Heart of Argent
From DoomWiki.org
The Heart of Argent is a central plot device in Doom: The Dark Ages, an ancient Night Sentinel artifact from Argent D'Nur which is intimately connected to the Elemental Wraiths.
Appearances and function[edit]
The Heart of Argent is a small pendant with a seemingly organic nature, covered in eye motifs which betray a connection to the Cosmic Realm. Its purpose, function, and origin are all lost to the Sentinels. It is only cryptically said to contain the "soul of the last Wraith." In the course of the game it is discovered that it can be provoked to open when in the presence of Wraith energy, and can hold that energy as an orb. If subsequently absorbed, it will impart the powers it possesses to whoever absorbed it.
Prince Ahzrak's primary goal during The Dark Ages is to acquire the Heart of Argent, as the Witch has informed him that to hold it is to have access to the power of a god—a power they believe is sufficient to defeat even the Doom Slayer. Ahzrak and the Witch make multiple attempts to seize the Heart, starting with an attack on the Village of Khalim where the Witch believes the Heart is nearby. When this attack turns up nothing, Ahzrak instead attempts to corrupt the Deag priest Loric, who provides the prince some information about the relic but seals it away from him in a cosmic shrine in the Holy City of Aratum. Ahzrak has his forces attack Aratum and finds the shrine, which the Witch is able to open using her eldritch powers, but the Sentinels under the command of King Novik rigged the entire city to detonate, and Novik takes the Heart into his own custody for safe keeping.
With the Heart in Novik's possession, Ahzrak tracks down Novik to the city of Teroth and lays siege to it in a massive attack. Ahzrak bests Novik in battle and takes the Heart from him but is frustrated to find that the artifact is empty and devoid of its legendary power. He believes this is a trick by the King and demands to know where the rumored Wraith energy has been hidden. The Doom Slayer interrupts this interrogation, and Ahzrak and the Witch are forced to flee but manage to keep hold of the Heart.
It is soon discovered that the power of the Heart instead dwells inside of King Novik's daughter, Commander Thira. The Kreed Maykr observes her activate these powers in the presence of the Ancestral's heart in the Ancestral Forge, spying through the Slayer's tether, and, having decided to betray the Sentinels, makes Ahzrak aware of this. The Witch deducts the nature of Thira's power and believes she can transfer the power to the Heart of Argent by having Thira brought to her world in the Cosmic Realm.
Arranging for Thira's abduction, the Sentinel commander is brought into the Cosmic Realm where her power grows to an immense level, as it is revealed that the origin of the Elemental Wraiths lies in that realm. Thira is kept unconscious, however. The Slayer attempts to rescue her, but the out-of-control Wraith spirit does not recognize the Slayer as friend and lashes out at him, paralyzing him with its energy. This allows Ahzrak, the Kreed, and the Witch to conduct a ritual to transfer a portion of Thira's Wraith energy into the Heart of Argent, re-powering it. The Witch summons a powerful stream of energy and fires it through the Wraith. Only a small orb-shaped portion of the Wraith spirit is transferred, but this is enough. Ahzrak seizes the Heart of Argent and absorbs it into his chest, where it transforms him into his Enhanced Ahzrak form, in which he takes on a Cosmic-influenced appearance, becoming pale in color, having larger horns, and becoming covered with eyes.
After the Slayer finally confronts Ahzrak and defeats him after an arduous battle, the Slayer rips the Heart from Ahzrak's body. This reverts Ahzrak to his normal form, and also causes the Wraith in Thira's body to reawaken. The Wraith, imprisoned along with Thira on a floating Hell barge, releases a huge blast of energy that disintegrates the barge. Ahzrak and his forces flee back to Hell, and the Wraith returns Thira's still-unconscious body safely to the ground. King Novik opens the Heart to release the energy back to Thira, after which the Wraith becomes dormant again and she reawakens.
Issues[edit]
If the Heart of Argent truly contains the last soul of a Wraith, this would seem to contradict the well-established lore of Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal regarding the fall of Argent D'Nur through the betrayal of Commander Valen, via the destruction of the Wraiths and the forging of the Well using their souls. It remains to be seen how these details can be reconciled.
