Guild Wars 2

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/july-09-2013/

As expected the new release for july has been announced.

It seems a bit to me it is in or round the dominion of winds. First off all the name (bazaar of the four winds), but also the name of the running game Sanctum sprint wich might be a reference to Sanctum Cai (the Krytan name for the location of the dominion of winds).

What are your thoughts bout this??

So, the Tengu have an airship? This Zephyr Sanctum? I’m guessing at least by the name. I thought those were relatively new inventions by the Pact…

Even if they are totally different make and model, still kinda weird if the Tengu had an airship first.

But “woot!” for achievement points finally getting a use. I’m hoping that the different skins are unlimited like the HoM ones.

I doubt the sanctum is referencing the island- more likely it’s a literal refuge. But that four winds stuff sounds Tengu, and the housing in the screenshot reminds me of some of the buildings in Kaineng.

Erukk.1408:

So, the Tengu have an airship? This Zephyr Sanctum? I’m guessing at least by the name. I thought those were relatively new inventions by the Pact…

Even if they are totally different make and model, still kinda weird if the Tengu had an airship first.

First off all, the living story is playing later in history then the main story.
Second off all, during the forging of the pact we meet Izu Steelshrike

Izu is a Tengu who is asked to work for the pact cause he (she??) is one of the finest smiths and crafters in all of Tyria. It wouldnt surprise me if Izu is asked for this just for the skills of making airships.

Off course if the next installment is bout Tengu off course.

I highly disagree with the Zephyr Sanctum and the Labyrinthine Cliffs being within the Dominion of Winds.

1. Sanctum Cay didn’t have a big cliff area.
2. The concept art hardly looks like Sanctum Cay’s area (the ones showing the land shows tall pillars of stone from the water)
3. Tengu are isolationist and never let people into their home, but the Bazaar of the Winds sounds like a repeating event, even annual perhaps given the wording. This contradicts each other.
4. The Zephyr Sanctum is a mythical flying airship/something. People know of the tengu, but not to the point of mythical sounding. This Zephyr Sanctum seems to be something rarely known, or at least rarely believed to exist.

mercury ranique.2170:

Izu is a Tengu who is asked to work for the pact cause he (she??) is one of the finest smiths and crafters in all of Tyria. It wouldnt surprise me if Izu is asked for this just for the skills of making airships.

Izu is a weaponsmith. Him, along with the other two smiths in the story step, are requisitioned to make the Pact weapons.

The airships of the Pact are explicitly stated to be made from charr, human, and asuran technology.

They’re isolationist, but they recognize the value of and actively seek out trade with other races, and even seem to have made something of a name for themselves as shrewd bargainers. As this bazaar sounds like a trade festival, it’d be right up their alley.

The whole elemental theme makes me think more of Djinn than Tengu but as far as I know we have only fire type Djinn in lore. Perhaps some wind elemental version of the Djinn? Certianly Djinn seem to be very keen on wealth and riches so some mystical floating market made by an elemental trader would kind of fit.

Apart from that I have know idea where this ties into lore. Ill be curious to find out the story of it. It seems elemental power and crystals will play a important role in the release though.

I don’t think you can really take “four winds” to only be similar to the tengu houses.

“He’s not as powerful in this realm as he is in his own. We believe it’s because we scattered him to the four winds.”

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Wynn_%28Ghost%29

The term “four winds” is used by more than just tengu, for starters. This group, whomever are, is a group viewed mythologically – that means that they’re rarely seen, to the point where most people don’t believe they exist, or they’re just that old. Given the Durmand Priory was around long before the Canthan tengu arrived on Tyria (via boats, might I add!), I doubt that anything of the tengu’s would be viewed as mythological. In fact, I’d argue that this “Zephyr Sanctum” would be last seen before the Priory’s establishment.

We already know that they live in the sky, given that this Zephyr Sanctum is flying, and everything about the theme is sky-related (with “Aspects of Wind , Sun,
and Lightning” among other things on the site page). This doesn’t fit tengu at all, but rather a civilization – regardless of size – that likely lives in the clouds. The “Bazaar of the Four Winds” may be tied to that concept of people who live among the winds of the world.

However, then again, there’s something to note:

The Bazaar of the Four Winds is gathering— merchants are converging from all corners of Tyria to sell their wares. But this time it’s not just shady characters and risky trades; this year, the mystical, flying Zephyr Sanctum has landed […]

The Bazaar of the Four Winds and the Zephyr Sanctum are two utterly separate and possibly unrelated things.

But still, looking at the conecpt art and images, I don’t really see the land as being surrounded by a giant wall. At best, it’ll be the outside of the Dominion of Winds, perhaps above the Aetherblade Retreat (which despite the wiki’s claim is NOT part of the Dominion of Winds, even though the tengu have seemingly cut off access to that area – most likely the area is being used an expansion attempt on their part), and the Zephyr Sanctum unrelated.

The four winds are of particular importance to the tengu since they named their houses after them, though.

Still, I’m also sceptical, despite the name, that the BotFW is tengu-related. Largely because what we’ve seen in concept art is a whole lot of <em>human</em> (or close to human, anyway) figures – even in silhouette the crouched form of a tengu would be quite distinctive, but there’s no sign of them.

What I’d consider more likely is that it’s a Canthan trading clan that discovered that the skies around Orr weren’t filled with dragon champions any more and decided to chance a visit.

If you really think about it…

If it was tengu related, ArenaNet would tell us in the preview. Why? Because so many people love the tengu, and telling us beforehand “hey, we got tengu stuff coming!” would excite people to the nth degree, bring players who have taken a break back, or have folks anticipating the content more than without saying such.

Because of this, I doubt it’s tengu related.

^— To add on to that. If there suddenly were some massive Tengu stuff going on in Tyria I think the citizens might be making a bit more of a big deal about it. Considering how, except for a small few, the Tengu have kept to themselves and out of the affairs of the other races.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

If you really think about it…

If it was tengu related, ArenaNet would tell us in the preview. Why? Because so many people love the tengu, and telling us beforehand “hey, we got tengu stuff coming!” would excite people to the nth degree, bring players who have taken a break back, or have folks anticipating the content more than without saying such.

Because of this, I doubt it’s tengu related.

Konig,

Again as always you are saying so much bullkitten top prove your point.

First off all I am not saying it is bout Tengu or not, I’m pointing out some important simularity’s.

Izu is not a weaponsmith he is a crafter asked to make weapons for the pact. In war all tools are considered weapons, so do the airship. But it looks like you bend the facts to your own conclusion.

Sanctum Cay did have clifs, tidal waves could have changed it to what it is now.

So again you are bending facts. I will ask you again to leave me alone. You lost all credit to me in the narrow minded way you argue. If there was a block function I would have used it. So leave me alone!!!

Do not argue with me, do not quote me (specially as false as you always does). do not try to talk with me but get lost!

mercury ranique.2170:

Konig,

Again as always you are saying so much bullkitten top prove your point.

First off all I am not saying it is bout Tengu or not, I’m pointing out some important simularity’s.

Izu is not a weaponsmith he is a crafter asked to make weapons for the pact. In war all tools are considered weapons, so do the airship. But it looks like you bend the facts to your own conclusion.

Imperial sanctum did have clifs, tidal waves could have changed it to what it is now.

So again you are bending facts. I will ask you again to leave me alone. You lost all credit to me in the narrow minded way you argue. If there was a block function I would have used it. So leave me alone!!!

Do not argue with me, do not quote me (specially as false as you always does). do not try to talk with me but get lost!

On Izu, having just done this story step the other day I can most confidently confirm that he is a weaponsmith. His dialogue also confirms this:
“Years ago, we swore a friendship after battling undead monstrosities together. When he invited me here, I remembered that bond. I shall craft the finest weapons Trahearne has ever seen.”
Saying “In war all tools are considered weapons” is a rather baseless and subjective assumption. Weapons are considered weapons in war. Airships are considered transport or airships…

When you say “Imperial Sanctum” I assume you meant Sanctum Cay?
A Cay by definition is “a low bank or reef of coral, rock, or sand”. No tidal wave can add stable land where it did not previous exist. If the Dominion of Winds has high land in it then it is artificial and built up by the Tengu, rather than natural rock formations – therefore there definitely aren’t cliffs…
There were volcanic rock formations, as there were with much of Kryta in GW1, but nothing that would be constituted a cliff. All of the high points were made up of sand and dirt and weren’t actually all that high.

I’m not trying to be nasty or anything, but Konig uses very sound logic in all his answers so when you start insulting him like that it doesn’t come off very well…

Thanks bout the remark bout Imperial sanctum, I edited it. Somehow I always and ever mix these two names up in my head.

Konig doesn’t use logic and is in my experience a very mean person who guides things to his own direction and wont give up on fighting people who just love to discuss the game.

This has resulted in a good portion of people who hate him and has resulted in a 6 months old ban. I asked him several time to not go into discussion with me but even that is refused. He misquotes all the time bending truths in his direction and is in my opinion a very bad person

If the forum had a simple block user function he would have ended up there a long time ago.

Contrary to your claims, Konig’s arguments are certainly based on a logical progression of steps:

Argument A:
Step 1: The concept art showed high cliffs
Step 2: Sanctum Cay as shown in GW1 had no such high cliffs, or high locations in general.
Step 3: The Dominion of Winds is mostly on Sanctum Cay
Step 4: Therefor the concept art is likely not showing a location within the Dominion of Winds.

This argument, on its own, can be countered: the D’Alessio Seaboard area seems to have been claimed by the tengu as well, and that could have that form of topography.

The second argument follows the following steps:
Step 1: People are interested in the tengu
Step 2: Therefor, appearance of the tengu would be expected to drum up interest
Step 3: Thus, ArenaNet could be expected to mention if tengu were to be involved as part of garnering player interest.
Step 4: There is a distinct lack of tengu or mentions of tengu in the BotFW material that has been released so far.
Step 5: Thus, it is unlikely that the tengu will be featured in BotFW.

This, again, can be countered by ‘maybe they figure they’ll get more attention if it’s a surprise on release day, and they’ve been deliberately hiding the tengu to keep that surprise’. This is also a possibility. However, the presence of these counterarguments do not mean that his arguments are not based in logic. They are. just because you don’t agree with something doesn’t mean it’s not logical.

(For the record, the argument that the tengu may be involved also follows a similar logical progression, largely based on the connection between the tengu and the four winds – and while other cultures do use the term, the concept of four winds certainly seems to be more important in GW2 tengu culture than any other we’ve been exposed to in the franchise.)

Now, Konig can certainly be too blunt for his own good at times and I’ve been annoyed with him on more than one occasion as a result, but he means well, and has no less right to express an opinion than anyone else. And anybody, regardless of who they are, should have the right to bring up facts directly from the game when relevant to a discussion, such as Izu being introduced as a weaponsmith rather than an airship engineer.

I can’t comment on other exchanged elsewhere (or if I can, I’ve probably commented in the appropriate locations, either publicly or privately), but now I’m going to be blunt – in this thread, you’re coming across like a kid who’s sticking his fingers in his ears and throwing a tantrum because someone had the temerity to disagree with you. You say you want to discuss the game – the fact of the matter is that sometimes discussion means that people will disagree with your theories and pick them apart. Seriously, apart from the worrying trend towards personal attacks, what I’ve been seeing in this forum have been downright tame compared to the lore debates of point and counterpoint, rebuttal and counterrebuttal that I’ve been involved in in the past. If you genuinely want to discuss the game, and ‘discuss’ isn’t going to translate to accusing anyone who doesn’t 100% agree with you of being a big meanie, then you need to learn to take criticism.

As for the wiki thing: Thalador mentioned this before, but if people are going to keep misrepresenting it then it bears repeating:

You know how people keep saying you can’t trust the wiki for lore (with the exception of material copied verbatim from the game, interviews, and blog articles), because it mixes in player speculation and canon without differentiation? Konig got banned because when the rest of the lore community had written it off as a lost cause, he actually bothered to try to do something about it. When one of the main culprits through a tantrum over being corrected, to not put to fine a point on it, the admins basically didn’t care enough about the lore to sort out who was actually in the right and just did the easy thing and banned both of them.

(Note, for the record, that while ArenaNet provides hosting for the official wiki, they are not directly involved in setting policy, ensuring the quality of articles, or otherwise managing it.)

draxynnic.3719:

Contrary to your claims, Konig’s arguments are certainly based on a logical progression of steps:
….

(I didn’t quote you fully cause of message lenght, so the quote is just a reference to your full original post)

I’m not against discussion or talking bout whether or not there will be Tengu or not. I have an issue with the way how Konig is disrespectful to people who think differently and how he goes with stretched feet into every debate. That is the reason he got suspended on the wiki in the first place (and he was suspended longer cause of trying to circumstance his suspension).

The problem I have is how he tries to force his opinion on to others. He does whatever he can to step on peoples toes when they think differently.

It is my opinion that in the announcement are many sings this has something to do with the Tengu (and I have never claimed that the dominion of winds will open up, that is how Konig is twisting my words like usual). I will be very dissapointed in the lore writers at arenanet behind this project if the four winds has nothing to do with the Tengu.

My problem with Konig is that he tries to learn me things while I never asked for that. How he steps on my toes and how he disrupts my pleasure. This would be totally ok if the forum has a block option, but they don’t. Still he has the most fun of irritating me over an over by misquoting and twisting my things against me instead of just respectfully leaving me alone like I asked him over and over.

This is exactly the reason he got banned on the wiki, not knowing when to leave a fellow member of the community alone and continuing to bug that person. I’m not here to defend that person in the wiki case, but I’m using it to show he has a very bad character.

I had a lot of fun of theorycrafting when this release came by until Konig decided it was time to annoy me badly like he always does. So thanks to him for destroying that.

He’s not “doing what he can to step on people when they think differently”. He’s expressing his opinion, backed up by fact when there’s fact to back it up – and he’d be among the first to support the rights of others to disagree with him (although that doesn’t mean he won’t defend his own position until he’d persuaded he’s wrong. Yes, that does happen).

One piece of Guild Wars lore history is that way back in the mists of time, there were a a few people who are no longer active, but were highly respected at the time, who made a lot of theories. Some of those theories proved to be right on the mark – somebody figured out what the Titans actually were, short of their relationship to the forgotten god, long before Nightfall, for instance.

There were also some which were well crafted and really popular at the time and which were generally accepted to be correct… until ArenaNet did something to show they were wrong. Everyone accused ANet of having retconned things, until we actually looked deeper into it and realised that the things we had taken as fact because they were theories of respected names… actually had no real evidence behind them.

Which was the environment when Konig showed up, and is why a lot of us oldies prefer a clear separation of canon and theory versus fact, and part of why we will identify weak spots in theories when we see them. It’s not that we’re deliberately out to get you. It’s partially that we don’t want to see a repeat of past mistakes – and partially that identifying the weak spots in a theory doesn’t always lead to the theory being shot down – it can often lead to the theory being made better.

Incidentally, the “fellow member of the community” you refer to is a large part of the reason why the wiki is not a reliable lore resource – he covered it with his own speculation and interpretations written as if it was canon, and that sort of thing just doesn’t belong in a reference document – for the reason above. Most of what got both of them banned – and they did both get banned – was because they ended up in a revert war – Konig was trying to maintain the integrity of the wiki as a reference document, while the other guy put his own pride over that integrity.

Still, if you’re determined to think of Konig as evil incarnate, there’s nothing I nor anyone else can do to force you to think otherwise. If so, then, my advice for you would be to do what you claim you want to do and just ignore him. He’ll probably still post in response, but he has the right to express his opinion for others to see just as you and anyone else does.

But the way you turn around and attack him every time he does it’s coming across as if it’s you that’s baiting him so you can attack him, while from his perspective… I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t even realise it’s you he’s responded to in any given thread until you turn around and explode at him.

TL;DR: If you say you want to ignore him, then ignore him. See his name next to a post, scroll down, and go to the next post. Jumping at him at every opportunity only results in the derailing of threads, including your own.

Honestly, I am getting tired of people using the forums to voice their problems with people. If you have a problem with Konig, then tell him in private chat not on the forums. He has every right to comment on something you post on these forums as do you and I and everyone else.

Honestly mercury, if you don’t want Konig to comment on something you post go to another forum, it is as easy as that, because here he has a right to post that. I also agree with drax, you are the one that attacks him when he disagrees with a post of yours, so in my opinion you are the one in the wrong.

So either ignore him and let the discussion continue or move on to another forum, but please stop attacking people on here because it does nothing to move the discussion along.

mercury ranique.2170:

Izu is not a weaponsmith he is a crafter asked to make weapons for the pact. In war all tools are considered weapons, so do the airship. But it looks like you bend the facts to your own conclusion.

I suggest you go to Caer Aval, and he will tell you outright that he made those weapons with the other two. And he only mentions the weapons. That’s on top of what FlamingFoxx replied to you with.

The airships were made, explicitly told to us – no bullkitten included – by asuran, human, and charr technology. If the tengu were a heavy contributor, I think that they’d have been mentioned, even if Izu was the only one involved among the tengu.

mercury ranique.2170:

Sanctum Cay did have clifs, tidal waves could have changed it to what it is now.

Yes, the tidal wave could have, but we have no reason to believe that it changed beaches (to which all edges of Sanctum Cay had) into cliffs with towering rocks jutting out of the water. And that’s on addendum to the definition of Cay, and the fact that most of Sanctum Cay is mostly swamp and low hills. A tidal wave doesn’t add land, as FlamingFoxx said.

For one it is not a threat, for two he has the right to respond to anyone on this forum and if you don’t like it go some where else. None of his threads are disrespectful and only bring more discussion to the thread. I am sorry you have a problem with someone on here, but publicly on the forum is not the place to discuss it, that is what I am talking about. Please kindly take telling Konig not to respond to something to private chat and leave the rest of the discussion alone. And for the record you are the only one derailing the thread.

I currently have no idea how the Sanctum is going to fit into lore. I dont think its tied to the Tengu cause there really is no sign of them in the screen shots or the concept art. Currently Im guessing either some elemental based race or, because the structures remind me a bit of Cantha, perhaps an decendent offshoot of the Luxons. The Luxons did use the magical Jade and Amber to power their landships so maybe something similar using wind charged crystals?

In the end there is a very good chance Im completely wrong and this is a completely new thing. As for where…. A crazy idea but what if the whole thing is in the air. We see alot of floating rocks around in the game. What if its a giant levitating chunk of rock?

Oh well, we will find out in a few more days. Im actually interested in how this is going to thread into the over all story arc of the Living Story. Perhaps someone formed a force of sky pirates to raid a sky market? Those crystals sound certainly interesting.

Lutinz.6915:

I currently have no idea how the Sanctum is going to fit into lore. I dont think its tied to the Tengu cause there really is no sign of them in the screen shots or the concept art. Currently Im guessing either some elemental based race or, because the structures remind me a bit of Cantha, perhaps an decendent offshoot of the Luxons. The Luxons did use the magical Jade and Amber to power their landships so maybe something similar using wind charged crystals?

In the end there is a very good chance Im completely wrong and this is a completely new thing. As for where…. A crazy idea but what if the whole thing is in the air. We see alot of floating rocks around in the game. What if its a giant levitating chunk of rock?

Oh well, we will find out in a few more days. Im actually interested in how this is going to thread into the over all story arc of the Living Story. Perhaps someone formed a force of sky pirates to raid a sky market? Those crystals sound certainly interesting.

The concept art all looks strictly wood + fabric though, which is backed up by the word “kite” in most of the descriptions. It will be really interesting to see what it is nonetheless.

FlamingFoxx.1305:

Lutinz.6915:

I currently have no idea how the Sanctum is going to fit into lore. I dont think its tied to the Tengu cause there really is no sign of them in the screen shots or the concept art. Currently Im guessing either some elemental based race or, because the structures remind me a bit of Cantha, perhaps an decendent offshoot of the Luxons. The Luxons did use the magical Jade and Amber to power their landships so maybe something similar using wind charged crystals?

In the end there is a very good chance Im completely wrong and this is a completely new thing. As for where…. A crazy idea but what if the whole thing is in the air. We see alot of floating rocks around in the game. What if its a giant levitating chunk of rock?

Oh well, we will find out in a few more days. Im actually interested in how this is going to thread into the over all story arc of the Living Story. Perhaps someone formed a force of sky pirates to raid a sky market? Those crystals sound certainly interesting.

The concept art all looks strictly wood + fabric though, which is backed up by the word “kite” in most of the descriptions. It will be really interesting to see what it is nonetheless.

True but look at the ingame mini sanctum model on the release page.

Lutinz.6915:

Currently Im guessing either some elemental based race or, because the structures remind me a bit of Cantha, perhaps an decendent offshoot of the Luxons. The Luxons did use the magical Jade and Amber to power their landships so maybe something similar using wind charged crystals?

Now, that does make for an interesting observation…

The ships definitely seem to be conventional sailing ships that somehow fly (albeit with many more sails than normal) so basically all you would need is something that allows the ship to levitate.

Since the Aetherblade patch, I noticed that there are more and more Cathan-based NPCs. I don’t know if they are from Cantha but you know what “Asian” look is – especially if you are an Asian living in Asia (like me).

Then this, Bazaar of the Four Winds.

As for the Zephyr Sanctum, it could very well be from the other continents. It was able to finally land in Tyria because we defeated one Elder Dragon blockading the continent. If it is, then it would explain why there are humans there and why it looks Asian in style.

However, we have to remember that Cantha, last information we know and heard, is in strict dictatorial rulership and has shut all non-humans out. The Kurzicks and Luxons no longer exist as separate nations.

If we do see NPCs from possibly Elonian origin, then that would explain it further – this airship has been travelling all around the Planet Tyria, but with the continent of Tyria blockaded, it has become a mystical airship that no one knows if it truly exists… until now.

It is also possible that the humans in the concept art are not related to the Zephyr Sanctum, but solely used as easy placement of figures to represent the Bazaar of the Four Winds which seems to be Tyrian-centric.

Guess we’ll be finding out tomorrow, and then a little more in 2 weeks from now.

With all the patch information, videos and stuff like in dulfy.net and on youtube, do we have any new thoughts and theories about lore, and please continue to report in here as we find out stuff during the update starting from tomorrow! I’m interested as to what people think after gathering as much info as we can in the update and new maps

Well all of the footage and commentary pretty much says that they are Canthan humans who live in the clouds.

The wiki page is interesting (though not sure if its accurate).

It suggests the Zephyrites took over ‘guardianship’ of a ‘her heratige’ from the Dwarves. Its not really clear but the obvious thing that leaps to my mind is Glint who had an order of Dwarves that served her.

After this the Zephyrites discovered the aspects (which seem to be an advanced form of air magic) and using crystals powered by this magic created the Zephyr Sanctum.

So… perhaps we this group has links to Glint (and maybe even her missing child). Its interesting they use magical crystals to power their ship.

Then again Im probably barking up the complete wrong tree again:P

But I’m pretty sure there has never been any mention of a relationship between Glint and the Dwarves. The Forgotten served Glint, not Dwarves O_o.

I also don’t think a Dragon would have an airship built to protect her heritage?

FlamingFoxx.1305:

But I’m pretty sure there has never been any mention of a relationship between Glint and the Dwarves. The Forgotten served Glint, not Dwarves O_o.

I also don’t think a Dragon would have an airship built to protect her heritage?

There was an order of Dwarves in GW1 who served Glint.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Brotherhood_of_the_Dragon

Those Dwarves were also part of the challange where you protected Glint’s baby from Destroyer waves and Glint gave the follow up quest chain to prophecy where you hunted down the remaining titans through their shrine.

The Dragon didn’t build the airship. The humans did. As I said, its off the wiki page and its not really clear.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Zephyrite

How did I somehow miss that O_O.
I honestly just accepted that for no good reason whatsoever there was a vision of glint statue in Drok’s.

FlamingFoxx.1305:

How did I somehow miss that O_O.
I honestly just accepted that for no good reason whatsoever there was a vision of glint statue in Drok’s.

Yeah, they got uniforms and everything! :P

It would be a good way to introduce the Zephyr Sanctum is its going to play a larger roll later in the stories.

Of course this is all wild speculation, but assuming the wiki page is true, Im not sure what other ‘heratige’ left to the Dwarves, the humans could inherit the ‘guardianship’ of.

I’d like to know what the source for the wiki pages are… or if it’s utter speculation, or a leak from testers or some such.

Edit: Okay, it seems the article maker got a preview access to the stuff with possible permission to put it up, so it seems to be legit stuff. Given Morning’s dialogue (interesting name), the Zephyrites is an organization that was founded by the dwarves and taken over by the humans over time. I don’t think Glint’s necessarily related, and it seems that these Zephyrites weren’t in continental Tyria for a long time – since before the sylvari were born for sure.

The Zephyrites have interesting names Morning and Sunflower being two mentioned ones.

Though why the wiki is calling the Zephyrites a race is beyond me… they’re a nation at best, probably multiracial.

Also: Bazaar of the Four Winds is in Deldrimor Front, an interesting but logical choice. Given the map, seems to be located where the Ice Caves of Sorrows mission was (for GW1 players, I’m talking about the curving patch of land where the huge group of mursaat elementalists were). But hard to tell with only this.

It sort of reads as if someone has read the text and then tried to recreate it from memory…

Same. I get the impression people have been given previews, so that would probably explain it.

As for the heritage of the dwarves – a big part of that is knowledge of the elder dragons, and pre-human history in general.

EDIT: Interestingly enough, looking at the Zenith Weapons… thy actually kinda make me think of mursaat weapons from GW1, except a lot brighter. Probably just coincidence, but when speaking of a heritage of one or more elder races, I wonder…

EDIT2: That said, though, the nature of the crystals… could well be pointing towards Glint and/or the Crystal Desert.

Its the Elder who is a her that made me think of Glint. It might not be but they are very vague on who it was who brought them together to start with.

Who is the Elder and and what is her heritage that she set the Dwarves to keeping? Of course she says it was before the rise of Orr not before the sinking of Orr so again I could be wrong. Odd to leave your heritage to a group who are dying out themselves.

It also sounds like they only became sky nomads after the humans took over.

Edit: Oh come on! Sunflower is singing a song about a ‘hero that gave her life trying to protect us’? Now I feel like Im being teased.

Yeah you have some really good pointkitteninz. Given that indication of time it might be weird for it to mean Glint since she would have been aware of what was going on with the Dwarves, I imagine she also would have been more likely to charge the Forgotten with a responsibility like that – although if they were all busy in the redeemed realm?

The thing that annoys me is that we have the “Aspects” in this release, I feel like if it were Glint we would have some reference to the Facet’s rather than Aspects. (Unless the Facet’s were strictly to do with the Gods, but then it seems odd to me that they were protecting Glint’s lair).

But with the knowledge we have you would think that it isn’t someone of any of the major races. The Dwarves hardly would have made something for the humans and then left the humans to take over the responsibility. Nor can I see it relating to any of the elder races. So Glint does seem like the best option :S (Calling her the Elder seems kind of like a slap in the face to the Elder Dragons xD, they should be more careful about tempting fate..)

Do remember the aspects were as much a test for would be ascended as they were defense. Its hardly suprising she would put them in to a test related to being marked out by the Human Gods.

I must admit I fell Im kind of out on a limb here with this theory. But it kind of, sorta fits. I may need to get some tinfoil for a hat.

Ascension is attained by defeating the Doppelganger in Augury Rock though, not by reaching Glint.. Although considering Glint was supposedly brought into Tyria by the gods perhaps they just wanted to offer her protection etc. -dons tinfoil hat and sits quietly in wait-
(and I do stick to the idea that they brought her into Tyria, there is nothing to indicate that she was created by Kralk and more to indicate that he corrupted her and that her state of mind was returned to her by the Forgotten while her body retained the corrupted look)

Oh your right. Augury Rock happened before the Dragon’s Lair. I mixed up the order.

It is possible that the Zephyrites had been out of the (Tyrian) loop long enough not to know that the claim that Glint was the first being placed on the world by the gods (and thus the first being, since naturally the gods created the world, right? Right?) has been debunked.

But if the Dwarves handed over responsibility to Humans there would have to be a reason for them doing so. The Rite makes a lot of sense for that, which is recentish enough that you would think any humans who had a hand in building the Sanctum might have some clue what was going on.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Though why the wiki is calling the Zephyrites a race is beyond me… they’re a nation at best, probably multiracial.

I didn’t get this either until I went back and re-read the Zephyrites entry. The first line calls them an ‘organization’ made up of humans. I think whoever wrote the wiki article just wasn’t paying attention. Even later it says that other races have joined the Zephyrites to study the aspects. So someone just wasn’t proofing very well.

One other comment. Earlier there was some debate about Sanctum Cay not having cliffs in GW1. This is true, but let us be honest and admit that the landscape we have in GW2 is hardly recognizable from that of GW1. Land has changed and shifted and broke and altered. Sanctum Cay could really just be one big cliff now for all we know.

That being said, I don’t think this is a Tengu thing at all. People are going to go nuts when they finally truly bring the Tengu into the mix. There may be some Tengu in the Zyphyrites, but this isn’t a Tengu thing.

@Hjorje. I agree with both your posts. Good for you.

So as far as I can tell: no. Zephyrites at this point appear to be almost all human (apparently largely Canthan or Elonian), if not entirely. I don’t think there are any tengu in the new map at all.

Here’s a discussion (or most of it) between Zephyrite children ( C) and their teacher (T) that takes place within the ship :

T: The dragons are not inherently evil, children. They’re natural. They’re forces of nature as are the wind, the sun, and the lightning.
C: But they kill so many people. Doesn’t that make them evil?
T: Have you not known wind or sun or lightning to kill people?
C: Well, yes.
T: There you have your answer.

T: Glint, my darlings, was the greatest dragon of all, though she was not one of the most powerful.
C: She spoke to people with her mind.
T: That’s right. And because she could hear our thoughts, she came to know and love us.
C: She wanted us to have peace.
T: Yes, and she died trying to protect us from the forces of nature that would swallow us whole.

C: Teacher, why do the dragons want to hurt us?
T: The dragons are like the ocean tides. They don’t think about the people who will be trapped and drowned as they rise.
T: They only know that it’s time to rise, so they do. If anything, they hunger for magic, the world’s magic which they consume.
T: It makes them more powerful and dangerous. It’s smart to not get caught int the wrong place when the tide is coming in. Right?
C: Right!

C: Who will protect us now that Glint’s dead?
T: You needn’t worry. There are many great people out there who will continue the fight. You’ve heard of Eir Stegalkin?
C: She’s the great norn who fought besides Glint and nearly killed Kralkatorrik.
T: Exactly. She lives still and walks the face of Tyria hunting the dragons. She’s not alone, either. She has many allies.
C: I wish I could meet her one day.
T: I wish it for you.

In my opinion this basically proves that Glint is the mentioned elder. Another interesting fact is that Zephyrites seem to be aware of Destiny’s Edge and possibly of the Pact but apparently they don’t know about the most recent info regarding Glint found in Arah p3. This might indicate where the living story takes place in the timeline.
It could also mean that this info isn’t either commonly known or accepted yet, at least by the Zephyrites.

LOR-748 makes a return! It’s on the docks to access Labyrinthine Cliffs, specifically he makes a very interesting mention. Dialogue:

“Durmand-Priory-Logographic-Observation-Recorder. Submit-your-query-topic.”
-> “Zephyr Sanctum.”
“Begin-Output: Due to infrequent appearances, Zephyr Sanctum is largely unstudied. Records indicate thakittens residents are humans of Canthan or Elonian descent.”
->-> “More…”
“Begin-Output: The Zephyrites are govern by three Aspect masters – Wind, Sun, and Lightning – and a Master of Balance, who epitomizes all three elements.”
->“Bazaar of the Four Winds”
“Begin-Output: The bazaar migrates, spontaneously organizing at random intervals. The bazaar attracts nefarious merchants as well as crowds of shoppers.”
->-> “How so?”
“Begin-Output: To avoid drawing the attention of enforcers, the bazaar is short in duration and occurs at remote locations. It has a chaotic, fast-paced culture. Anything goes, attracting exotic vendors from all across Tyria.”
->“Ellen Kiel or Evon Gnashblade”
“Begin-Output: Captain Ellen Kiel, a veteran Lionguard, and Captain Evon Gnashblade, owner of the Black Lion Trading Company, have been spotted at Zephyr Sanctum.”
->“Sign out.”

Given everything I’ve seen, here’s my thoughts on the matter:

I suspect that the Elder was Glint, and the original “masters of heritage” were the Brotherhood of the Dragon. After the Great Destroyer’s rise, the Brotherhood was replaced by humans (as that was the second race which had the most influence from Glint beyond Forgotten). We’re told that the Elder was from before the rising of Orr, but nothing says it was after the sinking of it as well.

The Zephyr Sanctum seems to be traveling globally, able to get around the Elder Dragons due to being high in the air – though I imagine they still avoid Elder Dragon locations. Since there are humans of Elonian and Canthan descent, it’s likely that the Zephyr Sanctum has been to each since Joko and Usoku’s actions.

Helios.8965:

Another interesting fact is that Zephyrites seem to be aware of Destiny’s Edge and possibly of the Pact but apparently they don’t know about the most recent info regarding Glint found in Arah p3.

Can you enlighten me on the info about glint in arah p3? Or any lore related to the arah dungeon paths would be most appreciated.

spoj.9672:

Can you enlighten me on the info about glint in arah p3? Or any lore related to the arah dungeon paths would be most appreciated.

I might have some information wrong as I haven’t touched the book or played GW1 in a long time.

If you don’t intend to complete any Arah paths but want to know what happens there, you might want to read the dialogues from GW2wiki’s page for that dungeon.

I’ve noticed that lore pages in the wiki often contain much speculation and even misinformation. I’d advise you to take those pages with a grain of salt unless they’re direct quotations from the game.

I have to say that while running around the new map and having a blast, I suddenly started hearing the teacher and had to stop and hear all she had to say. The way she expressed her thoughs about the dragons were beautiful. I know they’re considered forces of nature, but kudos to a-net for this series of dialogues (and others, the city really feels alive).

While apparently most residents (the ones called Zephyrites) are humans od Canthan and also Elonian origins, I know I’ve seen members of other races called Zephyrite too. Possibly in the floating city travels some adventurers were fascinated (I’m fascinated so I can understand) and joined them too.

All the enfasis on Glint seems to indicate that they’re probably related, though given all the Canthan population I would’ve loved to hear some comment on Kuunavang from someone

If this is the architeture style they plan to use if Cantha is finally accesible, I think NCSoft have to say it’s good and let them go for it! I’m having a blast getting crystals around the city (I got the 40 in one long run with only disconnection for new patch!) and I can’t stop thinking: Kaineng would be incredible with so many options for jumping puzzles and exploration!