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Barinthus

31-03-2006, 06:07

In the trailer we can see two distinct groups of bodyguards rushing to avenge the slain emperor.

Their leaders appear to be a Luxon and a Kurzick as you can see below:
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/6121/championscantha7eo.th.jpg (http://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=championscantha7eo.jpg)

A close-up:
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6403/championscantha28ai.th.jpg (http://img213.imageshack.us/my.php?image=championscantha28ai.jpg)

They also apparently lead a group of their fellow countrymen as you can see in this picture two distinctly cladded soldiers. Left is a Luxon and right is a Kurzick.
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5274/canthasoldiers3re.th.jpg (http://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=canthasoldiers3re.jpg)

The implications of this is the society in Cantha is highly fragile and barely tied together by the ruling group and its empreror. Of course this is highly speculative but it seems to me perhaps Canthans managed to conquer Luxons and Kurzicks and have not yet assilimated them into the Canthan society. Somehow a system of equal patronage evolved in which both groups received equal favors and the empreror had to be careful to not favor one over other. Hence the reason for two seperate bodyguard groups working together to protect the empreror.

Of course with the murder of the empreror it was too easy for this fraigle relationship to fall apart with both sides accusing each other of what happened.

This is what I suspected happened and I'm sure we will find out more on April 27 and foward on. :)

Aladar

31-03-2006, 20:32

Good find. All of the action in the trailer happened so fast I didn't notice that.

False Visage

01-04-2006, 07:16

I feel that Cantha may be based on the "Three Kingdoms" period of China and of Korea. I can't remember too much of what happened since we skipped over that part of Asian History but I do know it had a power triangle.

It would make sense though considering that the state of Cantha is, judging from the FPE, neutral to the politics between the Kurzick and the Luxon. The Canthan leader may not have been leading the two Factions, but rather acting as an intermediary and peace keeper. The fact that Cantha sends emissaries to both of the nations instead of just one also leads me to believe this.

This is slightly different to the historical example I gave, but the powerplay between the three balancing powers is in principle very similar.

jciardha

01-04-2006, 21:31

Theo Kosyo

02-04-2006, 01:36

From the looks of it, especially at the start of the trailer where you see a massive army of both Luxon and Kurz, I would say that this was alot like the Three Kingdom system, the Canthan holding the most prestige but probably is more the figure head and "governmental" head of the triple alliance.

From what I can gather from the clip the three heroes, Visu and the two captains, die in the explotion. If you watch the clip to the end you will notice two bodies too the side where the two captains rolled and ofcourse bodies where Visu stood. With them dead, I would say that as soon as Shinro's wail shattered the Canthan continent it got people pointing fingers at one another.

So lets examine: The figure head and governmental body has just been killed, the only people who know what happened have died in the explotion, and you have a continent that experienced a life altering catastrophe. I'd say thats enough to shatter even the best of empires.

Zaxares

02-04-2006, 02:39

So lets examine: The figure head and governmental body has just been killed, the only people who know what happened have died in the explotion, and you have a continent that experienced a life altering catastrophe. I'd say thats enough to shatter even the best of empires.

Not quite... Given that the Canthan people of today know that Shiro was responsible for the Death Wail and that his name is regularly used to frighten children, it stands to reason that some of the people at the temple survived and managed to get away to tell of what happened.

(Barring the use of divinations or similar magic that might exist in Cantha, of course. I wonder if Glint foresaw these events in Cantha too...)

Theo Kosyo

02-04-2006, 03:03

Quintus Antonius

02-04-2006, 06:45

Not quite... Given that the Canthan people of today know that Shiro was responsible for the Death Wail and that his name is regularly used to frighten children, it stands to reason that some of the people at the temple survived and managed to get away to tell of what happened.

(Barring the use of divinations or similar magic that might exist in Cantha, of course. I wonder if Glint foresaw these events in Cantha too...)

I noticed that Nika was in the trailer, and she is also a henchman. Because it has been over 200 years, I'm not going to claim it is the same Nika, but if it is a descendant of her's, then she probably survived the explosion and passed on the story. If she did, others might have as well. Plus, let's face it, tons of soldiers saw Shiro betray the emperor, and when Shiro started cutting down everyone, some soldiers probably turned tail and ran. They may have survived to pass it on as well. I think it is 100% likely people witnessed the event and survived to tell the tale. No Glint needed.

Another thing, why did the explosion only affect the Luxons and Kurzicks? Why not the Canthans? They seem, at least from what we've seen (pending Shiro's return that is), unaffected. I wonder if, because the Kurzick and Luxon commanders struck down Shiro with his swords, that they were targeted specifically as some sort of "revenge".

Zaxares

02-04-2006, 07:26

Another thing, why did the explosion only affect the Luxons and Kurzicks? Why not the Canthans? They seem, at least from what we've seen (pending Shiro's return that is), unaffected. I wonder if, because the Kurzick and Luxon commanders struck down Shiro with his swords, that they were targeted specifically as some sort of "revenge".

I think the Death Wail affected everybody at the site, Luxon, Kurzick or Canthan. Nika's ancestor might have escaped due to her use of Shadow Arts. As to why the Kurzicks and Luxons were affected, I think that is simply due to the location of the temple where the Death Wail took place. The main Canthan areas of civilisation may have been too far away for the Death Wail to affect.

jciardha

02-04-2006, 08:08

I noticed that Nika was in the trailer

This was posted by Gaile in Another Forum That Shalt Not Be Linked:

I will give it a sort of thumbnail sketch:

200 years ago, while at prayer within a Canthan temple, the Emperor of Cantha was slain by an evil traitor named Shiro Tagachi, who had been friend and chief bodyguard to the Emperor. Mass confusion ensues, several die in the effort to kill Shiro and the infidel troops who have gathered to prevent the taking of vengeance. Three ritualists are slain, the fourth escapes to the rooftops and sounds the alarm. (Some feel that she did this knowing she would die, making the ultimate sacrifice.) Comes the Assassin, Visu, ancestor to Nika, the "current day" Assassin whom you see on the Factions art. Visu summons the strength and cunning to slay Shiro. As Shiro's soul escapes from his body, he lets forth a death wail of such force that the seas are frozen to jade and the forest is petrified to stone. And at the end, we are told that "evil returns" and a cryptic symbol appears.

Methinks we've not heard the last of this Shiro guy.

Barinthus

02-04-2006, 11:31

Good find. All of the action in the trailer happened so fast I didn't notice that.

I watched that trailer again and again - that kind of helped :nerd:

Theo Kosyo

02-04-2006, 16:37

I noticed that Nika was in the trailer, and she is also a henchman. Because it has been over 200 years, I'm not going to claim it is the same Nika, but if it is a descendant of her's, then she probably survived the explosion and passed on the story. If she did, others might have as well. Plus, let's face it, tons of soldiers saw Shiro betray the emperor, and when Shiro started cutting down everyone, some soldiers probably turned tail and ran. They may have survived to pass it on as well. I think it is 100% likely people witnessed the event and survived to tell the tale. No Glint needed.

Another thing, why did the explosion only affect the Luxons and Kurzicks? Why not the Canthans? They seem, at least from what we've seen (pending Shiro's return that is), unaffected. I wonder if, because the Kurzick and Luxon commanders struck down Shiro with his swords, that they were targeted specifically as some sort of "revenge".

Visu is Nika's great great great grandmother. Unfortunatly from the looks of it, everyone in the Temple died as it was one hell of a large explotion. So our heroes died valiantly :cry:

If you look at the map, the Temple where the murder occurs is south where the Whirlpool quest took you. It is incredibly far from Cantha mainland, but relatively near Luxon and Kurzick lands.

Quintus Antonius

02-04-2006, 19:07

This was posted by Gaile in Another Forum That Shalt Not Be Linked:

Thanks, this tends to be the only GW fan forum that I visit, so I wouldn't have ever known that.

That at least clears up my question.

Eladain Windshear

05-04-2006, 19:52

I think the Death Wail affected everybody at the site, Luxon, Kurzick or Canthan. Nika's ancestor might have escaped due to her use of Shadow Arts. As to why the Kurzicks and Luxons were affected, I think that is simply due to the location of the temple where the Death Wail took place. The main Canthan areas of civilisation may have been too far away for the Death Wail to affect.

Yep, judging by the map at the FPE, the site of the temple, and of Shiro's death was far to the south of Cantha. The area is right on the border of Kurzick/Luxon territory and it explains why the Jade Sea and the Petrified forest were the only ones affected by the death wail. If you notice, the farther from the location of the temple you go, the more greenery you see.

I think :P

Endrick

05-04-2006, 21:17

Some observations:

- The temple is in the heart of the Luxon/Kurzick territory, just on the frontier line.
- The temple guards are 50% Luxons and 50% Kurzicks.

http://img309.imageshack.us/img309/4807/bscap0060vf.th.jpg (http://img309.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bscap0060vf.jpg)

Some questions :

- Where the Luxons/Kurzicks at peace ?
- What is the purpose of that temple ?
- What were the Emperor doing in that place ? (really far from the palace)
- Why did Shiro choose that time to kill him ? After all, he is his bodyguard, he could have killed him anywhere, anytime.

- And the most important : how come the top room's floor is still intact after the tower collapsed ?? :laugh:

Quintus Antonius

05-04-2006, 21:23

Yep, judging by the map at the FPE, the site of the temple, and of Shiro's death was far to the south of Cantha. The area is right on the border of Kurzick/Luxon territory and it explains why the Jade Sea and the Petrified forest were the only ones affected by the death wail. If you notice, the farther from the location of the temple you go, the more greenery you see.

I think :P

Yes, I did notice that.

Too bad Post-Searing Ascalon isn't that way. I always thought it was a bit absurd that only Ascalon was affected, and that all areas of Ascalon were affected in exactly the same way. To me, once you went farther away from the epicenter of the Searing, specifically the area near Piken Square, more and more should have been able to grow. People argue that this is because the Charr couldn't control the spell, yet they had enough control to keep it only is Ascalon, no stray crystals landed in the Shiverpeaks or Kryta. The only thing I can think of that explains that is that multiple Searing spells were cast from different locations at the same time.

But I digress, back on topic. I quite enjoyed the effects of the Jade Wind, and how ANet rendered them. It was most interesting.

Some questions :

- Where the Luxons/Kurzicks at peace ?

I'd imagine so, yes. I don't think that level of spontaneous cooperation can be achieved by two warring powers. Still, I don't think it's that hard to swallow that they were at peace, I mean, the war has been going on for 200 years now, so they had to be at peace sometime. I think of it like the Stone Summit and the Deldrimor.

- What is the purpose of that temple ?
- What were the Emperor doing in that place ? (really far from the palace)

The Temple is a ceremonial temple dedicated to the Harvest, and the Emperor was there to celebrate the Harvest Festival. Because the Emperor was considered a "god among men" it was viewed as important for the "god among men" to commune with the "gods of men". That's all according to the pamphelet that came with the FPE pre-order kit.

- Why did Shiro choose that time to kill him ? After all, he is his bodyguard, he could have killed him anywhere, anytime.

Perhaps there was some significance to this time, like his chi was most attuned to the gods, and killing him would grant the assassin said chi powers. Notice in the cinema, Shiro doesn't get pumped until after he kills the Emperor. That suggests the power came from the death of the Emperor.

- And the most important : how come the top room's floor is still intact after the tower collapsed ?? :laugh:

A Wizard did it...:grin:

Endrick

05-04-2006, 22:38

Eladain Windshear

05-04-2006, 23:27

I don't agree with that. I don't know the exact location of the tower, but we can guess it is in the green box here :

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/5189/epicenter3hg.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=epicenter3hg.jpg)

We see that there is a huge map next to where the epicenter is supposed to be. In fact this is the map where you find the more "green" in all the Kurzick forest.

I don't know that map, never went there, but I think this area is green cause there is no petrified trees that hide the sunshine. In fact I don't see the "decreasing effect" you are talking about. All the forest seems totally petrified and all the inland sea seems totally turned into jade.

Actually, if you look at your image and the circles you drew on it, you can see a sort of perimeter around the edges. The Pongmei valley and the hills around the Luxon side are examples of the Greeness far from the epicenter. As for the patch of land next to the epicenter, my theory is that it's either natural growth (it has been 200 years.) I know that there is a river and a waterfall right there by the Durheim Archive (near the green patch) and perhaps that may have contributed to vegetation growing again. If you notice, a lot of the green areas in Kurzick territory are near running water. Another theory is if somehow the elevation of the terrain prevented the area from bieng petrified. Perhaps the uppermost parts of the hills were unaffected by the Wail? This may explain why a lot of the Luxon highlands are unnafected.

Another idea is that maybe the reach of the death wail itself was not that wide, and that the resulting change in the land is a result of a "bleeding" type spread of the Wail. For example, Point A on the jade sea was directly affected by the Wail, but since the sea is one large mass, the freezing spread...

Endrick

06-04-2006, 00:05

My theory is that the green Luxon hills that you see in the circles have been affected as well. As there were no forests there, only the grass and vegetation has been petrified. But the grass grew again, leaving no visible traces.

In the forest, the petrified trees hide the sunshine, avoiding new trees to grow. That's why the Kurzick forest looks black, while the Luxon hills are green.

Another idea is that maybe the reach of the death wail itself was not that wide, and that the resulting change in the land is a result of a "bleeding" type spread of the Wail. For example, Point A on the jade sea was directly affected by the Wail, but since the sea is one large mass, the freezing spread...

This is a very good theory, it will be interesting to see what happened with the river connections.

Quintus Antonius

06-04-2006, 00:53

Actually, if you look at your image and the circles you drew on it, you can see a sort of perimeter around the edges. The Pongmei valley and the hills around the Luxon side are examples of the Greeness far from the epicenter. As for the patch of land next to the epicenter, my theory is that it's either natural growth (it has been 200 years.) I know that there is a river and a waterfall right there by the Durheim Archive (near the green patch) and perhaps that may have contributed to vegetation growing again. If you notice, a lot of the green areas in Kurzick territory are near running water. Another theory is if somehow the elevation of the terrain prevented the area from bieng petrified. Perhaps the uppermost parts of the hills were unaffected by the Wail? This may explain why a lot of the Luxon highlands are unnafected.

Another idea is that maybe the reach of the death wail itself was not that wide, and that the resulting change in the land is a result of a "bleeding" type spread of the Wail. For example, Point A on the jade sea was directly affected by the Wail, but since the sea is one large mass, the freezing spread...

Yes, also, unlike the Searing, there is nothing preventing new growth, such as the Ascalonian Searing crystals.

Another theory I thought of, was the contact theory. Echovald Forest was so overwhelmed with trees that when the Jade Wind hit, all the trees that were contacting each other were petrified. Same principle with the Jade Sea, because it was water, the entire thing turned to jade. The Death Wail needed only to effect a very small amount of both Forest and Sea to trigger the theory I have just proposed. The birds and other animals we see dying died due to a high intensity neutron blast, caused by the explosion at the Temple. The Neutron Bomb, as you may or may not know, destroys all organic material while leaving inorganic material (buildings and the like) intact. Thus, the Temple is able to survive (as we see in the movie), couple this with the petrifing effects of the Jade Wind, and we have an accurate model of what happened that is cohesive with what we see in the cinema.