"When Bublo embraced my light as a child of her own..."
-The Spirit Tree's narration in the Prologue.
Bublo is a creature of an unknown race and Ori's effective "foster mother". When Ori became separated from the Spirit Tree during the Great Storm, Bublo discovered the young spirit and raised it as her own child.
Description
Bublo is a large and slow being. She has a very large spotted belly and her arms, chest, head and back are covered with black fur. Most of her lower half is a lighter shade of purple while her face is pure white.
Bublo is very motherly, caring and affectionate, especially towards Ori. She shares many personality traits with her parent and with the earlier days of Kuro, who both loved and cherished their children. Bublo is also shown to be very determined and selfless, striving to find Ori even as Nibel was burning around her.
Ori and the Blind Forest/Definitive Edition
- Warning! Spoilers ahead.
Before the events of the main game, when the Spirit Tree was only a sprout, Bublo lived in the Lost Grove beneath the Black Root Burrows as a child with her father. She quickly became friends with the other Spirit Guardians, playing games with them and embracing the union of light and dark their friendship created. However, Bublo's father did not approve of this and promptly separated them.
As the years passed, Bublo remained with her father in their nest where she would be taught various skills the older she grew. When she returned home after trying to gather food one day, Bublo found her father on the ground having passed away. Mourning her loss and with no reason to remain in her home, she left the Grove in search of a new place to belong.
Bublo draws a cross on the trunks of the trees where she picked fruits
Many years later during the events of the Great Storm, Bublo observes from afar at the edge of Swallow's Nest when she sees a glowing form float overhead. She follows it until it lands and transforms into Ori. Sensing that the tiny creature is the same as the ones she was friends with in her youth, she embraces Ori and henceforth becomes the only parent they ever knew.
Some time after finding Ori, Bublo and her child work together in order to find more food for themselves by building a bridge to a bountiful collection of trees. That very same night, the Spirit Tree calls out to Ori, filling the skies with light. Frightened by the sudden event, Bublo hurries Ori into their cave to protect them.
Later on, Bublo ventures out to find more food, only to discover that the forest has withered and decayed. Unable to collect food from the highest tree branches, Bublo returns to the cave and gives Ori the final piece of fruit they have left, not caring for her own needs. When Ori ventures out and comes back with food, Bublo is unresponsive. After trying to wake her, Ori realizes that Bublo has died of starvation while being away. Mourning the loss of Bublo, Ori leaves the Nest, mirroring the actions of their mother many years ago.
Bublo is not seen again for much of Ori's journey. In the Definitive Edition of the game, Ori is able to explore the Black Root Burrows and Lost Grove to discover more about her earlier life.
After her child receives the Sunstone, Bublo's inanimate form still remains on the cave floor. Gumo, having been inspired by the Spirit Guardian's selflessness and courage, brings the shimmering Light Vessel from the Forlorn Ruins near her. The object resurrects Bublo from her slumber and the smiling Gumon leads her outside. The pair gaze past the dying forest to observe Mount Horu, which seems ready to burst at its seams with molten lava. Bublo and Gumo descend from the pinnacle, making their way to the bubbling volcano.
Bublo and Gumo journey close to Horu where the land is slowly burning from the mountain's fire. Bublo manages to climb up a small cliff, but she and Gumo are separated when two flaming rocks crash between them. Bublo waves to the Gumon before running off, wishing solely to see Ori again. After Ori rekindles the Element of Warmth and is knocked unconscious by Kuro, Bublo pushes herself through the burning trees to cradle her child in her arms in defiance of her father's dislike of her union with the light. Her motherly affection affects Kuro, forcing the giant bird to realize her mistake of attacking the Spirit Tree. In the distance, Kuro's egg is slowly getting engulfed by the flames. Kuro returns Sein to the Tree and sacrifices herself in the same way that Bublo did for Ori to save her child, and restores Nibel to its former glory.
After the Spirit Tree rebalances the Elements and Ori returns to the Spirit Tree to observe their kin being reborn, Bublo and Gumo watch from afar with pride at what Ori has accomplished. Returning back to her cave, it is revealed that Bublo has adopted Kuro's unhatched chick and comes home just in time to witness it start to hatch.
Gallery
Trivia
- The Spirit Guardians that Bublo makes friends with in her youth are implied to be Eki and Sol, the two who eventually become Ancestral Trees in the Black Root Burrows and Lost Grove, due to their usage of both Dash and Light Burst. Eki's end is even elaborated on by Sein who says the Spirit was trying to find Bublo after she left her home following her father's death.