Envoy
This article is about the shepherds of souls. For “The envoys shepherd the souls of the dead to their place in the Underworld.
Envoys were supernatural beings who shepherded the souls of Canthans to the Underworld. They were souls of criminals forced by the Oracle of the Mists to carry out this task as penance for their mortal crimes. After the Zhaitan Disaster destroyed much of Old Kaineng City, the fate of the Oracle of the Mists and the envoys remains unclear.
History[edit]
Early history[edit]
All envoys had been mortals who had committed terrible crimes while alive, seemingly from different eras based on their various attires. After they had passed away, they were forced by the Oracle of the Mists to become envoys and shepherd the souls of Canthans to the Underworld as penance for their mortal crimes.[1] The number of envoys was not fixed as they could add souls of more departed criminals to their roster when required. By Oracle Suun's time the known envoys were Courier Torivos, Emissary Heleyne, Herald Demrikov, and Messenger Vetaura.
After Shiro Tagachi had assassinated Emperor Angsiyan and unleashed the Jade Wind in Cantha upon his death in 1382 CC (872 AE), he was selected to become the latest envoy and begin his centuries-long task to atone for his crimes. Shiro refused his new duty while keeping his envoy powers which he intended to use for selfish ends, however. Shiro's fellow envoys swore to bring him into the fold, and they searched for him for over two centuries.[1]
Guild Wars Factions[edit]
Shiro eluded his spiritual pursuers and used his new power in the creation of an army, unleashing first the Afflicted and later the Shiro'ken upon Cantha in 1582 CC (1072 AE). He sought to return to life by slaying Angsiyan's direct descendant, Emperor Kisu, as royal blood would allow the resurrection. He also corrupted the saltspray dragon Kuunavang to do his bidding, ordering her to guard the Harvest Temple.
While growing his army, Shiro encountered the heroes who had discovered his involvement behind the Affliction and attempted to stop him. The Betrayer unleashed his power and slew the heroes before continuing his mission. Unbeknownst to him, however, the envoys interfered and resurrected the heroes in exchange for the heroes acting as their champions to defeat Shiro as the envoys could not subdue Shiro themselves. They directed the heroes to seek out help from Suun, the Oracle of the Mists, to pass the test of the celestials and become Weh no Su, Closer to the Stars, in order to see spirits like Shiro and be able to defeat him.[2]
After becoming Weh no Su and acquiring the necessary magical relics, the heroes eventually located and confronted Shiro who had been growing in power and had been setting up spirit rifts to summon spirit warriors to his army. They closed the rifts and engaged Shiro in battle while he possessed one of his Shiro'ken constructs. Using the power of the relics, they were able to banish Shiro, although the envoys revealed that Shiro had been dealt a great blow but would eventually regain his strength and return. Realizing that the relics had not been enough to stop the empowered Betrayer, the envoys urged the heroes to seek out both Kurzicks and Luxons and convince them to set aside their differences and join forces so they could assist the heroes in the next battle against Shiro and his growing army.[3]
The heroes succeeded in their task to form an alliance with the rival factions and even managed to liberate Kuunavang from Shiro's control. The grateful saltspray dragon promised to lend them her power in the coming battle against the Betrayer. The heroes also learned that each location Shiro had visited previously had been part of an elaborate ritual to cast a complex spell in order to return to life and that the emperor's blood would be his final target. The envoys tasked them with saving the emperor's life.[4]
Assaulting Raisu Palace with his army, Shiro successfully entered the throne room where he cornered Emperor Kisu and prepared to deliver the killing blow. The emperor's half-brother Master Togo prevented the assassination at the last moment by rushing in and taking the hit instead; however, as royal blood also ran in Togo's veins, Shiro achieved his goal and finally returned to life as a mortal of flesh and blood. Wishing to avenge Togo's death, the heroes who had been granted Kuunavang's magical blessing chased after Shiro to the Imperial Sanctum at the very heart of the palace and defeated the Betrayer after a fierce struggle. After Shiro's second death, the other envoys arrived to pass sentence on him, revealing that Shiro had cast off his envoy powers upon resurrecting as a mortal and could now be judged as an ordinary spirit. Furious at being played, Shiro swore revenge and promised to return one day. The envoys took Shiro's soul to the worst prison in the afterlife, whilst Suun, the Oracle of the Mists, turned the Betrayer's physical body into a jade statue.[5][6]
Interim years[edit]
After the Zhaitan Disaster destroyed much of Old Kaineng City in 1729 CC (1219 AE), the fate of the Oracle of the Mists and the envoys remains unclear. Because several locations in Seitung Province and the Echovald Wilds have a large number of agitated ghosts roaming around and how the Speaker ritualists are able to bind souls to become their spiritual minions and even pull souls from the Domain of the Lost without resistance, the envoys' power over Canthan souls may have either diminished or ended completely in the years since their latest appearance.
See also[edit]
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- Associated items
References[edit]
- ^ a b An Empire Divided
- No longer bound by flesh and blood, Shiro is now more dangerous than he was in life. Upon his death, the Envoys—the immortal beings tasked by the Oracle of Mists with ferrying souls to the afterlife—called him to join their ranks, and he refused. For two centuries these Envoys, themselves once living beings of great wickedness who serve the Oracle as penance for their mortal crimes, have sought to bring Shiro into the fold. Had he been content to lurk at the fringes of the netherworld, they would have searched as long as the stars shone in the sky. Now that Shiro has made his determination to return to the mortal realm clear, they have decided he must be destroyed. The Envoys cannot do it themselves, but they have foreseen that a hero will come forth with the power to destroy the Destroyer. For Cantha's sake, they had better be right.
- ^ Vizunah Square
- Courier Torivos: Whatever his plan is, it must be stopped.
- Herald Demrikov: But how? We are only Envoys ourselves. We cannot fight Shiro.
- Emissary Heleyne: We can combat Shiro by acting like Shiro.
- Messenger Vetaura: We are the Envoys to the next world.
- Messenger Vetaura: The shepherds who guide the newly departed to Eternal Paradise within the Mists.
- Messenger Vetaura: We were sent here to show you the path to the afterlife.
- Herald Demrikov: But it's not your time. We will not guide you today.
- Courier Torivos: We return you your departed spirits.
- Courier Torivos: We give back to you the gift of life.
- Emissary Heleyne: But it comes with a price.
- Herald Demrikov: In return, we ask your help in defeating Shiro.
- Messenger Vetaura: Seek out Suun, the Oracle of the Mists.
- Messenger Vetaura: He will show you how to become Weh no Su, Closer to the Stars.
- Master Togo: Ah, Weh no Su. The Celestial test. Mhenlo and I know it well.
- <Character name>: I do not understand. Why do you wish us to pass this test?
- Courier Torivos: Spirits in this realm can hide themselves from the view of the mortals.
- Courier Torivos: Until you have become Closer to the Stars, you will not be able to see Shiro, let alone fight him.
- ^ Sunjiang District
- Togo: He must be drawing his power from the four primal powers. We disabled one of his sources, but we must take out all of them before we attack, or we will never be able to defeat him! [...]
- Brother Mhenlo: Is he...?
- Togo: Gone? I do not know.
- Togo: The Spear of Archemorus and Urn of Saint Viktor were destroyed.
- Togo: Let us hope Shiro was, as well.
- Messenger Vetaura: He has left this place, but he is not gone.
- Emissary Heleyne: You have dealt Shiro a great blow, but he will return.
- Brother Mhenlo: Then we must prepare.
- <Character name>: But how?
- Herald Demrikov: Seek out the Kurzicks and the Luxons.
- Herald Demrikov: Together their combined might will help you topple Shiro once and for all.
- Courier Torivos: Two hundred years ago, the two fought side by side.
- Courier Torivos: You must convince them to do so again.
- Herald Demrikov: It is the only way to defeat Shiro.
- <Character name>: What if the two sides are just too far apart? What if we can't do it?
- Courier Torivos: Then Shiro will win, and the universe will spiral out of balance.
- ^ Unwaking Waters
- Enraged Kuunavang: You have released me from his grasp.
- <Character name>: Shiro's grasp?
- Enraged Kuunavang: Yes. It was his touch that corrupted my body and fought for control of my spirit.
- Enraged Kuunavang: His foul presence tore at my flesh and withered my bones. Still I resisted.
- Enraged Kuunavang: You brought me back to this life, and I owe you a tremendous debt. [...]
- Enraged Kuunavang: When the time is right, I will grant you the powerful magics you require to defeat Shiro, the Unholy Deceiver. [...]
- <Character name>: Judging from the locations where we've encountered him, I'd say he's doing research.
- Brother Mhenlo: Research? For what?
- Master Togo: Yes, you are right. He must be preparing a spell.
- Brother Mhenlo: A spell? To do what?
- Messenger Vetaura: To leave the spirit realm and join your world again... as flesh and blood. [...]
- Messenger Vetaura: He needs to do only one last deed to cast his spell.
- <Character name>: What deed? What will he do?
- Herald Demrikov: That which cursed him in the first place—he will spill the blood of the royal family.
- ^ Imperial Sanctum
- Shiro Tagachi: I demand that you release me.
- Messenger Vetaura: You are no longer an Envoy. You cannot demand anything from us.
- Shiro Tagachi: Of course I am. You have no power over me. [...]
- Courier Torivos: You are merely a new spirit, lost between the realm of the mortal and the Underworld.
- Messenger Vetaura: You are our charge now.
- Courier Torivos: We have reserved a special place in the Underworld for you.
- Emissary Heleyne: A place you will never escape from.
- Herald Demrikov: A place where you will finally pay for all of your sins.
- Shiro Tagachi: I will get you all for this.
- Shiro Tagachi: This is not the end of me.
- ^ Dialogue with Kuunavang in the Divine Path
- Kuunavang: Shiro will trouble us no longer. The envoys have taken him to a special place in the Underworld where he will pay for his crimes for all eternity.
