A HISTORY OF CANTHA

Visual timeline of Can tha’s past

RECAP: POINT OF NO RETURN

The last episod e of Living World Season 2

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0 CC (51 0 BE) Cantha u nites un der Kainen g Tah (Old Canthan for ‘Lord Emperor’), with the first Raisu Palace beginnin g construction. Th is heralds th e beginn ing of the Age of th e Marmoset.

46 CC (464 BE) Kainen g Tah dies in mysterious circumstances with his son, Yian Zho, follow ing as Emperor, despite lack of a formal succession system.

48 CC (462 BE) After becoming a target of Emperor Yian and bein g labelled as the ‘Luxon insu rgen cy’, the Luxon s secede from the Can than Empire, becoming a vassal state instead.

51 CC (459 BE) Yian declares war on the Kurzicks in the Ech ovald Forest, who become an independent vassal state as a result.

51 CC (459 BE) – 511 CC (1 AE) Not much is know n of events in Cantha du rin g this period, but n ine emperors are known to have ruled the Empire.

305 CC (20 5 BE) The Age of the Falcon begins. The begin ning of this age coincides with h uman ity first setting foot on Tyria and Elon a.

510 CC (0 A E) The Human Gods sp lit the b loodstone, a ston e which is the source of magic on Tyria, into shards and spread them across the world. Abadd on betrays the other God s and is defeated. The Exo dus of the God s takes place.

511 CC (1 A E) The Age of the Bat begins. Chang H ai becomes th e first Ascend ent Emperor of Cantha, and sets a precedent for all Emperors after to be Weh no Su, the Canth an equivalent of Ascension .

731 CC (221 AE) Cantha b egins trading with Tyria and Elona. Logging on Sh ing Jea Island is outlawed, and the Age of the H edgehog begins.

882 CC (372 AE) Karei, a powerfu l healer, is approached by Dwayna, human Goddess of Life and Air, through a series of trials. He passes all three, an d is thus made the M aster of Kaziin Mon astery.

108 2 CC (572 AE) Magadore, a powerfu l wizard, drains th e life- force from Cantha’s forests, turning it into pure energy. Magadore plans to use it in a magical war against the Emperor, but is defeated by th e ranger Zojun and his army of beasts.

1204 CC (69 4 AE) The cruel Emperor Singtah, known for mass public executions an d unfair taxation, is burned alive in the original Raisu Palace, built by th e first Emperor, in a fire started by rebels.

1282 CC (772 AE) A pirate fleet led by Appollonia attacks th e port of Dinfang, and is defeated by a force stationed in Fort Fu, led  by Kitah. With her mesmeric powers, Kitah increased the size of the defend ing fleet, causin g the pirates to fl ee. Both Kitah an d App ollonia are killed in single combat.

12 84 CC (774 AE) The 24th Canthan Emperor, Senvho, d ies after sitting on the throne in the newly b uilt Second Raisu Palace for the first time.

1368 CC (858 AE) Shiro Tagachi, a skilled warrior who was noticed by th e Emperor and made his bodygu ard, defeats a group of Am Fah rebels, executin g all captives and b eheading their leader.

1375 CC (865 AE) Shiro defeats a coup d’etat by reb els in the Celestial Ministry, executing an y perpetrators in front of the Emperor’s captured son.

1382 CC (872 AE) Shiro Tagachi is killed in the Harvest Temple after murdering Emperor Ansiyan, being tricked into it by the fallen god Abadd on. The Jade Wind  occurs as a result, solidifyin g the Jade S ea and turning the Ech ovald Forest and the creatures within into ston e. Emperor Hanjai ascends to the throne, markin g the b eginning of the Age of the Dragon .

1390 CC (880 AE) Hostilities with the n ative tengu rise, but open war is avoided w ith the Angch u tribe d ue to the efforts of Emperor Hanjai’s ambassador. Soon, however, the Tengu Wars begin.

1396 CC (88 6 AE) Courthouse Sq uare in Kaineng City is ren amed Vizunah Square, in honour of th e efforts of the assassin, Vizu , defeating Shiro Tagach i after his murder of the emperor.

141 2 CC (902 AE) Trade agreements with Orr, Ascalon and Kryta are ended by an imp erial decree.

1450 CC (940 AE) The Canth an Embassies in Ascalon and Elon a are closed.

152 7 CC (1017 AE) The Lux ons and Ku rzicks end formal diplomatic contact, the only commu nication taking place throu gh the Celestial Ministry, and only when ab solutely required.

1532 CC (1022 AE) Ermenred of Ascalon travels to Cantha to meet Emperor Kintah. S hortly after, trade rout es between Cantha and Ascalon are reopen ed.

1568 CC (1058 AE ) Emperor Kintah dies, and is succeeded by Emperor Kisu, h is son and 31st Emperor of Cantha. Op en warfare between the Lux ons and Kurz icks ends.

1581 CC (1071 AE) The Tengu Wars end, and trad e is re- established with K ryta amidst the destructio n of Orr and Ascalon .

1582 CC (107 2 AE ) Shiro Tagachi comes back to life, u nleashing a plague on Cantha called the Affliction .

15 89 CC (1079 AE) The last remnants of the Afflicted are destroyed by th e Ministry of Purity, which turns its attention on others that it sees as enemies of Can tha - th e Luxons, K ur zicks, tengu, an d the Jade Brotherhood. Minister Reiko is assassinated, and A shu Yu udachi, a child, assumes co ntrol of the M inistry of Purity.

1637 CC (1127 A E) Emperor Usoku sp ends millions of gold prep aring the armies of Can tha, then declares war on the Kurzicks an d Luxo ns. The new ly invigorated Canthan army sweeps thro ugh th e countryside, defeating the Luxon s and K ur zicks, and re-incorporating th em into Cantha. A ll non-humans are driven out of the Emp ire, along w ith all wh o opposed Usoku. This forces Canthan migrants to Tyria and Elona.

1583 CC (1073 AE) Reiko Murakami, a minister in the Celestial Ministry, rallies the peop le in Canth a against the victims of Shiro Tagachi’s plague, “the Afflicted”, whose only release from th e conditio n is death.

1587 CC (1077 AE) The Ministry of Purity, tasked with eradicating the Afflicted, is found ed by Reiko Murakami.

1729 CC (1219 A E) Orr rises, sendin g a hu ge tsunami towards Tyria, and possib ly Cantha, cuttin g off all communication. After this p oint, noth ing is know n of even ts in Cantha. Tengu exiles view this Great Tsunami as a sign that it is time to form their ow n nation, settling in the San ctu m Cay region to foun d the Dominio n of W inds.

Cantha In A Nutshell Founded long before humans expanded from O rr into Elo na or northern Tyria, the empire of Cantha is a conglomerate of three distinct cultures – the Canthan m ajority, which historical ly has mostly been con fi ned to the northwestern sh ore and the nearby islands; the Kurzicks of the Echovald Forest, an d th e Luxons, once a seafaring society out of the inland Jade Sea, and reduced to a lifestyle of raiding and jade mining after the sea was frozen b y the Jade Wind. As well as r everence to the Six Gods, all three shar e a deep reverence for their ancestors, with particularly im por tant fi gures being r evered as saints and demigods themselves. Examples include the founders of the fi ve Kur zick Houses and the three dominant Luxon clans, as well as numero us Canthan heroes, w hile the practitioners of the ancient ritualist tradition serve as mediums not only with these signi fi cant fi gures, but with the lesser ancestor spirits of individual hou seholds – in voking the blessings of benign spirits while exorcising those with ill in tent towards th e living. While formally part of the Empire, the Lu xons and Kur zicks have always been fractious vassals, eager to fight among themselves as well as to assert their independence. After the unification of the continent into the empire, th e formative event of Cantha in recent history was the Jade Wind, a magic al death wail of the betrayer Shiro who slew the Emperor Angsiyan. This transformed the inland sea of the Luxons to jade and petrified the E chovald Forest, forcin g much of the population to concentrate in th e city of Kainen g on th e northwest coast – this influ x caused K ainen g to explod e in population faster than its infrastructure or building in dustry could cope, resulting in a city of slu ms hastily erected in order to shelter too man y people in too little space.

Possible Reinforcements The most obvious motive for seeking to re -estab lish contact with Cantha is the possibility of bein g ab le to form a cooperative defence strategy with the Empire of the Dragon. While the Cantha we last knew would be unlikely to make a  good ally, multiple shifts in imperial p olicy have been recorded in Canthan history, and mod ern Cantha might be open towards such an arrangement – possibly enticed by the opportunity to help ensure the restoration of th e ancient ho ly places of Orr. Of course, we should make sure that the p rice of any such arrangement is one we are willing to p ay. Ancient Cultures With the possible exception of O rr itself, Cantha is th e oldest known place of human habitation. Because of th is , it is possible that Canthan histories may contain h ints of h uman origins that are not available on Tyria. More tantalising still are hints of even older cultures – historical accounts contain descriptions of ruin s that predate human arrival on the continent, and speculate th at Kur zick civilisation and traditions might have formed before th ey arrived in the E chovald. Wh o know s what secrets of th e past might await a diligent seeker of lore on that ancient continent?

Rediscovery of old magics Despite the Priory’s efforts to recover and conserve importan t books and documents from th e floodin g of Lion’s Arch , much practical knowledge was lost through th e drowning of teachers of foreign magic. While some vestiges of the teachings of ritualists and assassins remain in modern adventuring professions such as th e guardian and th ie f respectively, the more advanced magics employed in th ese Canthan traditions have been lost. If Canthan trainers could be persuad ed to take Tyrian students, perhaps these techn iq ues can be recovered. Similarly, if the method of their creation has survive d the subjugation of the Kur zicks by Uzoku , the process for creatin g Juggernauts – infusing human souls into plant-like creatu res that are immortal for as long as the tree they are bo und to lives – may prove valuable in the fight against th e dragons should any be willing to make that sacrifice . Assuming, of course, such beings are not made vuln erable to Mordremoth in the process. Meanwh ile, stories of the Luxon s speak of giant crabs and turtles as well as mechan ical vehicles that they employed in their nomadic life on the Jade Sea – if these marvels can be acquired by the Priory, th ey may prove to be useful additions to the Pact’s in ventory. Friendly Dragons While many were driven mad by the Jade Win d, most of the dragons recorded in history to have friendly dispositions towards civilised humanoids have called Cantha home. Some years ago, I speculated that this may be caused by the presence, now or in the past, of a benign Elder Dragon , similar to the future Magister Stonehealer predicted for Glint had she not been slain by Kralkatorrik . Even if this is not true, an increasing number of scholars have been growin g concerned in the past year that the death of Z haitan has put the world’s magic out of balance, and that slaying ad ditio nal Elder Dragons without an alternative location for the magic to go would be unw ise – the dragon s of Cantha might be able to serve as such a receptacle. If they lack the magic-ab sorb in g properties of their local namesakes, they may still be valuable allies and sources of knowledge. Possible Mordrem Connections Botanical studies of Cantha describe a variety of aggressive, self-mobile flora with more animal-like character istics than the aggressive flora known on Tyria or Elona prior to th e appearance of the sylvari and the mordrem after that. This might be evidence of Mordremoth havin g influ en ce on Cantha during a previous cycle – in which case, thorou gh investigation may reveal information useful for the fight against Mordremoth. With all these considerations in mind, I hope you w ill agree that the potential benefits of an expedition to Cantha could  outweigh the risks and costs associated with such an expedition . Yours, Scholar El eanor Draxynnus

Since their occupation of what was Sanctum Cay, the b ird- like race has stowed itself behind the massive walls that border their realm. Today, the tengu refer to their land as the The Dominion of Winds. The walls had been bu ilt to keep their people safe, but also to keep the other races, th eir influences, and the other dangers of Tyria out. However, even after Zhaitan’s death, the threat of the Elder Dragons remain. With the imminent rise of Mordremoth, many won der how long the ten gu will remain behin d their walls in the face of a threat that could eventually consume the entire world. History In the distant past, long before the events of the Guild Wars and The Searing, the tengu were said to live all over the world. Their race is ancient , possibly even old enough to have seen the last days of the Elder Dragons before they went into their deep sleep. The fi rst historical mention of the tengu coincides, not surprisingly, with their fi rst interactions with the early Canthan Empir e. The e ff ects of the Jade Wind had corru pted and transformed much of what was once more habitable land. This eco-disaster led mainland Canthans to look to S hing Jea Island for further colonization. The S ensali ten gu, one of the two main tribes of Shing Jea tengu, did not t ake this well. Eventually, they were respon sible for the slaughter of a n entire human village. The other Shing Jea tribe, the Angchu , managed a somewhat stable peace with humanity, w hich put the two tengu tribes at odds with one anoth er. However, further settlement by humans exposed the Angchu to illnesses

Purity’s corrupt leadership was exposed, but not befo re its ideals had influenced th e hearts and minds of thou san ds. In years to come, th e future Emperor Usoku w ould u nite all Canthan humans un der one b an ner and drive the tengu from their homes. After the cataclysmic rising of Orr and the Great Tsunami, the Canthan tengu sailed north, cutting a swath through Zhaitan’s seafaring monstrosities to reach T yria’s shores. From there they reached out to th e Tyrian tengu tribes, the Caromi, the Avicara, and the Quetzal, and formed the Dominio n of W inds. Culture and Politics Today, not much is known of current d ay tengu p olitics and culture due to their isolated nature. Sometime du rin g the construction of their realm, the old tengu clans fo rmed four houses named after one of the four d irectional win ds. C lans from then on continued to exist on a familial level. At some point, the tengu appointed or perhaps a ten gu appoin ted his  or herself as the Emperor that presides above the four houses. Unfortunately, how decisions within their “Emp ire” are ultimately decided is still a mystery. Religion for current tengu is also an u nknown . In th e past, the Canthan tengu revered the Celestials an d believed in an afterlife known as th e “Sky A bove the S ky.” They were also a superstitious people that used physical charms and talis mans to ward away evil; whether that still holds tru e is not known, though some in-game items/trinkets imply that they may. As for tengu culture, many of th e tengu within th e Dominion of Winds speak O ld Canthan and those w ho do not are scorned similarly to the outside races. Tengu societal values tend to focus on ideals like integrity, honor, family , history . The first two virtues are commonly heard in ten gu NPC dialog. On a more individual level, tengu n ames are n ot entirely consistent. Some have Japanese-rooted first and last names, while others have a clan name for their surname and/ or a first name that represents physical/non-physical racial attributes like “Soar” or “Talon.”

Where are they now? There has been little inclusion of the tengu in th e game’s overarching story. So far, tengu serve as a few merchants, guards, scouts, and a few rare map completion-related NPCs. Later on, amidst the chaos of Scarlet’s invasion of Lion’s Arch , the tengu outside the shuttered gate retreated behin d their wall and killed anyone w ho came within range with a storm of arrows. Until now, the tengu’s lack of involvement h as been relatively understandable, but there are few troub lin g inconsistencies. The tengu are not, or rather, th ey do not appear to be naïve. They are seemingly aware of the threat the Elder Dragons pose and, with any luck, have heard of Z haitan’s passin g at the hands of the Pact, followed by Tyria’ s fight against Mordremoth. Furthermore, for a race that upholds itself as honorable and virtuous, they have been strangely u nhelpful as a whole. Even races like th e kodan and largos, races still shrouded in mystery, have been playing a role in th e war against the Elder Dragons, despite their flaw s. With an enemy like Mordremoth, whose rising poses th e biggest and mo st imminent threat to Tyria as a whole, you would think th e tengu emperor would have received an invite to the World Summit at the Pale Tree. So what does it all mean? For those who migh t not kno w, the tengu were meant to be a playable race in Gu ild Wars 2. In some more recent interviews, developers have expressed some knowledge about the future role of the tengu in game and their awareness of player’s fondness for ninja- running bird people. Whether that will eventually lead to them playing an active role in Tyria’s fight against the Elder Dragons is anyone’s guess, though I would hope so. The tengu represent a powerful people and potential ally that are untapped, and ready to be unleashed on the dragons. The only real question left to be answered is “when.”