Minister Zal
“Zal, he...he wasn't a good person. It's about time we figured out what happened to him. What really happened.
Minister Zal was the former Minister of Flame, a supporter of the Ministry of Purity and Researcher Hui Jung's great-great-great-grandfather.[1][2]
Biography[edit]
Early years[edit]
Some time prior to the return of Shiro Tagachi, Zal was promoted to be the Minister of Flame in the Celestial Ministry, receiving the celestial blessing and overseeing law enforcement and justice. He was known to incinerate criminals.[1][3]
Guild Wars Factions[edit]
In 1582 CC (1072 AE), Minister Zal sent Officer Chitaro of the Ministry of Flame to provide luxury Elonian mirrors to the homeless of Bukdek Byway. The Hero of Cantha delivered the mirrors for Chitaro, much to the displeasure of the homeless Canthans, who declared that they had long since given up relying on the Ministries for survival.[4]
Chitaro was then sought out by the Hero again, who wished to retrieve supplies for homeless refugees, much to Chitaro's displeasure. He instructed them to tell the refugees to fill out form 3056-B if they wanted medical supplies.[5] He insisted that the refugees and the Imperial Guardsman Pah, who had requested that the Hero go to see him, must fill out the proper scrollwork regardless of the emergency.[6] He also insisted that they speak to Pah regarding giving a citizen salve from a thorn devourer.[7]
Zal eventually encountered the Hero in the center of Old Kaineng, where he blustered his way out of the conversation.[8] Following the Hero defeating Shiro Tagachi, the Betrayer, Zal was approached by the Hero. He asked the Hero if they had filled out form 37G, before recognising them and describing the Hero as his "friend", and congratulated them for the success of their "mission" from the Ministry of Flame. However, a group of peasants declared angrily that the Ministry had done nothing to oppose Shiro and without the Hero's help, they would all be dead. Zal then commanded the group of ministers to applaud the Hero's actions.[9]
Guild Wars Nightfall[edit]
In 1585 CC (1075 AE), Kaineng Center was besieged by creatures of torment sent by the fallen god Abaddon. With the aid of the Hero of Cantha and the Sunspear Spearmarshal Kormir, Zal was encouraged to help defend the city, fighting off some of the demons. After a difficult battle, the torment creatures were driven out of the city.
Interim years[edit]
At some point Zal became a mentor to Yeongi who eventually rose to become the head of the Ministry of Purity. Following the Zhaitan Disaster that led to the drowning of Old Kaineng and the death of Emperor Kyobok and most of the Imperial Family in 1729 CC (1219 AE), support for the Ministry of Purity was beginning to crumble.[1] Despite this, Kyobok's successor Emperor Bitgaram gave the Ministry of Purity more authority to protect Cantha from the Risen invasion.
Zal and Officer Jimin managed to breach Raisu Palace while searching for survivors after Bitgaram's crowning in 1730 CC (1220 AE). Inside they found Kyobok and many other members of the Imperial Family dead, presumably killed by the Risen which had overrun the palace after the flood. After confirming the bodies in the throne room, the excavation group did not dare go any farther inside when they heard inhuman sounds coming from within. Jimin was shaken to his core upon his arrival back at the recycling facility.[10]
After Zal was arrested for corruption in 1730 CC (1220 AE),[1] Emperor Bitgaram appointed Jimin as the head of the Ministry of Security which succeeded the Ministry of Flame in the Canthan government. As the new Minister of Security, Jimin developed an acute sense of self-importance and felt that his word rivaled even that of the emperor.[11]
When Bitgaram's daughter Haebaragi was crowned Cantha's first leading empress in 1743 CC (1233 AE), she began investigating the ministries and ultimately disbanded the corrupt Celestial Ministry circa 1747 CC (1237 AE) and placed Minister Jimin on probation for his violent actions against the tengu and naga, which motivated Yeongi and his supporters in the Ministry of Purity to oppose the empress's rule via violent means in an attempt to preserve their prestigious positions during her governmental reforms.[12]
Historical records seem to differ on the actual chronology of events surrounding Zal's fate. While some records claim that Zal was already arrested during Emperor Bitgaram's reign in 1730 CC due to related investigations of the Ministry of Purity's abuse of power,[11] other sources claim that Zal went into hiding in the same year instead,[2] while yet other sources suggest that Empress Haebaragi would have only acted against the Ministry of Purity and learned of Zal's ties to them after Yeongi's uprising in 1747 CC and how Zal went into hiding instead of being arrested and became a whisper that Cantha wanted to forget.[1][12] Ministry of Purity's journals revealed that Yeongi's supporters may have broken Zal out of jail and led him to the ministry's hideout in Old Kaineng where Zal presumably died due to heavy blood loss.[2][13]
Legacy[edit]
After Zal's sentence, his family was not exiled like Minister Tao's descendants since Purist beliefs were not as universally contested in Cantha as the gang-related violence between the Am Fah and the Jade Brotherhood and the ministers associated with them. Zal's ultimate fate remained unknown to his family. Researcher Hui Jung, Zal's great-great-great-grandson, began writing a book about the fate of the Celestial Ministry in 1845 CC (1335 AE) and, with the Pact Commander's help, eventually uncovered clues to the events surrounding the final days of Zal and the other Celestial Ministers.[1]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
|
The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Minister Zal. |
- ^ a b c d e f History of the Ministry of Fire
- ^ a b c Researcher Hui
- ^ Canthan Culture
- ^ Luxury Goods
- ^ Medical Emergency
- ^ Red Tape
- ^ Problem Salving
- ^ Dialogue with Minister Zal
- ^ Divine Path ambient dialogue
- ^ New Kaineng Zoning Record 0024
- ^ a b New Kaineng Zoning Record 0039
- ^ a b New Kaineng Zoning Record 0132
- ^ Purist Document Fragment
