Priory Archives

[Konig Des Todes]

I'm going to be setting the GW2G Lore Archives differently from the ones on the GWG archives for now - see which set up is better, and then match the two with the better set up.

Other Lore Forum Archives:

Druid's Overlook Archives
GWO's Central Archives: General Lore
GWO's Archives: Tyrian Lore
GWO's Archives: Canthan Lore
GWO's Archives: Elonian Lore
GWO's Archives: Nothern Tyrian Lore

Confirmed Theories, Observations, and Hypotheses:
Sylvari and the Sidhe

Translation Projects:
New Krytan Language Translation.

Theory:
2009:
The Gold/Flame Legion: Corruption? (semi-confirmed)
Nature of the Mists
2010:

Observations:
2009:
Analysis of GW2's Premiere Trailer
Natural Selection in the World of Tyria
The Powerful Dragons of Tyria
2010:

Hypothesis:
2009:
Crystal Desert Flooding Speculation
The Mists and Planetary Formation
The World's Cycle and Roles of the Gods, Glint, Forgotten, and the Ancient Dragons
Nature of the Mists.
Hypothesis on the Connection Between Glint, the Dwarves, and the Elder Dragons.
2010:

Discussion:
2009:
Discussion on the world of Tyria
Discussion on "Jormag"
Flesh and Bone: The Rules of Resurrection
GW2 Starting Locations and Landmarks
The Dwarves: More in the storyline than we thought?
The Gunpowder Age: Classes and Military Evolution
The Origin of Magic: A Thought
2010:

For your Reading Pleasure:
Debunked Theories, Observations, and Hypotheses: (hopefully there won't be anything here until 2011)

Random Topic Discussion Threads:

[Konig Des Todes]

Official Lore:

Guild Wars 1 Lore:
Note: Not all official lore documents were at a single other site, so they are at the bottom of the Overlook Archives (linked above).

GW1 Timeline
History of Tyria
Storyline of Prophecies
An Empire Divided
Canthan Culture
Storyline of Factions
History of Elona
Storyline of Nightfall
GW:EN and Now
Storyline of Eye of the North

Guild Wars 2 Lore:

The Ecology of the Charr
The Movement of the World
Lore Interviews with ArenaNet

In the Shadow of Dragons

For generations, war and chaos raged across the land of Tyria. Five great races competed and warred against each other, struggling to tip the balance of power in their favor.

Then the dragons woke.

The all-powerful beasts stirred from their millennial sleep under earth and sea. With their magical breath the dragons spread destruction and created legions of twisted slaves. A deathless dragon named Zhaitan raised the sunken nation of Orr, triggering earthquakes and tidal waves that destroyed entire cities across the Sea of Sorrows.

Zhaitan's undead armies surged from the sea, hungry for the destruction of the five races of Tyria: the charr, a ferocious race of feline warriors; the asura, magical inventors of small size and great intellect; the norn, towering shapeshifters from the frigid northern lands; the sylvari, a mysterious young race of visionary plant folk; and the humans, an embattled but resilient people.

Now heroes from the five races must set aside ancient rivalries and stand together against their common enemies.

Magic, technology, and cold steel will determine the ultimate fate of the world.

The Races of Tyria

Sylvari

Long ago, a weary soldier planted a strange seed in the depths of the Maguuma Jungle. For centuries, the Pale Tree grew, branches arching over the forest, until at last--twenty five years ago--it bloomed, and the Firstborn stepped into the world. They were followed by their brethren, season after season of sylvari, wide-eyed with wonder and searching for purpose in this strange land. Shaped first by the Dream that nurtured them before they awakened, the sylvari now travel Tyria seeking adventure and their place in the world. They struggle to balance curiosity with duty; eagerness with chivalry; and warfare with honor.

The Dream still lingers in their souls, like an echo of a distant song. Through it, they can sense the ebb and flow of their race, feel the empathic connections between all sylvari, and share their discoveries and knowledge like water into a river's current. They have a deep connection with the land and the riches it bears, and know that all things which grow and blossom are their brethren. Guided by the lessons carved into the sacred Ventari Tablet, they have built a city within the forest, and created a culture that blends the mystery of magic with a steel-tempered resolution to do good.

But not all sylvari are noble, and not all Dreams are pleasant. Some of the children of the Pale Tree walk a shadowed path, devoted to a Nightmare that boils beneath the surface and whispers of dark moons, wicked revels, and terrible secrets murmured at midnight. The Nightmare Court rejects the virtues of their brethren and seeks to draw all sylvari toward their sinister philosophy. If they are not stopped, they will taint the Dream with their evil deeds and corrupt the Pale Tree herself, condemning the noble race of sylvari to a future of vice and corruption. In the battle between Dream and Nightmare, the fate of the newest race in Tyria will be determined by heroes.

Norn

They hail from the frozen north--the norn, a race of heroes. These massive, shape-shifting warriors prize individual valor and victory above all. They trust only the power of steel.

The norn do not beg or grovel for the favor of the Gods, no. Instead, they revere the spirits of animals and draw strength from them. The norn can assume the form of their sacred totem beasts--bear, snow leopard, raven, and wolf--and call upon their power whenever they do battle, which is often.

Driven from their homelands in the distant north by the Ice Dragon, Jormag, the norn have carved out a new homeland with their blades in the frigid heights of the Shiverpeak Mountain. The great Ice Dragon's shadow falls over these proud exiles, for some twisted, corrupted norn--the Sons of Svanir--worship Jormag as the ultimate Totem spirit. A brutal and bloody destiny awaits these traitors.

Scattered throughout the unforgiving Shiverpeaks, the norn live in fortified hearthsteads and communal lodges, like the great hall Hoelbrak. They hold the governments of the weaker races in disdain, for the norn do not follow--they lead. No norn has ever bent her knee before King or Queen, and none ever will.

Every norn knows that only the bold and the strong achieve immortality. Victors are celebrated in story and song; the weak are forgotten, buried by the snows of time. Such is the way of the hero; the way of the norn.

Charr

The thundering sound of their advancing war machines makes the lesser races tremble with fear. They are the charr, and conquest is their birthright.

The charr race was forged in the merciless crucible of war. It is all they know; war defines them and their quest for dominion drives them onwards, always onwards. The weakling and the fool find no place among the charr.

Many generations ago, the charr overthrew their religious caste and reestablished the ancient Legions, the foundation of their military culture. The charr turned their backs on the false gods and embraced industry, creating weaponry and great machines of war as deadly and unforgiving as the charr themselves. They use any means available to crush their foes--be it ambush, bombardment, or claw and fang. Victory is all that matters, achieved by any means and at any cost.

The charr train from youth to be warriors. Their society is organized into war bands, companies, and the four great legions. Ash Legion, Blood Legion, and Iron Legion are loosely allied, while the treacherous religious zealots in the Flame Legion conspire against them all. Today, conquered Ascalon is the homeland of the mighty Iron Legion, but even under charr rule it is still a nation at war. Operating out of the massive Black Citadel, the three legions battle against human rebels, the ghosts of long vanquished Ascalonians, and a tyrant of the Flame Legion who seeks to make himself a god. The charr have never had a shortage of enemies, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Asura

They may be short in stature, but this subterranean race of magical inventors are intellectual giants. These incredibly intelligent beings use their knowledge and skill with magic and crafting to assert their natural dominance. In the world of the asura, it is not the strong who survive, but the clever. Other races believe they should rule by virtue of their power and strength, but they delude themselves. All will serve the asura - in due time.

Driven to the surface of Tyria by minions of Primordus, the Fire Dragon, the asura have created a complex new society based in vast Maguuma Jungle metropolises like the awe-inspiring Rata Sum. Asura life is based around the study of the Eternal Alchemy, an all-encompassing metaphysical theory that they analyze in their great research institutions - the College of Statics, Dynamics, and Synergetics.

Asura use their magical skill to create servitor golems, asura gates, blasting rods, and other magnificent inventions. Their culture is organized, but highly flexible--these small geniuses often gather in specialized work groups called "krewes" to accomplish greater tasks. Asura establish their reputations with their peers by building a portfolio of successful projects or by becoming the foremost expert on some arcane field of study. They constantly seek to prove their own intellectual superiority, and by extension the superiority of the asura race.

Who are more fit to rule Tyria than the asura? The more primitive, warlike races can be useful when an asura needs something heavy lifted, but they mistakenly believe that brute force or resiliency entitles them to power. How mistaken they are. As any asura will explain, mastery of the Eternal Alchemy equals mastery of Tyria. Who can argue with such logic?

Human

The resiliency of the noble human race has been tested many times. They have paid a dear cost for their security and liberty, yet their spirit remains unshaken.

From the invasion of Ascalon by the savage charr, to the cataclysmic rise of the lost kingdom of Orr from the depths of the sea, mankind has been battered and overwhelmed. They have lost homelands; their prayers go to silent skies. Now, the remaining sons and daughters of man have one last homeland--the nation of Kryta, ruled by Queen Jennah. Harried by bandits and marauding centaurs and torn from within by political intrigue and treachery, the Seraph guard stand watch over a troubled land. Only through courage, will, and unity can the humans retain their storied culture and reach once more to rise above.

For more than a hundred years, pennants have flown above the city of Divinity's Reach, an island of civilization and peace in an otherwise chaotic world. In Ascalon, valiant human fighters in the stronghold of Ebonhawke struggle to keep the last ember of resistance lit against their charr conquerors. They swear that one day they will reclaim that lost nation; that they will never abandon the cities of their ancestors or forgive the charr, who crushed the ancient armies of Ascalon beneath iron boots.

The candle of mankind would have been snuffed out long ago were it not for the courage and dedication of heroes. These defenders of the realm are the best, last hope of their people. Despite all odds, humanity will prevail, bolstered by faith in their gods, devotion to their queen, and the dream of a brighter future for all mankind. They will stand the wall against the enemy once more, from Divinity's Reach to Ebonhawke, and they will not fail.

Articles/Excerpts from the Priory:

Originally Posted by Excerpt from “Cultural Diffusion in Contemporary Kryta” written by Durmand Priory researcher Villem Caraga

From 1070 AE, when the charr first invaded the land of Ascalon, to 1075 AE, when Kormir ascended to godhood, writing systems were not widespread throughout the world of Tyria. Among the human kingdoms there was no concerted effort to pass on such specialized knowledge, and without technology such as the printing press to encourage every person to learn to read and write, literacy was only relevant to a handful of scholars from each race. Consequently, most Ascalonians and Krytans were not literate in their own writing systems, though they still held to them as a part of their history and culture.

When the Ascalonians arrived in Kryta as refugees, they naturally brought their culture with them. Although citizens of both nations could communicate verbally by speaking the “common” tongue, attempts to communicate through the written word were challenging to say the least.

Old Krytan uses a series of symbols, typically arranged in a vertical format, and is more akin to a primitive syllabary than an alphabet. But even those symbols were falling out of favor with modern Krytan citizens because of their heavy use of contextualization, which was confusing to all but the most learned scholars. They still show up on some druid stones, ruins, and a few other places, but for the most part Old Krytan is something of a relic, unused by the majority of the general population.

Old Ascalonian uses a simpler runic alphabet, so it was very versatile for writing and being clearly translated. And although many Ascalonians could not read or write their own historical language, they recognized it and saw examples of it all around them, both on contemporary structures and ancient artifacts, as well as other sources.

The extended occupation of Ascalon by the charr obviously forced the Ascalonians to adapt and change to better meld into their new surroundings. The arrival and subsequent influence of the asura and the norn in 1078 AE, who had their own cultures and languages, complicated things even further. As these cultures learned to work and live together, one of the areas they were forced to agree upon was the creation of a common alphabet to facilitate treaties and agreements between the varying factions of humans, asura, and norn.

The organization of the Durmand Priory became a primary catalyst for deciding to move forward with a single writing system, which allowed their scholars to compile and catalogue their vast storehouse of knowledge without requiring them all to be fluent in multiple alphabets (although many of their most senior members are multi-lingual in order to read ancient manuscripts, ruins, and other examples of text from the past). Through the Priory’s efforts, and with the skilled negotiations of representatives from all the friendly cultures and races of Tyria, it was decided that a compromise between the various languages would be the best solution. In a landmark decision, with the asura casting the sole dissenting vote, the symbols of Old Krytan were combined with the ease of use of Old Ascalonian, and the New Krytan alphabet was born. The year was 1105 AE.

Over the past 220 years, New Krytan has become the standard writing system in Tyria and is used widely throughout the human kingdom, the asura colleges, and by the norn. The Durmand Priory set out to promote literacy and make the use of the new alphabet commonplace, so that all intelligent beings could read and understand the words that were appearing all around them.

Today, every citizen of Tyria, regardless of their origins, is given the opportunity and the education to read and understand the alphabet of New Krytan. Even old enemies such as the charr and new friends like the sylvari have adopted this system of communication so that all can be understood and make plans to combat the common threat they now face. In particular, an unexpected boon for the New Krytan alphabet came from the charr’s industrial technology in the form of the first printing press, which has changed the written word in Tyria forever. Now books, signs, and periodicals are found in every corner of the world, and more applications of the written word appear every day.

If one looks around, you can still see examples of Ascalonian runes, Old Krytan symbols, and asuran script throughout Tyria, but they are a legacy of the past. The future, or at least the foreseeable future, will be written in one alphabet, perhaps symbolizing the unity of differing races coming together as one people—one people that struggles to survive and carry a new legacy forward.

[Konig Des Todes]

I have reformatted this thread to not be so scroll-worthy (official lore now linked), and have opened it. Why? If anyone finds a thread which they believe to be put up here for various reasons (please no jokes on this ~_~), then state so and I shall add them.

[Gmr Leon]

I was just thinking this morning we should change this somehow so that people could suggest additions to it.

[Ambitious]

I would suggest my discussion on Jormag, but it seems that it died.

EDIT: Very well; I've made the pictures bigger so they should be easier to view. I suspect we will have more opportunities to discuss this particular dragon in the future.

[Gmr Leon]

Whether or not the thread is dead is irrelevant, as this isn't a "popular topics" thread so much as it is an archive of research and discussion. If the discussion was fruitful or substantial, it deserves a place here.

[Legion]

I ask for the inclusion of the "Classes and Military Evolution from the Lore Perspective: The Gunpowder Age". I think it was a fairly successful discussion and it covered main objectives for most part given the actual amount of data. Even when for a true discussion on the subject will demand a more solid evidence of the actual featured classes and more precise data of the organization of the dominant civilized races.

I also grant my permission to the local moderators to rename that thread into a more shorter and fitting name if they wish.

[Gmr Leon]

Integrated and name left intact. Konig might change it, but as far as I'm concerned, that's short in comparison to some of the thread titles in the GWO Archives.

[Gmr Leon]

Added the excerpt from Matthew Medina's blog post on translatable languages in GW2. Fixed GWO archive links, Central will take you to one containing all the links, from the Druid's Overlook, GWO Lore Forum, to the Durmand Priory itself, with links also to the subsection archives i.e. Tyrian, Canthan, Elonian, Northern Tyrian.

[Arghore]

I like the use of the spoiler function to cut down the post size, nice thinking there Konig

[Gmr Leon]

Added a section for future language translation projects, with its first addition being the New Krytan language translation.