The corruption of the Elder Dragons seems to be as much a physical process as a psychological one. When we consider each of the Dragons, no matter how they begin to corrupt living beings, this corruption seems to end in the physical transformation of the corrupted. In the case of Jormag, the corrupted turn to ice; Kralkatorik, crystal; Zaithan, putrified flesh. In the case of Primordus, however, the cycle of corruption is not as obvious (indeed, you could argue that Primordus simply “destroys” things) and a number of posters have suggested that he does not corrupt living beings at all. (A counter argument would be that Primordus turns them into liquid rock. The process of corruption is almost instantaneous meaning it is easily missed. On a side note, it could be that the Dwarves walked into it when they turned to stone as they may now be capable of “turning”, as it were, to Primordus, without being consumed. They did turn to stone based on an inaccurate understanding of the situation and this could have dire consequences for the dwarves) The same could be said of “Bubbles”, our affectionately-named deep sea dragon, whose powers we have yet to see in action. He may not corrupt things either. Just as mysteriously, we have no real example of the corruption of the mysterious jungle dragon. Some have suggested that he poisons things, citing the potent death blossoms of Twilight Arbor as proof. It is more likely, however, that Mordremoth spreads fungal infection (hence we see examples of blighted grubs, husks and so on). So you could make a case for Mordremoth’s corruption being a physical process too. What we need to understand, however, is that all of these forms of corruption have something to do with the land herself.
What I mean by this is that the source of each of these forms of corruption is from a form of earth-based resource – something naturally occurring close to, on, or under the ground.
Thus, Primordus’ corruption is rising from the deepest regions of Tyria in a form of molten rock. Kralkatorik, likewise, is corrupting from the rock of Tyria, turning the corrupted into crystal (the process of crystallization being a key part of the process of rock formation). Jormag corrupts from the frozen wastes of Tyria, turning his corrupt into the ice of the ground. Mordremoth may corrupt from the ground, spreading fungal infection. The deep sea dragon corrupts from the depths of the sea, perhaps from a base as deep as if not deeper than that of Primordus – a place close to the heart of Tyria. Zaithan also corrupts from the ground, primarily in the form of raising the dead from it. Moreover, his (apparent) power over the cycle of death within Tyria also involved the restoration of a piece of land (ground) from the depths. All of these Elder Dragons have some connection to the land itself. It’s almost as though Tyria herself might be working through them to some end.
We are left pondering why the Elder Dragons have emerged from the depths of Tyria herself rather than the Mists and why their corruption seems (because in at least four cases, arguably five, it does) to result in the physical transformation of the corrupted. We could just be spectacularizing for the sake of it, or we may have hit on something important that needs to be explored for the good of all Tyrians.
