ISSUE 17: UNEARTHING ELONA

To defeat a god, we sacri fi ced a continent. Relive th e decisions that bro ught Joko to power.

HIST O RY OF P ALAWA JOKO

N I GHTFALL

Discover a land ruled by an undead king

Will we head to Elona n ext? Unearth what cou ld await there...

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-5 DR // 205 BE The first human settlements appear in the valley of Elona and the islands of I stan.

0 DR // 200 BE The first Dynastic Kings come to power, ruling Elona from the City of Fahranur in Istan for over 650 years.

229 DR // 29 AE

91 2 DR // 712 AE The first Great Corsair Wa r begins.

1060 DR // 86 0 AE Palawa Joko invades Elona and captures most of the mainland.

baddon’s attempt to regain his freedom had a lasting e ff ec t on the world – but th e fallen god was not alone in shaping the history and environ s of Elona. As a catalyst for change, Pa lawa Joko occupies a position of uni que power and continues

to this day to in fl uence the Land of the Golden Sun. The undead lord of the Desolation and Scourge of Vabbi, Joko fi rst appeared in the history of Elona in 757 AE (957 DR) with th e buildin g of his Bone Palace in the Desolation. P rior to that, he was known as an “upstart king” in the time of Mad King Thorn – the

two of them enjoyed quite the rivalry. However, how he became a lich and u ndead king remains a mystery. For over one hundred years, until 860 AE, Joko b uilt up h is undead army by raiding the ancient tombs of the Crystal Desert and enslaving humans from the civilizations that

A

Elona belongs to the un dead .

faltered due to the expansion of the Desolatio n. With his horde of und ead, he then invaded Vabbi, quickly taking control of th e province. For two years, Joko waged war against the Elonians, easily capturing the unprepared estates of the merchant princes. He proclaimed himself sovereign ruler of

the area, and eventually controlled most of the mainland province of Kourna and all of Vabbi. Palawa Joko’s advance was countered by a small reb el force consisting of Elonian s from all three provinces, led by the Kournan warmarshal Turai Ossa. Although Turai’ s

hit -and-run tactics had some success, his forces eventually fou nd themselves surrounded at the Grand Cataract of J ahai, where they prepared to make their fi nal stand. In a desperate gambit, Turai Ossa challenged Joko to single combat and won.

BY S TA RCONSPIRAT O R

With Joko defeated, his un dead ar mies retreated back to the Desolation and the Bone Palace. Yet despite his defeat, he cou ld not be killed; instead, his body was b roken and sealed in a tomb beneath a stone plinth. Afterward, Turai Ossa assigned h is elite guard to the task of watching over this tomb – giving rise to the Order of W hispers. In the wake of Jo ko’s rule, Turai Ossa was given the title King of Elona and the survivors rallied behind him. But Ossa obsessed over the gods. The W armarshal eventua lly departed for the Crystal Desert seeking Ascension, leavin g Elona behin d to rebuild. Palawa Joko remained trapped under his plinth, u nable to e ff ect any change for hundreds of years and he faded in to legend. However, in 107 5 AE (1275 DR), as Abaddon attempted to break free from his ow n prison, Palawa Joko once again found h is way to the world of the living.

When Varesh Ossa discovered the rituals necessary to bring about Nightfall and release the fallen god Abaddon , her actions also weakened the bonds that held Palawa Joko. Althou gh the S unspears worked against Varesh from the moment th ey discovered her plans, at every turn she outmaneuvered them. F inally, Varesh’s quest took her through the Desolation to the Mouth of Torment. With her goal in sight, the Sun spears desperately needed to catch up to the W armarshal and stop her. However, with its poisono us sulph ur sands and hordes of undead, th e Desolation proved too great a barrier for the m ere mortal Sunspears to cross. Th eir frantic research led them to only one possible source for aid in crossing th e Desolation – Palawa Joko. Even consultin g with the centaurs of the area, who had once been en slaved by Joko, yield ed no other option. The Sun spears’ only chance to catch Varesh and

stop Nightfall was to convince the undead king to help th em. Hoping to fi nd Joko, the Sunspears sought the monument that marked th e place where Turai Ossa had defeated him, where Joko’s tomb lay. Once free, Joko fl ed and the centaurs and Sunspears had to recapture him before they could d iscu ss crossing the desolation . Although the centu ries of imprisonment had weakened Joko, he was still able to lead the Su nspears to the Desolation and reveal the only way for mortals to cross: riding inside the giant Jun undu Wurms that lived there. With Joko’s help, the Sun spears were able to tame the wurms and enter th e Desolation, but Joko’s aid did not come free, nor cheap. Despite th e centaurs’ warning n ot to trust the un dead king, the Sunspears allowed him to go free.

This decision to free Joko in order to save the world from Abaddon would later p rove devastating to Elona. Some might argue it was short - sighted, others that it was a necessary exchange, even a bargain. Free from his prison, Joko began immediately to retake his kin gdom and rebuild his army. Because their goal s were compatible – clearing the area of Abaddon ’s minions and reaching Varesh – th e Sunspears found th emselves aiding the undead kin g as he reestablished himself. The work began with retaking the Bone Palace from Varesh’s rearguard. In order to do so, the Su nspears subdu ed several of Joko’s generals, returning them to his service or destroying th ose who would not. In the process, they were warned again, this time by the Order of Whispers, not to trust Joko. Fearing that the Sco urge of Vabbi w ould return, the Order began preparations of its own to counter h im - bu t they kn ew Joko cou ld outwait them if he had to. In the meantime, th e Sunspears continued to aid in the rebuilding of Joko’s army as they consolidated their position and cleared a path through the Desolation. W ith the vestiges of his army once again under his comman d, Joko reasserted his authority over the Desolation an d

reestablished his seat of power. Aided by th e Junu ndu Wurms and Joko’s forces, the Sunspears cleared the Bone Palace of demons befor e moving on into the Desolation and to the Mou th of Torment. With Varesh’s forces cleared from the area, Joko turned his attention to reb uilding his kingdom an d plotting h is return to power over all of Elona. Other than the occasional spat with King Thorn – continuin g their rivalry even in un death – little was heard from Joko after his release. For sixty years, he gathered streng th and renewed his fo rces, reestablishing his p ower base. Then, in preparation for a new invasion of Vabbi, he damm ed the River Elon, diverting its water toward the Crystal Desert. F acing a devasta ting drought and accompan ying social unrest in addition to the undead army, Vabbi soon surrendered. After the province fell, Kourna and I stan followed. With little op position, Joko set out to destro y both the Sunspears an d the descendants of Turai Ossa. In a sadistic twist, he ordered his forces to brin g any Ossa descendant to him, forcin g a number of them to serve as his generals – living or dead made no di ff erence to Joko. For over a hundred years, Jo ko worked to drive the Su nspears

from the land. Th ose who did not perish fi ghting the undead king left Elona, wanderin g foreign lands, passing down the teachings of a barely- remembered Order. Some Sunspears did remain in Joko’s Elona, choosing to serve as Joko’s knigh ts in exchange for power. These fallen Sunsp ears form the Mordant Crescen t. In the intervening time, Elonian citizens have also fl ed the Scourge of Vabbi an d today the Land of the Golden Sun is as sealed o ff as the Dominion of Winds, having very littl e contac t with th e outside world. Joko’s kingdom shared borders with the Elder Dragon Zhaitan’s area of in fl uence, which brought the two undead armies into contact with on e another for years. However, now Zhaitan is gone and Joko remain s the unchallenged ruler of the dead. The only humans to still have contact with Elona are agents of the Order of Wh ispers, b ut few details regarding Joko’s kingdom are publicly known . Palawa Joko will likely make another appearance in the future. Perhaps the Pact will seek his help with Kralkatorrik, the Elder Dragon awaiting us nearest Elona’s border. We may also meet him once again when the exiled Elonians follow their prophesied leader home. Regardless, we should alwa ys remember the undead king ca nno t be trus t ed.

Professor Blorp presents a lecture on the his tory of Nightfa l l: Beware the Dangers of History Igno red. By Draxy nnic

G

reetings, empty heads in need of fi lling, it is I, P rofessor Blorp, here to warn

you of the th reat that these so-called revenants may be un wittingly bringing to our world! While I remain perplexed as to why Gixx

saw fi t to place my important message at such an early hour in the fou rth day of the P riory’s symposium on revenant magic and what it could mean, allow me to congratulate those of y ou who chose to fo rego studying fi rsthand the aftere ff ects of excessive intoxicant

consumption in order to receive this warning! Your presence here may well lead to making the di ff erence between success and d isaster for all our e ff orts! Since Rytlock Brimstone’s return during the Maguu ma campaign in the Mists, we’re sudd enly being inundated by  a fl ood of soldiers calling themselves “revenants”.

These revenants invo ke the powers of legends of the past to grant themselves magical abilities, a nd, some say, hear the voices of th ose legends in their heads. S ome of these legends, such as the philosopher Ventari, the dwarf king J alis, and the dragon prophet G lint, will

be well known to any of you who have paid the sligh test modicum of attention to Tyrian history. However, some of you, who might have slept through your classes in the history of other lands, may be blinking at unfamiliar so- called legends like S hiro and Mallyx and askin g yourself: “Shou ld we be worried?”

The ans wer, as those who actually paid attention to the  histories of lands outside your own little patch would know, is: Yes, y ou ignoramuses, by the Eternal Alchemy you should ! These two were nothing less than the lieutenants of the greatest threat to Tyria before the

awakening of the Elder Dragons! And those foolish revenants are willingly inviting them right into their minds! It all started over thirteen centuries ago wh en the bookah gods decided to break the magic battery of the Seers and introduced magic into the world on a scale not seen since the last rise of the Elder Dragons, suppo sedly as a gift

and Orr - recogn ised that this was quickly turning into a scenario of mutually assured destruction. Leaving glaring at the charr across the northern border behin d, he fou ght his way back to Arah to persuade the god s to reduce th e power of their gift.

Those so-called go ds that were present at th e time agreed to do so, but Doric paid the price for their mistake, with his lifeblood being used to seal th e Bloodstones in their current separated state. However, the god that had been responsible for distributin g magic in the fi rst place, Abaddon, wasn’t present when this decision was made. When he foun d out, he responded by th ro wing a massive hissy fi t and declaring war on th e other gods. To cut a long story short enough to fi t within your limited attention spans, this resu lted in magical devastation on a level not seen since the last rise of the Elder Dragons. This includ ed boiling away the inland sea that once separated Tyria and Elona into a parched desert. Abaddon was trapped with his surviving followers in a hellish prison-dimension called the Realm of Tor ment . The other gods were so ashamed at the destruction that had been unleashed that they cho se to leave Tyr ia rather than stay and risk destroying the place the n ext time one of them throws a massive tantrum over, I don’t know, stu bbing their toe or somethin g. However, the gods did know  that knowledge of Abaddon could allow him to  retain in fl uence over

our world. So, before they left, they made a half- hearted attempt of erasing references to Abaddo n that could be stumbled on by mortals before abandoning the problem for future generations to deal w ith. But it apparently slipped their miniscule minds that even that early on human civilisation had left a bun ch of ruins and tombs around th e place, and some of th ose contained scriptures of Abaddon . Whoo psies!

One of these places happened to be located in the city of F ahrunar, the fi rst human city on I stan and once capital of the Elonian empire. W hile the city still stood, it seemed that even the bookahs knew better than to go poking aroun d in there and stir up something

The other gods were so ashamed at the destruction that had been unleashed that th ey chose to leave Tyria rather than stay and risk destroying the place.

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they shouldn’t. Th is injunction even survived the Scarab Plague where the P rimeval Kings that ru led there were eaten from the in side out by insects whose eggs h ad contaminated their food supplies. Even after I stan was resettled, stories of plagues and curses from th e ruins discouraged bookahs fro m going there. This changed two and a half centuries ago. Kormir, then Spearmarsha l of the S unspears, decided that her curiosity was more important than letting be what had been w isely left alone for over a tho usand years. W arnings of danger were for other people… an attitude that I’m sure many of y ou can relate to. S top preening, you in the middle row - that was n ot a compliment! Her excavation awakened the  Apocrypha of Abaddon, a construct inscribed with texts  of Abaddon. At this stage, Kormir realised she’d made a colossal blunder an d took steps to contain it,

but it was already to o late. A visiting Kournan delegation, ostensibly on a diplomatic visit but actually stirring up pirates in order to weaken I stan for future invasion, happen ed to contain secret cultists of Abad don, includin g Kourna’s leader Varesh Ossa. Before Kormir and her Sunspears were able to destroy the Apocrypha, the cultists were able to access it and learn what th ey needed from it. Only th ey knew exactly what that was, but given the events that followed, it eviden tly involved the summoning of d emon s. In resp onse to th e wave of demons that started p opping up all over the place, Kormir abandoned I stan to cry for help from th e heroes that had defeated Shiro and th e L ich Lord in Cantha and Tyria respectively, leaving the investigation of w hat was

happening in I stan to her junior commanders. These commanders uncovered the Kournan conspiracy, but were  themsel ves implicated for killing the Kournan general K ahyet in the process. When K ormir returned, they were being tried for murder, their defence resting on proving K ahyet’s guilt. Kormir immediately ended the trial by fi at and began preparing I stan and the Sunspears for war. Her master plan was to strike directly at Varesh’s c apital, the Moon Fortress of Gandara. N aturally, this was exactl y what Varesh expected, and the Sunspears were led in to a trap where Kormir was taken prisoner as her soldiers, and her eyes, were eaten by demons. Only a few survivors escaped into th e surroundin g countryside w ith their tails fi rmly between their legs. Show ing an u nusual amount of sen se for bookahs, however, these survivors found an underground shelter where n either the Ko urnan army nor the demon s could fi nd them. From there, they built a resistance from oppressed Kournan villagers

While the city still stood, it seemed that even the b ookah s knew better than to go poking around in there and stir up something they shou ld n’t.

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and th e enslaved Veldrunner centaur tribe of sou thern Elona. However, the Sunspears realised that they did not ha ve the forces to take on Kourna’s military, and needed to enlist the aid of Elona’s third province, Vabbi. With th e assistance of the Order of Whispers and some corsairs with a gru dge again st Kourna - it’s apparen tly okay to collaborate with pirates when it’s the Sunspears doin g it - the Sunspears were ab le to rescue Kormir from the execution block before using a secret tunnel to bypass the Kournan fortress of J ahai and make it to Vabbi. On the pretext of pursuing th e Sunspears, Varesh reinforced her army with a secon d wave of demon s and invaded Vabbi.

The Su nspears found that the Vabbian self-styled princes were too busy sticking th eir heads in the sand over Varesh’s intentions - or the fact that she was slo wly turning into a demon herself - to heed their w arnin gs. N aturally, Varesh took this as  an invitation to rampage at will through Vab bi’s holy

sites, tearing new h oles in the walls of Abaddon’s p rison . She then took her demonic army and hightailed it to her real obj ective - the site within the p oisoned sands of the Desolation where Abaddon had fallen, and where the barrier between Tyria and the Realm of Torment was weakest. Thanks to th ose poison ed sands, the living Sunsp ears were unab le to pursue without fi nding a safe way to cross. In a gen ius move that clearly had no chance of reboun ding on their descenden ts whatsoever, the Sunspears decided to awaken the lich king Palawa Joko from his prison and ask him nicely if he could give them a way. With a little arm twisting, Joko agreed, teaching the Sunspears how to tame Junu ndu w urms that could carry them safely across the desert - if you call riding in the mou th of a semi-domesticated desert wurm ‘safe’ - in exchange for the Sunspear’s assistance in rebuilding Joko’s pow er. Between the Sun spear- controlled wurms and Joko being all too happy to settle scores on Turai’s descen dent, Varesh’s rea rguard was overwhelmed, and th e Sunspears caugh t up w ith Varesh as she was p erforming the ritual to op en the Mouth of Torment.

Despite Varesh completing her transformation into a demon the fi rst time she was killed, and coming back at the  Sunspears with a wave of reinforcements from the Realm of Torment , she was defeated. However, sh e had achieved eno ugh that the  energy released in her defeat tore open the Mo uth of Torment, sucking th e Sunspear bookahs inside. Fortunately, instead of bein g pulled onto the dinner table of an army of demons, the Sunspears appeared in one of  the last remaining strongholds of the Forgotten jailors who had, for cen turies, been failing to keep Ab ad don and h is minions contained in the Realm of Torment. There, the Sunspears learned that, due to the one-size- fi ts- all containment policy of their so-called gods that lumped the in nocent in with the guilty, their actions in o pposing Abaddon had con taminated them with knowledge of Abaddon . Hence, they too

The Sunspears realised that they did not have the forces to take o n Kourna’s military, and need ed to enlist the aid of Elona’s th ird province, Vabbi.

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were doomed to be trapped in the Realm of Torment upon  their deaths if Abaddon wasn’t destroyed. Hearin g of an old temple of the Six Gods that had b een sucked into the Realm of Torment, the bookahs pushed forth into the hell-dimension, hop in g that if they invoked the other gods in the Realm of Torment then the other fi ve would get o ff their collective laurels and fi nally clean up the mess they left behin d. It was there that they met two of the generals of Abaddon , both of which had caused chaos in di ff erent parts of Tyria three years before - Vizier Khilbron, who was responsible for the Cataclysm and thus partially respon sible for that wh ole situation with Zhaitan and Orr, and the Shiro Tagachi that you may have heard some of these revenant morons speaking so glowingly about. After cutting those two down, the Su nspears, led by Kormir, knelt as bookahs do, and asked for help from their mommies and daddies.

Here, reportedly, the voice of Lyssa gave them an upliftin g speech abou t how the pow er was in them all alon g and sent them away with n ary a pat on the back. Miracu lously, a handfu l of bookahs then managed not to muck it up any further and proceeded to slay the fallen god. Realising that you do no t just simply kill a god and walk away witho ut the god exploding in you r face, Kormir decided that one of Lyssa’s cryptic utterances meant that she was supposed to replace Abaddon and leaped into the nexu s of power left by Abaddo n’s death, absorbing th e energy and th us becoming th e sixth bookah deity. That wasn’t th e end of it, however, as the remaining generals of Abadd on’s forces led an insurrection against the new goddess, seekin g to overthrow her and claim her power to become a god instead. The leader of this e ff ort, and thus presumably Abaddon ’s successor if they had succeeded, was none other than the demon lord Mallyx the Unyielding. Yes, I can see th ose of you that aren’t trying to pretend you haven’t fallen asleep recognise that name. So, as you can now see, these  two entities that these revenant ignoramuses willingly allow to possess them were th e lieutenants of

a being that the bookah gods considered so dangerous that anyone who even knew about him was consigned to an eternity of torture upon  their deaths, simply to prevent that kn owledge from contaminating the rest of th e Mists. Sure, the revenan ts claim that they’re in control… but how do we kn ow they are really? How do we know that these ghosts of Shiro an d

Mallyx aren’t simply letting their pup pets believe that they’re in control, while waiting for the opportunity to carry out schemes that will wreak unmitigated havoc and destruction across Tyria? The simple ans wer, bookahs and gen iuses, is that we don’t. We’ve just recently seen the Pact all but annihilated by those who believed that they had free will until the momen t their true master whistled and they set on their former friends like th e warhound s they were made to be. We cannot a ff ord to be blindsided yet again by a betrayal that a half-blind ettin could see coming a mile away.

The remaining generals of Abad don’s forces led an insurrection against the new goddess, seekin g to overthrow her and claim h er power.

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BY AA RO N HEATH

Where will the next Guild Wars 2 expansion take us? We explore what the contintent of Elona might have to o ff er...

Dragon on the chop ping block? Well, he simply connects nicely with the cli ff hanger at the end of Heart of Thorns . With G lint’s egg infused with a signi fi cant amount of Mordremoth’s magic, the newly hatch ed Aurene has a very real possibility of bearing some sort of connection to Kralkatorrik, a remnant of its mother’s origin . Furthermore, G lint had strong ties to the Forgotten, an d it was the Forgotten, through th e will of G lint, that construct ed

or many Guild Wars 2 players, the contin ent of Cantha to the far  south is the be-all-end-all of potential expansion content. How ever, expansion content on ly works as well as it fi ts into the story, and right now, Cantha d oesn’t have much of a place in the expanding narrative. That isn’t to say ArenaNet won’t ever be giving us a new continent to explore, tho ugh. With

Kralkatorrik residing in the Crystal Desert, and with the recent defeat of Zhaitan, th e continent of Elona might just be where we’re h eaded ! The key to unlocking Elon a is the Crystal Desert. We will eventually have to face Kralkatorrik and when that day comes, we will most likely do so on h is home turf in the Crystal Desert. But what migh t prompt us to fi ght Kralkator rik? Wh y should he be the next

F

With Kralkatorr ik residing in the Crystal Desert, and with the recent defeat of Zhaitan, th e continent of Elona might just be w here we’re headed .

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with Kralkatorrik’s pesky crystalline minions. In the southern reaches of the Crystal Desert, the powerful undead lich, an d tyrannical ruler of Elona, Palawa Joko’s ar mies are also at war with Kralkatorrik. Which brings us to an interestin g dilemma that will ultimately dictate how we go abou t exploring Elona: do we enlist Joko’s aid against Kralkatorrik, for ming an uneasy alliance (as we did in Nightfall ), or do we take him on as a second enemy? S trategically, it would be prudent to at least attempt the former. Pa lawa Joko,

Tarir. The Forgotten were known to reside w ith in the Crystal Desert before leaving Tyria, and there is no tellin g what ans wers lie in that arid wasteland for both the p layer character and Aurene. So we have just cause to brave

the desert, bu t what might we fi nd there? Well, fi rst and foremost, there’s Kralka torrik. Kralkatorrik’s residence in the Crystal Desert cr eates an interesting connection to Elona: that of Palawa Joko. You see, the charr and Ascalonians aren’t the only ones dealin g

now supreme ruler of Elona for several hundred years, is undoub tedly more powerful than ever before, and would prove to be a formidable a lly against the Elder Dragons. On the other hand, if the Pact wer e to attempt to fi ght both Joko and Kralkatorr ik on the same front, chances are Kralka torrik would come out th e victor and both the Pact and Joko w ould su ff er debilitating losses. However, now that we’re “friends” with Joko, the issue still remains: how will we go about exploring Elona? Th ere needs to be motivation to do so, a plot device drivin g us toward Elona. Well, that’s where Joko comes in a second time. Back in Guild Wars: Nightfall , we formed an alliance with Joko in order to d efeat the much greater threat of Abaddon. However, we made a  mistake. After defeating Abaddon, we left Joko to his own devices, naively assumin g he would ju st chill in the Desolation forevermor e. F ast forward 25 0 years, and he  has conquered all of Elona,

crushed the Sun spears, and assimilated anyone of n ote that could potentially resist him, including all known members of the Ossa

bloodline. For all we know , Kralkatorrik could be the only  one stopping him from invading Tyria. This is w here it gets very tough to justify passage to Elona. If we ally with Joko against Kralkatorrik then promptly turn on him and free Elon a, that’s going to seem rath er treacherous of both the Pact and our player character . However, it wo uld also seem strange to simply stand by and let Joko’s oppressio n go unchallenged. ArenaNet’s

writing team would need to work very hard to make th is part work, but it is possible. The key to spinnin g this in our favor is having Joko make

the fi rst o ff ensive move. With Kralkatorrik out of the way, he is free to expand his empire into Tyria. Rather tha n having the Pact, the “good guys,” betray Joko, wh y not make Joko be the betray er? It makes sense: h e’s power hungry, ambitious, psych otic, and deceptive. I t’s a move that would give us a valid reason to move against him and, in so doing, enter Elona. So w e’ve entered into a dubious alliance with Palawa Joko, used our joint e ff orts to destroy Kralkatorrik, and now Joko has turn ed on us and intends to bring the continent of Tyria under his control. Now we’ve got an expansion on our hands! No t only do we get the green light to en ter Elona, we have just cau se to travel through it in its entirety. Palawa Joko occupies the whole continent, includin g the island of I stan to the south,

There need s to be[...] a plot device driving us toward Elona. Well, that’s where Joko comes in a secon d time. [...] We left Joko to his own devices, naively assuming he would just chill in the Desolu tion forevermore.

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and overthrowin g Joko would require travelling to Vabbi, Kourna, and I stan and undermining his in fl uence in all those locations, before fi nall y marching on th e Bone Palace in the Desolatio n.

Our story is still pretty barebones, thou gh. The overthrowing of a tyrant is pretty standard fare as far as fantasy stories go, particul arly in video games. ArenaNet likes to implement impactful events that change th e entire world signi fi cantly in their narrative, and the storylin e outlined in this article opens up just such a change. By themselves, the Pact simply lacks the necessary forces to challenge Joko’s armies directly. Joko has spen t over a hundred years amassing hordes u pon h ordes of u ndead minions, and his conqu est of Elona has proven that he’s a very competent milit ary commander. But where migh t

the Pact fi nd the help it needs? What force in Tyria could possibly bolster the assault against Joko enough to s way the odds in the Pact’s favor ? The centaurs of course! Almost all centaurs in Guild Wars 2 ar e utterly hostile in every capacity, and they show extreme hatred, contempt, cruelty, and outright sadism toward other races. However, we the players have a trump card in our favor: Palawa Joko’s empire is built Almost all centaurs in Guild Wars 2 are utterly hostile in every capacity, and they show extreme hatred, contempt, cruelty and outright sadism.

“

upon the en slavement, labor, and mistreatment of Elona’s entire centaur population . If pitched to the centaurs of Tyria correctly, this reality could be enou gh to rally them against Joko. Now, at this point, forming fl imsy alliances with previously hostile entities is becoming a bit of a trend in th is article. However, an alliance between the Pact and the centaurs could potentially resu lt in a peace accord between th e centaurs and the other races of Tyria, and could mean huge changes for z ones in Kryta and the Shiverpeaks. Th is outcome, while quite bold, w ould renew the community’s faith in ArenaNet’s ability to brin g massive, permanent changes to Tyria while also introd ucing plentiful new con ten t. The material discussed in this  article is honestly a bit much for a sin gle expansion.

Realistically, the defeat of Kralkatorrik would occur over a season of L iving World, and then Palawa Joko’s betrayal and the liberation of Elona wou ld form an expansion pack’s worth of content. W ith Elona at our fi ngertips, who know s what kind s of ancient secrets and undiscovered magic we could uncover that might aid us against the Elder Dragons? Furthermore, perhaps, somewhere in Elona, an alternate solution to th e Elder Dragon problem might lie undiscovered. With the story of Guild Wars 2 going in the direction it is, it would be a shame to see Elona get bypassed or ignored, and hopefully ArenaNet h as plans to someday deliver that content in a manner that will leave us satis fi ed and itching for more.

I awoke into darkness. Lying supine on the arid ground, I stared into th e abyss above me. A familiar sight lay there, but twisted and w arped from what I remembered. Instead of the clear azure, thick, dirty clouds travel led across a muddied sky that sought to block the light from a bloodied sun. I felt nothing; not the heat of the desert, nor th e rock on which I lay. Though numb to the world, my mind felt otherw ise, struggling to accept the claustrophobia of the darkness. This wasn’t home - so how had I got her e?

I sat up, startled.

The hallucination left as quickly as it had come. I struggled to make sense of what I had seen, though all too soon the memory of it began to fade. Confused, anxious and alone, I had to uncover where I was. As I stood up, I felt a weight against my hip, and pressed my hand against the hilt of a sword that clung to my leather belt. It looked ordinary and unadorned, t hough sharp enough to be of use should it be needed - not that I knew how to. On my feet were simple leather sandals, the str aps weathered and torn, and I wore my familiar linen garments: beige trousers w ith a terracotta shirt. Both were dirtied and ripped. Surveying th e surroundings, fierce black tentacles protruded from the ground, twisting the ir way through the landscape. Sand dunes and tall rock formations surrounded me, running as far as the eye could see and leav ing only one direction in which I could walk: forward. In the distance, a faint ethereal voice cried out. It sounded like a young g irl, though I couldn’t be sure I had even heard anything - this place p layed tricks on the senses, and seemed far away from any reality I knew. Putting one foot before the o ther, I began to move forward into the unknown, unsure of what awaited me b ut determined to find out if nothing else. It wasn’t long before I encountered another creature. As I walked further from where I had begun, the distant noises grew in frequency and strength. Shrill screams and deep, rumbling gro wls echoed through the rocks and set my mind racing. I tried to feel for my heartbeat, for some reassurance that I was still alive, but the numbness remained. And as I did so, all manner of depraved creatures entered my thoughts as I tried to picture what the sounds could possibly belong to. But when I saw one of them with my own e yes, nothing had even come close. From a rocky cliff above me jumped a large hellish creature made of bone and exposed flesh. It landed on four legs, its tail between its legs and bone spikes r unning the length of its spine. Its eyes were large but hollow, and from its mouth the creature slobbered like some demonic mockery of a dog. Its stench filled my nostrils, the acrid scent of rotting flesh stinging the back of my throat. I retched. It charged, and I

found myself unable to move, simply staring into the dead eyes of my do om. This is where my life would end, far from home. Would anyone miss me?

Suddenly, my mind was clear. Without thinking, I dodged to the right, t he demon’s spiked legs brushing against my arm and cutting deep. The wound was grisly, yet stran gely, there was little blood and I felt no pain. The creature stopped running and turned for a second attempt. I knew what had to be done. This abomination would not take me, not now. Still crouched, I reached down and withdrew the sword hanging from my waist. It was too big to attack head-on, so there was only one oth er option. It roared and charged again, this time its mangled tongue hanging from the side of i ts mouth. As the creature came closer, I once again dodged to the side, this time thrusting my sword towards it. The metal met its target, rending throu gh dead flesh and bone on the creature’s flank as it darted past me once more. It howled in pain, crumpling on its side, twitching and struggling. Wasting no time, I scrambled from the dirt over to where the creature l ay and, gathering my strength, plunged the sword through its skull, crunching th e bone and penetrating inside like a knife through butter. I l et go of the sword, and it remained embedded in the creature. It was over; I was alive. But I had taken a life in exchange. A wave of emotions crashed over me; a tear began to form in the corner of my eye, and I looked out at the surrounding s once more. I was scared. Would I ever make it out of this place? Around me, the world grew darker still as the sun transformed to an aby ssal black. Why me? Why now? Where... “You should not have done that,” came a sharp, feminine v oice from behind. “That pet was not yours to destroy.” I spun around to face her, my eyes meeting with a flash of brig ht purple light and the rough shape of a h uman.

“You see them.” The light began to fade, and in its place the details of the humanoid w ere revealed.

The creature stood taller than me, slender and almost graceful. She - no, it - wore a bronze metallic mask that covered its face. Almost insect- like, bright sources of l ight shone from six eye holes in the mask’s intricate design. It wielded a sweeping scythe in both hands, and its body was cov ered by ripped, yet once-ornate, r obes that swept from its chest to its feet. Its shoulders were left uncov ered, showing pure purple energy in place of flesh or any normality. “Please… where am I?” I asked, not truly knowing what to expect. I didn’t doubt it was here to kill me, but I had nothing else . The demon tilted its head slightly, and, still clutch ing its weapon, began to laugh. A deep, ancient laugh that came from beyond its female form and filled my mind.

“He will be with Her once again,” came the demon’s v oice. My thoughts cleared once more. “And you provided the power to do so.”

“WHAT IS HAPPENING?” I yelled, unable to contain… anything anymore. “Where’s Maia? That all happened, didn’t it? You... took her! What did you do?!” “You worship false gods. Their lies, th eir intolerance… they did this. THEY built this place.”

“Fool. You think a mere farmer could defeat one of His servants?” It began to laugh again, the sounds ech oing around me. “I… remember. I killed you. You… you should be dead!” “It is not I who is dead, Joseph.”

Once more the vision faded.

I fell to my knees and wept. “Nightfall comes, Joseph. Abaddon rises, and your family shall witness it all ,” the demon announced, as it turned from me and began to walk away. I sat there, weeping, lost. Throug h the tears, another shape appeared before me: a young girl, with dark hair hidi ng her face. “Daddy?”

It has bee n too long, a l low me to act

Mist Scr im Obtained through character creation biography option. Herald’s Should er plate Awarded for fully unlocking herald elite specialisation . Band e d Coat Available on the Trading Post. Drago nhu n ter’s Gau n tl et Awarded for fully unlocking dragonhunter elite specialisation . Heri tage L egplate s Hall of Monuments reward - original Guild Wars required. Gr asping De a d Gr e ave s Arah dungeon armor reward. 180 Shards of Zhatain. Chao s We apons Black  Lion weapon skins.

Cel estial

Pastel Purple

Glint’s Sanctuary

Ev ening

Glint’s Crystal

HEAD

SHOULDERS

CHEST

HANDS

LEGS

FEET

Using a sword? Wait until your auto- attack finishes before using Precision Strike for maximum DPS.

In a raid squad, place yourself in a separate group with the chronomancer to ensure 100% uptime on Facet of Nature for them.

Swapping legends refreshes your energy to 50; if you’re above 50, you’ll lose any bonus energy.

Vengeful Hammers will toggle off if they collide with a wall. Demon stance (Mallyx) is better in this scenario.

R AIDS

//

Skill Rotation Maintain Facet of Nature Don’t interrupt sword auto-attack Precision Strike on cooldown Facet of Elements -> Elemental Blast Facet of Light Facet of Darkness Swap to Jalis before energy reaches 0 Vengeful Hammers Swap to Glint before energy reaches 0

Herald 2/3/1

I nvoc ation 2/1/1

Deva station 2/3/1

Sword/Ax e St aff

FRACTA LS & DUN G EON S Got a chron oma n cer in the party? Fo l low the raid build. // Skill Rotation Facet of Nature -> One with Nature on cooldown Don’t interrupt sword auto-attack Precision Strike on cooldown Facet of Elements -> Elemental Blast Facet of Light Facet of Darkness Facet of Strengt h Swap to Shiro Enchanted Daggers Impossible Odds & sword auto-attack ONLY Swap to Glint

Same traits & we apon s as raid build

hey come from di ff erent back grounds with  their own stories and lives, but the players who comp ose Knights of the Rose City have this in common: They’re aged 18+ ad ults who live in or near Portland, Oregon, and frequently step away from their keyboards and rigs to mingle with their guildmates in real life, whether at a local bar

or city staple. Enyalmo, one of th e guild’s o ffi cers who has been a member for around eigh t months, said Knights of the Rose City is essentially “a casual hardcore, Portland-based guild that focuses on hanging out with friend s both in game and real li fe.” Leader Fyasco, who started [KPDX] in spring 2014, said

the group began w ith eight close friends w ho were local: “I tho ught it w ould be fun to have our o wn little guild.” “Eventually, as our interest and involvement in the game grew, I started searching for a  Portland guild that we could p ossibly merge with,” she continued. “I was really surprised that I couldn’t fi nd one since I had a feelin g that there had to be a lot of people

T

KNIG H TS O F THE R OSE CITY

BY FERIALYN

in the Portland area w ho played the game. “Why not just make KPDX the Portland guild, then?” Having a location-based gu ild, she said, makes it easy to meet compatriots with the same common interest: In this case, Guild Wars 2. But then play ers can also turn to that common interest of living in the same area, whether it’s discussing

Knights of the R ose City [KPDX] Leade r: fyasco.2489 Size: 70+ members Prefe rred game mode: PvE Quirk: Nearly every member of [KPDX] lives in or near Portland, Oregon. In-game co nt act: fyasco.2489 ww w.knightsoftherosecity.com

places to eat, upcoming even ts or more. And over the course of two years, [KPDX] has only continued to grow its ranks, bringing together more people from the Rose City. While Fyasco said their greatest recruitment numbers have come from the Portland subreddit, sh e also said people have fou nd them ju st by Googling for a Portland guild.

“We’ve had people see our [KPDX] tag in-game and message us. We’ve even bumped into peo ple playing Guild Wars 2 in public places and ju st told them abou t the guild right there!” To keep that momen tum going, the guild tries to stay active in area gaming events and conventions, accordin g to the gu ild’s leader. Members of the guild ultimately fi ll out

an application on the group’s website for the o ffi cers to consider. Fyasco says the guild ’s age range “is more like 21-45” with most somewhere b etween their late 20s and early 30s— everyone is at least 18, though. “Career-wise, we do it all: Anything from studen ts to artists to software engineers! You can’t really pin down one fi eld.” And while n ot every member is  speci fi cally located in the hip Oregonian city, all members at least have ties or prior residence in the city (screened through the applicatio n process). “We de fi nitely are pretty Portland-centric,” Enyalmo said. “We try to get as man y people as we can to h it up local bars, cider houses and what not. Being a part of that is being a part of the guild.” Knights of the Rose City have also engaged in many real-life fi eld trips, including a guild outing to an Escap e Room and the Orego n Mu seum of Science and Indu stry for its After D ark progr am. Of course, experiencing life b oth in-game and in real life mean s the members of KPDX build all kinds of memories. For Fyasco, this is th e best part: “...The fi rst time we had a large group sh ow up for some board games, I was meeting a lot of guildies for the fi rst time,” she said. “Everyone was getting to know each other, having some drinks, enjoyin g food, and

having a good time. It really made me feel like a local guild was actually going to work out, which was really excitin g!” But that d oesn’t mean everything always comes up roses for these knights. According to th e guild’s leader, running a location -based guild is a lot like run ning a startup because it involves a lo t of energy to market the “prod uct” and try to ensure it reaches the right set of people. It also requires just a little more creativity to keep player s involved. “As a local guild, on e of the biggest di ff erences is that we often go out and do o ffi cial guild events IRL,” Fyasco said. “Planning those de fi nitely takes time and energy, and I like to make sure I’m constantly planning new th ings for the group to do.” Despite these real-world applications, [ KPDX] still runs into the issue of maintaining an active and engaged player base. Even though they can meet up for drinks or go catch

a movie, it can be di ffi cult to get people to remain active and involved in the guild’s doings beyond the guild’s co re group. The similarity in acti vity issues end s there, though. As Fyasco says, other guilds can implement rep requirements or kick inactive members to overcome some of that bloat in member counts. The Knights of the Rose City chooses not to do that.

“Our guild doesn’t do that because we’re more of a guild/ meetup grou p hybrid. O ur goal is really to connect Portland Guild Wars 2 players,” she said , “and give them opportunities to meet and game togeth er if they like, regardless of how much th ey play or rep.” In-game, the PvE-fo cu sed group works toward whatever they want, really. Right n ow, that’s raid progression and gearing up.

As a local guild, on e of the biggest di ff erences is that we often go ou t and do o ffi cial guild events IRL.

“

“We’re taking a crack at the raids, but we haven’t managed to kill a boss yet, but w e’re having a lot of fun doing it,” Enyalmo said. “We’re de fi nitely trying to h elp each other gear up … [because] peo ple are interested in gearing up and trying to get through the raid. That’s one of the goals th at we’ve got, trying to get through that. And just helpin g people gear up in general an d helpin g people do wh atever they’re interested in in the gu ild .” That said, the guild in general tries to help out its members fi rst and foremost, like a recent slog through the personal stor y achievements, which Enyalmo said they undertook chapter by chapter. “T rying to further the goal of each individual member w ould be th e closest we’ve got to a goal as a guild,” he said. Meanwhile, Fyasco said she’d love for players in Portland “to know there is a local guild here if th ey’d like to join .” Reddit, Google and word of mouth have done w onders for [KPDX] , but she said they’re still working o ut new ways to get

the word out abou t the guild. Enyalmo, who found [KPDX] when Fyasco’s sister posted on Portland’s subreddit, said he expected them to be like every other guild. He was pleasantly surprised by what he found instead. “The friends I had n ormally played with had stopp ed. And there were th ese meetups happenin g in real life,” Enyalmo said. “I wen t to one of those: We played board games, had beer, thin gs like that, and it was fu n.”

Future shenanigan s like a camping trip — and maybe a jaunt to PAX P rime further down the road — are tentatively in the cards for th is year. “ [KPDX] o ff ers so much stu ff beyond just the Guild Wars 2  aspect. It’s really nice to be able to go out and do fun activities with th e guild,” Enyalmo said. “Really, it’s the people. Everybody is laid back and there’s very low, there’s not really drama. . .. It’s rea lly a big group of friends and everybody’s pretty chill an d we’re just a fun group to hang out with, both in game an d out.” And it de fi nitely doesn’t hurt that the guild seems to sh are the same interests wh en no t in-game, either.

“I’ve always tho ught that the Guild Wars 2 commu nity has been the best of an y MMO I’ve ever played,” Fyasco said, “and to have a bit of that right in my backyard has been wonderful.” For anyone who might be considering their o wn location- based group, she also has some advice. “Post to your local area’s message boards! Posting to r/Portland is what really got this guild going, but I’ve also teamed up with other local video gaming communities and p osted to their forums. Chances are that there are a lot of people in y our area w ho play and want to join. Other than that, just be passionate and engaged. Enthusiasm toward buildin g something like this is really contagious.”

Our goal is really to connect Portland Guild Wars 2 players [...] and give them opportu nities to meet and game together.

“

BY DRAXYNNIC

PART II

n the fi rst part of this treatise, I examined th e properties of the Mists themselves and outlin ed some of the locations and division s that could be found there. In this second part, I will look over some of th e non- demonic entities that dwell in the Mists, and how those entities relate to Tyria, and possibly other worlds as well.

As well as being a creative force, the Mists also serve as the home of the spirits of the dead for many races. Wh en a sapient being’s physical form  expires, their soul will normally appear in the Near Mists. This transition releases a  small amount of energy that necromancers can har vest - which is typically employed to generate the ‘shroud’ e ff ect, allowing the necromancer to gain many of the abilities of a manifested spirit. Most souls, however, do n ot remain in the Near Mists for long before movin g on to a new destination elsewh ere in the Mists. Humans have the most complicated belief for the destination of the spirit - human souls that pass on transition to the Underworld, either by themselves or with the aid of spirit entities ca lled ‘Envoys’, where they are judged by Grenth. Those deemed deserving of punishment could be subj ected to one of Grenth’s own imaginative an d often everlasting pu nishments

such as being fused into the landscape of the Underworld, or (at least before Abaddon’s fall) be cast down the Bone Pits into the Realm of Torment. More virtu ous souls may be sent to the realm of their favoured god, or fi nd their rest in one of the more peacefu l regions of the Underworld. The most worth y souls are ensconced in the aptly named Hall of Heroes. The norn have a similar view; earning the worthiness to ascend to the Hall of Sp irits upon death is a life obj ective for most norn, driving their hunger for glory. Sylvari souls are said to return to th e Dream, while the fi nal rest for the asura is to ‘become one

with the Eternal Alch emy’… a phrase that says much ab out their philosop hy wh ile saying little about the actual fate of asura souls. Modern charr society takes little notice of the fate of their souls after death. Durin g the period when th e Flame Legion was dominant, Titan- worshipping charr found themselves in the same prison as those they worship (thus disproving the claims by some that they do not have souls!), where most were devoured by the demons in th e Realm of Torment. Some surviving charr spirits, however, defected by joining the fi ght against Abaddon and playing a small role in th e death of th e god that had manipulated them.

I

Some spirits, however, do not move on at all. In most cases, this is either due to so me purpose that keeps them close to Tyria, or simple confusion – the souls do not realise th at they are dead, and therefore do n ot think to move on. S uch souls may have a presen ce only in the Near Mists, w here they can only be seen and interacted with by those w ith special abilities to do so, but they may have a ghostly presence in the phy sical realm as well. S witching between these states may be in stinctual for such spirits, dep ending on whether or not they wish to interact with the mortal real m: Only the most powerfu l spirits appear able to interac t with the mortal realm while r emaining completely apart fr om it. There are some para llels between this beh aviour and the mursaat, which could reportedly make themselves invisible to all bu t the Ascended, but need ed to return to our plane in o rder to  fi ght. Research in Arah indicated that this magic involves going “out of p hase” with Tyria, a process they undertook in order to h ide from the Elder Dragons; it is unclear whether this is the same as going into the Near Mists or some other realm. (Note that the legends in vo ked by revenants are n ot believed to be ghosts per se, bu t appear  to be copies of the personalities and po wers of historica l fi gures formed from the Mists.)

As well as the spirits of th e dead, there are spirits of those that were never alive in the normal sense. Kodan tradition speaks of a time w hen th e spirits were “wild,” and norn legends speak of hostile sp irits – spirits of locations, seasons, fi re and darkness. It is likely, however, that many of these spirits are not directly rela ted to the Mists. It has b een well observed that in regio ns of high magic, natural forces an d previously inanimate forces can gain a form of sen tience, giving rise to elementals and, possibly, bein gs formed from other branches of magic suc h as vaettir and nightmar es. Such spirits are probably simply a manifestation of magic’ s life- giving properties—as Magister Ogden says, magic is life, and thus it is possible th at a h igh enou gh concentration of magic will give life to things that did not have it before. However, the norn do have a close relationship with another group of spirits that do dw ell in  the Near Mists: the Spirits of the Wild . These “animal spirits” appear to be another case of the M ists replicating something from the  physical realm—however, instead of copying individu al creatures, the anim al spirits are idealised forms that represent that type of animal as a whole. Th ese spirits broadly have the personality

The norn do h ave a close relationship with another group of spirits that do dwell in th e Near Mists: the Spirits of the Wild.

“

of the animal th ey represent, and can also be rega rded as a ‘gestalt consci ousness’ of all of the animals of that type. However, they are often much more intelligen t, and some spirits that have close associations with the norn have taken on characteristic s the norn associate with that animal, even if th ose concepts are too  advanced for most beasts to comprehend. This may be a  re fl ection of the greater capacity for abstract thought by th ese sapient spirits than the animals they represent, and these characterist ics may be associated with that species because the spirit has developed them since reach ing sapience. Such spirits have a symbiotic relationship with the animal they represent. If the population of a given sp ecies falls, the streng th of the spirit will also wane, and it seems likely that their extinction will also lead to the death of th e spirit. The reverse, however, is not true: The death of a spirit simply leaves the animals in a weakened state, and the norn believe that a destroyed spirit will reform over the centuries. Whether this is a resurrection of sparks of th e original spirit that remained within the  animals or the birth of a completely new replacement, however, is unclear. While animals are often represented by a spirit, th e same cannot be said of most sapient beings. There is no single Spirit of Human, for example, or Spirit of Charr.

This can probably be explained by the greater variabi lity within a sapient species. The best candidate for a Spirit of a sapient species, for instance, is the Great Dwarf, which remained a legend u ntil the dwarves completed a ritual that attuned them all to a single u nited purpose. In the words of King J alis, this made it so that dwarves “were all the Great Dwarf now.” Animals of a given type also generally share the same character, and thus all bears can be represented by a single Bear, and so on. Most sapient species, however, are more complex, a nd can demonstrate a wide variety between individuals with in the same species while bridgin g the gap between sp ecies. The mindset of a human far mer, for instance, may have more in common with a sylvari gardener or charr rancher tha n with human soldiers.

This property of sap ient beings— where members of di ff erent races with similar philosop hies have more in common than members of the same race with di ff erent philosophies—may have given rise in th e lost human homeworld to Six Gods. The norn, perhaps more accurately, regard these as “Spirits of Action.” Essentially, instead of forming a separate spirit for each sapient race within that world, it was the commo n philosop hies between

Kodan tradition speaks of a time wh en the spirits were “wild”.

“

members of di ff erent races that were copied into the Mists in order to form a spirit th at embodies that p hilosophy, thereby creating the go ds. Thus, fear of death led to a god of death, violence begot a god of war, and empathy formed into a god dess of mercy and compassion. The Six Gods’ known history is one of struggle, which n early consumed Tyria and possibly did consume their homewo rld. Many of the predecessors of the current go ds were considerably more violent and primal than those that humans worship today—however, the gods that represent gentler philosophies (such as Dway na and Melandru, who also seem to be among the most sen io r members of the pan theon) appear to have steadily wo n the fi ght, taming or outright replacing the personi fi c ations of the more destructive

philosophies. In this way, W ar has been tempered by H onour,

Death has b een mediated by Justice, and Kn owledge by Spirituality. However, it must be remembered that the Six Gods (with th e exception of Kormir after she replaced Abaddon ) appear to be foreign to Tyria. Some native races extant today have their ow n deities, such as Mellaggan of the quaggan , Zintl and A meyalli of the hylek, and K oda of the kodan. Many of these god s appear analogous to the Six, leading some to believe that they are in fact di ff erent aspects of the same gods that reshaped Tyria centuries ago, although the races claim they a re distinct (Koda, in particular, may be an independent Spirit of Balance, or may simply be th e Spirit of the Kodan in a similar man ner to the Great Dwa rf). Certainly, if these gods are distinct from the Six, they do not appear to have been able to in fl uence the world on the level of the Six Gods before the Exodus. It is possible that wh ile in the  history of the Six more destructive, pri mal deities were  progressively replac ed with more civilised ones, this struggle worked out very di ff erently in Tyria’s distant past. Several scholars hav e presented theories that the gods and the dragons may be analogous to one anoth er. Attempts to line up th e gods with th e dragons directly have failed: While it is temp tin g to draw parallels between Balthazar and P rimordus, Melandru an d Mordremoth,

Zhaitan and Grenth, the others simply do not line up in a believable fashion. H owever, there certainly are pa rallels between the two gro ups beyond each numb ering six— the Elder Dragons do seem to embody abstract concepts such as min d, death, and elemental forces, albeit in a more primal and destructive manner than the Six Gods. Furthermore, recent studies into the All reveals that the magic of Tyria is linked to six di ff erent domains, each one corresponding to one of the Elder Dragons. C ould this be an indication that a set of six “Spirits of Action” did once form in Tyria’s distant past? If dragons were the fi rst sapient species to arise on Tyria, then these spirits could also have arisen in draconic form, directly creating the Elder Dragons we know tod ay; this would make the Elder Dragons Tyria’s native equivalents of the Six Gods, dwelling on Tyria itself rather than in th e Mists. Alternatively, the nascent spirits may have fallen victim to opportu nistic, magic- eating dragons before they developed the capability to defend themselves, catapulting those dragons into a position of supremacy among their peers after each dragon added the proto-god’s pow er to their own . Certainly, if there were any gentler concepts among th ose nascent emotions, there is no sign of it in the Elder D ragons that threaten all our lives.

BY KENT  BENSON

In this latest community art feature, I delve headfirst into some of the hottest, dustiest, and desert-themed artwork the Guild Wars 2 community has to offer. From the Crystal Desert to the Silverwastes, Tyria is no stranger to harsh desert climates, so grab your goggles and face masks because we’re about to head straight into the sandstorm that is art crit ique. Of course, this is art. My opinions and perspectives are subject to my preferences and the limits of my artistic knowledge, but are ultimately bound to one important rule: I’m here to have fun.

gear s2gnomes.tumblr.co m

twitter.co m/Ependa_

This first piece represents a moment many M M ORPG players are probably familiar with: When you come across a new zone and take on the adventure ahead. In this instance, the zone is Dry Top. The artist, knight-mj, reall y captures that impulse to charge into the new and unknown (the upturned sand footfalls are also a nice touch). While deserts and wastelands can often b e portrayed with a more monochromatic color scheme (I’m looking at you, Fallout 3), knight-mj doesn’t shy away from a more vibrant palette. The colors used are mostly warm copper and orange tones with some brown that noticeably bleeds over some of the more saturated or cooler colors, like a thin layer of dust whipped up by desert winds. The background is mostly nondescript, which is fine as it doesn’t immediately steal viewer focus from the subject matter, an d is done so under the guise of a brewing sandstorm, while the edge of the rock face

creates the perfect visual guideline for the viewer’s eye to follow. The asura’s outfit is not bogged down in details due to the lighting and how it’s dyed. It serves to pin more focus on the teal glow of the hammer’s magic (a very cool detail) and the character’s pink hair. Ultimately, I spent more time focusing on the character’s action, location, and purpose than absorbed with the character’s look, which is a success in my book. Finally, I do have a couple small critiques. One is that the hammer could use a little fixing as it appears warped in shape and perspective as it passes underneath the quaggan backpack . Overall, it’s a colorful piece that invokes the delight of exploration, even if that place is a sandy wasteland filled with devourers, Mordrem, and Inquest.

M a rjory Delaqua and Kasmeer Meade are a dynamic d uo that have fought and flirted their way through the perils of Tyria; their adventure into Dry Top is only a footnote in their epic tale. That said, with a pair so in-syn c , it would only make sense that the couple that fights together also accessorizes together. The artist, Ependa, has a knack for these gestural illustrations where, like the painting above, they establish a thematic setting that doesn’t steal attention from the focus. Here more than other places, the sketchy lines work well with the location and its coarse blustery nature, not to mention how the style accentuates Lady Kasmeer’s discomfort. I would liken it to plucking Glinda from Oz and dropping her in the Dust Bowl of 1930s Kansas. Marjory, on the other hand, is cool and composed, to no one’s surprise. Her face is almost completely covere d but it doesn’t matter: Her posture does all the talking.

Another detail I like about this illustration is its layers. Mar jory and Kasmeer aren’t immediately in front but are instead caught behind a cactus and the sand whipped up by Dry Top’s frequent sandstorms, which (like the painting above) is used as the perfect means to keep the background terrain detail to minimum. That said, I like that the landscape shapes, while minimal, are true to Dry Top’s geological identity with its land arches, mesas, and hoodoos that fade into the backdrop. Ependa’s piece places us in a shared memory, at least, for those who played Season Two of the Living World. When I look at this picture, I’m not just looking through my eyes, but the eyes of my characters as the three of us investigate the wreckage of the Zephyrite ship.

This is the second of Orangetavi’s charr pieces I’ve seen, and like his other art work, it bursts at the seams with detail and expression. I can’t exactly say this is a desert-themed piece, as the location is fairly ambiguous, but because desert-themed Guild Wars 2 artwork is not the easiest to come by, I thought this looked dusty enough to make the cut. “Geolu hread” is a portrait of one of Orangetavi’s charr-acters (*womp womp* ) dressed horn-to-claw in some of the shiniest armor. Right out of the gate, similar to E penda’s piece, I like the use of layers of whorled dust to help create depth, especially where the cloud in the back is darker to provide contrast. The color palette isn’t very saturated as the artist uses more earthy and natural metal colors; even the background s i lhouettes are covered in a sunny but sandy haze. The gold of the shoulder pauldrons and the sword adornments stand out the most, which works out fine as my eyes are drawn to the armor and weapons’ more intricate details. On that note, there’s a good grasp of texture and texture lighting. Metal looks like metal (polished or otherwise), leather like leather, and fur—well, you get the idea. I even like the hash marks around the horns, accentuating the curves and serving to add or subtract light . Finally, there’s the charr itself: The details in the lips and creases around the mu zzle area really give Geoluhread this aloof but slightly endearing expression, as if he’s staring at something. Maybe it’s a comrade and they’re grinning at each other in the midst of a fight. Whatever the reason, it’s calm and inviting.

For the fi nal featured piece, we have “Crystal Desert” by Uunimod. As a whole composed of four main shapes of color, this piece exhibits the most minimalist approach. Even the two o b jects of the piece, the asura explorer and the creature skeleton, while pretty descript, are footnotes in the vast ness that is the Crystal Desert, threatened to be swallowed up by its elements. In addition, I love the stark contrast between the light-and-fluffy rolling sandstorm and the dark-and-heavy blue of the empty twilight sky. There is a somber tone to the landscape’s emptiness, one that is magnifi e d by the lone adventurer —whose only companion is the skeleton in the distance, a warning for the unprepared. However, at the same time there is also peace in that isolation. For any wanderer, I imagine there is some serenity in being left to one’s own contemplations and r eflections. There is also courage where the asura, while small, stands firm in opposition to the approaching sandstorm and possibly the symbol of death itself.

One of the smaller things I enjoy is where small flares of one color’s shape (say, from the dark foreground) is blended a little into the sky, or the lighter sand shapes, to represent small t ufts of sand kicked up by the wind. Other good details include: the texture and depth of the sandstorm that give it the look of a rolling cloud, the tiny details on the asura figure, or the subtle ridges and shifts in color to give each shape and shade of desert sand proper d efinition. Finally, I leave with a small critique, which would be to reduce the strength of that segment of dark line between the lighter sand slope and the oncoming sandstorm. I feel it creates a sort of false edge on the terrain that can be defined just as well by the upheaval of sand, much like the area to the right of the skeleton. Beyond that, I can say that I sort of lost myself in this piece.To create a sense of immersion from staring at a work of art is no small victory .

“Whaddya see, Crusader?” whispered Greer, the charr to Rilana’s left, while slightly shaking free the condensed mist that had slowly soaked into his rust -colored fur throughout their morning trek. His massive armored body pressed hard up against a titanic tree trunk. Rilana turned away from the scope of her sniper ri fl e, hugging the jungle fl oor. “A group of sylvari, not Pact by the look of them. They’re camped around a pile of burning M ordrem corpses.” Greer let out a mu ffl ed growl, looking up into the jungle canopy. “You think they killed them?” “The group is armed; I’d say it’s very likely,” she rep lied . “Mind if I take a look, Captain Bladewind?” asked a third voice. “If it’s okay with the crusader; it’s her ri fl e,” the charr said. With a coy smile, Rilana rolled over to her left, past her grenade satchel, gesturin g at the gu n now fl at on its side. “She’s all yours, Iyone.” The female sylvari to the engineer’s right, also lying fl at against the mossy ground, shifted into position while the human engineer quietly crawled and sat at Greer’s side. Iyone re-aimed the sniper ri fl e through the hole of a fallen tree. Its trunk was small by comparison to most local trees and had eventually toppled along the ridge of an eroded blu ff . In death, it served as excellent cover for their scouting party . “S till can’t believe the fl eet is going to deploy a scorched earth approach to the jungle. There’s so much life here,” Rilana said, adjusting the headband that kept her frazzled dark b row n hair out of her face. “If there were anoth er way...” The charr met the sullen gaze of the human’s golden brown eyes. “The dragon’s roo ts ru n deep, Lana. F ind solace in our history. It took decades for Ascalon to recover from the Searing, but it did. Just like it will from the Brand.” She looked away. “Maybe, but not all wounds h eal. Th e Desolation never did .” Greer raised a single wild silver eyebrow. “Th e what?” “Just an old Elonian story my gran used to tell me and my fath er,” Rilana teased, shooing his  attention away with a bat of her hand before returning her attention to Iyone. “How are things going over there?” The sylvari laid the ri fl e fl at on its side. Her yellow eyes nervously darted about as she joined the other two behind the large tree. Even her natu rally pastel green skin appeared paler than usual. “They’re Nightmare C ourt, all of them.”

PART I

BY KENT BENSO N

“There were a few Mordrem corpses strung up between smaller tree trunks covered with burn marks and stab wounds,” Iyone pau sed. “No sylvari worth a d amn would string up any creature to torture or use as target practice for personal amusement; it’s not our way.” The charr quietly chuckled, shaking his head . “I have no love lost for the slaves of an elder dragon. Your obvious fear of the Nightmare C ourt aside, it might be worth fi nding out what they’re doing here.” Iyone began to slowly back away from the cover of th e tree trunk. “Fear ?” sh e replied, eyes glistening. “They murdered my closest friend, my brother. I do no t fear th em; I hate them! ” Rilana slowly rose to a full stand, her hands raised in a guarded manner. “I get it, Iyo. I do.  When one of my fathers was captured and ransomed by a bandit cult, I wanted nothing but revenge.” The sylvari dismissed the crusader’s plea, turning away from her two comrades. “It’s n ot revenge; it’s recompense for all the lives they’ve ruined . They’re monsters, and they won’t be leaving here alive.” Before the other two could stop her, a blue crystal ho lstered on one of the sy lvari’s two bracelets shimmered to life, launching her into the lower cano py with a burst of w in d. With fairly little rustling, she’d vanished through several layers of the tree’s leaves, sending a few fl uttering down to the jungle fl oor below. “Blasted zephyrite magic! She’ll give away our p—” Greer fell silent as Rilana stamped an index fi nger over his snout. His blue eyes trapped in her iron stare. “And so will you if you lose your head. G et in position for attack; I’ll lock down their position with the sniper,” she instructed, removing her fi nger as the charr regained his composure. Back on the cold leaf-littered ground, the crusader propped and steadied the ri fl e with her right hand, left hand in the back. A single umber fi nger laid on the trigger. “This can’t go unpun ished, Lana. You kn ow that?” he grumbled . Rilana glanced up at her friend one last time. “If that’s what you decide, fi ne, but forgive me  if I don’t shed a tear for the Nightmare C ourt. Not after they played patsy for Scarlet Briar and poisoned Kryta with their to wer.” With a grunt, Greer readied his single-handed hammer and shield as he ducked out from the cover of the tree, stepping cautiously around the engineer’s legs. The eroded blu ff was too unstable for a charr of his size, and while he kn ew the fall w ouldn’t be far, it would make h im an easy target for the courtiers if they spotted him. Instead, the captain crept as fast as he could through the dew-soaked ferns and bush-cover along the ridge towards a di ff erent fallen tree that had toppled over the blu ff ’s edge, forming a natural ramp to the fl oor below. An initial scan revealed a possible safe climb to the top of th e trunk, bu t as the charr proceeded to th e back of the open uprooted end, he found that the tree had been hollowed-out, carved. Greer paused after his fi rst step inside, unsure of the wooden tunnel’s stability. He took a few extra heavy steps into the tunnel before making a small jump. Nothing. No vib rations, no jostling. “Feels safe enough,” he mumbled before breakin g into a jog. Th e rounded walls of the wooden tunnel sat a couple of feet from him on each side, visib le from light that streamed in through the occasional hole carved into the tunnel’s ceilin g. Without a secon d thou ght, he passed through the the tu nnel’s ex it, claws grippin g his weapon s tightly. On the blu ff , Rilana kept a continu ous aim on her fi rst chosen target, a male sylvari with cobalt skin. The engineer had already studied his sly cat -like movements around the camp. His conversational gestures were a dangerous mixture of boredom and arrogance that told h er he was either foolishly overcon fi dent or just deadly enough not to register the dangers of the jungle

as a real threat. He was the group’s backbone. “You. You’ll do,” Rilana whispered as her fi nger lightly hugged the curve of the trigger. Even in her narrow sights, she saw the fl ash of Iyone’s fi rst strike. The male sylvari dropped as a vibrating black sphere sucked a couple of unprepared courtiers into its pull. As they reached the core, it pulsed with a fi ery orange glow, setting the trapped sylvari a fl ame. The air fi lled with their screams before the core exploded outward, whipping the two through the air before they joined th e lifeless male sylvari in kissin g the  cold, leaf-littered dirt. The remaining courtiers armed themselves just before the charr captain barreled through the leafy overgrowth with a tenacious roar. His fi rst target barely had to time to lift her shield to block the s weeping blow of Greer’s one-handed hammer. There was a loud “crack” as the sylvari’s defense splintered against the force of tempered Deldrimor steel, kno ckin g her to the ground a few feet away. Without a break in momentum, the captain charged the next courtier with his shield, preparing to b ash him aside. The sylvari readied his slender blade as Greer approached striking distance. L ike a serpent, the courtier fl owed around the shield blow, making a quick slash at the exposed underside of the charr’s forearm, protected only by a cloth j erkin. The captain howled in pain as the attack drew blood. The two spun to face one another, squaring-o ff in a circular walk. “You think a little cut will bring me down, whelp?” Greer spat. “Not at all, but the bristle-burn poison will. Tell me, charr, have yo u ever been in so much pain that you begged for the comforting release of death? No?” the co urtier sn eered as the charr dropped his shield, arm numb. “This should be an exciting new adventure in su ff ering for y—” In an instant, Iyone appeared in a fl ash of lighting. The courtier’s sinister expression vanished as the Pact recruit ran two curved metal daggers in to his chest before sending a burst of elemental lighting throughout every inch of his body, his corpse twitching erratically after it fell to the groun d. The last of the Nightmare sylvari stood at the edge of the clearing, wielding a kn otted wooden sta ff with both hands. As her eyes met Iyone’s, she dropped her weapon and turned to  run only to trip on the burnt corpse of a former ally. As she scrambled to stand, she watched as  the Pact sylvari wrenched her daggers free and started over to her. Before she could fl ee, an earthy hand rose from the ground and caught her an kle. A second hand emerged and cau ght her  other leg, bringing her to her knees. Tears streamed from the courtier’s eyes as Iyone stood directly in front of her, hands gripped fi rmly around her daggers. “Please! Plea se! I only joined the court because they made me; they threatened to do terrible things to me, to those I loved. You have to believe me! ” “Recruit! S tand down!” Greer howled through his own pain. Iyone turned back to face th e injured charr. “They don ’t deserve your mercy, Captain.” “She’s unarmed, defenseless, and she’s surrendered,” the charr gru nted, falling to on e knee. “You’re better than them, Iyo. You don’t have to stoop to th eir level to avenge your friend ’s death.” A few seconds passed in silence. Iy one stepped back from the hostage and dropped her daggers, placing a hand on her forehead. She staggered just to keep balan ce. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was… th inking.” The earthen shackles dissolved and the courtier slowly rose to her feet, han ds in th e air, h er face a mixture of fear and gratitude. “Th- thank you. I promise, I’ll go. You won’t see me ever again,” she said, backing away cautiously before breaking into a full sprint, vanishing in to the overgrowth to the east. With an audible thud, Greer collapsed onto the ground, armored body writhing from the poison. His vision blu rred, barely able to see the recruit run to his side. “Captain?! Captain!” Iyone wailed, dropping to her knees to fi nd the wound. She reached