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Did we ever find out what the "weapon" Vlast was referring to back in The Sacrifice?


mexay.3902

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Several years ago, I created this thread, which outlined why the weapon Vlast was referring to was not the Spear and was potentially the Staff of the Mists, or as some others pointed out, the Scepter of Orr.

However 3 years later, 1.5 living stories and with an expac on the way, I don't recall seeing an answer to this.

Was this just another dropped plot? Did anyone find the answer?

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It was the spear.

Vlast: To hold the weapon is to hold the fate of Tyria in your hands—the power to change the shape of the world.Vlast: Potent enough to fell the Elder Dragons. Its might should not be taken lightly.

Vlast: It was created so mortals could do the work of dragons, of our line.Vlast: To combat cataclysmic power and prevent the destruction of all life.

Vlast: He seeks it for the wrong purpose. We're not ready.

Vlast: The god of fire continues to pursue me. I fear he may get the weapon—if he does, the consequences will be...unpredictable.

Vlast: I would have destroyed it, but Mother forbade me. But she never foresaw this crisis. The right path eludes me.

The misunderstanding on your part is that the weapon itself doesn't have "The power to change the shape of the world", but the usage of the weapon can.

Which is possible, by being able to kill Elder Dragons thus having the world shaping effect of releasing their magic with the potential to end the world if there is not in place a suitable replacement for them.

Thus, it is also able to "Do the work of dragons" not by being some sort of magically enhanced pillar of life, but by stopping the dangerous cycle of Elder Dragons consuming magic and becoming a threat to Tyria itself.

Balthazar was after the weapon, because he was trying to kill the Elder Dragons so that he could absorb their power, much like how Kralkatorrik absorbed his power when we killed him.

Also, the spear is mentioned again after destroying it. In LW4 Ep 5, you go through the process of crafting a new Dragonsblood Spear with Glint and then go on to mass produce Dragonsblood arms in order to equip the armies against Kralkatorrik (This is also where you get the recipes for the Exotic/Ascended Dragonsblood weapons). With LW4 Ep 6 also featuring a point about going up to Kralkatorrik's wing to obtain blood in order to create more powerful versions of Dragonsblood spears to use to defeat him.

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I agree, I always thought of it as the spear. I think it was an attempt to overthink with their wishy washy writing and be too poetic that caused it to be seen as something else. It didn't help that the story didn't really show much of Balth looking for the spear - he seemed much more interested in Vlast or Aurene.

But there has never been the slightest indication of it being anything else and your original thread alluded to the problem - poor writing

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It does seem to be the spear, since that's the only weapon that ever came up in anything. I do agree that the description Vlast gives it blows its importance way out of proportion and doesn't really describe it well - since killing an Elder Dragon is not really "so mortals can do the work of dragons" (the work of dragons is corrupting and controlling the balance of magic and The All, not slaying Kralkatorrik - Aurene, in the end, couldn't kill Kralkatorriik, it had to be the Dragonsblood Spear 3.0), especially since the forge that made the weapon was still around (thus allowing more to be made) and Balthazar was never looking for it but was instead set on the Warbeast and using Vlast/Aurene as a power source.

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@"mexay.3902" said:Several years ago, I created this thread, which outlined why the weapon Vlast was referring to was not the Spear and was potentially the Staff of the Mists, or as some others pointed out, the Scepter of Orr.

However 3 years later, 1.5 living stories and with an expac on the way, I don't recall seeing an answer to this.

Was this just another dropped plot? Did anyone find the answer?

The dragonsblood spear.

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@"mexay.3902" said:Several years ago, I created this thread, which outlined why the weapon Vlast was referring to was not the Spear and was potentially the Staff of the Mists, or as some others pointed out, the Scepter of Orr.

However 3 years later, 1.5 living stories and with an expac on the way, I don't recall seeing an answer to this.

Was this just another dropped plot? Did anyone find the answer?

The Spear (Edge of Destiny), Staff, Sceptre and Blade were likely all created for similar, if not the same, purposes. Once you elevate the Edge to the same level as the other artifacts that you have mentioned, it becomes easier to accept that it is the "weapon" to which Vlast refers.

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@Stephen.6312 said:

@"mexay.3902" said:Several years ago, I created
, which outlined why the weapon Vlast was referring to was not the Spear and was potentially the Staff of the Mists, or as some others pointed out, the Scepter of Orr.

However 3 years later, 1.5 living stories and with an expac on the way, I don't recall seeing an answer to this.

Was this just another dropped plot? Did anyone find the answer?

The Spear (Edge of Destiny), Staff, Sceptre and Blade were likely all created for similar, if not the same, purposes. Once you elevate the Edge to the same level as the other artifacts that you have mentioned, it becomes easier to accept that it is the "weapon" to which Vlast refers.

Just in case there is confusion, the original spear is not called the Edge of Destiny - it is the Dragonsblood Spear. Edge of Destiny is merely the title of the book it appeared in which is based off of the Guild name Destiny's Edge which the story within the book revolves around

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@Stephen.6312 said:

@"mexay.3902" said:Several years ago, I created
, which outlined why the weapon Vlast was referring to was not the Spear and was potentially the Staff of the Mists, or as some others pointed out, the Scepter of Orr.

However 3 years later, 1.5 living stories and with an expac on the way, I don't recall seeing an answer to this.

Was this just another dropped plot? Did anyone find the answer?

The Spear (Edge of Destiny), Staff, Sceptre and Blade were likely all created for similar, if not the same, purposes. Once you elevate the Edge to the same level as the other artifacts that you have mentioned, it becomes easier to accept that it is the "weapon" to which Vlast refers.

I don't think the Staff of the Mists and Scepter of Orr were created for similar purposes as the Dragonsblood Spear or the Sanguinary Blade (assuming that's what you meant by "Blade"). The Sanguinary Blade and Dragonsblood Spear were made by the dwarves, the latter only ~200-250 years ago by the Brotherhood of the Dragon; the Sanguinary Blade doesn't have a date, but it predates the Stone Summit/Deldrimor civil war and given the lack of knowledge of Elder Dragons, the previous dragonrise (10,000-3,000 years ago) is a very good bet. We don't know the purpose of the Sanguinary Blade, but the Dragonsblood Spear's purpose was to kill Kralkatorrik (good chance the Sanguinary Blade's purpose was to fight off Primordus / The Great Destroyer and/or Destroyers).

The Staff of the Mists, Scepter of Orr, Magdaer, and Sohothin were instead made - or at least gifted - by the gods to human royalty. And they were gifted "for protection", at least the Staff and Scepter were. Likely since the human nations were still rather fledgling at the time, and given the added lore of Balthazar urging human conquest, they no doubt were making a lot of enemies in the early days - perhaps more than just centaurs, charr, and tengu.

That said, it's hard to compare the Dragonsblood Spear, who's only capability is slaying Kralkatorrik and branded, or a sword only capable of making icebrood, to be on the level of a staff capable of bending the fabric of reality, or a sword of fire capable of raining down a minor armageddon.

Side tangent: The Sanguinary Blade's purpose being to fight Primordus actually makes far more sense after Season 3, since the Blade's ability seems to be infecting those cut with Jormag's magic, and with Primordus' weakness being Jormag's magic, that would make it the most effective hand-held weapon against destroyers and Primordus.

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@Randulf.7614 said:Just in case there is confusion, the original spear is not called the Edge of Destiny - it is the Dragonsblood Spear. Edge of Destiny is merely the title of the book it appeared in which is based off of the Guild name Destiny's Edge which the story within the book revolves around

There is much confusion on my part. Where is it ever stated that the spear was created to kill Kralkatorrik? Afaiaa, Glint states that the spear can kill Kralkatorrik. It's true purpose, however, is never revealed in Edge of Destiny. The revelation of that purpose came from Vlast, who stated that it could do the work of dragons, either in their stead or on their behalf. I doubt, however, that the intended purpose of the weapon was to kill dragons.

I choose to believe that the title of King's novel refers to the spear. It's a matter of opinion and should be considered as much.

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@Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

@"mexay.3902" said:Several years ago, I created
, which outlined why the weapon Vlast was referring to was not the Spear and was potentially the Staff of the Mists, or as some others pointed out, the Scepter of Orr.

However 3 years later, 1.5 living stories and with an expac on the way, I don't recall seeing an answer to this.

Was this just another dropped plot? Did anyone find the answer?

The Spear (Edge of Destiny), Staff, Sceptre and Blade were likely all created for similar, if not the same, purposes. Once you elevate the Edge to the same level as the other artifacts that you have mentioned, it becomes easier to accept that it is the "weapon" to which Vlast refers.

I don't think the Staff of the Mists and Scepter of Orr were created for similar purposes as the Dragonsblood Spear or the Sanguinary Blade (assuming that's what you meant by "Blade"). The Sanguinary Blade and Dragonsblood Spear were made by the dwarves, the latter only ~200-250 years ago by the Brotherhood of the Dragon; the Sanguinary Blade doesn't have a date, but it predates the Stone Summit/Deldrimor civil war and given the lack of knowledge of Elder Dragons, the previous dragonrise (10,000-3,000 years ago) is a very good bet. We don't know the purpose of the Sanguinary Blade, but the Dragonsblood Spear's purpose was to kill Kralkatorrik (good chance the Sanguinary Blade's purpose was to fight off Primordus / The Great Destroyer and/or Destroyers).

The Staff of the Mists, Scepter of Orr, Magdaer, and Sohothin were instead made - or at least gifted - by the gods to human royalty. And they were gifted "for protection", at least the Staff and Scepter were. Likely since the human nations were still rather fledgling at the time, and given the added lore of Balthazar urging human conquest, they no doubt were making a
lot
of enemies in the early days - perhaps more than just centaurs, charr, and tengu.

That said, it's hard to compare the Dragonsblood Spear, who's only capability is slaying Kralkatorrik and branded, or a sword only capable of making icebrood, to be on the level of a staff capable of bending the fabric of reality, or a sword of fire capable of
.

Side tangent: The Sanguinary Blade's purpose being to fight Primordus actually makes far more sense after Season 3, since the Blade's ability seems to be infecting those cut with Jormag's magic, and with Primordus' weakness being Jormag's magic, that would make it the most effective hand-held weapon against destroyers and Primordus.

What baffles me the most about your comments, Konig, is that you are capable of conceding that the purpose of a weapon like the Blade might be to fight the minions of Primordus, but that you don't point out the obvious opposite: that Sohothin and Magdaer might have been made to fight the minions of Jormag.

I understand that "weapons" like Sohothin, the Sceptre and the Staff, have pre-existing history, however, I wonder whether said history is preventing us from coming to some very straight forward conclusions. It's reasonably clear that we only know the details of recent history (the last 3000 years), rather than deep history. I think that it is fair to say that the twin bladss, sceptre and staff belong to deep history, even if recent memory has shaped our understanding of what they are.

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The origin and purpose of the spear - which has always been called The Dragonsblood Spear - is further elaborated across LS4 Ep5 and Ep6.Its true purpose is not revealed in the book either because the detailed concepts of ED weakness weren’t fully realised yet (it’s clear they had a working idea though) or because the authors weren’t allowed to flesh out that side of things yet until the game had time to introduce it.

If you choose to rename it, that is your prerogative I guess, but the name of the spear is set in lore. The novel is not about the spear after all since that is only a single part of the end sequence. The novel is purely about the rise and fall of Destiny’s Edge and how the events therein set up part of the core game’s story. The novel is titled after them.

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@"Stephen.6312" said:What baffles me the most about your comments, Konig, is that you are capable of conceding that the purpose of a weapon like the Blade might be to fight the minions of Primordus, but that you don't point out the obvious opposite: that Sohothin and Magdaer might have been made to fight the minions of Jormag.

Well, I didn't for two explicit reasons.

First, while there is one indication (Braham's bow) that Jormag is weak to fire magic in general, Jormag's "unique weakness" is still Primordus' magic, and not Balthazar's. Otherwise, you'd think that Bangar would be wanting to get Sohothin, not the bow - or even Magdaer (and what a great way to bring Magdaer back into the story by having it given to Rytlock's son, becoming corrupted by Jormag).

Second, and far more importantly, their origins. Like I said, the Sanguinary Blade and Dragonsblood Spear were made by dwarves. Sohothin, Magdaer, Staff of the Mists, and Scepter of Orr were made by the Six Gods (or at least, the two swords were owned by one of the Six Gods while all four were gifted by the Six Gods implying previous ownership for all four). This difference in origin is key, imo, because the Six Gods have so far shown zero intent on fighting the Elder Dragons, or providing means to fight them. They knew of the Elder Dragons, and likely knew where at least two were, yet there has been zero evidence to indicate they ever tried to intentionally weaken or kill the Elder Dragons, even when they had a valid replacement ready (Glint).

Add on the fact that the two dragon weapons were made a drastically different timeframe than the four god weapons, and there is no real reason to believe the six weapons were intended for the same purposes.

Other than the fact that they are weapons created by/from the magic of cosmic entities, the two dragon's blood weapons have no relation to the four god gifted weapons.

I think that it is fair to say that the twin bladss, sceptre and staff belong to deep history, even if recent memory has shaped our understanding of what they are.

As to this line specifically, I disagree. Why? Because of their stated origin: the Six Gods.

The Six Gods were newcomers to the planet, just like humans. They're not 10,000 years old like the Elder Dragons - they are, at most by all current indication, 3,000 years old on this planet. The earliest direct mention of their presence in the world is 786 BE, while the earliest indirect mention of their presence is 1769 BE, but that's assuming the Six Gods came with the Forgotten from the Mists (and assuming that line of human history is still accurate).

Sohothin and Magdaer were "Balthazar's weapons", so they wouldn't have deeper history in the world than the Six Gods' presence in the world; and since the Scepter of Orr and Staff of the Mists fulfill similar roles in history as Sohothin and Magdaer, it's a solid bet - even if unconfirmed - that they don't predate the Six Gods' presence either.

The Sanguinary Blade, however, almost definitely predates the Six Gods' presence. It most likely has deep lore.

And that, like before, is a key difference.

Besides, it isn't like these are the only weapons of legendary power - what about the Spear of Archemorous, the Shining Blade, the Claw of the Khan-Ur. These are also weapons of power, just like Sohothin and the Sanguinary Blade. There's bound to be more still. Not all of them are going to be weapons intended to be used against Elder Dragons - nor should they.

If every weapon of power was "a tool to use against dragons", then the lore around them would become stale, stagnant, and predictable.

EDIT:Should be noted there is a fifth god-gifted weapon of power: Verdarach:

Long ago, when Grenth’s powers were raw and new, he created a weapon more potent—and more sinister—than he ever intended. The warhorn Verdarach calls upon the spirits of those who died in horrific battles and summons them as vengeful wraiths. When the horn fades back into the Underworld after combat, its grisly attendants grasp for the souls of the newly slain, eager to conscript them into their ranks.

So... which Elder Dragon is Verdarach meant to be used against? Since that seems to be the running thing with god weapons, supposedly?

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@Stephen.6312 said:

@"Randulf.7614" said:Just in case there is confusion, the original spear is not called the Edge of Destiny - it is the Dragonsblood Spear. Edge of Destiny is merely the title of the book it appeared in which is based off of the Guild name Destiny's Edge which the story within the book revolves around

There is much confusion on my part. Where is it ever stated that the spear was created to kill Kralkatorrik? Afaiaa, Glint states that the spear can kill Kralkatorrik. It's true purpose, however, is never revealed in Edge of Destiny. The revelation of that purpose came from Vlast, who stated that it could do the work of dragons, either in their stead or on their behalf. I doubt, however, that the intended purpose of the weapon was to kill dragons.

I choose to believe that the title of King's novel refers to the spear. It's a matter of opinion and should be considered as much.

I mean, its sole purpose was to kill Kralkatorrik. As Episodes 5 and 6 of Season 4 clearly define. It doesn't do anything else.

Glint: Now you see how we forged a weapon capable of piercing Kralkatorrik's armor: the Dragonsblood Spear.

The purpose of the Dragonsblood Spear was to be a weapon capable of harming Kralkatorrik, just as his children and grandchildren could. That is "the work of dragons" - as silly as it is. And that was established in Edge of Destiny without any hooha.

As for the novel's name - it does refer to Destiny's Edge - it's literally the same name as the guild, just the possessive turned around. In some language, it is the exact same name as the guild because of how possessives work in those languages. If the name referred to the weapon, then that's what Glint would call it in the first instance of Episode 5, when we wield a vision/echo/memory/whateveryouwannacallit of the original Dragonsblood Spear we destroyed - it's what the object we attack in PoF would have been called.

If you want to believe against the facts presented, well, then I guess that's as far as discussion can go.

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@Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

@"Stephen.6312" said:What baffles me the most about your comments, Konig, is that you are capable of conceding that the purpose of a weapon like the Blade might be to fight the minions of Primordus, but that you don't point out the obvious opposite: that Sohothin and Magdaer might have been made to fight the minions of Jormag.

Well, I didn't for two explicit reasons.

First, while there is one indication (Braham's bow) that Jormag is weak to fire magic in general, Jormag's "unique weakness" is still
Primordus' magic
, and not Balthazar's. Otherwise, you'd think that Bangar would be wanting to get Sohothin, not the bow - or even Magdaer (and what a great way to bring Magdaer back into the story by having it given to Rytlock's son, becoming corrupted by Jormag).

Second, and
far
more importantly, their origins. Like I said, the Sanguinary Blade and Dragonsblood Spear were made by dwarves. Sohothin, Magdaer, Staff of the Mists, and Scepter of Orr were made by the Six Gods (or at least, the two swords were
owned
by one of the Six Gods while all four were
gifted
by the Six Gods implying previous ownership for all four). This difference in origin is key, imo, because the Six Gods have so far shown
zero
intent on fighting the Elder Dragons, or providing means to fight them. They knew of the Elder Dragons, and likely knew where at least two were, yet there has been zero evidence to indicate they ever tried to intentionally weaken or kill the Elder Dragons, even when they had a valid replacement ready (Glint).

Add on the fact that the two dragon weapons were made a drastically different timeframe than the four god weapons, and there is no real reason to believe the six weapons were intended for the same purposes.

Other than the fact that they are weapons created by/from the magic of cosmic entities, the two dragon's blood weapons have no relation to the four god gifted weapons.

I think that it is fair to say that the twin bladss, sceptre and staff belong to deep history, even if recent memory has shaped our understanding of what they are.

As to this line specifically, I disagree. Why? Because of their stated origin: the Six Gods.

The Six Gods were
newcomers
to the planet, just like humans. They're not 10,000 years old like the Elder Dragons - they are, at most by all current indication, 3,000 years old on this planet. The earliest direct mention of their presence in the world is 786 BE, while the earliest indirect mention of their presence is 1769 BE, but that's assuming the Six Gods came with the Forgotten from the Mists (and assuming that line of human history is still accurate).

Sohothin and Magdaer were "Balthazar's weapons", so they wouldn't have deeper history in the world than the Six Gods' presence in the world; and since the Scepter of Orr and Staff of the Mists fulfill similar roles in history as Sohothin and Magdaer, it's a solid bet - even if unconfirmed - that they don't predate the Six Gods' presence either.

The Sanguinary Blade, however, almost definitely predates the Six Gods' presence. It
most likely
has deep lore.

And that, like before, is a key difference.

Besides, it isn't like these are the only weapons of legendary power - what about the Spear of Archemorous, the Shining Blade, the Claw of the Khan-Ur. These are also weapons of power, just like Sohothin and the Sanguinary Blade. There's bound to be more still. Not all of them are going to be weapons intended to be used against Elder Dragons - nor should they.

If every weapon of power was "a tool to use against dragons", then the lore around them would become stale, stagnant, and predictable.

EDIT:Should be noted there is a fifth god-gifted weapon of power: Verdarach:

Long ago, when Grenth’s powers were raw and new, he created a weapon more potent—and more sinister—than he ever intended. The warhorn Verdarach calls upon the spirits of those who died in horrific battles and summons them as vengeful wraiths. When the horn fades back into the Underworld after combat, its grisly attendants grasp for the souls of the newly slain, eager to conscript them into their ranks.

So... which Elder Dragon is Verdarach meant to be used against? Since that seems to be the running thing with god weapons, supposedly?

Konig, I never intended for you to interpret my remarks about the various weapons origins as an indication that their true purposes were to be used as weapons against Elder Dragons. I was, instead, trying to say that we don't know the full history of any of the valuable artifacts with which we are familiar.

I accept that, in every example supplied to me by both Randulf and yourself, the spear can be used against Kralkatorrik. However, it is never explicitly stated that the reason the spear was created was to kill Kralkatorrik. Sure, the newest version of the spear was created to harm Kralkatorrik, but that doesn't mean that the original was meant to be used against him.

I accept that not everyone thinks that the title of the book, Edge of Destiny, reveals the true name of the original Dragonsblood Spear. I am happy if people call it the Dragonsblood Spear, Kralkatorrik's Spine, the Edge of Destiny, or anything else for that matter. It's all a matter of opinion.

I'm done making comments on this thread.

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The original was stated to be created to kill Kralk. This is is all in ep5 which talks about how Glint made the original - the same spear used in the novel.

We know for sure the name of the spear and we know 100% why it was created - that is all written into the story without ambiguity. We are indeed fortunate there is no need for the invention of new ideas to cover holes that don’t exist.

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@"Stephen.6312" said:Konig, I never intended for you to interpret my remarks about the various weapons origins as an indication that their true purposes were to be used as weapons against Elder Dragons. I was, instead, trying to say that we don't know the full history of any of the valuable artifacts with which we are familiar.

I mean, you're the one who said:

"you don't point out the obvious opposite: that Sohothin and Magdaer might have been made to fight the minions of Jormag."

Emphasize the bold.

What a weapon is made to do, is what their "true purpose" is.

I accept that, in every example supplied to me by both Randulf and yourself, the spear can be used against Kralkatorrik. However, it is never explicitly stated that the reason the spear was created was to kill Kralkatorrik. Sure, the newest version of the spear was created to harm Kralkatorrik, but that doesn't mean that the original was meant to be used against him.It actually is explicitly stated that the reason the spear was created was to kill Kralkatorrik, in both the novel and Episode 5. That is, in fact, it's only stated purpose, besides Vlast's super ambiguous description that doesn't match anything else about the spear.

I accept that not everyone thinks that the title of the book, Edge of Destiny, reveals the true name of the original Dragonsblood Spear. I am happy if people call it the Dragonsblood Spear, Kralkatorrik's Spine, the Edge of Destiny, or anything else for that matter. It's all a matter of opinion.If this was so, then why does no one ever call it "Edge of Destiny", but always call it "Dragonsblood Spear" - capitalized, even.

Facts aren't a matter of opinion - that's what makes them facts. "Alternative facts" is a non-existent thing.

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