Razah
“Centuries ago, the hero who had defeated the fallen god Abaddon met a strange entity imprisoned deep within the Realm of Torment: Razah, a being born of the Mists. Freed by Abaddon's death to seek their own purpose in life, Razah chose to accompany the hero across Tyria, and their boundless curiosity led them to study and master any number of martial and magical disciplines.
But Razah's story seemed to have ended with their companion's; no one has seen or heard from them since. They may have returned to the Mists to wander or fallen to the corruption they once feared. They might have learned to mimic human behavior precisely enough to live a hundred lives in obscurity. Or they could have been watching our world, still learning—and waiting for someone like you.
Razah is a mysterious entity, a character mentioned in various accounts and occasionally encountered throughout the centuries. They[1][2] are formed of the protomatter of the Mists in mimicry of a humanoid creature, and possess humanoid intelligence but lack proper understanding of emotions and common sense. First found bound in the Heart of Abaddon in the Realm of Torment following the god Abaddon's fall, they were freed by the hero responsible for Abaddon's defeat. Razah accompanied the hero in their subsequent adventures and then disappeared when their travels ended. Though Razah's exact location is unknown, they have been observing Tyria from the Mists in search of a hero.[1][2]
With the release of Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity, revenants of the conduit elite specialization are able to channel Razah's power with the Legendary Entity Stance.
| Razah is eventually revealed to have donned the guise of the Mist Stranger to aid Tyrians in an advisory role against Mists-related threats.[3] |
Biography
Nightfall
Razah was created by the Mists when they came into contact with a suitable human template. For example, they can copy that form, creating a conscious entity with a humanoid appearance and an almost human mind. They are a mysterious being with a great curiosity about life. When Razah first became a physical entity upon being born from from coalesced energies colliding in the space between realms, they lacked common sense. As a result, they asked strange questions about human emotions, contemplated human motivations, and attempted to imitate human gestures.[4][5]
It remains unknown why the god Abaddon bound Razah to the Heart of Abaddon in the Realm of Torment; however, Razah would recall that Abaddon's minions blessed Razah with knowledge to fulfill a great purpose. When the Hero of Nightfall defeated the fallen god and stopped Nightfall from enveloping Elona and the rest of the world in 1075 AE, Razah felt that their existence had become meaningless.
The hero came across Razah while exploring the uncovered layers of the deepest part of Abaddon's realm in the aftermath of the Ascension of Kormir who had replaced Abaddon. Razah inquired if the hero had come to give them purpose, but the hero suggested that all beings should find their own purpose in life. Intrigued by the answer, Razah asked to join the hero on their journey so Razah could search for their purpose along the way. The hero helped break Razah's bindings and defeated Abaddon's lingering minions who were guarding the entity, and Razah joined the hero's party for their subsequent adventures. Upon being informed about Razah's existence, Chaplain Phyratyss, a Forgotten leading forces confronting Mallyx the Unyielding's revolt, wished to speak with Razah in person. As time passed, Razah learned the ways of many professions from that era and eventually parted ways with the hero, choosing to honor the latter's noble deeds as a guardian of Tyria.
Interim
At some point Razah came in contact with the wizard Isgarren, and the pair struck a mutually beneficial noninterference pact to protect Tyria from Mists-related threats on their respective fronts. Isgarren placed more detailed information about Razah at the highest level of secrecy among the Astral Ward to allow Razah a chance to act discreetly and with the veil of anonymity.[3][6]
Fractal Incursion
Razah left Tyria for the Mists and eventually donned the guise of the Mist Stranger, hiding their appearance and identity from most people. Due to being affected by their time in the Mists, Razah could not stay on Tyria for too long during their infrequent visits. They only appeared in the role of an advisor most of the time when particularly dire Mists-related problems arose, such as the fractal version of the Twisted Marionette attempting to invade Tyria.[3][7]
After many encounters with the Pact Commander who had helped quell various Mists threats over the years, the Mist Stranger appeared in Lion's Arch and urged the Commander to quell the latest threat from the Mists emerging from various fractals, with a version of the Mist Stranger even appearing in a select few fractals to assist the Commander and other adventurers in various ways within the fractals themselves. The Mist Stranger finally revealed their identity as Razah in 1338 AE after the Commander had dealt with the fractal incursions and helped the latter create more versions of unique fractal gloves with various enhancements.[8]
Visions of Eternity
Severa Spardancer, a charr revenant in the Astral Ward, made a peculiar discovery that led to her learning to channel Razah's Mists echo, the Legendary Entity, while aiding the Durmand Priory in Lornar's Pass in 1338 AE. She noted that, unlike the many other legends whom revenants had channeled previously, this entity felt like it was neither an echo nor a ghost but a living being who had begun observing her in return. She passed this knowledge on, and these new specialized revenants would become known as conduits, drawing from Razah's historical experiences with various professions in the past era to better help the conduits face their enemies in battle on behalf of the Tyrian Alliance.
If a revenant Pact Commander visited Severa and learned to reach out to the entity, Razah answered back with a response that suggested that they were aware of their previous encounter with the Commander in Lion's Arch and might not be Razah's revenant echo but the real Razah themself. Regardless of this invoked Razah's actual origin, they nevertheless offered to aid the Commander in the defense of Tyria.[1][9]
Story involvement
Visions of Eternity story
- Act 1
- Prologue: On the Sly (voice only)
Gallery
A Mists echo of Razah channeled as the Legendary Entity Stance.
Trivia
- Razah is consistently referred to with gender neutral language.[1][2]
- They were referred to with it/its pronouns in the original Guild Wars,[4] changed to they/them in Guild Wars 2.
See also
|
The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Razah. |
- Associated skills
- Associated items
References
- ^ a b c d The Final Three Elite Specializations: Elementalist, Engineer, Revenant, GuildWars2.com
- ^ a b c Elite Specializations: Evoker, Amalgam, Conduit, GuildWars2.com
- ^ a b c Fractal Incursion dialogue with Frode and the Mists Stranger
- ^ a b c The Guild Wars Nightfall Manuscripts
- The protomatter that makes up the Mists strains toward creation, often spawning demonic creations in nightmarish forms. Not all creatures from the Mists are demonic, however. When the Mists come into contact with a suitable human template, for example, it can copy that form, creating a sentient entity with humanoid appearance and an almost human mind.
- Razah is one such creation. It has sprung into being a fully-formed adult. It has the knowledge and capabilities of a human, but lacks common sense. As a result, it asks odd questions about human emotions, contemplates human motivations, and attempts to duplicate human mannerisms. Razah is a contradiction: more than human in some ways, and less than human in others. It needs an identity, a personality, and a purpose. Hopefully, it will find its purpose by working with a hero. Otherwise, it could degenerate into an abomination as monstrous and inhuman as its demonic brethren.
- ^ Legendary Entity Stance dialogue
- ^ Notes on the Mist Stranger
- ^ Mists Stranger historical dialogue
- ^ Fractal Incursion: Talking to the Mist Stranger
- ^ Prologue: On the Sly
- Severa Spardancer: Well, the other day I connected with something. Not an echo or a ghost... No, something different.
- <Character name>: Different...how?
- Severa Spardancer: Whoever I channeled...they weren't dead. And they were more curious than anything I've reached. Very self-aware.
- Severa Spardancer: I haven't been able to connect with them since, but now I feel...observed. You know?
- Severa Spardancer: How about this. I think I heard their name. Take a deep breath and think "Razah" as clearly as you can. Beckon them forth! [...]
- Razah: Hello again.
- <Character name>: I didn't think we'd meet again so soon.
- Razah: I am eager to bear witness to your dauntlessness and feats of heroism in the new world. Allow me to aid you, hero of Tyria.
