| “ | '"The woods lay still, all ash and bone."' | „ |
| —The narrator while Ori is exploring Silent Woods |
The Silent Woods is a location found in Ori and the Will of the Wisps. It connects to the Windswept Wastes in the east, Willow's End and Kwolok's Hollow in the west. Originally, this place was home to the Owls and the Moki. Death and Decay wiped out all of the owls and Moki in the woods and transformed it into a near desolate land, with many inhabitants unfortunate enough to remain within the woods for too long becoming lifeless stone.
The Moki describe the Silent Woods as "the home they left behind." This is supported by numerous Moki huts and lifeless statues of Moki scattered near the entrance to the woods.
Significance and Events[]
The Silent Woods is the birthplace of Shriek. She is the sole survivor of the Decay, guarding the silence and ensuring it is kept by swiftly and mercilessly silencing any who disrupts it, spirits most of all. The Silent Woods has tar that is lethal to Ori, killing them at the slightest touch, signifying the powers of the Decay.
Ku lands here after being separated from Ori upon getting caught in a storm. She searches for her mother's feather while hiding from Shriek. After Ori finds their way to the Silent Woods, they find and reunite with Ku.
Shriek discovers them, and hunt for them while they try to search for Kuro's feather. When they find the feather on a branch, it is blown away by Shriek's wings as she corners them. She attacks Ori, causing them to fall into a pit, while Ku tries to attack Shriek to defend Ori. After flinging Ku off of her, Shriek walks over to Ku who is cornered at a ledge. Ku tries to stand up to her as Shriek crushes Ku under her stone wing, sending the owlet off the edge.
Ori wakes up and finds Ku badly injured. The mortally wounded Ku is then carried to Kwolok's Hollow by the Moki. After the fight with Ori in the Willow's end, Shriek returns to Silent Woods, wounded. She then stumbles to her petrified parents, nestling under their wings, and dies.
Notable Sub-Locations[]
The Weeping Ridge[]
The Weeping Ridge is a large, inhosptiable ravine carved out by the Decay that seperates Willow's End from the rest of Niwen. There's evidence that Gorlek miners once worked there, given that there is a Gorlek elavator that assists Ori in ascending the ridge, but for when the work was done and for what reason is unknown. What is known is that the Spirit that once held Launch died here, and their skill is the last mandatory ability found in the whole of Niwen, and essential for exploring Willow's End.
The Feeding Grounds[]
The Feeding Grounds are a barren stretch of land where the cold stone of the Silent Woods shifts into the warm sands of the Windswept Wastes. Large animals are thought to have once lived here, but all that remains are their decaying skeletons. This land is where Shriek can most often be found when she is not hunting, often devouring the remains of her last victim.
Ori is forced to cross the treacherous landscape in order to reach the Windswept Wastes, but their fear of Shriek prevents them from doing so quickly. An accidental step on an old bone draws Shriek in, and Ori is forced to hide behind decaying leather and parchment in order to escape undetected. If Ori ever has to cross the Feeding Grounds again, they must do so through a tunnel of sand below ground.
Once Seir is reformed, Ori returns to the Feeding Grounds in an attempt to gain access to the Weeping Ridge. Shriek returns to her grounds, and attempts to crush Ori flat, but Seir charges up and rams into Shriek, breaking her skull armor and horns. Seir charges up again to kill Shriek before she can respond, but Ori restrains the Golden Light, in an attempt to forgive Shriek in spite of what she's done. Shriek instead escapes, leaving the Feeding Grounds altogether and she begins the patrol the Spirit Willow, waiting to ambush Seir if Ori makes it to the old tree.
Gallery[]
