Ruins of Orr

Ruins of Orr

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Map of Ruins of Orr

Levels

70–80

Type

Region

Within

Tyria

Connects to

Kryta
Maguuma Jungle
Shiverpeak Mountains

Image(s)

Click to enlarge.

“

Risen from the ocean by the will of a powerful undead dragon, Orr no longer stands under human control. The beings roaming those lands are twisted, perverted remnants of Orr's once-magnificent culture. Drowned by magic and then raised into service by the will of a monster so terrible there are only whispers of its nature, they now serve a dragon more horrible and more powerful than any other being in Tyria.

— The Movement of the World: Orr

The Ruins of Orr are situated on a peninsula south of Kryta and west of the Crystal Desert. They are the destroyed remains of the Kingdom of Orr, one of the three human kingdoms on Central Tyria, which was once a vibrant, proud, and prosperous nation. Orrians believed themselves to be the favored of the Six Gods, living in the shadows of Arah which had once been inhabited by the gods themselves. The kingdom originally sunk beneath the waves in 1071 AE due to Vizier Khilbron's spell causing the Cataclysm during the charr invasion of Orr. Since the awakening of the Elder Dragon Zhaitan caused the Rising of Orr from the depths of the Sea of Sorrows in 1219 AE, the landscape has become twisted while the nation's former inhabitants have fallen into Zhaitan's corruption and become his Risen minions. Living descendants of Orrian survivors from the Cataclysm have integrated into Kryta and exist as an ethnic minority there to this day. Despite Orr's dark fate, however, hope still lingers deep within it, and the fallen land may still have a chance to be healed.

History

Early history

Pre-god era

During the previous rise of the Elder Dragons thousands of years ago, the Forgotten, servants of the Six Gods who were aiding other elder races in the war against the dragons, had built a ritual site in Orr at the location of what would eventually witness the construction of the city of Arah. They lured Glint, the destructive scion and champion of the Elder Dragon Kralkatorrik, to the ritual altar where they successfully cast a spell which allowed her to regain her free will. This act would plant the seeds of the Forgotten's grand plan in the conflict against the Elder Dragons, using the freed Glint and her legacy to hopefully grant all of Tyria salvation from the devastating dragon cycle one day.

Kingdom of the Six Gods

The "floating rings" of Orr, showcasing Orrian mastery of architecture and magic during the kingdom's golden era.

At the end of the Elder Dragons' previous rise, around the time of the disappearance of the Great Giants over ten millennia ago, the Elder Dragon Zhaitan had begun sleeping deep beneath Orr, until the day he would rise again along with the other dragons to continue the dragon cycle. In the millennia that followed, the Six Gods arrived from the Mists and made Orr a green and flowering expanse as well as took human immigrants, who originated from the human homeworld, elsewhere during this terraforming process. The gods followed a source of magic coming from a ley line hub in the Artesian Waters and built a city, which they called Arah, over the subterranean waterway.

Later, the humans came to Orr in 205 BE where, under the guidance of King Doric, they created the human system of governance and an empire that spanned many regions in the northern continent of Tyria. The gods would travel the world and claim various magical artifacts from other races such as the Seers' Bloodstone and the jotun's Mystic Telescope which they would store in the vaults of Arah or the reliquaries in Siren's Landing for study and safekeeping.

The god Abaddon eventually gifted selected races of the world with magic. However, this led to greedy wars for magic between the now emboldened mortal factions, so King Doric himself approached the gods in Arah and begged for their intervention to end the bloodshed. Moved by Doric's plea, Dwayna and many of her fellow gods agreed and used Doric's blood to seal magic into the Bloodstone and then sunder the Bloodstone at an altar in Arah into five pieces which they cast into the volcano of Abaddon's Mouth on the Ring of Fire so mortals could not use their magic for further destruction. Abaddon disagreed with his fellow gods' decision to revoke the gift of magic, leading to an eventual war between his Margonite army and the other gods' followers in which Abaddon lost and was imprisoned alongside his army in the Realm of Torment in 0 AE. To erase knowledge of Abaddon so he would not tempt mortals, the gods sunk the fallen god's temple beneath the waves and sealed many of his texts. Eventually, the human empire would fragment into the three historical nations of Ascalon, Kryta, and Orr, of which only Kryta remains today.

When the gods left the world in the Exodus of the Gods that began the After Exodus era of the calendar, the Orrian people took on the protection of the holy city of Arah as their sacred charge in hopes of the gods' return. Even after the Exodus, Orrians practiced magic in an everyday fashion that would have seemed strange to visitors.

The Cataclysm

The Orrian nation lasted until the Third Guild War when they decided to take part in the wars between international guilds and sent much of their fighting force abroad to quell the violence. Using human infighting to their advantage, the warmongering charr launched an assault on the three divided kingdoms, intending to crush humanity at the behest of their masters, the titans. As the charr ravaged Ascalon, they sent a significant army led by Imperator Ventus south to subdue Orr as well. Due to Orr lacking defenders as their forces were still fighting abroad, the charr could push deep into Orr by 1071 AE and threatened the kingdom's very existence. King Reza's advisor Vizier Khilbron, desperate to protect Arah from the invaders, read from one of the Lost Scrolls of the god Abaddon. The invocation unleashed dark magic that defeated the charr, but also sank the kingdom of Orr to the bottom of the ocean, taking its people and its cities with it in an event that became known as the Cataclysm. All that were left above the surface of Orr were the wandering undead, who, secretly under the control of the Vizier (now an undead lich lord masquerading as a living Orrian survivor), were to play a key role in the fulfillment of the Flameseeker Prophecies which would see the end of both Khilbron and many of the scheming mursaat at the hands of heroes later. According to sailor stories, the gods themselves had turned Khilbron into a lich in penance for his actions.

For years after the Cataclysm, Orr sat on the floor of the Bay of Sirens which became known as the Sea of Sorrows due to the events that had transpired there. Few sailed near its cursed shores, and much of the nation's treasures remained ripe for the pillaging, making the shattered peninsula an ideal location for corsairs fleeing Istani law to dock. Orrian survivors who had been abroad during the tragedy would have to find a new home to live in for their families.

Sea of Sorrows

Zhaitan awakens and raises Orr.

In 1219 AE, Zhaitan awoke and brought the sunken nation of Orr to the surface. The act wiped out the area's corsair inhabitants and much of the wildlife remaining there, raising them from the dead as Zhaitan's Risen army, causing the devastating Great Tsunami in the process that would affect not only the shores of Kryta and Maguuma but also the southern shores of Cantha and Elona as well, leading to, among other things, the drowning of Cantha's capital Old Kaineng City and Kryta's capital Lion's Arch. As Krytans fled the resulting flash flood to higher ground and built their new capital Divinity's Reach on a rise as a safe haven, living Orrian descendants of the Cataclysm settled into the city as an ethnic minority, mingling with the other human ethnicities there. It is possible, but not confirmed, that a direct descendant of Orrian royalty might have been among these settlers.

In the decades since, Zhaitan ruled over the fallen landmass of Orr and the Strait of Malchor with an unwavering grip, sending Risen forces to assault the surrounding regions every now and then to probe Tyrians' defenses. One of these would-be invasions led to the Battle of Lion's Arch, now rebuilt as a would-be autonomous pirate city-state, during the Great Krytan Blockade in which the clashing navies of Lion's Arch and Kingdom of Kryta's led by Commodore Cobiah Marriner and Prince Edair set aside their differences to face a mutual enemy. The combined fleets managed to defeat the Maw and Captain Whiting, Zhaitan's champions leading the assault, and thus weaken the Risen horde significantly and secure Central Tyria's freedom from the Risen menace for a time as Zhaitan began rebuilding his forces. Despite the Elder Dragon's corruption spreading across Orr, however, a slow life still pulsed in the beleaguered nation's veins.

Personal story

The eldest of the sylvari Firstborn, Trahearne, threw himself into studying Orr after being given a Wyld Hunt to restore the land. He often traveled to Orr to explore and study it alone, but when he learned that Zhaitan's forces planned to attack Lion's Arch in 1325 AE, he traveled to Claw Island to warn the Lionguard stationed there, albeit too late. The defeat at the Battle of Claw Island made Trahearne seek guidance of the Pale Tree along with a trusted friend of one of the three great Orders of Tyria. In a vision of a possible future shown to Trahearne and his friend in the Dream of Dreams, the spirit of King Reza, the last king of Orr, gave a warning: while Zhaitan could be defeated, Orr could only be healed from the dragon's corruption by "seeking the source." To accomplish this, Trahearne was given Caladbolg, a legendary greatsword created from the bark of the Pale Tree.

With the aid of his friend, Trahearne convinced the three Orders to join forces and form the Pact to fight the dragons with himself as Pact Marshal and his friend as the Pact Commander. After reclaiming Claw Island from the Risen, Trahearne led the Pact into victory after victory, reaching Orr and the doorstep of Arah itself. Some Orrian descendants such as Researcher Nethry also assisted in the Pact's invasion of Orr, walking on their ancestors' homeland for the first time in centuries. Using their military's momentum to their advantage, Trahearne and the Commander traveled to the Artesian Waters, the Source of Orr, from which all Orr's waters and natural magic flow. Trahearne cast a powerful healing ritual with Caladbolg, freeing Zhaitan's most powerful lieutenants, former kings and queens of Orr, from the dragon's control. As a gesture of thanks, the liberated spirit of King Reza declared the Pact Commander "Champion of Orr". With Zhaitan all but crippled, the Pact and Destiny's Edge moved on into the ruins of Arah itself to lure out and defeat the Elder Dragon in a titanic battle in the skies above Orr.

Since the fall of Zhaitan, the number of Risen in Orr thinned, and for the first time in centuries, Orr had hope in its future. Scholars from the Durmand Priory used the opportunity created by Zhaitan's fall to explore Arah in detail. They discovered information about the five elder races of dwarves, Forgotten, jotun, mursaat, and Seers, as well as the Bloodstone, while fighting against surviving Risen and securing Zhaitan's severed tail for further study in the Priory's Special Collections. The Inquest led by Operative Brie also explored the city in an attempt to uncover its secrets and successfully enslaved some Risen to do their bidding while clashing with Pact forces.

Living World Season 3

The surviving Risen eventually came to be called the Unchained as they no longer had an Elder Dragon to follow. However, some of the more intelligent Unchained lieutenants such as kingpins rallied their fellow directionless dragon minions to continue the fight in Zhaitan's name.

In 1330 AE, a Vigil Warmaster confirmed that the Risen army and corruption lingered and that Orr remained a "waterlogged wreck", but progress in cleansing the land of both minions and corruption continued. The Pact Commander entered the Artesian Waters once again and faced a final challenge to restore Caladbolg after it had been broken in the Pact's war against the Elder Dragon Mordremoth.

Abaddon's reliquary.

Some time after the fall of Zhaitan, Siren's Landing was revealed in Orr and attracted Tyrian adventurers, scholars and treasure hunters to explore it. Firstborn Dagonet, sylvari and other races of Tyria continued to work on restoring Orr while entering and studying the newly revealed region. They were joined by King Reza and a number of ghostly Orrian royals and servants, seeking to restore ancient reliquaries devoted to the Six Gods and purge the land of Zhaitan's lingering corruption. Oakhearts helped spread verdance to Siren's Landing albeit at a slow pace as they were clashing with Zhaitan's remaining minions. Lingering ghosts of Orrian musical wizards known as the Sirens of Orr sang the dirges of five gods with the Siren Master teaching curious explorers ways to harness the magical power of these ancient songs.

The rogue god Balthazar's mercenaries and fanatical members of the Church of Balthazar appeared in Siren's Landing as well and set up a base of operations at Balthazar's Reliquary while fighting against anyone daring to approach the site. The reveal of Abaddon's intact reliquary, which Balthazar had briefly visited during his return to Tyria and where the Pact Commander and the long-lived necromancer Livia finally killed the last mursaat Lazarus under the gaze of the Eye of Janthir, attracted the attention of a self-titled Priest of Abaddon who made an effort to study and preserve knowledge of the fallen God of Secrets. Enigmatic Parables of the Gods were also discovered in the region around this time, revealing darker interpretations of the nature of the Six.

Uncertain future

Orr's future remains uncertain for the time being. As the nation is slowly being revitalized thanks to the efforts of the Orrian ghosts, sylvari, and the rest of the Pact thinning the numbers of the remaining Unchained Risen and cleansing the lingering corruption, the question remains who has the right to claim the land and its bounty. Descendants of Orrian royalty may live among the Orrian ethnic minority in Divinity's Reach and wish to reclaim their homeland, Queen Jennah and the Ministry might wish to expand Krytan influence over Orr due to Jennah also being a distant descendant of King Doric as the Ebonhawke Treaty with the charr strengthens the diplomacy between the two races and frees Kryta's forces to settle the Centaur War and direct the kingdom's aspirations elsewhere. The multiracial Pact, having defeated Zhaitan, might wish to share Orrian spoils between the three orders and divide them evenly between the races that contributed to Orr's liberation as all discoveries made in Orr would first go through the orders before potentially being funneled to any of the nations backing up the Pact's military structure.

Geography and climate

Orr is a peninsula located south of the Sea of Sorrows passing through the Strait of Malchor and bordering the Ring of Fire on the east and the Crystal Desert on the west.

In ancient times Orr was a region full of life and prosperous, after the Cataclysm the region was submerged under the ocean, until it returned to emerge from the depths by the Elder Dragon Zhaitan. Life now is gloomy, with an infertile land corrupted due to dragon magic, no vegetation as such, save for coral reefs, coastal lagoons and plagued by Risens. Now you can only see a landscape full of ruins.

Locations

Explorable zones

• Core Game
  • Straits of Devastation (70–75)
  • Malchor's Leap (75–80)
  • Cursed Shore (80)

• Living World Season 3
  • Siren's Landing (80)

Dungeons

• The Ruined City of Arah (80)

Orr Explorer achievement

This achievement consists of discovering all 60 areas within Orr that were available when the game launched, and thereby excludes any of the areas within Siren's Landing as it was added during Living World Season 3. Some commonly missed areas are as follows:

• Straits of Devastation – Zho'qafa Catacombs; Sea of Elon
• Cursed Shore – The Artesian Waters

Gallery

Screenshot

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  Ruins of Orr.

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  Fort Trinity

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  The Vizier's Tower.

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  Cathedral of Hidden Depths.

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  Cathedral of Glorious Victory.

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  Cathedral of Eternal Radiance.

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  Cathedral of Zephyrs.

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  Cathedral of Silence.

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  Cathedral of Verdance.

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  The Artesian Waters.

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  Azabe Qabar, the Royal Tombs.

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  Promenade of the Gods.

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  Entrance to Ruined City of Arah.

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  The Elder Dragon's Lair.

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  The Grand Basilica containing the Altar of Glaust.

Conceptual art

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Other

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  Various ambient textures found in and around submerged areas of Orr.

Notes

• Orr includes nearly twice the number of dynamic events as other regions.
• Before the Megaserver update in the April 2014 Feature Pack, the status of the temple events of the three initial Orrian maps were tied to each world's server shards and affected all the respective world's Orrian maps and statues of the gods linked to the temples. For example, successfully securing the Cathedral of Glorious Victory in the Temple of Balthazar meta event would remove the harmful effects of the corrupted statues of Balthazar not only in the Straits of Devastation but also in Malchor's Leap and Cursed Shore zones. Following the Megaserver update, the cross-map mechanics of the temples have been disabled, and the harmful effects of the corrupted god statues become active only when the nearest temple is contested.

Trivia

The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Orr.

• According to Jeff Grubb, "it is possible that the cryptic message in The Path to Revelations refers to the Dragons—a land unwaking could refer to the risen kingdom of Orr and answers to the origin of the dragons do lie there."
• Internally at ArenaNet, this area was known as "Risen."
• During early development, there were one or two more Orr maps planned.

References

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Regions

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The World of Tyria