The Vigil
The Vigil
The threat of the Elder Dragons is constantly looming over Tyria and forces the individual races to organize. Only as a combined force do the races of Tyria stand a chance against those Elder Dragons and their minions.
For centuries, two orders have existed in Tyria: The Durmand Priory, which was founded in 1105 AE, and the Order of Whispers, which was founded after Palawa Joko’s fall several centuries ago. The third order, the Vigil, is the newest one and was founded only about six years ago by a charr called Almorra Soulkeeper. While the Durmand Priory prefers doing research and learning everything there is to know about the Dragons' strengths and weaknesses, the Order of Whispers instead relies on using spies to gain information that will give them an advantage in the fight as well as pulling strings in the background to manipulate power. The Vigil, on the other hand, is the most active of the three orders, ready to fight the Elder Dragons and their minions at any given moment.
All three orders try to combat the Elder Dragons in their own ways, but in order to succeed they have to unite their forces. Despite the Vigil being such a young order compared to the other two, it is already well established and treated as equal in the Pact, the union of the three orders.
Some important members of the Vigil
Almorra Soulkeeper. This charr is the founder of the Vigil. She was on patrol with her warband through the region of eastern Ascalon when Kralkatorrik appeared in the sky. This Elder Dragon had just risen and flew over the region of Ascalon, crossing the path of Almorra and her warband. Everything and everybody it passed was left branded and crystallized - everybody but Almorra Soulkeeper. She had to kill members of her own warband that were turned into branded, crystallized minions of Kralkatorrik.
Without her warband, Almorra was nothing but a gladium, the lowest rank in charr society. After a period of mourning and despair, she realized that Tyria – and Almorra herself – need saving and that this can only be accomplished by uniting strong fighters together in one order to resist the Elder Dragons. Because she suffered from her warband being turned into minions or killed when Kralkatorrik flew over them, she feels compassion with everybody else who experienced the same, no matter their race. This sympathy made it possible for her to overlook racial differences. For her, it doesn’t matter if the person who suffered is a human, a charr or some other race. They all experienced the same thing and they all need to overcome their trauma and fight back.
Ember Doomforge and Dougal Keane. The human queen Jennah asked the Vigil to retrieve the Claw of the Khan-Ur on her behalf. Jennah wanted to use this artifact for starting a peace treaty between charr and humans. Ember and Dougal, both members of the Vigil, were among the group of adventurers and returned with the artifact, which was then given to Smodur the Unflinching, the imperator of the Iron Legion. This helped start the truce between those two races after being at war for centuries.
Warmaster Forgal Kernsson. Player characters new to the Vigil will be mentored by this veteran norn. He lost his family to the dragons and ultimately feared that he would not have anybody to tell his tale. Even though norn usually embrace being and fighting on their own, Forgal prefers being part of the Vigil, if only to fight back against the dragons.
Why should one join the Vigil?
Members of the Vigil are not just brainless berserkers attacking every dragon minion without thought. They are those who work on the front lines. They have seen with their own eyes what the Elder Dragons do and how innocent civilians have to suffer by being turned into mindless minions or losing their family and friends. They do not want to stand around waiting for something to happen and prefer a more direct approach to fighting against the Elder Dragons trying to fight to eradicate the Elder Dragons, unlike the Order of Whispers, who does not believe that the dragons can be killed and think that they can only be put to sleep again.
The Vigil's actions are not limited to the battlefield. They offer a helping hand to the victims of attacks and also help rebuild what has been destroyed as much as they can.
Following Almorra Soulkeeper’s lead, the Vigil wants to act now. They believe that they have no time for long research or for convincing others to join them first. They want to fight now, before too many Tyrians get turned into the dragons’ minions or get killed. But on their own, with no help from the other two orders, they would lack the knowledge how to do it. The Order of Whispers sends out their scouts and informants to get to know their enemies while the Durmand Priory focuses on finding new weapons. Only with their help can the Vigil succeed on the battlefield.