Guild Wars 2

Hi everyone,

Back in April, it struck me that the Pact conflict in the Silverwastes is very similar to the War in Kryta content that was released in 2010 for Guild Wars. I also recalled the War Chronicles column (Found here: http://www.guildwars.com/warinkryta/) that ArenaNet released on the website in tandem with the content updates, which was essentially a commentary on the events that took place during the war from the perspective of someone living in Tyria. In the case of War Chronicles, this person was the fictional scribe Murro. War Chronicles was a fun way of bringing the world of Tyria to life, and I decided I would do something similar for the war in the Silverwastes.

Over the past five or so months, I’ve been putting out weekly (I may have missed a few weeks!) missives on GuildMag written by a fictional Tyrian journalist named Ellis Knox. The posts function the same way War Chronicles did, chronicling a first-hand experience of the conflict in the Silverwastes. There’s 14 installments, all of which offer a fun little look into the eyes of a person in the thick of the action; they are all linked in order below. Check it out!

Dragon Hunting Part 1: http://www.guildmag.com/new-threat/

Dragon Hunting Part 2: http://www.guildmag.com/trahearne-sylvari-behind-pact/

Dragon Hunting Part 3: http://www.guildmag.com/war-silverwastes/

Dragon Hunting Part 4: http://www.guildmag.com/blood-bandits/

Dragon Hunting Part 5: http://www.guildmag.com/mordremoth-might/

Dragon Hunting Part 6: http://www.guildmag.com/vinewrath/

Dragon Hunting Part 7: http://www.guildmag.com/labyrinth-beneath-silverwastes/

Dragon Hunting Part 8: http://www.guildmag.com/luminescent-discovery/

Dragon Hunting Part 9: http://www.guildmag.com/pact-formidable-force/

Dragon Hunting Part 10: http://www.guildmag.com/tyrias-finest-tonna/

Dragon Hunting Part 11: http://www.guildmag.com/tyrias-finest-demolitionist-platt/

Dragon Hunting Part 12: http://www.guildmag.com/vinewrath-siege/

Dragon Hunting Part 13: http://www.guildmag.com/vinewrath-vanquished/

Dragon Hunting Finale (Part 14): http://www.guildmag.com/farewell-silverwastes/

I hope you all enjoy, it was a lot of fun to put together!

Part 6: http://www.guildmag.com/vinewrath/

Part 5: http://www.guildmag.com/mordremoth-might/

Part 4: http://www.guildmag.com/blood-bandits/

Part 3: http://www.guildmag.com/war-silverwastes/

Hey everyone!

Last week, I published the first installment of my weekly series on GuildMag.com, Dragon Hunting.

The series follows the exploits of Ellis Knox, an experienced Tyrian journalist, as he chronicles the war effort during Season 2 of the Living World.

This week’s installment just published today, and it just so happens to be an exclusive interview with the one and only Trahearne! If that piques your interest, or if you aren’t very familiar with Trahearne, I definitely recommend checking it out!

Confused? No worries, here’s the first installment.

This will be a weekly recurring segment that will continue to explore the realities and hardships of the war on Mordremoth. If you’re enjoying it, hating it, or rolling your eyes at it so far, do let me know what you think!

In this episode of the Guild Wars 2 podcast Talking Skritt, which was recorded on Janurary 24th a few hours after the PAX South announcement, the hosts discuss Heart of Thorns’ features and their potential.

Here’s my take on the season 2 finale: https://aformermonk.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/guild-wars-2-point-of-no-return-impressions-spoilers/

A little stream of consciousness reaction to the trademark: https://aformermonk.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/guild-wars-2s-heart-of-thorns-trademark/

Just an FYI for anyone who may have been annoyed with me for neglecting this story:

I am currently putting Innocence Lost on hold to work more on short stand alone stories and traditional blogging, both still GW2 related. If that interests you, feel free to follow the blog at aformermonk.wordpress.com

Thanks for reading!

Hmmm I seem to have missed the last prompt. I’ll make sure I write one for this one!

Great job I really enjoyed it

Episode 3: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/mmorpg/tftf-ep3/

Yes my nameless, gender ambiguous, nondescript character has departed the land of the living. I was considering continuing the story in the Underworld, but decided to put a cap on it early.

Liking it so far! I hope by “Seer” you mean the ancient race!

Pain. Agonizing, all-encompassing, obliterating conscious thought as I fall backward down the spiraling flight of ancient steps that undoubtedly lead to my mortal end. The only feeling of which I am aware is that of the rough wooden stakes lancing through me like white hot knives. I can feel them protruding sharply out of my legs and torso, and as I tumble down this seemingly endless staircase into the depths of hell, they are driven ever deeper into my ruined body. Darkness obscures all, and even the fiery torment of physical pain fades momentarily into nothingness.

Upon regaining consciousness, I find myself immediately aware of two things: the dull, throbbing pain present throughout the entire lower half of my body, and the intense blue glare assaulting my closed eyelids. My wasted eyes flicker open, and my breath catches in my chest, all thoughts of pain and exhaustion temporarily banished and replaced by those of abject terror. I am surrounded on all sides by men and women, though I have never seen their like all my time in Tyria. They shimmer with an iridescent blue light, as ethereal as ghosts. Ghosts? The legends told that ghosts now inhabited the ruins of Ascalon, forever doomed to defend that which they could not bear to lose. I had never believed the stories, foolishly claiming that looting the pillaged wasteland would be as simple as arriving on its forgotten doorstep. My companions would have undoubtedly fled the minute I sprung the spike trap, willingly trading their dignity for the precious lives that they hold so dear. It would be nice to live a little longer, but alas, it would appear my time is drawing to a close.

I try feebly to move my legs, but the spike trap has worked with deadly efficiency. Even if I were to somehow survive this horrific ordeal, I shall never walk again. Perhaps Grenth will grant me that small kindness in the Underworld. I am faintly aware of the whispering coming from the ghostly apparitions, the sound swirling around the chamber and reverberating off the walls, menacing me with its promise of death. The voices in the whispers speak of the hated Charr invaders, and of Ascalon’s courageous vigilance against their blight. They tell the story of the Searing, a great cataclysm brought upon the kingdom of Ascalon by the Charr in days long past, and of the atrocities wrought upon the innocent at Rin and Drascir. They weave a tale of a nation too weak to achieve victory, yet too proud to ever admit defeat. The lament is both sorrowful and profound, and tears well in my eyes despite my predicament. The innocent of Ascalon did not deserve to be cursed so, and yet their fate at the hands of the Charr would have had them fare no better.

They speak to me directly now. Invader they call me. Charr filth. A blight upon the land, and plague that must be eradicated. The sorcerer king’s curse has poisoned their minds against all mortal beings, and they are convinced of my unwavering guilt. I will not fight them. I cannot. I’m done with this life; I did what I could with it, and I’ll have to settle for that.

The moment has come. I can hear them screaming now, their frenzied shouts and demonic yells demanding my removal from this world. Such hatred, such visceral enmity. Their ghostly executioner approaches, an emissary of a cursed people bearing a message of certain death. He wields an enormous, fiendishly wicked looking axe that glows with that same ethereal blue light. I close my eyes, ready for the blow, ready to be removed from Tyria and a plethora of deeds left undone.

My death is not painful. The last feeble dregs of life flee from my already depleted body long before the pain has a chance to manifest. All I feel before that moment of sweet release is an intense cold at my throat. It seeps beneath my flesh, penetrating deep into my being and pulling me down into the depths of the Underworld. It is done.

Word Count: 686

Hope you enjoyed, would love to see your own response to the prompt Calliope.

Small update: the reason chapter 8 is late is because I scrapped the whole thing after finishing due to having a better idea.

Shameless plug: If anyone is interested, a few of my guildmates and I have started doing a Guild Wars 2 podcast/vidcast. If that does interest you, the details can be found in my other forum thread linked below.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/community/fangen/New-Guild-Wars-2-Podcast/first#post4553196

Episode 2: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/mmorpg/tin-foil-table-flips-ep2/

Hi everyone. Interested in a new Guild Wars 2 podcast? GAMEBREAKER NATION has you covered! The show is called Tin Foil & Table Flips, and airs every Saturday at 1 P.M. PST/4 P.M. EST on the GAMEBREAKER TV twitch channel (links below). Each episode the hosts will cover whatever weekly news has cropped up in game and in the community, as well as discuss the current living world and speculate on where it might go. Each host has extensive in game experience and is extremely lore savvy, so theory crafting will be a prominent feature.
Catch the show every Saturday @ 1 P.M. PST/4 P.M. EST at: http://www.twitch.tv/gamebreakertv
Here is our first official episode, which aired on November 1st, 2014: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/games/guild-wars-2-mmorpg/tin-foil-table-flips-ep1/
Tin Foil & Table Flips is a part the new “For The Community, By The Community” content lineup presented by GAMEBREAKER NATION.

Thanks so much for reading guys, it really blows me away. Hopefully I can continue through chapter 8 this weekend.

It’s done! Chapter 7: http://aformermonk.wordpress.com/2014/11/02/chapter-7-captured/

Ok so I know I said this week, but it looks like I’ll have to finish up chapter 7 tomorrow morning. I was able to crank out about 1200 words tonight, but I really need some sleep. Hoping to publish chapter 7 tomorrw!

Aiming to get it out this week!

Sorry for not getting back to you. I’ve been so bogged down in stuff for my classes lately I just haven’t had the time to sit down and push out chapter 7. Know that it IS coming and stay tuned!

Dialogue is something I struggle with, mainly because there are SO many literary and grammatical clauses that affect it. The reason I didn’t capitalize that part was because I hadn’t actually ended the sentence (though I should have). I suppose what I should have done was break that paragraph after Cortis’s first quote and then continue it in a new paragraph, since that first quote IS a complete thought.

Thanks for the critique, I really appreciate it!

http://aformermonk.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/chapter-6-into-the-jungle/

There’s chapter 6. Struggled with this one, not sure how satisfied I am with it. But I figured what the hell, it works.

(I’m aware that the paragraphs aren’t indented, Wordpress won’t let me indent them for whatever reason.)

Thanks a lot! I’m writing chapter 6 right now!

So I haven’t been able to sit down and continue the story lately as I’ve been busy due to various circumstances (college will do this to a person). Know that I DO plan on posting chapter 6 this week, and I also plan on seeing the story through to the end.

Chapter 5 is finally done! http://aformermonk.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/chapter-5-death-shroud/

Is the chapter 2 link not working?

Chapter 5: Death Shroud should be out later today!

Thanks for reading! There’s definitely more on the way, though it is getting a little taxing writing these on a daily basis. Enjoying it though!

Calliope.8675:

Chapter three is exceptionally dark. I might have some more to comment on later and will edit this post, but I’m a little distracted at the moment. <3

A Former Monk.4378:

“Problems arose, and were overcome,” said Setsu calmly…

I think this sentence would have more impact if you broke it differently. “Problems arose,” he said calmly (rest of description). “They were overcome, but that isn’t what’s important.”

A Former Monk.4378:

“I thought you didn’t want to know how I do what I do,” Setsu said, a point he often made when she inquired after the finer details of his missions.

This catches me each time I re-read the passage. Might just be me, but the phrasing doesn’t seem right. She’s reprimanding him, he says she doesn’t want to know what he does in order to accomplish his missions, and then you say she is always asking about what he does. I think the importance of that last detail may need to be explained or removed.

I agree that the first quote might work better as a split dialogue, I hadn’t really thought about it that way.

The second quote you mentioned is based on something human nature frequently causes us to do. When she originally employed him, she obviously seems to have requested that he not share the finer details of his work. However, as humans, curiosity often gets the best of us, and we forget our previous commitments in the pursuit of our current desires. Basically, it’s written that way to establish that even Anise is not entirely flawless, and that even she needs someone to put her in her place from time to time. The reason we don’t delve further back into Setsu’s back story here is because A: that’s a story for another time :P; and B: to give the origins of his relationship with Anise a sense of mystery.

Chapter 4: Waypoint! http://aformermonk.wordpress.com/2014/10/01/chapter-4-waypoint/

http://aformermonk.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/chapter-3-extraction/

Chapter 3! I don’t know why Wordpress let me indent paragraphs on chapter 1 but not on 2 and 3, just know that I AM aware of the lack of indentation. Anyway, enjoy!

Remember, I love feedback!

Cool, glad you were able to view it. And thanks for checking it out!

Here’s a link to the blog itself, rather than the specific post. Chapters 1 and 2 are both posted there, and I should have 3 done later tonight.

https://wordpress.com/read/blog/id/75587726/

Great job, would like to see more! I’ll message you a more in depth review, for some reason the forums are telling me to “suppress spam” I have to wait 24 hours to message you. Don’t know why.

Calliope.8675:

It requests a log in. I have to be a member to read what you write or is that just an incorrect link?

Hmmm, it seems other people can read it so I don’t know that it’s the link. Here, let’s try again. https://wordpress.com/read/post/id/75587726/6/

Also, thanks so much for reading guys! Will definitely post more!

Chapter 2: Reconnaissance – https://wordpress.com/read/post/id/75587726/6/

Don’t know why the Wordpress wouldn’t keep the paragraph indentations, oh well. Enjoy!

Thanks! More is on the way!

So I decided to finally start a fanfic blog after constantly having all these ideas for stories. link below. Feel free to tell me what you think.

http://aformermonk.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/innocence-lost-guild-wars-2-fan-fiction-chapter-1-a-new-journey/