How old is Eir?
Eir… Rytlock calls her an “old woman”, her son is a grown man, and she has the face of a 20 year old girl. Norn age well, I guess?
She is around 40 I assume. Most iconic character to GW2 IMHO.
Eir… Rytlock calls her an “old woman”, her son is a grown man, and she has the face of a 20 year old girl. Norn age well, I guess?
Yep, she looks young but she’s too wise to be that young. Also in the Norn story line she says to the player character “You are a bright spirit, Slayer. You have the potential to accomplish great things, to be immortalized in song and in stone. In my youth, some said that of me, but I…fell short.”
But nowhere is it stated how old she actually IS.
Braham is currently 19 year old (born in 1309AE), so its safe to assume shes over 50 considering her abilities and knowledge.
Keep in mind 50 is probably getting close to retirement age for a Charr, explaining why Rytlock refers to her as an “old woman”, whereas Norn age much slower than other races being able to live for over 120 years, explaining how they can look younger, for longer. (or Shiverpeak herbs make excellent exfoliating masks.)
I feel like theres a lot about Eir and those surrounding her that we don’t know about. Shes probably the 2nd most enigmatic character after Rytlock from Destiny’s Edge, for example, its been stated by the writers, that there is a story behind how Eir met Garm, and why he is the only black wolf in Tyria, but we haven’t been told this, or when they met . Its also never stated how her husband died, and to top it all off, we don’t even know how old or when her father died, so we can’t figure out her age using that.
(edited by Argon.1563)
It’s not stated directly, no, but you can get an estimate. Unfortunately, I believe that her age was effectively retconned when Braham was introduced.
- Norn are known to live a long time, so appearances isn’t everything. She may look to be mid-aged or younger for a human, but keep in mind that norn can be 120 years old and still fighting well. Forgal? He was alive and a fighter during the siege on Port Stalwart which happened in 1229 AE making him well over 100 years old.
- Just about everyone except Knut Whitebear calls her an old woman both in Edge of Destiny and in the personal story.
- There was dialogue during the BWEs in the Lost Heirloom storyline (I haven’t seen it since so it was probably removed) which mentioned that Eir grew up with Krennak the Short, who in turn was said to be one of the first folks to establish a homestead outside Hoelbrak after the norn fled south. I think one involved line mentioned that Eir was a kid when Hoelbrak was still being built. Which would make her pretty kitten old.
Given this, I would have said she is in her 70s-80s by the time we know her. We don’t know how long Hoelbrak was under construction, however, but I can’t imagine that the norn wouldn’t make homesteads outside of Hoelbrak for over a century, as an example.
However, Braham’s father considered her a young woman when she had Braham. I wouldn’t call someone in her 50s or 60s – even a norn – young. Hence the statement of apparent retcon.
But since her age was never technically mentioned, and all indications of her age other than being called old was removed with the official release…
Its also never stated how her husband died, and to top it all off, we don’t even know how old or when her father died, so we can’t figure out her age using that.
We know how Braham’s father/Eir’s husband died. It was in the short story.
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Braham's_Story
But the rest is right. She is the most enigmatic character from Destiny’s Edge – I would argue even more so than Rytlock.
She died before the answers around her past could be given. And for what? Some pathetic character development of a whiny character.
Stop treating GW2 as a single story. Each Season and expansion should be their own story.
(edited by Konig Des Todes.2086)
She is probably 80, because when she was getting killed, she just stood there couldn't even dodge.
Braham is currently 19 year old (born in 1309AE), so its safe to assume shes over 50 considering her abilities and knowledge.
Keep in mind 50 is probably getting close to retirement age for a Charr, explaining why Rytlock refers to her as an “old woman”, whereas Norn age much slower than other races being able to live for over 120 years, explaining how they can look younger, for longer. (or Shiverpeak herbs make excellent exfoliating masks.)
I feel like theres a lot about Eir and those surrounding her that we don’t know about. Shes probably the 2nd most enigmatic character after Rytlock from Destiny’s Edge, for example, its been stated by the writers, that there is a story behind how Eir met Garm, and why he is the only black wolf in Tyria, but we haven’t been told this, or when they met . Its also never stated how her husband died, and to top it all off, we don’t even know how old or when her father died, so we can’t figure out her age using that.
There is a charr in Black Citadel who is 90 or so, IIRC. course, he’s the typical “retired grumpy old man” stereotype.
I’ve personally seen Eir around the 70 year mark. As noted, Forgal is easily over 100/110 possibly. (I assume he is in his teens during Stalwart, which nets over 100. If he was older/full adult during that time? Even higher.) Knut is stated/implied to be very old as well.
She is probably 80, because when she was getting killed, she just stood there couldn't even dodge.
A: Dev’s explained that. I didn't think it was the best reason, but it's a wound that actually would make sense for that. She DIDN'T dodge. She had a pierce lung at that point from Faolin. She could have ran, but from her viewpoint, would be a slow painful death vs standing in the face of the enemy and not backing down. Rox may have been able to heal her. That's an out of universe information thing though.
B: Forgal was well over 100 years old by the time of Personal story, and while he may have viewed HIMSELF as a grumpy old man, he was definitely kicking kitten and easily at that as well. He walked into a renegade charr camp, smashed their tents screaming for them to wake up and actually fight him. I think the “120 years” thing probably relates more to “That’s usually when something actually kills them” and less “that’s dying of old age” point.
Or maybe it’s an “average” age thing. For example, humans can live past 100. I recall (don’t know if it’s modern at all) something about 60-70’s being the average lifespan. I’d have to check the wording on the wiki, but I remember it being more like “They can be alive and fighting strong at 120.”