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Valmir.4590

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Everything posted by Valmir.4590

  1. Mountains are usually given female pronouns for some reason (read that it's probably due to ancient people thinking mountains are giant goddess or deities) I think arguing about a Dragon's gender is the same as arguing about the gender of a roll of toilet paper. It really depends on the language. Most of the name of mountains in France (and thus in french) are male, for instance.
  2. Agreed. Sure, the original story was boastful and all, but it painted a rather sad pictures of the Norns, who were so damn individualistic and eager to fight Jormag that they'd rather all die than change tactics. But I'm really happy that Anet is finally focusing on Norn and Charrs with a Dragons far more complex in its approaches than any other before.
  3. That's a very interesting theorycrafting, but I think you're making a slight mistake concerning the Spirits of the Wild. 1: The Nature of the Spirits Unlike other beings, Jormag doesn't seem able to corrupt the Spirits of the Wild into icebroods. They can convince them to turn to their side and submit, but the SPirits are still their own individual entities, with their own powers and rules. In a lot of animistic or chamanistic cultures, spirits have banes and bans and some form of obligations when dealing with mortals, and I think that's the case here. While the corrupted Spirits submitted themselves to Jormag, they are still bound by the rules of their nature. A prophecy is clearly binding enough that they cannot refuse to lend their help if the Chosen undergoes the right rites and ceremonies. The corrupted Spirits are, after all, quite contemptuous of Braham, dismissing him each in their own way. But he gives them answers which are sufficient to work around the Word of Jormag because they aren't bound to their Will. I suspect that if Jormag can corrupt but not turn entirely the Spirits, it's because they too are part of the All, in their own way. They are apparently lesser than Gods or Elder Dragons in their power, but they also seems to be deeply tuned to the natural world, in ways that the others aren't. We have only ever met the Spirits of beasts because they are willing to help the Norn and be worshipped by them, but there is after all Spirits of Mountains, of Jungle, of Fire... I would very much like to meet the Spirit of Mountains, if it does reside in the Shiverpeaks, for instance, for he must possess vast knowledge of the past. 2: Why the Spirits agreed to lead the Norn south From what I can gather, having been never lucky enough to be on a map where the giant icebrood is defeated, the Spirits where with Asgeir when he made his deal with Jormag. They could have refused to follow up with it, since they weren't bound by it, but I suspect that the Death of Owl changed things. The Spirits of the Wild must have endured countless cycles of the Elder Dragons, but I suspect that it was the first time that one of them - Owl - died fighting them. Why? Because, just like the Spirits change the Norns (who have changed significantly in the 250 years between EotN and GW2), they too changed the Spirits, by giving them followers and students but also source of inspiration and legends. If we look at the other great races living in the Shiverpeaks who could have made a pact with the Spirits in ancient time, we see that they don't seem to be so inclined. The Dwarves were the creation of the Great Dwarf (is he truly an entity, or some attempt to create a "dwarvish" Elder Dragon by the way? The descriptions of the Great Dwarf are quite strange on the Gw 1 and 2 wiki) and not at all interested by what the Spirits are. The Jotuns were similarly scholars and astromancer, wielders of powerful magic. But since their pride was their downfall, I doubt that they cared about the Spirits, they wouldn't have liked to barter with them, which seems to be the rule for the Norn's interactions with them. Finally, we have the Kodans, whose whole story is that they consider themselves to be the Chosen People of "God" (Koda, in this case) existing to judge all, mortals and Spirits alike. They are not interested at all in the Spirits of the Wild - in fact, they consider the Norns to be on the brink of the ultimate spiritual devolution. Their own myths regarding the Norns obviously play a part, but I think that it's also because they worship the Spirits instead of judging them which rub the Kodans the wrong way. And if you look at those three races, Dwarves, Jotuns and Kodans, you'll notice a difference between them and the Norns. All three of them are dead-lock set in their ways. The Jotuns fell, hard, obviously but even today, they still retain the behavior which reduced them from sorcerer-kings to overgrown troglodytes. The Kodans are certain of their ways and to change them is akin to losing everything. And the Dwarves...well, they became the Great Dwarf again - or turned themselves into Primordius for some of them. But the Norns are different. The tenet of their society is to become a legend to inspire future generations , so they can and will change with the rise and fall of legendary individuals. I think that the Spirits covered Asgeir's lie because of it. Because they know that the Norn can change, and that if they can, then they can force others to change. 250 years ago, no Norn would have joined an army, especially as a simple soldier. Nowaday, they do. 250 years ago, Jhavi would have left the Vigil the second Almorra died because she would have been convinced by Almorra to join, but wouldn't have an attachment to the organization. She stays and fight and is a Vigil at heart. I think that the Spirits of the Wild want the endless cycle of destruction and creation to end, to have something more sustainable for all put in its place. And perhaps that Jormag truly wants the same thing. Time will tell.
  4. After Crecia and Jhavi witnesses Jormag controlling Fraenir's body and using his voice, they make that conjecture about Almorra's call.Dialog from https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Invitation @Konig Des Todes.2086 said: And what prevents those whispers to be direct "conversation" to reveal some of its motivations? Jormag doesn't listen to the Commander speak, so it's less a conversation and more a monologue. Which would be no different than the whispering. The VA is hard to tell since, as you say, the tone changes. Jormag has shown us four different tones so far - if the whispers are Jormag. Otherwise just three. One thing Jormag can do with a body is to emote with body gestures. That is a difference between physical interactions and a phone call. The body converses just as much as voice. Creepy smiles included.It's also rpetty clear that Jormag had something precise in mind with Jhavi. For whatever reason, they seem strnagely fixated on Jora's bloodline in this episode, even if they call it Svanir's. I suspect that they planned to have Jhavi turning into another new Champion. Perhaps even a new Nornbear, to go with the Boneskinner (hopefully that creature will appear again, I want to see that sort of creepy entity be a recurring theme.Also, I wonder if anyone can become a Boneskinner, or only Kodan and Norn (which could hint at a connection between the two. if the Kodans can transform into something like that, couldn't they change into norns also, if the means were discovered?).
  5. I suspect that Almorra Killed the Svanirs with the coms but died of her wounds. Then Jormag called the Commander, probably to lure him/her in and try to corrupt him. But when it didn't work, they changed tactic and actually talked to us. in the creepiest and yet best GW2 cinematic so far.
  6. I'll definitively polish my main Raven-touched Scrapper Norn !
  7. It depends of the story of your guardian. A Bear or Wolf-touched Guardian would probably lean more toward Strength, but Intuition could also works. Raven and Snow Leopard's would mostly revolve around Cunning or Intuition, I suspect.
  8. Dolyak, Owl, Wolverine, and Eagle are the four that directly turned to fight off Jormag and delay the dragon long enough for the other spirits to guide the Norn south to safety. Owl is confirmed dead/consumed, the other three are "unknown" as they haven't had a havroun for a long time. Shamans, but no Havroun. Dolyak/Minortaur returns at the start of the Norn character storyline (I don't remember which). however, I don't remember if it is said that Minortaur is indeed the one who fought Jormag or not at that time. But I do love the idea of a "rotten" Spirit of the Wild, what happens when their lessons are corrupted/twiwted to fit some other ends. Out of all the magical/spititual entities of Tyria, the Spirits are perhaps the most mysterious left. Their relation to their species is left dubious, they have an innate connection to the Mist and abilities to allow some of their followers to walk in them freely and at will... Just like the Norns and the Kodans, really, whose origins and past are still quite unknown.
  9. I just hope that now she'll actually talk to us :p
  10. It's quite true that the Norns have changed since GW1 - a place like Hoelbrak would have been impossible to sprout up back in the days. They seem a lot more sociable -even if they still retain a rather blatant distaste of physical weakness in more remote corners, as seen with the mother and her daughter travelling to Hoelbrak because the girl is sickly. Concerning the mate bit, it may just be a matter of terminology, or perhaps a sort of reference to the Pagan tradition of handfasting, which could make sense in such a culture (even if the temporary nature of such marriages perhaps wouldn't exist among Norns). @Danikat.8537 and @"VAHNeunzehnsechundsiebzig.3618" : I sort of agree that, in theory, other kind of Norns could have as equally impressive legends, such as the Havroun of a low-key or newly discovered Spirit of the Wild (it's a shame that we never saw spiritually inclined Norns going into Maguuma or ELona just in search of such Spirits, even if I guess they have little interests in moving outside their mountains and thus such entities wouldn't have much to bring them), some great bard or the likes. But our PC isn't just a killing machine, he also walked in the domains of the Gods (Spirits of Action), died and came back to life and has had access to trove of knowledge, especially if he's from the Priory. Also, I don't think a Norn, no matter how non-war-like he or she would be, would accept to have his/her mate being the one defending her worthiness. All things considered, the Norns are still very individualistic and there is a veneer of toxic masculinity in a lot of their society when you truly look at it, which extends also to females (be strong, don't show your feelings save anger, show that you're the thoughest baddass out there, etc.). There is a reason why the Sons of Svanirs are even more mysoginistic that the Flame Legion, after all. I don't think that most Norns would be able to endure the constant belittling and need for their heroic mate to protect them without snapping badly.
  11. Yes, the Norn PC is pretty much screwed if he's an hetero guy ( a woman could perhaps have Braham as almost as legendary as herself, for instance). He just raked too much legendary feats over the course of the game to find a worthy mate. Now, I guess nothing prevent him from having a fling with someone, and children, (and that's valid for both genders) but I don't really know how the Norns would feel about it. As many things with them, I guess it would really depends on the individual : should one only have children with someone of equal status at that time, or is it okay? What we do know is that marriage is not as binding for them as for humans : the couple can be separated for years (like Knut and his wife) or even simply "divorce" when they don't feel like following the same path.
  12. That's quite possible, but let's not discount another fact : we don't know how early humans behaved. The reports and stories about their arrival on the world of Tyria and their spread from Orr to Cantha (or was it the reverse?), Elona and finally Tyria (the continent) are patchy, at best. We don't know what they did, how they behaved beyond the broadest of sketeches. It's not too far-fetched, considering what humans are IRL and how close to it GW2 humans are, that not all those migrations started peacefully. After all, the Guild Wars happened, even discounting other wars between the kindgoms. Certainly, the Forgotten were never met with nothing but hostility from Mankind, as far as I can tell, the Centaurs obviously weren't met with offers to share the lands in an amiable way, which seems to give credence to kalavier's theroy that only the inhabitants of inhospitable places were met with diplomacy (and even then, the hatred from the Stone Summits had to come from somewhere. I think it was the Guild Wars, but I may be wrong here); or places which held no significance to the humans, while evn the Desert Crystal was sought after because of the Rites of Ascenscion. Overall, while far better than the Charrs', humanity track records when it comes to other races is far from stellar, from the few sources of lore we have.
  13. Jhavi is one character I'm awaiting the most to see highlighted, and why I'm so happy to see Norns and Charrs egt the spotlight. I hope we'll get a "One Episode is Norn/Kodan focused" followed by a more "Charr focused" one. The Norns really need some more fleshing out in my book.
  14. Concerning the original post, I'd like us all to consider how far up North Ascalonian settlers went, since they have a massive ruin in Grothmar Valley. This place is extremely far away from the Ascalonian Basin, and what is usually considered the heartland of Royal Ascalon. Meaning that even if the Charr held the later portion of territory only for 20 years, they also had their own land invaded long enough and deep enough for humans to be able to build fortifications near the Far Shiverpeaks, and have them still manned when Adelbern unleashed the Foefire (since we know ghosts of the Foefire don't wander far from their place of death). Grothamar Valley is North to the Eye of the North, after all. In that regard, the deep grudge and hatred of ancient Charr against humans is easier to understand. While their society is largely nasty and unable to sustain long lasting peace as it is, I also think it wouldn't take too much to keep some of those (the fahrars, the warbands, the cohesion inside each Legion) and use it as a template for a more progressive and cohesive society. I think it's more the ideology and war-like culture which needs to change, more so than the structures of the Charrs. They aren't so far from actual Socialism, in a way, so I would be sad to see them tear all of it down instead of acvtually improving what they already have.
  15. It also depends on how the Jade Sea and Echovald Forest evolved over the decades/centuries. If they remained mostly stone, I doubt they could accomodate a growing population. However, if they have mostly reverted to their previous state, from before the Jade Wind, then all bets are up. If we ever go to Cantha, we could even find ourselves in the middle of such an attempted colonization by the main ethnic group, if the changes were reversed only recently.
  16. Which is really great in my book. If ANet play it right, we could get an excellent antagonist/villain who doesn't have crazy powers or anything, just a viewpoint on life so different from us that we can't live together, and that one has to give up.
  17. If you're still looking, it was at the very end of the stream. Well, I'll be damned, but I didn't expect bangar to look and sound so... not brutally cartoonish. He's a lot more suave than what I expected.
  18. I would actually really like Jormag thriving to truly become Dragon, as in "Well, I ended liking those dumb Norns. Humans and Sylvaris have that upstart Aurene as their Elder Dragon now, well, i'll be the Norn's... also the charrs, since they are drunk buddies !" More seriously, Jormag have often been depicted as the subtler of the Elder Dragons. They were the first to get interested in the Mists (per some of Norn character early story elements), obviously well in contact with the Norns and Kodans via their minions, either willing (like the Sons of Svanir, also an oddity since they are the only one we know who willingly serve a Dragon). If an Eldar Dragon would change tactics because of the actions of mortals and the rise of a new one, it would be they, I suspect.
  19. I found that the French VA sounded a lot more genuine at first but that the last bits of the preview lacked some of the malevolent and draonic effects on the voice. ALso, the artstyle of this trailer was absolutely awesome. The Icebrood Charr looks really frightening (or was it a Kodan ? I'm almost sure it's a charr, but I could be wrong). I wonder if we'll have some siege maps, like the Eye of the North (I think it was the structure at the very end of the trailer, behind Braham, Rytlock and the woman norn I suspect is Javi Jorasdottir).
  20. Well, first thing first... Thank You Arenat Net ! As a Norn and to a lesser extant Charr fan, I'm so happy to see the two of them, plus the Far Shiverpeaks at the forefront of the story for the time being ! I'm so happy right now, I just hope they'll really held the spotlight, with the line of Jora, the Blood Legion, the Spirits of the Wild (who did not ditch us like those puny Spirits of Action!) and so much more. Just, please... No Inquest for the time being, yes ? Good old fashioned drunked Norn, Charrs and Kodans charging against Jormag and her Icebroods !
  21. In the French version of the trailer, Jormag's voice is distinctively female, which surprised me because I listened to the English one first, where he sounded very male to me. But I'm so happy to see Charrs, Norns, Kodans and possibly centaurs getting some love plus the damn FAR SHIVERPEAKS that I'm elated, right now. I just want to NOT have Asura, the Inquest or any of their techynology in the first parts of the story, please, ANet !
  22. I had forgotten about him, but it seems that the Norn may have a more controlled economy than I believed, at least in Hoelbrak : https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ayslin_Hovde
  23. I'll confess, I'm surprised that it'll be in Hoelbrak. The Iron Citadel or even the Grove I would have understood because of which Elder Dragons were killed, but Hoelbrak ? I guess that the Norn really just wanted an excuse for huge revelry, legend-telling and brawling in their "capital" !
  24. I think that Kryta is a strange mix between France and England during late Middle-Age/early Renaissance : the crown seems to own most of the land and nobles are largely deprived of sprawling estates (Caudecus being really the outlier here) like in France, while the Kings and Queens don't posses the power over the rest of society since there has been a council keeping them in check, like in England. Things seems to be changing over, since Jennah has dealt with the White Mantle and seems to have overpowered the Ministers, as far as I remember. It could lead to a short-term bolstering of the Kingdom, with a more effective centralized political power, but it also has many downfalls in the future. I suspect that there is tax collectors who responded to the Ministers and Fermiers-Généraux in the countryside, who collects taxes and feudal rights and redistribute a fixed portion of it to the Kingdom. However, the whole Krytan situation is kind of hard to know, right now, because the state of the game doesn't translate to the changes the kingdom endured : there is no White Mantle anymore, bandits are probably a lot weaker now, the Seraphs are rising again, Centaurs are on the run, and Kessex has been largely destroyed, which is bound to offset a lot of political and economical elements of the Kingdom. Mostly, I think that the situation has improved for Kryta economically, which could allow it to extend his range of production and even his territorial ambitions toward Lion Arch's hinterland. Ebonhawk is probably still largely a war economy, where luxury goods are extremely rare and costly -and possibly not that sought after yet, considering how long those Ascalonians endured a grievous siege and probably leaned ever more toward a spartan-like furniture and housing behavior. I also suspect that behind the Fallen Angels who arrived only recently I think, economy here is largely self-contained and backwater compared to mainland Kryta, except in the fields of war (armors, weapons and siege engines are probably top notch in Ebonhawk, out of necessity). The Iron legion (the only Legion we truly know about, economically) are obviously a ver fixed-income economy. A nation-army can't allow goods to suddenly become so costly that supplying the rank and file will be impossible. I don't see them at all as Communists, despite the fahrar. For me, they are merely a militaristic totalitarian state which doesn't really care about equality and in fact put a lot of importance into hierarchy and order. To not respect those is basically begging to become a Gladius, scrapping a meager existence at the bottom of this society. It's doubtful that they have much incentive to go out of their way to trade with outsiders yet, since most of those are confined to the Black Citadel anyway. Things could change however, but I think that the Ash and Blood Legions are vast enough to absorb most of the surplus produced by the Iron Legion. The Norns don't have an economy. At least not in the sense that we apply to this word. They produce goods, sure, but I highly doubt that they see production, selling and buying as some massive system. For them, it's probably one guy producing quality goods in the vicinity and selling them to those who needs them, so he can buy things HE needs. I wouldn't be surprised that troc and reciprocal exchanges still are a large part of the everyday life of any Norn settlement and family. The most important part -and the smaller- of production is probably in the range of artifacts, however, goods considered so good that they are legendary in themselves, because they were created by legendary artisans. As for the other two races, I really don't know enough about them to fathom how they work yet.
  25. Honestly, right about now, I would take a Blood Legion Homeland/Far Shiverpeaks expansion opening gates to new lands (East and North of the tyrian subcontinent) over Cantha, if only because the world is so damn vast that there must be untold number of civilizations and species we've never even seen. If ANet so wished, they could have an actual remnant of the Age of Giants somewhere in the East for instance, while they can't do much more than another human Kingdom, asian-themed with Cantha right now.But if in both case, we can avoid Asura everywhere, solving everything with their technology, it would be great. I get it, Arena Net likes them, but the other races are utterly ridiculous compared to them now.
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