Dec 23

Written by:
12/23/2011 1:33 AM 

 

The following text incorporates information extracted from the original Guild Wars 2 books, Edge of Destiny and Ghosts of Ascalon. It is intended as a synopsis of what we know so far about the Elder Dragons, and a preface of what may possibly be revealed to us in the coming expansions. If you have not read these books and do not wish to have the game’s mystery spoiled for you, please read no further.

In the year 1120 A.E., the first of the Elder Dragons, Primordus, was awakened. The fiercest of them all, as was clearly evident by the seer magnitude of the catastrophe he brought upon the continent of Tyria. Since the moment of his awakening he has remained burried under the surface, into the very Depths of Tyria, wrecking havoc to the land above. Extensive underground areas, home to many races like the skritt , were destroyed, forcing their inhabitants to abandon the Depths and relocate their surviving numbers to the surface of the land. His minions, called destroyers, flooded Tyria’s bowels, obliterating all hope for the asura to ever return to their natural birthplace.

Forty five years later, in 1165 A.E., the Elder Dragon Jormag came out of his hibernation. Atop the frozen Far Shiverpeaks, in the northern reaches of the Shiverpeak Μountains , where eternal winter and snow dwell, the Dragon sprung from beneath his icy sheets, forcing the native kodan to abandon their homes in the north frozen seas, provoking this way their unwilling trespass and a subsequent clash with the neighboring norn. His minions of snow and ice, the icebrood, forced the norn to migrate south towards the abandoned dwarven areas. The Dragon’s forces have already extended their chilling dominance over the entire area around Drakkar Lake and Gunnar's Hold, engulfing it in frost.

Then Zhaitan rised. In 1219 A.E. he emerged from the bed of the Sea of Sorrows, causing the entire Orr peninsula to re-surface. The once holy city of Arah, after one entire century of wet lethargy was once again greeted by the hope-inspiring sunlight, but at the same time a bleak shadow fell over it – the shadow of the Dragon. The kingdom of Orr is now entirely subjugated to Zhaitan’s will and its sole dwellers, the armies of the undead, wander through the deserted streets.

There were some areas in Tyria where the Dragons’ wrath had not been felt yet. Charr armies, having already taken Ascalon over from human command, had focused their attention to the fort town of Ebonhawke. The plague called Dragons were not going to make an exception for them though. One morning in 1320 A.E., the ground begun to rumble and shake and yet another Elder Dragon awoke. Kralkatorrik flew over the Charr territory and as far as Ascalon and the Blazeridge Steppes, carving in its path the Dragonbrand. And the Dragon flapped its massive wings, the earth underneath him was touched by his fiery breath and went black, while the animals and the plants were branded. His journey ended at the north end of the Crystal Desert, where he resides until this day.

At an unknown point in time, one more Elder Dragon made its entry into the troubled world. This as of yet unnamed Dragon, came out of his long sleep at the bottom of the sea and created tentacled beasts out of pure water. Using its ancient magical powers, it made itself an entire horde of slaves using all available water from every lake and river running through its realm. The invasion of the krait into quaggan territory fifty years ago appears to coincide with the approximate moment of said Dragon’s awakening. Kraits, a race of aquatic slavers, dwelled in the deepest trenches of Unending Ocean until, one day, almost unjustifiably, poured out and into Quaggan lands, almost eradicating their entire civilization.


In Guild Wars 2, our character begins by doing trivial everyday chores – only to follow his calling soon enough, that of a hero’s. Dragons have turned Tyria upside down and it is pretty obvious that he cannot be left out of the party. The first Elder Dragon we will be called upon to face is Zhaitan. He and his army of the undead have spread through the kingdom of Orr like an infestation and shall be our primary adversaries in the game.

It has already been confirmed that Guild Wars 2 will be followed by expansions. Presuming that there will be one such expansion for each of the remaining Dragons, then we are looking at four of them. In these we will possibly have the opportunity to select new races, travel to the destroyed lands where these Dragons roam and, eventually, confront them along with their armies of slaves and warriors. In the following paragraphs we present our thoughts on each of these expansions.

Now then, in the first of these expansions we could select to play as a Skritt, travel to various underground locations, wander through caves and volcanoes, boiling with hot lava, in order to meet and fight Primordus and his Destroyer hordes in the Depths of Tyria. Our victory shall liberate those underground areas, permitting the Asura and other races that once lived there to return and rebuild their civilizations.

In another expansion it would be possible to become a Kodan, who explores the frozen lands of the north, through snow and freezing cold. We could swim in the icy ocean and climb the mountains of the Far Shiverpeaks, where we shall do battle with Jormag and his subjugates. And when this Dragon falls also, peace will return to the North and the tribes and races that live there, once again.

A third expansion could have us cross the crystallized Dragonbrand and travel through the Crystal Desert, to face the Elder Dragon called Kralkatorrik and his crystal legions. This Dragon’s end marks the beginning of a new era. As the sun sets behind the desert’s sand hills, the crystal curse shall be lifted and all who remained without hope all this time will feel alive again.

Through the last of the possible expansion we could be given the opportunity to select the Quaggan race, enabling us to dive into the Unending Ocean, where we will encounter the final Elder Dragon – the one whom the game’s fans have named the Deep Sea Dragon, and his aquatic monsters.

This concludes our guessing session regarding the possible four expansions of Guild Wars 2. We hope we have not spoiled all mystery, but rather lifted the veil covering the story just enough to make you feel even more eager to find all there is about the game.

- Achilles