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Vindictus: Defying Fate takes place in a dark fantasy setting inspired by Celtic mythology. The world is defined by a long war between two races, humans and the Fomors each claiming divine mandate to destroy the other. The war predates any living memory. Generations have fought and died on both sides, and the conflict has become so embedded in the world's identity that peace isn't seriously discussed by anyone.
Morrighan is the black-winged goddess who protects humanity. She descended to the mortal world and pledged herself to the defense of humans, "the weakest in this realm: the soft-fleshed, the frail-limbed." She promised a paradise free from suffering called Erinn, achievable only through the complete eradication of the Fomors.
Her words, as preserved in the game's lore: "Know that Erinn is a paradise free from all pain. Eradicate the Fomor, for their blood will open the gates of paradise. On the day the last drop of their blood is spilled, I shall spread my wings and stand before you."
In Celtic mythology, the Morrigan (or Morrigu) is a figure associated with war, fate, and death. The game takes this association and turns it into a patron deity who is both protector and instigator. She shields humanity but also drives them toward genocide. Tieve, the Oracle of Morrighan in Colhen, serves as the goddess's earthly representative.
Cichol is the white-winged god of the Fomors. Humans refer to him as the "evil god," though from the Fomor perspective he is their protector. A mirror image of what Morrighan is to humanity. If Morrighan promised paradise through the destruction of Fomors, Cichol presumably told his followers something equivalent. The symmetry between the two gods is deliberate.
Erinn is the promised paradise both sides are fighting to reach. According to prophecy, it is "a paradise free from all pain," accessible only when one race fully destroys the other. Whether Erinn is real, whether it can actually be reached, and whether the gods are telling the truth are open questions.
The name comes from Irish mythology. Erin or Eriu being a name for Ireland, and in the Mabinogi tradition, the Otherworld is a place of eternal youth and beauty. The game strips away the romanticism and frames Erinn as a tool of control, a promise that justifies endless war.
Game director Dongseok Oh stated that Defying Fate is a full reinterpretation of the original Vindictus story. The same characters and world exist, but the narrative is retold from the beginning with new presentation and potentially different outcomes. Newcomers can follow the entire plot without prior knowledge. Returning players will recognize familiar names and settings but discover them through fully voiced cinematic cutscenes rather than the original's text boxes.
Oh also noted that Defying Fate was not designed to directly link to Mabinogi or the original Vindictus continuity. It is its own game with its own structure. The Kalbram Mercenaries, Colhen, the Fomor war, these all return, but they exist in Defying Fate's version of events.
Development data from late 2025 shows modeling work for NPCs from both Colhen and Rochester (a major city from the original Vindictus), suggesting the full game's scope will extend beyond what the alpha test covered. Not all original Vindictus characters will appear. The November 2025 AMA confirmed the game will feature original characters that don't exist in the 2010 version.
