Omen (Lore)

Omen (Lore)
忌み, Imi, or 忌み子, Imigo
忌み, Imi, or 忌み子, Imigo

The Omen (忌み, Imi, or 忌み子, Imigo) are accursed beings found in the Lands Between born without the grace of the Erdtree.

Overview

The Omen are hulking and brutish in appearance, covered in twisted horns growing from their body. Certain Omen, such as Morgott, the Omen King and Mohg, Lord of Blood also have tails and feathered wings. These traits are reminiscent of the vestiges of the Crucible, considered a signifier of the divine in ancient times, but reviled as an impurity as civilization advanced.

Omen Bairn, a fetish used to memorialize omen babies.

Omen babies have all their horns excised, which causes most to perish; they are memorialized with small fetish dolls in the likeness of an infant Omen with their horns cut off. Meanwhile, Omen born to royalty keep their horns, but are kept underground, unbeknownst to anyone, where they are bound by shackles for eternity. Fetish dolls depicting the Omen infant with their horns left intact are crafted in secret to memorialize these Omen. Wraiths erupt from the bodies of Omen whose horns remain intact, and can also be expelled via the breath, or used to enwreathe their weapons.

Omen are seen as impure due to their cursed blood. For this reason they are hunted by Omenkillers, the first of which was the perfumer Rollo, who wield giant cleavers comprised of amputated Omen horns that cause blood loss, and wear masks imitating the evil spirits that haunt the Omen in their nightmares. The perfumer Tricia and her associates dedicated their efforts to treating Omen, among others seen as impure. When her efforts failed, she instead became their companion when they died, ensuring they could pass peacefully.

Despite being reviled, excised Omen are sometimes used as soldiers. They are awarded cleavers of colossal size, taking advantage of the Omen's brute strength. However, the blades are etched with a remnant of a deteriorative malediction to ensure that the blade can be taken away. They occasionally can be found wearing black cloaks, and certain Omen among these cloaked variants have taken to worshiping the Prince of Death.

See Also

• Omen (Enemy)
• Omenkillers
• Perfumers
• Dung Eater
• Seedbed Curse
• Formless Mother

Trivia

• Localisation Notes
  • The Omen are called 忌み (Imi), which would mean "Abomination" in this context.
  • They are also occasionally referred to as 忌み子 (Imigo) which means "Abominable Child", "Unwanted Child", or "Shunned Child."
  • Margit's "Fell Omen" title is 忌み鬼 (Imi Oni) meaning "Abominable Demon."
  • The Mending Rune of the Fell Curse is called 忌み呪いの修復ルーン (Imi Noroi no Shūfuku Rūn) "Mending Rune of the Abomination Curse" or "Abominable Curse", where 忌み (Imi) is the same word localised as "Omen." Therefore, "Mending Rune of the Omen Curse" would be a localisation in-line with the rest of the text.
  • The Omen Bairn items are called 水子 (Mizuko), which can refer to a newborn baby, or an aborted, stillborn, or miscarried fetus.
    • 水子供養 (Mizuko kuyō) is a Japanese Buddhist memorial service for those who have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. The ceremony is meant to comfort parental grief, guilt, or the soul of the fetus, sometimes in fear of its vengeful spirit. Statues of Jizō, a Bodhisattva thought to protect children, are are commonly offered by temples, which may be the inspiration for the Omen Bairns.
    • Possibly inspired by the Shope papiloma virus. A virus witch causes rabbits to form horn-like growths