May 06

Chapter 6: Part 3 Typically Norn

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The day continued on and our bodies were covered in snow as we trudged through the knee deep powder and ice. While the norn were used to the below freezing temperatures, Tobih and I were slowed by it. Our hands and feet were frozen and stiff and we gave it our best just to keep up with our norn companions. Angel had insisted that we continue our journey through the sudden blizzard rather than stopping. It was a terrible idea and we all knew it. Tobih and I received the worst of the storm; unlike norn, we didn’t produce a lot of body heat. Before long, Tobih and I were lagging behind our two companions.

Honestly, it would all be worth it if I could find out who I was.

I strayed towards Tobih and warmed my wand up. I placed my hand on handle and invited him to do the same. The flame burst with life at the top, creating a small fire to keep ourselves warmed with.

Read the rest of this entry »

May 01

Chapter 4: Grub slayer and Golem fixer

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My chest heaved with exhaustion as I stumbled back from the giant grub’s lifeless corpse. Farkuz’s clawed hand held me upright as Stalk licked my grub juice covered hand affectionately. A nausea budded in the pit of my stomach and I fought the urge to retch. It was partly due to the exhaustion, but mostly because I was covered in juicy bits of grub flesh that dripped down my face. I looked to Farkuz and saw he looked no better. I could even see a grub’s severed feeler twitching in his mane. I looked away in disgust.

‘You’re no flower yourself, sprout,’ Farkuz growled.

‘My people,’ Matrik’s voice squeaked and Farkuz and I looked down at him. ‘You saved skritt! Skritt can come back to village now. Thank you!’

I merely nodded, but Farkuz spoke up.

‘How come you’re so much smarter than the rest?’ Farkuz asked, gesturing to the other skritt who were poking curiously at the dead grubs littered around them. ‘I doubt they know which way is up right now.’

‘Separation not matter so much to me. That why I’m leader!’ Matrik said lifting his chest with pride. ‘Safe now so skritt return. Skritt soon smart again.’

He was right. As we started to inspect the collapsed tunnel all of the skritt had picked up their swords again and were chattering to Matrik and his son Kratt’ok.

‘The cave-in looks superficial. The bomb wasn’t big enough to properly seal us in. We could probably dig ourselves out in a day. Lucky really. It could have been a lot worse,’ he said, running his hand through his mane. ‘If I had of set the bomb it’d take you months to get through.’

‘Well let’s be thankful that you did not,’ I said.

‘Let skritt tunnel,’ Matrik said stepping forward. ‘Skritt know how to tunnel better than plant or cat.’

Farkuz chuckled and stepped aside, letting the mischief of skritt pass by.

‘If you think you can tunnel faster, then go ahead.’

The skritt proved to be efficient tunnelers. In a few short hours they had broken through the cave-in and emerged back into the skritt caverns, received by a torrent of happy chittering. Elated skritt soon surrounded us, and after a few moments of happy squeaking Matrik turned to Farkuz and I.

‘You saved our village. Skritt owe you a great debt. Skritt will give you what you want in return.’

‘Well, you can show us the way to the surface so we can find our friends again,’ Farkuz said. ‘But first, we need some water. I want to wipe this slop off.’

‘We show you to better place,’ Matrik chirped, gesturing to two skritt who began pulling at our clothes. They lead us through increasingly narrow tunnels until we squeezed into another cavern. Like the cavern the skritt village was nestled in it had a large window at the top exposing bright blue sky, laced by thick greenery. In the center of the underground chamber was a spring of water, but oddly this one steamed like a pot of broth on a warm fire. Read the rest of this entry »

Apr 30

Flame & Frost Chronicles: Chapter 2

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Kesgir and I stayed at Twinspur Haven for the night. Many of the Havens had simple accommodation for any travelers who were caught out and needed a safe place to stay. The Lionguard operated a small inn which, at full capacity, only housed 10 people, but now it was overflowing with refugees. In the end Kesgir and I had to share a room with another refugee family of four. It was less than comfortable for everyone.

 

The next morning we rose early, eager to escape the thundering snores of the elderly Norn whom we shared the room with. We ventured down to the mess and ordered a hot and hearty stew for breakfast. The families upstairs were less than enthusiastic to share their experiences, but as we sat down opposite to an asuran Lionguard, I discovered he was more than eager to share what he knew.

‘It’s strange you know. It’s probably just trauma, but a lot of the refugees are saying that it was charr who attacked them, then others say it was dredge.’

‘Charr and dredge?’ I murmured. ‘I’ve never heard of them in the Wayfarer Foothills before.’

‘That’s because they are not. It’s simply crazy to believe otherwise.’

There was an angry clatter of utensils from somewhere within the mess, but the asura didn’t even notice and continued nattering.

‘I think the trauma must of unhinged a few minds,’ the asura said dismissively. His cavalier attitude irritated me.

‘Norn minds do not simply unhinge pip-squeak,’ I growled.

‘Mark my words,’ the asura continued ignorantly. ‘It was probably just the earth’s cooled epidermis routinely displacing.’ He noticed my scowl and gave an exasperated sigh. ‘If I was to put it in your words, it was simply an earthquake.’

There was a forceful clatter as a table was suddenly flipped on it side, sending bowls and utensils everywhere. The next moment the asura was suddenly being hoisted into the air. A large norn, his beard grey and flecked with white was holding the asura by his cuff and shaking him as if he was a rag doll.

‘I fought the invaders face to face rat,’ the norn thundered over the asura’s squeaks of fear. ‘I fought them as they poured onto my homestead. A dredge reduced my homestead to rubble and a charr killed my brother,’ he roared so ferociously the asura’s ears flattened against his head. ‘I saw them with my own eyes, and felt their blood on my hands as I slaughtered them.’ He threw the asura back into his seat and stomped off. The tiny Lionguard just gripped his chair tightly and panted, either too scared or flabbergasted to speak.

Kesgir and I left the asura without another word. He had insulted the Norn’s honor and I had no sympathy or patience for the creature’s ignorance.

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Apr 29

CoT’s winds of change

Hello everyone!

Much has changed within the walls of Chronicles of Tyria and after a short break, we are back with a few tricks up our sleeves! Within the next few days, expect the following to happen;

  • New writers will soon emerge and present Tyrian stories that will have you begging for more;
  • More updates! More fanfics! More adventures!;
  • Current authors will now be publishing on a set schedule! (To find out when your favourite author’s next chapter is click here)
  • Our websites are now ad free!;
  • The website will have a style change;
  • The podcast will regularly be updated once a week;
  • The forums‘ style will also change and a few things have been switched around already;

Chronicles of Tyria, which is coming close to its first year anniversary, used to be solely owned by me, Naveen. A recent change in the administration has occurred and CoT welcomes two new owner, now forming a partnership! Please welcome Kaysee and Lagwyn to the admin team. Both Kaysee and Lagwyn have been key persons the past few months within the walls of CoT and it is with pleasure that I welcome both of them as very important people in every aspects of Chronicles of Tyria. The Fanfic website, the forums, the podcast, the guild… You name it. We are stronger than ever and are coming back in full force to give entertainment to this wonderful community.

Thank you for sticking with us, for liking our facebook page, for replying to our tweets, for the friendship, fanship, what-you-may-call-it ships and for your support for the past year. We could not have done it without you! Chronicles of Tyria is, afterall, for fans, by fans!

If you have any inquiries, you may contact us at contact@chroniclesoftyria.com

See you in Tyria!

Apr 29

Author update release schedules!

Hello everyone!

As a follow-up to Naveen’s “CoT’s winds of change” post about CoT’s new direction I’m here to give you an update regarding our fantastic authors here at CoT. From now on authors will be releasing their stories routinely on set days so you know when you can expect the next thrilling update from your favourite authors.

 

Naveen: Fridays (Fortnightly instalments)

Azalea: Wednesday (Fortnightly instalments)

Alucardalina: Sunday (Fortnightly instalments)

Amber: Monday (Fortnightly instalments)

Lurx: Saturday (Fortnightly instalments)

Anavari: Unconfirmed

Eilidh: Story discontinuing.

 

You can visit the character pages for a due date on the next chapter and mark it on your calendar!

~Kaysee

Apr 29

Chapter 1: Part 5 – Allies in Lion’s Arch

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Friends. The mysterious asura I’d met fleeing the Inquest base had spoken about ‘friends’, even implying he was one of mine. I didn’t believe him, not in the slightest, but his words had sparked a dozen realisations in my ringing head. If I was going after the Inquest, chasing them as far as Mount Maelstrom, I was going to need friends, or at the very least allies – and I wasn’t going to find them in Rata Sum. No, much as I loved my home city, there I would find only rival krewes, old acquaintances who wouldn’t want to get too close (because I was clearly causing trouble and only a few steps away from total disgrace), and more Inquest.

It was obvious to me, as it would be to any footsore adventurer in the whole of Tyria, that I needed to go to Lion’s Arch. A city of every race, every trade, pirates and merchants and yes: adventurers. And possibly allies, if I played my polymock pieces right.

I returned to Rata Sum warily, slipping through the main gates as night fell. Not that the city ever really slept, but there was no point drawing attention to myself – not when I was streaked with soot and blood, and limping badly. I considered returning to the lab, knowing it was the sensible thing to do, but I couldn’t bear the thought of being back at the scene of the crime. Flikk’s death had been a crime, whether Rata Sum’s investigators could do anything about it or not.

In the end, I hobbled my way to the northern asura gate and, without pausing for thought, went through. There was a streak of cold down my spine, a shiver deep in my gut and a prickling across the soles of my feet. I’d tried to describe the sensation to Flikk once, but he’d snorted and told me I was being ridiculous. Apparently he didn’t feel a thing.

I’d visited Lion’s Arch before, both alone and with Flikk, but the city took me by surprise every time. It was vast and sprawling, bustling to every side, draining and energising in equal measure. Turn a corner and you might come across an impromptu street party or a reunion of old friends – or, with equal likelihood, a shady business deal or a brawl. The whole place made me nervous, I’ll admit. Asura in general like order and logic – you only have to look at Rata Sum to see our meticulousness – and there was a sense of wildness and unpredictability in Lion’s Arch that set me on edge.

Still, I knew that would work in my favour. The crowds were too busy, and too tall, to pay much attention to a lone asura, covered in grime or not. I left the asura gates behind and made for the heart of the city.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mar 23

Flame & Frost Chronicles: Chapter 1

Flame&FrostBannerIt was a cool night, but then it was cool every night in Hoelbrak. That was the way the norn liked it, mostly because it kept their ale frosty, and I was no different.  I sat at the open air bar enjoying the cool breeze and my frothing ale. It was well into the night, and the air was filled with raucous of happy, drunk norn and the crackling undertones of the flaming fire pit.

‘Another, Georgie?’ asked the barkeep, Vheratha.

‘Fill me up!’ I said with a grand gesture.

After a long day of laboring it felt nice to get drunk. Music started playing from nearby the fire pit and I decided to take my drink and enjoy the festivities. I’d maybe even have a dance, if I got drunk enough. I received my freshly filled mug and thanked the barkeep with my coin. As I stepped away from my seat a figure bashed into me, and I was repelled backwards by his enormous form, my ale splattering across the floor and over me. I growled angrily.

‘Watch it!’

I wiped the sopping froth off my clothes.

‘You should watch where you’re going, rabbit,’ a voice growled back. I looked up to see a towering bear of a man. His oversized shoulders were extremely muscular, and his face was worn with battle scars. His dark hair spilled over his shoulders and his goatee was braided, a typical fashion of young adventuring norn. He was a fearsome sight, but I had tangled with his sort before; all brawn and no wit.

‘Clearly the Snow Leopard never gifted you with grace. You lumber clumsily like a wild minotaur,’ I sneered back. He merely scoffed in reply.

I was eager to beat some respect into him. Norn always responded the same way to me. Many made the dangerous mistake of not taking me seriously. Not because I was a woman, but rather because of my appearance. My shoulders were too petite, and my frame too lithe. My fair hair and lake blue eyes did not help either. I had been called a great beauty by a traveling human, but to norn I was simply unintimidating. However those who made the mistake of crossing me, rarely made the same mistake twice, and soon I was going to beat the same lesson into this brute. Read the rest of this entry »

Mar 15

Chapter 1: Part 4 – Even Asura Have to be Stupid

AmberHeader1-4There are times in life when, after taking all the available evidence into account and possibly making a will, even asura have to be stupid. I hadn’t made a will (not that I had anything to leave, or anyone to leave my nothing to), and the evidence was reminding me I was trapped and alone inside an Inquest lab, only a few feet from my enemy, and only a few more from a whole complex full of guards and defence golems. And yet: stupidity. I knew I couldn’t just leave, sneaking out as I’d sneaked in, when Interrogator Zurra, Flikk’s murderer, was so very, very close.

I got to my feet and snapped out of invisibility, but I actually had to clear my throat before Zurra turned to me. She did so slowly, almost dreamily, as the full force of realising she wasn’t alone in the room she’d just locked herself into sank in. When it did, the cup of tea in her hand began to tilt, and after several seconds to sluice over the rim. She didn’t seem to notice.

“You.” Her tone was flat, belying the reams of frantic calculations she was surely making. How quickly would help get to the lab? Would they be able to stop me when they got here? Could she even reach a security alarm before I could plant a bullet between her eyes? To help her make a decision, I grinned, slowly and lazily, and pulled a pistol from its holster.

Just as deliberately, Zurra placed her empty tea cup on a worktable. “I take it you’re here for revenge.”

“The thought had crossed my mind.” I gestured, with my free hand, to the golem. “But really I just wanted to get in your way.”

Zurra’s gaze flicked to the golem, and the broken shards of data crystal on the floor. Her face visibly fell. She knew as well as I did there was no-one here, maybe no-one in the whole of Rata Sum, capable of recreating Flikk’s work.

“We have back-ups,” she said, but I could tell she was lying. Her ears even twitched.

I pointed to the revolving schematic between us. “Mount Maelstrom. What’s your interest in it?”

“Why would I tell you?” Read the rest of this entry »

Feb 28

Chapter 4: Skritt Endangered!

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The tunnel trembled as I staggered into the skritt cavern. Mobs of skritt were fleeing past me, their frantic screeching dulled by the deafening rumble. I reached down and grabbed a skritt by his scruff and pulled him up to face me. He flailed frantically, yipping and clicking.

‘What’s going on?’ I barked. ‘Where is your leader, Matrik?’

‘Great grub… sleeping… golem… now awake. Matrik, go fight…. give time to skritt.’ The skritt’s words were barely intelligible and he seemed to be gasping from the strain of having to talk.

‘Which way?’ I asked urgently.

The skritt pointed and I placed the small creature down roughly before running in that direction. I didn’t have to go far. I soon recognized the spot that the golems had started tunneling, except now the tunnel was spewing hundreds of luminous slime-covered grubs, some as thick as my torso.

A small group of skritt were hacking and slashing at the grubs as they slithered out. However, no matter how much they sliced, the waves of wriggling grubs continued to pulsate out of the hole, tumbling over their oozing corpses. The skritt were quickly being overwhelmed. Another rumble shook the ground and a new wave of grubs flushed out of the tunnel, knocking over many of the skritt. I pulled a handful of shafts out of my quiver and sent a volley of arrows into the wriggling swell. The arrows embedded deep into their gelatinous flesh and the skritt managed to pull themselves out from the corpses. I ran over to them, sifting through the disgusting slop to recover my arrows.

‘Where is Matrik?’ I asked the skritt.

They were all panting with exhaustion, but one managed to point a long finger down the hole. I sighed and peered down the narrow tunnel. The floor was submerged in a thick layer of twitching grubs. If I was going to get through my bow would be useless in such short quarters. I looked around and spotted an abandoned skritt sword on the floor and picked it up. It was decorated with beads and a strange assortment of shiny metals along the hilt; but it seemed sturdy enough. I tucked my bow around my back and ducked past the lip of the tunnel.

‘No!’ the skritt squeaked. ‘Not safe! You go, you die!’ Read the rest of this entry »

Feb 25

And the winner is…

A few weeks ago we announced a contest where participants had to create a video or mp3 file of their character in Guild Wars 2. The point of the contest was to present a characters and let the listeners and watchers know about them and their story. The videos or mp3 files were not judged by the quality of image, sound and/or music by rather by the originality that one could come up with when presenting their character, story wise.

With this said, we have chosen the winners!

  • North American participants could win a signed collector’s edition of Guild Wars 2;
  • Everyone else outside of North America had the chance to win a limited edition of the hardcover game guide.

You can watch all the entries with the video below.


The winner of the game guide is… Valaine with Brelan Valdyron
Brelan’s story reminds us all of the great Norn and their courage. The pride he shows of how Wolf is showing him the way and resolve he has to one day break the serpent’s tooth is absolutely great! Congratulations, Valaine!

The winner of the signed collector’s edition of Guild Wars 2 is… Jessica H. with Jessie Lu!
Not only is Jessie Lu’s story captivating, but the video shows great usage of NPCs to describe her story! A human raised by norn, she leaves Hoelbrak in search of her real parents and answers to find herself.

The decision was extremely tough. I really wish I was rich enough to add more gifts as I feel everyone deserve at least something for the amazing work they have put in! Most videos were very well done, the music captivating, stories all different from each other, but it all came to the originality of the character’s story and Valaine and Jessica have shown that they could do just that! Congratulations!

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