#vorpp

[dasozelotvonnebenan]

Hi yes hello please let me tell you about my small and easily exploitable son Vorpp Jr.

He is the son of that Vorpp. He doesn't like that fact, but not for any moral reasons, he's just annoyed that everyone keeps bringing it up. He doesn't care about his dad's work, just leave him alone.

He worked in Rata Primus in the lab where they brand devourers. He's a necromancer so he has some unique ways of looking at them. He's just an assistant though, no one would ever take orders from him.

He does not understand the concept of lying. On a fundamental level. This makes it very easy for people to take advantage of him. He does some impressive mental gymnastics to make seemingly opposite statements both be true at the same time. You could tell him you are a bee and he will believe you. Clearly he must have missed something when he learned what bees are, since you are obviously a bee.

When the awakened attacked Rata Primus even though they didn't he ran away with another asura from his lab. (even though everything was fine obviously) He insists he simply relocated his lab and is continuing to work for the inquest it's just that there is no one around to tell him what to do so his job currently constists of doing nothing.

Alright peeps time for another Show Off Your Characters post.

Can't believe I haven't made this one already, but today's topic is: Inquest!

Share the worst of your worst. I want to see all your amoral criminals, tortured minds & misunderstood tragedies. Talk about them as much or little as you want, drop some pics. 3, 2, 1 go:

[soulbeastdragon]

Pretty much all my Sylvari excluding my "alternate timeline" ones.

Brief descriptions for each under the cut.

Roaj/Dreamvoid Roaj - any gender and/or pronoun others perceive them as The Pact Commander. Both screenshots are the same person; Roaj's appearance changed after getting juiced up during Heart of Thorns. They almost got blighted into a Mordrem but got rescued by Aurenthir and Malyck. They died during Path of Fire and the Commander mantle went to both to Rensai (a Human dude) and Lyikera.

Lyikera - genderless | she/her Mordremoth's dormant Scion who awakened when Mordremoth was defeated and all that dragon magic went into her pod (and in Glint's egg) inside Tarir. She became soul-bound to Aurene when they both hatched/awakened together in the egg chamber. Lyikera and Aurene consider each other sisters.

Daybloom Ceara - female | she/her My Scarlet Briar toon. In my story, she is the older podtwin to Aurnethir. In the main timeline, she follows canon story and dies. In my "blighted" timeline, Aurenthir kinda "resurrects" her through Watchwork parts and Asuran (later Canthan) technology.

Aurenthir - male | he/him My Dreamless Sylvari. He and his podtwin were severed from the Dream when they awakened. The reason for this was never explained to him and he went through his early Sapling days lamenting the fact he couldn't connect with his own kin. Aurenthir's timeline splits depending if he was caught and experimented on by Vorpp's krewe. In the main timeline, Aurenthir was caught and that leads to the present day Aurenthir where he's helping the Pact and ex-Mordrem and became a dad figure to Aurene and Lyikera. In the alternate timeline, he wasn't caught and became Mordremoth's Herald.

Dreamless Malyck - male | he/him My Malyck clone who gets to adventure with Aurenthir in my story. He's a wanderer after helping with taking down Modremoth.

Warden Iredyne - male | he/him A Warden Captain of the Grove who was in charge of protecting the Hamlet of Annwen. He used to negotiate for the release of Dreamers from the Nightmare Court, or just cut down the Courtiers on his patrols. One negotiation went afoul and he was captured by Ardjin's krewe and experimented on. Iredyne was spliced with his fern hound and became something that can take on the forms of a Sylvari (with fern hound features such as ears and a tail), a huge fern hound (think of that Alpha Nightmare Hound in Caledon), and a bipedal werebeast known as a lykos.

Warden Kehydin - male | he/him The podtwin to Iredyne. Kehydin admired his brother and supported him. Iredyne was considered killed in action and that event caused Kehydin to turn to the Nightmare Court. He originally went into the Court to seek revenge, but eventually the Nightmare warped his mind and he became known as the Knight of Mutilations.

Mender Vyranaveld - male | he/him Vy was a meek and kind Mender of the Grove. He only wanted to help others, healing their wounds and soothing pains. He was apprenticed under Lanisera (he viewed her as a mother) and had a very promising future. Unfortunately, 1 too many bad events would happen and he'd fall to Nightmare and later became known as the Count of Pains.

Pale Reaver Gaelan - male | he/him Gaelan was a Warden Captain who helped Caithe mentor and train sapling Roaj. His dearheart was Aevynna. He became a Pale Reaver when Trahearne recommended he join the fight against Zhaitan. Gaelan would die when Mordremoth brought down the Pact Fleet.

Warden Aevynna - female | she/her Aevynna was Gaelan's Dearheart and a fellow Warden. She helped Caithe mentor and train sapling Roaj. Aevynna would also join the Pale Reavers with Gaelan. During Heart of Thorns, she watched Gaelan die and this broke her. She would be seen throughout the jungle and in Bloodstone Fen, crazed with Bloodstone magic and consuming Bloodstone Rubies.

Resiloro - male | he/him My Arizona Tea Can Priory Scribe. He was sorta a journalist, following the Pact and writing down the events in order to preserve history. He was good friends with Sieran and an apprentice to Magister Luura. He might be the lead for SotO storyline, I'm still working on that.

Duke Caderyn - male | he/him My Cadeyrn clone. He had a very small part in my story and then follows through canon story. I feel so bad for this dude, honestly. He just gets killed by the Player with no fanfare, and most of the time Players don't even know he started up the Nightmare Court. He was overshadowed by Faolain -.- Anyway in my story, he was Aurenthir's first lover that didn't last long lol

Lanisera - female | she/her Lani was a Secondborn Sylvari who idolized Faolain. Lani would follow Faolain, becoming one of Faolain's first Duchesses within the Court. Lani would disguise herself as a mentor of the Grove, scouting for potential or unsure Dreamers to persuade into the Court. She was a big believer in coaxing Dreamers rather than kidnapping and torturing them to join the Nightmare (my headcanon is the more unhinged Courtiers were ones forced into the Court while Courtiers who seem more leveled joined willingly). After HoT, Lani would restructure the Court with Duchess Chrysanthea.

Deturavil - male | he/him Deturavil was known as the Duke of Hounds as he was a Kennelmaster in the Court. He and Lani had a thing for a bit, but due to throwing her "son" Vyranaveld into the dog pits, that strained their relationship and eventually they "took a break" and never got back together again. Deturavil was the Duke overseeing the Courts in Brisban and he was also responsible for allying with the Inquest and the Bandits there.

Pale Reaver Solaria - female | she/her Solaria had a dearheart named Lunaria. Lunaria was captured by Ardjin's krewe and experimented on. Lunaria was turned into a Mist creature that escaped and returned to Solaria. Solaria left the Pale Reavers to join Lunaria in the Mists since Lunaria couldn't last long out of it.

Relmsi - female | she/her Relmsi is a Sylvari who awakened after Mordremoth's defeat. She's got less connection to the Dream and doesn't uphold the tenants of Ventari. She's a free spirit who loves adventures and sex. She's a treasure hunter and is often hired by the Priory or rich nobles to seek out and retrieve rare relics.

Albestrom Velis - male | he/him He was supposed to be a Mordrem before Zhaitan's magic gave Mordremoth Death magic, so Albestrom doesn't have the "undead" design mixed with plant. He's just all plant infused with ley-line energy. I typically call him the "pure" Mordrem haha

Remic Keeneye - female | she/her Remic is my Tengu based on a Secretary Bird. She's an avid krait-killer. She was befriended by Aurenthir and Ceara, and she still keeps in touch with Aurenthir years later.

Asterlisia - genderless | she/her or they/them My Mist Dragon that was ripped outta the Mists and plopped into Tyria when Kralkatorrik ripped through the Mists. She didn't really have a physical form when she was place in Tyria and her magic took up Kralkatorrik's magic and Brand to build a body for herself.

Saladbowld - male | he/him my joke toon who was a Caladbolg gijinka that I got too attached to. Now he's known as The Drowned Reaper and has a whole backstory connecting to the Mad Realm. He's also my main Fractal toon.

Daydreamer Ilyona - genderless | she/her or they/them An Aspect of the Pale Tree, Ilyona protects and guides new Dreamers before they awaken into Tyria. She's guarded the Dream from Mordremoth's influence, up until the Shadow of the Dragon attacked. She did her best to keep the Dream safe, but the attack left her (along with the rest of the Pale Tree) very weak and the only thing she could do was close the path to awakening.

Belavalla - genderless | she/her or they/them Belavalla is another Aspect of the Pale Tree. She guides dead Sylvari back to the Dream.

Granddad Mordremoth - genderless | he/him My Mordremoth toon. I just use him for Dragonstand and he takes selfies of himself u.u

[hawkepockets]

[kornyo]

Oh well now you have me CURIOUS so, here outside of tags, tell me about those PoF death experiences 👀

@mystery-salad

i’ll never say no to unleashing my oc lore gates 🫶 be warned. this will be long. like 800 words type of long . for context i will be explaining important backstory first that will be related to the pof story descriptions . and obviously spoiler warning !

starting with my first commander, zoya. zoya already has a complicated relationship with life and death from the get go, which only gets worse during path of fire.

zoya is a secondborn, podsister to canach actually. and just like him, she was abducted to vorpp’s research lab and experimented on. vorpp was draining her of her life force to power his golems, and she actually succumbed to these experiments and died in the lab days before caithe and faolain arrived. her body was discarded into the sea, and to canach and everyone else, she was dead.

and she was dead, her body had been drifting in the ocean for weeks, if not months, before she washed up on the cursed shore in orr. when she did, she caught the attention of the eye of zhaitan, who until now had not seen any of mordremoth’s minions.

now, due to the fact she is mordremoth’s minion (despite the pale tree cutting them off), sylvari can’t be corrupted by the other dragons, but i feel like at the time of the secondborn it was not widely known/confirmed for certain yet.

so, like he does, zhaitan tried to corrupt her and convert her into one of his undead minions - after all, if this would work, he could yoink his brother’s minions for his purposes and his army would grow even further. while the „corruption“ did not succeed - her tie to

mordremoth saved her from becoming his minion - he did somewhat revive her in the process, but not fully. zoya, now technically dead and alive at the same time but not having access to zhaitans power to keep her alive, is forced to absorb life force from other creatures to stay alive. hence, her being a necromancer. she stays in orr for a while, no idea of who she is and who she was previously, until she eventually encounters trahearne during his travels in orr and he takes her back with him to the grove. together they both study orr and try to solve his dream of cleansing it.

so when zoya dies during the fight with balthazar (to the sword rammed into her chest), her afterlife is different than the one in game. she wakes up floating in the ocean, like when she was dead for the first time, alone, no memory of who she is and who she is supposed to be yet again. but she’ll swim to the cursed shore this time, and meet the judge who will guide her through the domain of the lost, regaining her memory (even before her first death) to now.

however, it is not necessarily the judge that brings her back to ‚life‘, it is she herself who uses the power from defeating zhaitan in her memories to bring herself back into the realm of the living. she still retains her ‚undead‘ status, and similar to joko, she’s essentially a lich.

and different to the in-game, she was dead for an hour approximately, and she had troubles controlling her body for the rest of that day and needs to rest before she can continue with the fight.

my other commander, rhys, on the other hand has a complicated relationship with balthazar, which makes their encounter in path of fire difficult on a very different level.

rhys was a priest of balthazar prior to becoming known as the commander, and she was VERY devoted to him. still prayed to him frequently, despite his departure during the exodus of the gods. to me, rhys and balthazar have a relationship similar to zeus and achilles in the iliad; a god and his beloved champion, sometimes i think their relationship was as close as zeus and hercules even.

balthazar, despite being chained in the mists, heard and responded to every one of her prayers. he had very big plans for rhys; she, as a descendant of king doric and king adelbern whom were both personally blessed by balthazar and gifted with his swords sohotin and magdaer, was supposed to be his champion by his side while he would slay the dragons and absorb their powers. rhys was also supposed to be the one to free him from the mists initially, but rytlock finding and freeing him first was not a problem at all. another important detail: being a priest of balthazar made rhys immune to any fire damage whatsoever, making them a very powerful berserker.

during the course of season 3 and POF, their relationship with balthazar is strained and tested numerous times — rhys was always tempted to join his side every time he called out to them, but their hesitation was close to a betrayal in balthazars eyes, and so, they were no longer his ally anymore but his most powerful enemy that had to be destroyed. he removes his blessing, and as a result, rhys is incredibly vulnerable to fire damage.

during their battle, rhys doesn’t die by his sword like zoya, a death some could see as a merciful death. instead, he burned rhys to death, FULLY. this was a lesson to his former disciple, one that should follow them into their afterlife.

rhys’ afterlife was a burnt and barren wasteland, full of ash and the occasional leftover fire/ember. they, too, forgot who they are and what their purpose in life. even when they slowly regain their memories, they don’t consider going back to the living but staying dead. in the domain of the lost they have been „dead“ for a few days, but in the domain of the living they have been dead for a whole day.

when rhys decides to come back after all, out of vengeance and out of loyalty to aurene, they willfully step into a raging fire inside a hollow tree trunk which acted as a portal. their body was about to be cremated when they decided to come back, emerging from the fire. their whole body was burnt, but they found new strength in killing balthazar once and for all.

[ratasum]

I'm very sleepy and rolling around in my head the fact that while we know the founding, history, and general structure of most of the cultural "bad guy" groups, we really have painfully little on the Inquest.

I've been digging in the wiki for any information on who founded them or when, and there's really just... nothing.

There's some indication that they were at least inspired by Zinn. The Inquest's page on the wiki indicates Kudu was behind the experimentation on Malomedies, but the page requests verification and any links I've seen people post aren't archived and weren't saved on the wayback machine.

It's increasingly frustrating. Rata Primus is massive in scale and 30-40 years doesn't feel quite long enough to have built it from the ground up. Having them founded around the time of Zinn's exile would make sense, but then how did they get reinvolved with asuran politics? And it's clear the average asuran citizen hates them. There's a ton of ambient dialogue in Rata Sum and Metrica Province from regular npcs about how awful they are, and a good chunk of events and renown hearts in Metrica rotate around ruining the Inquest's day in one way or another.

I've been rolling around the idea that they came together as a faction around the time of the experimentation of the Firstborn, and that those asura were who would form the megakrewe and start recruiting likeminded individuals. There's strong indication most asuran citizens really have no idea (you as an asura commander certainly don't) until it comes out that this even happened.

But the council plays into the Inquest's hands quite often, we know they're canonically corrupt, and so their approval of Vorpp even if the rank and file wouldn't approve doesn't shock me.

My only hangup is time. Rata Primus looks like it's been there a while. Is it an old abandoned Rata that was formed around the time of Rata Sum and then taken over by the Inquest after it was abandoned for some reason, or the residents died out and the survivors left?

Did they manage to build a base that complete in 30 years? How did no one notice?

I'm wracking my brain about it. So how's your morning lmao.

[archesa]

💋, 🌶️ and 💢 for a char of your choice!

Thank you 🥰 I'm currently very much hyperfixated on Baldur's Gate, but I can summon Anwen or Galaëd for you 🦋🍂

💋 First kiss - His first kiss is with Canach, after Rorschach's resurrection. Galaëd's hands are burned, from holding the Commander's corpse, and Canach helps him, heals him, bandages his hands and kisses him. It's soft and yearning, a chapter of their past closed and a new page to be writen, the promise of something more.

🌶 First spice - They retreat from the victory celebration to watch the fireworks on the heights of Amnoon, and one thing lead to another 😚

💢 Person they cannot stand - Vorpp. He and the twins are of one mind as to what would happen to the Emissary should he run into them in a dark alley.

Bonus round for Lily, my Astarionmancer 😊

💋 First kiss - Lily has no relationship experience. Her first kiss is with Astarion, the night of the tiefling party, the same night they sleep together the first time.

🌶 First spice - The night of the bite is a very... enlightening experience for her, and when Astarion propositions to her a few days later she is absolutely mortified to know he saw right through her, felt the effect he had on her.

She runs away from him rather than face the embarassment and gets a pep talk from Karlach and Shadowheart 😅 The night of the party she gathers her courage and they make their own entertainment together 😚

💢 Person they cannot stand - Aradin gets on her nerves the second she meets him!

[adrisventari]

OH BOY MORE RATS!

DAY TWO - AUGUST 21st Do you have an Inquest OC? How did they end up in the Inquest? (If you don't, what college did your OC attend?)

@asura-appreciation-corner

Met Cella, who doesn't actually exist in game and is also a little dead soo......

Cella is Gehix's bastard of a mother. Renowned biologist, accomplice of Vorpp during his experiments on the Sylvari. Joined the Inquest officially shortly after said experiments were "ruined". She was the one responsible for cutting off Enansi's leg. There are rumors she may be Kuda's mother, but that's never been confirmed. She's a horrid little creature, and Gehix's career in medicine was partially to spite her and her lack of ethics.

[dotmander]

character introduction: diarmaid (she/her)

an engineer, one of the secondborn that were subject to vorpp's experiments, and an accidental nightmare convert. she didn't realize the nightmare had taken root in her for years; as soon as it was discovered, she left the grove in disgrace.

despite this, she snubs the courtiers; although she believes sylvari society should be restructured, she isn't a sadist, and thinks the caste system they've borrowed from humanity is ridiculous. instead she builds fun freaky stained glass abominations and charges exorbitant prices for them. if you let her, she would sit in her tower and make nightmare-fueled creations until she dies, chasing away almost everyone that comes to visit; unfortunately for her, people keep trying to remind her she has morals. eugh.

song

[commanderfloppy]

Shipping game stuff ; Vlixxa annnddd... Faolaine?

(@dumb-dumb-mander)

Oh now this is a strange one, it took a bit of brain storming to figure out if there was even a way for this to happen since most of their possible interactions Flops would be going through it and Faolain would be uhh...evil. One scenario did manage to pop into my mind though.

It's 1304 AE, a bunch of secondborn had just been captured and Caithe and Faolain are on the way to rescue them. When trying to find a way to enter the facility, they see a tired college intern who was sent to deliver a supplies shipment (someone just shoved the responsibility on her) and get her at knife-point.

She doesn't need to be at knife-point for long though because as soon as she finds out a bunch of sentient plant people are being experimented on in there she's ready to help.

With the combined efforts of assassin skills, lab clearance, and hiding in a cart of supplies, the three manage to get in there and actually save a bit more of the secondborn. (Vorpp still escapes though)

Honestly I have no idea how this relationship would progress other than Vlixxa becoming the one maybe okay asura who possibly gets invited to join the plant lesbian polycule?? Maybe??

It would all go to shit so fast though so uhh..

2/10: Gee Floppy how come you (possibly) get TWO plant girlfriends?

[dasozelotvonnebenan]

asura (and asura-adjacent): most likely to accidentally blow something important up and most likely to bite someone

Explosions:

1. Aerana: The signpost example of a dynamics student. If it hasn't exploded five times you're not done tinkering.

2. Jazz: Very Dynamics Alchemist. Only deserves this place if you consider blowing up yourself to be blowing up someone important.

3. Vorpp Jr.: Prone to mishaps and people don't pay attention to him so he ends up in lot of volatile spaces

4. Frigg: You wouldn't believe how many traps this man has set off.

5. Posh: Works with very experimental weapons, but is careful with tests.

6. Kelii: As a medic she usually unsplodes people, but also her idea of a defibrilator is an angry air elemental in a jar

7. Zorgg: He'd have the temper to be inconsiderade around volatile materials but simpy doesn't get the chance to.

8. Gekk: You expect "I plan everything weeks if not months in advance" Gekk to be involved in accidents? Only second to last because he might cause an explosion through one of his more impulsive underlings.

9. Doss: Very Statics Alchemist. If there is an explosion it is guaranteed to be intentional and away from anything important.

---

Biting

1. Zorgg: His best friend is an armored behemoth and a bad influence.

2. Jazz: Guy once transformed into a shark headed Ettin. Did enough biting to last for a lifetime.

3. Frigg: Once you spend enough time bonded with a devourer you just start to nibble on people.

4. Gekk: Loves to fight dirty and hates losing.

5. Doss: Only if cornered.

6. Vorpp Jr., Kelii, Posh: These all prefer to stay out of biting range

7. Aerana: She gets sick from seeing blood. I think tasting it would kill her instantly.

[loacharacterlist]

full text post, in case something breaks again

A doctor on a Pact submarine that sunk. He didn't come back right.

"Old Leaf" Montrose is a Melandru hermit descended from a long line of priesthood nobility. The rare times he's seen in the graces of Divinity's Reach's upper echelons - as he would rather spend his days befriending bears than politicking - he always has an interesting story that he rambles on about for ages. He's also always seen in sandals, for some reason.

Maorlan was originally a happy-go-lucky carnival performer; that is, until the Maguuma Jungle, where he stole the identity of a noble that died in the airship he was on after it crashed in order to hide his sylvari nature. He is now on the run, and very paranoid and erratic, though luckily for him his disguise glamours are honed very well.

Alchemancer Kenstt is an Inquest researcher promoted to a comfy position thanks to his powerful father. Specializing in necrobiology and necrochemistry, Kenstt's main area of expertise is experimenting on live subjects - even collaborating with the infamous Vorpp on sylvari - although he can't exactly comprehend the manmade horrors he conflicts, for whatever reason.

Despite his supervillain antics and compulsive lying, he's more of an annoying dork than a schemer, cracking unfunny dark jokes and going on tangents about technobabble nobody else understands.

Ros Aodhan was from a separate tree deep in the Maguuma Jungle. Although not experiencing the Dream, he heard of other Sylvari in passing and decided to seek them out for himself - along with the rest of the world.

Samael has seem many roles throughout his life: Pact soldier, elementalist, Dreamer. All did not go to plan.

Originally an arrogant elementalist with an uncanny skill in pyromancy, he was captured along with Canach by the Asura, isolated from the others, in a project attempting to understand the power of Primordus and the Destroyer servants under him. The very same firey magic that made him a talented mage turned in on him and scorched him in his core, burning away both his physical form and the powers that fueled his cockiness and identity to an internal, inaccesible molten ember.

In his broken mind he sought to become a knight of sorts, a vanquisher of evil, a protector of the Dream, despite the tortures leaving him off-putting and unable to communicate empathically with the rest of his kind. The disconnect distressed him more and more, and the more he was distressed, the greater his fury. This usually involved fire - he trained himself from scratch to become an engineer specializing in explosives - until he was removed from the Pact for unspecified war crimes in Elona.

He now spends his days scorching Nightmare and taking on whatever "evil" he finds.

Armod is carving out his legend, one kill at a time. He's a sniper for hire, both for legitimate and illegitimate benefactors, but he didn't originally plan on becoming an assassin; as dramatic as it sounds, he simply figured that man was the most dangerous prey. He is a devout follower of Snow Leopard and has tattoos of her surrounding his one unsleeved arm. Polite, efficient, and has a plan to kill everyone he meets.

Jori is a cocky Norn elementalist that just recently left her hearth-fire. She wants to see the world and fight whatever stands in her way of doing so. She is powerfully armed with flame magic, but weak with all other elements.

Her Spirit she favors the most - or, rather, the one that favors her the most - is Raptor.

Hela Smokethunder's obsessiveness has given her an almost godlike view of mechanics. She believes that smoke and metal can best the Spirits of the Wild, and extensively researches Asuran and Charr technology in her wild pursuit.

Twaffi the Rascal is an escaped Inquest infiltration unit crafted for the purpose of murdering politicians that got in the way. Before the project was complete, she escaped, and swam from island to island until she was pulled out of the water by some pirates. She took on a new identity as a scoundrel, one that she tries way too hard with. Y'arr!

'Bald' Cadrin is a gruff old Pact engineer who helped pioneer the first modern airships. An accident took off a good chunk of the left side of her body, which she rebuilt with the help of an asura. She lives only because the machinery she crafted is keeping her that way.

Zamiya Voidslash is a Blood Legion scout.

Vyorag Headbang is a Metal Legion fangirl and the Head warband's official troublemaker. About as sober as she is serious, brass has an eye on her, waiting for one more wrong move. She hears spirits of the lands around her who are always whispering something or another.

Hafstenn (WIP)

[thairshae]

My most hated individuals in Tyria (and beyond) in no particular order.

Vorpp Ah, Vorpp, egotistical Vorpp. They call you Emissary, do they not? Emissary, Ambassador, one chosen to represent your kind, the standard to which many of your kind choose to be judged. Your crimes, and by extension the crimes that your verminous kind commited against mine have gone unanswered for decades. Decades. The fleshlings seem to have chosen to forgive, but the sylvari do not forgive, I do not forgive. When I fought in the Battle for Lion's Arch alongside Ceara's armies I tasked my Court with the claiming of asura heads, and many did we claim. I shall continue to mete judgment upon your kind, one asura life for each day that your crimes continue unpunished. Until justice is delivered the asura shall pay on your behalf the price for the horrors which you committed upon the sylvari. Jennah Dear Jennah, who so valiantly laboured to keep your kind safe all these years. Your crimes are few, but severe. You allowed Vorpp into your city, protected him with the lives of your soldiers. In choosing to defend him, you are an accomplice to his crimes and have openly betrayed the sylvari people. Cadeyrn I respected you once, Cadeyrn, in the beginning. Your words rang true. Your nature, your desire to question the status quo, questioning the fate which Pale Mother and the Firstborn saw fit to thrust upon us. Your vision for the Court was a noble one. Yet you did not have the strength, will or conviction to remain stalwart in your beliefs and became naught but another slave to the Firstborn. In doing so the Court which you laboured so hard to build became the innefectual shambles it was under the Firstborn's rule, a cult to their vanity. You failed our kind. Mordremoth My kind owe you for one thing, yes? Our creation. You are our father. Yet when you attempted to enslave us you sealed your fate. You created us to conquer Tyria in your name, and in doing so sealed your fate. The sylvari are not and shall never be slaves. I enjoyed being there in the final battle against you and your slaves, I fighting through your whispers, aiding mine and my allies in resisting the deafening bellow of your voice in their heads. I enjoyed watching you die, father. Jormag You attempted to tempt us into the same slavery as father. Rather than bellowed orders and domination you attempted to lure us into willing service. Though I may never have seen you in the flesh, dear, I enjoyed slaying thousands of your Icebrood, knowing well that each blow made against them was one against you. I do not take kindly to those who attemp to turn my kind into slaves, willing or otherwise. Caithe Must I even explain my hatred for you, Caithe? Surely it is obvious. Self-righteous Caithe, vain Caithe, egotistical Caithe, Caithe who is hailed as a hero, Caithe the murderer of sylvari. Your each and every deed has been one of selfishness and vanity, an exercise in manipulation. I shall come for you one day, Caithe. When the time is right I shall come for you and for your Dragon. Would it be that you could simply fade into obscurity, killed in a far off wasteland at the edge of Tyria as your once-dearheart was, forgotten and consigned to a footnote of history. Such will not be so, unfortunately. Faolain And speaking of Caithe's once-dearheart. You were an insult to the sylvari once, unfit to lead, unfit to rule, unfit to live, and you died as you lived. Once controlled by your own unending vanity you became a servant of the Dragon. History will forget you, Firstborn. Not even the Dream will remember in due time.

[soulbeastdragon]

Side by side of my main story Aurenthir (left) and my alternate timeline Aurenthir (right).

Main difference is a point in the story.

Main story Aurenthir was an unfortunate victim who got captured by Vorpp's krewe and experimented on early in his life. This resulted in him being wary of Asura and refusing to go to Rata Sum with Ceara when they were traveling Tyria together. Instead, he went to Divinity's Reach while Ceara went ahead to Rata Sum.

Alternate Aurenthir didn't get captured and experimented on, so there was no caution of the Asura for him. He goes to Rata Sum and from there supported Ceara (and then later Scarlet Briar) with her schemes until she was put down by the Commander. Alternate Aurenthir was already in the Heart of the Jungle when his twin was killed and he became Mordremoth's Herald, and the Grovekeeper of Thorn Hollow.

In both timelines Aurenthir's well and alive. Main story Aurenthir helps the Commanders and the Pact all the way up until the end of EoD and then he kinda retires and lives out his days helping ex-Mordrem and ex-Courtiers settle back into society.

Alternate Aurenthir goes into hiding after his defeat in HoT, and doesn't reappear until around EoD where he's trying to make a new life for himself. He actually becomes really good friends with Yao in this timeline and kinda has Ceara back by building her from watchwork knight parts and from her various holodiscs recordings. I'm still playing with ideas on alternate Aurenthir, so it'll be fun fleshing him out for the other expacs like SotO and Janthir Wilds.

[konig-varorson]

I recently posted about this as an addendum to my post about the changes to LWS1. But this covers Mai Trin’s dialogue changes MUCH better and in far more finer detail. So reblogging.

EDIT: Regarding the last section of unused EotM lines of Aetherblades, Lionguard, and Vorpp - during the initial release there were events across Tyria of portals leading to EotM. During these events you had to defend or capture the portals from the Aetherblades, and there were two Lionguard at each one. Wiki got very, very few of these dialogues, but both Aetherblades and Lionguard had dialogue for when you engaged/approached NPCs and when you completed or failed the events.

It's possible Vorpp was involved too, but wiki has nothing on that.

Living World Season 1: changes and unused dialogue for Mai Trin

I saw a very long post cross my dash recently, about changes to the 2022 Return to Season 1 compared with the original 2013 release, plus a late addition that briefly touches on one thing that's been bothering me ever since I encountered it:

The complete revision of Mai Trin's dialogue in Season 1

Fortunately, I have been spending the past few weeks poking around in the game, the Wiki, and the game files themselves to put together a comprehensive list and comparison of all the changes to Mai's spoken dialogue.

Including audio comparisons!

And a lot of bonus unused dialogue!

(very long post, so it's under the cut!)

Back in 2013, Mai Trin was voiced by Rachel Robinson (also the old voice of Rox), but in EoD she's voiced by Kelly Hu. For the return of Season 1, all of Mai's season 1 story dialogue was re-recorded with the new VA. And I don't think this has happened to any other character that has had a VA update?

I've listed everything here in story order. For audio tracks featuring both VAs, the old one is first, followed by the new. Includes transcript below each audio file.

Ceremony & Acrimony: comparison of dialogue between Mai and Kiel after the effigy explodes

-- Old dialogue -- Mai Trin: Lionguard, what can I do? I have some skill at healing. Inspector Ellen Kiel: See if you can help the charr cultural rep. He's injured and not moving. Mai Trin: I'll do what I can.

-- New dialogue -- Citizen: Who needs assistance? Inspector Ellen Kiel: See if you can help the charr cultural rep. He's injured and not moving. Citizen: I'll do what I can.

Hard Boiled: comparison of dialogue between Mai, Jory, and Kiel during the investigation

-- Old dialogue -- Mai Trin: I beg your pardon. Marjory Delaqua: Don't fret. you'll come to no harm unless you had a hand in what happened. Hm, she's glowing. Marjory Delaqua: All right, lady. You better start talkin' Mai Trin: What? I...I swear. I had nothing to do with that tragedy. I'm an upstanding citizen. Investigator Ellen Kiel: Wait. Could she have gotten it from the dead charr that glowed? She attempted to revive him. Mai Trin: Yes, yes. That must be it. I was only trying to help.

-- New dialogue -- Citizen/Mai Trin: You must be kidding. Marjory Delaqua: Don't fret. you'll come to no harm unless you had a hand in what happened. Hm, she's glowing. Marjory Delaqua: All right, lady. You better start talkin'. Citizen/Mai Trin: Are you accusing me? Investigator Ellen Kiel: Wait. Could she have gotten it from the dead charr that glowed? She attempted to revive him. Citizen/Mai Trin: The detective would know that too, if she paid better attention to her crime scene.

No More Secrets: comparison of dialogue when Kiel tries to arrest Mai.

--Old Dialogue-- Investigator Ellen Kiel: Mai Trin, you're under arrest, by Lionguard authority. You will present yourself- Mai Trin: If it weren't for that detective and her cronies, you'd never have known it was me. Mai Trin: (laugh) My plan was to open a seat on the council so I could fill it. Now, it's to punish you all for spoiling my first one. Mai Trin: Come out, my clockwork crew! Let's show them what it feels like to be impaled on the sharp tip of misfortune.

-- New dialogue -- Mai Trin: Marjory Delaqua. I'll remember that. Investigator Ellen Kiel: Mai Trin, you're under arrest, by Lionguard authority. You will present yourself- Mai Trin: So much for discretion. Mai Trin: Crew! It's time to earn your pay.

Aetherblade Retreat: comparison of dialogue between Mai and Horrik before the final fight

-- Old dialogue -- Mai Trin: This has all gone to crud. Scarlet's gonna have my noggin for screwing this up. Champion First Mate Horrik: What now, Captain? It'll take cannonballs to get out of here alive. Mai Trin: Either way, I'm dead. So let's wind our springs and ride this escapement to the end. Champion First Mate Horrik: You got it. I'll undock the airships. Mai Trin: You and your brothers give good battle, old friend. Now, let's dig in before they show. I'll raise the gangplanks.

-- New dialogue -- Mai Trin: Scarlet's gonna have my skull. Champion First Mate Horrik: What now, Captain? It'll take cannonballs to get out of here alive. Mai Trin: I'm dead either way. Might as well strap in for a decent fight. Champion First Mate Horrik: You got it. I'll undock the airships. Mai Trin: I'll raise the gangplanks.

Aetherblade Retreat: comparison of Mai's boss encounter dialogue during and after the fight

Mai Trin: This is what your curiosity gets you. (old v new) Mai Trin: Horrik! Unleash the cannons. (old v new) Mai Trin: No more half-measures. All hands on deck! (old v new) Mai Trin: Enough! You've won. Give me quarter and I'll tell you everything. / Enough! You've won. Next time just ask a little nicer. (old v new)

Interlude:

Between the original release of Sky Pirates and Edge of the Mists, Mai could be spoken with in her cell in Fort Marriner. This part wasn't brought back for the re-release, but the Wiki still has the dialogue:

Edge of the Mists: The Juncture

A hologram of Mai appears every half minute or so, saying one of several lines at random. The GW2 Wiki seems to have only a few of these documented.

-- Old dialogue -- Captain Mai Trin: Aetherblades, muster up! Scarlet wants this whole region conquered and ready for her when she returns. Captain Mai Trin: Aetherblades, muster up! We can't claim this territory if we don't control it. Move out and start conquering. Captain Mai Trin: Until Scarlet arrives, this is our new base of operations. I want Aetherblades controlling each and every sector. Captain Mai Trin: Until further notice, this is our new base of operations. I want Aetherblades controlling each and every sector. Captain Mai Trin: Scarlet wants this space and so do I. Even if she never comes back, I plan to be here for a good long while. Captain Mai Trin: Dig in and get comfortable Aetherblades. I plan for us to be here for a good long while. Captain Mai Trin: I'm not just a pirate captain anymore. Until Scarlet comes back, I'm the governor too. Captain Mai Trin: I'm not just a pirate captain anymore. Around here, I'm the governor too. Captain Mai Trin: Scarlet's planning something big and controlling this area is essential to it. Move out and start pacifying the locals.

(I don't have audio for the new lines here, Gw2Browser won't load these specific updated lines for some reason and I don't have time to sit around in EotM. I'll just trust the Wiki on this one, but there's probably a few extra undocumented lines to go here.)

-- New dialogue -- Captain Mai Trin: Dig in and get comfortable Aetherblades. We're gonna be here for a while. Captain Mai Trin: Don't let your guard down. Captain Mai Trin: We won't let Scarlet down. Captain Mai Trin: Eyes up Aetherblades.

~~ Unused lines ~~

I was first made aware of these in a post made about a year ago by Reddit user e-scrape-artist, and I decided to poke around in the files myself. Turns out there's a huge amount of unused dialogue in the game, from multiple characters across the whole season.

These first few sound a lot like NPC interaction dialogues. Except this is Mai Trin, so it's possibly a different scenario where we originally meet her character before it was scrapped?

Mai Trin: The sky’s the limit. Mai Trin: I’m in the shipping business. Mai Trin: Ah, the smell of the sea and the sky. Mai Trin: You have my attention. Mai Trin: Lion’s Arch is just the beginning for me.

What's more interesting than unused lines?

Unused lines that get re-recorded with a new VA and still don't get used.

Some of these are found alongside the previous unused lines, while the others are bundled in with the Aetherblade Retreat boss encounter lines. Maybe the extra combat lines are intended to play but they never triggered due to a bug or something?

Mai Trin: Ready the ship. We’ve outstayed our welcome. (old v new) Mai Trin: You just had to tamper with the plan didn’t you? (old v new) Mai Trin: Come on out, I’ll make it quick. (old v new) Mai Trin: To your captain's side! (old v new) Mai Trin: Fresh meat gang! Slice them to pieces! (old v new) Mai Trin: Dead like that councillor, serves you right. / Dead. Just like that councillor. (old v new) Mai Trin: I’m wound down. You got me. (old v new)

But wait, there's more!

What's more interesting than re-recording unused lines?

Re-recording unused lines for content that was never implemented in the first place.

Wait, what?

Sooo...when I was looking for Mai's EotM lines in the game files, I stumbled across something pretty significant. There's several hundred lines involving various Aetherblade characters in Edge of the Mists plus two Lionguard officers and apparently Vorpp too?

A lot of it seem to be event dialogue; for collection events, escorts, orders to attack/defend keeps and towers. But anyone who's spent time in EotM knows that none of the events involve Aetherblades, just generic NPCs with barely any voiced lines.

Were the Aetherblades originally planned to have a bigger role in the events there? I dunno. But some of the lines are pretty interesting.

67 of these lines are spoken by Mai (not including the Juncture lines) and here's just under half of them.

Mai Trin: I knew prison couldn't hold me. Mai Trin: It's good to have a gang again. Mai Trin: This place is ripe for the picking. Mai Trin: I worked hard for this place, don't lose it. Mai Trin: I knew you were a bilge rat. Mai Trin: See that? That'll be mine one day. Mai Trin: I have a job that needs doing and I need volunteers. Good pay, plenty of violence. Mai Trin: An impressive haul. This should be plenty. For now. Mai Trin: Follow me, I need your help with this. Mai Trin: Stay close to me. I don't have time for stragglers. Mai Trin: You have your instructions, go to it. Make me proud. Mai Trin: I'm going to find out who screwed this up and slit their skin off. Mai Trin: Wrap it up, we have work elsewhere. Mai Trin: This is what I like to see. Mai Trin: Listen, I don't wanna lose this place. Protect it. Now. Mai Trin: You have my...thanks. Mai Trin: Take care of yourself. Don't get robbed or anything. Mai Trin: You look like warmed over flotsam. Mai Trin: Yes. (laugh) Oh my, yes. Mai Trin: Do you have what it takes to be my first mate? ;) Mai Trin: Do better. I'm not going back to prison. Mai Trin: Your captain is pleased. Mai Trin: Let's move. This place isn't gonna rob itself. Mai Trin (hologram): I want that tower. Kill everyone inside. Mai Trin (hologram): No-one takes this tower from us. No-one. Mai Trin (hologram): Your captain wants that keep. Mai Trin (hologram): We have intruders. Show them what Aetherblades can do. Mai Trin (hologram): Rattle the gates. Let them know Captain Mai is here. Mai Trin (hologram): Crack the walls, I smell riches inside. Mai Trin (hologram): Sea or sky, I can sail anywhere.

Six of the unused lines were re-recorded with the new VA:

Mai Trin: Dispose of the bodies. (old v new) Mai Trin: Ugh, get me up. (old v new) Mai Trin: We're overwhelmed, pull back! (old v new) Mai Trin: Come over here and protect your captain. / Protect your captain! (old v new) Mai Trin: Cut them down, no quarter. (old v new) Mai Trin: C'mere, I won't bite. (old v new)

Little side note: I think Mai's EotM-based lines sound a little different compared to the Sky Pirates chapter, like the old VA is slightly leaning into her Rox voice in some areas?

Anyway, I think that's all I have on Mai Trin's dialogue changes. Did I miss anything? I know there's some text lines I didn't include, but I was focusing on the voiced lines. Do you prefer Mai's old VA or the new one?

If anyone's interested in other unused/undocumented lines, I plan to post some unused Horrik and Canach lines I found, as well as the other Aetherblades in the Mists.

But now I think I need a nap

[archesa]

ask game hours—have 🍎🌶️🥭🍑 for galaed, if you’d like! :) @kerra-and-company

Thanks a lot!! Always very happy to delve into Galaëd and De Draconis Mobile! 💛 possible spoilers to come for both the canon and the AU 😁

🍎 [RED APPLE] Who does your OC value above all else?

This one's hard! Because it's a tie between three people, really! Canach, Rorschach and Trahearne ! Without the three of them, the world loses its colour.

Of course he does lose Trahearne. And Rorschach. But when you see the effect their deaths had on him, I'll let you imagine what he would become should any harm befall Canach.

🌶️ [HOT PEPPER] Who would your OC declare their sworn enemy if they could meet them?

Vorpp. He didn't like the asura when they first met at the Queen's Jubilee, but he couldn't quite place what was amiss... something about his demeanour, the sound of his voice, his disdain of Scarlet that seemed to encompass all sylvari. Everything about the Arcane Council envoy gratted on his nerves.

Now, knowing what Vorpp has done? That he and his krewe were responsible for the vivsection of Malomedies and the death and torture of more than 20 secondborns (including Canach)... let's just say that Vorpp would be wise to steer from poorly lit alleys if he ever meets Galaëd or the twins.

🥭 [MANGO] What colours best represent them and why? Does this differ from their favourites?

His colour scheme was well thought, actually 😁 I wanted him to take after a birch tree (because the eponymous character in my novel comes from a birch and aspen forest) hence the white bark and black markings. Incidentally black and white are the colours of the Vigil, which made sense for him (in the novel, his character is a swordmaster, mentor and most loyal friend to Lucius, so him joining the Vigil seemed only natural).

The orange comes from both his affiliation to autumn and dusk, and suit his bright, warm and hopeful nature.

And violet – his favourite colour – comes from his illusions and his unconditional attachement to Rorschach.

🍑 [PEACH] How do they show their kindness? How kind are they truly?

Galaëd thrives much more in the logistics than the actual fighting. He loves, and he's good at organising the army's supply lines, ensure the wounded are properly evacuated and treated, the troops fed and equipped. He cares for his companions and for the civilians they protect. Some must fight so all may be free.

[queer-as-used-by-tolkien]

Which College Was Blish a Member of?

Taimi says she "knew Blish from college." Even the wiki - which has a VERY firm stance on 'speculation' - agrees that this means Blish was a member of the College of Synergetics.

I have a different proposal.

When we met Taimi back in S1, there were two older asura keeping eyes on her: Zojja, and a Dynamics asura named Vorpp. This is the Vorpp who did experiments on the Secondborn (including Canach) from Caithe's memory seeds in S2, but we didn't know that at the time.

THING OF NOTE: Vorpp (he's on the wiki as Emissary Vorpp but ahaha there's like zero things there) does portal things. I dug around some maze-like wiki pages and discovered that he's the one who reverse-engineered some of Scarlet's portals so we could find her lair and beat her up in one of the S1 missions. There's a whole achievement (and, notably, as far as I can tell, he's the first one to have come up with a communicator device like Taimi's - obviously inferior, but still).

But. This is very obvious evidence that portals is a field of Dynamics. Which only makes sense, because asura gates were created and are maintained by the College of Dynamics.

My POINT HERE is this: Taimi was still hanging around and involved with Vorpp of Dynamics even though she was a member of Synergetics.

And Vorpp's field of expertise is portals. And also very Inquest-like experiments on Secondborn sylvari.

Utter and rock-solid and extremely true headcanon: this is how Taimi knows Blish.

Blish is a portal specialist. Taimi "knows Blish from college." Blish is a member of the Inquest.

We all assume that Blish was Synergetics because Taimi knew him in college. But that's not necessarily true!! My 100% headcanon is that Vorpp was Blish's college mentor before Blish went off and joined the Inquest. Vorpp's experiments on Secondborn likely happened before Blish was even born (that was in 1302 and Taimi was born in 1313, so if they're anywhere near each other in age...) but Vorpp's tastes and morals likely remained the same, which would help explain why Blish and Gorrik were so 'eh' about being in the Inquest (my other headcanon is that they only joined looking for something to help Blish, but they didn't have to be so casual about it - this would explain that).

I feel like I need to obsessively defend this headcanon, simply because the wiki definitively says Blish was Synergetics. But that's derived SOLELY from the fact that Taimi says she knew him in college, but she never specifies which college.

Dear Brain, please stop holding the word of the wiki as golden when you help edit that thing and you know full well what the source of Blish's 'Synergetics' tag is!