Saturday, April 14, 2012

The Dredge

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On the northern continent of Tyria, the mole-people known as the Dredge are a pitiable race, enslaved by the wicked Stone Summit dwarves and ready to fight alongside any who will help free them from their masters� whips. In the Echovald Forest of Cantha, a few small colonies of escaped Dredge jealously defend their prized freedom. The offspring of a few desperate escapees from the Shiverpeaks who tunneled for hundreds of miles to reach their strange new home, these Dredge have no reason to feel any friendship toward humans or anyone else�they escaped slavery on their own, and plan to establish their race anew in the petrified woodlands.

Dredge villages are marked by large dirt mounds. The mole-people live primarily in the tunnel networks linking the mounds together. Those who underestimate the ferocity and aggressiveness of the Canthan Dredge do so at their peril.




The Dredge�s Society

The Dredge�s Original Homeland

There seems to be nothing to indicate where the Dredge originally came from, prior to their enslavement. All we know for certain is that they lived underground, and most likely near Sorrow�s Furnace, as that is the first place we actually see them.

Because there are so many Dredge (it is literally cramped) in the southwestern corner of Sorrow�s Furnace, I believe that that corner is at the edge of the Dredge�s home. Farther south, west, or southwest, would lead to the Dredge �village� where the young dredge are kept until they are old enough to work.





The area is filled with vegetation, heat and light from above (although very little) and the furnaces, and melting snow, which provides needed water. Everything needed for a living space is provided in that corner alone, extending further, there is probably a continuation of the vegetation (although probably not as much, as there would be less heat from the fires from mines). This corner, with having vegetation, is also much different then the other areas of Sorrow�s Furnace, which is filled with snow and dirt, with little to no vegetation, despite the heat, light, and water provided in the area.

It is known, thanks to Alkar's quest, that this area is an excavation site. The Stone Summit could have been digging, and ended up breaking into one of the Dredge's tunnels, and from there reached the Dredge village and started enslaving them.

There are also two passages to off the map from this area, one heading west, the other heading southwest (at the actual corner).

The Moletariates

Note: Dredge groupings are called �moletariates,� as said by Molenin in Umbral Grotto



The Enslaved Moletariate

This is the original moletariate, the one that the Stone Summit enslaved in Sorrow�s Furnace. The Dredge here seems to be close to their original home, as explained above. These Dredge can be separated into two groups, those who subject to fear and their captors, and those who wish to revolt. The rebellion is led by two Dredge, Molachev and Molenin. Molechev is killed off by the Stone Summit, but Molenin escapes in between the time of Prophecies and Eye of the North.

Then there are the slaves in Eye of the North. These Dredge are much fewer in number because most escaped prior to the Stone Summit moving north, and now the Stone Summit are no longer near the Dredge homeland, making �resupply� of slaves harder.

The low amount of slaves in the Eye of the North further supports the theory of the Dredge homeland being southwest of Sorrow�s Furnace.

The Free Moletariate

Also known as the Canthan Dredge, these Dredge tunneled from Sorrow�s Furnace all the way to the Echovald Forest. These Dredge, as said in the manual, now live in underground tunnels and the above ground. With the southwest corner being the beginning of the Dredge�s original home, there is an explanation why the Dredge take a liking to the Echovald Forest.

The Echovald Forest, being a forest, has plenty of vegetation (albeit stone) like their old home, has a water supply, and is dark due to the tree�s heights. Only one thing that is different is a breeze and all the vegetation being mostly stone.

These Dredge also live underground though it seems, but are trying to start living on the surface. As evident by Moleneaux�s dialogue:



Of course, there are Dredge who are hostile, not wanting to risk being taken as slaves again, such as Maximole.

The Dredge�s Architecture

There is no architecture that I know that is confirmed to be Dredge architecture, as the Dredge mostly live in areas we cannot get to (southwest of Sorrow�s Furnace and underground in the Echovald Forest).



However, from deducing that the southwest corner of Sorrow�s Furnace is part of the Dredge�s home area, we can surmise that the architecture there - which is by far not Stone Summit - is in fact Dredge architecture.



In parts of that corner, specifically west of the Stone Basilica, there are ruined structures of the same design. If these are Dredge structures, then the explanation of these being ruined could be collateral damage when the Stone Summit were digging around and first found the Dredge.



However, there is a problem with calling this Dredge architecture. The same structures can be found all over the Depths of Tyria. In areas that very well might never have been visited by the Dredge, such as Bloodstone Caves and Cathedral of Flames. With the creators of these dungeons unknown, and most likely not by Dredge, this puts a major push back on

The Dredge�s Diet

From the likings of their areas, and little to no known animals in the Dredge corner of Sorrow�s Furnace, it can be deduced that the Dredge are herbivores and eat the vegetation in that area (and in Cantha, eat some of the plants that are not stone).

In fact, in Cantha, the highest Dredge populated areas (the big field and south of the Dredge Temple, both in Ferndale) have high amounts of living vegetation as well as the Dredge corner of Sorrow�s Furnace.

The Dredge�s Future


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Over the past one hundred years, more and more Norn have been seen in Kryta and lands beyond. An elder dragon of ice and snow arose in the farthest northern peaks, driving even the most stalwart hunters south into Dwarven lands. There they found abandoned Dwarven forts and a new challenge in the form of the Dredge, the old nemeses of the Dwarves, now almost unrecognizable from the primitive, frightened creatures of the past.

The Dredge, reveling in their new-found freedom after the Dwarves fell to the Destroyers, seized that opportunity to become a real threat in the Shiverpeaks, while the Norn revel in the hunt of new enemies. The Norn and the Dredge fight over control of these lands in a continual war that rages along the highest mountains.




Easter Egg

The Dredges are mostly based off of the Soviet Union, as evident by the names Molenin (Vladimir Lenin), Molachev (Mikhail Gorbachev), and the Moletariate (Proletariate).|||Quote:






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However, from deducing that the southwest corner of Sorrow�s Furnace is part of the Dredge�s home area, we can surmise that the architecture there - which is by far not Stone Summit - is in fact Dredge architecture.




It's the same architecture of the Stone Basilica nearby, where the Tome of the Rubicon was found.

In fact, the Stone Basilica is an ancient temple, most likely dedicated to the Great Destroyer... and it's said to be an ancient Dwarven ruin.


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"We must bury the Tome of the Rubicon by destroying this temple!"





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"We must bury the Great Destroyer's true name. The best way to do that is to consecrate the old temple and bring it down atop the Tome. Some of you should stay behind, just in case."




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However, there is a problem with calling this Dredge architecture. The same structures can be found all over the Depths of Tyria. In areas that very well might never have been visited by the Dredge, such as Bloodstone Caves and Cathedral of Flames. With the creators of these dungeons unknown, and most likely not by Dredge, this puts a major push back on.




Yup. If it's not ancient Dwarven architecture, maybe it's from a race much older, but pretty sure not the Dredge.|||All I want to know about them is where is the Tunnel they made from the Tyrian continent to Echovald Forest.

I've already asked Anet, and Linsey stated that the holes at the North Eastern corner in Sorrow's Furnac and the West side of Arborstone are NOT the two sides of the tunnel.

So... where is it?|||Quote:






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All I want to know about them is where is the Tunnel they made from the Tyrian continent to Echovald Forest.

I've already asked Anet, and Linsey stated that the holes at the North Eastern corner in Sorrow's Furnac and the West side of Arborstone are NOT the two sides of the tunnel.

So... where is it?




Well, maybe it's the Bottomless Pit...

But seriously, there are way too many areas on our map we cannot visit. Guess it's somewhere in uncharted territory (like that goddamned Mursaat city I always wanted to find).

Or the Dredge simply closed the tunnel behind them, to prevent the Stone Summit from hunting and following them...|||The first picture you took to show a bit of possible Dredge architecture seems to have some Ancient Ascalonian architecture in it. Check Melandru's Garden (the Secret Garden) in Regent Valley and compare the arches; they are the same. Of course the Ascalonians didn't build the buildings in Sorrows Furnace, but it just as unlikely as the Dredge having build in Ascalon.

The other type of arches you see in your other pictures could very well be Dredge architecture, in my opinion. The fact that they are found all over the Dungeons of Tyria would only strengthen that argument; the Dredge are cave-dwellers after all. Who knows? Their underground civilization could have stretched from the caverns under the Charr Homelands till the Maguuma. It's not impossible at all; they did dig the huge tunnel from Sorrows Furnace to Cantha.|||Ah, i do love the Dredge. I hold out hope of a massive part for them in GW2.

It seems to me that Sorrow's Furnace was closed after we destroyed the Iron Forgeman. Or, at least, all the slaves were moved to Vloxen...


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We were moved there after the adventurers destroyed the Iron Forgeman in Sorrow's Furnace.




When the forgeman was destroyed, the Summit gave up on the project at the furnace, moving the slaves away. So, once we kill Taskmaster Bellok and free the Dredge at Vloxen, there is likely no more Summit enslavement of the Dredge...





We also know:

1) The Dredge deal with the Asura. At some stage, it states that the Asura deal with "the Dredge and other subterranean races".

2) The Dredge in the Echovald make their home at the 'Temple of the Dredge'.

4) Some Dredge were easy targets for Urgoz' corruption, probably due to their jealousy and anger.

3) Once the Dredge are free, they develop quickly and greatly- the Movement of the World states that they are now unrecognisable as the same creatures, as they are much more advanced.|||I know that it says almost unrecognizable from the primitive and frightful creatures of the past, but it's not exactly specific enough to indicate they have advanced that much. Although they probably have.|||Quote:






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Well, maybe it's the Bottomless Pit...

But seriously, there are way too many areas on our map we cannot visit. Guess it's somewhere in uncharted territory (like that goddamned Mursaat city I always wanted to find).

Or the Dredge simply closed the tunnel behind them, to prevent the Stone Summit from hunting and following them...




I would agree with both of these statements. The tunnels, both ends, are off the map, and at either end (or in the middle) the tunnel caved in, by the Dredge, to prevent the Stone Summit from following.


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The first picture you took to show a bit of possible Dredge architecture seems to have some Ancient Ascalonian architecture in it. Check Melandru's Garden (the Secret Garden) in Regent Valley and compare the arches; they are the same. Of course the Ascalonians didn't build the buildings in Sorrows Furnace, but it just as unlikely as the Dredge having build in Ascalon.




Thought that looked familiar, but I couldn't think from what. This is most likely a case of reusing skin models.


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The other type of arches you see in your other pictures could very well be Dredge architecture, in my opinion. The fact that they are found all over the Dungeons of Tyria would only strengthen that argument; the Dredge are cave-dwellers after all. Who knows? Their underground civilization could have stretched from the caverns under the Charr Homelands till the Maguuma. It's not impossible at all; they did dig the huge tunnel from Sorrows Furnace to Cantha.




The only problem with this, as I believe I stated in the OP, is that there is no evidence to support the Dredge from being anywhere but underneath the Southern Shiverpeaks, at least originally.


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The Dredge deal with the Asura. At some stage, it states that the Asura deal with "the Dredge and other subterranean races".




May I ask where you got this information? I do not know of it. From any source I looked at.


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The Dredge in the Echovald make their home at the 'Temple of the Dredge'.




But first, they lived underground. And with Usoku, they are forced out of Cantha.




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Once the Dredge are free, they develop quickly and greatly- the Movement of the World states that they are now unrecognisable as the same creatures, as they are much more advanced.




I think that by unrecognizable, it is meant that they are so hostile compared to how they are now (just wanting peace and freedom), not so much by becoming advanced. I only get this by the wording.

As I quoted in my OP:


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There they found abandoned Dwarven forts and a new challenge in the form of the Dredge, the old nemeses of the Dwarves, now almost unrecognizable from the primitive, frightened creatures of the past.

The Dredge, reveling in their new-found freedom after the Dwarves fell to the Destroyers, seized that opportunity to become a real threat in the Shiverpeaks, while the Norn revel in the hunt of new enemies. The Norn and the Dredge fight over control of these lands in a continual war that rages along the highest mountains.




The Bolded parts are where it talks about them being different, and the underlined parts is where I get that they are more hostile then before.


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I hold out hope of a massive part for them in GW2.




The smallest they will be is the main enemy of the Norn, excluding the Dragons.

It seems to me, that different races will have different "main enemies" (aside from the Dragons).



Norn vs Dredge

Norn vs Elementals

Norn vs anything that is a challenge

Humans vs Charr

Humans vs Centaur

Humans vs Tengu

Humans vs Humans (White Mantle remnants)

Charr vs Charr (Gold Legion)

Charr vs Human

Charr vs Forgotten

Charr vs Ascalonian Ghosts

Charr vs Anything that is a threat



Sylvari and Asura don't have any "natual enemies" as of what I can establish from the known GW2 lore.|||Quote:






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May I ask where you got this information? I do not know of it. From any source I looked at.




I'm certain that it's in the small Eye of the North manuscripts. I want to say it's in the Depths of Tyria section, otherwise it might just be under Dwarves or Asura.|||Nope, just looked through the whole EN manual. Not a thing on Dredges. Unless I got a f-ed up copy of the manual like I did wit hthe Movement of the World (a whole page on the Dragons missing in my Movement article).

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