Arah
From Guild Wars 2 Wiki
Presumably built by the Gods (as they were its inhabitants), Arah is a holy city situated on the peninsula of Orr. As the city was lost to the sea shortly prior to the events of the original Guild Wars, little is known of the city's actual appearance save that it has many spired towers. Following the Exodus the human Kingdom of Orr assumed stewardship of the city, watching over it in anticipation of the day when the Gods would return. However their protection of the city would come to a catastrophic end in an event that became known as the Cataclysm.
During the Guild Wars open fighting in the streets of Arah had led to open hostilities between the three human nations of Tyria. As such the nations did not unite against the threat of the charr invasion, each choosing to stand alone. In 1070 AE the Searing shattered Ascalon's defenses and allowed the invading charr to push into Orrian territory, driven by the orders of their Titan Gods to destroy Arah. In 1071 AE, before they could raze the city, Vizier Khilbron, the advisor to King Reza, used magic buried in a vault deep beneath Arah and brought about the Cataclysm, destroying the charr invasion and the Kingdom of Orr in an instant. Arah sank beneath the waves of the Bay of Sirens (later renamed the Sea of Sorrows to reflect this) with the rest of the peninsula and was thought lost, fulfilling the wish of the God Abaddon.
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However, nearly 150 years after the destruction of Orr a new power stirred in the sunken ruins of Arah. The deathless dragon Zhaitan woke from an ancient slumber and raised the drowned Kingdom to the surface once again. The ruins of Arah are now his lair and the main base of operations for the undead legions and fleets that maintain a stranglehold on Tyria's sea routes.
| Known settlements | |
|---|---|
| Asura | Rata Sum |
| Charr | Black Citadel • Flame Citadel • Steeleye Span |
| Human | Beetletun • Claypool • Divinity's Reach • Ebonhawke |
| Norn | Hoelbrak |
| Sylvari | The Grove |
| Inter-racial | Durmand Priory • Lion's Arch • Vigil Keep |
| Other | Ascalon City • Arah • Eye of the North • Gunnar's Hold • Kodan Iceberg |
