—Forsaken Spoilers ahead— Both the Ahamkara, their wearable remains and the Wormgods have used this speech pattern: “Oh ___ mine” This is commonly used to try to link the two species together. I may have an explanation for why they both use this phrase and what that says about their relation. Get ready, because this will be a long one... I propose, that whenever this phrase is used, the speaker is using the darkness to manipulate the listener. Let’s look at some examples: -Ghost Fragment: Legends 3 [i][...] And thus the Ahamkara were made extinct, their call silenced, their solipsistic flatteries erased, their great design - if it ever existed - broken. Of this you can be assured, oh reader mine.[/i] Here, the remains of an Ahamkara assure the reader of their species extinction. Why, who knows? But there is definitely some convincing going on, especially since they apparently lied, now that Riven is a thing. -Skull of Dire Ahamkara, Lore tab [i]Reality is the finest flesh, oh bearer mine. And are you not...hungry? [...] I came to find you, only you, because you’re special. You’re from somewhere real. And together we can burn our way back there. Can’t we, o player mine?[/i] Now, despite this being a little fourth-wall-breaky, the bones are definitely planting ideas in the wearer. These are suggestive questions. -Claws of Ahamkara, Flavor text [i]Look at all this life, oh bearer mine. There is so much left to burn...[/i] Again, quite suggestive. (I honestly don’t know where this next one comes from, I just found it during my research. It’s new in Forsaken and it’s quite long, but talks about an Ahamkara in the Dreaming City named Azirim) -Azirim [i][...]“Come, let me sing to you of extinction. Let me sing to you of lives lost in beautiful places, o audience mine. Sing with me, sing!“ [...] And they did not hear the singing stop And they did not hear the bodies dashed against the shore below. And they did not see Azirim grow, or laugh, or flee.[/i] Azirim lures them into a chant and makes them straight up kill them self’s. Yep. That’s basically it. Now on to the Wormgods and their larvae: V:Needle and Worm [i][...] 1. It was my father’s familiar. I ripped it from him as we fled. [...] 2. It’s dead, but it speaks to me. It says: listen closely, oh vengeance mine...[/i] Here, Aurash talks about a dead Wormgod larva, that her father used to keep. It made his father mad and whispered to him. Remember that this familiar is the sole reason the three siblings went deeper to find the Wormgods in the deep ocean of fundament. Speaking of which... -VIII: Leviathan [i][...] Who will you trust? The voice that wants us to live and suffer, as we have lived suffered? The Leviathan that offers no hope against Taox or the world-wave? Or the plain honest worm? Let us see where its whisper leads us, Aurash. Let us go deeper, Xi Ro! Let us dive, oh sisters mine.[/i] Now Sathona uses the pattern, but she clearly is under the influence of the familiar, the honest worm. This shows that’s it’s not only a thing of two species, but rather the tongue of the darkness, the tongue of influence. -XII: Out of the Deep [i][...] Overwhelm the Kaharn bastion. Slaughter everyone there. From your acts we shall obtain the logic we require to cut space open and migrate to orbit. Reality is a fine flesh, oh general ours. Let us feast of it.[/i] The Wormgods command Xivu Arath to commit genocide. Note that this is almost identical to the sentence from the Skull of Dire Ahamkara, but much more commanding. I’ll get to that later. -Kagoor [i][...] Raising great tribute, I took council with my vanquisher worm It spoke to me - it was the speech of truth It ate of me - it was the pact I made It showed me a shape - it was the correct shape of joy Saying: this is the shape of joy, oh ruler mine[/i] This one is not as important, but it shows that worms can still influence, even when consumed. Now one from Xol himself, post mortem: -One Thousand Voices, Lore tab [i]I can be anyone you wish, o murderer mine. [Language] is a [virus] that infects the mind of [humans]. A single [word] will drive them to [rage] or [lust] or [weeping]. O for the right [word] said in the right [voice]! O to see their [hearts] well with [longing]! O to see their [desire] laid bare in their [chest], so juicy and succulent for the taking![/i] Now this...is exactly what I’m talking about. Xol basically describes influencing humans with a certain voice. Do note though, that the most important words are bracketed, that means they probably are not the original words. Maybe its Xol‘s version of a hive saying? Despite all of this, he also uses the pattern to speak to us from the grave. I remember an instance in which Calus uses the pattern, but I couldn’t find the quote, so yeah, trust me on this one. -Edit- Thanks to user Dirty Dan: [i] “I say this to you, oh champion mine, and I say it from my heart: there are those who would bargain away their souls just to live a little longer. I am not them. Life must be worth living. Life must be lovely and delicious and enviably sweet! Nothing has ever lived that will not die, so what matters is how we use our time.” [/i] This is from Calus’s letter to our guardian from D2s collectors edition. Now, let’s wrap this up: All of the cited entities have ties to the darkness. The Wormgods definitely use and serve the deep, Calus has encountered it and maybe uses it himself and the Ahamkara, due too the devious nature of their wishes, probably also use the darkness. Almost all of the quotes show instances of influence, leading, or commanding. The Wormgods tend to be more commanding, while the Ahamkaras are more suave. Both the Ahamkara and Wormgods use the pattern when whispering to their “victims“ post mortem. They are voices in your head. Their powers go beyond the grave. The Ahamkara and Wormgods make “deals” and fulfill wishes, but always at a cost. This reinforces that both use the same powers of the deep. The Sky gives, while the Deep always takes. I think, that the deep grants you the ability to have influence over anyone you want to. And the tongue of the darkness sounds the same, no matter who speaks it. It’s like a “light-version” of taking. When a being is taken, their own will is erased, here, it’s just...altered. Being able to control someone’s will is also a darkness thing. The speech similarities between Ahamkara and Wormgods just show the use of the same powers, not an evolutionary connection. [i]Reality is the finest flesh, oh bearer mine. And are you not...hungry? Reality is a fine flesh, oh general ours. Let us feast of it.[/i] The “flesh of the reality” is probably a concept for users and followers of the deep. This explains why both species use it. I didn’t use and find all the instances of “Oh __ mine” being used. If you have more, leave them here, maybe they deliver further proof for this theory or completely destroy it. [b][u] -Hugely important Edit-[/u][/b] I just went on Ishtar collective again to look if there are more Forsaken lore entries available. I used the search word “Dreaming City” and found this: -asudeM (There is some very interesting stuff that comes before, but it’s irrelevant to my theory) [i]4. I’ve been correlating information on the Ahamkara and the Hive worm parasites. Both display a peculiar ability to convert the host’s intent into an ontomorphic, reality-altering effect. Both use similar language in their appeal to the host. I don’t think they’re the same species, however. [...] The shared syntax “o__mine” may be the key - it seems to be shibboleth used to invoke an ontomorphic effect, placing the target in a cage of “o” (activational, specific, appealing, and naming) and “mine” (defining ownership and subordination). Ahamkara and worm may have evolved separately to exploit this effect, just as many species independently evolve eyes. This might place them in competition for the same ecological niche. I would expect a rivalry or antipathy between them.[/i] This is huge. I swear to you, I didn’t know about this when writing the post. This lore entry basically explains the entire relation between Ahamkara and worm, while also confirming my theory. Granted, it doesn’t say anything about the darkness being used, but that still holds up. This the link to the lore entry: https://www.ishtar-collective.net/entries/asudem?highlight=Dreaming+City I really hope this is legit, since it provides soo many answers. I never expected to be spot on with this theory, it was just a spontaneous thought that seemed logical. Yeesh. If you’re ok with even more spoilers, definitely take a look at this: https://www.ishtar-collective.net/entries/medusa?highlight=Dreaming+City Tldr: It’s an indication of them using darkness to convince people, not an evolutionary connection.