, starting with the the corrupt inside the temple.
Ezekiel 36:17-18
"Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:"
For their idolatry they were punished. The mention of blood shed here gives some credence to the idea that the hard-liner faction of the church in Rachel could be equally responsible for the corruption of the temple despite seeking authentic pieces of Ymir's Heart.
Zechariah 1:20
"And the Lord showed me four carpenters"
I feel that this line is cherry picking a bit as the full context does not suit Agav, Echio, Vanberk, and Isilla, but the vague imagery of 'four carpenters' certainly does. There are further lines in Zechariah to suggest as much to be true.
Zechariah 3:3-5
"Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said Let them set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments."
It may seem a stretch but God is dressing Joshua in a mitre and holy garments. While Joshua would be better compared to Zhed or another priest, it is the garments that catch my eyes. Each of the 4 demi-human mobs in Rachel Sanctuary are wearing priestly robes and hats (not exactly mitres but as close as we're gonna get) and Echio drops Divine Cloth [1].
Zechariah 3:9
"For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes;"
This line is as clear cut as anything you'll find, clearly referring to Will of Darkness / Will of Red Darkness (a stone with seven eyes).
Zechariah 4:6
"Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."
The reconstruction of the temple could not be brute forced. No might/power of man could hope to achieve it. In this we see a parallel to the artificial Hearts of Ymir used in the Holy Grounds.
Zechariah 4:14
"Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth."
There are a few possibilities for applying this verse to Ragnarok. It could refer to a few combinations of people we meet during the Rachel Quest line including Niren and Zhed, Zhed and the Pope, or the Pope and her twin. Based on which pairing you believe this verse to refer to changes the Lord to the Pope or Freya. Given the significance of Freya and her literal status as Goddess I choose to believe the Pope and Loomin are the anointed ones.
/
So all of this is great but how does Gloom Under Night fit into this? Gloom Under Night seems to be the God Moloch. Moloch is a false idol to whom people would sacrifice their first born. Statues of Moloch had a hole in the abdomen and outstretched arms (a bull head as well but this is as close as Gloomy gets). Sacrifice through fire is commonly associated with Moloch and reflected in the design of Gloom as well as his attacks. Gloom's back is enveloped in flames and his basic attack sees him swinging his arms down to create a burst of fire before him. Hitting him reveals an opening in his chest.
Gloom also appears to be the evolution of other mobs within the Sanctuary but I'm not aware of anything real-world or in-game
to back this up so I will do my best to detail the noticeable progression of the monster that becomes Gloom Under Night
(Based on sprite not card artwork)
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------------+----------------------------------+---------------------+
| | Palette | Pattern | Body | Posture |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------------+----------------------------------+---------------------+
| Gremlin | Mostly black body | No red coloration | Well defined claws on hands+feet | Down on all fours |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------------+----------------------------------+---------------------+
| Hodremlin | Subdued White/Grey color palette | Light red lines over arms | Loss of wings+claws on hands | Crouching/Squatting |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------------+----------------------------------+---------------------+
| Gloom Under Night | Stark White body | Clear red pattern on hands | Loss of claws on feet | Standing upright |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+----------------------------+----------------------------------+---------------------+
I've detailed the one drop that connects Gloom to the Moloch and I don't have much else to list for drops. This was started as a research into Gloom but became something bigger. I've copied Esalis format before but I think I'll skip the drop table this time. Thank you all for reading. I'm sorry for not finishing this in 2014 when I started it. Maybe I've inspired one of you to research your favorite RO content and maybe I'll do another in the future!
Consider checking out my other
RML post on Atroce or the
RML post on Moonlight Flower that inspired me and got me into the RO lore in the first place!
~Azura Skyy
Edited by AzuraSkyy, 12 July 2019 - 04:04 PM.