The Mother (Jade Empire)

The Mother is an ancient demon from the video game Jade Empire. She is the dark counterpart and ancient enemy of the Forest Shadow whom she struggles with over the Great Southern Forest they both reside in. She's also the creator of the race of cannibals. She appears in the second chapter as a crucial character of the subquest in the Great Southern Forest.

The ancient threat and imprisonment
The Mother has existed in the world centuries before the Jade Empire was formed. She was anchored to the Great Southern Forest along with the fox spirit known as the Forest Shadow by the heavenly higher powers. They were to function as balancing forces to each other, with the Mother being the dark half of that balance. The Forest Shadow would test the spirit of humanity as the trickster the fox spirits are, and the Mother corrupted that which the Forest Shadow would test.

Wanting to claim the Great Southern Forest all for herself, the Mother whispered dark promises of power to impressionable men whom she eventually transformed as her first cannibal underlings. As the cannibals' numbers and the Mother's power grew, the forest twisted and blackened as the trees grew sick. The Forest Shadow attempted to fight the Mother by destroying her followers and blocking the paths into the forest to prevent their numbers from growing further. Unfortunately, it was not enough against the Mother. The Forest Shadow weakened as the trees twisted, and the Mother's victory seemed certain.

Having to change her tactics, the Forest Shadow disguised herself as a crone and tricked the kings of the neighboring kingdoms to set their sections of the Great Southern Forest on fire. The entire forest burned as the fire reached its heart. The Mother's followers were destroyed while the Mother, who had invested a large portion of her power in the trees, was weakened to the point that she fell into a torpor. The Forest Shadow was weakened as well, but she had prepared herself appropriately. The Mother was sealed inside a hill while the Forest Shadow helped the forest to regrow stronger than before. It would take millennia before the Mother would threaten the forest again.

The Mother's return
After the Water Dragon was killed thanks to Emperor Sun Hai and Sun Li the Glorious Strategist, more and more restless ghosts of the dead were trapped in the mortal world. The Mother was awakened by their feelings of anger and hunger for release. Drawing strength from these dark emotions, she reached out into the minds of men once again and recreated her cannibal underlings. She first corrupted the innkeeper of the Pilgrim's Rest, the inn that was built on the hill she was trapped in.

The new cannibals started working to set their mistress free, digging tunnels in her prison hill. The Pilgrim's Rest was maintained by the innkeeper who disguised himself and a group of other cannibals as humans. They'd lure in travelers and drag them underground either to eat them or convert them into cannibals. As more and more ghosts started appearing in the forest, the Mother's power grew every day. The forest started blackening and growing sick once again, and by the time the Forest Shadow took notice, she could no longer crush her dark counterpart.

For all their tunneling, the cannibals couldn't free the Mother who could be freed only by the Forest Shadow dying or allowing it. The cannibals couldn't get anywhere near the Forest Shadow, for she was immune to their magical disguises, but neither could she follow them to the Pilgrim's Rest. Eventually the Mother gained enough power to send her demon servants to directly attack the piece of heaven the Forest Shadow resided in. They were held back by the Forest Shadow and her guardian, the elephant demon Shining Tusk and the fox spirits who served her. Neither the Mother or the Forest Shadow were strong enough to destroy each other, and their renewed conflict stood on a delicate balance.

The Mother's fate
When the last Spirit Monk enters the Great Southern Forest, they're asked by Lord Yun, the owner and guardian of the land, to seek a solution to the sickness plaguing the trees in exchange for a wind map to the Imperial City. Having to explore the Pilgrim's Rest and the temple dedicated to the Forest Shadow, the Spirit Monk learns of the conflict between the Forest Shadow and the Mother. They are offered by the cannibals a lot of silver in exchange for reaching the Forest Shadow in her sanctuary and kill her. When the Spirit Monk meets the Forest Shadow in her piece of heaven, the conflict can be resolved in three different ways.

If the Spirit Monk takes up the cannibals' offer and kills the Forest Shadow, the Mother is freed. She and her cannibals can then be left to plan for the spreading of their corruption and Lord Yun can be convinced to visit the Pilgrim's Rest where he'll likely be killed. If the Spirit Monk decides to side with the Forest Shadow instead, she releases the Mother of her own accord, allowing the Spirit Monk to enter the hill she's trapped in through the back of the Pilgrim's Rest. Fighting through tunnels filled with cannibals, they eventually enter the cavern the Mother resides in along with the Black Whirlwind and Henpecked Hou. As the Black Whirlwind keeps the cannibals at bay, the Spirit Monk faces the Mother. Unable to hurt her directly, they destroy three pillars supporting the cavern by Hou's suggestion. The Mother is crushed under falling rocks and dies. The Spirit Monk and her companions escape the collapsing caves in time. The Forest Shadow thanks the Spirit Monk and sets out to heal the forest. In the third option, the Spirit Monk can kill the Forest Shadow and then the Mother and her cannibals as well, leaving the forest to its own devices.

Personality
The Mother is a beastlike demon said to be the primal force of an ancient hunger. As the dark counterpart of the Forest Shadow, the Mother corrupts that which the fox spirit would test. She corrupts humans with dark promises of power, turning them into miniature versions of herself and teaching them to draw strength by eating human flesh. She's said to be insidious, for twice she was able to gather power and catch the Forest Shadow off guard when the fox spirit was no longer in the position to crush her. She doesn't make other sounds than screeching when met in person, so it isn't known if she's capable of spoken language. Judging by what she throws up during her boss fight, she likely eats human flesh like her subordinates.

Powers and abilities
The Mother is a powerful demon capable of corrupting humans into her inhuman cannibal minions. She has taught some of her magic to her "children", like the ability to disguise themselves as humans. She can sense in the spirits of the dead their anger and hunger for release and draw strength from these feelings. Even while trapped underground by the Forest Shadow, she was able to reach out to the minds of the humans in the Pilgrim's Rest. Her influence manifests itself in the trees of the Great Southern Forest twisting and blackening through a disease. In addition to the cannibals, she has under her command several types of demons — toad demons, horse demons and rhino demons as well as rat demons under the control of her cannibal handlers — whom she sends to attack the Forest Shadow's sanctuary.

Large and strong, the Mother is immune to all direct attacks and fighting styles. Only by being crushed under falling rocks she can be hurt.