Dormin

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Dormin
Information
Height	14 m / 46 ft (Real World) 11 m / 36 ft (In-game)
Appears in	Shadow of the Colossus The ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection
Voice actor(s)	Kazuhiro Nakata, Kyōko Hikami

“	We, Dormin, have arisen anew...	”
–Dormin to Lord Emon

Dormin (Japanese: ドルミン Dorumin) is a mysterious entity residing in the Forbidden Lands and the ambiguously motivated deuteragonist of Shadow of the Colossus. Dormin communicates with Wander both through a large sunlit aperture in the ceiling of the Shrine of Worship and during colossus battles where they provide Wander with occasional hints.

Story

Dormin's concept art; here, their bull-like face can be seen.

After Wander lays Mono down on the altar and vanquishes five shadow creatures, Dormin reveals themself to him, apparently surprised by the fact that Wander possesses the Ancient Sword. After learning that Wander wishes to revive Mono, Dormin states that it is possible with the use of his sword by destroying the idols that stand in the Shrine of Worship. However, they can only be destroyed by slaying their incarnations, the colossi. Dormin also warns Wander that the price of reviving Mono may be heavy. After Wander comments that it doesn't matter, they make a deal: he slays the sixteen colossi and Mono will be resurrected.

Black tendrils emerge from the colossus and fly in search of Wander.

Each time a colossus is killed, several black tendrils emerge from the fatal wound and embed themselves in Wander's body. It soon becomes clear that these tendrils are the once-separated fragments of Dormin, imprisoned within each of the sixteen colossi. The colossi are the bones and muscles that form Dormin's body, and the shadow is the blood that flows through it. When they're all united, they become Dormin.

After defeating the sixteenth colossus, Wander is transported back to the Shrine for the last time. There, Lord Emon and his men have already arrived, shocked to find that the ritual is nearly complete. After Lord Emon's men shoot Wander in his leg and stab him in the chest with a sword, the sixteen pieces of Dormin combine in Wander's lifeless body and Dormin reforms as a shadowy being as large as many of the colossi. It is revealed that Lord Emon's ancestors severed Dormin's body in sixteen segments for "an eternity" in order to to seal away their power.

After Dormin tells Lord Emon that they "borrowed" Wander's body, it terrorizes him and his men in the main hall of the Shrine as they make their escape to the back gateway. Dormin attempts to follow them but is slowed down, either due to Wander's injured leg or, because Wander still fights to regain control of his body. Upon reaching the top of the spiral staircase, Emon says an incantation and throws the Ancient Sword into the shallow pool. A whirlwind is created and the essence of Dormin is slowly purified until all that remains is Wander's figure, completely covered in shadow, which is presently sucked in as well. Wander, now a baby, bears two stubby horns on his head, remaining elements that were not completely purified. The baby is discovered by a resurrected Mono shortly after Emon's men flee the Lands. Whether Dormin is banished for good or only temporarily is up for debate.

Voices and gender

Voiced by Kazuhiro Nakata and Kyōko Hikami, Dormin speaks with both a male and female voice in loose synchronization. Lord Emon notably refers to Dormin using the masculine pronoun "he" in the final scenes, though Dormin uses the plural "we".

Origin of given name

Dormin is "Nimrod" backwards, which refers to the Biblical king Nimrod, who was said to be the originator of false worship. Also, Nimrod was to be credited with the creation of the Tower of Babel, a tower which led mortals into forbidden territory, the territory of God. King Nimrod's death resulted in his body being cut into multiple pieces and dispersed, similar to parts of Dormin's soul being held within the colossi.

As told in the World of Fumito Ueda artbook, an earlier proposed name for the game was "Nimrod and the Colossus". The name was changed when the developers informed Sony Computer Entertainment of America (now Sony Interactive Entertainment LCC) of the title. Sony pointed out that the word 'Nimrod' was a derogatory term, so they replaced 'Nimrod' with the name of the main character 'Wanda', and 'Wanda and the Colossus' was decided as the official title.

Given this, it is highly likely that 'Nimrod' was Dormin's former name in development as well, before being changed for the same reason as the game's title.

Trivia

• A very early model of Dormin seen on a test area in the gallery below features more colossi parts compared to their final incarnation. The character designer Hitoshi Niwa speaks about this earlier Dormin design and says: "When I started to make Dormin, there were still 24 colossi. The design was to have 24 colossi attached to the body. I made a base model, but the number of polygons became too large. The number of colossi was reduced in the middle of development, so it was also difficult to remove the ones that were attached".
  • All known models of Dormin feature spider-like legs coming out of its back. These are the same as the legs from the unused Spider colossus.
  • The E3 Demo version of Dormin's model had noticeable differences compared to their final one. Their horns were like those of a goat, and they featured the complete tail from the unused Roc colossus. Part of Roc's tail is still present in the final version.
• In the PSU Preview, an audio file for Dormin speaking to Emon in the ending exists. However, the voice isn't the usual male and female voices, but Wander's instead:

Gallery

• Final version
• Remake version
• Earlier versions

The large sunlit aperture through which Dormin speaks to Wander.

An image of Dormin inside the Shrine of Worship.

The aperture as seen in the PS4 release.

Dormin in the PS4 remake.

Early model of Dormin from the E3 Demo version.

Backside of the E3 Demo model. Notice Roc's tail.

Top view of the E3 Demo model.

An even earlier character model of Dormin.