Goremand (Trials of Mana)

Goremand
Trials of Mana HD artwork Trials of Mana artwork Rise of Mana artwork
First appearance	Trials of Mana (1995)
Latest appearance	Echoes of Mana (2022)
Japanese name	死を喰らう男
Title(s)	Death Devourer
Faction	The Masked Mage
Role	Antagonist
Gender	Male
Species	Mavole
Status	Dead
Counterpart(s)	Goremand (Sword of Mana)
Voice actor(s)	Jpn: Riki Kitazawa, Tomokazu SugitaToM HD Eng: Dino AndradeToM HD

This article is about Goremand as a character. For Goremand as a boss in Trials of Mana, see Goremand (boss).

This article is about Goremand as a character in Trials of Mana. For Goremand of Sword of Mana, see Goremand (Sword of Mana).

“Yum, yum! What a veritable feast of souls for me today!”

—In-game dialogue

Goremand is a secondary antagonist and boss in Trials of Mana. He also appears in other games in the series.

Background

Goremand's backstory is obscure to say the least. One could speculate he might have made a pact with the Masked Mage to rid the world of suffering through death. In exchange for his assistance, the Death devourer would feast upon myriads of souls. To achieve this feat he would use the beastmen's hatred of humans to his advantage and release the powers of the Mana Stones, freeing the Benevodons, and opening the portal leading to the Sanctuary of Mana. There, Goremand could obtain the fabled Mana Sword, whom he would give to the Masked Mage and plunge the world of Fa'Diel into chaos.

History

Trials of Mana

“A DEMONIC DEVOURER OF HUMAN SOULS -- Goremand dresses in a jester's tunic and wields a twisted scythe. He may seem playful, but he is no fool. After unexpectedly appearing in Kevin's home, the kingdom of Ferolia, Goremand gains favor with the king and pushes the beastmen to invade Wendel.”

—Square Enix Official Website

During Kevin's opening scene, Goremand begins to unfold his plan for his master by befriending the King of Ferolia in Lowenburg. The ruler of Ferolia is at first unimpressed by the bystander and tries to dismiss him, but the bony jester has many tricks up his sleeves and convices the King to lend an ear. Goremand uses his dark spells to trick Kevin, coming back from a stroll in Duskmoon Forest, into attacking his possessed wolf pup friend Karl. A battle ensues, and the youngster is forced to transform into his beastmen form, effectively killing Karl. This event left Kevin into a deep mourning, but little did he know that his father, the King of Ferolia, asked the jester to use his magic on both of them to trigger the lad's transformation. A deal is made between Goremand and Gauser, and the ruler of Ferolia assembles his troops led by Ludgar to invade Jadd Stronghold before striking at the holy city of Wendel. After Kevin returns from grieving in the forest, he overhears the two men conversing about the jester trick to kill Karl as means of cutting him off of any forms of attachment. This enrages the lad, who tries to get his revenge on them, but is knocked back by his father. Kevin finds Goremand in Duskmoon Forest and confronts him, but the sly jester tells hims that the Priest of Light from Wendel might know how to bring the pup to life. He suggest that Kevin should make haste since the Ferolian troops are already on their way to the holy city. Kevin believes him and heads there.

During Charlotte's opening gambit, Goremand heads to the Rabite Forest near Jadd and eavesdrop on a brawl between a young priest from Wendel and beastmen. The priest casts a Holy Bolt at them to protect his young friend Charlotte. This magic feat impresses the jester who thinks he might be a suitable pawn to the Masked Mage. He comes out of his hiding spot and attack the boy with his dark magic, rendering him unconscious. Charlotte tries to retaliate but she is easily brushed aside, and the evil jester vanishes along with the young man.

The beastmen eventually took advantage of the removal of the magical barrier protecting the holy city to invade the city. Fortunately, the Priest of Light cast a powerful but dangerous spells to fend them off, taking a big toll to his health.

Goremand in seen much more later near Chartmoon Tower, when the Mana Stone of the Moon is said to be. Ludgar had just defeated Altenish spies snooping around the tower, to the delight of Goremand's hunger for their souls, when the three protagonists entered on the scene. Goremand had to keep gathering more souls in order to cast the forbidden magic needed to open the portal to the Sanctuary. Kevin returns from his travels, accusing the jester of lying about the Priest of Light being able to revive his wolf friend. Goremand laughs are him for being gullible and paralyzes him with his magic, intending to swallow his soul in one gulp. He is stopped by the chosen and his comrades, forcing him to retreat as Ludgar takes them on. Strangely, he doesn't release the Moonstone's energy, possibly because he didn't have any souls to spare.

The main characters eventually succeed in gathering the Mana spirits and, combined with the enemy's effort to activate the Mana Stones, open the portal to the Sanctuary of Mana. As the three evil factions of the world collide, the Masked Mage finds himself warring for the control of the Sword of Mana. What follows next depends on who is the main character of the story:

• If Duran or Angela is the main character of the story, the Dragon Lord's faction kills the Masked Mage and Goremand is held hostage as a messenger to the party before disposing of him afterwards.
• If Kevin or Charlotte is the main character of the story, the Masked Mage's faction kills the Masked Mage and Goremand is held hostage as a messenger to the party before disposing of him afterwards.
• If Hawkeye or Riesz is the main character of the story, succeeds in killing the Dragon Lord and destroying the remains of the Dark Majesty.

Provided the main character is Charlotte or Kevin, Goremand and Heath, now as the Tainted Soul, kidnap Faerie while the chosen takes the holy sword and demand the party exchange her for the holy sword. They make the deal in Lowenburg. The evil jester tries to wield the Sword at first, but its holy powers are no match for him to withstand. The Tainted Soul corrupts the sword with his dark magic, turning the blade into reflecting the heart of its new owner. The both of them head back to Mirage Palace to use the Sword to free the Benevodons inside each Mana Stone and give them to their master.

The heroes kill the Benevodons one by one and head to the Mirage Palace, the Masked Mage's lair deep within the Jungle of Visions. Before reaching the palace, they meet what seems to be a dead-end, but using the Mirage Mirror found earlier after slaying the Benevodon of Darkness dispels the illusion put up by Goremand. The wicked buffoon tells them now that his master about to absorb the power of the eight Benevodons he can hardly wait to behold his monstrous shape. The main characters engage him in battle when utlimately perish by their hand.

Rise of Mana

The villain trio

The Crimson Wizard, with Belladonna and Goremand, makes cameo appearances in the mobile phone game Rise of Mana. They serve as bosses and allies, even when against them as bosses. They can be faced individually or all together.

Two heroes of warring tribes from the Spirit Realm, the divine Rasta and demonic Daruka, are sent into the Physical Planes sharing a body and forced to cooperate. In fact, it was a plan of the Mana Goddess to bring peace between their tribes.

When fought as a boss, the Death Jester is flanked by two powerful werewolf monsters. He jumps around swiftly and swipes his scythe, stabs the ground, performs spinning strikes, swings it to send a yellow energy blade, spins it to conjure a tornado, and conjures a green lightning bolt that blasts the ground if it strikes the characters. The werewolves strike and surround themselves with a purple aura to attack. Death Jester is powerful but not that hard to defeat. The protagonists just need to dodge his attacks and retaliate while dealing with the monsters on the sides.

When fought alongside the other two, they form a considerably dangerous team that unleash long-range and close range combos. Be very careful and dodge and counterattack rather than rushing blindly.

The three together form a formidable team that unleash long-range and close-range combos. Be very careful and dodge and counterattack rather than rushing blindly.

Circle of Mana

Goremand makes a cameo appearance in the online game, along with several other characters from the Mana series. He appears in 5 set of cards.

Rank	Attribute	Name	Classes				Quote
UR	技	死を喰らう男	影の道化	闇の道化	[光]裏切りの道化	[闇]死をもたらす道化	「ケヴィン様。すべてはこの国を守らんが為の行動、ご理解いただきたいですな。ヒヒヒ。」 "Sir Kevin. I hope you understand that everything I do is to protect this country. Hee hee."
SUR	技	死を喰らう男	影の道化	闇の道化	[光]裏切りの道化	[闇]死をもたらす道化	「ヒヒッ、私めは存じておるのですよ。」 "Hee hee, I know."
SSUR	技	死を喰らう男[ブラックサンタ]	影の道化	闇の道化	[光]裏切りの道化	[闇]死をもたらす道化	「トリックオアトリート……おや？」 "Trick-or-treating… oh?"
LGR	技	死を喰らう男[真]	影の道化	闇の道化	[光]裏切りの道化	[闇]死をもたらす道化	「トリックオアトリート……おや？」 "Trick-or-treating… oh?"
LGR	技	死を喰らう男[栄冠]	影の道化	闇の道化	[光]裏切りの道化	[闇]死をもたらす道化	「トリックオアトリート……おや？」 "Trick-or-treating… oh?"

Echoes of Mana

Goremand (Tragic Jester)

“Dressed in jester attire, this cruel and cunning demonic devourer of souls may seem playful, but he is no fool. For the ecstasy of filling his belly, he gains favor with the king of Ferolia and pushes the beastmen to invade Wendel.”

—In-game profile

Goremand was a character and obtainable unit. He had only one variant.

See also: Goremand (Tragic Jester)

Character Bond dialogues

'And what are you looking at, hm? Watch it or I'll put you in my belly!'

'You won't get in the way of my next meal! Understand?'

'I'm too busy to fool with little brats like you. Now scram!'

'I'm still feeling full from my last feast! Hee hee hee!'

'Nothing like a tasty soul to sooth my appetite!'

'Do not forget I am a wizard who serves the Masked Mage!'

'Hee hee hee! Call on me if you're in need of my service in you journey. I'm quite good at disposal the fallen!'

'Is there anyone you're looking to get rid of? For I know just who can help...in exchange for their soul.'

'Oooh! If only I could get my hands on the Mana Sword!'

'I do enjoy a place full of LIFE, you see... And this one is as lively as they come! Hee hee!'

Non-Mana appearances

Lord of Vermilion III

The Crimson Wizard, Belladonna and Goremand make cameos in this crossover arcade strategy game. It features collectible cards and battles in open space while controlling several units, consisting in different characters from many Square Enix games. They serve as powerful units who fight with their spells from the game.

Trivia

• Goremand is the only second-in-command villain to be fought before reaching the main antagonist's lair.
• He is also the only one to use a weapon, his scythe instead of only relying on magic.
• In the Legend of Mana, a statue of Goremand can be found in the basement of Kristie's palace in Geo, among other artifacts from Trials of Mana.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Goremand (Trials of Mana).

• 

  Trials of Mana artwork

• 

  Trials of Mana HD screenshot