Bloodstone

This article is about the artifacts. For the book, see Bloodstones (book).

The Bloodstone was a powerful and large stone that the Seers created to contain magic that was not corrupted by the Elder Dragons during the previous dragonrise. The original Bloodstone was later broken into five pieces which have since been scattered around Tyria.

History

Early history

A locked door in Bramble Pass, leading into the Bloodstone Caves.

During the previous dragonrise on Tyria 10,000 years ago, the ancient race of Seers began experimenting with artifacts with which to hide magic from the Elder Dragons who were consuming everything in their path. The Seers' early experiments resulted in the Shadowstone, and they refined the concept further until they created the first Bloodstone with unknown divine resources.

Millennia passed until the Six Gods arrived on Tyria via the Artesian Waters, and they brought some humans to Cantha in 786 BE. They eventually established the city of Arah in Orr and gathered multiple ancient magical artifacts, including the Bloodstone, which they stored within it. In 1 BE, the god Abaddon used the Bloodstone to gift magic to some races of Tyria. However, because magic was abused and caused many wars and casualties, the human king, Doric, pleaded to the Six Gods to end the bloodshed. Most of the gods agreed, and the massive stone was sealed with Doric's blood, giving the stone its name. However, the act of sealing the magic, as well as an escalating conflict between his Margonite followers and the Forgotten, eventually caused Abaddon to rebel and forced the other gods to defeat and imprison him and his zealous followers in the Realm of Torment.

To limit the races' ability to use magic, the gods split the original Bloodstone into five pieces in Arah. They not only sundered the Bloodstone but also increased its power by pulling energies from Zhaitan, the Elder Dragon slumbering deep beneath Orr. The first four segments ruled over their respective schools of magic: Preservation, Aggression, Denial, and Destruction. The fifth fragment, the keystone, was required if one were ever to make the Bloodstones one. Once separated, the Bloodstones were tossed into the then largest volcano on the Ring of Fire, Abaddon's Mouth. Before the gods left in the Exodus, they entrusted Doric's bloodline with the duty of protecting the Bloodstones. Because the four schools of magic were separated, no individual was capable of fully utilizing all forms of magic.

After some time, Abaddon's Mouth erupted and sent the five bloodstones throughout Tyria, and some of these would be discovered by Tyrians at a later date. One landed back into the caldera of the volcano, while another landed in the Maguuma Jungle, in a place now known as Bloodstone Fen. A third crashed through the Shiverpeak Mountains and resided in the Bloodstone Caves within the mountains, in present-day Straits of Devastation. A fourth ended up on Janthir Syntri, or was at the very least transported there. The location of the fifth bloodstone is still unknown.

Centuries later, when the White Mantle were in power over Kryta, the mursaat fueled the known Bloodstones along with their soul batteries with souls of the Chosen, people with magical potential identified with the help of the Eye of Janthir, in order to power the Door of Komalie and keep the titans at bay. Vizier Khilbron, who turned out to be an undead lich working for Abaddon and who had been manipulating events to get rid of the mursaat and bring in titans to Tyria to further his master's schemes, was slain atop the Ring of Fire Bloodstone where the Chosen heroes used the lich's spirit to recharge the soul batteries which closed the Door of Komalie.

The Ruined City of Arah (explorable)

In 1325 AE, Randall Greyston and a group of adventurers braved the dangers of Risen-infested Arah to learn more about the Seers and the Bloodstone. They encountered several powerful Risen priests and priestesses who held on to small Bloodstone shards, and Greyston collected these shards after the adventures would slay these powerful Risen one by one. As Greyston collected more shards, they started to get warm and react, which made him believe that the shards were connected to the Six Gods. The group eventually entered the Heavencrystal Palace, where they found a large Bloodstone Shard, surrounded by Risen who did not attempt to carry it, unlike the smaller shards.

After clearing the Risen, Greyston realized that the gods had not only sundered the original Bloodstone in the area, but had also added Zhaitan's energies into it even though they did not know of the sleeping dragon's presence, and this increased the sundered pieces' magic. Greyston was exposed to the Bloodstone shard's power, however, and began shifting out of Tyria while the shard lashed out at his adventuring companions who ultimately destroyed the shard after a fierce struggle. In the battle's aftermath, Greyston disappeared seemingly into the Mists, claiming that he heard the voices of the Six Gods and would go to seek them out.

Living World Season 3

Explosion of the Maguuma Bloodstone.

The surge of magic that followed the demise of the Elder Dragon Mordremoth reached the Maguuma Bloodstone in 1328 AE. Due to the White Mantle tampering with the Bloodstone's shell, the magic shocked several ghosts free. Confused and agitated, these souls of the White Mantle's victims sought revenge on any living being nearby, and many of them merged to become a creature known as Gorseval the Multifarious.

In 1329 AE, the Pact Commander discovered that the White Mantle had been experimenting on the Maguuma Bloodstone for years. Due to the excess of magic from the deaths of Zhaitan and Mordremoth, and accelerated White Mantle tampering, the Bloodstone exploded. The blast itself was seemingly consumed by an entity claiming to be the last mursaat, Lazarus.

Others caught in the blast, such as unfortunate White Mantle and Pact soldiers, were either vaporized or turned into blood-crazed lunatics addicted to collecting Bloodstone shards and the magic they contained. The ghosts of those slain on the Maguuma Bloodstone returned to haunt their place of death, unable, or unwilling, to move on. The blast left behind the shattered remnants of the Maguuma Bloodstone in Bloodstone Fen.

Janthir Wilds

The crater left by the Janthir Bloodstone's controlled detonation.

Effects

Each of the Bloodstones have an effect on the area around them, such as the Aura of the Bloodstone and the Curse of the Bloodstone. The second, however, might have been caused by the soul batteries on top of the Bloodstones, as it was said that those killed on top of the bloodstones could not be resurrected and the soul batteries took in the souls of those killed on the Bloodstone.

If consumed in large enough amounts, the Bloodstone shards can cause not only nausea but lead to erratic, violent behavior and symptoms that can best be described as addiction. Further exposure to Bloodstone shards will alter their consumer and turn them into a hulking abomination in a relatively short span of time and can even unleash magic that can radically alter the environment around them.

The five bloodstones

• Janthir Bloodstone - Sanguine Crater, Janthir Syntri (exploded)
• Maguuma Bloodstone - Bloodstone's Shell, Bloodstone Fen (exploded)
• Ring of Fire Bloodstone - Abaddon's Mouth, Ring of Fire (historical location, current status unknown)
• Shiverpeak Bloodstone - Bloodstone Caves, Straits of Devastation (historical location, current status unknown)
• Keystone - Unknown location

Gallery

Screenshots

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  "Lazarus" absorbs the magic of the Maguuma Bloodstone in the Out of the Shadows trailer.

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  Remains of the destroyed Maguuma Bloodstone in Bloodstone Fen.

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  Greer, the Blightbringer absorbing the power of the Bloodstone Shard.

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  Decima, the Stormsinger absorbing the power of the Bloodstone Shard.

Concept art

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  Bloodstone Fen loading screen with the exploding Maguuma Bloodstone.

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  A Shadow's Deeds loading screen with the Maguuma Bloodstone.

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  Confessor's Stronghold loading screen with the exploding Maguuma Bloodstone.

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  Cinematic shot of the Maguuma Bloodstone's explosion.

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  Cinematic shot of the Maguuma Bloodstone's explosion.

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  Floating Bloodstone concept art by Tsveta Komaticheva.

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  Finding Balance loading screen depicting the area around the Janthiri Bloodstone's crater.

Related achievements

• Black Lion Collections: Bloodstone Weapon Collection — Unlock all 16 Bloodstone weapon skins in your wardrobe. (3)
• Anomalous Occurrences: Bloodstone Harvest — Recover the bloodstone slivers that have affected creatures, and collect the remaining slivers in the world before they can do more harm. (20)
• Anomalous Occurrences: Bloodstone Sightings — Find and identify bloodstone-crazed creatures throughout Tyria. (5)
• Janthir Wilds: Act 2: All Stone, No Blood — Survive the bloodstone explosions. (1)
• Janthir Wilds: Act 2: The Dead Do Tell Tales — Speak with all of the bloodstone ghosts. (1)

Notes

• According to Jeff Grubb, the bloodstones' fate would not be revealed in the initial release of Guild Wars 2, but might "have an influence in future expansions." This turned out to be the case in the plots of Living World Season 3 and Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds which touched on the topic.

See also

The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Bloodstone.

• Bloodstone ghost
• Bloodstone Shard
• Shadowstone

Effects

•  Bloodstone Crazed
•  Power of Bloodstone

Associated items

• Bloodstone weapon skins
• Bloodstone Ascender
• Bloodstone Brick
• Bloodstone Crown
• Bloodstone Crystal Node
• Bloodstone Glider
• Bloodstone Visage Skin
• Bottle of Bloodstone Orange Summer Ale
• Bowl of Bloodstone Ice Cream
• Complete Bloodstone Breakfast
• Demitasse of Bloodstone Espresso
• Mug of Bloodstone Coffee
• Pile of Bloodstone Dust
• Plate of Bloodstone Waffles
• Shattered Bloodstone Circlet Skin