So, Ive recently replayed Season 2 of the living story, and the mail in the first episode got me thinking. We never actually found out who E was, did we? So ive started thinking who it could be. And then I got an idea.
Because there was something odd about his behaviour. For one, he never directly appeared anywhere. The only time anyone knew of his presence was Marjorys interaction with him. And even at that point she couldnt see him. He managed to stay out of her sight, and even get her into a position where he is in full controll seemingly without effort. So, he quite clearly has a lot of skill. But even when there were important issues, he didnt solve them himself, but instead told us to do it.
Furthermore, the things he knows are pretty specific. They all have one thing in common. Bandits or other criminal outfits are related. We have him knowing of the aetherblades plans before they succeed, knowing of activities in the Brisban Wildlands, an area largely controlled by bandits (as well as it being on the edge to Dry Top, where Bandits have been trading (as we know from Riot Alice, whose addition into Dry top was also fairly suspicious), and lastly Minister Estelles presence at a bandit gambling parlor around the time Scarlet Briar was talking to the queen.
Something that is especially odd is that he seems to have knowledge neither the shining blade nor the Order of Whispers seem to have. And despite having such knowledge, they dont share it, or their sources, unless it appears neccessary.
So, all-together we have E’s refusal to show themselves, or work in a public setting, combined with their knowledge in criminal-controlled areas and settings (Aetherblade, Bandits, and Bandit/Sinister Triad), as well as their refusal to share said knowledge or sources with other cover organizations that work for good.
And I think at this point its clear what Im trying to say. I believe that E is, in fact, the leader, or at least a high ranking officer in the ranks of the bandits. Of course, this in turn raises other questions. Why did he help us? Where exactly does he stand in the hierarchy, and why E?
Now, as for why he helped us, there is one possibility, that being him planning ahead. In case of Lions arch his goal wasnt to save anybody, but to try to prevent the uprise of another criminal outfit. After all, they were independant, and were unlikely to work together with him. So, a pure profit thing.
There is another aspect here I found interesting, that being Scarlets choices when trying to create alliances. In her secret lair, we see a small sketch, of all the alliances she tried to create, and which one succeeded. Interestingly enough, this included a lot of somewhat irrelevant factions. The Quaggans. The Largos. The Ettin. But also 3 of the 5 evil race factions, excluding the Sons of Svanir (likely due to them being Dragon Minions) … and the bandits. Which is quite odd, as Bandits control vast areas, and could be very useful as allies. She still didnt even trie it with bandits. Suggesting that she knew that it was a lost cause.
Then, we have the Brisban Wildlands thing, and the message he sent to Countess Anise. But in this case, It could be him simply estimating the threats, and coming to the conclusion that helping opposing factions might be the right call, if it helps defeat the Elder Dragons.
These possible explanations of course assume that he is the leader of the bandits. Now, this explains a lot, such as why he doesnt give information he clearly has to the Order or the like, and why he didnt deal with the Aetherblades directly. Being the highest-ranking criminal in Tyria, it would be quite impossible for him. And giving his enemies the information they need to combat him would be simply ineffective.
Now, what this doesnt explain is why he signs everything with E, and who he exactly is. What his relevance to the story (outside of being a puppeteer) is. But then again, that is likely only going to become clear a lot later. After the defeat of Mordremoth, most likely. After all, Bandits by themselves are a bit of a mystery in GW2 as well. They appear to have become highly organized, becoming a full pyramid-structured organization (similiarly to the Inquest, except even more effective), merely 1 year before the personal story. Additionally, they appear to have links to the white mantle (some Bandits appear to be a white mantle cell, and their symbols are really similiar). So its likely that they are building up for a story arc, one that is independant of Elder Dragons (arguably the most interesting type of story arcs).
