Guild Wars 2

Sitting in a small office somewhere in Divinity’s Reach cramped to the ceiling with shelves, at a desk that isn’t made to impress but to remain practical, a man sets down the pen and picks up the lately finished paper with his left and sets it aside. Then he looks at the other pieces of paper and starts reading the full letter again from the beginning. His right grabs absent mindedly a strain of almost-white hair and plays with it. If someone would be looking close, there might have been traces of blond once, or was it completely whitened-out brown? His face belies the age he should have, according to the hair colour. The two-day grey stubbles of beard give him a distinctively rougher look than it should, so he might be younger than mid-forty. Stern grey eyes with a hint of green are whizzing over the words in focused clarity, and every now and then he subconsciously purses his lips when going over some passages. Lips which look like they might have laughed a lot more in the past. In a past long gone.

Esteemed Commodore Lawson Marriner,

Hesitant and alarmed I am writing these lines, due to my disbelief in the possibility of having an election getting through like this, which would barely withstand any amount of scrutiny. Yet here we are. I am baffled how you or the Council could even allow such two candidates to enter the competition, without anyone else being on board. While I agree to the importance of connecting to the Zephyrites it has been done through entirely wrong reasons. Trade agreements are one thing, but we all know there are other, more important matters at hand. They sport a flying living area, and last time I checked, humanoid races do not claim air superiority by any stretch of the imagination. The recent events of having Elder Dragons and their underlings loose on all ends of the world is a mortal threat to the Zephyrites, and I believe most of us have been at the Bazaar. The construction is filigree and easily assailable, and the only defensive measures they seem to have are the Zephyrites themselves, wielding the aspects. If I had a say in this, I would have started to ensure bringing technicians from all ends of Tyria to aid the Zephyrites in ramping up their survivability against airborne draconid attacks, as they have given us insights into the aspects on their own accord. We are at war, and sadly many people try to overlook this, clinging to the questionable victory against Zhaitan. Not only are we at war on a military scale, but on a social level as well. Too many open ends are being neglected in the pot of our mixed cultures.

This brings me to the choice of the candidates themselves. The main problem with both of them is, that they try to do two things at once – towing in the Zephyrites and vie for a place in the Council. I fail to understand how it can be so important to push both things simultaneously, when other pressing needs are duly neglected. What would the Zephyrites think of such a makeshift endeavour, when there are already others questioning this process? If I was one of them, being jumped with trade-agreements without even having the political base of Lion’s Arch properly re-established? This would seriously damage the credibility of said visitors in my eyes. Originally I was surprised to see that only Lion’s Arch has made efforts to contact with our airborne friends, but after looking closer at the candidates, it all became too clear why the other cities have not tried to get in there more actively, other than the obvious reason that Lion’s Arch desperately tries to remain the hub of Tyria and channel all efforts through it. Let me demonstrate;
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Evon Gnashblade, as much a rising entrepreneur he is, starts to get over his head and grow flimsy if he thought he could field a bargaining chip for the Zephyrites, let alone handle a seat in the council. He knows about the deficits of the Black Lion trading post, as they are painstakingly visible. I wouldn’t be impressed as a Zephyrite if I was to accept the extension of the unsteady Trading Post to my flying home. How would he have time to oversee improvements of his own company if he is trapped in haggling with the Zephyrites on one end and petty politics of Lion’s Arch on the other? Lion’s Arch is a hub for many things, so it is lucrative to establish footholds of power… of any sort. Mr. Gnashblade would reinforce the interests of the Black Citadel, even more so than with Captain Scarclaw. His campaign promises were also worrying. How can someone who knows about the issues within his own company and knowing how cumbersome it is to use the Trading post give out discounts on Keys? This is a short time benefit for customers, but does nothing for the better in the long run. The auction house cuts the Black Lion Trading Company is making since so long now, should suffice to invest in an overhaul, which nets in a benefit for every user across Tyria. Furthermore, Evon Gnashblade wants to sponsor research about the fall of Abaddon. What ulterior motive is behind that? Yes, I wholeheartedly agree that we have to uncover more secrets regarding the Silence of the Gods and anything that could relate to this, especially since we know the Gods have been tangible beings, as research and history tells us. But why would a Charr be interested in that, and why would he – again – spend money that would be better invested in overhauling the very Trading Post? I dare saying his company and services are equally important as the Asuran gates and transporters. To see him waste this potential by being burrowed in the City’s plots, pains me.

Ellen Kiel seems to be a shining star for the citizens of Lion’s Arch, and I surely pay a bit of deference to her accomplishments, yet she completely seems to have taken the wrong turn with this candidateship. She steps up, claiming a heroine, yet many of her actions where rather of reactive instead of preventive measure, and many of them where not possible without the aid of the numerous brave individuals that rushed to her aid. We don’t need somebody who strikes back, we need someone who looks ahead. She is a capable investigator, credit where credit is due, as Gnashblade is a capable entrepreneur. I fail to see how it can be called a victory over the Karka that invaded Lion’s Arch, when Claw Island was overrun by the undead and then reclaimed, the area should have been reinforced. Apparently the opposite was done, thinking the threat with Zhaitan – and any other therefore – is gone. I blame this to the fact that the Karka were able to rush past Claw Island and invade Lion’s Arch. However, let us look into the strange campaign Ellen Kiel has lead. She promised to reduce waypoint costs and research matters related to the Thaumanova reactor. Neither has anything to do with Lion’s Arch. This looks more like an Asura-heavy campaign. That is, all things considered, not a far stretch since she worked closely with Head Researcher Levvi. The question remains however, with Lion’s arch already two Asuran Captains strong, why would there be the need to convince a human Captain to further Asuran interests? If anything, this looked more like a hidden trade – letting Rata Sum reduce the transportation fee for Magi-matter transportation devices in exchange for priorities shifted to get more resources work to uncover the mysteries of the Thaumanova reactor. Let us be blunt, this is a strictly Asuran matter. They messed it up, so they should fix it. There are other more pressing problems on a global scale than to deal with this petty failure of interdimensional fallout.
Having said that, I fear that Captain Ellen Kiel will get too caught up in politics and we loose a valuable investigator, as well as a pressing defender of Lion’s Arch. This city is immensely vulnerable, just think about how easy the Aetherblades crashed into it.
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So Kiel bargains with Asuran interests as a human, and Gnashblade tried to rush into the Council, likely to form a greater foothold for Citadel’s influence in Lion’s Arch. He already has lots of pushing power due to the inherent nature of the trading post. There are more human Captains already than anything else. The Norn are less interested in petty politics, not to mention of the Lion’s arch climate, and – hand at heart – it will take a while until Lion’s Arch will accept a Sylvari into the ring of the council, to become a true fair ground for all people of Tyria… leaving the Tengu out for the time being. Not to mention the Sylvari are even less interested in politics, which is exactly why I would want to see one of them in the lines of a Councillor. They would get together quite fine with the Norn when it comes to a tighter no-nonsense approach.

I hope in the future we will not fall flat on our noses because we failed to elevate our line of thinking to a much more important point. We face threats beyond our understanding, and we are very ill prepared. My hopes go with the Zephyrites, and that their prolonged contact will give us the necessary exchange to gain new understandings and development on both fronts – cultural and technological. To increase our fighting and defending capabilities against the dragons, and to improve as living beings socially.

Sincerest and best wishes for you and your well being, Commodore

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A long while he looks at the space to sign with his name. Then he shakes his head, the time is not now. He grabs the sheets, puts them into the right order, rolling and stuffing them into a thin leather tube which he cups and seals. The man looks to his right, at a Hawk that rests on a pole on the desk, following his writing with curiosity as if it understood every word written…, or if just to be enjoyed by the waving motions of the pen’s tip. Two pairs of eyes meet.

“I do not ask this often of you”, the man starts saying in a low voice, as if there could be someone eavesdropping and holding up the slim tube, “but I really need you to deliver this. I cannot even get close to old Marriner without causing too much attention, even if it is just a delivery of sorts, and even if I dress up as a rag-tag commoner of Lion’s Arch. Will you do this favour for me?”
The bird’s head flicks around twice, the eyes blinking. Then it turns around on the pole and spreads the wings a little. With a muted thank on his lips, the man reaches into a drawer and pulls out a harness of fine and soft leather straps, which he carefully rigs to he Hawk. He sets in the tube with the letters and lets two short ends from the harness rest to the left and right of the bird’s head.

“Reach with your head to pull on them to get rid of your package when you are at his desk. Get in from the west and then lose the trail flying over Lornar Pass before coming back.”
The bird turns around, shrugging it’s wings to rest the load a bit more comfortable and looks at him with an expression that could easily be translated to… yeah, right, whatever, I probably know better what I need to do, don’t you think?
The man gets up, opening the window, and steps to the side, giving the messenger space to take off. He looks after the soaring bird a few seconds before his gaze lowers and stares down the streets towards the west. Then In the distance, there is a crowd forming and he could see the banners from here. He sighs, closing the window, and gets himself dressed in a more sturdy garb, hefting sword and dagger. Better to be at the Majesty’s open air party early before the ruckus starts…

:o

Bookmarked for later reading.