Guild Wars 2

In addition, I’d like the locket to show that Kasmeer is next in line.

Queen Jenna has been negligent in one of her responsibilities as Queen. She has not provided an heir. It is commonly thought that she is the last in line. If she is killed it could cause turmoil in Kryta.

However, there is the locket. What would happen if Kasmeer became the queen? How would she produce an heir of royal blood? I guess she could “marry” Lord Faron and the two of them could marry simply for the purpose of providing an heir.

Or you know, we could simply speed up the parliamentary transition that is already taking place in Kryta

Also, she doesn’t have to marry someone of ‘noble blood’ (considering how there are numerous ways for someone to become a noble and not al are related to family geneaology) for the child to be considerd a noble.

For all we know, she and Logan maybe have a child hidden somewhere (pure speculation)

kasoki.5180:

For all we know, she and Logan maybe have a child hidden somewhere (pure speculation)

She is a mesmer, after all. It’d be easy enough to hide the pregnancy behind an illusory veil. If that were true, it’s quite possible the only two who know are the Queen herself and Countess Anise (who knows pretty much everything). This theory actually holds some weight, unlike other royal theories floating around.

I am kind of tired of people trying to kill off the Queen. She’s become the designated damsel in distress because of it, and I’d like to see either her guards being extremely effective at protecting her from an assault, or her to defeat an enemy herself. Maybe even have her out in the wilderness, with no one but the Commander to rely on while trying to find civilization again.

I think there could be a storyline coming up, where somebody/something tries to kill her (Mordremoth maybe?) and she ends up revealing that shes more then just a plastic princess, and kills her assailant with more then just a bubble-shield and a guard, like shes done in the numerous other times shes been attacked. I really want to see how powerful she actually is, because at this point, her own secretary is upstaging her in terms of magical swag.

Queen wont be killd (sad but true),more likely it will be use for Rytlock quest wit Foefire

I’ve wondered about the pregnancy thing too. Its sort of important for monarchs to get on that as soon as they can.

Rognik.2579:

kasoki.5180:

For all we know, she and Logan maybe have a child hidden somewhere (pure speculation)

She is a mesmer, after all. It’d be easy enough to hide the pregnancy behind an illusory veil. If that were true, it’s quite possible the only two who know are the Queen herself and Countess Anise (who knows pretty much everything). This theory actually holds some weight, unlike other royal theories floating around.

I am kind of tired of people trying to kill off the Queen. She’s become the designated damsel in distress because of it, and I’d like to see either her guards being extremely effective at protecting her from an assault, or her to defeat an enemy herself. Maybe even have her out in the wilderness, with no one but the Commander to rely on while trying to find civilization again.

TIL Jenna might already have children and we wouldn’t know.

That’d be an anniversary update to remember…

Lostwingman.5034:

That’d be an anniversary update to remember…

Introducing the Tengu as a playable race or announcing an explansion would be something to remember.

This would make me go: “Whatever”.

Diovid.9506:

Lostwingman.5034:

That’d be an anniversary update to remember…

Introducing the Tengu as a playable race or announcing an explansion would be something to remember.

This would make go: “Whatever”.

Introducing an entire new playable race would be much more than an anniversary update though…

Jenna is a mesmer Tengu. We’ve all been fooled.
But what if Jenna did die? What effect would that have on Human-Charr relations? From what I understand, most of the people next in line for Krytan power are shady people who tend to side with seperatists and would antagonize the Charr, despite being under constant threat of dragons. Logan certainly wouldn’t take it well, so the Destiny’s Edge would probably disband again. The Seraph under him may or may not break away from their normal duties (but that’s pure speculation on my part. I base that on absolutely nothing really.) I always got the implication that Jenna does a lot, but we’re just soldiers, essentially, and she’s a politician. We don’t see the vast amount of resources being moved around or the peace talks or the policy making. We just hit things when she asks us to. We each do our job, but in totally different worlds.

Yeah, kitten what the Queen wants, make her have babies.

I’m sure the Krytan government, the Queen, or the shining blade would take you seriously.

I think Queen Jennah’s in a similar situation to the original Queen Elizabeth – the current political situation is on enough of a knife-edge that a marriage could end up tipping the balance in her disfavour.

draxynnic.3719:

I think Queen Jennah’s in a similar situation to the original Queen Elizabeth – the current political situation is on enough of a knife-edge that a marriage could end up tipping the balance in her disfavour.

Yeah, like it’s common enough knowledge her and Logan are together, but if they were to marry and have kids, it’d likely cause a riot in the ministry.

A riot Jennah doesn’t want.

Squee.7829:

Jenna is a mesmer Tengu. We’ve all been fooled.

Considering the last time the tengu had a run in with a female, mesmer ruler (http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Reiko) it didn’t go so well for them, I seriously doubt they’d pose as one themselves. Personally I’m interested to see if the tengu are distrustful specifically of Jennah and humanity because of the things that Reiko set into motion. Their isolationist ways are in part because they remember their experiences of the past, I wouldn’t put it past them to be unwilling to co-operate with humanity under the rule of another that closely resembles the women that had had many of their ancestors thrown out of their home.

I’m sure there are plenty of mesmer Tengu around for them not to be distrustful of EVERY mesmer. Definitely would be distrustful of humans, but considering they’re getting along well enough at the moment says they’ve come a LONG way in human-Tengu relations in Kryta. There were no friendly Tengu at all in Kryta in the time of Guld Wars 1. That’s not to say it can’t be better. Isolation isn’t exactly a strong friendly bond, but it’s still leagues better than open hostility. I think if the Tengu were given the right incentive they’d be more help than harm (Unless the next dragon happens to control birds and bird-like people or something)

It’s not an issue of being distrustful of mesmers (although in Tyria I would consider them the least trustworthy profession due to their powers, even less trustworthy than thieves) it’s an issue of having a powerful mesmer that is also a leader of a large group of people. Reiko was a very powerful mesmer (she was the first mesmer to display the clone and phantasm powers of the mesmers we see in GW2 today) and she was incredibly manipulative. Mesmer magic can manipulate the mind, the incredible potential for abuse of such a power on a political level is a big concern.

The last time the Canthan tengu interacted with humans led by a powerful mesmer it led to her attempting to commit genocide (http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Warning_the_Angchu). The Ministry of Purity (a faction led by Reiko) tried to round up the tengu as a “cleansing project” under the pretence of protecting them, intending to dispose of them at a later, more politically opportune time. That eventually led to the tengu being forced to flee Cantha and join the other tengu tribes in Tyria.

The Avicara themselves never had a good relationship with humans and neither did the Caromi or Quetzal.

The tengu are openly hostile to anyone who enters their territory. During Scarlet’s invasion they killed anyone who approached their wall. The tengu in the two trading camps are simply there to trade and they do so outside of their territory. Obviously if the tengu ever opened their walls or became playable they would work with humans, but I would hope their view of humans is similar the human’s view of the charr.

Possibly not quite so far.

I suspect the tengu attitude towards humans is driven less by distrust towards any particular individual (resemblance to Reiko or not) but because they understand that humans are changeable. If we look at the material for the Tengu War and Winds of Change, the tengu clearly recognise that there are both honorable and dishonorable humans. However, they also recognise that however honorable the humans they’re dealing with today may be, they may be replaced by humans that are not.

To bring this into context with modern Kryta: It’s possible, for instance, that the tengu are utterly convinced that Jennah is a completely honorable ruler who would deal with them fairly. However, Jennah’s successor, whether from a Ministry coup or her legitimate heir, is an unknown entity to them, and with their past experiences they understand that such a successor could bring sweeping changes in policy before the tengu have time to react. So in their minds, it’s better to just keep other races at arm’s length than to have to constantly try to second-guess not just what the current rulers are like, but also to predict the motives of their potential successors.

If Queen Jenna died even if it will never happen could the human noble take the throne because is the best connected noble of all?

You heard it here first, folks.

By “the human noble” do you mean the PC who chose the noble story path? If so, probably not. I think the line of ascension is probably very particular and already has a back-up monarch and a back-up back-up monarch and about 15 replacements in sequence, none of them having been a relatively unknown noble who just happened to grow up to be awesome. On a less story-driven note, I doubt they’d make all this cool story content and expansive gameplay just to give your character the tedious job of sitting on a throne and delegating tasks to government officials. It’d make an awfully boring RPG.

^I know that it will not happen none of the playable races are cannon for example so to much hassle and to many people mad if you do that. You know such a story makes me remember of Star Wars the Old Republic it was not a good game in anything except the story that is were Bioware shines. Anet is more of a company that makes awsome mechanics. The most probable outcome if queen Jenna died is a republic not a monarchic one but the Roman one before the empire.

DarcShriek.5829:

Queen Jenna has been negligent in one of her responsibilities as Queen.

Other than having children what exactly is her responsibility? It seems fairly clear to me that she’s one of those not ruling royalty types given that Kryta has a ministry and ministers.

kasoki.5180:

Or you know, we could simply speed up the parliamentary transition that is already taking place in Kryta

Pretty much this, she’s practically like the British royalty.

Rukh.9287:

I’ve wondered about the pregnancy thing too. Its sort of important for monarchs to get on that as soon as they can.

Only since without a heir most countries tended to fall into civil war as every half related noble declares himself king. Kryta doesn’t seem to need royalty to govern itself and I think the ministry might actually prefer not having a queen or king at all…

Everyone knows the ministry is power hungry and plots against the queen. I’m truly astonished they are still alive. If I was the head of the Shining Blade, those ministers would have died of “accidents” and “natural causes” long ago.

@CureForLiving: There’s a long way from a monarchy with a parliament/ministry (which may or may not have real power) to a ceremonial monarchy like the British one today. Kryta seems to be what is called an executive monarchy – the monarch has similar powers to the US president (which was conceived at the time as essentially an elected equivalent to an executive monarch, having roughly the same powers and limitations as the British king at the time), and is similarly restricted from absolute power by the parliament.

@Windu: Probably because there are only so many “accidents” and “natural causes” that can be arranged before people start to become suspicious – and most ministers are people who are either popular or otherwise powerful in their own right. All it takes is one slip-up on the part of the Shining Blade and word will get out that they’re assassinating the monarch’s political opponents, and then the civil war starts as all the monarch’s other opponents decide that they have to remove the monarch now or risk being next, and rally support via painting the monarch as a murderer.

Hypothetically, if she DID die, who would be the most likely next-in-line to rule? If there’s no definite answer, is there any likely candidate that we’d know about?

Squee.7829:

Hypothetically, if she DID die, who would be the most likely next-in-line to rule? If there’s no definite answer, is there any likely candidate that we’d know about?

I think the ministry would do everything in their power to ensure that no takes her place. As far likely candidates… well those more lore knowledgeable might know but there isn’t anyone immediately that I can think of. I guess it’s all up to the magic necklace.

Who the heir is isn’t commonly known, but the Order of Whispers at least know. There’s a mention – somewhere, coming from an OoW agent – affirming that there is an heir, but that if Queen Jennah dies “we lose the treaty”.

Whether this is because the heir is against the treaty, or because the heir is a minor and will be subjected to a regency period (with Caudecus being the likely regent) is unclear.

The possible heir is hinted at by Agent Ihan in the Personal Story, in the chapter “Speaker of the Dead”. The dialogue goes like this:

Scholar Josir: "We can’t allow anything to happen to Queen Jennah. She’s the last of the royal line! "

To which Ihan replies: "Perhaps not the last… but you’re right. Without Queen Jennah, we’d lose our treaty with the charr. "

(Quoted from the wiki).

Just to give Logan another reason to be emo nty

Squee.7829:

Hypothetically, if she DID die, who would be the most likely next-in-line to rule? If there’s no definite answer, is there any likely candidate that we’d know about?

While the PC doesn’t know who is next in line, the Order of Whispers thinks they know who is.

Any heir who replaces Jennah would be in as bad a situation as Jennah is if not worse, unless the Ministry was seriously curtailed. Jennah isn’t a weak queen because she lacks ability, will or intellect. She is weak because she came to the throne as a child and the Ministry had years while acting as her regent to consolidate their control and weaken the position of the Throne.

The most likely next in line to rule would actually be Caudecus. People in DR even talk about how he would be a good king.

To be perfectly honest, I really hope Jennah doesn’t die cause frankly the humans have had it bad enough as it is without being totally gutted politically and potentially dragged through a civil war or worse, ending up in the ministrations of the White Mantle again.

As for the artefact that shows an heir to Kryta’s throne, it has potentially another plot device value. If such magic could be used to find the heir to one royal bloodline, it potentially could be used to find the heir to another if repurposed. Such as the heir to Ascalon. Rytlock’s ritual failed and the most obvious reason would be that the crown was made for the royal line of Ascalon.

DarcShriek.5829:

Squee.7829:

Hypothetically, if she DID die, who would be the most likely next-in-line to rule? If there’s no definite answer, is there any likely candidate that we’d know about?

While the PC doesn’t know who is next in line, the Order of Whispers thinks they know who is.

That’s not really how succession works though. You need to have declared lines that people believe. If you don’t, people will disagree and you end up with succession crises. Queenie is playing at a dangerous game and that alone is a valid reason to remove her from power.

^Queen Jenna does not have children! So what quite a number of regnant queens did not have children especially in England and later in Great Britain one of the greatest did not have children and ruled for 40 something years until she died is not a dangerous game.

To be fair, Queen Elizabeth the 1st (who was never actually queen of Great Britain) had a clearly designated heir. In fact, it probably suited her goals better for King James of Scotland to inherit the English throne as well, thus largely defusing the Anglo-Gaelic rivalry.

One thing they might have in common, though, is that Queen Elizabeth is said to have avoided marriage for political reasons – while still marriageable, she could play one suitor against another, but in that day and age for her to marry would devolve at least some power to her husband and if there were any suitors she trusted that much at all, she held back for the fear of what the other might do if the hope that she might marry them was finally dashed. We don’t see direct evidence of it, but we do see Jennah facing a lot of political opposition – she may be playing a similar game.

Unlike Elizabeth the 1st, though, she doesn’t have the luxury of a clear successor, at least not without that locket.

draxynnic.3719:

@Windu: Probably because there are only so many “accidents” and “natural causes” that can be arranged before people start to become suspicious – and most ministers are people who are either popular or otherwise powerful in their own right. All it takes is one slip-up on the part of the Shining Blade and word will get out that they’re assassinating the monarch’s political opponents, and then the civil war starts as all the monarch’s other opponents decide that they have to remove the monarch now or risk being next, and rally support via painting the monarch as a murderer.

Not if you do it right
Wouldn’t be the first time political opponents were removed this way in real life.

Oh, you could probably pull off a couple… but if you do it enough people will notice a trend even if they can’t prove any individual case. Best-case scenario is you get people who are too scared to publicly object – but that just drives the dissent underground where it may well boil over without warning.

I wouldn’t care about the queen dying.

Kasmeer being next in line? No. That would raise far more questions than answers, and make no sense considering her backstory. She’s just fine with Marjory.

Besides, given how ArenaNet loves to bring up interesting things (The White Stag, Malyck, OoW still being able to get to Elona) and then forget about them later, I’m doubting this will go anywhere either.

draxynnic.3719:

Oh, you could probably pull off a couple… but if you do it enough people will notice a trend even if they can’t prove any individual case. Best-case scenario is you get people who are too scared to publicly object – but that just drives the dissent underground where it may well boil over without warning.

Unless they all die at the same time. Ministers often gather in one place, wether it’s for official business or one of their parties. If they all die there at the same time and you do it right you can blame it on some other party (white mantle maybe by planting some forged evidence) or make it look like an accident. Or use the grizworl they confiscated and let them kill eachother, then tell to the people you are as confused as they are as to why the ministers would just start killing eachother in a frenzy. Really, the possibilities are endless

Then Jennah has to give some touching speech about how great of a loss this is.How the ministry was the backbone of the krytan govermental system and by taking that out, however did this must have done it to weaken her position. Tell them White Mantle involvement is suspected but don’t point fingers immediately, pretent you’re in the dark just like your people, at least in the beginning. Let that sink in for a while.

Then in the middle of the night, order shining blade members (under the guise of mere street criminals/bandits of course) paint threats on walls around the Upper City, with texts like You are next!

Then during a second speech later on, Jennah annouces that White Mantle involvement has been confirmed. Then a staged assassination attempt ensues, one that fails obviously (maybe with the same mesmer trick they used against scarlet). This would make the people less and less suspicious about the queen and anyone saying it’s all a conspiracy won’t be taken seriously and regarded as one of those tinfoil hat people (not literally, but you know what I mean).

Anyway, I could go on forever like this. The point is, if you do it right, anything is possible

Lutinz.6915:

The most likely next in line to rule would actually be Caudecus. People in DR even talk about how he would be a good king.

I think Caudecus would like that, but I don’t think he has any legitimate (i.e. blood related) claims to the thrown. Although given how these things usually worked (guy with the biggest army was king) I guess legitimacy isn’t all that important. Although given the level of… civilization? (not the right word) I don’t think the people would so easily accept kittenurper. Usually these sort of things (usurping) work best during time periods characterized by civil unrest and general societal instability (which doesn’t seem to be Kryta).

draxynnic.3719:

One thing they might have in common, though, is that Queen Elizabeth is said to have avoided marriage for political reasons – while still marriageable, she could play one suitor against another, but in that day and age for her to marry would devolve at least some power to her husband and if there were any suitors she trusted that much at all, she held back for the fear of what the other might do if the hope that she might marry them was finally dashed. We don’t see direct evidence of it, but we do see Jennah facing a lot of political opposition – she may be playing a similar game.

Unlike Elizabeth the 1st, though, she doesn’t have the luxury of a clear successor, at least not without that locket.

Queen Elizabeth (hopefully I’m thinking about the right one… ) had a interesting dilemma as well. Given the state of women’s rights at the time if she had married a local noble she’d have to be both his monarch and subservient to him, if she married a foreign noble there was fear of foreign influence.

Nilkemia.8507:

Besides, given how ArenaNet loves to bring up interesting things (The White Stag, Malyck, OoW still being able to get to Elona) and then forget about them later, I’m doubting this will go anywhere either.

It’s sad… well if Lost (the tv series) taught me anything it’s that having all the answers (actually MGS4 as well…) doesn’t actually add to the fun. But then again having too many loose-ends doesn’t make it any better.

Jennah isn’t 23434 years old, I’m sure she has plenty of time to have children if she wants/chooses to have children

Personally I don’t care what they do to Jennah but no thanks to Kasmeer inheriting the throne if they decide to off the queen

Baltov.9608:

Just to give Logan another reason to be emo nty

lol this also

It is strange that the heir to Queen Jennah is entirely unknown to us. You’d have thought that someone would have wanted to protect the heir whenever Jennah was in danger. I’d just put this down as an omission in the story, unfortunately, but maybe it means
- the heirs are disputed (illegitimate, dishonored, incapable, etc)
- the heirs will not have the same claims as Jennah to Ebonhawke or other regions
- the heir needs confirmation by the nobility and they might not pick the first in line
- a steward will govern as the heir is unfit to do so
- the heir is unsuitable to Jennah so she excludes him/her from court

draxynnic.3719:

Who the heir is isn’t commonly known, but the Order of Whispers at least know. There’s a mention – somewhere, coming from an OoW agent – affirming that there is an heir, but that if Queen Jennah dies “we lose the treaty”.

Whether this is because the heir is against the treaty, or because the heir is a minor and will be subjected to a regency period (with Caudecus being the likely regent) is unclear.

I believe that, no matter who the heir is, the treaty would be lost because it was Jennah herself who initiated the truce, in part because she returned the Claw of Khan-Ur. If Jennah died, the charr might not be as willing to deal with the replacement.

As for who the heir might be, if it’s not a direct descendent, I believe it was mentioned that one of Ebonhawke’s soldiers is of Doric’s line. I assume the throne would go to him, if the ministry didn’t just abolish the throne altogether, much like what the White Mantle tried to do. Say…

@Stooperdale: The heir seems to be being protected through obscurity – most people in Tyria don’t even appear to know there IS an heir, including PCs that haven’t played the third chapter as a human or S2E2 to know of the locket. That’s why the identity of the heir is unknown to us, and why we don’t hear of any efforts to protect the heir – the very silence you’re pointing out IS the protection.

@Rognik: Wade Samuelsson is of the Ascalonian royal line. He doesn’t make much of it, but it’s mentioned in the Vigil story arc.

Citri.9540:

Jennah isn’t 23434 years old, I’m sure she has plenty of time to have children if she wants/chooses to have children

If Jennah was 23434 years old I’d wager she’d be some sort of inhuman creature and all speculations regarding her reproductive period would be somewhat baseless :P

Rognik.2579:

I believe that, no matter who the heir is, the treaty would be lost because it was Jennah herself who initiated the truce, in part because she returned the Claw of Khan-Ur. If Jennah died, the charr might not be as willing to deal with the replacement.

Charr always came off more as a meritocracy, never felt like they cared much for the authority granted purely by who you happened to be born to.

draxynnic.3719:

@Rognik: Wade Samuelsson is of the Ascalonian royal line. He doesn’t make much of it, but it’s mentioned in the Vigil story arc.

Step 1: Get Rytlock back (or at least he’s sword, or finish fixing the other one).
Step 2: Find Wade
Step 3: ????
Step 4: No more Foefire.

draxynnic.3719:

@Stooperdale: The heir seems to be being protected through obscurity – most people in Tyria don’t even appear to know there IS an heir, including PCs that haven’t played the third chapter as a human or S2E2 to know of the locket. That’s why the identity of the heir is unknown to us, and why we don’t hear of any efforts to protect the heir – the very silence you’re pointing out IS the protection.

Bringing forward a secret heir is the most certain way to bring turmoil to the kingdom. Enemies would dispute the legitimacy of this secret heir and even loyal subjects would have doubts. Any evidence of lineage will be severely weakened by the being hidden then suddenly revealed.

Stooperdale.3560:

draxynnic.3719:

@Stooperdale: The heir seems to be being protected through obscurity – most people in Tyria don’t even appear to know there IS an heir, including PCs that haven’t played the third chapter as a human or S2E2 to know of the locket. That’s why the identity of the heir is unknown to us, and why we don’t hear of any efforts to protect the heir – the very silence you’re pointing out IS the protection.

Bringing forward a secret heir is the most certain way to bring turmoil to the kingdom. Enemies would dispute the legitimacy of this secret heir and even loyal subjects would have doubts. Any evidence of lineage will be severely weakened by the being hidden then suddenly revealed.

It’s not the first time a secret heir has been revealed.

There also seem to be magical means of identifying who the heir is (such as the locket) in order to back up the claim. Jennah’s still reasonably young and healthy and generally doesn’t go on the front lines (Edge of Destiny notwithstanding, nobody was expecting Kralkatorrik to show up when Jennah went to Ebonhawke) while she’s been subjected to numerous assassination attempts that we know of – the royalist factions are probably a lot more worried about her being assassinated then dying by happenstance.

And if someone’s aiming to assassinate the queen to remove the royal line from power, then it would be logical for them to try to take out the designated heir at the same time.

I suspect that whoever’s hiding the heir (most likely the Shining Blade) is working on the assumption that the most likely cause of untimely death for Jennah is as the opening stages of a civil war as the Ministry and/or White Mantle make a power grab. Odds are, if the Shining Blade declare the next heir, then those who would be inclined to side with the royalists will believe them, particularly if they do have the backing of magical items such as the locket. Keeping the heir secret and hidden is essentially accepting that there’s a good chance that Jennah’s untimely death would be the first shot of a civil war, but at least they’ll still have a chance of restoring the line afterwards.

The ideal, of course, is for Jennah not to die in the first place – but if they’re not willing to guarantee they can protect one that’s out in the public view, can they guarantee that if there’s two they’re not going to be able to stop them both from being taken out in close succession?

Would Jennah and the Shining Blade even know who the heir is? Assuming the locket is the only way to discover their identity (if it isn’t, the object’s importance as a plot device drops precipitously, which is inconsistent with the narrative emphasis placed on it), I can’t imagine that the Blade would have gotten their hands on the locket and then returned it to the Priory afterwards. They are a much more secure organization, and much less likely to misuse or be careless with the information.

Listen, lost artifacts sittin’ in hidden vaults is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical fashion accessory.

Aaron Ansari.1604:

Would Jennah and the Shining Blade even know who the heir is? Assuming the locket is the only way to discover their identity (if it isn’t, the object’s importance as a plot device drops precipitously, which is inconsistent with the narrative emphasis placed on it), I can’t imagine that the Blade would have gotten their hands on the locket and then returned it to the Priory afterwards. They are a much more secure organization, and much less likely to misuse or be careless with the information.

I’m not sure – the Priory has a history of dealing with dangerous artifacts apparently, and giving it to the Priory might be a way of ensuring that a) if the Shining Blade is thoroughly compromised it’s not going to be lost, and b) in case of upheaval, the Priory might be regarded as a less potentially biased observer than the Shining Blade. Additionally, the Priory’s measures to protect it are probably an indication that it’s kept secret from most of the Priory, while the caravans probably do keep it reasonably safe against anyone who can’t detect magic.

At the risk, that is, of making it potentially vulnerable to random accident.

It’s also possible that the Priory artifact isn’t the only one around, but a backup of something that was made by the Shining Blade – possibly Livia – sometime after GW1.

Either way, though, I think it is entirely possible that the Shining Blade might know something here that Jennah doesn’t. After all, the point was made in Sea of Sorrows that the Shining Blade is more loyal to the dynasty as a whole than to any individual monarch.