Palawa Joko

From Guild Wars 2 Wiki

Palawa Joko, also known as Lord Joko and the Scourge of Vabbi, is an undead desert king and the current ruler of Elona. Over 450 years ago, he led an army into Vabbi, crippling the then-province and staging from there his conquer of the entire continent, all but defeating the three provinces of Istan, Kourna and Vabbi. For two long years the people of Elona suffered under his reign, until the last bastion of hope for Elona, the great Kournan general Turai Ossa challenged him in one-on-one combat, far above the Battle of Jahai. Palawa Joko was sealed beneath the sands of Elona, kept in his place by the Order of Whispers.

However, this was not to be a permanent arrangement. In order to defeat Warmarshal Varesh, the crazed descendant of the hero who saved Elona all those years ago and stop her from summoning her dark god, the Order of the Sunspears required a way of traversing the Desolation, the region of the Crystal Desert where only the demons and the undead could survive. Joko was the only one who possessed the knowledge to do this and so the Sunspears sought out his tomb. The weakening of reality from the approach of Torment freed Joko who grudgingly assisted in the defeat of Varesh.

As Elona returned from the brink of Nightfall and slowly rebuilt, Joko bided his time. In no less than sixty years after he had been freed, the undead lord of the Desolation, having learned from his past mistakes, rallied his undead army to its former power and marched into Vabbi. Instead of making the mistake of outrunning his supply lines (which was to be his undoing the previous time), he instead dammed and diverted the Elon river, both supplying his desolate domain with precious water and simultaneously depriving Kourna and Vabbi of that same resource. Faced with a devastating drought and famine, in Vabbi and northern Kourna, Vabbi surrendered to survive while Kourna and Istan soon followed.

For over one hundred years thereafter, Palawa Joko has focused on little else but the defamation of the Order of the Sunspears and control of the Ossa lineage. The former was accomplished by destroying the majority of the faction while converting prominent members, either alive or undead. While the dead would join through his necromancy, the living would join Joko's cause with promises of wealth and power. These converted Sunspears were given the power, the resources and the permission to kill or capture their former friends. The Sunspear traitors were all made members of the same group of elite knights - the Mordant Crescent. Meanwhile any descendant of Turai Ossa was brought to Joko's armies and there converted to his service, forming a living army to match his undead armies.

Since then, the awakening of the Elder Dragons caused contact to be mostly lost with Elona. It can be assumed that Joko still rules from his Bone Palace in the Crystal Desert, standing watch over his ill-earned kingdom.

[edit] Trivia

The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Palawa Joko.

• When discussing who they would cast in a dream "movie-version" of Guild Wars Nightfall, ArenaNet cast Christopher Walken as Palawa Joko.