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Post Tagged with: "Guild Wars 2"

Guild Wars

Guild Wars 2 Goals Before The New Expansion

We still don’t know when the new expansion is going to drop, what’s in it, or what the story is going to focus on. It’s hard to prepare when you don’t know anything. So my goals will be based on what I know, and that’s content that’s already there.

There is one thing that was announced, and that’s the coming of the legendary armory. I don’t know when this will be implemented, before or after the launch of the expansion, but I’m excited. This is an addition to the build templates and gear load-outs. Now you only have to craft one legendary and you can use it on all of your characters. No more swapping via the shared inventory slots. This is an extra incentive for me to finally craft that first legendary and maybe even more. But before that, there are a few things that I’ve to do. Level my crafting to 500. I still haven’t done that for every profession.

Goals

  • Get all my characters to level 80
  • Level armorsmith, tailor, huntsman, artificer, and weaponsmith to 500
  • Unlock all Heart of Thorns masteries
  • Have 100% map completion with Naella Ysangwan on all maps available to me maps, excluding raids and WvW
  • Stay up to date with Icebrood Saga
  • Unlock all Living World masteries
  • Unlock the griffon mount
  • Unlock the skyscale mount
  • Full ascended armor set for ranger
  • Full ascended armor set for mesmer
  • Full ascended armor set for guardian
  • 100% map completion of Core Tyria for Miira
  • Bifrost

Guild Wars 15th anniversary

It’s the 15th anniversary of Guild Wars and the game is getting an update. The original game has been in maintenance mode for some time so no one expected a new patch. Especially not with ten new skills and new bosses to kill to capture those skills. I logged in a few days ago and I still see a lot of people in the hubs. I don’t know if they’re Guild Wars 2 players who want to fill up their Hall of Monuments, or just people who love Guild Wars so much they never moved on.

Overwhelmed

Let me just start off with a nice list. You’ll probably know where I’m going when you read it.

  • Guild Wars 2 Episode 1 of the Icebrood Saga came out
  • Diablo 3 Season 19 started
  • Stardew Valley 1.4 update came out
  • Pokemon Sword was released
  • The Sims Discover University came out

THERE’S SO MUCH THINGS I WANT TO DO!

Honestly, this is just the list of immediate things. I still have more I want to do, like finishing Dragon Age: Inquisition. But I’m not even counting those. My writing goals aren’t on this list either. Or all the Japan-related blog posts I want to write.

I’m overwhelmed. I’ve only been away for 12, 13 days, but so much has happened that I have a hard time catching up. I’m sorry if I haven’t read your posts, liked, or commented.

My husband says I have to prioritize, which is great advice. That puts Guild Wars 2 near the bottom of the list. I’ve unlocked the episode so I can play it whenever. The Diablo 3 season runs for another two months at least, so I don’t have to focus on that either. I really want to play the Stardew Valley update on the Switch, and that one hasn’t been released yet, which makes it less relevant. The Sims is a game I usually play when I’m not feeling too good, which isn’t now.

That leaves Pokemon Sword. Looking at it from this perspective has helped me to get rid of the overwhelmed feeling. I know what I want to do now (catch more wooloos, hope for a shiny).

I’m going to do another round of prioritizing with all of the things I want to do this month. I can already say that an amazing new project will be on my Instagram until Christmas day. Please check it out! The first post will be up soon.

The Scarred King by Rose Foreman & Josh Foreman – Spotlight

Today I want to do something different. Instead of talking about me and what’s been going on in my life, I want to give the spotlight to someone else. Josh Foreman. If you’re part of the Guild Wars 2 community, you’ll probably know this name and have experienced his work in-game.

His latest adventure is the release of his first book, co-written with Rose Foreman, his mother. The Scarred King: Exile is book one of three and part of the larger Tales of Talifar series. The story follows Bowmark on his journey to claim the throne.

He’s creating a new world, Talifar, through his stories. His experience as a game designer is definitely helpful and seeing work on the map was inspiring. (I still have to make a map of Lunis Aquaria.) He has information on new races and the areas on his site, and I suspect more will be added soon. Read his conceptual ideas to find out more.

On one of his recent streams, he mentioned that there are eleven books in the making for the overall series and I suspect more are coming. This is just the beginning. Josh has big ideas, which includes a game among others.

If you like fantasy adventure stories, check out The Scarred King and follow Josh on Twitter and Amazon. You can buy the ebook and the paperback on Amazon now.

Guild Wars 2 – The Confessor Is Dead

This isn’t really a spoiler for the players who have kept up with the Living World story, since this happened halfway season 3. If you haven’t played the episodes yet, stop reading since this post will be one big spoiler about my frustration with this one boss fight.

Patch Preview Privilege?

Some time ago, when the patch for The Head of the Snake came out, I was still writing for MMOgames and I was allowed to do the patch preview. I first thought this was marvelous. I was one of the few who could see everything of the new patch before it launched!

I didn’t care that I could only barely make it with my full time job, time zone differences and limited computer time. It was really fun to be able to see everything without risk of spoilers and truly experience the reveals as they came. And, I’ll be honest, I got a slight kick out of knowing something amazing that other players didn’t.

The previews that I wrote had to be as spoiler free as possible and it’s what I still try to do as much as possible when I’m writing about a movie, book or game. The upside of that was I wasn’t forced to complete the whole episode, but I did it anyways. I feel that I can’t comment on a story without experiencing it completely, so I always read/play/watch everything or I won’t write about it.

Spoilers ahead

The Head of the Snake

The Head of the Snake is the fourth episode in the Living World Season 3, which off after the story of Heart of Thorns. I actually remember very little about how the story got there, only the big outline. It doesn’t matter much for this post since I just want to talk about this one man. Minister Caudecus.

It was obvious from the first time that I did the story mode of the Caudecus Manor dungeon, that this wouldn’t be the last time we’d hear from that weasel. After the explosion in the Maguuma Jungle, it is revealed that Caudecus is the confessor of the White Mantle, a group of extremists. He wants to rule Tyria and he needed the bloodstone for its powers.

Long story short: he wants to overthrow Queen Jenna and you, the commander, stop him during this episode.

Now, the writing for this season was incredibly. It has a lot of twists and turns and I really enjoyed the new maps. But. I hated how they did the progression of the story steps. One of the steps in this episodes was simply to do events in the new map.

Well. Eh. I don’t care? I’m coming here for the story. I already run around the map and heard and saw a ton of things without specifically being told to do so. The progression of that bar was slow as hell. It only made me dislike it even more.

Doing events in open world is never really a problem since there are always people around to jump in and help. This is not the case in a patch preview. Players are very limited and most of us were doing our own thing, making cool screenshots, figuring out where all the collectables are, or doing things totally unrelated to the story and/or new map. 

Doing the events was a nightmare. Most of the enemies had some form of CC which made killing them in groups nearly impossible when you’re alone. Especially when you’re a super casual player who doesn’t know the optimal build and how to play the class the best they can. I’m a very average player. Maybe even below average.

I hated this. I also knew that I had limited time to finish the story, write up the article, sleep, eat, get on with my life, and work. I had a deadline and I don’t want to be late for a deadline set by someone else.

After I finally finished this step, I had to go back to Queen Jenna and the final plans were made to kill the head of the snake. I had to go to Caudecus’ Manor to deal with him.

Caudecus, a thing of evil

I hate you, Caudecus, with a passion. Not only for what you did, but also for everything that you’ve thrown my way in your manor. Your White Mantle friends, the bandits and jade constructs.

I hate you for what you did to Demmi. I hate you for sacrificing all those people. And I hate you for killing the parents of my main character.

But most of all, I hate your private dungeon. Covered in bloodstone, feeding your insanity. I hate your carvings on the walls that make it look like you’re staring at me from every direction. I hate the small size of it and you’re giant, flashy SFX for your skills. I hate how you make my camera flip through walls in a manner that gave me a headache. I hate how you summoned more of your minions while I tried to kick your ass. I hate how your jade constructs are tougher than you. I hate how you CC’d me with two skills and killed me. I hate how limited my mobility was in a small room with all your AoE. I hate that you killed me at least ten times before I managed to finish.

From the German GW2 Wiki

It took me over one and a half hour in preview to kill him. Last night I finally dared to do it on my own account and it took me 45 minutes. It was easier. Maybe they adjusted the battle a little so people like me wouldn’t have such a hard time with it.

I can genuinely say that I’m glad he’s dead. Not just because of his role in the story, but also because I know that I will never do this part of the story ever again. I managed to do two achievements and that’s more than enough. Should I ever want/need more achievements in this particular story step, I’ll be sure to bring others.

Not always good

After I finished the patch preview I could never get myself to finish this part of the episode. I knew what was coming and I hated having to do it again. That was one of the biggest downsides of being part of the preview.

A few weeks after I stopped writing for MMOgames and forfeited my right to be part of the previews, I started enjoying Guild Wars 2 again. Just a little, and only by doing certain things. But it was a start. I had my freedom again.

That’s when I learned that some (press) privileges aren’t always good. I do have to say that it depends on the person. I didn’t do well in these circumstances. Even without a full time job, I’d have to think twice before taking up such a writing job again.

I learned from this experience. I really enjoyed doing the previews and the dev team excellent in their support during those busy weekend. It’s just not for me.

This while Caudecus thing the reason why I didn’t play any of the following episode or the Path of Fire expansion with my main character. Not being able to do the story of my main, the character I’m most invested in, has hurt the enjoyment of the game. Now that I’m passed it, I’ll continue with her story, do the other episodes, the expansion story and the new episodes. It’ll take a while and I know that I’m playing through the story again. The big difference is that this progression is for myself.

One Class I Won’t Play

Is probably a tank. It just doesn’t fit my playstyle well. I prefer to play DPS with a healing ability since I play solo a lot. I could go tanky, but that often means that I have a low damage output and just messes up with my gaming vibe. I want the enemy’s HP bar to disappear in seconds.

Oceanmariee of Soul of the Forest blogged about this and it’s an interesting prompt, so I wanted to talk about what classes (or roles) I do play and why I won’t pick tank or melee classes as often. 

Arclight Varus

I used to have a laggy internet connection and was deathly afraid to play anything melee. Especially in League of Legends. I knew that I couldn’t jump into a fight, because that often meant that I was dead before my screen readjusted to real time. It sucked.

Now my internet connection is great and I rarely have lag anymore. I tried melee in multiple games now and I’m still on the fence if I like playing melee at all. It worked for my monk in Diablo 3, but I didn’t like the martial artist class in Blade & Soul. It might because of the game and the combat mechanics, I haven’t thought about that well enough.

Diablo III - The Treasure Realm
Greed: The Baroness of the Treasure Realm. This is bonus level which you can find in a portal left by a treasure goblin.

Even in Guild Wars 2 where each class can wield a multitude of weapons, often both melee and range, I tend to go for range. The bigger, the better. My main, a ranger, does have melee weapons in her bags so I can switch to sword or great sword when I know these will work better against the enemies I’m facing.

Guild Wars 2 Strider's Armor
Naella is wearing the Strider’s Armor, Rox’s Bow and Quiver.

I’m always looking for the most interesting class to play in a new game, where ‘most interesting’ is a class that isn’t be done by everyone else. Warriors, rangers, mages are old. Give me something interesting, something new. Think of a new way to crush demons. Maybe mind control them and have them eat their own brothers and sisters. It’s a nice twist on the classic necromancer. I’d play that.

Guild Wars 2 – Fanfiction

Just after setting my goals, I had an amazing offer. One of my goals was to write fanfiction again. If you’ve been here before you’ll probably have seen some Guild Wars 2 fanfics floating around (you can find them here). A few of my Guild Wars 2 friends decided to do an amazing collaboration between writers and artists for charity, a Wintersday zine.

Zorav is the mastermind behind this project, but she isn’t doing it alone. She’s had the help of wonderful people who coordinated and edited the fanfics to the masterpieces that they are now. She launched the crowfunding campaign to raise funds for the zines and anything beyond the production costs would go to charity. In the two charity events she moderated, $42,000 went to charity.

Taking part in such a zine has been an experience. There were 71 artists and writers who contributed. Each writer collaborated with an artist to tell their story. Amazing pieces were submitted, in both art and writing.

It felt weird to hold a book with my work in it. It isn’t the first time I’ve had my work in print, but this was different. This wasn’t a newspaper, this was something I was passionate about, with amazing art by Eames, in full colour, printed on gorgeous paper.  It was definitely something I’m proud of and I showed it off to anyone who wanted to see it (mostly family and friends who don’t know anything about Guild Wars 2).

The applications for the Wintersday Zine have been closed already, but the crowdfunding has yet to start. So if you’re interested in buying a zine filled with great art and stories, keep your eye out this fall.

Guild Wars 2 – Inventory Full

The nightmare of every RPG player, seeing the text “Inventory Full” appear on screen when you just killed a monster, loot is scattered and there’s a rare or unique item laying around. This happens to me quite often, especially in Guild Wars 2. My main’s inventory is filled with event and quest items. Things that I still have to turn in, but I don’t find the time. Every time I log in there’s a new event with tokens or new buff items (which I also rarely use). During a dungeon run or fractal I need to clear my inventory a few times, salvage all the rare items and of lower rarity.

Now, you have to know that I have about a dozen alts on who I can store everything, but they’re also full. My bank? Also full. I have too much crap laying around and I save everything ‘just in case I need it’. I have so many transformation potions which I don’t use. Tons of the best salvage kits which I don’t use since I have Salvage-O-Matic for my daily needs. Why do I save everything? Why do I not finish my quests?

I’ve taken a break from Guild Wars 2 since the beginning of the year and only recently started playing again, but I made one big change. I’ll leave the new stuff on the side while I focus on the old stuff. Finish a legendary, get my crafting to level 500, do some achievements for the old maps. Maybe finally do world completion for the Heart of Thorns areas. Who knows. I have mounts now so I know I’ll experience everything differently. Maybe I should try to get my griffon mount first. Since that will make things even easier. I can just fly to the top of canopy. I want to try to clear my inventory, even if it’s for a bit. I want to use my buff items. By the time it’s Halloween, I’ll have enough inventory space to farm the labyrinth again.

Graduation

When the cubs woke up a few days later, Primus Bayn wasn’t in the camp. They went ahead with their chores. It was Sennen’s turn to gather wood and Torruhk hunted some small animals. The others stayed in camp and helped the Bane Warband. Torruhk came back with his kill after an hour.

“Where’s my fire?” Torruhk shouted.

“Sennen isn’t back yet. Didn’t you see him?” Korina helped Torruhk to skin the animals.

“No, he went in another direction. He’s taking to long. I’ll stomp his tail when he get back.” He growled.

Korina punched his shoulder. “Don’t be mean. I’m sure he has his reasons.”

“I’ll go take a look. My stomach is growling as well.” Malkov ran off to find a high enough tree. He came back down soon. “He’s preoccupied with a lady. Seems a bit old, but eyes can deceive. Especially from this distance. He’ll be back soon.”

Torruhk growled again.

“Hi, sorry I’m late. I’ve got enough wood here.” Sennen panted as he dropped the firewood.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Malkov grinned.

“What?” Sennen looked up startled.

“I saw you with your lady friend. You can’t escape my eyes.” Malkov winked.

Sennen kept his silence. Torruhk was still annoyed and stomped on his tail.

“Ouch! Why did you do that?” Sennen rubbed his tail.

“You know why. We’re all hungry because of you. Do your duty.”

“Guys. Quit it. No need to go tail stomping. Let’s finish breakfast before Primus Bayn comes back. I suspect he is preparing for our graduation assignment. We have to be ready.” Miira came between them.

It wasn’t until well after noon that Primus Bayn came back.

“Ok, cubs. Last one.” Primus Bayn grinned. “I’ve been following the flame legion in the area for a while. And tonight we’re going to disrupt a meeting of theirs.”

Sennen froze for a moment.

“Now, no need to be scared. There is only a few of them and they’re not high ranked. They’re meeting a charr from the iron legion and hope to recruit him. They don’t know he was undercover for me. He won’t come, but you will. The flame legion usually sends three charr for a recruitment meeting. One spokesperson and two guards. We’re meeting in front of an old guard tower. Besides the ruins, it’s an open field. And one tree for Malkov. The guards are weaker than the spokesperson. I honestly don’t get why they bring guards, since the spokesperson has far more power. But hey, Flame Legion is a special kind of special.”

The cubs snickered.

“We’re going to have an early dinner and leave before the sun starts setting. You have until then to figure out a strategy.” Primus Bayn saluted and walked away. This was something the cubs had to do themselves. He wasn’t supposed to be involved any longer.

“Alright. Open field, tree, ruins. Malkov, like Primus Bayn said, the tree is yours. I want you to shoot the guards in the knees to cripple them. Sennen and Torruhk will kill the guard you hit first. Korina, you will terror the other two as a distraction. In those two seconds, you and I will take care of the other guard. If you notice the other charr comes to his senses, distract him again, until all five of us can focus on the spokesperson.”

“Hey, why do you get to kill one alone?” Torruhk asked Miira.

“I’m not. Korina and I will.”

“But she also has to keep the main kitten preoccupied.”

“Those are big words from you. Do you think I can’t do it?” Korina was agitated.

“It just don’t seem fair.” Torruhk was pouting.

“Tor, her spells can affect multiple targets. If they stand close together, she can hit both with one spell. If Primus Bayn is right, we can have them both down in seconds. Then you can charge the spokesperson.” Miira assured him.

“You know this isn’t a matter of fairness. This is a real battle. We have to complete our objective. As a warband. There is no unfairness between the warband members. No jealousy. Victory is ours, not just one person’s.” She continued.

Torruhk sighed and gave up. He couldn’t win when Miira started using reason.

“How are we going to approach this? I mean, if it’s one big open field, they’ll see us coming.” Sennen asked.

“Malkov will be in the tree. Torruhk and I will be at the meeting place. You and Korina can hide behind the tree and initiate a ranged attack after Malkov’s first arrow. I suspect they’ll be coming from the ruins, so just keep out of sight from there.”

Miira didn’t like that she didn’t know the place. It meant they had to improvise. Not Sennen’s strongest point. She knew Korina would follow her. Malkov just shot whoever was not on their side. Torruhk just hit what was in front of him. She had to be ready and quick with any decisions. There wasn’t anything more she could do now.

The cubs prepared their weapons, ate, and headed off to the ruins.

Primus Bayn walked with them until the edge of the hill. The ruins were visible at the top of the hill.

“This is it, cubs. This will be my last act as your Primus. You either fail and become gladium, or succeed and become the best warband of your generation. I’ve taught you everything you need to know. You’ve done great and made me proud every step of the way. I’ll still be proud of you no matter what happens.” Primus Bayn wanted to inspire them.

“Jeez, ‘no matter what happens’? Have a little faith in us, old man. We’re going to kick their ass. I’m going to be the greatest! I mean, we, of course.” smirked Sennen.

Korina elbowed him in the ribs. “Get off your high horse. We haven’t won yet. I wish you’d save that energy for the fight.” Her voice trembled.

“Nervous, are we?” Sennen still had a big grin on his face.

“Sennen, stop it. You’re being a jerk.” Miira came between them.

“What? She’s being a pussy. If she’s afraid of the Flame Legion, she should just be gladium.” Sennen crossed his arms.

Torruhk’s fist flew towards Sennen’s snout and connected before anyone saw it coming.

“Ouch!” Sennen stepped back and covered his nose.

“Torruhk! Please! Guys, seriously. Stop it or I’ll have this mission cancelled. Sennen, shut up. Torruhk, save your strength. We need it, but not now and certainly not against our own warband.”

“Don’t worry. I didn’t use my strength.” Torruhk said with a hint of arrogance.

Miira glared at him and saw him shrink. Sennen wisely kept his mouth shut, still rubbing his nose.

“Do your thing and make sure you’re back before dinner. I want you to prepare for this battle. Sharpen your weapons, clear your mind, be prepared.” Miira was steadfast. She didn’t blink. She looked everyone in the eye to make sure they took her seriously. Her voice sounded resolute. At that moment she felt the respect the others have for her, as did Primus Bayn.

Prmius Bayn sat down next to her as she was sharpening the blade of her greatsword.

“You did good, kid. You’re the reason why the five of you work so well together. They know that. Do you?” He asked.

Miira hesitated for a second. “Yes. I think I did. Before we split up, I felt their eyes on me, like they were waiting. I know Korina is scared, but so is Sennen. His eyes betrayed him. He tried to hide it by keeping his paw over his nose. I still felt it, though.”

“You have a gift for this, Miira. You feel what your warband brothers and sister feel. You don’t copy their feelings, but you know how to read them and how to use it. I honestly wish we had someone like that when I was younger.”

The camp was quiet. The other cubs had left to prepare and Miira was the only one to behind. The sound of her sharpening stone sliding of the blade was the only sound to be heard. Primus Bayn sat there quietly thinking. Miira felt something was off. She was waiting for him to speak, but he didnt.

“Tell me.” she said.

Primus Bayn looked up surprised. “What?”

“Whatever it is your thinking about. Your thinking is giving me a headache. Just tell me. I know you want to.”

“You’re sharp.” Primus Bayn sighed. “I really hope I made the right choice. This is a hard mission. Harder than most graduation missions, but we needed someone to intervene and I know you can do it. You’re the best warband I’ve seen in all my years as Primus. Maybe there are still some internal struggles, but you can handle them.”

Primus Bayn started fidgeting with his dagger. Miira stopped sharpening and looked at them.

“Miira, I’m not supposed to tell you this. And they’ll probably banish me just for saying it. I don’t care anymore. Your name will be Miira Lightbringer when this mission is over. This may sound like the cheesiest thing ever, but you brought me light. The light of your staff does, but your personality as well. I’m sure you’ll bring back the light for many people. Especially since the dragons are stirring. Tyria needs someone like you. Many of them.”

“Primus Bayn, you’re depressing. You talk as if this is the last time we’ll see each other. That’s not true, right?” Miira looked at him expectantly.

“It just might be the last time. I don’t know. All of your names are with the Bane Warband, so even if I’m gone, they can do your naming ceremony.” Primus Bayn made an attempt to leave.

“Wait! You will see us off, won’t you?” Miira jumped on her paws and grabbed his arm.

“Yes, I’ll escort you to the meeting place. After that I’m not allowed to assist you any longer.” He couldn’t bear to look at her.

Miira dropped her sword and hugged him. “Thank you, Primus, for everything you’ve done for us. I wish you were my sire. I’d be proud to have you as my sire.”

Primus Bayn held her for a second. “Thank you. Hearing that means a lot to me. I’ve to go now. I’ll meet you all later.”

Dinner passed by quietly. The cubs were tense and Torruhk and Sennen still wanted each other’s throats. There wasn’t much Miira could do about that. Stubborn men. They cleaned up their camp and stored it in the Bane main camp. All they needed tonight were their weapons and luck.

The sun was already setting when they left camp. The meeting place wasn’t very far from the camp. Just half an hour walk. Malkov climbed the tree with ease and looked to see if he saw the Flame Legion yet. No sign. Primus Bayn left the cubs alone and walked back towards the camp.

Miira sighed as she looked at his back. She had decided that she would visit him after their victory, wherever he was. Miira nodded towards Torruhk and they walked up the hill together. Sennen and Korina stayed behind the tree trunk.

Malkov whistled when he saw the Flame Legion coming. Miira and Torruhk were ready. Malkov drew back an arrow and Korina and Sennen held their staves tightly.

The Flame Legion looked surprised to see Miira and Torruhk.

“I wasn’t expecting a bunch of kids.” the spokesperson said. “Let’s go. They’re a waste of time.”

“Wait. We want to join the Flame Legion. We’re serious.” Miira called out.

“We don’t recruit kids. Come back when you are strong and ready to fight.” The shaman growled. “I have no time for this.”

“Sir, we are the strongest cubs in the Citadel. The council knows who we are and they’re ready to send us out on missions we don’t agree with. My… My sire is also with the Flame Legion. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed when you see us fight.” Miira bluffed her way through it. What she said was a half truth. She had heard rumours that her sire was with the Flame Legion, but she never knew for sure. It was also true that the council heard of them and she was sure they already had a mission ready for them. It wasn’t true that they disagreed with the council.

“Fine. If you’re so desperate to convince me, then show me your strength.” The charr crossed his arms and waited. The two guards he brought hadn’t said a thing and just stood besides him.

Miira and Torruhk looked at each other, unsure what to do.

“What are you waiting for? Attack each other! I came to recruit one charr, not two. The one who lives comes with me. If you can’t kill the other, I’ll make sure both of you are dead.” He kept a straight face and waited.

Miira grabbed her greatsword and stepped back to give Torruhk some space. She looked at Torruhk to see what was happening behind her. He could see Malkov in the tree. He blinked the second Malkov’s arrow left the string. He roared to covered up the sound. Miira was impressed and surprised. Torruhk was moving towards her as if he wanted to engage in a swordfight.

Not sure what he was planning, she called up her defense and held the sword in front her to block him if necessary. She then heard one of the guards crying out. Torruhk immediately changed his route and jumped towards the guard, stabbing him in his other knee.

Korina appeared and cursed the two other charr into terror. Miira jumped on the second guard and hit him on his helmet. Malkov shot his knee. Sennen also appeared used water magic to help Torruhk. He tried to stay out of range of the Flame Legion and walked towards the ruins.

Suddenly a fireball flew through the air. It hit Torruhk and Sennen as they prepared for a combined attack. Both charr flew backwards. Korina quickly summoned a well of corruption on the first guard. Malkov sent down a rain of arrows, enough to leave the charr crippled and near dead. The poison and bleeding wounds were enough to kill him.

Miira swung her sword around her and tried to hit both charrs at once. A few of her swings hit. It wasn’t enough to seriously damage either of them. She summoned a symbol of wrath on the ground. It wasn’t much, but it would retaliate some of the damage.

She saw mark appear beneath her. Korina placed a mark to help her as well. It would help her heal if she needed it. Malkov was focusing on bringing down the other guard. She saw the shaman turning around and about to throw another fireball, but this time she aimed for the tree. The shaman had found Malkov.

Miira jumped towards the shaman and distracted him for a second. The fireball missed Malkov, but the tree was lit. Malkov had to get out of the tree and jumped down into the bushes. Korina summoned more marks around Miira. She was Miira’s support in this fight. They had to kill the shaman before he could do more damage to them. In close range, Miira had the advantage. The shaman’s attacks took longer to charge than she needed to get out of the way. She slashed his legs and arms through his cloth robe. Her symbol of wrath and Korina’s marks protected her enough to kill him.

The guard was pulling out the arrows, took off his helmet and threw it aside.

“You dumb kids don’t know who you’re dealing with!” he roared.

Miira was still swinging her blade as the fireball flew past her. She didn’t see it coming and was shocked. She hadn’t expected the guard to still be alive.

“Korina! Quick!” she shouted.

Korina called up another mark to induce fear, but she wasn’t quick enough. Another fireball released before he was feared. This one did hit Miira.

She fell back, glad that she had enough protection. Her armor was hot, but she couldn’t give up. It took her a few second before she was up again.

The fire shaman summoned another fireball. He aimed at Torruhk lying a few meters away.

“No!” screamed Miira. She ran towards the shaman with her greatsword and launched an attack when she saw a flash out of the corner of her eye. The fireball left its summoner’s hands. Miira feared the worst. The blade of her sword cleaved the shaman in his side. He backed down, but it was already too late. The fireball had hit its target.

Screams of agony filled the meadow. Something snapped in Miira’s brain. Her friend was dead. The shaman had to pay the same price. She raised her greatsword again and blindly started slashing in his direction. The shaman was still bleeding from one of Malkov’s arrows. A few seconds later another arrow hit the shaman in the arm. This gave her some hope that not all of her friends were dead. She jumped on the shaman and drove her greatsword through his neck, killing him. She stepped off the body after she made sure he was dead.

Miira needed a moment to realise what had happened. She turned around to see what was left of Torruhk and saw the body still burning. She ran towards him and started to cry. Her grief pulled her down as she covered her face with her hands. She couldn’t believe it. Her friend was dead because of her. She made the wrong call.

A paw squeezed Miira’s shoulder. “Mi, look up. You’re wrong.” It was Korina. “Trust me.” Her voice was barely audible.

The white charr raised her head and let her hands fall along her body. The flames were dying and the body was visible. The charred remains lay before her clear as day. What did Korina mean? Why was she wrong? All Korina did was nod towards the body. She looked again. The smoke cleared and that’s when she saw red fur. Torruhk wasn’t the one who got hit. Someone had jumped to shield him.

She jumped on all four and ran towards her friend who lay a few meters behind the burning corpse. Torruhk was still alive, but only barely. She immediately started calling on her spells to help him heal enough to get away from this place. He could fully recover later.

Korina’s arm was wrapped around Malkov for support. Her side was burned. Malkov didn’t show any sign of injuries, but he looked exhausted. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t do anything. I was too far away to be of any good use.” he apologized.

Miira shook her head. “You did well. Your arrows landed and they definitely hurt them.” she said, still focussing on Torruhk.

“Korina, who is… Where is Sennen?” Miira asked.

“Guys! Don’t forget me!” Sennen’s voice came from behind the ruins.

The three charr turned around to see the fifth member of their Warband lumping towards them.

“Sennen! You’re alright! Well, more or less. You’re not dead.” Malkov said impressed. “I thought you were a goner when I couldn’t see you anymore.”

Sennen grinned and joined his friends. He looked at the remains. “Who is that? What happened?”

“I don’t know who it is, but I have a bad feeling,” stumbled Miira.

Torruhk groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Miira was the first one he recognized. “I like you better with a smile.” he said.

Miira had her eyes closed for a better focus and didn’t notice her friend waking up until he said something. The relief was visible on her face and she hugged him.

“Ouch. Be careful with the patient, please. I think my ribs are either bruised or broken. And my leg feels dead,” Torruhk laughed. “What happened? The last thing I can remember is this huge fireball coming towards me.”

Miira told everyone what happened. After she finished her story, she walked over to the corpse. The fire had died out and she could see parts of the charr’s armor and weapons.

Malkov immediately recognized the sword. “It’s Primus Bayn!” he said. “He jumped in front of the fireball to save you. I knew he was around but never in my life did I expect him to give his life for us.”

“What do you mean? He was a great charr and good educator.” Korina looked at Malkov with surprise and punched him softly. She had liked him very much. “If you thought anything less of him, you suck and I hate you.”

“He died in battle, just like he wanted.” Miira looked down at the remains of their Primus. “He was a good educator. He allowed us to come this far and we have to go further. He is the reason that we were able to find our talents and bring them together. Without it, we all would have died today. His sacrifice won’t be in vain. Our Warband will be the greatest there ever was. And maybe we can prevent other charr from being burned alive by the Flame Legion.”

“How did you know what he wanted?” Korina asked.

“I spoke to him before we left. Something didn’t feel right and I wanted to know if my gut feeling was right. I would never have agreed to do the mission if it was too dangerous.” Miira explained. She looked up at her friends while still kneeling down. “This was important to him. Maybe his death was planned, I’m not sure. He was afraid what the council would do to him. Death in battle was what he wanted most out of the alternatives.”

Malkov nodded. He heard sniffling and looked to his right to see tears welling up in Korina’s eyes. He gave her his handkerchief.

Sennen was still standing close to Torruhk, using one of his healing spells. He prefered to be attuned with fire, but his friend needed the power of water. Torruhk was conscious, but he still wasn’t able to get up. Sennen shifted on his feet, looking around nervously. He felt more uncomfortable each minute they stayed in the area.

“Miira, can you help out? Maybe we can get away from this place soon. I don’t like it here.” Sennen called over.

Miira sent more of her healing power to Torruhk and Malkov wrapped his wounds. It took awhile before Torruhk to be able to stand again. Sennen and Malkov supported Torruhk, while Miira supported Korina as they headed back to the Black Citadel.

Badazar incarnated

The next morning a charr came running towards the camp.

“The grawl are back and they almost finished their ritual!” He shouted.

Miira grabbed her staff and asked the others to come with her. Since she couldn’t plan anything new, they had to use the strategy of the day before, but by the time they reached the statue it was already too late.

“Damn, they finished.” Growled the charr.

“Legionnaire, may I ask for your name? We’re just a fahrar, but we’ll do our best to help you fight whatever is coming.” Miira asked.

“Legionnaire Zagan Bendsteel. I was patrolling the area when I heard the grawl chanting. Isn’t it up to the Bane Warband to make sure the grawl stay quiet?” The charr answered.

“Yes, we chased the grawl away yesterday, even killed a few. One of them said that they’ll be back. I didn’t expect them back so soon.” Miira explained while they waited for the horror coming.

“You’re just a bunch of cubs. The Bane should’ve been there, not you.” Legionnaire Bendsteel didn’t even look at her.

Torruhk and Sennen were standing next to the bodies of the grawl involved in the ritual. They had rushed in immediately blasting and slashing at the grawl cheering for the successful ceremony, while Korina and Miira stayed back with Legionnaire Bendsteel at the edge of the valley.

Malkov had taken up the same sniper spot as the day before, looking towards the far end of the valley. He shot every grawl coming into view. If they didn’t die, Korina would be close by to scare them off, or kill them.

Suddenly, they heard a roar. Not the small ones the grawl unleashed occasionally, but much lower, ground trembling roar. Malkov saw a large silhouette approaching and readied his bow. He gave Miira a sign that something was coming. Something bigger than a grawl.

“Malkov! Cripple it! Shoot it in the knee!” Miira shouted. Malkov drew back his bow and aimed for the knee. He released the arrow and it founds its way into the side of the knee of the beast. He launched a series of arrows against it. Its skin was sturdy but they did damage.

Miira noticed it was still a grawl, but bigger. It looked different than the others. Its aura felt feral. A small group of regular grawl followed it and chanted to Badazar.

“Malkov, focus on the big one. Korina, keep the small ones occupied. We’ll finish them off together. Sennen, Torruhk, I want you to kill the big one. Let’s go!” Miira gave her orders, reached for her greatsword and jumped into the group of grawl.

Legionnaire Bendsteel looked at the fahrar as they took out the grawl. Even the champion of Badazar didn’t last long. It was crippled, bleeding and set ablaze in seconds after it showed its face. The other grawl were so focused on their new champion that they forgot to protect themselves. Miira and Korina had killed them quickly.

The five cubs came together to celebrate their victory, high pawed each other and laughed. Sennen and Torruhk gave the girls a vivid description how their battle went. Legionnaire Bendsteel approached them.

“You did well, young one. I was wrong to think of you as ‘just a fahrar’. What’s your name?” He asked Miira.

“I’m Miira and these are Korina, Sennen, Malkov and Torruhk. We have yet to earn our Warband names.” Miira answered.

“Good to meet you, Miira. You have potential. You can be sure that your victory will be reported. Good work, soldier.” Legionnaire Bendsteel saluted and headed back to the Black Citadel.

They beamed “at the praise”. This victory also meant that their graduation would come much sooner if the news reached the council. Primus Bayn had to be proud. Miira thought back to their conversation. Their graduation would also mean his retirement. Miira felt conflicted. The others didn’t know and she wouldn’t tell them. It wasn’t her place. She hoped she could save him from disgrace somehow.

Guild Wars 2 - Grawling Preparations

Grawling Preparations

In the morning the warband was visited by their ethereal foes again. Miira took charge of her group again, while the Bane warband manned their usual posts. She adjusted her plans from the night before based on her observations of that battle. And it worked, with the ghost’s morale breaking earlier than the previous attack.

Afterwards, Primus Bayn decided that the cubs should take on one of the smaller tasks of the Bane warband. Grawl were converging on a nearby statue of the human god Balthazar. Although in their usual unintentionally hilarious way,  they called him Badazar.

“Pff, really? Badazar? Are they that stupid? Besides, why would you even worship anything?” laughed Malkov.

“I doubt that what the grawl do is actually worshipping. They believe in something though, and that can be a powerful thing.” Miira said.

“Jeez, look who’s acting all grown up. Talking smart.” Sennen mocked her.

“No, she’s right. I once heard of the norn who joined Jormag, the svanir. Jormag gives them his power, because they believe in him.” Torruhk.

“But he’s a damned dragon. Balthazar is not. He doesn’t even exist.” Sennen raised his voice.

“No, the human gods left Tyria, at least that’s what the humans say. I hope we killed them when we took back Ascalon. Maybe we can find some time to join the Bane warband and go to the crypt. The statue of the goddess Dwayna is in there. Maybe her ghost will be as well.” Primus Bayn explained. He’d heard rumors about a non-hostile ghost appearing there. One who resembled the statue.

“Why did their gods leave? And how? Did they die?” Korina shivered at the thought of death. If even gods couldn’t avoid death, how could she?

“That I don’t know, little one. I’d bet if you asked someone from the Durmand Priory, they would know. Maybe you should visit them someday.” Primus Bayn said.

“For now we have to focus on the grawl and their ‘ritual’.” Miira brought them back to the present. “They’re gathering around this statue of Balthazar, god or not, and we have to stop them. Who knows what happens when they complete this ritual.”

Primus Bayn nodded. He was proud of her willingness to lead, but it also put him in second place. He knew that it wasn’t his warband. He would have to leave them soon. But seeing them growing up so fast, he felt sad. He’d never found a mate, so he saw his fahrars as his children. Even though he knew that he would never have spent as much time with his own cub as he did with the fahrars. It was strange. The love he felt for the cubs would never be the same as the love of a parent for their cub.

Primus Bayn looked at Miira as she talked about possible strategies. She questioned everyone about what they knew about the grawl and how they fought. None of them had fought grawl before. The only thing they knew anything about was the area surrounding the statue. They borrowed a map from Marin and made notes on it.

Sennen cut off one side of the valley with fire. Malkov attacked from atop the cliffside, sniping them from above. Korina instilled fear in the grawl. Miira and Torruhk attacked the grawl head on. Only moments after they’d started their assault, the grawl had either fled or were dead. One of the grawl screamed “We’ll be back!” as he skipped away. Malkov had an arrow ready to fire, but Miira stopped him. The grawl’s retreat was all they needed.

The cubs came back to the camp excited. They’d fought new enemies today and won. Sennen, Malkov and Torruhk were making fun of the grawl and their lack of intelligence.

“Tor.” Miira only had to say his name and Torruhk knew what to do. He jumped into a salute and said “Yes, Miss!” before running off.

“Where’s he going?” asked Korina.

“Taking care of dinner.” Miira answered.

Malkov’s eyes opened with surprise. “I want to go too. Maybe I can shoot my own boar.” He grabbed his bow from his shoulder and ran after Torruhk.

“I bet they’ll be fighting to kill the biggest boar.” Korina laughed.

“Boys will be boys.” Giggled Miira.

Sennen lagged behind the rest of the group, the way he usually did . He was in deep thought and didn’t see Korina standing in front of him. He bumped his head against the Quaggan backpack she always carried around with her. “Ouch. What do you keep in that thing? Jeez.”

“Maybe if you just paid attention, you wouldn’t bump into me.” Korina snapped back.

“Aren’t you becoming too old for Quaggan stuff?” Sennen rubbed his snout.

“Why don’t you go play with Miss Hotness instead of bugging me?” Korina cherished her backpack, because it was the last thing her mother had given her. It helped her deal with her anxieties.

Miira let the two fight it out and reported back to Primus Bayn. They evaluated the mission together. At the end Primus Bayn asked “Why did you let the grawl live? Why not let Malkov kill him?”

“Because I don’t kill for sport. The grawl don’t have any idea what they’re doing. Killing something for its lack of intelligence is wrong. If it was the right thing to do, Tyria would be a lot less crowded.” Miira had a serious look in her eyes. She held on to her values firmly, even if others thought her weak because of it.

“Miira, I admire your sense of justice, but sometimes you should show less mercy to your enemies. Not everyone has a good heart and stupidity can be very dangerous. I’m not saying you acted wrong in this case, but think about it. You might be dealing with dragons and dragon minions later. You have to be careful with the calls you make. Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture.” Primus Bayn said, trying to prepare her for the evil that lurked beyond the outskirts of the Black Citadel. The fight against his branded brothers still haunted his dreams regularly.

Miira nodded. He did have a point. But she was certain that she’d made the right choice this time.

 

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Guild Wars 2 Fiction

Miira Lightbringer:
Fried Moa Steak
Quiet Before the Storm

Young Miira:
Tail Tugging Part 1
A Promise Made Part 2
Night Falls Part 3
Grawling Preparations Part 4
Badazar Incarnated Part 5
Graduation Part 6 - Final

Savyrius Belain:
We Meet Again...

Naella Ysangwan:
Dogs and Ogres

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