Spirits of the Wild

This article is about the norn spirit guides. For the in-game book, see Spirits of the Wild (object).

From left to right: Wolf, Raven, Snow Leopard, and Bear.

“

The Norn do not know gods, at least not in the way humans do. But we do revere the spirits of the animals upon whom we depend for food and shelter. There are many such spirits. Bear is the mightiest of course, but Raven, Owl, Wolf, Wurm, and Ox all have their place in the world and in our hearts. While we hunt and slay these creatures, we also praise their spirit, and thank them for their sacrifice. The animals are our brethren; their spirits guide us as we live and hunt.

There are more hostile, even malicious, spirits in the world...spirits of the mountains, seasons, fire, and darkness. The animal spirits are our allies against these foes, and we thank them for their aid, singing the praises of all beasts as we hunt. This is the Norn way.

— Egil Fireteller

The Spirits of the Wild are the norn's spirit guides. Unlike the Six Human Gods, the Spirits do not represent broad-minded concepts like "war" or "nature," but instead embody all the complex virtues and vices of the animals they represent. Likewise, the Spirits are not worshiped in the traditional sense of the word, but rather revered. The Spirits of the Wild have always been around to guide the norn, and though they do not always offer their aid directly, they always aim to help—if they do nothing after being asked for help, then their help was not necessary. The Spirits also keep the norn in check, teaching them not to despoil the land and effectively become a balance to the norn's direct, quick-tempered natures.

History

Early history

Entrance to the Sanctum of the Wild.

The Spirits of the Wild are regarded as the embodiments of the creatures and natural forces which they represent. Each creature on Tyria is said to have had a Spirit associated with it although some norn believe that a few of these Spirits have died since then. Kodan tales claim that Koda is the primal spirit who formed the world and supposedly lorded over the Spirits of the Wild. In these tales the Spirits are depicted as wild and destructive and in need of the kodan to guide and protect them with Koda's blessing.

In the ancient past, the Spirits of the Wild first appeared to the norn in a secluded location that came to be known as the Sanctum of the Wild deep within Drizzlewood Coast. This magically potent temple would serve as a site for norn pilgrimages for centuries. It was protected by a stone door which was enchanted with runes; the door leading into the sanctum could only be opened by invoking the powers of several collaborating Spirits of the Wild. The Spirits taught the norn not to despoil the land, and they effectively became a balance to the norn's direct, quick-tempered natures. The norn viewed the animal Spirits as allies and guides against the more malicious Spirits of the world such as Fire, Darkness, Mountain, and Seasons.

When the Elder Dragon Jormag first awoke in the Far Shiverpeaks and pushed south since 1165 AE, the norn initially fought it and would have risked their own extinction, but the Spirits of the Wild prevented them from doing so after Asgeir Dragonrender, who had been empowered by the Spirits and slain Jormag's champion Frostfang, had failed to defeat Jormag despite severing one of the Elder Dragon's fangs. The most highly regarded Spirits, oft called the "Great Spirits"—Bear, Raven, Snow Leopard and Wolf—led the norn exodus, guiding the norn south from the Far Shiverpeaks to the place now known as Hoelbrak in the Shiverpeak Mountains. Asgeir himself claimed that he had received a vision from the Spirits to lead the norn south although he left a journal behind which detailed what exactly had transpired during his encounter with Jormag.

Four other Spirits—Owl, Ox, Eagle, and Wolverine—battled Jormag in order to give the norn time to move south. Owl was confirmed dead by her havroun who could no longer sense her presence after Owl had sacrificed herself to stall Jormag's advance. However, because the other three Spirits did not have a havroun to communicate with them for generations, their fates remained unknown. Other lesser Spirits of the Wild existed as well such as Minotaur and Hare. Some of these Spirits were rarely mentioned, however, such as Frog, Gorilla, Griffon, Mink, Otter, and Wurm.

At some point in the past, Bear, Raven and Snow Leopard gave their respective blessings to Wolf's map which was in Captain Romke's possession. When the Spirits were invoked, the map could display everything between the traveler's current position and the destination they wanted to reach. However, the boastful norn crew's voyage came to a sudden end due to the Rising of Orr which was caused by the Elder Dragon Zhaitan's awakening in 1219 AE. The map was lost in the crew's battle against the Risen, and the slain crew members' ghosts were cursed to haunt the shores of Orr until the map was retrieved and the Spirits had forgiven the crew's pride.

Personal story

In 1325 AE, the Great Spirits helped out the Slayer of Issormir, an untested norn yearning to claim their legend.

Chapter 1: Forging a Legend

Lost Spirits' Hallow dedicared to the Lost Spirits of Owl, Ox, and Wolverine with Eagle's shrine missing.

Defeat Our Ancient Foes

When the jotun Korag allied himself with the Sons of Svanir and began worshiping Jormag, the Slayer of Issormir was offered the choice to receive Wolf Spirit's blessing. The morning before, the Sons of Svanir had corrupted Ormi, who was both one of the local wolf pack alphas as well as one of Wolf's favorites, into an icebrood. Wolf's Speaker, Fastulf Jotharsson, tasked the Slayer of Issormir and Eir Stegalkin to put Ormi out of his misery so his spirit could be set free. Upon killing Ormi, Fastulf asked Wolf to grand his speed, strength, and ferocity to the Slayer so they could prove victorious in their upcoming fight with Korag. With Wolf's blessing, the Slayer would be transformed into a wolven avatar and defeated Korag.

Protect the Spirits

Ferghen the Tracker had called upon Eir Stegalkin, who brought along the Slayer of Issormir, when he had found out that local minotaurs were rampaging across Wayfarer Foothills. The trio discovered that the cause of this was Minotaur Spirit, who was causing the rampages because the Sons of Svanir were hunting it down, luring it by killing minotaurs senselessly. The Sons of Svanir, led by a high-ranking member Vidkun, planned to capture Minotaur Spirit to feed it to The Dragon Beast, a champion of Jormag, so that it could become strong enough to lay waste to Hoelbrak in Jormag's name. To thwart these plans, the Slayer and Eir had freed the captured minotaurs kept in Hangrammr Climb, then tracked Vidkun and the Dragon Beast to Hunter's Lake, where they fought and killed the pair.

Chapter 2: Everyone Makes Mistakes

Lost an Heirloom

Later that year, Wolf sent a vision to Fastulf about a burning homestead where Eir and the Slayer were seen fighting against invading icebrood. Fastulf was known as a prodigy among shamans and how his visions had never been wrong, so Eir and the Slayer traveled north to meet with Krennak the Short. While there, they confronted a Son of Svanir named Varg who wielded a magical horn which summoned icebrood after being twisted by Jormag's magic. The horn turned out to belong to the Slayer, who lost it in a bet while unaware of its magical abilities. Varg was ultimately defeated, and the Slayer was given a choice to either destroy the horn or keep it.

If the Slayer chose to return to Hoelbrak with the horn in the company of Eir and Garm, the trio were ambushed by a group of Sons of Svanir led by Niilo Wolfskinner in the Great Lodge. Despite its corrupted state, the horn also manifested what appeared to be ghostly visions of the four Great Spirits as it repelled the Sons of Svanir although the horn was shattered during the battle.

Chapter 8: Victory or Death

During the Pact's campaign against the Elder Dragon Zhaitan later that year, the Pact Commander and Trahearne retrieved Captain Romke's lost map that was blessed by the Spirits of the Wild. Romke's ghost invoked the Spirits' magic on the map to help the pair locate the Artesian Waters while avatars of the four Great Spirits watched on in approval.

The Icebrood Saga

Whisper in the Dark

The heart of the Raven Sanctum.

By 1332 AE, many Spirits of the Wild became more active in opposing Jormag's spreading influence. Raven helped guide the Pact Commander's party to rescue Jhavi Jorasdottir in Bjora Marches and helped Havroun Weibe cast a protection spell on Jora's Keep to drive away the unnatural storm raised by the Fraenir of Jormag. According to Jhavi, Raven may have also ensured that Jhavi and General Almorra Soulkeeper discovered the ancient Raven lenses in Darkrime Delves so they could gain access to the Raven Sanctum and stop the fraenir's plans.

Sons of Svanir and the enigmatic Aberrant and Fallen found throughout Bjora Marches showed signs of being infused with the essences of Resilience, Valor, and Vigilance which appeared to correspond with Ox, Wolverine, and Eagle, respectively. The Lost Spirits' abandoned shrines were covered in shadow throughout the region, and the local kodan of Still Waters Speaking revealed to the Vigil forces in the region that the Spirits themselves had been seduced by Jormag's whispers which Drakkar, champion of the Ice Dragon, was relaying throughout Drakkar Lake to influence the other races.

Shadow in the Ice

In 1333 AE, Wolf called Garm to Bjora Marches and sent him to assist Braham Eirsson in his mission before guiding the Pact Commander to the pair with visions. Wolf eventually contacted Garm yet again, using him to lead Braham and the Commander to a Wolf shrine at Sifhalla Ruins where the Great Spirit appeared before the trio. Wolf explained that the Spirits had taken note of Braham after the norn youth had fulfilled one of the conditions of a prophecy by breaking the Fang of the Serpent: Braham, as the chosen one, would be destined to either slay Jormag, or fall to the Ice Dragon. Wolf urged Braham to seek out the three Lost Spirits, confirming the kodan tales that the Spirits had been swayed by Jormag, and to convince the Spirits to lend their power against the nigh unkillable Drakkar who had been leeching magic from the Spirits. If Braham succeeded in the task, Wolf would grant him the power of a true norn: to transform into his totem form.

Braham enlisted the help of the Commander and norn shamans to temporarily cleanse the affected Spirits' shrines from Jormag's corruption via rituals while he would summon the Lost Spirits and prove his worth to them. Despite their corrupted state, Ox, Eagle, and Wolverine recognized Braham as the chosen one and appeared to him during the shamans' rites. They questioned Braham's resolve and wisdom, but Braham was able to convince them to grant their power to him so he could face Drakkar. With help from the Commander and the charr Crecia Stoneglow and Rytlock Brimstone, Braham was able to confront Drakkar whom Jhavi's Vigil soldiers and the kodan had cornered into a remote corner in Drakkar Lake. He defeated the dragon champion by blasting it with the three Lost Spirits' combined magic, thus fulfilling Wolf's request.

The Whisper of Jormag, avatar of the Ice Dragon, emerged from Drakkar's corpse and revealed itself as the true source of the whispers. The avatar's persuasive whispers nearly overcame the weary party until the timely arrival of Imperator Bangar Ruinbringer and Ryland Steelcatcher allowed the party to defeat it. Bangar stated his ambitions to subjugate Jormag and convince the High Legions of his worth as Jormag's new champion via the defeat of Drakkar, and shot the Commander with an enchanted bow stolen from Braham. Seeing his friend being in mortal danger, Braham grew angry and embraced Wolf's power via Becoming the Wolf, driving the attacking charr away. Upon learning what had happened in the cave, Jhavi suggested that Braham had simply needed sufficient motivation—seeing his friend in mortal danger—to transform upon being granted Wolf's blessing.

Jormag Rising

Months later, Braham had discovered the entrance to the Sanctum of the Wild which would allow his party to enter the Frost Citadel to confront Bangar who was planning to awaken Jormag. He was unable to invoke the four Great Spirits to open the enchanted door due to their silence, however, so he resorted to calling the lesser Spirits and convince them that he was worthy of being the norn of prophecy. The totems of Ox, Eagle and Wolverine were missing for the ritual to work, however, so Braham asked the Commander to retrieve the totems. The Lost Spirits were not willing to give away the totems without trials, however: Ox made the Commander collect orbs while avoiding obstacles, Eagle transformed the Commander into an eagle for a chase in the skies, and Wolverine tested the Commander in combat.

Braham was able to convince the other lesser Spirits to lend their aid by the time the Commander returned with the totems. Invoking the Spirits, Braham entered into a trance and spoke out the Spirits' riddle from the Mists. Once he had solved the riddle and channeled the totems' magic in the right order with help from the Commander, Crecia and Rytlock, Braham was able to use the totems' magic to open the door.

However, when Owl's totem lit up with her full power rather than just a remnant of it, Braham realized the horrific truth: Owl had not perished in battle after all but had been corrupted by Jormag in the past alongside the three other Lost Spirits. To prevent herself from being used by the Ice Dragon, she had cut herself off from the Mists and the norn, thus explaining why her havroun had not been able to sense her anymore and had assumed her to have perished. Owl had then fled to the Sanctum of the Wild and had effectively gone into hiding for centuries. Because Braham had reawakened Owl via the ritual, the corrupted magic within her would finally be accessible to Jormag. The party theorized that the Elder Dragon might have enough power to awaken with Owl's magic thanks to the ritual.

On the way to the heart of the sanctum, Braham finally heard the four Great Spirits' voices and realized that they had not answered him before because they had been trapped in the keep. By the time they reached their destination, they met with Bangar who revealed that he had been working with the Sons of Svanir to trap the four Great Spirits' energy into totems and intended to absorb their magic into himself to corrupt the Spirits and use their power as a lure to make Jormag wake up and fall under his control. The party battled Bangar and were soon joined by Ryland who reprimanded Bangar for going against his word and using the Spirits as leverage against Jormag. Ryland began channeling the Spirits' power instead, redirecting their magic straight to Jormag despite Bangar's protests. The Commander was able to free the Great Spirits from the totem before they could be corrupted, but the party was too late to stop the charr from awakening the rejuvenated Jormag who entered the Mists soon after.

Following the harrowing encounter with Jormag, the Commander traveled to the Eye of the North and met with Owl Shaman Garon whom Braham had summoned there to seek the shaman's guidance regarding Owl's reawakening. Garon's faith had diminished upon learning about Owl's corruption, and he worried if all Spirits of the Wild were destined to fall to Jormag. Thanks to receiving inspirational words of encouragement from the Commander, however, the shaman decided to go on a pilgrimage to rekindle his and other norn's faith in Owl.

With the Commander's assistance, Garon visited several sites sacred to Owl and helped out the Spirit's faithful with both inspiring words and deeds. The pilgrimage made the shaman recognize similarities between Owl's and the Commander's resolve. Once Garon had gone through a ritual of subjecting himself to Owl's pain at the Sanctum of the Wild, he found his faith renewed and believed that he had gained enough insight to guide Braham on his quest.

Champions

Braham Eirsson confers with the Great Spirits in the Primal Kiln before they confront the Elder Dragon Primordus.

Power

Balance

Judgment

Beliefs

Shrines to Wolf, Snow Leopard, Bear, and Raven.

Norn who choose to become shamans devote themselves to a Spirit's sacred area: a shrine, lodge, or hunting ground dedicated to their patron Spirit of the Wild. The shamans serve their people as guardians and teachers, protecting their territory and instructing others in the lessons of the Spirit they revere. Four of the most powerful and dedicated shamans are known as the Speakers of Hoelbrak. They tend the four lodges that flank Hoelbrak's main hall, which were raised in honor of the four Great Spirits that led the norn to safety during the norn exodus. Special norn shamans called havrouns tend to the Spirits' needs and are capable of crossing over to the Mists at will without the use of portals (a technique known as spirit walk) to join their respective Spirit. Any norn can become a shaman of a certain Spirit, but there is only one havroun per Spirit.

Although the four Great Spirits worked together to help the norn survive Jormag's attacks, they—or their followers—are not always on the best of terms. Followers of Wolf scorn Snow Leopard's stealth as "cowardice," and the shamans of Bear have been known to mistrust Raven's adherents, calling their deceptions dishonorable and weak. Tales of epic battles between heroes of each lodge are told at moots, immortalizing in legend both the virtues and vices embodied by their patron Spirits. Although some animosity exists between some of the Spirits' followers (e.g. Bear's Havroun Grechen and Raven's Havroun Weibe who cannot stand one another), some shamans and havrouns of different Spirits get along well (e.g. Grechen or Weibe's interactions with Havroun Svena). Some Spirits are less known or less respected than others; for example, a few norn ridicule certain Spirits such as Frog, Hare and Mink as being useless, weak, or stupid.

Some shamans embrace the darker teachings and aspects of their patron Spirit, pursuing goals which can end up harming others on purpose such as the Raven witch Vilnia Shadowsong capturing and sacrificing children in macabre blood rituals to gain more power and wisdom. However, these wayward shamans are often reviled in norn society for their crimes.

Some spirits exist which the norn consider unworthy of reverence; these naturalistic forces include Mountain, Seasons, Fire and Darkness. These spirits are not seen as sentient and are depicted as challenges for the norn to overcome rather than friends or guides like the Spirits of the Wild.

The all-male Sons of Svanir cult and some female norn regard Jormag as the greatest Spirit of the Wild, referring to it as "Dragon", and view it as the embodiment of all the Elder Dragons. However, most norn and scholars do not regard Jormag as a true Spirit because it lacks traits and powers commonly associated with the Spirits of the Wild.

Powers

The norn have the totem ability to shapeshift, adopting the form of the animal after the Spirits they revere. While transformed via this totem ability, the norn become closer to the spirit of the form they take and understand the power of the wild. The Spirits of the Wild can grant and revoke blessings on the norn based the norn's deeds. It is debated among the norn and scholars whether Jora's inability to Become the Bear after Svanir's acceptance of Jormag's power was caused by Jormag punishing her for rejecting its power or by Bear punishing her for doing nothing to stop Svanir initially. However, Jora did ultimately regain her ability after honoring Bear's wishes to restore her bloodline's honor by washing the blood of killing her brother with the blood of killing a charr warband who had taken over Jora's homestead.

The Spirits have the power to physically transform beings into creatures which the Spirits themselves represent either for testing said individuals or empowering them for a quest. Their shamans also possess such magic. While transformed, the affected beings are usually unable to communicate in their native language and instead have to rely on the vocal utterances of the creatures they have been turned into for the duration of the transformation; however, they can communicate with the types of creatures they have been transformed into.

The Spirits of the Wild are the embodiments of the beings associated with them with both virtues and vices. As patron Spirits, their existence or demise, or even cutting themselves off from the Mists and going into hiding, can thus have a great effect on the beings linked to them via this bond. For example, Owl's apparent death reportedly made all owls weaker and more confused. The Spirits are said to be infinite wells of power, making them desirable sources of magic for Elder Dragons and their champions.

The Spirits of the Wild are very invested in the norn. A Spirit feels a kinship with those norn who have embraced that particular Spirit. When a person bonded with the Spirit dies, the Spirit knows and feels it. When an entire swath of any Spirit's shamans are wiped out, that Spirit feels that pain in a very keen sense like its children are dying. Similarly, the Spirits can feel the mental agony of norn and potentially other races that have been subjected to becoming Frozen.

Known spirits

Great Spirits

• Bear
• Raven
• Snow Leopard (also known as Snow Lynx)
• Wolf

Lesser Spirits

• Eagle
• Frog
• Gorilla
• Griffon
• Hare (also known as Bunny and Snowshoe Hare)
• Mink
• Minotaur
• Otter
• Owl
• Ox (also known as Dolyak)
• Wolverine
• Wurm

Other Spirits

• Fire
• Darkness
• Mountain
• Seasons

Gallery

Concept art

• 

  Champions Chapter 3: Balance wallpaper with Braham Eirsson, Bear, Raven, Snow Leopard, and Wolf.

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  Gem store banner for Infinite Spirits of the Wild Gathering Tools depicting Raven, Bear, and Wolf.

Renders

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  Symbols of the Spirits of the Wild

Screenshots

• 

  Bear.

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  Eagle.

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  Minotaur.

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  Otter.

• 

  Ox.

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  Raven.

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  Snow Leopard.

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  Wolf.

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  Wolverine.

Trivia

• Initially, the masteries of The Icebrood Saga were going to be focused on learning about the history of the Spirits of the Wild. The first mastery track introduced, Raven Attunement, is inspired by Raven. However, no more masteries related to the Spirits were later introduced.
• The Spirits of the Wild have two leitmotifs associated with them in The Icebrood Saga: the "Spirits of the Wild Theme" composed by Maclaine Diemer for the Spirits' mysticism in general, and the "Spirit Trials Theme" composed by Brendon Williams for the trials associated with the Lost Spirits of Ox, Eagle, and Wolverine.
• If Skuld's claim about each creature on Tyria having its respective associated Spirit of the Wild is true, theoretically a Dragon Spirit should exist (or has once existed) as a natural embodiment of all Tyrian dragons. Although the Sons of Svanir view Jormag as a Spirit of the Wild called Dragon, they initially lacked the ability to enter the Mists on Jormag's behalf without using loopholes, unlike the havrouns who have the native Mists-traveling ability granted by the Spirits. This implies that Jormag and the Dragon Spirit may not be the same entity.

See also

The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Spirits of the Wild.

• A Spirit of Legend
• Spirits of the Wild (object)

Associated items

• Infinite Spirits of the Wild Gathering Tools
• The Spirits of the Wild

References

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Religions of Guild Wars 2