Which turned out to be nothing else but the Mursaat.
A former gambler, he was exiled from Kryta for his debts to an infamous gambling guild shortly before the Charr invasion. In his exile, he wandered for many days before stumbling upon a city belonging to the Unseen Gods and pledging his service to them. Returning to Kryta he gained many followers and was able to help turn the tide of the war with the help of the Unseen Ones. The White Mantle rejects the worship of the Old Gods.
OK, so much about the history of the White Mantle.
The White Mantle always appeared to me like a Paladin order (with a good mix of Ku Klux Clan, Knights Templar and the term "Confessor" could be from Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth, if you know these novels) their goals were noble, though they turned out to be fighting for the Mursaat in the end. I doubt many besides Justicar Hablion and Confessor Dorian knew much about that.
The symbol of the White Mantle resembles a stylised Mursaat. At least people say so, I agree, but it is very stylized, would not have guessed that.
The gauntlets, boots and, to a lesser extent, masks of the Mursaat resemble those of the Enchanted Armors in the Crystal Desert. It do not know whether this is intended to hint at a connection or merely the reuse of graphics. Or me simply seeing connections where there are none.
Hablion and Dorian have very dark skin, darker than the other Krytans. They are also elevated in rank and the driving force behind the not so honorable goals of the White Mantle.
Are these two from Elona? Were the Mursaat forming the White Mantle as an army to fight
- against the Sunspears?
- alongside the Sunspears?
After all, it seems that the Mursaat wanted the Door of Komalie to stay closed.
Now it gets a bit complicated and confusing. The Lich betrayed and tricked both the Ascalonian Heroes as well as the Mursaat and the White Mantle.
Both Orders, White Mantle and Sunspears, are military orders with all the many titles and ranks and while the White Mantle assumed the role of the Protectors of Kryta, which lead to rivalries with the Lion Guard, despite them in general being friendly to everyone before the escalation, the Sunspears have the same role in Elona.
Were Hablion and Dorian not the villains we believe them to be? They gave a rather sinister impression in the cutscenes, but actually they were the good guys!
They sacrificed innocent lives, but it sounds like the choice of a lesser evil. The Mursaat needed this to keep the Soul Batteries charged and the door closed.
Interesting thought: The Mursaat did not seem to need this many sacrifices on the Bloodstones before, the White Mantle is/was a VERY young organization.
Jeff Strain described Nightfall as the "Apocalypse" and closing of a storyline connecting Prophecies, Factions and Nightfall (btw: GW will continue, just THIS storyline is meant, no worries).
I hope Nightfall does give some nice answers that really tie together all the loose ends, because the more I think about it, the more confusing it gets.
|||I would say before the Mursaat met Alessio they were sacrifising their own kind to power their soul batterys...I felt that i and the Lich were the villans in the Prophecies storyline... If i knew that the Mursaat where helping Tyria (in a very twisted way) i would try to communicate with them and together we could find a way to feed the soul batterys.
But that would make a very diferent story with less fighting.
Let's see if the Mursaat have a space reserved in GW:Nightfall. Or that they give us a hint about who are they really as a society then as an army.|||I send that, I think The Seer actually the players... He looks like a being of Shadow just like the Nightfall themed guys. And to me the Mursaat don't really look evil. They have more of an angelic look if you ask me.
Doesn't The Seer direct the player to opening the Door of Komalie?
If Abbaddon is really the new evil god it would all make sense with the Nightfall storyline and the connection between the continents.|||You know, I do get tired of the "Hey, dark skin must be Elonian!" I actually find it rather racist. It is much more probable that Dorian and Hablion are just Krytans with tan skin. And to be honest, they really aren't that much darker than any Krytan peasant, they just don't have heavy tattoos like the others, probably because they had them removed, or were from nobility and never had to get them. Keep in mind that every ethnicity on Earth has a "range" of skin tones, as well.
Also, I really don't see the connection between the White Mantle and Nightfall, or the Mursaat and Nightfall. I think we will hear references to both, especially the Mursaat, because they kept whatever was in Abaddon's Mouth back for eons, but I'm not sure if we will see the Mursaat or White Mantle again. The White Mantle has been soundly defeated, and are more or less a broken organization. They still have followers, and they still have substantial military might in areas like the D'Alessio Seaboard, Riverside Province, and Shaemoor, but I'd guess they are probably too focused on trying to reconstruct their inner workings, and are less concerned with what is goig on in far away places like Cantha, and Elona.
As for the Mursaat, I have no idea. I'd personally love to see them, but I don't think it is likely. Other than henchman, ANet hasn't really brought characters back from other chapters. I believe there will be lots of references to Prophecies and Factions, but I'm not sure if any races, or plot movers other than Mhenlo and co. will make an appearence. Fingers crossed though.|||People in deserts or other hot countries do tend to have tan skin due to exposure from the sun. Elonia is a desert and so it would fit too, it's more an observation than racism I'd say. Hablion, Dorian and even Evvenia may all have indeed been from Elonia, but that doesn't mean it's a plot or anything; they may just have migrated at some point.
However, I also find it more likely that they are Krytans and merely don't have the tattoos. Or perhaps the tattoos are covered by their clothing; they do have more complex garments on after all.|||Very true, FV. But, Krytan's tend to have a South American look and feel, in terms of accent and skin tone. I'm Mexican, so I've been to South and Central America many times in my life, and I can tell you, skin tones range from light tan, almost white, to dark brown, almost black, and they are all from a common culture. Different things, genetics and exposure included, affect the expression of melanin in the skin and the tone of the skin as well. I honestly think that Evennia, Dorian, Hablion, and the rest of Krtya are all from Kryta. I doubt an Elonian would be a higher up in the White Mantle anyway.|||south american eh? I suppose thats from your decent. I always thought Krytans looked Indian to me. (indian as in Real Indians, from India).|||What I'm really starting to wonder is if the Mursaat know of what's going on at the Tomb of the Primeval Kings,Dragon Festival attack/siege,and now Elona. The Mursaat remind me,in a way,of myself in the fact they like to know what's going on in the world. Not only that,but from the looks of it they like having sources of information in different places hidden in dark corners.
We know they aren't entirely destroyed,just the branch of them in Tyria. For all we know they may have small colonies or outposts all over the world to gather information and keep in touch with things. What I'm trying to say is the Mursaat don't seem like the kind of people to miss these sorts of events.|||I'd say the Mursaat almost certainly are aware of what's going on. They still have three main branches remaining--civilian, Janthir, Mursaat City (Jungle), and the extradimensional forces, although some of these may be the same. The only branch that was "destroyed" were the Mursaat defending the forts at Komalie. I don't think we've seen the last of the Mursaat, whether or not they are in Nightfall, however, is yet to be seen.|||Maybe one day we'll get a Mursaat henchman who can shed some light on his/her race's goals.
Hey, one can dream!
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