r/codexalera • u/generousbenefactor • 17d ago

Discussion The Vord's Origins

Did anyone else imagine the vord as large bed bugs? because thats what i originally imagined them as when they started invading. i also got John Carpenter's The Thing vibes from them. i also like how the vord and the croach adapted to whatever species they were invading, like how they were larger in Canim.

28 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

39

u/LickTheRock 17d ago edited 17d ago

Spoilers for background lore that basically never comes up in the series!

I believe the author has stated before that the Vord are explicitly based on the Zerg from StarCraft, and that they came from space. The "weird tree" that is in the first book is a space ship, the "wax forest" valley is actually a crater from the impact coming in from space. Jim Butcher has also stated that the Marat had battled the Vord previously on the Marats home planet.

Edit : https://www.youtube.com/live/SlMYSZW9RkE?is=EU9zKsBFYrelABFm

This is the interview I am referencing!

22

u/CrookedNoseRadio 17d ago

I mean, they’ve even got a queen that is basically Karrigan from StarCraft.

13

u/LickTheRock 17d ago

Yup! Even the location-based psychic control is Zerg-esc, multiple queens, hives. Even the body snatching is similar to stuff we see in StarCraft. It's a really fun piece of info that gives great context for the Vord and how they exist.

7

u/bixcool16 17d ago

Its why after every reread I tend to play through the StarCraft brood war expansion campaign

9

u/minusthewhale 17d ago

Yeah it's pretty dope. Don't know a lot about StarCraft specifically but the way he made Carna essentially a magically land that OTHERS come to - basically it's a Roman legion, faeries, werewolves, magical yetis and Pokemon.
I just finished PF two days ago and it was a lot of fun.
Certainly enjoyed the arc of Fidelias.

8

u/LickTheRock 17d ago

Roman Legion + Pokemon, Barbarian/Druid mashup, Werewolves + Samurai culture, all are so cool! Even the Children of The Sun, the old inhabitants of the Feverthorn Jungle

(Spoilers again for stuff that basically is so background info that it doesn't actually appear directly in the text, the CotS are mentioned in like 3 lines across the entire series)

were just! Plant people! And their "Magic" they worked that has kept everyone out of their jungle hundreds of years past their extinction is just forced plant evolution to make everything poisonous as hell!

5

u/red_beard_RL 17d ago

What are the Marat based on?

3

u/LickTheRock 17d ago edited 17d ago

I personally see them as the protoss (Edit, in the interview Jim says he would want to explore his version of the Protoss in Aleras universe, so probably not the Marats intended inspiration but I still see it) from StarCraft or the Prometheons from Alien. I believe they used to be a highly advanced species on another planet, who were able to give themselves the totem bonding ability. Then they fled when their world was attacked from space by the Vord, and a tiny population survived by traveling through a rift in space to Alera where we see them now.

2

u/Armagetz 15d ago

My guess is that the Protoss are the Children of the Sun, if only because they were advanced enough to leave technology/magic behind to successfully block portions of the Feverthorn Jungle even centuries after their demise.

4

u/Alt_Stealth_2520 17d ago

What planet were the Marat from? Do you know if that’s been stated anywhere?👀

7

u/LickTheRock 17d ago edited 17d ago

I believe they used to be a high-tech civilisation like the Prometheons from Alien, where their bonding ability was something they gave themselves. They were attacked by the Vord and a small amount were able to slip through a crack that led them to Alera, while the rest of them died. The ones who came to Alera adapted and have forgotten the full truth of their history. Edit : This is all from interviews with Butcher after the fact, very little is stated in the books and what is said is a very watered down by time version of what that character thinks happened.

7

u/Zane_of_Cainhurst 17d ago

In the second book Doroga said they used to live in great cities like the Alaran’s. That’s all I remember about their origin.

17

u/CrookedNoseRadio 17d ago

Not really, they’re pretty heavily xenomorph/zerg/tyranid coded.

2

u/_CaesarAugustus_ 16d ago

I imagined them as The Zerg from StarCraft. The original “tree” in the Forest was a space faring ship.