Current Tengu in Cantha

[Poormany.4507]

The new Bladesworn elite spec video shows us fighting a Tengu in Cantha (Shing-Jea Island in particular if the trailer location is accurate). As all the other enemies in the trailers seem to be hostile factions (naga, bandits (likely Crimson Skull remnants or descendants)), it would seem like the Tengu are also hostile. Any thoughts/speculation on why we'd be fighting  the Tengu in Cantha, given that we've just allied with the Tyrian faction?

 

Also, how did they survive for that long with the Ministry of Purity already actively targeting them and the village of Aerie in particular, in GW1?

Edited September 16, 2021 by Poormany.4507

[Narcemus.1348]

I don't have any answers for the rest, but there is an easy answer as to why they may be hostile while the ones in Tyria are not. That answer is that they are completely different groups. The tengu in Tyria that allied with us are the ones from the Dominion of Winds located in Tyria. They have likely has just as little contact with Canthan Tengu as the rest of Tyria, which means that they are likely completely different groups.

[Fueki.4753]

For all we know, that could just be a sparring session with a Tengu NPC that travelled with us.

[radda.8920]

probably Sensali survivors

[Sirius.4510]

Yeah, I would guess these were Sensali that somehow evaded Emperor Usoku's purge. I figured they would fight to the death rather than give up their homeland, but maybe a few of them were pragmatic enough to realize there was no point and went into hiding.

I would have to assume the Naga either have a similar story or got retconned as non-sapient and were therefore beneath Usoku's attention.

 

Or it could be a sparring session, sure, we don't actually know it isn't.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Sirius.4510

[Diovid.9506]

You guys are only talking about 1 reason why there should be less Tengu in Cantha now than in GW1's time: The purging of non-humans by the canthans. However, there is actually a second reason and combined with the first reason it made me personally think we wouldn't see any Tengu at all in Cantha, at least I thought that before I saw the Bladesworn video.

 

See, when Zhaitan woke up and rose Orr, the Tengu from all around the world (including Cantha) saw this as a sign to travel to Kyrta and unite there in the Dominion of Winds. So not only did the humans want the Tengu out, the Tengu themselves also wanted to leave.

 

Of course it might well be that not all Tengu believed in the sign of the 'Great Tsunami' and so some (probably specifically the Sensai) remained in Cantha.

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

14 hours ago, Poormany.4507 said:

The new Bladesworn elite spec video shows us fighting a Tengu in Cantha (Shing-Jea Island in particular if the trailer location is accurate). As all the other enemies in the trailers seem to be hostile factions (naga, bandits (likely Crimson Skull remnants or descendants)), it would seem like the Tengu are also hostile. Any thoughts/speculation on why we'd be fighting  the Tengu in Cantha, given that we've just allied with the Tyrian faction?

 

Also, how did they survive for that long with the Ministry of Purity already actively targeting them and the village of Aerie in particular, in GW1?

1. Those are krait in the Bladesworn video, and use the same models as krait in Kryta maps, though what seems to be a naga does show up in today's Catalyst video.
2. Nothing says they survived in Cantha. Maybe they're returning with the PC. After all, GW1's tengu in Cantha looked nothing like that.
3. The Ministry of Purity wouldn't be capable of covering every nook and cranny. A village or two of dredge and tengu surviving isn't unfathomable. Especially since dredge are naturally underground inhabitants and tengu are natural cliff inhabitants. Not the best places for humans to traverse, especially armies of.
4. The continent of Cantha is far larger than the empire's borders, and we still don't know all of where the expansion will take us. We might go to a new section of the continent that is outside of Imperial Cantha's domains, where non-humans thrive as tenuous or even warring neighbors to the empire.

25 minutes ago, Diovid.9506 said:

Of course it might well be that not all Tengu believed in the sign of the 'Great Tsunami' and so some (probably specifically the Sensai) remained in Cantha.

The Queztal of Woodland Cascades is proof that not all tengu believed in that sign of the Great Tsunami. It wouldn't be surprising if a small tribe remained in Cantha.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Konig Des Todes.2086