Incomplete: Info from the Japanese Factions page

[Mularc Templare]

Hey Guys,

This is not a diffinitive thread by any means, and we are all still waiting to hear back from Gaile about the Lore from the Japanese page for Factions being translated, but here is what I was able to pick up using the Babel Fish web page translator, so it may not be too acturate.

Having done a little bit of Japanese I am aware that it never translates properly into English. Therefore this has also be altered a little and blanks in the translation added to make it understandable.

People of Cantha - Kurzicks & Luxons
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The Luxons and Kurzick are [missing] are "tributary". In far fromer times, these nations were absorbed into the empire, & were econmically subordinate to it. They retained their cultures. Even before the event 200 years ago, the "alliance" was tenous. Before the event, the peace was gone. When the murder occured, both sides losta a great many men in the after effect - the heros from each side did not fight alone. This event tore each country apart, and stopped them from having peace.

People of the Sea - Luxons

The scream of death brought an extreme storm. The sea surface rose to several hundered meteres but in an instant stopped. It didn't seem to be Ice dependant on cold air. It had become Jade, and this stopped the seafaring Luxons from using their ships. The sea stood still, even during earthquakes.

The people created large boats which could sail across the Jade sea. An indutsy was created dependant on mining the Jade which holds within it the magic which caused it to turn this way. All other things kept from before were left behind.

Presently, disagreements have devided the people into three tribes. They meet once a year to discuss Politics in a central meeting. When they have a disagreement there is no war, but a test to see who is strongest. The winner and thier guard serves as a "guarding front" for the people. Never do the other families go against clan descisions.

Kurzics - People of the Forest

When the Jade Wind hit the forest, all life became stone. Small birds petrified and we destoryed when they hit the earth. Small deer jumped and came down as statues. Today, 2 centuries on, the forest is recovering. The Kurzics are the first people to return to this place, to adapt to a life in the stone.

Everything is a sign to the people of deep faith. All occurances are directed by the Pathenon, and are messages from them. Polotics is administered by a noble council, by it is always the missionaries who have the last say. The nobility, which is called the faction, have ruled since ancient times.

Presently there are five houses in the Kurzics. They are known as the distinquished houses, in which the Tsugas (? Unknown meaning) are especially prevailent. It is not unusal for the houses to argue between each other, but they are all united when it comes to battling the Luxons. 200 year after the disaster at the church they create houses and buildings from the trunks of the trees. Their culture is based heavily around festivals & ceremonies, in which construction and color influence heavily.

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Most of this is said in English in the pre-order manual, and has been quoted around the site. I will try and do other sections over the weekend and post them here. As always, this work is not 100% correct and may contain errors where the text was too ambigous.

Thanks for reading,

Mularc

[Quintus Antonius]

I speak for GWPS, TAOS, and the Lore Community in general when I offer my sincerest thanks for this information Mularc. Good work!

[Ranger Nietzsche]

seconded

huzzah!

[Aladar]

Thirded. :)

[Mularc Templare]

Here I go again :tongue:

~ The Afflicted
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The "infected" are what becomes of those plants/animals/humans affected by the plauge. Some think it comes from the wicked mind of (word missing), those put away. The healthy people are concerned as to where it is spread. The "plauge" is carried by the air, thus it isn't a "plauge". But if you come upon an infected person, the wise stay away.

Those which encounter this plauge fall sick. The body not only changes beyond imagination, the anger of the infected increases, making them more agressive.

There is no cure for the plauge, the only way out is death. If you would not like to die, mercy is useless against the Afflicted.
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~ The Crimson Skull
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The (Crimson Skull) are a theiving cult, who lie hidden in paths less traveled. It frequently attacks travelers. They have aquired great power over 200 years, often destroying villages in cruel manners. Death is not only a practiced belief, but a profession for those the (Crimson Skull), who often get paid for their services.

(the rest of the text makes little sense, however it seems to be detailing that the members are everything fro Assasins to Ritualists to rangers and the like...)
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~ The Wardens
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Keepers of the forest in ancient times, that mission is still carried out today. They now however stand guard of the petrified trees of (Esstenvale? - Forest which Kurzicks live in). Their natural shape is not shown, but they have been identified by some as Druidic Monks, who follow the unified saints.

The keepers of (Esstenvale) tremble in anger. They attack only the ones they think caused the wind and petrification of the trees - the humans. Some believ a human leads them. The wardens are angry for not being able to keep the forest from turning into its current state, and are trying desperately to restore the forest. Until they find it they will probably continue to attack the humans.

When talking to each other they do not use names, but instead use an alias which are appropriate to the "rank" of the Warden. The lowest form of these are ones such as Moss Wardens, Leaf Wardens, Shell Wardens ect, and rises following the trees up, until the names of the trees and enormous fish are used. Leaders of the group are often known by a name of a season, [for example Warden of the Spring.]
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Well, that didn't take as long as last time, but I think three sections per post is fairly good. the next post will contain The Naga, the Dredge & The Gangs of Kaineng. The next, and last post will be on various other monsters foudn throughout the game (Dragons, Yeti, Bzzrats, Kappas, Kirin & Oni).

Just a quick thing before I sign off for the day - in the above snippets, anything in rounded brackets such as (Esstenvale) is assumed because the text is in Kanji, which cannot be translated, and anything in square brackets such as [for example...] has been added as a note by me.

Thanks for the comments guys, it means a lot, although I'm not really doing anything most of you couldn't do yourselves :laugh:

Have a good one,

Mularc

Edit: When browsing the site a little more I found three extra sections. I will continue onto these after I have done the monsters.

[Zaxares]

Good work, Mularc. :smiley: I'd also appreciate it if you could translate any available Lore about the henchies (Nika, Mhenlo and Eve were mentioned, I believe).

[Serena Corvidae]

Mularc, thank you for making such a valuable contribution to this forum. It's great to get a flavour of the lore from the forthcoming chapter.

[ShadowSword]

This is brilliant! Though I'd like to have this on the English website!

Probably means Echovald that word...

Anyway please continue this is awesome!

[Mularc Templare]

Meh, I wasn't going to post again today but what the hey.

Most people have been asking for info on the Henchies, so I'll do that now...This post will contain all of them on that site.

First off....

Nika
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Birthplace: (Business District) (Cantha City)
Nationality: (Canthan)
Job: Assasin
Age: 22

A mysterious women, Nika try not to reveal anything about her past to anyone, even her companions. She let her guard slip to a master once, but that is in the past. It seems noone knows her secrets now. She was born in the business district near a prominent port. He father was killed quickly without her knowlege, and as a young girl Nika was sent off to a secret organisation to become an Assasin, as her lineage decreed. Her mother was the leader of this organisation. She handled her first duty at 10 years old, and byy 12 had learned a vital philosophy - Assasinating someone is not a senseless death, it is a death to protect an important person. That's why every contract must be filled.

She only joins the other adventurers out of sheer coincidence - in order to fulfill the work of her mother she decided to be hire in exchange for leading the adventurers. (I cannot decifer the next two lines....too ambuigous). Her job is to attack the enemy of the emperor, as her ancestor did before her.
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Eve
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Birthplace: Unknown
Nationality: (Unknown)
Job: Necromancer
Age: 20

Those such us the "heros" of the story do not know of Eve and her like. She was a vegabond who was picked up at a young age and entered into an academy of magic for girls. She was already a good reader and writer, and became interested in the various books kept in the school. There she found a book on Necromancy, a secret art, and read it "religiously" [litteral translation is a little hard to understand, this is the easiest way I could put it]. By the age of 15, she was already able to summon Bone minions.

In the academy, the books and parchments were Eve's only friends. On fateful day, some of the other children decided to play a trick on Eve. Eve turned on them with anger, and with her magic wounded one child sevearly. This event became the catalyst for a terrible life.

Eve, (unknown) and thin, encountered (unknown army). This force invaded the city where she was, and came upon Eve in the graveyard. Using a newly learned technique, she raised an army of the dead, and fought them back bravely. After the battle, she learned to curb her tendancies, keeping her "powers" hidden. This form of life is not the best, but it is what is good - mutual power outweights personal power.

If you look at Eve independant of her past, you would come to know that she is a person who can be relied on by her friends. It seems that her main motiviation for traveling with them is to learn new powers. Eve has but one friend kept with her as a reminder of her past - a skull named Adam. To those who cannot hear the dead, it is just a skull, but to Eve, he is as alive as he was in ages past.
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Lo Sha
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Birthplace: (Unknown - in Kanji)
Nationality: Canthan
Job: (Unknown)
Age: 25

Lo Sha is one of the finest (job people) to come from his school. He displays great talent. He tends not to see the fine details in things, however has much pride. If he pursues something to the extent a women would advise, his efforts often result in history changing events. Although his own headmaster had trouble understanding him one thing is clear - as a magic user Lo Sha has no peer.

He was invited by Master (Unknown name) to join the travelers on their quest. He knows that the path is rough - he prepairs for the hell that he will have to deal with. He continues to beileve that something valuable to some sort of research will come of it.
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Argo, Champion of the Tortoise Clans
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Birthplace: (Unreadable)
Nationality: Canthan
Job: (Unreadable - probably something to do with leadership)
Age: 37

As the champion of the clans, Argo is respected by everyone. The fight which lead him to become leader was a fight to the death, with the survivor becoming the first champion. He was a brave man. He did not advoid the fight, instead declared himself the winner. He did not kill his opponent though - he gave his own sword to the loser to kill him with.[goes into more detail here, but it is too hard to transcribe at this point] This move was well recieved, however some worried that he was not showing enough of the culture of his family or his own worth. The spectators who arrived to see bloodshed were happy with the result. Even the enemy admired him for this.

If you mention the enemy of the Luxons, it is generally the Kurzics. But in this time of uncertainty, the greater enemy is the enemy of the empire which cast the "states" out - Shiro. Even though the Luxons & Kurzics hate each other, they will work together now to save the land that they call home - when the whole Continent is threated, the whole nation must respond.
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Countess Danika zu Heltzer
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Birthplace: Deadwood Fall
Nationality: Canthan
Job: Monk
Age: 22

For a family such as those that live in House zu Heltzer, only one person may play the hero at any one time - the one that is most saintly. Thus, for the others, it can be like a fortress. Her father is the head of the house, and believes she should prepair to live a life like his with pride. Even in this place of unselfishness & nobility, people are still people. Boredom in her life drove her to read much of the great library located in the house, and made her become calm and look at the world with a caring eye.

In order to search for new friends, Danika decided she should "spring out" and see the world firsthand - this lead her to the others. She holds that the people should be doing more to search for justice, and trying to oppose the great threat [Shiro]. She believes miscommunication within the house is a problem, and is why she leaves against her fathers wishes.
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There we go, some of the major personalities from Factions. Justa quick note - I'm sorry but I had to leave out the lore on the Emperor & Master Togo because with the english I can get, it doesn't make any sense.

Still, I hope you guys like this....I'll get back to the monsters sometime tomorrow. (It's 11:37 Thursday 13/4 here)

As always, have a good one, and I hope this lore helps someone, even if only in the short run.

Mularc

[Ranger Nietzsche]

kick *** dude

[Longasc]

Great work!

and... she is just such a freak, I love her, hehe... GO EVE !!!

[HP Shadows]

First of all, good job on working with the Horse's Rear-end of translation (aka Babblefish) I swear that thing is harder to read than Japanese itself :)

Good work, here's the profiles repeated with the gaps filled in by my own meagre Japanese "skills"

Eve
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Birthplace: Unknown
Nationality: Ascalon
Job: Necromancer
Age: 20


Lo Sha
Birthplace: Kainen (NOTE: this is a literal translation of the Katakana and will reflect pronounciation rather than spelling)
Nationality: Canthan
Job: Mesmer
Age: 25

Argo, Champion of the Tortoise Clans
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Birthplace: Cavalon
Nationality: Canthan
Job: Elementalist
Age: 37

Additions marked in bold. hope they're of help.

[Mularc Templare]

Thanks HP....I have done some japanese but the characters are far too small for me to see, let alone decifer. There will no doubtably be more mistakes as I continue, so please fix them if you can :tongue:

saying that, I might as well use this post.

The Naga
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This race, who look much like snakes, have often been linked with the Forgotten to the north [Tyria], but are an entirely different race. Disputing with the humans, there was no room for the Naga on land, and only a sub-race lived at sea. They too were effected by Shiro's death wail, but to a different point to the Wardens - their entire race was nearly buried inside the sea of Jade. Some escaped with difficulty, and remained frightened by the harsh land that greeted them.

(nearly untranslatable - general gist is that the Naga survived due to a Gods favor - doesn't mention which they believe - and someday swore to take revenge on the humans for Shiro's death wail.)

200 years on, much has changed. Where the Naga once used to live peacefully alongside humans they no longer. The mere fact that they have taken much of the coastline of the Jade sea from the humans is testiment to this. It is no longer safe to cross the frozen waves unarmed.
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The Dredge
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As a sub-race living in the north [Tyria], trhe Dredge became enslaved by the Stone Summit. The Dregde fought against this slavery, and a small colony broke off to fight for freedom, or merely an escape. They began digging where the Summit could not see, and continued digging until they reached the other side of the world - Cantha. It was the decendants of those Dredge who first started digging that reached here. The ended up in (Ecovald). They have began to prosper and maintain an amicable relationship with the Wardens.

The village of the Dredge is not above ground, but the live in a net-like series of caverns benieth the surface. Many Dredge do not leave this area, and have a better low-light vision - the painful light of the sun would hurt their eyes.
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The Gangs of Kaineng
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The emperor places all of his faith in astorlogical agencies, keeping them as advisors. To help run the empire he has the (unknown name) troop directing the empire. In actual fact, it is two major criminal gangs that control the trade, and thus the power. They are known as the "(Unknown) Fur" and the "(Unknown) Borthers". To call them gangs may not be appropriate, as they both have thousands of members. The gangs are perpetually in a state of cold war, and even when they hire Assasins to kill each other, civil war does not erupt -the gangs know better then to fight each other - they could never match the might of the empire. Even when either gang gains a trade monopoly, it is unable to threaten the empire directly. They employ subtler means of control, and it seems that they have a hand in most of the dealings of the empire itself - every human has a price.
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Dangerous Monsters of Cantha
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Dragons

Many kinds of Dragons exist. They are creature of ancient times. The empire is proud to have lasted this long, and thus uses a Dragon as its symbol - to "ensure" its survival into a new age.

Yeti

The savage Yeti is mainly an enemy of (Uknown). It lives a primitve life, mainly hunting and collecting. You could call it brave, but it has no concept of these notions.

Bzzrats

Recently, the City even as far out as the training school have become host to a new form of creature. If you are starving on the street, it larva have become the new source of food, and thus the entire city is searched regularly.


Kappas

Kappas are meschievious spirits of the rivers, and delight in drowning the unwary traveler.

Kirin

Legend has it the Kirins are monks who have been cursed. You should not be careless though - these creatures will attack if prevoked.

Oni

The Oni is a demon of a strange dimension, coming from somewhere far across the mists. They are cruel and evil. Living nowhere, they appear from anywhere reguraly and attack without warning. Although it is a puzzle to humans, it is also the most dangerous foe that you will face traveling in Cantha, so beware of them.
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Well, thats my stint for the day done. The next, and last section of the Lore on the site is about the Empire and it various "factions", and I will have a go at bare-bones translating it next time. So for my next post, I put out a small warning - looking at the information there, it may well be my biggest post yet.

Hope some of this helps someone. Have a good one, noble peoples of the Lore community.

[I]Mularc

[Zaxares]

The Yeti are the ancestral enemies of the Tengu. I remember reading that somewhere.

[Quintus Antonius]

Wow, the Oni are extradimensional just like the Seers. I wonder if Odran and the Mursaat, and all their messing around with other dimensions, managed to bring them here too. I'm curious to see how Tyrian lore will play into Canthan lore, we already see an instance of this with the Dredge.

I'm also interested to see how the Naga end up being related to the Forgotten. It says they are a different race, but they faced similar circumstances as those faced by the Forgotten. Perhaps they were both part of a parent race at one time.

[hexal]

Lo Sha
Birthplace: Kainen (NOTE: this is a literal translation of the Katakana and will reflect pronounciation rather than spelling)
Nationality: Canthan
Job: Mesmer
i belive its spelt Kaineng, as in Kaineng City. its the capital of the canthan empire or just the whole thing, not sure

[HP Shadows]

The Gangs of Kaineng
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The emperor places all of his faith in astorlogical agencies, keeping them as advisors. To help run the empire he has the Canthan troop directing the empire. In actual fact, it is two major criminal gangs that control the trade, and thus the power. They are known as the "Am*Fur" and the "Jade Brothers."

* Katakana translated directly as "Amu" so "Am" is a guess.

Yeti

The savage Yeti is mainly an enemy of Tengu. It lives a primitve life, mainly hunting and collecting. You could call it brave, but it has no concept of these notions.

i belive its spelt Kaineng, as in Kaineng City. its the capital of the canthan empire or just the whole thing, not sure
having seen Kaineng crop up elsewhere, I'd agree. Although personally I'd have written that in Japanese as 'Kainengu"

[halfthought]

an observation about the wardens are that they also live in harmony with the forest and and where refered to as "druids", maybe the maguuma druids where similar but twhen they died, There forms changed into a image of of what they had a liflong duty of protectin: trees

plus, It seems that the tengu maintain a "allied" status with the human, but in tyria, they do not I wonder if there was a war or dispute that made them enemies

[Longasc]

The Am Fur were present during the FPE as Am Fah Assassins. The others were called the Jade Brotherhood (wearing purple armor), both were located in the starting area near the Marketplace. Both seem to guard entrances to the Undercity.

[HP Shadows]

Am Fah would work too. Katakana is quite tricky to render accurately into English. Especially when you have no preconceived ideas of what the word is supposed to be.

[Quintus Antonius]

I had MixedVariety sticky this topic because of its absolute necessity and relevence. Keep up the good work all those who are contributing to the translation effort.

[Mularc Templare]

Me again guys,

AS you have read by the title, this is the last section of the site that contains material we do not have (A page on the Gods was added, but it contains the same information as the english pages)

"Empire of the Dragon"
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Court of the Emporer

A large number of those who are involved in the "court of the emporer" are nobility. After sufficent time, a noble may become a counselor, although it is usually those who flatter other nobles & ("look good"). At first glance, you can see that the court is swimming with spies of (the Luxons & Kurzics). Although, their spies only gather information, not control the empire in any way. Also, the court is inseperable from the astronomical agency, and most people who reside there have an effect ont eh everyday life of Misaki, the emporer.

Representives who sit on this court are representives of the people, in areas and military alike. Those who are in the Military are known as "The Sword of the Emporer" & those who have more peaceful dueties are "The Spokesman of the Emporer". Also, those who follow any order from the emporer outside these "classes" are declared an "Arm of the Emporer".

Astronomical Agency

The Empire is huge. It contains some 10,000 humans, with several sub-species also inhabiting the areas [Tengu for example]. The Emporer is the highest person of all, and named "The Emporer of the Ascendant Day". However, it is impossible for one man to manage an empire. Thus, the Astronomical Agency was set up. It is the functioning arm of Government, and has grown so large that its power is immense. Members are aware of corruption. The highest "rank" you can attain in this organisaton is "Mist Oracle", but with great trust comes great duty.

Furthemore, there are four "sub-agencies" which assist in managing the empire. They all have different roles. Their names have been derived from the four elements, and each has a close tie to these elements. Each agency has specific functions, such as collecting tax. Each agency plays a vital part in everyday life. Although the Emporer is loved by many citizens of Cantha, the agencies have become hated, bringing controversy to the average citizen.

Fire Agency

The Fire agency is the oldest of the four, and presides over law enforcement & punishment. .
[I]Mysterious Power: Management of Sunrise & Sunset

Earth Agency

The Earth agency is the agency which keeps all the records in the city. They also preside over building works within the city, and claim to always be looking out for the common good. This has lead to some citizens despising them.
Mysterious Power: Management of Natural Reasources (Wildlife, Agricultural & Mineral)

Water Agency

The Water agency is responsible for providing water to the citizens of the city. In addition, they share authority over all the various ports in the city with the Wind Agency, thus, when conflicts arise, they can take a long time to be resolved.
Mysterious Power: Amount of Rainfall & Managemnet of Entrance & Exit at the End of the Month.

Wind Agency

The Wind Agency maintains trade. They also direct the wind across the sea & land. Sea going captains often pay a tax so that the wind will carry them in the right direction. The Wind Agency shares control of the ports with the Water Agency.
Mysterious Power: Management of Wind & Storms
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Well guys, its been a long week, but that is all the Lore finnally "Rear-End" translated. Thanks to everyone for posting encouraging messages during this time, as it really helped me to get motivated.

I will still be around this forum, and will definately be debating on what Lore can be pulled from these pages. I'm not going anywhere :tongue:

Anyway, thanks to all those that have read this, I hope to be of future "use" to these forums.

Mularc

[Zaxares]

Great work again, Mularc. :smiley:

So the Canthan Empire is only a population of 10,000 people? Then again, given that the Krytan capital of Lion's Arch only seems to have a few dozen or so, I guess that IS a substantial civilisation. :grin:

[Quintus Antonius]

I'd like to thank Mularc and all those who helped translate this information before Factions ever released. It was invaluable, and am I sure I speak for everyone when I say how much I appreciate all you and those who helped you did.

That said, I am unsticking this topic, as most of the information is available in the Factions Manuscripts and other official souces in a variety of languages.

However, the topic shall always stand as a reminder of how efficient and hardworking our lore community is. Once again, good job to all who contributed.

[Nrgu]

well done on translating the jap, but if you look carefully, its in the manual now =) well, at least in mine (CE)

[ShadowSword]

Thanks loads. Some of that certainly wasn't in my manual (SE). Only simple variations I can see would be that the Emperor's Arm=Emperor's Hand and the Bzzrats you mentioned you weren't sure about...they sound like the Mantids to me.