What to expect from EOD aetherblade plot?

[hugo.4705]

The finale of the saga and the upcoming events let think that the magic fled in the air reanimating old events/ stimulating flashbacks. Marionette, the fact of rexploring old ls chapters...

 

What to expect from the aetherblade flag in eod trailer? 

 

Quoted from wiki:

"Mai was captured after a Lionguard raid on the Aetherblade Retreat; however, the Aetherblades eventually freed Mai from captivity and fled with her into the Edge of the Mists as Scarlet had a specific task in mind for her.^[2] While several Aetherblades fought under Scarlet in the Battle for Lion's Arch, Mai herself was absent, presumably continuing her secret mission in the Mists with the rest of the Aetherblades."

 

So, still alive. We saw post ls1 aetherblades as example in ls4e1, domain of istan, they became regular pirates and don't even remember where they got their high tech airship. I definitely dunno if they still know about maintenance of it but presumly yes, because floating in the air.

 

In cantha, there are two option however, let's think mai trin went here with a good amount of the aetherblades who raided Lion's arch. To remind everyone, aetherblades are an alliance between pirates and Inquest, if no inquest they are basically corsairs or pirates. That is why they have airships, know about EMP, have pact like airships they stole and changed their appearances, have holograms or asuran devices in their hideout.

 

There is the special case of Aetherblade Auris Weirdbringer. Some may say its story is done: he was tinkering in grothmar on an asuran gate and woosh because of us and rift stabilizer we sent him at the pond in field of ruin. But there is something that don't add up, how, he passed from gladium/artisan clothes to aetherblade outfit? 

 

I think the puzzle in my mind become clearer, Mai trin and its crew which have auris in them had time to study the mists to understand them and do experiments of teleportation/translocation.

 

Now it became far fetched: Remember Arkk from fractals? Do you know there are dead inquest squads in swamp fractals? What about uncategorized fractal? Remember the word of Auris at the pond. "All those dead animals, there is something wrong." We never really knew what arkk did, just thanks to nightmare fractal that it has a kind of debt regarding inquest and they want to capture him.

 

So what my wild plot I'm making there? To me, Auris was working tranquilly but he was interested and very good at using asuran technologies like caera (scarlet), Arkk discovered it and asked him if he wanted to be part of a bigger scheme speaking about what scarlet was planning, to create the aetherblades. They went in mai trin crew, and they fled in the mist with them. BUT, the ls3 events happened, the bloodstone cataclysm of bloodstone fen. It created echoes in the mists creating rifts around in the mists. 

Intrigued by the rifts, some started working on experiments with the mists like Dessa did. And they teleported to several unknown locations including mossman swamp or reappearing in the past at aetherblade retreat. Every time with inquest recon squads. But they got killed by the mossman in swamp. After understanding how the rifts are linked together, like they are set on different frequencies, they designed rift stabilizers. In the aim to make the travels between the rifts easier, less random and dangerous. They made the class I. But the more they discovered at which places they led, the more entries they added, making a class II, III, IV and so on rift stabilizers. What the point? Travelling faster, strategic advantage. Mai trin surely still hateful toward lion arch and us and want a revenge. We never really knew from where the steam creatures came, what if it is from canthan aetherblade? They created those and sent them to tyria with portal allowing scarlet to tinker with it.

 

 

So in cantha multiple scenarios can happens:

 

1-Aetherblade made an hideout, trying to occupy a good chunk of the continent to prepare a new assault on Tyria. It is shaped like aetherblade retreat and have even more advanced technology including rift teleportation machine, steam machines portal and airships, facility mixing the style of twilight aetherpath and aetherblade hideouts/retreats. Still steampunk or now cyberpunk.

I assume Inquest has labs. To help aetherblade and to study Deep sea dragon like in a huge underwater hive complex. The engie specialization is even tied to aetherblades.

 

2-It is only times baubles, rifts, like in Jahai, displaced locations from the past: Battle of LA with knights and aetherblade admirals, queen jubilee during scarlet war, part of twilight aetherpath we never saw. This would fit the theme of reanimating ancient events I said at the start.

 

3-Like domain of Istan, they forgot everything, they are just pirates, maybe even peaceful, welcoming you. And just a local band/faction. (Really hope this isn't the scenario followed by eod) and the aetherblade flag in trailer was just a kind of clickbait.

 

4-They answer Auris Weirdbringer full story, how he got its aetherblade uniform, how the aetherblade and other scarlet war factions were formed by a load of DRMS and visions of the past. Even some strikes where you play as another character like horrik or mai trin.

 

5-Trololol scenario. Nothing related to them. Just a cinematic showing some airships. Luxon and kurziks don't exist anymore. You only have 1 npc that tell you that there is nothing to see in Cantha. A firework happens you learn the Deep sea dragon killed itself. Or that aurene had enough and killed it with a kamehameha before you arrive.

[Sajuuk Khar.1509]

52 minutes ago, hugo.4705 said:

3-Like domain of Istan, they forgot everything, they are just pirates, maybe even peaceful, welcoming you. And just a local band/faction. (Really hope this isn't the scenario followed by eod) and the aetherblade flag in trailer was just a kind of clickbait.

The pirates in Istan were just pirates who stole the airship while on a drunken rampage. They were not aetherblades who forgot who they were.

 

 

If anything I suspect the Aetherblades are just going to be pirates in the Canthan region, who may have some lore bomb they got while in the mists, but otherwise aren't that big of a deal in Cantha or EoD's plot. EoD is likely going to focus much more on Cantha itself, the Canthan Empire, civilian dissent against the Empire's tactics, and some Kurzik/Luxon rumors for LWS6, and OFC more DSD/DSD minions stuff.

Edited June 7, 2021 by Sajuuk Khar.1509

[The Greyhawk.9107]

I think the Aetherblades are quite likely going to stay memory-holed, the flag in the teaser-trailer not withstanding.  Not as if there isn't precedent for Anet to leave out story threads from Xpack that had been in the trailers (coughHoTcough).

 

Feel free to prove me wrong, Anet.

[Euthymias.7984]

I'm guessing that if they have a presence here, they'll likely be our means of getting smuggled into Cantha. Its probably not a region we can just take a Pact airship into like we did with Elona. Maybe we parlay with them to solve some issues they might have in exchange for getting a way in

[Abraxxus.8971]

Cantha Theory 1

Cantha Theory 2

Cantha Theory 3

Just my take on Cantha...

Warning: foul language btw

Edited June 19, 2021 by Abraxxus.8971

[Amanda Whitemoon.6173]

but.. is trabeling any different from traveling?

 

[morsdood.1987]

Probably some pirates, maybe some airships, possibly some technology

[Fang.8291]

I expect the Aetherblades to run the entire Undercity or Kaineng itself after emerging from a mist rift in Kaineng scheming to overthrow the Canthan empire thus the xpac title: "End of Dragons" since Cantha has been called the 'Empire of the Dragon'- so we're probably dealing with an Aetherblade rebellion while trying to do our own dragon research there, while Mai Trin aims to turn Cantha into chaos, maybe becoming the Champion of the DSD. We might discover that's what all Canthan emperor have been all the time and why they have to be Weh No Su. Weh No Su the ascension ritual protecting them from corruption or whatever but since DSD was asleep none of that corruption has shown in the past but now he/she/them(again?) is/are awake and the realm is in danger because the current emperor/empress went missing, a rebellion within the imperial city, dragon minions emerging on their shores, maybe we bring Tengu to reclaim their homelands too so yea-a lot of things to solve at once. Who do you call to get rid of a dragon problem, find a new empress/emperor and stop Mai Trin spinning out of control? Right us the  countless titles later ,Pact Commander with another Elder Dragon and his dysfunctional guild of Dragon's Watch. We'll know more in a month I guess.