EA and Ascendent Studios announced Immortals of Aveum last year, with its official reveal arriving this past April. Last week, another gameplay trailer gave fans an even closer look at the upcoming fantasy first-person shooter. This included a detailed look at the game's magical combat, featuring a breakdown of the different spell types. The new trailer also showed Immortals of Aveum's skill trees, items, and crafting while teasing more of the game's world and story.
Immortals of Aveum sees players take the role of Jak, a talented battlemage determined to defend his homeland of Lucium from the invading kingdom of Rasharn and its tyrannical ruler Sandrakk. Developers revealed a fair amount of information about Jak, including the fact that he's one of the few people in Aveum who can use all three colors of magic. Other details about Jack's backstory include that he only came into his magic as an adult and was looked down on by mages from more respected bloodlines. However, one of the things fans don't know is the significance of the strange tattoo around his right eye.
Jak's Tattoo in Immortals of Aveum
Of course, the most straightforward and least satisfying explanation is that Jak's tattoo is just there because the designers thought it looked cool. That might be true, and it would not be unusual for character designers to do something simply because it looks good. However, there is some reason to believe that it may have more significance to Ascendant Studios' Immortals of Aveum than just that. It may even serve a practical purpose.
Jak's tattoo is a relatively simple design, mainly consisting of a single line. Starting just below the corner of his right eye, it curves down before going straight up. The line then turns at a right angle and goes backward, crossing its tail before curving around his eye until it almost touches his right eyebrow. It then turns diagonally up, then down, forming a small triangle. Dots on the bottom left and top right side complete the design.
However, the most notable feature of Jak's tattoo in Immortals of Aveum is its connection to his magical powers. Immortals of Aveum's box art and most of the promotional images show tattoos glowing blue. However, it is not glowing in any of the game footage or screenshots where Jak's face is visible. Since he’s not casting magic in most of those shots, this indicates that it has some magical properties that only activate when Jak is either casting a spell or preparing to do so. Fans will also note that Jak's eyes glow when his tattoo does.
It is also worth noting that most characters in Immortals of Aveum don't seem to have similar tattoos. The developer's recent "Immortals of Aveum Unpacked" video shows several NPCs who don't have tattoos, including people who are clearly magic users. Even among the titular Immortals, the only other person with similar markings is their leader, General Kirkan. Perhaps not coincidentally, Kirkan is Jak's mentor and the person who recruited him into the organization.
Jak and Kirkan are also the only currently known Immortals commanding more than one color of magic. This could indicate that the tattoos signify individuals who can use multiple colors of magic. Considering the tattoos themselves are magical, they may even serve some role in helping them use their powers more effectively.
Speculating a bit further, Jak's tattoo may serve as something of a magical heads-up display. That might sound silly, but it does seem to be in roughly the right place for it. HUDs are a common element in first-person shooters like Immortals of Aveum. However, most games don’t bother to give an in-universe explanation for the HUD's presence, so it would be interesting if Immortals of Aveum is one of the few exceptions.
Immortals of Aveum launches on August 22, 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
