The History of Guild Wars

The origins of the world of Tyria are lost in time and shrouded in myth. They are also colored by cultural perceptions, bias, and mysticism. But if we can’t have facts, at least we can have stories! This section of our book is about the time before Guild Wars 2, from the formation of the world to the events that took place in the original Guild Wars and its expansions.

Cosmology and Geography

The Mists constitute the fabric of time and space. Within the Mists are worlds, each with their own realities and histories, floating as islands in the ether. Some worlds are enormous, such as the Underworld, the home of the dead; others are simply residences for powerful spirits or deities. At the center of the Mists is the Rift, and within the Rift is the Hall of Heroes, the fi nal resting place of powerful and virtuous souls.
Tyria is only one world among many in the Mists. It is a very large world, but history has only chronicled events that have taken place on three major continents; these continents are Tyria (named for the world), Cantha, and Elona.
For a long time, only events on the continent of Tyria were known to historians (the primary storyline of Guild Wars: Prophecies takes place there). Trough the subsequent Guild Wars expansions, people began to learn about events in other parts of the world. Tyrian history and human culture are both heavily represented in this, but the other races have many of their own stories and legends to add.

The Creation of the World

Tyria is said to be over 11,000 years old, but its primordial history is still mostly shrouded in mystery. The earliest lifeforms on Tyria were the Elder Dragons, who spent much of their time in hibernation, and the Giganticus Lupicus, a race of giants that are now extinct.
There is a 7,000-year gap in the timeline of the world, for unknown reasons. The ancient Tome of the Rubicon mentions several races: the dwarves, the mursaat, and the seers. It also states that the mursaat and the seers warred with each other, but the reason why and the resolution of the conflict are unrecorded. Of course, the Tome of Rubicon is a dwarven book, and its prophecies and histories are far more concerned with dwarven matters. At some point in prehistory, beings of enormous power, knowledge, and magic walked and lived upon the land.