Mercury's Door
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Mercury's Door (Japanese: メルクリウスの扉, Hepburn: Merukuriusu no tobira; lit. Door of Mercurius) was a door in the Cathedral City said to house all the world's knowledge and power. In truth, it housed the black sludge, a manifestation of the flower bent on destroying the world. Baltas was tasked with guarding the door, but he did not remember who by or why.
History
Origin
Mercury's Door appeared in 856 during the Cataclysm along with the rest of the Cathedral City, which it was a part of.[1][1.1] Zero, who was possessed by a flower, believed that someone had sensed the threat the flower posed and had thus sealed one deep in the city.[2][2.1] They had also likely employed Baltas to guard the door, but their identity is unknown.
Attempts to open the door
It was widely believed that the world's knowledge and power resided behind the door.[3][3.1] Cerulea, Leader of the Lords and Lady of the Land of Seas was very interested in opening it. Three layers of wall protected the contents behind the door. When Cerulea found it, the first wall had already eroded, and she was able to destroy the second wall using her magic.[3.1] However, she could not destroy the third wall, the one with the actual door itself.[3.1] She did however find a man behind the second wall, Baltas.[3.1]
On June 6, 998, Cerulea and the other lords resumed their attempts to open the door. Cerulea instructed Baltas to interact with a touchpad by the door and gave him some Old World writing to read. Suddenly, a hologram of Accord appeared and informed Baltas that the voice data was incorrect, teleporting him elsewhere.[3.2]
Destruction of the door
When the magical girls known as Intoners came to open the door due to false memories implanted by the flower, the lords ambushed them.[3.3] The door resonated with the girls' Power of Song while they fought the lords. However, three of the girls were killed in the fight, and another was mortally wounded. In a moment of despair, the Intoner One managed to shatter the door by singing, releasing the black sludge that was housed within.[3.1]
Aftermath
The black sludge began to gather up the dead Intoners, mending them and using them to summon daemons.[3.4] It was eventually stopped by Zero and her dragon companion Michael. [3.5] Baltas, the door's guardian, went on a rampage, but was burnt up by Gabriel, the daemonised version of One's dragon friend, Gabriella. [3.6]
Behind the scenes
Etymology
The exact reason for the door's name is unknown, but there are several possible meanings:
Roman god
Mercurius (Japanese: メルクリウスの扉, Hepburn: Merukuriusu) is the Latin name of the Roman god Mercury. In Japan, it is used instead of the English Mercury (Japanese: マーキュリー, Hepburn: Mākyurī).
Mercury is the god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication (including divination), travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery, and thieves; he also serves as the guide of souls to the underworld and the "messenger of the gods".
- God of divination: When One touches the door, she receives a vision of the black sludge coming out from behind it.[3.3]
- God of boundaries: Mercury's Door serves as a boundary, keeping the black sludge in.
- God of trickery: In Drag-On Dragoon 3 Story Side, Zero theorises that the flower planted false memories into her sisters to trick them into opening the door.[2.1]
- Messenger of the gods: Dragons in Drakengard are referred to as messengers of God(s) (Japanese: 神の遣い, Hepburn: Kami no tsukai).[1.2] In Drakengard 3, it is revealed that dragons are the only beings capable of killing the flower.[4][4.1] Thus a parallel can be drawn between dragons and Mercury('s Door) both opposing the flower.
The Spirit in the Bottle
Alternatively, Mercurius could be referring to the demon from The Spirit in the Bottle, a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. Mercurius is a giant demon trapped in a small bottle. Parallels can be drawn between the demon Mercurius being trapped in the bottle and the black sludge being trapped behind the door in the manga.
Fan translations
A fan translation of Drag-On Dragoon Utahime Five translates the name as Mercurius Gate instead.
References
- ↑ Drag-On Dragoon World Inside. Released by Square Enix as part of the Drag-On Dragoon 10th Anniversary Box on December 19, 2013.
- ↑ Drag-On Dragoon 3 Story Side. Written by Jun Eishima. Supervised by Yoko Taro. Published by Square Enix on August 28, 2014.
- ↑ Drag-On Dragoon Utahime Five. Written by Jun Eishima. Illustrated by IsII. Supervised by Yoko Taro.
- ↑ Drakengard 3. Developed by Access Games. Published as Drag-On Dragoon 3 by Square Enix on December 19, 2013.
- ↑ Zero's Chapter, Verse 1.
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