Dota 2 Hero Lore - Death Prophet, Death’s
Lover & Lover Of Death
“I died a bit inside. It felt so nice.”
So my last video about death prophet i felt
like i didnt do her justice, since i got a
strange idea about shortening the videos.
I have since changed my mind based on your
feedback, so i decided to do DP again. Go
to this time on the screen to the new content
if you already have seen the last video, though
i recommend watching the whole thing.
The great sage Thales, a greek mathematician
from around year 600 BC, was once asked “what
is the most difficult thing to do?” “To
know thyself”, he replied. “And the easiest?”
“To give advice to others.”
If you tell a fortune, and it will happen
no matter what, is that because it woudl always
have been that way, or is it because when
you foresee the future, you create it? Lets
pretend i can really look into the future.
and right now, i foresee that a comet wil
lland on your house. As i foretold, it happens.
WOuld it necesarily have happened, if i hadnt
predicted it? Did it happen no matter what,
BECAUSE i predicted it? I know, its a bit
ridiculous to talk about seeing into the future
because its impossible, but hypothetically
its interesting to think about. And especially
because death prophet originally worked telling
fortunes for the wealthy, seeing beyond the
veil to predict when they would die. She was
quite literally a death prophet. But peaking
between the facades of others is easy, like
Thales said earlier. Whats difficult, is to
know yourself. So when krobelus the death
prophet wanted to know the secrets of her
own death, she failed. Not only couldnt she
see when she would die, but even upon trying
to kill herself, she would just ressurect,
like she was bound by fate now. Everytimes
she died and came back, she took a little
more of death with her. The ghosts of her
past lives would follow her like wraiths,
and her blood grew thin and ectoplasmic. She
killed herself over and over so many times,
that she soon had a small legion following
her. Other spirits would also sometimes be
drawn to her, hoping to resurrect with her
the next time she died.
Death prophet is neither in artifact or underlords,
so what we know about her is limited to dota
2. That being said, theres no shortage of
things to talk about. But before we delve
deeper, lets look at her relationships.
heroes that talk to death prophet is most
notably those who are undead. Undying has
a moment of clarity, and asks her if it ever
ends. “Does it end, Death Prophet?” By
it, he means either his life, or the dirge
songs enslavement of his soul. The dead god
hums it which makes the dead rise and become
his army. I have a video about undying and
the dead god in the top right corner if you
wanna know more. Wraith king is also flirting
with her, as he does with most female demons
and undead. “Come and whisper your prophecies
beside my throne.” Notable heroes who talk
to her when killing her, is abaddon, bane,
visage and other spooky, undead, and evil
heroes. Kunkka, says this “Is Death truly
that woman's mate?” which i will come back
to. Just note it at the back of your mind
for now. OD calls her a false prophet, but
then again he seems to call a lot of people
false. Maybe hes just projecting. Its okay
OD i do that sometimes too. Whats strange
is that the heroes who have voice lines fo
her, are not the same ones who she has voicelines
for. She talks to dazzle, necrophos and lich,
among others. Anyone who has to do with being
undead. The only one who she talks to and
who talks to her, is undying. “Undying.
Oh! Even the word gives me shivers.” She
has no voicelines for allies.
When DP dies, she sometimes says “Behold:
the answer to all life's questions.” and
the answer she peaks of, is death.
Death prophet is an incredibly interesting
hero, because shes not actually suicidal.
If you just look at death a bit differently,
a different story becomes apparent. Shes not
killing herself because she cant take living
anymore, its actually more based in curiosity.
Like we saw in her lore, its because she wants
the ultimate answer to the ultimate question:
death. She can tell when people other than
herself will go to the afterlife, but she
doesnt actually know what happens to those
who die. A christian already know they go
to hell or heaven, an atheist knows nothing
happens, and hinduists know they will be reborn.
but the agnostic who has no religion or ideology
to promise an afterlife or none at all, is
left with a burning question that only death
can answer. So… why cant she die?
It might be because death is her lover, as
kunkka calls her deaths mate. Wether he means
literally, or just because she dies over and
over and spawns more wraith from her union
with the situation, is unknown. But lets entertain
the idea for a second that shes deaths bride.
If death doesnt love her back, that means
her love is unrequited. She tries to die over
and over to get closer to her love, but is
rejected every time. It could also be because
death DOES love her back, and so he has to
reject her to protect her from herself. i,
however, think kunkka means it a bit more
figuratively, and her wish to die is based
in wanting knowledge about it.
Though on my last video about her, a commenter
pointed out something interesting. Rather
than asking, why does she try to die, or why
cant she die, lets ask: why does she keep
coming back? As Browseasaur5 pointed out,
maybe it has to do with the book of the dead.
Maybe, like monkey king, she ripped out her
page, OR, as we know from MK’s lore, he
ripped out his own page with several other
names on it. Maybe thats why she cant die,
and also that gave her some power to see others
fate? “It wasn't my name alone purged from
the underworld's ledger. My army will outlive
you all.” Its an interesting theory, but
i personally think it might have to do with
her outlands witch set. The outlands, as we
know from void spirit and snapfires lore,
is where you find the entrance to the hidden
temple. The hidden temple is in the void realm,
where strange powers over time and space exist.
The items say this: “The Witch of the Outlands
wasn't necessarily malevolent, but the fate
she spoke of was not one to be ignored.”
Maybe before being a death prophet, she was
the witch of the outlands, where she learned
how to look beyond the veil. We know faceless
void exists beyond time, and void spirit beyond
space, and that templar assassin learned a
lot from the hidden temple. Maybe death prophet
similarily learned her craft there, and from
there became the death prophet?
But the cosmetic “augurs belt” describes
her power as a curse, and the blindfold of
the gloom says that “Few can predict the
price to be paid for piercing the veil.”
Either it means she became blind from it,
but i think they mean her curse of not being
able to die herself. The blindness could be
a symbol of her being able to see for others
and not for herself, ergo, others can die
but she cant. And the price for lookign for
others, is that shes immortal. The same set
also talks about how she peers into the ether,
which is another way of saying the void. And
then theres this cosmetic, “Dim though it
has become, the spark of life that holds fast
within the heart of the Death Prophet blazes
like a signal beacon in the endless darkness
of death's abyss, beckoning all manner of
feasting shades that long to taste the essence
of the animate world.” So its not like you
can cut her down and she doesnt die, and its
not like she resurrects immediately. Before
coming back to life, she enters the underworld
for a while. Her cosmetic “mask of mortis”
says this: “Each time Krobelus traversed
beyond the veil revealed ever more complexities
of the entities that call such a place home.
While most seem unconcerned with the land
of the living, some watch--and influence--the
events of the material plane with deep interest.”
Her power, or curse if you prefer, might also
not be necesarily just about death - just
all endings. The universe started with the
void, and will also end with it. “Far-seeing
prophets who see anything other than Death
are merely fooling themselves. Death Prophet
knows how every occasion ends, and thus her
attire is always appropriate.” She has also
said she has seen the battle of the ancients
in her dreams. “I have been here many times
in my dreams!” and we know the battle of
the ancients is the end of all timelines.
I can understand that when you have lived
forever and cant die, and you see all ends
of all things but your own life, the curiosity
must be infuriating.
Then, theres a very eerie implication. One
of her sets that has no lore text, is simply
called “mourning mother”. What if she
had children once who died, and she simply
wants to die to reunite with them? But its
been so long she cant even remember why she
wanted to die in the first place. Many witch
stories tell of witches abducting and killing
children, even their own. Maybe her curse
was because she did something like that?
wether you believe death is her lover, that
shes connected to the void, or shes a child
killing witch with a curse, the truth no matter
what is shes sick of other peoples fates and
wants to know her own, through the only way
possible to get the answer to the ultimate
question. She must die. And maybe because
her sight ends with the ancients clashing,
that is where she will finally find peace
and die permanently. While defending her ancient.
thank you so much to my patrons and you for
watching, hope you have a great day. PEACEE
