User:Qiff/what you have been missing

I started this series, as I felt the need to spread the word about the awesome lore of GW1. Again, WoodenPotatoes (a Youtuber) already covered this. He has a great video series of the lore of Tyria, Cantha, Elona and Guild Wars Beyond, so you should check him out if you are interested in GW1 lore.

Guild Wars Prophecies

Ascalon

The first Guild Wars game. You start your adventure by choosing your profession: Necromancer, Warrior, Monk, Elementalist, Ranger or Mesmer. You are a human living in the peaceful land called Ascalon. Everything is fine and dandy: there is an occasional bear attacking you, some ghosts in the Catacombs and some foolish Charr hitting your wall. Those Charr, however, have a very good reason for knocking at your door. You weren't the first in Ascalon. In fact, they were, until humans drove them out. Humans set foot in Tyria long ago, but weren't the first creatures inhabiting Tyria. They colonized Orr first and moved on to Kryta, Ascalon and even the Maguuma Jungle. With the aid of their Five Gods, the humans had no trouble fighting back the atheistic Charr. The Charr were jealous of their power and sought their own Gods. They found Titans and claimed them as their Gods. From the power of the Titans, they brought the Searing upon Ascalon: a heavy rain of destructive burning crystals came down on the nation. In the mean time, the humans had set up Guilds and had begun fighting each other. The Charr had no trouble retaking their land, at least they thought. The remaining survivors were too proud to give up their hard-fought country and would not be driven back. Even after 8 years, humans still stand their ground in the ruins of Ascalon. And that is where your adventure continues.

You are one of those stubborn humans, fighting with your last breath to keep Ascalon out of the Charr's hands. This is when you meet others fighting for the same cause, willing to join your group. The groups consists of Cynn, Mhenlo, Eve, Devona and Aidan.

• Mhenlo is the group's Monk and is always there to heal and protect you. He is originally from Cantha and he is calm, always trying to help others and not very confident of his own capabilities. Lucky for him, his traveling companion and girlfriend Cynn is there to boost that confidence.
• Cynn is as flamable as the element she tries to control. Her parents were killed during the Searing, which left her angry, full of revenge and cynical about everything (including her own life). She has been burning entire Charr Warbands ever since and has no problem joining a group which essentially has the same goal.
• Devona is the toughest of the group. She's an amazing Warrior, capable of wielding and using a variety of weapons, axes, swords and shields, but her favorite weapon is her huge hammer. She is suprisingly agile with the thing, too. With it, she charges head-on into battle and smashes everything that stands in her way. Her father died during a siege in the Guild Wars and she will do everything to make him proud, as she believes he is watching her from the Mists. Mhenlo often has his hands full on these two girls: one who charges into everything and another who doesn't really care what happens to her anyway.
• He is backed up by Aidan. A superior Marksman, who's parents had also been killed by Charr. After killing countless of Charr, he became aware of his own blind hate and tried to separate good from evil. He is seen as the wisest of the group and uses his experience (and his deadly bow) to aid whenever he can.
• The last member of the group is Eve. Eve is... special. She doesn't know when she was born, who her parents are (or were) and where she came from. The group found her raising minions from a graveyard. Eve is highly intelligent (she taught herself to read at a very young age) and very blunt at some points. Her obsession for everything dark and dead is a little creepy: she has a skull named Adam, of which she is certain 'he' can talk and give her advice. She enjoys annoying Cynn, and the two have trouble coping with each other.
• This weird group is backed up by you and Prince Rurik. Rurik wields the magical fiery sword Sohothin, the twin of the King's sword Magdaer (fun fact: Rytlock Brimstone now wields Rurik's sword, but no one knows where he got it from).

The Shiverpeaks

During your missions to stop the Charr from further invading, you meet King Adelbern: the stubborn King of Ascalon, who is too proud to flee his country. You quickly conclude that the King is fighting for a lost cause, and you and Prince Rurik recruit every Ascalonian, who's willing to listen to you, to flee to Kryta. The only problem, however, is that you and the refugees will need to cross the Shiverpeaks and you're not really sure if the Dwarves, native to the mountains, will grant you passage. The refugees wait for days for the meeting between the King of the Deldrimor Dwarves and prince Rurik to finish. King Jalis Ironhammer has no problem with letting the humans go through his pass, but he has his own problems too. The Stone Summit dwarves are aggressive to any non-dwarf and hate the Deldrimor Dwarves for tolerating other races on their land. You must light the beacons and guide the refugees through a snowstorm, while fending off any Stone Summit trying to stop you. On top of that: Prince Rurik has never made it to King Jalis and is stuck somewhere. Luckily for you, the Deldrimor Dwarves are eager to help you, as any enemy of the Stone Summit is a friend of the Deldrimor. You finally make it through Borlis Pass, but the trouble is not over yet.

The Stone Summit now know of your plans to cross the Shiverpeaks and have blocked the Frost Gate. It is your job to clear a way for Prince Rurik so he can hold the Stone Summit back, while you open the gate and lead the refugees to safety. Prince Rurik tries to follow you through the gate, but it's too late: Dagnar Stonepate, founder of the Stone Summit has cut off Rurik's path. You try to save him, but Rurik shouts that it's too late for him and that you must lead the refugees to Kryta. Dagnar, riding his powerful Ice Drake, kills Prince Rurik and his men, leaving you to complete your task alone. Your last obstacle before you can set foot in Kryta is a treacherous Ice Cave, inhabited by Ice Trolls and other nasty mountain creatures. It is here where you meet Aidan a wise ranger who knows how to get through the cave. Using his guide, you get through, and finally enter Kryta.

Kryta

Your problems are not over yet. At the Gates of Kryta, hordes of Undead have swarmed the villages in the area. With the help of the soldiers of the White Mantle and an Invulnerable Pig you manage to defeat the undead. After the refugees are finally safe, you meet with some of White Mantle. The White Mantle are an order of soldiers and priests, who are trying to protect Kryta from enemies: they drove the Charr from Kryta and are now trying to clear the undead. There are a lot more Undead throughout Kryta and while you are not fully aware of the White Mantle's intention, you decide to help them. You protect the village of Hakewood from an undead invasion and clear the Temple of Tolerance (built by the White Mantle). It is then up to you to find a lost scepter, called the Scepter of Orr. You find out that a man named Dinas has it, who you escort back to the temple. These tasks do not come without rewards: aside from the usual gold, you are now a full member of the White Mantle and have been asked to aid in a very special task...

Maguuma Jungle

You travel to Divinity Coast (the recent Human Capital did not exist yet, as this was still Lion's Arch) to take the Eye of Janthir through the villages to find out who among them is Chosen. The White Mantle explains that the Chosen will be escorted to the Temple of the Unseen to learn from the Grand Masters (high ranked White Mantle, who also teach White Mantle magicians). While you are recruiting Chosen and escorting them to the meeting area, you are constantly attacked by hordes of Undead, which appear to have flooded whole Kryta. Finally, after a long trek, you arrive in the small fishing village Loamhurst. There the White Mantle takes over your Chosen and escorts them to the Temple. They are however ambushed by a group of the Shining Blade and take the Chosen into the Maguuma Jungle: a vast jungle west of Kryta with magical properties and full of giant plants and creatures eager to rip you apart. You are informed that the Shining Blade are dangerous rebels hiding in the Jungle who oppose the White Mantle. On top of that, the group of the Shining Blade travel on roads that are hard to track and suddenly seem to stop. The whole jungle is an annoying maze that is truly testing your limits. Finally you catch up with the Shining Blade and the Chosen, at least.. what's left of them. All the Chosen are trapped in spider cocoons, and the spiders come crawling out of the trees. Then something weird happens: one of the Shining Blade members asks you for help... to save the Chosen!

After you have defeated all the spiders and freed the Chosen, it's time to turn to the Shining Blade. A woman, Evennia, confronts you and asks what you are doing. Totally confused, you ask why they needed your help saving the Chosen while they were clearly trying to get them killed. The Shining Blade member explains that they rescued the people from the White Mantle, and that the White Mantle lied to you. They were never going to teach the Chosen special Magic, but they would be sacrificed on the Bloodstone, a giant magically imbued stone in the jungle. But... who do you believe? Evennia assures you that you will see the true face of the White Mantle at the Bloodstone itself.

The Bloodstones are ancient relics of the Seers, magical entities who lived long before the humans. When the Elder Dragons first awakened, they forged the Bloodstone to contain all untainted magic. During the time of the humans, however, the epic magical powers allowed the humans to wage wars against eachother (hence the Guild Wars). The first human King, King Doric, pleaded to the Gods to end the bloodshed. The Gods used the King's blood to break the bloodstones into five pieces and throw them in a volcano. The bloodline of King Doric was assigned with the task to guard the bloodstones, as to make sure they are not forged together again and misused. The volcano erupted and spread 4 of the 5 pieces of the bloodstone across Tyria.

You decide to trust the rebels for a while, to see how this situation all works out. The way to the Bloodstone is full of treacherous traps, bloodthirsty creatures and dead ends. The Shining Blade show how to get through the dungeon. Vine seeds are scattered throughout the jungle, and for those able enough to find them, they provide other ways and shortcuts through the dense jungle, because these vines can grow bridges to cross chasms. After a nasty journey through the Maguuma Jungle, you arrive at the Bloodstone. There, the White Mantle are waiting for their next order of Chosen, to sacrifice them to their 'Unseen Gods' on the Bloodstone. But who are these unseen ones?

The White Mantle have no time to explain. They lied to you, used you to do their dirty work and made you hunt innocent people who tried to rescue the Chosen from their despicable fate. On the bloodstone, you fight Justiciar Hablion and slay him, rescuing the Chosen.

As none of the White Mantle were able to escape your vengeance, you have a small advantage over the cult: they don't know you crossed over to the Shining Blade yet. You meet with a few groups, to ambush them slay them easily. You gather one last piece of intel before they die: the White Mantle know of the death of Justiciar Halbion and are advancing from the west. They also know of the Shining Blade's next plan: to open the portal at the Aurora Glade and set up a base camp in a secret place called Henge of Denravi, which lies in the middle of the jungle. Together with the Shining Blade, you try to reach the portal before they do. You manage to succeed, but at the other end of the portal awaits the Guardian of the Henge. After the beast is slain, the Henge is finally yours and the war against the White Mantle can begin.

Back in Kryta

It is now time to attack the White Mantle at the heart of their organisation, the Temple of the Unseen Gods of which they spoke, and steal the Scepter of Orr. You and Evennia exit the south of the Maguuma Jungle to enter Kryta once again and gain passage over the Ullen River to Riverside Province, which flows into the swamp. Following it upstream takes you to the province willed with Krytan settlements. The White mantle have taken over here and have placed watchtowers in the whole area. On top of that, the swampy southern area is infested with undead. You will have to cross the area from west to east, passing all the watchtowers without alarming their whole army and deal with undead at the same time to get to the temple. There, it's up to you to get the scepter from the spy Dynas (whom you gave it to earlier when you were still White Mantle) and escape by boat on the east side of the Province. The mission goes not as planned and the White Mantle find out about the operation. The stealth operation transforms into a hack and slash operation: all the watchtowers are taken out in order to prevent them from calling more reinforcements. Anything that stands against you, Mantle, Undead, Chicken, will be mercilessly destroyed. The Temple of the Unseen has a huge shrine in the middle, almost like a throne. But there's no one, or nothing, on it.

Luckily Dinas is there with the Scepter and hands it over to you. You and Evennia escape by boat. The boat is ready, but the person you had to meet there is no where to be found. It appears Markis has not shown up. There is no time to look for him though, and you leave without him. Evennia wants to discuss the use of the scepter with you. It harbors great powers, but no normal person can harness them. She has offered a deal to the former advisor of the King of Orr, Vizier Khilbron: he will harness to power of the scepter to aid the Shining Blade in their war against the White Mantle.

Vizier Khilbron was responsible for keeping Orr out of the hands of the Charr. When the Charr invaded Ascalon during the Searing, they marched on to Orr to conquer the first human kingdom. Khilbron read an ancient dark scroll as a last attempt to defeat the Charr army pounding at the Gates of Arah. Although he succeeded, his victory came with a great cost. He destroyed the whole nation, which then sank in the Sea of Sorrows, never to be seen again. Ironically, he is the only known survivor of the Cataclysm.*

*Note: there are three major destructive forces called upon Tyria by several different creatures. In chronological order:

• The Searing is the rain of fiery crystals by Charr flame magic, which destroyed Ascalon.
• The Cataclysm is the destruction of Orr by Vizier Khilbron, which defeated the Charr army and sank Orr.
• The Foefire is the last desperate attempt of King Adelbern to defeat the Charr invaders of Ascalon, turning every Ascalonian into Ghosts (which still inhabit the ruins of Ascalon).

On Sanctum Cay you meet with Vizier Khilbron to hand him the Scepter of Orr and escape with the ship. The White Mantle have caught up with you, however, and Vizier Khilbron explains what happened. Markis, one of your friends who had not shown up in Riverside Province, was a White Mantle spy and sold you out yet again (he was also responsible for the White Mantle knowing about the Henge of Denravi). Evennia has been taken and the ship has been destroyed. Khilbron proposes another plan. He will stop the White Mantle, while your group makes their way through hordes of undead and any White Mantle stationed on the island. Oddly enough, Khilbron himself spawns some undead too, and assures you that he can command them through the Scepter of Orr. On the other side of the island, Khilbron performs a ritual to summon a ship, while you defend him from any White Mantle following you. After he is done, you manage to escape with Khilbron, the Scepter and your allies.

Your victory does not last long, though. Khilbron explains what happened while they were fleeing from the Mantle: the Henge of Denravi had been found and the Shining Blade was broken. Any survivors headed for the Shiverpeaks, to seek refuge at the Deldrimor Dwarves. Going there is not an options, because the Mantle have also swarmed the Shiverpeaks, together with their Unseen Gods. Khilbron has a way to counter the Mantle and their Gods, though it will not be easy. You and your fellow heroes have to go to the Crystal Desert and Ascend. Only by claiming the Gift of True Sight you can defeat the White Mantle.

Crystal Desert

While your group of heroes is not sure what to do in the Crystal Desert, you cross the sea and arrive at the Amnoon Oasis. In the Oasis you meet a yet unnamed Ghostly Hero, who explains a little bit about the crystal desert.

The Crystal Desert was once the Crystal Sea. Legends say the Six Gods raised the land to expose it and it dried up. Every sand particle is actually a tiny crystal, and the desert knows few oases, the Amnoom Oasis being one of the few. People came here to Ascend. Ascension is a type of communion with the Six Gods and grands great benefits to anyone who can achieve it, including being able to travel to The Mists, the resting place of the dead. People have to complete a series of trials to be able to Ascend, which is no easy task. The desert, being arid, vast, and full of hostile enemies, does not help either. Many people have tried, most of them have failed. The Ghostly Hero led a group of such people and got killed in the desert, where his soul is trapped until he helps people ascend, so that he himself can cross over to the mists as well. He was killed by Forgotten, an ancient race of serpentine creatures who took the task of protecting the Crystal Desert and therefore the trials needed for ascension. They were once the dominant race in the world and served the Six Gods, but as humans became stronger, they retreated to this arid place.

South of the Amnoon Oasis lie the Dunes of Despair. The heroes have to escort the Ghostly Hero to this forsaken place, riddled with Scarabs that hid under the sand and giant Sand Wurms that blast them with projectiles from afar. The Ghost is already dead, but can still be harmed, so protecting him while clearing the way is no easy task. The heroes kill a Forgotten Boss to gain access to the old ruins, left behind by other races trying to build their civilizations in the desert. In the middle of the small ruined village is a throne, with an imposter sitting on it. In order to complete the first trial, the heroes have to kill the imposter and let the Ghostly Hero perform a ritual. All the fighting attracts Forgotten and Sand Wurms into the village. After a fierce battle, the Hero succeeds in performing his first ritual, and the first trial is completed.

The company ventures east, towards the Thirsty River, named after the enormous river that flowed there and shaped the lands for years, until drying up. The Forgotten have overrun the ruins and turned it into a combat arena. The Forgotten are divided into six teams, each with a powerful general and a priest, who can perform rituals to resurrect his slain allies. Aided by the Ghostly Hero, the company plows through each of the groups, taking out the priest first, so that they will not be resurrected again.

North of the Thirsty River lies the third and last trial: Elona Reach. This was once a fishermen's haven before the land dried up. The Forgotten have taken this place and riddled it with mines, crippling anyone who triggers them. Three crystals are scattered across the area and the heroes have limited time to find them all and bring the back to the Ghostly Hero. They split up in teams, avoiding the mines and the forgotten pounding them with spells, and manage to bring all three back. The first part of Ascension is now completed.

In the middle of the Crystal Desert, east of the Oasis, lies the Augury Rock. Near it is a giant mountain, called the Mesa, which holds the secret entrance to a sacred arena, the Hall of Ascension. Three symbols are depicted on the mountain, showing the three different trials of ascension. Only heroes who have completed all three trials can make the three symbols light up, and split the mountain open, revealing the Hall. Inside the Hall is the last foe to defeat to gain Ascension: your Doppelganger. The Doppelganger copies the excact skills and fighting style of his oppenent, making you fight yourself essentially. All heroes have to kill their own Doppelganger individually. The heroes soon find out that the Doppelganger does copy skills, weapons and fighting style, but not combat strategies. It cannot assess situations and improvise accordingly, which is it's biggest weakness. He is soon defeated by all of the heroes. For the first time in a very long time humans have finally Ascended, getting them closer to the Gods, and the Ghostly Hero can finally find peace in the Mists.

Additionally, the heroes can now see the Gods of the White Mantle, the Unseen Ones. The Ghostly Hero tells them they need advice on how to take down the White Mantle and tells them to go to Glint, a Crystal Dragon hidden in the desert.

Glint is a dragon guarded by the Forgotten, who serves as an oracle for the humans who can find her. This is no easy task, as Glint is said to be hidden in one of the tiny crystals, which the desert is composed of.

Of course, because the Deldrimor have helped you, it's now time to help them. The Stone Summit have taken Thunderhead Keep and it's time to take it back. In this heavily guarded fortress waits Dagnar Stonepate, who you still remember for killing your Prince and friend, Rurik.

-More to come-