Ghosts of Ascalon
This article is about the novel. For the 
“250 years ago, Ascalon burned...
Desperate to defend his land from advancing hordes of bestial charr, King Adelbern summoned the all-powerful Foefire to repel the invaders. But magic can be a double-edged sword—the Foefire burned both charr and human alike. While the charr corpses smoldered, the slain Ascalonians rose again, transformed by their king's rage into ghostly protectors and charged with guarding the realm—forever. The once mighty kingdom became a haunted shadow of its former glory.
Centuries later, the descendants of Ascalon, exiled to the nation of Kryta, are besieged on all sides. To save humankind, Queen Jennah seeks to negotiate a treaty with the hated charr. One obstacle remains. The charr legions won't sign the truce until their most prized possession, the Claw of the Khan-Ur, is returned from the ruins of fallen Ascalon.
Now, a mismatched band of adventurers, each plagued by ghosts of their own, sets forth into a haunted, war-torn land to retrieve the Claw. Without the artifact, there is no hope for peace between humans and charr—but the undead king who rules Ascalon won't give it up easily, and not everyone wants peace!
— Ghosts of Ascalon
Ghosts of Ascalon, written by Matt Forbeck and Jeff Grubb, is the first of three novels that bridge the time between the original game series and Guild Wars 2. The novel series was originally announced at the Penny Arcade Expo in 2008 as a partnership with Pocket Star Books. The announcement was made official on April 14th 2009 when Forbeck announced his involvement and the title on his website. The book was released on July 27th, 2010 in North America and Europe. The contents of the book are considered to be canon lore for the Guild Wars universe.
Synopsis[edit]
The main plot takes place one year before the events of Guild Wars 2, dealing with the initial stages of an alliance between the humans and the charr as an expedition with members of both races seeks an ancient artifact. The story begins with Dougal Keane, a human adventurer specializing in detecting and disabling traps - exploring the crypts underneath Divinity's Reach with other adventurers. The book then focuses on Keane's journey to Ascalon City, together with Riona Grady (a human crusader), Killeen (a sylvari necromancer), Ember Doomforge (a charr crusader), Gullik Oddsson (a norn warrior) and Kranxx (an asura engineer with knowledge about the workings of asura gates).
Tales are often recited by the characters in the book to help deliver the backstory of all five playable races, including a depiction of King Adelbern's unprecedented use of the Foefire to defend Ascalon City from the charr.
Plot[edit]
Release[edit]
The first chapter of the novel can be read for free in this PDF.
The release date for the book differs according to language and/or region:
| Language | Availability | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| English | North America - July 27, 2010 United Kingdom - July 27, 2010 Australia - August 15, 2010 |
Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster |
| German | August 11, 2010 | Panini |
| French | October 15, 2011 | Bibliothèque Interdite |
| Russian | May 20, 2011 | EXMO |
| Italian | August, 2010 | Multiplayer |
| Spanish | May, 2011 | Timun Mas |
| Polish | July, 2012 | Dwójka bez sternika |
| Hungarian | July, 2012 | PlayON |
| Czech | 2012 | FANTOM Print |
Notes[edit]
- The book is currently selling for $8.09 USD.[1]
- Unlike the official images, the actual cover says "Guild Wars" and not "Guild Wars 2", but with the Guild Wars 2 font, as well for the link on the back.
- The book has been narrated and is available as a free audiobook on Youtube by WoodenPotatoes
Trivia[edit]
- The title of the book was first announced to be Fall of Ascalon, but was subsequently changed to more accurately reflect the story's themes.
- The book references many characters from the original Guild Wars and explains what happened to them after the events of Eye of the North.
- The book mentions the characters from Destiny's Edge, describing some more than others.
- ArenaNet writer Will McDermott acted as liaison between ArenaNet and the writers.
- There is a bookcart in Divinity's Reach which has a description about having a book titled "Ghosts of Ascalon" by Dougal Keane.
- Killeen's grave can be found in the Secluded Glen in the extreme northwestern corner of the Fields of Ruin.
See also[edit]
- Novel characters — for a complete list of characters appearing in all novels. May contain spoilers.
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Guild Wars: Ghosts of Ascalon, Amazon
