Guild Wars 2

Aethelbert.1497:

shinreigari.7318:

FrostSpectre.4198:

I’m guessing every new Charr player after this update might have new story beginning…

If the ghosts are removed that is…

That’s exactly why i doubt the ghosts will ever be removed.

Too many story lines, dialogues, heart quests and whatnot mentioning ghosts. It would require a huge effort to rewrite all of these.

That’s exactly why I doubt they will destroy LA for good.
Too many storylines, dialogues, vistas, not to mention NPCs. It would require a huge effort to rewrite all of those.

… OH WAIT. They did.
See my point?
Above that, old LA still works when you run through your personal story there. Which is, canonically, 2 years ago.

Yeah, i thought about LA too when i wrote this. But LA was still there even during the destruction, it was still an important hub, and they didn’t even change a lot of npc dialogue/letters/quests mentioning it (if i remember correctly – i might not tho!)

Whereas removing the ghosts completely would be a different thing. They are one of the main threats to the charr homeland and a lot of quest lines and too many hearts are based on their presence alone.

In the French forum, a player (Kaizok.7839) said this:

According to a book found in the cave where there is the line of force, ghosts are made of magic can serve as a source of food for the dragons. That would explain that Rytlock releases Ascalon to prevent Mordremoth absorb ghosts Ascalonians!

PopeUrban.2578:

It’s possible he’s pulling an aragorn here.
Just use the ghost army on promise you’ll free them after.

lol, I was thinking the same thing when I first saw the trailer “you RELEASE the whole kitten army? you have to OWN them in the beginn…. oh, you managed to have them to fight for you.”

Getting hard for next episode of the ever impressive LS ^^

Regarding Rytlock’s ability to lift the curse, where is it said that it must be lifted by a descendent of Doric, as many seem to be assuming? All I’m able to find is that it must be the “rightful king of Ascalon”. Doesn’t say human. I’m sure the Charr feel Ascalon is rightfully theirs, so a Charr king may very well be able to do it.
Except that the Charr don’t have a Khan-Ur anymore.
Could this video be implying that Rytlock has finally declared himself Khan-Ur?

Crixler.2857:

Regarding Rytlock’s ability to lift the curse, where is it said that it must be lifted by a descendent of Doric, as many seem to be assuming? All I’m able to find is that it must be the “rightful king of Ascalon”. Doesn’t say human. I’m sure the Charr feel Ascalon is rightfully theirs, so a Charr king may very well be able to do it.
Except that the Charr don’t have a Khan-Ur anymore.
Could this video be implying that Rytlock has finally declared himself Khan-Ur?

What ? no ! Rytlock is just a tribune, only Smodur as an imperator can “try !” to declare himself Khan-Ur.

Plus its a bad move for Rytlock if he do that ( being a Khan-Ur i mean ), he is not so appreciated by other Charrs.

Fuin.8361:

What will this have to do with Mordremoth?
I’m curious!

Well, in Episode 2, if you pay attention you find a book in one of the instances, stating that the Ghosts are Magical Constructs, a very powerful source of Magic. And what is Mordremoth(and other Elder Dragons) trying to do? CONSUME MAGIC. Releasing the Ghosts of theircurse might be a strategic BUT somewhat desperate move from the Charr.

What I’m wondering is, if Rytlock could lift the curse, why didn’t he do it before? After all, the ghosts are mostly an issue the Charr have to deal with over and over. Why wait so long before getting rid of them?

Crixler.2857:

All I’m able to find is that it must be the “rightful king of Ascalon”.

The wording of the nature of the curse has always been vague, and probably for good reason. Who or what defined the conditions of the curse?

Was it the caster, Adelbern? If so, then the conditions would be on Rurik returning, since the King never really wanted to believe his son was murdered in the Shiverpeaks.

Was it the sword Magdaer? In that case, it could be the popular belief of any descendant of Doric being the key.

Perhaps the curse is something dictated by the tainted land of Ascalon itself. This case gets rather silly though, since if it’s just the land, then probably any idiot who happens to have Sohothin or Magdaer could come along and pronounce themselves king of Ascalon and fix it.

Personally, I was one to subscribe to the Doric blood theory.

Of course, with all the sci-magic advancements since the appearance of the asura, this could all go away with proper tampering of the nearby Ley Lines. Though, with all the set up this curse has garnered over the years, that would be a rather disappointing fix.

OmaiGodman.2098:

What I’m wondering is, if Rytlock could lift the curse, why didn’t he do it before? After all, the ghosts are mostly an issue the Charr have to deal with over and over. Why wait so long before getting rid of them?

Sohothin and Magdaer must be brought together to lift the curse. Magdaer was broken. Eir went to Ascalonian Catacombs to find it, reforge it and give it to Logan. It’s still unsure what happend to Magdaer but it could possibly been reforged by Eir.

So, Rytlock couldn’t do it because Magdaer was not in his presence.

Is it just me or does the video imply they are going to cull way points?

Daniel.1206:

Is it just me or does the video imply they are going to cull way points?

They’ve already implied that in Entanglement.

can someone explain simply whats the trailer is about for non-lore junkies?

Zackie.8923:

can someone explain simply whats the trailer is about for non-lore junkies?

The only lore related part is the end with Rytlock removing the curse of the Foefire from Ascalon. To quickly put it in perspetive: King Adelbern used his sword Magdaer to annihilate the invading Charr which cused his people to be turned into Ghosts eternally fighting the invaders of Ascalon until the curse is lifted. Legends state that to lift the curse the rightful king of ascalon must do so wielding either Magdaer or the sister sword Sohothin (which Rytlock currently wields and we don’t know how he got it).

Ghosts … a Charr … a plan to rescue Tyria … this will horribly backfire … you will see

Mada.5319:

Ayrilana.1396:

Ghosts will only go away within the living story if the speculation turns out to be true and happens. Everything else will remain the same. Zhaitan died, and the corruption lifted, but you still see risen all over the place.

That’s different. The risen weren’t being kept alive by a curse or anything. Once the curse is lifted, every ascalonian ghost goes poof.

Except that would be an extremely major change to a starting zone.

Polantaris.9513:

skullmount.1758:

Fuin.8361:

What will this have to do with Mordremoth?
I’m curious!

Well at about :15 seconds, you can see Mordy tendrils (the big thick kind) in the background of an Ascalon area (can’t place the area off the top of my head).

There’s actually a clue to this already. There’s one in Lornar’s Pass, at Lost Delver’s Ridge.

Now, I haven’t done map exploration in a long time (which is why I was there), but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t there before. Plus, it looks identical to the one on the Dry Top Waypoint. There is definitely something that’s going to happen in Lornar’s Pass.

Yeah, I know the tendrils are all the way over in Ascalon. There was a map somewhere that had how far they went (before Entanglement was released), and there was speculation of them going to/for the chaos cavern (I think it was) in Blazeridge Steppes ( I think it was). So we already knew they were there, but the one in the video looks like it is one of the giant fat roots (like the one under the first waypoint in Dry Top).

In order for Rytlock to become the rightful king of ascalon, at the very least all the current Imperators of all the legions would have to end up dead, and Legions would have to be reunited (All the other contenders would need to be dealt with as well, but let’s ignore that minor matter). Somehow i don’t see all this happening in a single LS story.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Either the human proclamation (a rumor more than a legend) is wrong, or the ritual will fail, or both.

In all honesty, who’d expect it to succeed? ArenaNet would have to, with the next update, alter hundreds of hearts and thousands of events over 6 zones. They said after Tower of Nightmares that it pushed them to their limits in what they could get done in a month’s time with all the new models, new events, and changed heart mechanics. I don’t expect the Foefire to be ended.

My best bet is that the ritual will backfire and Rytlock will be killed. Reason being is that the VAs for Destiny’s Edge are hard to come by – the entire point of bringing in the biconics – so I wouldn’t be surprised if they kill the harder-to-get-VAs-for DE off one by one. Which likely means Zojja’s going to kick the bucket once any need for her off-screen is done (y’know, being the guardian of Taimi and all), and I could see Steve Blum and Nolan North as hard to get.

I agree with this 100%. How would they deal with these characters still being in-game afterward though? Obviously Rytlock is in the Black Citadel for everyone to see. Do you think they will take him out (or the others they kill) of their instances where you can see them any time you want?

Personal stories also would be affected. I know that the LS is supposed to take place after the personal story so maybe it wouldn’t matter.

i don’t think a charr can lift a curse only a true ascalonian can lift, it’s like having an average joe killing apocalypse, it’s just not possible.

EragamerLG.2390:

Fuin.8361:

What will this have to do with Mordremoth?
I’m curious!

Well, in Episode 2, if you pay attention you find a book in one of the instances, stating that the Ghosts are Magical Constructs, a very powerful source of Magic. And what is Mordremoth(and other Elder Dragons) trying to do? CONSUME MAGIC. Releasing the Ghosts of theircurse might be a strategic BUT somewhat desperate move from the Charr.

How is getting rid of something that u’ve been fighting for years, be a desperate action and why hasn’t it been taken till now.

sorudo.9054:

i don’t think a charr can lift a curse only a true ascalonian can lift, it’s like having an average joe killing apocalypse, it’s just not possible.

Well, technically speaking (which literal-minded curses have a distinctive taste in), charr are the “true ascalonians”. They are the original settlers of Ascalon, humans merely kicked them out for a short time before getting all spazzy and burning themselves down to free up the space again, so…

But we’ll see. Anet brought many surprises thus far and we’re only in for a third episode now. Whichever speculation turns out to be correct regarding the “Ascalon, I free you from your curse” part, it’s on its best way to be very, very cool from the story AND gameplay standpoint.

Zoxea.9564:

In the French forum, a player (Kaizok.7839) said this:

According to a book found in the cave where there is the line of force, ghosts are made of magic can serve as a source of food for the dragons. That would explain that Rytlock releases Ascalon to prevent Mordremoth absorb ghosts Ascalonians!

I think you may be right here. Certainly, there are so many ghosts, including some very powerful ones, that they’d be a buffet for Mordremoth. It’s also possible it took this long for Magdaer to be reforged, which would be necessary to end the curse. Either way, I’m super excited and can’t wait to see where they go with this!

sorudo.9054:

i don’t think a charr can lift a curse only a true ascalonian can lift, it’s like having an average joe killing apocalypse, it’s just not possible.

The thing about curses is they have a tendency to be either extremely literal or extremely vague.

For example in the recent movie Maleficent, “true love’s kiss” was the kiss of a mother/mother-like figure on her daughter’s forehead because no truer form of love exists according to that movie’s version of the curse.

What IS a true Ascalonian?

Is it the humans that dubbed the land Ascalon?

Or is the Charr who first conquered it, lost it to the humans, then made it the goal of their entire species to take back and succeeded? Doesn’t that also sound like a “True Ascalonian”?

Or, are BOTH races considered true Ascalonians?

Polantaris.9513:

Ayrilana.1396:

Mada.5319:

Ayrilana.1396:

Ghosts will only go away within the living story if the speculation turns out to be true and happens. Everything else will remain the same. Zhaitan died, and the corruption lifted, but you still see risen all over the place.

That’s different. The risen weren’t being kept alive by a curse or anything. Once the curse is lifted, every ascalonian ghost goes poof.

They’re not going to eliminate an entire set of enemies for the living story which will affect everything within that region.

That’s a bad defense when we still have a destroyed Lion’s Arch.

There’s no reason they may not be doing things that permanently affect the game world. Ghosts can be replaced by whatever Mordremoth’s minions are.

Again, I said enemies and not physical structures. Lion’s Arch was just a single map with no hearts, dungeons, etc tied to it. The ghosts are a part of that entire region and would require reworking of everything.

Unless, just like Orr, it takes some time after the ritual to eliminate all the ghosts ?

Changer the Elder.2948:

sorudo.9054:

i don’t think a charr can lift a curse only a true ascalonian can lift, it’s like having an average joe killing apocalypse, it’s just not possible.

Well, technically speaking (which literal-minded curses have a distinctive taste in), charr are the “true ascalonians”. They are the original settlers of Ascalon, humans merely kicked them out for a short time before getting all spazzy and burning themselves down to free up the space again, so…

true, one issue remains tho, i don’t think king adelbern would make a curse only for a charr, his worst enemy, to be able to lift the curse.
it has to be a human ascalonian or the whole idea of this curse makes no sense whatsoever.

sorudo.9054:

Changer the Elder.2948:

sorudo.9054:

i don’t think a charr can lift a curse only a true ascalonian can lift, it’s like having an average joe killing apocalypse, it’s just not possible.

Well, technically speaking (which literal-minded curses have a distinctive taste in), charr are the “true ascalonians”. They are the original settlers of Ascalon, humans merely kicked them out for a short time before getting all spazzy and burning themselves down to free up the space again, so…

true, one issue remains tho, i don’t think king adelbern would make a curse only for a charr, his worst enemy, to be able to lift the curse.
it has to be a human ascalonian or the whole idea of this curse makes no sense whatsoever.

Problem is, that presumes two things: One, that Adelbern specifically custom-tailored the curse and that he himself was of sound enough mind to say in that time and place “I hereby curse my own people as well as the invading army to perish and rise again to haunt this country for all eternity, killing anything that moves in the form of a vengeful spirit, until a rightful true Ascalonian human, preferably of kingly heritage, comes with the sword of my son, stabs it in the ground and says this precise magical formula…”

That didn’t happen, because a) it’s an obtusely stupid thing to phrase and b) Adelbern’s sanity was slipping like a buttered kittenroach on a waterslide, so what he basically did was raise a distinctively magical sword and yell “ALLYASUCKERSBUUUUUURN!” and the curse was pretty much the side effect of using a magical item to do “a thing”. It’s like firing a roman candle – you fire it for the pretty lights and stuff, but if you handle it like Adelbern handled this whole thing, you might possibly set your cat on fire. The fact that it’s not covered in the instruction manual under the “intented use” clause doesn’t automatically mean it cannot happen as a side effect.

The part where “curse will be lifted if a true king of Ascalon brings back the magical shiny burny blade” was presumably added later anyway, by some sort of a wise seer (or very profound local drunk).

Changer the Elder.2948:

sorudo.9054:

Changer the Elder.2948:

sorudo.9054:

i don’t think a charr can lift a curse only a true ascalonian can lift, it’s like having an average joe killing apocalypse, it’s just not possible.

Well, technically speaking (which literal-minded curses have a distinctive taste in), charr are the “true ascalonians”. They are the original settlers of Ascalon, humans merely kicked them out for a short time before getting all spazzy and burning themselves down to free up the space again, so…

true, one issue remains tho, i don’t think king adelbern would make a curse only for a charr, his worst enemy, to be able to lift the curse.
it has to be a human ascalonian or the whole idea of this curse makes no sense whatsoever.

Problem is, that presumes two things: One, that Adelbern specifically custom-tailored the curse and that he himself was of sound enough mind to say in that time and place “I hereby curse my own people as well as the invading army to perish and rise again to haunt this country for all eternity, killing anything that moves in the form of a vengeful spirit, until a rightful true Ascalonian human, preferably of kingly heritage, comes with the sword of my son, stabs it in the ground and says this precise magical formula…”

That didn’t happen, because a) it’s an obtusely stupid thing to phrase and b) Adelbern’s sanity was slipping like a buttered kittenroach on a waterslide, so what he basically did was raise a distinctively magical sword and yell “ALLYASUCKERSBUUUUUURN!” and the curse was pretty much the side effect of using a magical item to do “a thing”. It’s like firing a roman candle – you fire it for the pretty lights and stuff, but if you handle it like Adelbern handled this whole thing, you might possibly set your cat on fire. The fact that it’s not covered in the instruction manual under the “intented use” clause doesn’t automatically mean it cannot happen as a side effect.

The part where “curse will be lifted if a true king of Ascalon brings back the magical shiny burny blade” was presumably added later anyway, by some sort of a wise seer (or very profound local drunk).

there is one problem tho, charr don’t have kings, humans do.
if that holds true then it doesn’t matter which charr has the blade, only a human can lift the curse and if that happens to be a king then they need to search for the only descended of ruric…..if any exist at all. (he died before reaching kryta )

sorudo.9054:

Changer the Elder.2948:

sorudo.9054:

Changer the Elder.2948:

sorudo.9054:

i don’t think a charr can lift a curse only a true ascalonian can lift, it’s like having an average joe killing apocalypse, it’s just not possible.

Well, technically speaking (which literal-minded curses have a distinctive taste in), charr are the “true ascalonians”. They are the original settlers of Ascalon, humans merely kicked them out for a short time before getting all spazzy and burning themselves down to free up the space again, so…

true, one issue remains tho, i don’t think king adelbern would make a curse only for a charr, his worst enemy, to be able to lift the curse.
it has to be a human ascalonian or the whole idea of this curse makes no sense whatsoever.

Problem is, that presumes two things: One, that Adelbern specifically custom-tailored the curse and that he himself was of sound enough mind to say in that time and place “I hereby curse my own people as well as the invading army to perish and rise again to haunt this country for all eternity, killing anything that moves in the form of a vengeful spirit, until a rightful true Ascalonian human, preferably of kingly heritage, comes with the sword of my son, stabs it in the ground and says this precise magical formula…”

That didn’t happen, because a) it’s an obtusely stupid thing to phrase and b) Adelbern’s sanity was slipping like a buttered kittenroach on a waterslide, so what he basically did was raise a distinctively magical sword and yell “ALLYASUCKERSBUUUUUURN!” and the curse was pretty much the side effect of using a magical item to do “a thing”. It’s like firing a roman candle – you fire it for the pretty lights and stuff, but if you handle it like Adelbern handled this whole thing, you might possibly set your cat on fire. The fact that it’s not covered in the instruction manual under the “intented use” clause doesn’t automatically mean it cannot happen as a side effect.

The part where “curse will be lifted if a true king of Ascalon brings back the magical shiny burny blade” was presumably added later anyway, by some sort of a wise seer (or very profound local drunk).

there is one problem tho, charr don’t have kings, humans do.
if that holds true then it doesn’t matter which charr has the blade, only a human can lift the curse and if that happens to be a king then they need to search for the only descended of ruric…..if any exist at all. (he died before reaching kryta )

Again, I defer to the quirkyness of magical curses they so often display in fiction. “rightful king of Ascalon” = person (not necessarily human) with the greatest right (not necessarily inherited) to be considered the ruler of said patch of land. Curses have the lovably (infuriating) quirky nature that lets them be both extremely literal and vaguely metaphorical at the very same time .

So “charr don’t have kings” is on very wobbly legs dealing with non-lawyery speaking magical terms, because “king” and “true Ascalonian” can be ever as fluid as it can get literal. Exempli gratia: lions don’t wear a crown and silk garbs and still we call them “king of beasts”. First kings also didn’t become kings because magical glowy finger pointed at them and gave them blue blood transfusion, but because they were strongest and most fit for that duty.

Again, I can’t see into the writers heads, I don’t know if that’s what will happen, and I’m not adamantly saying “Yes, it’s gonna work and yes, even a charr (or specifically Rytlock, as the trailer seems to imply) can do it”, I’m merely stating that if that is to happen, the curse does indeed have a workaround to avoid digging a plot hole the size of Mount Maelstrom.

Anyways, I feel like I’m responsible for slightly derailing this topic, so I’m going to skulk off to my work. Thank you for listening

Ascalon is a (former)human nation, not an area of land.

Xukavi.4320:

Zackie.8923:

can someone explain simply whats the trailer is about for non-lore junkies?

The only lore related part is the end with Rytlock removing the curse of the Foefire from Ascalon. To quickly put it in perspetive: King Adelbern used his sword Magdaer to annihilate the invading Charr which cused his people to be turned into Ghosts eternally fighting the invaders of Ascalon until the curse is lifted. Legends state that to lift the curse the rightful king of ascalon must do so wielding either Magdaer or the sister sword Sohothin (which Rytlock currently wields and we don’t know how he got it).

You get in in AC story. Eir gives it back to him.

Yossitaru.3045:

Crixler.2857:

All I’m able to find is that it must be the “rightful king of Ascalon”.

The wording of the nature of the curse has always been vague, and probably for good reason. Who or what defined the conditions of the curse?

<snip>

Perhaps the curse is something dictated by the tainted land of Ascalon itself. This case gets rather silly though, since if it’s just the land, then probably any idiot who happens to have Sohothin or Magdaer could come along and pronounce themselves king of Ascalon and fix it.

There is a precedent in folk lore that ties the king to the land and vise versa. So depending on how they word it, the concept MIGHT work. I’m not subscribing t any theory at the moment, since all we know is he says the curse is broken and stuck the sword into the ground. Not much to go on.

I hate when developers do this kind of thing. Is there some requirement that you need to be a sadist to do this kind of work? Grrr….

TexZero.7910:

Xukavi.4320:

Zackie.8923:

can someone explain simply whats the trailer is about for non-lore junkies?

The only lore related part is the end with Rytlock removing the curse of the Foefire from Ascalon. To quickly put it in perspetive: King Adelbern used his sword Magdaer to annihilate the invading Charr which cused his people to be turned into Ghosts eternally fighting the invaders of Ascalon until the curse is lifted. Legends state that to lift the curse the rightful king of ascalon must do so wielding either Magdaer or the sister sword Sohothin (which Rytlock currently wields and we don’t know how he got it).

You get in in AC story. Eir gives it back to him.

I know we got Magdaer from the AC story and she said she’d reforge it and give it to Logan I was talking about us not knowing how he got Sohothin.

Changer the Elder.2948:

sorudo.9054:

i don’t think a charr can lift a curse only a true ascalonian can lift, it’s like having an average joe killing apocalypse, it’s just not possible.

Well, technically speaking (which literal-minded curses have a distinctive taste in), charr are the “true ascalonians”. They are the original settlers of Ascalon, humans merely kicked them out for a short time

That “short time” is over a thousand years, if i remember correctly. The reasoning still stands, though – charr can claim they are the “true ascalonians”.

sorudo.9054:

true, one issue remains tho, i don’t think king adelbern would make a curse only for a charr, his worst enemy, to be able to lift the curse.
it has to be a human ascalonian or the whole idea of this curse makes no sense whatsoever.

It is a curse. Those tend to have lives on their own, and quite often a faulty (or not sufficiently precise) wording of the curse leads to unintended sideeffects or undesired fail conditions.

Just as the mentioned above curse in Maleficent (where one of the sideeffects is Maleficent herself getting caught in it, because, as the curse stipulated in spite, Aurora “will indeed be loved by all around her”). Basically, what you wish for and what you get are quite often very different things.

Obsidian.1328:

Ascalon is a (former)human nation, not an area of land.

It is both, actually – a human nation, and the name of the land it lies on. Case in point? Ebonhawke, at the moment the curse was cast, was a part of the Ascalonian kingdom, but not a part of lands of Ascalon (and that’s why it got spared by the curse – it was the land that got affected, not the kingdom).

Astralporing.1957:

Obsidian.1328:

Ascalon is a (former)human nation, not an area of land.

It is both, actually – a human nation, and the name of the land it lies on. Case in point? Ebonhawke, at the moment the curse was cast, was a part of the Ascalonian kingdom, but not a part of lands of Ascalon (and that’s why it got spared by the curse – it was the land that got affected, not the kingdom).

Not true, actually. It’s name only refers to the land controlled by Ascalon. Think ancient Rome — that could mean only Italy or most of Europe depending on which century you’re talking about. For instance, right now, being “in Ascalon” means you’d have to be only in Ebonhawke or the land immediately around it. You don’t see people referring to Metrica Province as Riverside Province, do you? The name implies the nation.

Obsidian.1328:

Astralporing.1957:

Obsidian.1328:

Ascalon is a (former)human nation, not an area of land.

It is both, actually – a human nation, and the name of the land it lies on. Case in point? Ebonhawke, at the moment the curse was cast, was a part of the Ascalonian kingdom, but not a part of lands of Ascalon (and that’s why it got spared by the curse – it was the land that got affected, not the kingdom).

Not true, actually. It’s name only refers to the land controlled by Ascalon. Think ancient Rome — that could mean only Italy or most of Europe depending on which century you’re talking about. For instance, right now, being “in Ascalon” means you’d have to be only in Ebonhawke or the land immediately around it. You don’t see people referring to Metrica Province as Riverside Province, do you? The name implies the nation.

And yet, you hear charr proclaim stuff like “Ascalon is ours” or “Ascalon is our land”. Charr born and raised in Black Citadel and neighboring areas consider themselves coming from Ascalon, because the land inherited the name of the kingdom. It doesn’t always happen (as is the case of Rome), but it still happens (as is the case of America). Settlers came, named it something, name was catchy enough to stick. Now it’s used by everyone born in there. It’s not showing “Brown Patch Of Land Formerly Known As Kingdom of Ascalon” on the map, it’s showing as “Ascalon”, despite the kingdom of said name being long ruined and nonexistent.

Mada.5319:

Ayrilana.1396:

Ghosts will only go away within the living story if the speculation turns out to be true and happens. Everything else will remain the same. Zhaitan died, and the corruption lifted, but you still see risen all over the place.

That’s different. The risen weren’t being kept alive by a curse or anything. Once the curse is lifted, every ascalonian ghost goes poof.

The living world takes place after the personal story. So if you do Ascalon Catacombs, which is apart of the Personal Story in leading towards stopping Zhaitan, it’ll treat you as though you are playing past events; that the living world hasn’t started for you yet. Hence the whole level 80 requirement.

Changer the Elder.2948:

Obsidian.1328:

Astralporing.1957:

Obsidian.1328:

Ascalon is a (former)human nation, not an area of land.

It is both, actually – a human nation, and the name of the land it lies on. Case in point? Ebonhawke, at the moment the curse was cast, was a part of the Ascalonian kingdom, but not a part of lands of Ascalon (and that’s why it got spared by the curse – it was the land that got affected, not the kingdom).

Not true, actually. It’s name only refers to the land controlled by Ascalon. Think ancient Rome — that could mean only Italy or most of Europe depending on which century you’re talking about. For instance, right now, being “in Ascalon” means you’d have to be only in Ebonhawke or the land immediately around it. You don’t see people referring to Metrica Province as Riverside Province, do you? The name implies the nation.

And yet, you hear charr proclaim stuff like “Ascalon is ours” or “Ascalon is our land”. Charr born and raised in Black Citadel and neighboring areas consider themselves coming from Ascalon, because the land inherited the name of the kingdom. It doesn’t always happen (as is the case of Rome), but it still happens (as is the case of America). Settlers came, named it something, name was catchy enough to stick. Now it’s used by everyone born in there. It’s not showing “Brown Patch Of Land Formerly Known As Kingdom of Ascalon” on the map, it’s showing as “Ascalon”, despite the kingdom of said name being long ruined and nonexistent.

That’s not the same thing, the USofA was named after the land, not the other way around. Ascalons were Ascalons, the land inherited their name.

What you say would be true for something like New England in NE America. But even if, say, the Micmacs somehow reconquered it, do you really think they’d call it “New England?”

Even if that were still somehow true, that means the ancestral homeland of the Charr is named after a human kingdom? They didn’t have their own name for the birthplace of their entire race before humans got there?

I can’t decide if ANet just forgot to think about that or are simply too lazy to come up with their own name and backstory for it.

Obsidian.1328:

Ascalon is a former human nation, not an area of land.

Huh?

Humans conquered a large portion of the land and established Ascalon in 100 BE and holds King’s Watch, where King Doric was crowned.

I don’t understand how you can link to a source and have that same link contradict your statement.

Ronin.7381:

Obsidian.1328:

Ascalon is a former human nation, not an area of land.

Huh?

Humans conquered a large portion of the land and established Ascalon in 100 BE and holds King’s Watch, where King Doric was crowned.

I don’t understand how you can link to a source and have that same link contradict your statement.

How do those two links contradict each other exactly?

Want to play WikiWars? Here, I’ll give you the lines before your link so it’s not, you know, taken out of context:

“Ascalon is a beleaguered human nation in Tyria. Ascalon lies between the large Shiverpeak Mountains to the west and the Blazeridge Mountains to the east. Humans conquered a large portion of the land and established Ascalon in 100 BE and holds King’s Watch, where King Doric was crowned.”

I don’t see the contradiction. A country is a culture that occupies an area. Humans “established Ascalon” the country, on the “large portion of the land” that they conquered. The name has now stuck, but it wasn’t Ascalon until the humans made it so.

Side note: I’m waiting for Maleficent on Blue Ray/NetFlix. Now I’ve had spoilers I didn’t expect in a thread unrelated to that movie. /sad

Obsidian.1328:

I can’t decide if ANet just forgot to think about that or are simply too lazy to come up with their own name and backstory for it.

I really need to stop giving them these freebies.

It’s possible King Adelbern (unknowingly or otherwise) tapped into the power of the ley lines to enact his curse, as it’s described as being as powerful as the Searing, which was (technically) a collaboration between Charr and Titan (with orders from Abaddon). That power had to come from somewhere. Why not the ley line and by extension the then sleeping Kralkatorrik? We know that the Orrian ley line and Zhaitan were tapped unknowingly when the bloodstone was crafted in Arah, so it stands to reason the same or a very similar set of events happened here.

If that is true, you could posit that the ley lines are still fueling the curse and that is why the ghosts remain in Ascalon.

Given the dialogue at the end of Season Two, Episode Two about the recent connection between waypoints and ley lines, it isn’t that far of a stretch of the imagination. There is a waypoint in the Ascalon Catacombs at Foefire’s Heart, the epicenter of the curse.

Magdaer was the key (so to speak) that bound the curse to the land — i.e., the ley line underneath Ascalon City — and along with Sohothin, its sister blade, is said to hold the power to break the curse. How? By unlocking the ley line.

We see Rytlock stab the sword into ground, presumably at Foefire’s Heart, which further plays into the Ascalonian ley lines’ involvement. We also see several branded creatures in the trailer, which makes sense — Kralkatorrik, being a dragon, is also connected to the ley lines and would surely react both to Mordremoth’s encroachment and to the uninterrupted flow of energy from the newly freed/purified ley lines.

Lastly, the swords are supernatural tokens of office. He who holds the crown is the king, so to speak, which is backed up by countless tales. Whether it’s Rytlock or Queen Jennah or a miraculously resurrected Drooburt (s’what I want to see!), whoever is wielding Magdaer or Sohothin, and who wants to put an end to the conflict between Charr and human, will have the authority to break the curse. Or, mechanically, anyone who stabs one of the swords into the nexus of the curse — i.e., Foefire’s Heart — will release the energy trapped there.

I hope this rambling thread makes sense. I wrote it at work between sporadic breaks in activity and that never lends itself to a coherent message.

Donari.5237:

I don’t see the contradiction. A country is a culture that occupies an area. Humans “established Ascalon” the country, on the “large portion of the land” that they conquered. The name has now stuck, but it wasn’t Ascalon until the humans made it so.

Where does it say the Charr in GW1 called it anything else? Humans established Ascalon City but that doesn’t mean the land, territory, was never referred to as Ascalon. If we’re going to use real world comparisons, when Europeans settled into the Americas and America (the original 13 colonies) succeeded, our founders became Americans.

If you want to split hairs, the Charr and humans both inherited the land from the Forgotten. So, technically, if you want to argue the point of ownership, it belongs to neither race.

So there.

Lethe.1640:

If you want to split hairs, the Charr and humans both inherited the land from the Forgotten. So, technically, if you want to argue the point of ownership, it belongs to neither race.

So there.

True but only the Charr have had any interest in always getting it back. Neither the Forgotten or the Grawl had tried to amount any sort of… pay back.

I’m wondering if because of the name “The Dragon’s Reach”, and the locket mentioned in the last patch, and queen Jennahs mention, if this won’t somehow affect divinity’s reach, possibly negatively. We know all the royal human families are connected in lineage and the curse was placed by the last king of Ascalon.

Conncept.7638:

I’m wagering that because of the name “The Dragon’s Reach” not only has this has nothing to do with the ascalonian Ghosts, Rytlock isn’t in the ascalonian catacombs or even in Ascalon. He’s in the catacombs below Divinity’s Reach in Kryta, the ones that were visible from the great collapse before the Queen’s Gauntlet was built over it.

Then why would Rytlock say, “Ascalon, I free you of this curse.” and he’s quite clearly inside of Barradin’s Crypt which can’t be found in Divinity’s Reach.

Ronin.7381:

Lethe.1640:

If you want to split hairs, the Charr and humans both inherited the land from the Forgotten. So, technically, if you want to argue the point of ownership, it belongs to neither race.

So there.

True but only the Charr have had any interest in always getting it back. Neither the Forgotten or the Grawl had tried to amount any sort of… pay back.

Very true. And the Charr had already laid claim to Tyria before humanity entered the picture:

“When the humans first came to Tyria, the charr were already there. All its lands were their hunting grounds, all its creatures their prey. The humans drove the charr northward to found their kingdoms, and resisted them when they sought to regain their lands.”

Ronin.7381:

Conncept.7638:

I’m wagering that because of the name “The Dragon’s Reach” not only has this has nothing to do with the ascalonian Ghosts, Rytlock isn’t in the ascalonian catacombs or even in Ascalon. He’s in the catacombs below Divinity’s Reach in Kryta, the ones that were visible from the great collapse before the Queen’s Gauntlet was built over it.

Then why would Rytlock say, “Ascalon, I free you of this curse.” and he’s quite clearly inside of Barradin’s Crypt which can’t be found in Divinity’s Reach.

Yeah watched it the first time through without sound, changed my post. And we don’t know what the catacombs below kryta look like. Still wonder if there is going to be some connection, that name seems like a deliberately placed plug to me.