Guild Wars 2

All we seem to know about the apparent disappearance of the Human Gods is that they have gone silent.. and yet, they haven’t entirely. The most glaring evidence for this is all the human racial skills that are basically prayers to the gods, and they work!

It’s also possible to speak with a spirit servant of Grenth during the personal story, who seems pretty confident that Grenth’s still alive and kicking.

Then we have Zhaitan taking over all the Orrian Temples, if the Gods were outright gone, why would he have any interest in them and why would they enable him to influence the land around the various statues?

It’s my belief that the Gods’ silence is not voluntary. It’s the presence of the Dragons that’s limiting their power. It’s also interesting that their are theories of a sixth elder dragon lurking about, which would give us one Dragon for each God. Hmm….

So, I’m looking for any scraps of lore that would provide evidence both for and against this idea, to see where it leads!

The gods left before the dragons awoke.

They left after abbadon was imprisoned and after he was defeated. Abaddon was the only one who could make the gods do anything apparently so until he comes back they be gone.

Also what did the gods do in gw1 that makes their slience even matter? The only time they directly (from a point of view) intervened was in NF and just to give one person a gift. In addition they let us come into the uw and fow and pilage thier goods/help them with stuff I would presume they could cleanup themselves.

First question to answer in my opinion is What is actually a God. I know many players see them as 6 versions of the Christian God. Wich is only natural due to the fact that it is the dominant religion in the regions where this game is popular.
But I think we need to have a more neutral explanation. First of all cause only humans see them as gods. Secondly cause this isn’t a ‘real’ world. In my opinion a God is a skillfull entity that can do things that are unexplainable by the common folks. In the case of (any) Tyrian gods the skillfull part is most likely magic.

When we did the final two missions in Nightfall they also gave us blessings. Strangely only to kill of Shiro and the Lich and not Abadon himself. We also know that their magic works through statues. In GW1 their statues could grant players magical gifts. In GW2 they often prvide the pure basic power to learn new skills (it’s a commune skillpoint challenge). The ED are devourers of magic. So naturally those places where the human have put those statues a lot of magic can be devoured.

The thing is we dont know how the statues are powered. It could be a battery once loaded by the god’s with a huge amount of magic, or it could be working as a conduit.

Like WonderfulICT is saying, we already saw their activity in the world go smaller during gw2.

This is not how you build a theory, you can’t just come up with something and then look for evidence, you first need evidence and then build your theory around it.

That said, I think the gods don’t communicate with Tyria much anymore for two very simple reasons.
1. They saw what happened if they meddled with mortal affairs too much, when Abaddon gave out the gift of magic freely. The result were terrible wars. So it’s in their interest to stay away from Tyria, maybe until the mortals can handle their presence (and not go blind like Malchor).
2. The EDs are known to feed on magic and what is a god over than a giant pile of sapient magic? I’m not sure if a dragon could kill a god and eat one, but I’m pretty sure the gods are not keen on finding out. So by limiting their interaction with the humans, they make sure their magic doesn’t get fed to the dragons.

In other words, I think the gods’ silence is completly voluntary and they do it to protect Tyria.

Evolution.1758:

Then we have Zhaitan taking over all the Orrian Temples, if the Gods were outright gone, why would he have any interest in them and why would they enable him to influence the land around the various statues?

The statues hold leftovers of divine magic and, specifically in Orr, the statues are connected to the temples magically – allowing them to become superb defensive mechanisms as well as a food source.

Evolution.1758:

It’s my belief that the Gods’ silence is not voluntary. It’s the presence of the Dragons that’s limiting their power. It’s also interesting that their are theories of a sixth elder dragon lurking about, which would give us one Dragon for each God.

Firstly: NO on any Elder Dragons for each God notion. It doesn’t work. At all. Why? Because Dhuum held no ties to ice and Grenth did even before ascending to godhood – and similarly, Kormir holds no ties to water while after her ascension Lyssa does, but if Lyssa=DSD then Kralkatorrik is left without a god. The thing is that the gods’ elements, despite some overlapping (specifically Balthazar/Primordus and Melandru/Mordremoth), they seem to be chosen by the gods’ personality (though this is speculation) but on a whole they don’t line up no matter what (this is not speculation – it just doesn’t work).

As to the Elder Dragons causing the Six Gods’ silence – it’s not fully voluntary. The silence began at the end of Nightfall – 3 years before Primordus attempted to wake up, and 55 years before it actually did. However, the Seventh Reaper does state that he’s weak – which I take as being caused by one of two things:

The Elder Dragons are reducing the Six Gods’ influence – though the silence began before their awakening, their awakening has prevented a return.

Or there’s something going on at wherever the Six Gods now are, which has been weakening/preoccupying them and their forces. I suspect Dhuum and Menzies may be tied if this is so.

WonderfulCT.6278:

They left after abbadon was imprisoned and after he was defeated. Abaddon was the only one who could make the gods do anything apparently so until he comes back they be gone.

Physically, they left after Abaddon’s imprisonment – however, Dwayna at the very least did pay the world a visit a few times sense (see Karei who met Dwayna in approx. 300-400 AE). After the Exodus, they simply communicated, blessed the world, and had their avatars physically present – the Seventh Reaper met in the personal story would be one such avatar.

The “silence of the gods” refers to the second situation – when they stopped communication. That is when they “left for good” so to speak.

mercury ranique.2170:

First question to answer in my opinion is What is actually a God.

[…]

First of all cause only humans see them as gods.

To be one of the Six Gods, it is required to contain an indestructible energy source within the body – that energy source is what seems to make them a god. Supplanting a god means to kill and take that energy source. In this, there can only ever be six gods.

Also, you forget there are centaurs, forgotten, and possibly naga that view the Six Gods as gods. There are centaurs in Balthazar’s Eternal army, and the forgotten are devout followers of the Six. There’s a naga boss in the Jade Sea who’s given the title Blessed of Dwayna

mercury ranique.2170:

When we did the final two missions in Nightfall they also gave us blessings. Strangely only to kill of Shiro and the Lich and not Abadon himself.

Err….

Lyssa’s Muse: “The divinity is within you. And so, we give you our blessing. That should suffice for the task ahead.”

While there was no mechanical blessing, there was such a thing. I presume that it was this blessing mentioned that prevented Abaddon from just giving you an Evil Eye of Death.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

While there was no mechanical blessing, there was such a thing. I presume that it was this blessing mentioned that prevented Abaddon from just giving you an Evil Eye of Death.

Unless they danced. Somehow the players being “Served” worked around this blessing and allowed him to Evil Eye you :P

Narcemus.1348:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

While there was no mechanical blessing, there was such a thing. I presume that it was this blessing mentioned that prevented Abaddon from just giving you an Evil Eye of Death.

Unless they danced. Somehow the players being “Served” worked around this blessing and allowed him to Evil Eye you :P

No, you just were served so badly you killed yourselves in shame.

I actually like to play with the idea that dancing in front of Abaddon made the other five gods facepalm and go “blessing revoked!”

I mean, Abaddon will dance off with you, and Dhuum dances when he wipes the party. Its pretty obvious the evil gods like to dance.

Not only do they like to dance, but they are good at it. The only reason Menzies never shows up in the game is because of the fact that he never learned how, lol.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

I actually like to play with the idea that dancing in front of Abaddon made the other five gods facepalm and go “blessing revoked!”

I mean, Abaddon will dance off with you, and Dhuum dances when he wipes the party. Its pretty obvious the evil gods like to dance.

More proof that John Lithgow in “Footloose” was RIGHT!

BuddhaKeks.4857:

This is not how you build a theory, you can’t just come up with something and then look for evidence, you first need evidence and then build your theory around it.

That said, I think the gods don’t communicate with Tyria much anymore for two very simple reasons.
1. They saw what happened if they meddled with mortal affairs too much, when Abaddon gave out the gift of magic freely. The result were terrible wars. So it’s in their interest to stay away from Tyria, maybe until the mortals can handle their presence (and not go blind like Malchor).
2. The EDs are known to feed on magic and what is a god over than a giant pile of sapient magic? I’m not sure if a dragon could kill a god and eat one, but I’m pretty sure the gods are not keen on finding out. So by limiting their interaction with the humans, they make sure their magic doesn’t get fed to the dragons.

In other words, I think the gods’ silence is completly voluntary and they do it to protect Tyria.

Abbadon was destroyed by Humans using Magic
which lead to Komir becoming a God in his place

Abbadon was imprisoned for giving magic out too freely

The Gods took Magic away from the Jotun fearing that the Jotun were too powerful and would rebel against the Gods

the simple pattern here is that the Gods fear Magic when it is uncontrolled
my best guess would be that a God Can only be destroyed by magical means and that maybe a successor will arise in that Gods place

after witnessing the bloody wars started by Humans after they obtained magic im pretty sure the Gods saw this as a threat
specially if Humans ever discovered that their Gods could be slain and their power taken for themselves..

but here is a even bigger theory

What if the 6 human Gods are not really Gods at all?
what if they are just a severely old Race of spellcasters perhaps even one of the oldest races in all creation

The Six Human Gods are a group of deities worshiped by the humans of Tyria. The extent of their powers is not known, but it is known they are not omniscient, and by their own very nature as a pantheon each is not omnipotent. Despite this, their power cannot be destroyed, though they themselves can be supplanted.

This section of the Wiki clearly states that these beings are not all knowing nor are they all powerful
which are normally common traits associated with Godhood

Each of the races of Tyria have different attitudes to the gods. Despite their legend of Melandru, the charr view the gods as powerful beings to fight, not worship. The norn recognize the existence of the gods, but consider them an extension of their belief system of nature spirits; they refer to the Six as the “Spirits of Action” and do not call them by their name, but by what they govern – for instance, Balthazar is War and Kormir is Knowledge.¹ The asura consider the gods to be relatively large parts (but parts nonetheless) of their Eternal Alchemy, and the sylvari, having appeared only in 1302 AE and therefore having never actually witnessed the work of the gods, remain unconvinced they exist at all.

What we need to remember here is that The Charr, Norn and very likely Asura all predate Humanity which arrived on Tyria along side Dwayna who was the first of the Gods to walk on Tyria
that can only mean that the Charr, Norn and Asura all predate the Gods arrival too which is why these 3 Races do not regard the Gods as Gods although the Norn did at one point in time before they were betrayed and turned to worshiping the spirits of the wild

What my theory is on all this is that the Gods may not even be Gods at all like I said before
but rather incredibly powerful beings whom claim to be Gods

I’d like to hear other people’s opinions on this too

Teratus, I would take what Thruln the Lost says with a grain of salt. He’s known to be wrong in about half of what he says. Including the line of the Six Gods taking magic from the jotun – it was the seers that did that, when they made the Bloodstone.

Then again, Thruln never says the Six Gods, just “the gods.” So if the jotun consider the seers to be gods….

The gods limited magic because King Doric pleaded them to do so, not because they saw it a threat. Abaddon wasn’t imprisoned just for giving out magic too freely, but for revolting when it was hindered (though there’s an old pre-Nightfall’s-release that hints to it being the Margonites who started the war, and the forgotten retaliated, and brought Abaddon then the other five into the war).

Teratus.2859:

This section of the Wiki clearly states that these beings are not all knowing nor are they all powerful
which are normally common traits associated with Godhood

Eh, no. Those are traits associated with monotheistic gods. Polytheistic gods – which is the original view of gods – are almost never invincible, omnipotent, nor omniscient.

In a polytheistic view, they are gods. Polytheism gods are called such because they have high powers, live eternal youths, and most importantly have control over making and changing life. The Six Gods have shown, thus far, to have this. Though one can argue that its not the beings, but the power the beings hold, which are the true gods – as that power is, as the wiki says, indestructible.

Teratus.2859:

the Norn did at one point in time before they were betrayed and turned to worshiping the spirits of the wild

Again, take what Thruln says with a grain of salt. He’s far from a reliable source. Even excluding the facts he gets outright wrong (human history), know that Thruln knows what he does through oral tradition – which, well, ever played the Telephone Game? After ten or so folks, the message is never the same. Never. Same thing happens with oral tradition – and moreso, given how it’s not an immediate passing, so folks are prone to forget as they pass on.

Konig Des Todes

thanks for clarifying all that

When the elder dragons last awoke, the Jotun gave up magic for the Seers to put into the bloodstone, so the elder dragons cannot feed on their magic anymore. This forces the elder dragons back to sleep.

Later on the 6 gods arrives, and released the magic back to the Jotuns and Norns. And then when they get too powerful, the 6 gods distributed the magic to all races. Jotuns started killing themselves. The Age of Giants hence ends.

Humans are next on the plate with the gift of magic. Once they become too powerful, Abaddon decided to distribute magic to all races again. The other gods do not agree with this, and so they resealed the magic back into the bloodstone. Abaddon fought against the other 5 gods and lost.

So if you look at the history, the role of the 6 gods is the distributor of magic.

It’s never said that the jotun gave up magic for the Seers – just that the Seers put all magic with jotun magic being specifically mentioned as “included” into the original Bloodstone. The Seers might have taken it without the jotun’s knowledge.

Which begs the question why the mursaat were the only ones who attacked the Seers. Although it seems that the mursaat may have attacked and nearly wiped out the Seers before the bloodstone was fully created. The only other option being that the mursaat returned for a little bit from their “other phase” after the bloodstone was made and killed the Seers before they added the mursaat magic to the magics sucked into the blodstone. IDK, it’s still ambiguous as to how everything happened back then, and honestly it was most likely a domino effect of actions happening extremely rapidly and growing out of control.

About the “god origins” theories.

The Tyrian gods are not like the Christian or monotheistic religions god. They’re not even like most mythological pantheons.

They didn’t create the world, in fact they arrived a bit late to the world. They were very powerful. They didn’t create humans, but they brought them (I think from the mists) to Tyria from their original world (which makes humans aliens! go get your UFOs!!)

My personal theory about (repeat, from here it’s personal theory) the gods, given how their power can be passed to other beings, is that they were humans from the original world (earth?) that discovered somehow how to travel through the mists. During their odisey through the mists they discovered a great power that couldn’t be destroyed but could be possessed by individuals or shared in the case of Lyss and Ilya (or maybe she had personality disorder and her new powers allowed her to physically manifestate both personalities, who knows… she’s sometimes depicted as a single being so that may be her true form), and later they arrived at Tyria and stablished themselves as powerful entities and greatly helped others like the Forgotten or Dwarves gaining their respect and favors. Then later they took some humans from their original world and brought them to Tyria for a fresh start or maybe they already brought them as part of the first expedition.

It’s very possible that those gods weren’t the only ones on the original expedition given how Balthazar ended with (at least) one relative (half-brother Menzies) and part of another one (father’s head) in Tyria too.

Those powers have been passed to other beings since they arrived at Tyria, particularly Grenth, the son of Dwayna and a mortal sculptor took Dhuum’s gifts (probably the black sheep of their mists expedition) and much later Kormir, a mortal human general taking Abaddon’s gift.

Menzies is called a half-god, so it’s possible that it was his (and Balthazar’s) father who originally had the godly powers and Balthazar ended taking them (and the severed head might be either because Balthazar slained his father or because Menzies did it to try get his powers, but Balthazar beat him and kept his father head as a reminder of what happened).

This is my personal theory, and probably there are some rebuttable parts, but I like to think that’s what happened unless proven wrong.

There are some other parts, like the (while not 100% cannon as only found on the .dat) old insect god Arachnia that could fit there, maybe it was one of the sources from where the gods took their powers during that possible mist expedition.

Now about the main topic of the gods being silent. While it’s true that human racial skills still work (and probably the only reason they can match in melee combat against a charr or a norn is that their blessed -for Asuras I like to believe they use technology in their armor to make them hit as hard), it’s weird that the gods remain silent in general.

I’m not sure if Wintersday’s after EotN release count as cannon or not for manifestations of the gods and their responses, or at least their agents responses, we really never get to see a proper god on their full glory, only recent god Kormir, ex-god Dhuum and imprisioned god Abaddon.

Probably they decided to take a break after what happened the last time they did something big, which ended with Abaddon imprisioned and his many years of plots and cataclysms to break free and finally die, so maybe they were like “ok, this was all our fault for doing too much… maybe we should let them live their lives in peace for a while and see what happens”.

And while the Dragons threat is a big one and they should want to help their devotes, maybe they have something big to fight in their own realm.

We know that Jormag is interested on the Mists, so there is the possibility of other dragons being interested on that too so maybe the gods are trying to content them from the other side right now.

Sorry for the long post, I intended to give a short answer and then all the ideas I already had started to pop from my mind to my keyboard xD

@Lokheit:

I’ve read this argument before. It didn’t improve much after the first time. There’s not enough other than conjecture to support it, and it only works if you make the assumption at the start with no basis.

I still think the Six Gods are not acting because the dragons eat magic . . . they are highly magical. And as you said, Jormag’s minions have been trying to break into the Mists. Perhaps they have more to fear from the dragons than the humans of Tyria think.

At the very least, we do know that Grenth is still active and able to communicate with his faithful.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

@Lokheit:

I’ve read this argument before. It didn’t improve much after the first time. There’s not enough other than conjecture to support it, and it only works if you make the assumption at the start with no basis.

You refer to the origins theory or the theory of them leaving to let humans on their own for a while without screwing things up like happened with Abaddon?

Narcemus.1348:

Which begs the question why the mursaat were the only ones who attacked the Seers. Although it seems that the mursaat may have attacked and nearly wiped out the Seers before the bloodstone was fully created. The only other option being that the mursaat returned for a little bit from their “other phase” after the bloodstone was made and killed the Seers before they added the mursaat magic to the magics sucked into the blodstone. IDK, it’s still ambiguous as to how everything happened back then, and honestly it was most likely a domino effect of actions happening extremely rapidly and growing out of control.

My theory is for this timeframe of events to have occured:

1. Giganticus Lupicus fall to the Elder Dragons.
2. Mursaat magic found effective and is intended to be used as the main weapon against the Elder Dragons. The mursaat, being selfish as they are, disagree with other races using their magic.
3. Discovering that the Elder Dragons consume magic, the Seers come up with the plan of the Bloodstone.
4. Mursaat don’t want to lose their magic, so they wipe out most of the Seers before fleeing the world.
5. Seers make Bloodstone and hide it, but the remaining races are left without a means to fight (no technology – jotun “technology” seems to be magitech like asurans’), during which time the races’ numbers slowly dwindle.
6. Dwayna appears and brings the Forgotten (nothing yet says that the Forgotten weren’t brought by the gods), who have magic the ED cannot corrupt, and humans, then brought further south; the Forgotten then lure Glaust and perform a ritual to give her free will – she continues fighting for Kralkatorrik a little longer, but her mind-reading abilities combined with free will causes her empathy and she betrays Kralk, hiding the races.
7. Elder Dragons starve while searching the land for the magic they can’t find (Bloodstone and surviving races); no one knows Zhaitan ended up where he did. Balthazar comes sweeping the land with his “cleansing flames” then Melandru arrives to bring back natural life, effectively removing all Elder Dragon corruption. Dwarves (possibly Jotun) begin worshiping Dwayna (and other gods for jotun?) as their savior goddess (later bringing Grenth into worship as he’s her son).
8. History as we know it…?

Lokheit.7943:

Menzies is called a half-god […]

No he’s not. Menzies’ divinity status is unknown to us – completely.

Your theory isn’t new – as Tobias said – but holds very little support. Then again, so is almost every theory about how the original pantheon of the Six Gods came to be is. Though regarding Arachnia – and there’s many insectoid gods mentioned, only Arachnia’s named – I like to think she’s either of a different pantheon, or is Abaddon’s unmentioned predecessor. Abaddon is called the mightiest of the gods, capable of defeating two gods at once but not all five, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Abaddon took power of more than one god if he wasn’t of the original pantheon (and if he was, that he didn’t take another gods’ power at some point – namely Arachnia).

Lokheit.7943:

I’m not sure if Wintersday’s after EotN release count as cannon or not for manifestations of the gods and their responses, or at least their agents responses, we really never get to see a proper god on their full glory, only recent god Kormir, ex-god Dhuum and imprisioned god Abaddon.

Given the developments that hint at post-WiK/Dhuum’s release (oncoming darkness threat, Balth and Melandru joining the fray, etc.), I think they did appear after Nightfall for some time (and yes, including EotN, though lorewise they should have stopped after Nightfall not EotN).

If the dragons are the cause of the silence, it may have stopped around Primordus’ rise.

(edit: kitten character limit)

Lokheit.7943:

And while the Dragons threat is a big one and they should want to help their devotes, maybe they have something big to fight in their own realm.

We know that Jormag is interested on the Mists, so there is the possibility of other dragons being interested on that too so maybe the gods are trying to content them from the other side right now.

1. Menzies.
2. Dhuum.
3. Mist Wars (origin unknown! I suspect Menzies and Dhuum are tied to it)
4. Jormag in the Mists – and possibly Kralkatorrik given location, hell even some Risen may have gotten there.

Plenty of threats.

It’s also possible that Melandru and Lyssa are dead. The Risen High Priestess of Lyssa and the Risen Priestesses of Lyssa both proclaim that Zhaitan has devoured Lyssa (and will eat other gods). Melandru is heavily implied to be one and the same with Mellaggan, and the quaggan say that she was killed by the krait when they fled from the depths.

The risen priests/priestesses throughout Orr (both temple ones and the High ones in the seer path of Arah) have interesting reactions to their respective gods: Grenth is full of lies, Lyssa is dead, Dwayna still blesses her priestesses, Balthazar’s ignored completely (e.g., not mentioned); though I’m unsure of how Melandru’s treated by the temple’s priest.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Lokheit.7943:

And while the Dragons threat is a big one and they should want to help their devotes, maybe they have something big to fight in their own realm.

We know that Jormag is interested on the Mists, so there is the possibility of other dragons being interested on that too so maybe the gods are trying to content them from the other side right now.

1. Menzies.
2. Dhuum.
3. Mist Wars (origin unknown! I suspect Menzies and Dhuum are tied to it)
4. Jormag in the Mists – and possibly Kralkatorrik given location, hell even some Risen may have gotten there.

Plenty of threats.

It’s also possible that Melandru and Lyssa are dead. The Risen High Priestess of Lyssa and the Risen Priestesses of Lyssa both proclaim that Zhaitan has devoured Lyssa (and will eat other gods). Melandru is heavily implied to be one and the same with Mellaggan, and the quaggan say that she was killed by the krait when they fled from the depths.

The risen priests/priestesses throughout Orr (both temple ones and the High ones in the seer path of Arah) have interesting reactions to their respective gods: Grenth is full of lies, Lyssa is dead, Dwayna still blesses her priestesses, Balthazar’s ignored completely (e.g., not mentioned); though I’m unsure of how Melandru’s treated by the temple’s priest.

Wait, the Risen Priestess of Lyssa doesn’t specify that Zhaitan devoured Lyssa. Actually, she says the he devoured all gods: “Zhaitan will devour you, just as he devoured our gods.”

She says “My goddess was mere prey for the dragon. Despair!” as well.

@Konig I highly doubt Lyssa or Melandru are dead.

The Risen Priests mostly want to hinder your morale and terrify you with flase declarations. I don’t think anything that they spit from their mouths can be taken as proof of anything.

She says both quotes (the one you posted is implied if the one Hermes posted was true), and I hardly believe anything of it is true. She’s just trying to make you believe Zhaitan has already won the war and is powerful enough to destroy a pantheon so you don’t have an opportunity.

She was a worshipper of the goddes of Illusions, so it comes natural for her to try to trick you and play mind games to weaken your resolve in the middle of the fight.

Aditionally, Prayer to Lyssa is still giving you boons and conditions to your enemies, and you can still become Melandru’s Avatar.

About Menzies you’re right I mixed in my mind the fact that he’s included in the religions section of the wiki, and that he’s half-brother of Balthazar, not half-god even if he’s allied with god Abaddon and ex-god Dhuum.

I know my theory isn’t new (even I myself have posted it months ago, I’m not sure though how many others proposed it too), and as I said, is completly based on personal opinion so it’s pure speculation, but with the proof we have we can’t really tell their origins so there isn’t enough proof in favor or against most theories. This is what I believe more likely based on the circumstances about them, but I’m open to other theories.

I like your theory about Dhuum and/or Menzies being behind the Mists Wars. This is something that needs a lot of explanation (everyone in that war thinks they come from the “true” realm and know nothing about invaders they’re killing) and I can see how it would serve a purposse to weaken the Mists for some goal of them.

Lokheit.7943:

Aditionally, Prayer to Lyssa is still giving you boons and conditions to your enemies, and you can still become Melandru’s Avatar.

On this, we know the mantles of godhood are permanent so it’s possible that that it is residual power from the permanent mantle even if the actual personality has fallen.

Dustfinger.9510:

Lokheit.7943:

Aditionally, Prayer to Lyssa is still giving you boons and conditions to your enemies, and you can still become Melandru’s Avatar.

On this, we know the mantles of godhood are permanent so it’s possible that that it is residual power from the permanent mantle even if the actual personality has fallen.

Well, the character shouts Lyssa’s name on his quotes while using it. I doubt Kormir would answer prayers shouting “Abaddon! Lord of the Everlasting Depths, Keeper of Secrets, open mine eyes and bestow upon me the knowledge of the Abyss that I might smite mine enemies and send them to the watery depths!” (known prayer to Abaddon from Lord Jadoth :P, too long, but you get the point) and yet she bears the power that once was Abaddon’s power. Grenth doesn’t answer players to Dhuum too.

If someone took Lyssa’s (or Melandru’s) mantle I doubt he/she would pay too much attention to her fanbase when he/she would have a personal agenda and motives.

IMO the priestess just tries to play mind games with you, and create the illusion of despair to get the upperhand in the battle (and in the global capaign for Zhaitan).

The power of the mantle may be residual until someone else takes up that mantle. if the dragans ate a god, they may not be able to take up that mantle so it might not transfer as quick as we’ve seen it with someone who is able. But this is all speculation

But would a pastkeeper lie about the death of their goddess? The quaggan seem mighty convinced Mellaggan is dead. And according to Colin, Mellaggan=Melandru (and not just a case of mistaken identity).

But like I said, it’s only a chance – and a fairly small one at that.

Being mistaken about something is not the same thing as lying. If the quaggan tribe was utterly devastated by the krait, surely, a lorekeeper who’d lost his faith could believe his god to be dead. Also, I deny the possibility of Lyssa being dead, because I’m a Lyssa fanboi.

Dont the Quaggan think the Krait killed their god, not the EDs?

I have to say, that if several of the gods did turn out to be dead, it would be an immense blow to humanity, at least on Tyria. There faith is one of the cornerstones of their society.