Rom, the Vacuous Spider

Lore

Miyazaki's interview confirms that Rom is in fact female. In the interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki found in the Official Guide, Mizayaki was asked what his favorite boss was. His answer was Rom, stating that “I really like her. There are some oddly cute aspects to her moves and modeling.”

Theories

Rom is the (surrogate) child of Ebrietas

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The One Third of Umbilical Cord, or Cord of the Eye, is a relic that comes from an infant Great One. In Bloodborne, the Cord of the Eye is used to make contact with Great Ones.

What about the Cord that Imposter Iosefka possessed? The Cord that we retrieve from her says that "Provost Willem sought the Cord in order to elevate his being and thoughts…". If the Cord was used by Willem, and the Cords grant audience with the infant Great One to whom it belongs, then this Cord very likely belongs to Rom. Rom was possibly one of the "special children" that Miyazaki talks about in the Future Press game guide, who was chosen by a Great One to ascend and become their child. Whether this occurred with the help of Willem, or occurred in Ancient Pthumeru, there is evidence to suggest that Rom is the child of Ebrietas.

We find a body that looks remarkably similar to Rom on the Altar of Despair, which Ebrietas kneels before as if in prayer. This may be the slumbering body of Rom at the Altar of Despair where we meet Ebrietas. Beyond this piece of evidence, there are also some similarities in how we encounter Ebrietas and Rom that further supports this. They both start out passive in their boss fights, and they both use arcane attacks. These similarities, combined with the appearance of a Rom-like figure at the Altar of Despair are enough to link Rom to Ebrietas, and therefore link the Cord that Willem used to Rom, the infant Great One to which it belonged.

Also, Ebrietas is named after a butterfly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebrietas) and Rom appears to be a caterpillar, rather than a spider.

Rom's blood when attacking her head is the same colour as Ebrietas, and Kin are said to be Kin of the Cosmos.

Rom is the result of a successful ritual that was undertaken on the Research Patients

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In the early days of the Healing Church, the Great Ones were linked to the ocean, and so the cerebral patients would imbibe water, and listen for the howl of the sea. Brain fluid writhed inside the head, the initial makings of internal eyes.

If we follow the story of Saint Adeline she eventually becomes an Enlarged Head because she has imbibed Brain Fluid expanding her head until it is all that she is. But Adeline's case is a little different to the other patients; she is a almost a success story in that she is able to perceive the Milkweed Rune, the language of the Great Ones. She also looks different to the other enlarged heads, she is drawn out, elongated. What if this is a similar process that Rom went through? Rom is essentially a head full of eyes, so what if Rom also imbibed water, or eyes, until her head expanded and it became all that she was? The mental state of the patients certainly deteriorates as they progress, and if that sack containing their enlarged head were to mature, would the internal eyes mature along with it and eventually transform them into something like Rom?

If we look at Rom's head, it is that same ashen colour as Adeline's head before it becomes tinged with blood. And if a head did expand till it was just eyes, then one can imagine it might look a lot like Rom's…

Sources

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Micolash dialogue:
"Ahh, Kos, or some say Kosm… Do you hear our prayers?"
"As you once did for the vacuous Rom, grant us eyes, grant us eyes. Plant eyes on our brains, to cleanse our beastly idiocy."
"The grand lake of mud, hidden now, from sight."

Great Ones Wisdom
Fragments of the lost wisdom of the Great Ones, beings that
might be described as gods.
Use to gain Insight.
At Byrgenwerth, Master Willem had an epiphany:
"We are thinking on the basest of planes. What we need, are
more eyes.".

Madman's Knowledge
Skull of a madman touched by the wisdom of the Great
Ones.
Use to gain Insight.
Making contact with eldritch wisdom is a blessing, for even
if it drives one mad, it allows one to serve a grander purpose,
for posterity.

Kin Coldblood
Coldblood of inhuman kin of the cosmos,
brethren of the Great Ones.
Use to gain unspeakable Blood Echoes.
Dare not to delve into the world beyond humanity, the
eldritch Truth touched upon long ago at Byrgenwerth.

Lunarium Key
Key to the lunarium facing the lake on the second floor of
Byrgenwerth College.
In his final years, Master Willem was fond of the lookout,
and the rocking chair that he kept there for meditation.
In the end, it is said, he left his secret with the lake.

Lake Rune
A Caryll rune that transcribes inhuman sounds
This transcription of the Great Ones' inhuman voices ripples
like a watery reflection. This rune means "Lake," and those
who memorize it enjoy reduced physical damage.
Great volumes of water serve as a bulwark guarding sleep,
and an augur of the eldritch Truth.
Overcome this hindrance, and seek what is yours.

Fading Lake Rune
A Caryll rune that transcribes inhuman sounds.
This transcription of the Great Ones' inhuman voices ripples
like a watery reflection. This rune means "Lake," and those
who memorize it enjoy reduced fire damage.
Great volumes of water serve as a bulwark guarding sleep,
and an augur of the eldritch Truth.
Overcome this hindrance, and seek what is yours.

Deep Sea Rune
A secret symbol left by Caryll, runesmith of Byrgenwerth.
This transcription of the Great Ones' inhuman voices
depicts downreaching currents.
This rune means "Deep Sea," and grants augmented
resistance. Great volumes of water serve as a bulwark
guarding sleep, and an augur of the eldritch Truth.
Overcome this hindrance, and seek what is yours.

Augur of Ebrietas
Remnant of the eldritch Truth encountered at Byrgenwerth.
Use phantasms, the invertebrates known to be augurs of the
Great Ones, to partially summon abandoned Ebrietas.
The initial encounter marked the start of an inquiry into the
cosmos from within the old labyrinth, and led to the
establishment of the Choir.

Blindfold Cap
Attire of the Choir, high-ranking members of the Healing
Church.
Members of the Choir are both the highest-ranking clerics of
the Healing Church, and scholars who continue the work
that began at Byrgenwerth.
The eye covering indicates their debt to the teachings of
Master Willem, even though their paths diverged.

NB. These notes may be referring to Patches, the Spider

Cathedral Ward Lore Note:
Location: After beating Father Gascoigne and ascending a ladder into a study as you're entering Cathedral Ward , the note is around the first table:
"The Byrgenwerth spider hides all manner of rituals, and keeps our lost master from us. A terrible shame. It makes my head shudder uncontrollably."

Byrgenwerth Lore Note:
Location: On a couch on the opposite side of the same floor as the first note:
"The spider hides all manner of rituals, certain to reveal nothing, for true enlightenment need not be shared."

Alfred, Hunter of Vilebloods dialogue:
Select "Talk about Byrgenwerth"
"Byrgenwerth is an old place of learning. The tomb of the gods, carved out below Yharnam, should be familiar to every hunter. Well, once a group of young Byrgenwerth scholars discovered a holy medium deep within the tomb. This led to the founding of the Healing Church, and the establishment of blood healing. In this sense, everything sacred in Yharnam can be traced back to Byrgenwerth. But today, the college lies deep within a tangled wood, abandoned and decrepit. And furthermore, the Healing Church has declared Byrgenwerth forbidden ground. It's unclear how many of its scholars remain alive… …but only they know the password that allows passage through the gate."

Simon, the Harrowed dialogue:
Respond “nightmares are fascinating”:
"Ahh, yes, I see…
You sense a secret within the Nightmare,
And cannot bear to leave it be.
As if the spirit of Byrgenwerth lives on within you!
Such inquisitive hunters will relish the Nightmare.
But beware, secrets are secrets for a reason.
And some do not wish to see them uncovered.
Especially when the secrets are particularly unseemly…"

NB.
During the track called 'Rom, the Vacuous Spider' which is played during the battle against Rom, female voices can be heard in the background, though what they are saying is indistinct.

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PREV: Orphan of Kos

NEXT: Shadows of Yharnam

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