Guild Wars 2

However Saul was nothing if not resourceful; he didn’t die, and sustained himself on roots and berries he found. Eventually, while out trying to forage for the day, he stumbled upon a great “Golden City” filled with “Shining Gods”. These gods nursed Saul back to health, and returned him to Lions Arch a changed man. Back in Lions Arch he began to preach about his new gods, that had saved him from certain death. During this time the Guild Wars had just ended due to a new threat, the invasion of the Charr, from the North of Ascalon. At that time the Great Wall still stood and held strong against any Charr advancement, but people were tired and afraid.

In this time of uncertainty a group of people began to listen to, and follow, the teachings of Saul. These first converts, the most devoted of them, became the core of an organization that would later become the ‘White Mantle’. Eventually, using powerful magics and the Cauldron of Calamity, the Charr invaded Ascalon. Continuing on their goal of wiping out all humanity on Tyria, the proceeded to invade Orr and Kryta. As I am sure you are aware, to save Orr from the Charr, Vizier Khilbron unleashed powerful ancient magics, and sunk the entire kingdom of Orr, killing the invading Charr completely. Kryta, however, was a different story.

At first, the royalty of Kryta attempted to fight off the Charr, however their armies were still depleted from the last Guild War. After the defeat of the Krytan army, the Royals fled Lions Arch, leaving only the Royal guards, called the Lion Guard, in charge of the city. It was at this time that Saul and his loyal ‘White Mantle’ fought to repel the Charr from Kryta. When Saul and his friends had killed the Charr leadership, the knew that they would die. In a last ditch effort to survive Saul and the ‘White Mantle’ beseeched their gods to protect them. The Mursaat answered their call and three famous, or infamous, Mursaat showed up to help.

With the help of Optimus Caliph, Mercia the Smug, and Lazarus the Dire, Saul and his ‘White Mantle’ successfully killed the entire invading army of Charr. However the Mursaat demanded a high price for their aid, and all but the most devout of followers of the ‘White Mantle’ were killed. Saul was taken away by the Mursaat and never seen again. Later on we discover that the Mursaat are using the ‘White Mantle’ as tools to keep a powerful barrier set up on the Fire Islands chain active. This barrier blocks a door to the realm of torment. This door, called the Door of Komalie, leads to the realm of the Fallen God Abaddon.

This is where the story of the Mursaat becomes much more tragic than your one dimensional, big bad guy, story. In the past, Glint the Dragon of Prophecy, had foreseen the downfall of the Mursaat at the hands of a group of people called the Chosen, and the Burning Titans. The Door of Komalie also held back these Burning Titans. However the Chosen, you, destroy the barrier and, accidentally, release the Burning Titans on the world. After this the Mursaat disappear for a few years, only to show up again at the Battle of Lions arch, in which you help the Royals reclaim the throne of Kryta and break the power of the ‘White Mantle’ and the Mursaat.

At the end of the battle Lazarus the Dire retreats from the scene, swearing vengeance upon all humanity for the wrongs they have done the Mursaat that day. After that the Mursaat vanish, it was unkown if all the Mursaat were killed at that fateful battle, or if a few still survived, but the only one know to still be on the continent of Tyria was Lazarus the Dire. Fast forward 250 years and you come to the current story with the ‘White Mantle’. It is only after running through all of that do we discover a newly rejuvenated Lazarus the Dire, who now wants to help the five races defeat the Elder Dragons.

Personally I love the Mursaat, they are my favorite race to ever exist in the Lore. That being said, the Exalted are not, and never have been, Mursaat. Nor have Mursaat ever been Exalted. I feel as though Lazarus the Dire might try to resurrect the Mursaat, or contact others who are still out of phase with the world. Either way, I want to see the Mursaat to return to glory.

Do you want to know who the Mursaat really are? The Mursaat are, or were, a powerful race of spellcasters. They were one of the 5 Ancient Races of Tyria, along side the Dwarves, the Seers, and the Jotun. When the dragons awoke nearly 10,000 years ago it was up to these five races to work together and defeat them. Unlike our current five races, these ancient races sought to put the Dragons back to sleep by sealing away the natural magic of the world.

Thus the Seers, with the agreement of the other four races, created the Blood Stone, a storage device of sorts for magic. However when the time came for all the five races to pour their magic into the Blood Stone the Mursaat fled. Apparently they had been working to find an alternative method to survival. They found it in an ability to become “out of Phase” with the planet. Basically it meant that they could slip from our reality into another. Note this is not the same as going to the Mists, that is something else entirely.

After this the Mursaat vanish for a few thousand years. Eventually they return to the world of Tyria and, although it is unkown why, fought with the Seers. My personal opinion is that the Seers, the creators of the Blood Stone, were angry at the Mursaat for fleeing and attacked them. Other ideas are that the Mursaat were always a power hungry race and sought to dominate all the others. Either way the war was fought and the Mursaat won. All but three known Seers died, then nothing. The Mursaat just go silent for a few thousand years, until they are discovered somewhere in the jungle by Saul D’Alessio, Praise Be!

Saul, for all his glories, was also a broken man. During the last Guild Wars, which occurred from 1050-60 AE, rough time line estimate, Saul was a gambler and a drunk. Any money he won on Gambling was spent on Alcohol. Eventually he took out debts that he couldn’t pay back and became a thief. He was a terrible thief and was soon caught and exiled to the north. According to what stories are told, they walked for three weeks into the jungle and left him there to die.

COME ON ARENANET! Cantha deserves some much needed love, as does Elona. Perhaps in Elona we can overthrow the tyrannical rule of Palawa Joko and restore the Sun Spears to protectors of all Elona. Gotta admit, although I love Cantha and the lore behind it, Nightfall was my favorite, simply because I got to become a Sun Spear.