In this week's article of The Scrying Pool, we look at the very mysterious Deep Sea Dragon.

Of the Dragon

There was something else to mention, but I wanted it to keep it separate because it is a bit odd and well...obvious. The Empire of the Dragon has a very interesting name now that we know the Elder Dragons exist. As far as I can tell, there is no lore for why it is named of the Dragon.

In the lore, a warlord united the clans along the coast of Cantha to form an empire. The lore blames poor record keeping for why nothing more is known, but the records that do exist claim that the Human gods ordered the warlord to unite the clans. The warlord then proclaimed himself Lord Emperor of the Dragon.

Strictly from a lore perspective, it is very possible that the name came from the saltspray dragons, such as Kuunavang, native to Cantha. But what if the empire was actually named after the Elder Dragon that slumbered under the Jade Sea?

Before any of you say it, I realize that Factions came out long before any thought went into Guild Wars 2 and Elder Dragons. We are speaking strictly on a lore perspective. There is no lore for the why which gives room for a new answer to appear. This wouldn't be the first time ArenaNet has filled in a gap like this as Giganticus Lupicus extinction was part of the Guild Wars time line long before it was a marker for the last iteration of the Elder Dragons.

So why would the newly formed empire name itself after the Elder Dragons, especially since they didn't know they existed. The humans most likely had no idea of the dragons, but the gods might have and the records say the gods commanded the warlord to form an empire. But if all of that is indeed true, it still doesn't explain why the empire is named after the dragons.

In the only true expansion for the original Guild Wars, we meet a Norn named Jora. There is a lake in the Northern Shiverpeaks that all Norn are told to avoid. Jora's brother Svanir had ignored this warning during a hunt and stepped out onto the frozen lake to chase his prey. The reason the lake was to be avoided was because below the ice was a frozen champion of Jormag. Just crossing the ice was enough for Svanir to be corrupted by its influence.

If crossing over a champion was enough to corrupt someone, imagine what would happen to anything over the actual Elder Dragon. The dragons were asleep and dormant so wouldn't have the same effect as the champion did, some of you might say. Kralkatorrik was right on the surface not doing anything. But look at the other two dragons where we knew their slumber location. One was sleeping under the exact spot the gods decided to build their holy city and the other was giving off huge amounts of magic that ran the entire Asura Gate network. While those dragons were seeping harmless magic in their sleep, it could be that the Deep Sea Dragon's magic was not as benevolent.

So what if the gods see the magic seeping from the sleeping dragon and devise a plan to contain it before it can do irreparable harm to anyone. Under this notion the gods command to create an empire, to pass on their legacy to the next generation of emperor after them, and in return the gods would grant them “the blessing of the dragon.” Not wanting the emperors to get suspicious they would indeed let the line of emperors tap into the Rage of the Dragon, but only very slightly. In truth this blessing is a burden the emperors would bear for their empire.

But what could this mean!? -->