Sulkaris (Total War)



"We Sages were envious of you mortals. You may die, but not truly… you live on through the blood passed down through time. Values, lessons, knowledge, all refined with each generation. Growing… changing… not unlike the Gohma. Fitting that after three thousand years we would meet again in some way. (...) You think you can live up to your bloodline? If you strike me down as he did, I will only return. (...) Come then and face me, Heir of King Gustaf!"

- Sulkaris challenges Link.

Sulkaris was the First Sage of Forests, one of the seven First Sages created at the dawn of Hyrule, and the only of them to remain true to their task to defend the Triforce. Imbued with the power of the Forest Medallion, she was tasked with power over the natural processes of life.

Etymology
Sulkaris' real name predates Hyrulean languages, and is lost to time.

The Akkalans called her Sulciarys, derived from Sulcion, (seeds, life) and Arys (gardener, grower, caretaker). The modern version of her name is Sulkaris.

Appearance
Sulkaris was described in the Book of Mudora as "cloaked in the green of life, she stood tall, proud, and most beautiful in the eyes of the Goddesses. It was thus that woman was separate of man, and Sulkaris assumed such a vessel." While having the appearance of a female Hyrulean, as a Spirit given material form, she lacked any form of sex or gender. She appeared as a Hyrulean woman over twice the height of a mortal, with dark green hair, tapered ears and green-gold eyes that glowed with their own light. She was armored in metal forged like stylized leaves, composed of a helmet, clawed gauntlets, and a plackart shaped like angelic wings. Originally, this armor was brilliant gold with an emerald green cloak, but after millennia had corroded and torn to a dull dark green. In battle she fought with a massive two-handed blade similar to a curved Machete.

As the First Sage of Forests, Sulkaris was linked to the Forest Medallion, possessing the power to manipulate, but not create, life, and to smell the bloodline of any living being. Even without the power of the Forest Medallion, she was a demigod-like being, impervious to mortal weapons and capable of felling buildings and entire enemy battalions with her blows.

Mythic Age
Sulkaris was one of seven Spirits tasked with defending the Triforce and maintaining the natural processes of the world, according to the Book of Mudora, the third such after Demoko and Solahrasin. She was imbued with the Forest Medallion and tasked with nurturing and shaping life on Hyrule. Together the seven First Sages brought order to the world, ending the age of Dragons and allowing civilization to flourish on Hyrule.

However, her siblings soon began to seek to create beings of their own, making mockeries of life from the forces over which they held dominion, and in their fear coveted the Triforce. The First Sages and their servants on one another, while Sulkaris, faithful to her task, held guard over the Triforce from her siblings. Finding they could not destroy one another, the First Sages unleashed the Druthulidi into the world as weapons against each other, which quickly proved uncontrollable and threatened to devour all of Hyrule. In desperation, the Sages made a pact with a darker power known as Majora, which slew or drove the Druthulidi into hiding in exchange for the fate of Hyrule. Sulkaris' siblings briefly united to depose her and take the Triforce for themselves. To maintain the myth that they were immortal, they spared their sister, instead severing her from the Forest Medallion and exiling her to live among mortals. They then spread the myth of themselves as noble guardians of Hyrule and vanquishers of the Demons of Old, while demonizing Sulkaris as the *Fallen Sage*, a usurper who had coveted the Triforce and was exiled for her treachery.

Ancient Age
In this long exile she discovered a young Gohma, formed from an eye of the slain Druthulidi Iemanis. Driven by a vengeance to expose her kin's lies and maintain her duty, Sulkaris began to embody the concept of Iemanis until it consumed her. Much like those possessed by other Druthulidi, the distinction between herself and the demon became abstract. Sulkaris' Spirit and form was consumed by the Will of the Gohma until Iemanis effectively saw itself as Sulkaris, still driven by her desire for vengeance and duty. In 3003 BG, "Sulkaris" led the Gohma on a rampage across Hyrule, devastating the Huskus Imperium and leading the Tribes of Akkala to unite under the leader of House Gustaf, Rhoaban Gustaf I. In 3000 BG, Gustaf led the defense of Akkala Citadel against the Gohma, slaying Sulkaris with a Light Arrow.

However, "Sulkaris" found herself reborn within the Gohma Hive Mind, coming to believe (correctly) that her First Sage kin were not immortal as they claimed, and withdrew to the Misery Mire. In the following millennia, the memory of Sulkaris would become more and more consumed by the drive of Iemanis to consume and survive, moving from simply exposing her kin as the liars who betrayed Hyrule, to destroying all life that was not "herself" (the Gohma) and seizing the Triforce to reshape the world in her - Iemanis' - image.

Gerudo Wars
Sulkaris would not be seen or heard from again until 100 AG, when the Gohma, taking advantage of the major powers all distracted by warfare, established a small hive on the western edge of the Kokiri Forest. Seeking to reclaim the Forest Medallion, Sulkaris tempted the Kokiri Chieftain, Mido, with promises of power, and learned that she had been replaced as Sage of Forests, Kasuto, also known as the Great Deku Tree. She set out to slay her successor and reclaim her powers as Sage, attacking Great Deku Tree's Grove, during which Saria was killed, but she was repelled and forced to retreat to her nest with Mido. To save himself, Mido told Sulkaris that Kasuto had named a Kokiri girl as his successor. Meanwhile, Kasuto allied with the Deku Scrubs and led the Kokiri on a counterattack, eventually joined by the Huskus. Mido, still consumed by feelings for Saria, lied to Sulkaris that the Chieftain Mirora had been named Kasuto's successor, and Sulkaris attacked and consumed her to rebuild a physical body, but quickly realized she had consumed a mortal and was trapped in Virid Crystal by Saria. The Forest Alliance transferred the trapped manifestation to Palagard's Sanctuary and burned the Gohma Hive, forcing them to retreat back to the Misery Mire. Unknown to them, Sulkaris' will remained free as Iemanis and immediately set to recover "herself" from captivity. As the Gerudo Wars dragged on, she began to influence a disturbed hylian girl named Agitha through her pet Gohma Queen.

Return of Sulkaris
As the Gerudo Wars ended and peace returned to Hyrule, Sulkaris worked from the shadows to free "herself" from the Huskus. Through Agitha and Mido she forged a tenuous alliance with the traitorous Hylian Lord Akazoo Vapith, in which he smuggled Gohma eggs to mature under the city of Malkariko, which lay on the edge of the Kokiri Forest. This plot was made in 126 AG, ahead of the summer vacation of the Hylian monarch Oraiya Nohansen Zelda IV and her daughter, Tetralyna Nohansen Zelda V, in an effort to decapitate the Hylian Crown and establish a base from which to attack the Kokiri. The city was overrun and consumed, the Princess slain, and her daughter captured by Akazoo. The Gohma then attacked the Kokiri village of Kanokiri, slaying Kasuto was slain and capturing Saria captured. From there, they attacked Palagard's Sanctuary, wiping out the remaining Huskus on Hyrule, and forced Saria to release Sulkaris' physical manifestation.

Still believing itself to be Sulkaris, the Will of the Gohma then set about on its plan of vengeance on the First Sages, pushing through the Death Mountain to attack the only other mortal threat, Lanayru Province. This was doubly a ploy to draw her most paranoid sibling, Demoko, First Sage of Time, into intervening from the Heavens. Sulkaris successfully slew Queen Rutela and destroyed the cities of Airu and Panacle Cove, while sending Agitha to pursue the surviving Zora to Vigjaro. Agitha was defeated and captured by Hylians and Zora working with the suddenly revealed Order of the Wizzrobe, while Sulkaris tracked her sibling Malkorbagia, First Sage of Water, to the Zora city of Greshou. She successfully killed Makorbagia and took the Water Medallion. Demoko, forced to intervene, dispatched his Oocca servants to Hyrule and destroyed the city with his magical superweapon, the Heart of the Aura. Sulkaris survived and set out to the Death Mountain Range, having successfully shown mortals that Demoko would destroy Hyrule itself to be rid of his sibling. There she confronted and killed Maphaeus, First Sage of Fire. Sensing the deaths of two of their siblings, the surviving First Sages, Solahrasin, Kovaloo, and Evaleen, arrived with their armies, but not knowing the culprit, immediately attacked one another, along with the Gohma and Demoko's Oocca. Demoko used the Aura to kill Sulkaris, killing his three surviving siblings and destroyed the Goron homeland in the process. The manifestation of Sulkaris was destroyed as well, but directed the Gohma to recover her armor and the remaining Sage Medallions.Demoko would fall further for Sulkaris' ploy, ordering a blockade around Death Mountain to determine she was truly destroyed, which crippled the economy of mortal nations and instilled a hatred of the Oocca. Meanwhile, Sulkaris directed Agitha and Mido to forge a tenuous alliance with the beleaguered mortals, coordinating with them to seize an Oocca portal and attack Demoko's City in the Sky directly. In truth, Sulkaris sought control of the Heart of the Aura to cleanse Hyrule of life, as well as Demoko's Medallion of Time. In early 127 AG, the Kingdom of Hyrule, Lanayru Province, and the Gorons worked with the Gohma to overrun an Oocca Mustering Base, allowing the Gohma to invade the City in the Sky. Liyer, Demoko's chosen successor, and Ooccoo, his Mediator, managed to convince the mortals that Sulkaris had tricked them, and Liyer and the Hylian adventurer Link Gustaf II set out to gain an audience with Demoko. They were interrupted by Agitha, who used the Forest Medallion to sacrifice herself as a new body for Sulkaris, which lead Demoko to finally realize that what he faced was not Sulkaris, but the demon Iemanis in her form. As the Oocca fought the Gohma across the Sky City, Liyer distracted Sulkaris with Koloktos, a gigantic Oocca construct, while Link and Ooocoo set out to destroy the Heart of the Aura so that Sulkaris could not use it. Sulkaris managed to overwhelm the Oocca, confronting Demoko and Liyer in his throne room. To delay her, Demoko offered to confess his sins to Hyrule, in exchange for allowing Liyer and his surviving Oocco to leave unharmed. Sulkaris agreed, unaware Liyer had left with the Medallion of Time. As Demoko confessed to the world, Link and Ooccoo destroyed the Heart of the Aura, and Demoko sacrificed himself by firing on his own throne room with Oocca Walker Cannons, causing himself, Sulkaris, and her Gohma to plummet down to Hyrule. Amid the wreckage, a dying Demoko confronted "Sulkaris" with the revelation she was not herself, causing her to become more and more animalistic. Liyer set off with the successor Sages to the Temple of Time to lure Sulkaris away, while mortal and Oocca armies destroyed the Gohma that had survived the fall. Sulkaris, more and more revealing its nature as Iemanis, pursued the Sages, but ulitmately realized that Liyer had hidden away the Medallion of Time, preventing her from unlocking the sealed door to the Triforce. Mad with desperation, she confronted Link and the successor Sages, eventually being slain by the Gustaf line for a second time.Now fully embodying Iemanis, the Will of the Gohma was driven by pure survival instinct, retreating to the Misery Mire, but was pursued by Mortal armies, who burned all the Gohma Hives and finally sought to exterminate the Gohma once and for all at Hive Iemanis. As a last ditch effort, Iemanis took the form of Sulkaris and offered parlay, but the manifestation was killed, causing the Gohma to attack with twisted, feral copies of Sulkaris. These were all destroyed, and Iemanis' subsequent attempt to reconstruct itself with the entirety of the Gohma would be destroyed by Hylia Nohansen, ending the Fallen Sage once and for all.

Trivia

 * Sulkaris' stained glass window is one of the two that do not feature the three halos of the Goddesses, the other being Lord Dakkon's, per the false narrative that she betrayed the goddesses.
 * Alongside Midna and Majora, Sulkaris is one of the few voiced characters in Hyrule Conquest, speaking via whispering telepathy during her dialogue.
 * Sulkaris' resurrection in the Sky City is a homage to the 1985 film Lifeforce.
 * Sulkaris' line to Demoko in Sulkaris Showdown is a reference to Omfak from the Zelda CDI games.

Quotes
''And soon they will no longer be able to hide. Soon their hand will be forced. Soon their lie will be exposed to all of Hyrule... and there will be a rift and a tearing of civilizations the likes of which have never been seen since the dawn of time. At long last justice thousands of years in waiting will be dealt. No more idols, the pedestals shall fall."''
 * All of us have the ability to take what we desire. There is nothing wrong with it. You just have to prove yourself better and destroy those that oppose you.
 * You cannot kill one such as I for I was crafted eternal, not in flesh as you, but in mind and spirit. I have endured the ravages of this world, I have knowledge the likes you could not hope to peer into with twice the time you shall walk on this world. I have seen the face of that which created me and witnessed the birth of this land that you so cling to. I am, I have endured, and I shall not end. You may slay my body a thousand times and accomplish naught, for the Gohma are more than mere vessels. They are a concept, an idea, something deeper than you would credit them. The Gohma are inevitable, there is no escape. I am Sulkaris, and I am the Gohma. What hope do you possibly have, knight clad in green, to stand against a force that has outlasted cosmic terrors and the very Gods you worship?
 * That the Great Deku Tree would form such an insult in my likeness more than justifies his execution by my will. Where a glorious figure of imposing might would master and shape the land, he would have a child, innocent and harmless and symbiotic of the earth! I will take back my mantle and undo the damage the Sages have wrought on this land, starting with your death, Forest Sage!
 * "They have long kept the biggest lie in all of history a secret. They are willing to enforce the word of the Goddesses, and utterly eradicate all trace of Majora to conceal the truth. They have deceived, manipulated, and directed the course of countless nations for thousands of years without their knowledge and consent. They may be a legend to many. They may be revered, idolized, and outright worshiped by many. But they are liars. They are cowards. Their deception is so great, no justice could be dealt to them but by the horrifying verdict of Majora himself.
 * Whatever I see, I shall devour!

List of Appearances

 * The Fallen Sage
 * Windbreaker (Mentioned only)
 * Resurgence
 * Forest Fire
 * Of Princess and Portents
 * The Blight Awakens (Mentioned only)
 * Shattered Sanctuary
 * Consuming Airu
 * The Knight in Green (Mentioned only)
 * A Vision of Ice and Fire
 * Day of the Arachnids
 * To Kill a Sage
 * The Cleansing
 * Escape from Death Mountain
 * Unholy Alliance
 * Skyfall
 * Sulkaris Showdown
 * The Covenant