The story running through Bramble: The Mountain King is made up of interwoven tales inspired by Nordic folktales. These dark and twisted stories are not like any fairytales you may know, they are far more grotesque and unsettling. The adventure of Olle and his older sister Lillemore begins and ends in a warm and cozy bedroom, but is it all as it seems? Let’s explore the story and ending of Bramble: the Mountain King and find out what happened.
The story of Bramble: The Mountain King explained
The protagonist is a small boy named Olle who wakes one night to find his sister has left their bedroom one night to explore the mysterious woodlands. This is clearly not the first time Lillemore has climbed from her bedroom window at night. Despite being afraid of the darkness outside, Olle followed his sister’s trail. He may have been scared to enter the mysterious woods but the thought of being without his older sister scared him more.
The pair find and lose each other in the magical forest full of curious creatures as they stumble through trees and over brambles. As Olle continues fighting his way to rescue his sister, he discovers stories of some of the monsters lurking in the forest. The tale of the Mountain King threads its way through the second half of the game’s story, and Olle learns much of the tale from the ancient librarian, Lyktgubbe.
Olle learns of a once peaceful kingdom whose King and Queen dreamed of a child who would be heir to the throne. At last the Queen became pregnant, but unfortunately died when their son, Ulrik, was born. The King was overcome with grief but thankfully his son brought light into his life.
When the child fell ill, his father the King was so desperate to save him that he searched the entire kingdom for a magical flower. The search became ever more hopeless as no flower was found, and the King began slaughtering witches who could not, or would not, help him.
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As you approach the end of the game, another chapter of the Mountain King’s story is revealed. Olle finds himself battling through brambles to get into the mountain, and discovers Lyktgubbe’s library once again. We learn that the King finds a witch living in a woodland cottage and begs her for the flower.
She agrees, but warns him of the power held within the bloom, and that it should be used very carefully. Only one petal can be used at a time and only for good, or risk death.
The King saved his son using the petal, but after the bloody campaign he had fought, his people were bitter and angry towards the royal family. The Prince was found murdered in his sleep the next day. Filled with grief and hatred, the King used the flower for revenge against the witch’s warning.
The entire kingdom became overcome with thorny brambles. The witch saw this and used the bramble to create a nightmarish mountain, trapping the King inside where he was kept alive by the trolls who fed him as he was shackled to his throne.
As Olle continues to explore the castle, he finds warm, dry clothing to wear. Putting it on we see that he is now wearing the smart suit belonging to the young Prince. Olle finds a small golden blade in the pocket. Making his way through, Olle finally finds himself in the throne room where the King is being fed by a troll.
To his horror, Olle sees his sister Lillemore being tipped from a sack into the King’s mouth. After a long battle with the King, Olle manages to banish most of the brambles which had been blinding the King. As soon as he could see again, the King saw Olle dressed as the Prince and put down his weapons. For the final time, the King used the magical flower to break the curse for good.
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As a last attempt to save his sister as he fell to his death, Olle threw his light into the King’s mouth, where it was found by Lillemore to free herself from inside the King. Lillemore used the light to bring Olle to life, and the siblings staggered through the crumbling kingdom until they reached home.
As we come full circle, Lillemore wakes in her bedroom to find her brother has left his bed. The painting on the wall no longer shows all the creatures of the forest, and there are all the ornaments Olle found on his adventure placed on the shelf. She goes to the window to see where he has gone, and we can see that the darkness doesn’t scare the brave Lillmore. Olle pops his head up from outside and we know now that the pair are safe and happy together as they should be.
Published: May 8, 2023 03:40 am