Curse

The undead Mesmer · Mar 28, 2006, 07:32 PM // 19:32

A think about the kappa they are the ''egg-carriers'' of the naga if you look closely they got eggs lying on their back.

Teh Monkeys · Mar 28, 2006, 09:57 PM // 21:57

The Guild wars homepage got updated:

Grenth

Necromancers learn early that the way to true power is by bowing down at the foot of the god of death and ice to pledge total, undying allegiance. The Assassins of Cantha pay homage to Grenth, and rarely take on a job unless a priest of Grenth places a blessing upon the task. Ritualists, who speak to and control the darker forces of the underworld, also draw strength from Grenth's teachings. Statues of Grenth depict the god with the body of a man and the narrow, skeletal head of a beast; Canthan artists tend to add a draconic look to the skull. The Canthan version of Grenth stands astride a small mountain of the dead, but in Canthan art the faces of these corpses are always averted from the god of death, as if in shame, to distinguish these enslaved dead from the "living" ancestor spirits.

Lyssa

Twin goddesses of beauty and illusion forming a paradoxically singular entity, Lyssa is the patron god of the Mesmer profession in the northern Tyrian continent. In Cantha she also represents the incarnation of luck, both good and bad. Many Canthan Assassins revere Lyssa more for her intrinsic duality than her famous beauty and have been known to invoke her charms. Depictions of Lyssa in Canthan culture reflect the typical northern style: lithe twin figures of exquisite beauty entwined in an eternal dance.

I'd say the Old Gods are pretty much universal and have influence in every region of the world.

Khift · Mar 28, 2006, 10:23 PM // 22:23

Speaking of Gods... Once I noticed that the resurrection shrines also had statues of the Gods on them, I payed alot of attention to them. In doing this, I noticed two very interesting statues that I'd never seen before, which are attached to this post.

The first statue looks like Dwayna -- but the Dwayna statues in Tyria are notable different.

The second statue is obviously no god we've ever seen before. It really strikes me as the Ritualist's god, just because of how it's senses seem to be blinded, and yet it still inspires fear.

nazgul55 · Mar 28, 2006, 10:31 PM // 22:31

the first statue is a statue of dwayna (non favour) all broken up and second statue is clearly lyssa (non favour) shes covered up in thorny branches. (you can see both of them in toa whn we dont got favour.

Rhucks · Mar 29, 2006, 01:43 AM // 01:43

This is my first post - I'm thrilled I have (hopefully) something to offer the discussion.

I've watched and rewatched the Factions Cinematic to look for clues not given elsewhere in the game (and because I think it's so well done). First, the focus of the main hall seems to be a large relief on the wall. Shiro is always pictured small by comparsion. Look at it and see if it rings any bells. I couldn't find any connections to the 'current' gods in it, but it's interesting none the less.

Secondly, I was curious why the Kurzicks and Luxons were both represented in taking down Shiro. Then I received my pre-order disk that came with a very helpful and informative narrative about Shiro and the day when the sea turned to Jade. I'd be happy to post it if you think it would be okay.

The short version is: bodyguard (Shiro) turns bad - kills emperor, all three great armies were present for the Harvest Festival and sought to avenge his death, the two champions killed him, immediately prior to death he released the final shout. We arrive two generations later getting ready for the next Harvest Festival.

My note: Shiro couldn't have been Luxon (as I originally thought based on clothing) because both Luxon and Kurzick worked to kill him. So what's with the fighting between the two? And who was the third great army?

I apologize if this information has been previously posted or is available elsewhere on the site! I feel like I've read everythign (been playing for quite a while) but I could've certainly missed it!

Symeon · Mar 30, 2006, 07:01 AM // 07:01

Rhucks: Sounds interesting, it'd be great if you posted it up.

The opposite of the Historian of Houses in House zu Heltzer is the Historian of Clans in Cavalon:

Good thing that Anet have given some updating on their info regarding the gods/relation to professions.
So Assassins=Grenth or Lyssa?
Ritualists=Grenth?

I'd just like to do a sum up of the various topics mentioned in the starting post so far. Keep the information and discussion coming.

Cantha!
Big map, varying types of landscape across it...huge city. Divided into three: Cantha, Kurzicks, Luxons. Lots of Asian-style things everywhere.

Canthan people!
Generally Asian looks, but varied. The Luxon's clothing looks Middle-Eastern, seafaring, piratey, while the Kurzicks have very pale faces, large hats and weird hairstyles, and a dark dress sense. Not much seen of the ordinary Canthans yet.

Canthan architecture!
The Marketplace clearly resembles a Chinese/Japanese city, with high-rise buildings and that style of roof.
Cavalon's base is built out of the jade, but there is evidence that a lot of the structures have been built from the remains of ships. Giant turtles.
House zu Heltzer is a giant open-air gothic-style cathedral, right in the depths of the forest. Lots of engravings on the wall, tree trunks used for bridges etc.

Will do the rest of these later (short on time at the moment):

Canthan creatures!
The two Factions, and their lore!
The lore of the two new professions!
History, religion and ethics of Cantha!
What is the link between Tyria and Cantha?!
What is the adventure and the lore surrounding it like?!
What do the NPC's tell us? What stories, legends and myths are there woven into the lore?!
What are Alliances, Alliance Battles, the new PvP maps, etc. like and what information about the lore of Guild Wars: Factions can we draw from them?!

Feel free to sum them up yourself if you want.

Warcheif_Jonval · Mar 30, 2006, 04:09 PM // 16:09

Welcome to the board Rhucks!

I belive the 3rd army you spoke of was probobly the Canthian army its self. I said earlier that Cantha, the Kurzick houses the the Luxon clans are 3 diffrent powers with their own armies. (as we can tell from the direct conflicts between the luxon and kurzick and the fact that Cantha is the home to the emporer). Symeon said that the Kurz and luxes might be vassals the the Emperor him self.

The conflict between the Kurz and Luxons were probobly territorial in nature at first or even pollitcal. Yet until Saint Viktor was slain, in cold blood, by the Luxons. Then things got out of hand. (I breifly discussed Viktor in an earlier post. I might have not clearly detailed the description of the shirine i got in game. Unfortunetly, i did not take any SC.)

(on a side note about Factions... who here thinks this a step in the right direction for GW game play wise? the Alliances and stuff sound more like what GW was gonna be about. :P)

Symeon · Mar 31, 2006, 06:34 PM // 18:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warcheif_Jonval

(on a side note about Factions... who here thinks this a step in the right direction for GW game play wise? the Alliances and stuff sound more like what GW was gonna be about. :P)

Yes, I've been thinking about that too, and I agree. In 'Guild Wars: Prophecies', the only real relevance of the title 'Guild Wars' related to the 'guild wars' described in the lore manual that took place between the different nations and ended before the game started. The only other thing that it could have related to was guild battles, but I don't think they could even be considered to be real 'battles', let alone 'wars'. In Factions, guild alliances and great 12v12 alliance battles across large maps, shifting the border line between two sides over time, is really a 'war of guilds'. That said, only the coming of our guilds to Cantha will actually make it a 'war of guilds'...before it had just been Luxon vs Kurzick, but when we come along and fight in great battles for either side, we make it almost our own war. Also, we sort of worsen the whole situation

Anyway, I'd like to take a look at those other subjects from my last post that I said I would tackle later (i.e. I'll remove the ones not done from that post and do them in this post).

Canthan creatures!
We've seen quite a lot. Yetis, Kirins, Wardens, Undergrowths, Kappas...and we've got screenshots available. Not much more can be said, except for they are interesting and a good deal different to the creatures of the original Guild Wars. We've also learnt from some research that these names relate to things with meanings outside of the game, too.

The two Factions, and their lore!
A good amount of detail on this one. Lots of information from NPCs, in particular, the Historian of Clans (Luxon) and the Historain of Houses (Kurzick). Those two NPCs' sayings have been taken and are available, along with many others. Other lore for the factions relates to the architecture and people, which are being discussed separately. Concerning the lore of the factions specifically, consult sources such as www.guildwiki.org to find good information from the NPCs.

The lore of the two new professions!
(from www.guildwars.com) The Assassins of Cantha pay homage to Grenth, and rarely take on a job unless a priest of Grenth places a blessing upon the task. Ritualists, who speak to and control the darker forces of the underworld, also draw strength from Grenth's teachings. Many Canthan Assassins revere Lyssa more for her intrinsic duality than her famous beauty and have been known to invoke her charms.
- Other than this, we have experienced these professions and their skills, but there is other 'lore-like' information on assassins and ritualists on the official site.

History, religion and ethics of Cantha!
Again, NPCs such as the Historian of Clans and the Historian of Houses give us an insight into this. We become very aware of the whole faction war thing that has been going on for a while.
Religion of the two professions is described above, but it has been confirmed that Cantha worships all the old gods. However, there appears to be some difference between the factions - in particular, the Kurzicks, who have a particular martyr 'Saint Viktor' who was slain by the Luxons. Also, many of their buildings seem to be 'gothic-church/cathedral-style gone dark'. They appear to be more orthodox and have slightly different ways in their religion. Furthermore, they see themselves as the protectors and elites in the eyes of the gods.
In terms of ethics, we are mainly driven onto the factions scene again. Two factions with huge enmity and a constant war going on. Enough said for now.

What is the link between Tyria and Cantha?!
Really no information yet other than physical movement i.e. being able to travel from Lion's Arch to Seitung Harbor and being able to go from the Guild Hall to Alliance Battles. However, recently we have had the small connection of the Luxon and Kurzick refugees arriving in Tyria to set up camps, fleeing the disastrous war.

What is the adventure and the lore surrounding it like?!
From the Preview Event, which starts out sort of half-way through the adventure in Cantha (or maybe more than that), we can see that at least the part shown is heavily rooted in the Factions war but also in trying to get the support of a particular faction against the 'big' enemy, Shiro. But it seems that in doing so you also get yourself embroiled in the factions war and alliance battles. So there is the sort of ongoing war, but the actual adventure still coming through it that will supposedly lead on to tracking down and defeated Shiro, or maybe even a greater evil. We must wait for the real game to find out.

What do the NPCs tell us? What stories, legends and myths are there woven into the lore?!
They tell us lots of information, about the factions war, the two factions, and Cantha. There are some stories and legends presented to us by the NPCs, which tie in to the information about the current situation that they give us.

What are Alliances, Alliance Battles, the new PvP maps, etc. like and what information about the lore of Guild Wars: Factions can we draw from them?!
Mainly rooted into drawing guilds into the entire factions war thing. The alliance feature's details we know about...and many of us played the alliance battles. Though they had technical problems, they were very enjoyable, and helped to give us a feeling of 'war' with larger teams and larger maps, and the moving border line.

Feel free to summarise them in your own way, too, and add information.

Also, take note that I am starting up a new project tonight; so by all means get over and join in on that one. Though, keep in mind that while new projects are being introduced, old ones should continue to be discussed/worked on for as long as possible until hopefully things are 'wrapped up' in them.

Keep up the discussion in here, let's unravel everything that we got out of the preview event last weekend and lay down as many and as detailed conclusions about the lore of Guild Wars: Factions as possible!

saneo · Mar 31, 2006, 09:17 PM // 21:17

when i heard cavalon was the luxon capital city the first thing that came into my head was avalon, which is the mystical isle of King Arthur's tomb. I'm not sure if this has any type of connection with cavalon, but according to the legend, king arthur will come out of avalon when his country needs him most, and save the country from destruction. Cavalon being near the sea added more to my feeling. I don't know if it is right or not, just thought i should put it out there

Venomios · Mar 31, 2006, 10:56 PM // 22:56

The thing that strikes me as funny... not ha-ha funny, but *spider-sense tingling* funny, is that the Luxon capital is built out of the Jade of the sea. literally cut right into it, right? What happens when the spell is reversed, and the sea returns to normal? Are all the Luxons going to drown? Where were the Luxon centered before the scream? Also, Tengu are friendly to Canthan (due to the Tengu henchie)... so why the hostility to Tyrians? What sparked the Tengu attacks on Krytans?

Gaile, if you read this, you should poke Anet with a stick until they commission someone to write a novel based on the GW lore, just to appease us (for a good reference, I reccommend checking out the Resident Evil works of S.D. Perry... tells a wonderful story without being too much of "connect the dots of the game")

A novel based on each chapter.... for instance... Book 1 could be about the pre-searing thru the defeat of the Lich, and explain things like where exactly does the Charr get the power to nuke Ascalon? We know the power came from their gods, but their gods (the titans) are entombed at the time of the searing. What is the Charr civilization like? we have very little info on it. We know with the Grawl that there are religious and apothetic factions.

PLEASE ANET!!! HIRE SOMEONE TO WRITE A GW NOVEL!!!!!!!!!!

Elaine Donnerbalken · Apr 01, 2006, 12:07 AM // 00:07

Seems to me that this should clarify the primary gods of the new classes. (But sure, it cant be bad for an Assassin to also pray to Grenth for some prey^^)

Symeon · Apr 01, 2006, 01:11 PM // 13:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by saneo

when i heard cavalon was the luxon capital city the first thing that came into my head was avalon, which is the mystical isle of King Arthur's tomb. I'm not sure if this has any type of connection with cavalon, but according to the legend, king arthur will come out of avalon when his country needs him most, and save the country from destruction. Cavalon being near the sea added more to my feeling. I don't know if it is right or not, just thought i should put it out there

Interesting, I hadn't thought of that. Quite a coincidence there, I think...but who knows, they could or could not be connected

. Maybe other place names have outside connections.

The main one I know about which I don't think was meant by Anet and is just a minor coincidence - the two just happen to have the same name - is Ascalon. I read about it somewhere, I believe it was/is a town of some sort somewhere in what was 'Canaan' (Israel/Palestine/Lebanon)...though I didn't really read the context that it was in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venomios

The thing that strikes me as funny... not ha-ha funny, but *spider-sense tingling* funny, is that the Luxon capital is built out of the Jade of the sea. literally cut right into it, right? What happens when the spell is reversed, and the sea returns to normal? Are all the Luxons going to drown? Where were the Luxon centered before the scream? Also, Tengu are friendly to Canthan (due to the Tengu henchie)... so why the hostility to Tyrians? What sparked the Tengu attacks on Krytans?

Two good points there. From the official lore it seems that before the scream the Luxons were a seafaring nation, but obviously now the sea is solid they cannot sail and therefore decided to settle down on it. But you're right, they're kind of putting themselves at risk by sitting on a solid sea...it's not like ice, but technically it's still sea and something could happen to change it back to how it was, in which case they would all drown (unless they knew it was coming).
About the Tengu...I don't know if you actually encounter them as enemies anywhere in Cantha. If not, that may indicate that the Tengu only live in Tyria. The name Talon Silverwing seems familiar as a boss name to me - but then again, I may just be imagining things. In any case, to get from Tyria to Cantha he must have been captured, tamed, and sold to Canthan traders...or something along those lines. Then in Cantha they trained him to fight with humans.

SylverDragon · Apr 01, 2006, 03:21 PM // 15:21

I do remember someone - a Canthan guard I think, sorry no screenshot - saying that the Kurzicks and Luxons were vasal states.

Also, probably not intentional at all, but

Quote:

Originally Posted by saneo

when i heard cavalon was the luxon capital city the first thing that came into my head was avalon, which is the mystical isle of King Arthur's tomb.

Cavalon = Camelot + Avalon

However, I decided to Google the name and came up with this

Cavalon
Boy Name
Name of a king
Originally from Arthurian-Legend

http://www.pickbabynames.com/Arthuri...C/Cavalon.html

Warcheif_Jonval · Apr 01, 2006, 04:04 PM // 16:04

Yes, it was in the thread about the real Rurik.

Here it is, orrigionaly from Ailyrr Merlena.

Quote:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lexar
Anyway to add to this I think I can remember Ascalon to be a city and possibly a region that existed during the crusades and was destroyed at some point. I'd look it up to get the details but I'm lazy.

hehe, I wasn't. You are correct, it was a stronghold important to the Crusades.
Three references:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01766b.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkelon

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0101/feature4/

For those of us in a hurry, the wikipedia one basicly says that Ascalon (also spelled Ashkelon) was a Muslim Port during the middle ages that fell to the cursaders quite quickly.

To me, this makes Human/Charr battles as a metaphor for the Crusades. (intentional or not, it was a good touch

)

Acillios · Apr 02, 2006, 05:46 PM // 17:46

Wtf..? Check Elaine Donnerbalken's screens...can u BUY Favor of the Gods in Cantha?

(Bit off-topic, sorry for that..)

Dougal Kronik · Apr 03, 2006, 04:33 PM // 16:33

The Favor of the Gods that you purchase from the temples is the +2% bonus like you would get from killing a boss.

ETSubmariner · Apr 03, 2006, 09:14 PM // 21:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Symeon

Supposedly, it was Shiro Tagachi's massive cry when he was killed after murdering the emperor of Cantha 200 years ago, that let out this massive wind...turning the sea on which the Luxon seafarers sailed into solid jade, petrifying the forest inhabited by the Kurzicks, and yes, I read somewhere also that some creatures were killed and became extinct because of it. Must have been a pretty loud but also very magical scream, to have the power to send out a gigantic force like that. I'm interested as to how his scream had so much force to it.

Here's a possible answer to your interest in how his death cry could have been so powerful.

Shiro

Tarus From Taros · Apr 03, 2006, 11:28 PM // 23:28

Traveling Through the Game:

It is my belief that you will begin your journey through Cantha From the North and make you way south through the game similar to the FPE event. You will see many more Canthan NPCS up north as it will most likely be the "low level" area. Once players hit level 20 they can then procede into areas where the war between factions exist.

The Gods:

Just because the 5 old Gods once called Tyria home doesn't mean they have never reached out to different lands. I belive we will see and understand more about these gods with future chapters and new locations. I also belive that with new chapters we will also unlock new realms of the gods such as "Underworld" and "FoW" for the other Gods. On that note i'd also like to say I thought it was a poor decision on arenanet's part to locate the Temple of the Ages in Tyria instead of an area like the Battle Isles. Mainly because I assume that all chapters will be able to travel to the battle isles regardless of owning additional chapters. So instead of having a Temple of Balthazar in the battles isles it would have been best if they had switched locations with ToA, especially since I think we will eventually be able to go to FoW from that temple. I think when they open up a new realm there will be a Temple(Town) in that land for it. So whether or not we can access the future realms later from ToA remains to be seen.

The Gods Statues:

Instead of having statues and ressurection shrines scattered around the area in Tyria they have been merged into one in Cantha. I thought this was a excellent idea. Not only that, but you can also gain more then just dp removal/Morale from them. I hope they redo Tyria in this format. So what exactly do these new God Shrines do? Well aside from rezzing and removing dp and boosts they also give additional bonuses which may be extremely helpful...depending on if you have the gold and have the attirbutes that gain bonuses from that particular god statue.

For 20 minutes you can get 2 different types of special bonuses(Varies on God), One specific attribute of a particular profession can be raised by 1(Varies), All attributes of a particular profession are raised by one(Varies). So for Lyssa someone with an Assassin or Mesmer profession on there character can raise all of those attributes for that profession up 1. Also, Lyssa can increase a Elementalists energy storage attribute to 1(This may vary depending on which statue of lyssa you are at), remember that this is a primary attribute so only Primary Elementalists can take advantage of it.

Now the statue of Grenth can raise a Ritualists or Necromancers attributes to 1. let it be known that you are not limited to just choosing one option from a god statue. THEY DO STACK! Even if you are a Monk/Warrior you could choose to have 1 to all ritualists attributes. Obviously it won't help you any but you can do that if you wish.

Rayne Nightfyre · Apr 03, 2006, 11:36 PM // 23:36

Sounds awesome, Tarus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarus From Taros

Also, Lyssa can increase a mesmers energy storage attribute to 1(This may vary depending on which statue of lyssa you are at).

Mesmers with Energy Storage...? Clarification would be appreciated.

Tarus From Taros · Apr 03, 2006, 11:45 PM // 23:45

Fixed: I meant to say Elementalists, thanks for pointing that out rayne ;p. I'd also like to make note that Grenth Statues also have a blessing called "Disciple of Ice" which will raise your water attribute(Also elementalist) to 1 for 20 minutes as well. Once I have more time I will be posting screenshots of the new factions bosses on guildwiki. I have about 20+ so it will take some time

.