So what's in the Jade Sea?

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

40 minutes ago, TeeracK.3601 said:

All conjecture they have never confirmed. He was just a very angry boi.

Not sure if troll, but assuming not: it wasn't conjecture, but truth. While specifics of the day "aren't known" by Canthans (despite ritualists literally pulling souls out of the afterlife to question wtf happened that day), we players got to see the events directly in cutscenes and trailers. And we can very visibly see Shiro stealing magic from Angisyan, who was known to receive blessings from Dwayna.

Not to mention the revenant's Jade Wind is probably the best a mere mortal can do without major magic boost by gods.

[TeeracK.3601]

On 2/28/2023 at 8:52 AM, Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

Not sure if troll, but assuming not: it wasn't conjecture, but truth. While specifics of the day "aren't known" by Canthans (despite ritualists literally pulling souls out of the afterlife to question wtf happened that day), we players got to see the events directly in cutscenes and trailers. And we can very visibly see Shiro stealing magic from Angisyan, who was known to receive blessings from Dwayna.

Not to mention the revenant's Jade Wind is probably the best a mere mortal can do without major magic boost by gods.

It's always been one of those silly arena net things were we don't even really know what exactly goes on during the harvest festival just know its relationship to the gods and people have assumed that it empowered Shiro some how. look into it its ever been as confirmed as it should have been

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

2 hours ago, TeeracK.3601 said:

It's always been one of those silly arena net things were we don't even really know what exactly goes on during the harvest festival just know its relationship to the gods and people have assumed that it empowered Shiro some how. look into it its ever been as confirmed as it should have been

We see Shiro absorbing magic from Emperor Angsiyan in the trailer, timestamped in the link above. And from An Empire Divided, an article in the Guild Wars Factions Prima Guide, we are told what the nature of that stolen magic is:

Spoiler

However it began, Shiro consummated his plan on the final day of the Harvest Festival in the year 1382 CC. On that most holy day of the Canthan year, when all of the gods were praised to the heavens and the emperor's divine blessing was placed on the land, Shiro accompanied his sovereign to the Harvest Temple. Though the temple guards objected, he was allowed to retain his blades inside the temple, but the rest of Angsiyan's entourage was not.

A sharp-eyed Assassin named Vizu, who had arrived at the festival on the run from Am Fah thugs, took note of Shiro's exchange with the guards. She recognized Shiro, of course; no Assassin in Cantha was unaware that one of their discipline protected the divine ruler of the empire. For the briefest of moments, Shiro's gaze locked with Vizu's, and her heart turned to ice. Behind his eyes she saw the death of the empire. Yet with the emperor surrounded by Ritualist retainers and followed by the champions of the vassal factions and their own retinues, she was unable to act on her premonition—for a time.

When the emperor's personal entourage entered the holiest of sanctuaries, the four Ritualists that looked after his immortal soul took their positions at the four points of the compass, and Angsiyan knelt to pray. Shiro kept to the shadows near the entrance to the chamber. He struck the moment the emperor had received the second blessing of Holy Dwayna, Shadow Stepping through the void to materialize directly behind Angsiyan's back. With a roar, Shiro drove both of his blades through the emperor's heart.

The Ritualists reacted with courage, but they didn't stand a chance. Shiro mercilessly cut them down, though not before the last one to die struck the ceremonial gong that dominated the sanctuary. Outside, the sound of the gong (almost an hour too early) and the lingering, agonized scream of the dying Ritualist alerted the temple guards that there was trouble. The two champions of the vassal factions heard cries that the emperor was in trouble, and did not hesitate. They left their ceremonial positions at the head of their own faction's delegations and charged after the guards to the emperor's side. It would prove to be the last time in recorded history that the two factions worked together willingly.

The Assassin Vizu, driven perhaps as much by a wish to evade the Am Fah as she was by the desire of every Canthan to protect and honor her emperor, followed the champions. She too knew the secrets of instantaneous movement, and with a few Shadow Steps she soon found herself in the sanctuary, well ahead of Archemorus, Saint Viktor, and the guards. To her horror, she was alone with two people. One was the emperor, still barely clinging to life, a look of stark agony twisting his features into a terrifying mask. The other was in the process of tearing Angsiyan's soul from his body, consuming it with his raw will, feeding on the emperor's life force as it drained through the conduit of Shiro's enchanted swords.

Vizu knew she had to stop the bodyguard, but she could not do it alone. The corpses that littered the room were convincing evidence of that, and the dash up the stairs had sapped her strength. She could only stall for time. Summoning her last reserves of Energy, Vizu called to Shiro, interrupting his efforts momentarily. Then she Shadow Stepped behind him, exactly as Shiro had done to Angsiyan moments before. Unfortunately for Shiro, his pride had not anticipated someone using his own trick against him, and before he could react Vizu drove her daggers into his shoulders. Shiro's swords clattered to the ground, but the bodyguard lashed out a half-second later with a sharp, precise blow that slammed Vizu into the altar and knocked her own weapons from her hands.

The delay was enough. Before Shiro could recover his blades and continue to consume the emperor's soul, the champions burst into the sanctuary. Shiro, wounded and dazed from Vizu's sudden attack and the heady infusion of power, stumbled. Archemorus and Saint Viktor—who had both entered the temple unarmed, of course—took the opportunity to take up Shiro's swords. The traitorous sorcerer raised himself to his knees, but the Luxon and the Kurzick met him with his own blades. The champions nearly cut Shiro in half, and for a moment, Vizu believed it was over.

Even now, no one but Shiro knows how this act triggered what happened next, or whether it was his plan all along. As the twin swords sliced into his form, Shiro screamed, a sound that rose from the depths of some hellish place and grew to a deafening pitch. The death wail exploded with the palpable force of incalculable power, with the dying Shiro at its epicenter. The champions were the next to die, transformed to stone in an instant. Vizu, her senses returned, witnessed the earliest effects of what became known as the Jade Wind only by using every ounce of Energy she had left. For almost half a minute she stayed one Shadow Step ahead of the screaming shockwave as it petrified the landscape, laying waste to any living thing in its path. She reached the edge of the Jade Sea before her luck and strength finally gave out, and she died a stony figure on an empty beach. Years later, when Canthan society began to recover, the new emperor's Ritualists would find a way to retrieve the brave Assassin's soul from the netherworld and preserve her essence in a sacred place.

But that would not be for some time yet. The Jade Wind continued to expand, radiating out from the Harvest Temple with a shrieking wail that would not dissipate for hours. It consumed the thriving, vibrant life of the Echovald Forest; the holy, ancient trees the Kurzicks called home became stone columns that would never grow again. The waters of the Jade Sea crystallized, waves frozen in eternal crests, ending the seafaring existence of the Luxons in an instant. The farmlands of the continent were mostly spared the effects of the initial wave, but as hordes of terrified survivors swarmed northward to escape, they inadvertently destroyed the entire year's crops. Only by the timely intervention of Angsiyan's heir, who ordered the forced relocation of farmers to Shing Jea Island as one of his first acts as sovereign, did the empire avoid starvation for years to come. In fact, some have gone so far as to say that Shiro targeted the wrong man, so capable was Emperor Hanjai in the aftermath of the disaster.

https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/An_Empire_Divided

So, yeah, it has been well confirmed. The depiction matches the trailer that visually shows what happens, too. And the events are even reinforced in-game, such as Shiro's enchanted blades being used to steal magic and Angisyan's soul is depicted mechanically as having the Vampiric (life stealing) prefix.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Konig Des Todes.2086

[TeeracK.3601]

1 hour ago, Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

We see Shiro absorbing magic from Emperor Angsiyan in the trailer, timestamped in the link above. And from An Empire

  Reveal hidden contents

Divided, an article in the Guild Wars Factions Prima Guide, we are told what the nature of that stolen magic is:

However it began, Shiro consummated his plan on the final day of the Harvest Festival in the year 1382 CC. On that most holy day of the Canthan year, when all of the gods were praised to the heavens and the emperor's divine blessing was placed on the land, Shiro accompanied his sovereign to the Harvest Temple. Though the temple guards objected, he was allowed to retain his blades inside the temple, but the rest of Angsiyan's entourage was not.

A sharp-eyed Assassin named Vizu, who had arrived at the festival on the run from Am Fah thugs, took note of Shiro's exchange with the guards. She recognized Shiro, of course; no Assassin in Cantha was unaware that one of their discipline protected the divine ruler of the empire. For the briefest of moments, Shiro's gaze locked with Vizu's, and her heart turned to ice. Behind his eyes she saw the death of the empire. Yet with the emperor surrounded by Ritualist retainers and followed by the champions of the vassal factions and their own retinues, she was unable to act on her premonition—for a time.

When the emperor's personal entourage entered the holiest of sanctuaries, the four Ritualists that looked after his immortal soul took their positions at the four points of the compass, and Angsiyan knelt to pray. Shiro kept to the shadows near the entrance to the chamber. He struck the moment the emperor had received the second blessing of Holy Dwayna, Shadow Stepping through the void to materialize directly behind Angsiyan's back. With a roar, Shiro drove both of his blades through the emperor's heart.

The Ritualists reacted with courage, but they didn't stand a chance. Shiro mercilessly cut them down, though not before the last one to die struck the ceremonial gong that dominated the sanctuary. Outside, the sound of the gong (almost an hour too early) and the lingering, agonized scream of the dying Ritualist alerted the temple guards that there was trouble. The two champions of the vassal factions heard cries that the emperor was in trouble, and did not hesitate. They left their ceremonial positions at the head of their own faction's delegations and charged after the guards to the emperor's side. It would prove to be the last time in recorded history that the two factions worked together willingly.

The Assassin Vizu, driven perhaps as much by a wish to evade the Am Fah as she was by the desire of every Canthan to protect and honor her emperor, followed the champions. She too knew the secrets of instantaneous movement, and with a few Shadow Steps she soon found herself in the sanctuary, well ahead of Archemorus, Saint Viktor, and the guards. To her horror, she was alone with two people. One was the emperor, still barely clinging to life, a look of stark agony twisting his features into a terrifying mask. The other was in the process of tearing Angsiyan's soul from his body, consuming it with his raw will, feeding on the emperor's life force as it drained through the conduit of Shiro's enchanted swords.

Vizu knew she had to stop the bodyguard, but she could not do it alone. The corpses that littered the room were convincing evidence of that, and the dash up the stairs had sapped her strength. She could only stall for time. Summoning her last reserves of Energy, Vizu called to Shiro, interrupting his efforts momentarily. Then she Shadow Stepped behind him, exactly as Shiro had done to Angsiyan moments before. Unfortunately for Shiro, his pride had not anticipated someone using his own trick against him, and before he could react Vizu drove her daggers into his shoulders. Shiro's swords clattered to the ground, but the bodyguard lashed out a half-second later with a sharp, precise blow that slammed Vizu into the altar and knocked her own weapons from her hands.

The delay was enough. Before Shiro could recover his blades and continue to consume the emperor's soul, the champions burst into the sanctuary. Shiro, wounded and dazed from Vizu's sudden attack and the heady infusion of power, stumbled. Archemorus and Saint Viktor—who had both entered the temple unarmed, of course—took the opportunity to take up Shiro's swords. The traitorous sorcerer raised himself to his knees, but the Luxon and the Kurzick met him with his own blades. The champions nearly cut Shiro in half, and for a moment, Vizu believed it was over.

Even now, no one but Shiro knows how this act triggered what happened next, or whether it was his plan all along. As the twin swords sliced into his form, Shiro screamed, a sound that rose from the depths of some hellish place and grew to a deafening pitch. The death wail exploded with the palpable force of incalculable power, with the dying Shiro at its epicenter. The champions were the next to die, transformed to stone in an instant. Vizu, her senses returned, witnessed the earliest effects of what became known as the Jade Wind only by using every ounce of Energy she had left. For almost half a minute she stayed one Shadow Step ahead of the screaming shockwave as it petrified the landscape, laying waste to any living thing in its path. She reached the edge of the Jade Sea before her luck and strength finally gave out, and she died a stony figure on an empty beach. Years later, when Canthan society began to recover, the new emperor's Ritualists would find a way to retrieve the brave Assassin's soul from the netherworld and preserve her essence in a sacred place.

But that would not be for some time yet. The Jade Wind continued to expand, radiating out from the Harvest Temple with a shrieking wail that would not dissipate for hours. It consumed the thriving, vibrant life of the Echovald Forest; the holy, ancient trees the Kurzicks called home became stone columns that would never grow again. The waters of the Jade Sea crystallized, waves frozen in eternal crests, ending the seafaring existence of the Luxons in an instant. The farmlands of the continent were mostly spared the effects of the initial wave, but as hordes of terrified survivors swarmed northward to escape, they inadvertently destroyed the entire year's crops. Only by the timely intervention of Angsiyan's heir, who ordered the forced relocation of farmers to Shing Jea Island as one of his first acts as sovereign, did the empire avoid starvation for years to come. In fact, some have gone so far as to say that Shiro targeted the wrong man, so capable was Emperor Hanjai in the aftermath of the disaster.

https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/An_Empire_Divided

So, yeah, it has been well confirmed. The depiction matches the trailer that visually shows what happens, too. And the events are even reinforced in-game, such as Shiro's enchanted blades being used to steal magic and Angisyan's soul is depicted mechanically as having the Vampiric (life stealing) prefix.

linking me things you clearly didn't bother to read. Yeesh! Go on and quote the part that gives detail about what exactly the harvest festival is.

Edited March 3, 2023 by TeeracK.3601