Wizard's Court

This article is about the organization. For the point of interest, see The Wizard's Court.

The Wizard's Court is a group of powerful magic-users that has existed since the previous dragonrise. They live in the Wizard's Tower and Amnytas in the skies above Tyria, though both have been moved around over the millennia. They make use of various structures and facilities known as bastions and beacons, such as the Bastion of the Penitent or the Beacon of Ages. The Bastions in Amnytas are named after different schools of thought regarding magic—the Natural, Strength, Balance, Knowledge, the Celestial, and the Obscure.

Led by the ancient Seer Isgarren, the Wizard's Court is primarily focused on defending the world of Tyria from threats external of Tyria, having decided (though with much internal debate) to ignore internal plights and conflicts such as the Elder Dragons. Despite this, the Wizard's Court has collected many powerful and dangerous relics from across Tyria, to safeguard them from those who would abuse their power, and has hidden them away in their vault.

To become a member of the Wizard's Court, one must first be innately talented in magic, and then undergo an ancient Seer ritual called divcia nava, or Ascension in modern tongue. This ascension is not like the Ascension tied to Augury Rock, which merely unlocks one's true potential and is said to allow communication with the Six Human Gods, but instead connects the would-be Wizard to the flow of the world's magic.

History

The Founding

The Wizard's Court was founded by the seer Isgarren during the previous dragonrise. After the elder races' failed attempt to slay Zhaitan, Isgarren parted from the seer fhogos and started to build the World Spire, a structure that would power a shield that would guard Tyria from the Mists. He also made use of existing beacons such as the Beacon of Ages and the Wizard's Tower as conduits to help powering the shield.

The court's first recruit was the mursaat Mabon, who Isgarren met during the seer-mursaat conflict. The two clashed before Mabon admitted defeat, but after a quick exchange in which Mabon professed shame for his people's actions, Isgarren spared him and later ascended him through the seer ritual of divcia nava. Mabon joined Isgarren to live at the Wizard's Tower and the two continued to work on building the spire.

Before his departure from his kin, Isgarren encountered a kodan named Waiting Sorrow who was on the verge of Koda's rage. Seeing her struggle, Isgarren ascended her to sever her connection with Koda, saving her life. After her ascension, Waiting Sorrow roamed the world for a time until the kodan migrated south under Jormag's influence and she took refuge with the forgotten Vass, whom Isgarren was courting at the time. These two eventually ascended and joined the court.

When tracing the migrations south caused by Jormag's champion, Mabon and Waiting Sorrow found a female jotun named Dagda who was ill-treated by her tribe for her magic talents. They rescued her from the situation, and Dagda became Waiting Sorrow's apprentice before ascending and joining the court as well.

At some point, the djinn Akeem ascended and joined the court.

The Wizard's Court built Amnytas as a hub of research and a vessel to protect Tyria. They established six bastions, each representing a school of magic and led by a specific wizard. Waiting Sorrow built the defenses of Amnytas. The court also built Bastion of the Penitent, which was later overtaken by the mursaat. Whether the court abandoned the bastion or the mursaat took it from them remains unknown.

Early history

At an unknown time, Isgarren met the Elder Dragon Soo-Won. They respected each other and agreed not to interfere with each other. Soo-won kept the magic of Tyria balanced, while Isgarren and his court protected Tyria from invasions from the Mists.

During the previous dragonrise, Isgarren rescued a Kryptis named Eparch who found himself in the Maguuma Jungle fleeing from Mordremoth. He took Eparch to the Wizard's Tower and taught him knowledge of Tyria, offering him the chance to join the court's rank. However, Isgarren eventually denied Eparch entry and banished him back to the demon realm Nayos after Eparch had torn a centaur village to innards and scraps of meat. This led to a rivalry spanning hundreds of years between Eparch and Isgarren as Eparch sought to return to Tyria and bring down Isgarren and his tower.

When the Six gave the Scepter of Orr to a pair of mortal rulers as a form of test, Isgarren thought to intervene but ultimately decided not to, as the court was still young and he did not want to draw the gods' ire.

In 604 AE, Isgarren established the Astral Ward as protectors of Amnytas and the court, and named Taryn the first Warden.

Immediately after the foundation of the Astral Ward, Eparch invaded the Wizard's Tower with a full entourage, bringing with him the demon brothers Deimos and Cerus. They were pushed back through the combined strength of Isgarren, Mabon, Dagda and Astral Ward members, but not without severe casualties: Vass was killed by the brothers and Akeem died in battle as well.

At some point, the court started to conduct fractal-like simulations in the Mist to prepare for possible dire situations. Isgarren and Waiting Sorrow used their power to form the fractals together, and these islands were kept on an astral plane separated from reality. The court used simulated lives in the fractals at first but switched to real people due to the simulation's inability to experience sufferings, lowering the predictive power of data collected. When a simulation ended, the court would pause the fractal and froze it in time.

Sometime after 716 AE, Waiting Sorrow departed the court with all her power intact. Before her departure, she crafted the Heart of the Obscure, a device capable of locating and sealing rifts from the mist via channeling the user's emotions. She left the device in her quarters, where it remained untouched until the modern era.

During Palawa Joko's conquest of Elona, the court aided Turai Ossa's campaign against Joko by providing him the spell necessary to trap the lich's soul.

Guild Wars

When Vizier Khilbron was found using the Scepter of Orr to open the Door of Komalie, the court thought to intervene. Before they could act, however, the Vizier was slain by heroes of the time, and the scepter transported away by the lich's final whispers.

During Nightfall, the court sent Astral Ward members to investigate but chose to withdraw after Abaddon's manipulation behind the events was revealed. This was due to the Court not wishing to get involved with quandaries of the gods.

Sometime between 1000 AE and 1100 AE, the court sent Mabon to set up a warding enchantment around Janthir, due to reasons only known to members of the Court.. This enchantment prevented access to the city of the mursaat, Bava Nisos, until 1336 AE.

Shortly before the transformation of the Dwarves in 1078 AE, Mabon went to Droknar's Forge and found a dwarf named Lyhr who had the ability to spilt himself into two facets to join the Astral Ward. Lyhr would eventually ascend to join the Court, becoming the leading wizard of Bastion of Balance.

Interim years

In 1127 AE, the court sent Dagda and Lyhr on an errand involving getting relics from the Durmand Priory and Sparks of Deldrimor from the dwarven mine in Derelict Delve. These items were transmuted into a silvery mercurial form trapped in a prism-shaped capsule by Dagda at Droknar's Forge. While she was performing the ritual, Lyhr saw visions of the past, though what he saw remains unknown.

The court initially kept their distance from the newborn race, the sylvari, when they first appeared in 1303 AE, but started to admit them into the Astral Ward when the sylvari Narcisse bypassed the magic defenses of the Beacon of Ages in 1316 AE. When Mordremoth's call started to affect sylvari in 1328 AE, the court enchanted the magical defense around Amnytas to sever the dragon's connection with sylvari Astral Ward members.

After the death of Mordremoth, Mabon and an Astral Ward member named Uenno recruited the former Destiny's Edge member Zojja who was on a journey to find herself and heal her trauma into the Astral Ward. The court saw that there were flames inside her, and Mabon took Zojja as her apprentice.

Secrets of the Obscure

Soo-Won's death in 1335 AE fractured Tyria's magic ecosystem, damaging the spire and the beacons. The shield between Tyria and the Mist was broken as a consequence, and some of the fractals the court created spilled out into reality, forming the Skywatch Archipelago. Isgarren held things together long enough for Aurene to take over, but the Kryptis still managed to breach into Tyria.

The court gathered near the newly formed landscape to discuss the situation and prepare for the Kryptis attack. They had different ideas on whether to seek aid or not, and several members of the court started to show signs of being possessed as time went by.

In 1336 AE, the Kryptis took over several bastions in Amnytas and the Wizard's Tower. Without the tower, the court was unable to access Amnytas and was forced to stay in the Skywatch Archipelago. The Kryptis breached into the Beacon of Ages soon after, possessing two of the wizards and forcing Lyhr to split himself in order to stop being fully possessed. Fortunately, Mabon, members of the Astral Ward and the Pact Commander who got pulled into Nayos and was rescued by Mabon and Zojja arrived the scene, repelling the Kryptis from the Beacon of Ages.

The remaining wizards set their eyes on unlocking the Wizard's Tower and cleansing possessed members of the court. With the help of the commander, the court successfully purged Dagda of her possession as well as forging a key into the Wizard's Tower. After cleansing Lyhr's other half and clearing the tower, the court bestowed the title Wayfinder to the commander for their help before Mabon leaving for Amnytas in search of Isgarren.

The situation became dire after the remaining wizard arrived at Amnytas. Mabon, showing signs of being possessed back in the Wizard's Tower, was sighted by Astral Ward members and was not well. After locating him as the Bastion of Strength, it was revealed that Mabon had been possessed by a Kryptis who linked its life with the wizard's, forcing the wayfinder and Zojja to sacrifice him.

The court spent little time mourning as Isgarren was sighted in the Bastion of the Celestial. Joined by Astral Ward members and the wayfinder, the remaining wizards chased Isgarren up to the apex of the World Spire, trying to expel the demon invading his mind. But before they could complete the ritual, Isgarren and the wayfinder was pulled into Nayos via a rift.

Within Nayos, the wayfinder and Isgarren faced the demon that had possessed the wizard's consciousness: Cerus, Glaive of House Nephus. Having been gravely injured, Isgarren gave his energy to the wayfinder. With this energy and the rebelling Kryptis lord Peitha's help, the wayfinder defeated Cerus and returned to the Wizard's Tower with Isgarren and Peitha.

Back in the tower, a quick exchange happened between Isgarren and Peitha before it was decided that Isgarren would send the Astral Ward to help Peitha kill Eparch and usurp the throne. At the same time, Zojja, who had been given the choice after Mabon's death, finally decided that she would be ascending and joining the court. The ritual would be hold in the following days.

The court started to send Astral Ward through as planned a few weeks later, helping Peitha and her forces gain a footing in Nayos. The court continued suppling the war effort as the battle raged on, and when the rebel army approached Eparch's citadel Zakiros, the court sent Dagda and Zojja into Nayos to help with the battle.

During the final confrontation between Eparch and Peitha's forces, the king managed to froze everyone against him. But before he could claim victory, Isgarren stepped through a portal and joined the fight. With the combined strength of Peitha, Isgarren and the wayfinder, Eparch was defeated and his magic released back to Nayos.

Following Eparch's death, the court and Peitha signed a treaty, proclaiming Peitha as the legitimate ruler of Nayos and amnesty to the Kryptis in exchange for the Astral Ward's presence in Nayos and prohibition for Kryptis entering Tyria unless invited. After the treaty had been signed, Zojja expressed her desire to explore the Mist in the future.

Janthir Wilds

When the Tyria leaders formed the Tyrian Alliance in response to the Kryptis attack in 1337 AE, the court decided to reveal themselves to the Tyrian society, sending Isgarren and Warden Frode of the Astral Ward as representatives.

During the first summit of the alliance, Isgarren and Forde suggested venturing into Janthir to ally with the Lowland Kodan and provided Moon Camp as a footing. Forde later revealed the other reason for their suggestion to the wayfinder: They suspected that the missing wizard Waiting Sorrow was hiding among the Lowland Kodan.

With the quest of making allies and finding the missing wizard, the wayfinder made their way to Janthir along with delegates from the Tyria Alliance. They met the Lowland Kodan shortly after their arrival and found that titans were a problem on Janthir. When discussing their measures to take against the titans, Isgarren voted to used the Scepter of Orr, but ultimately the alliance voted against it and the scepter was not used.

During the fights against the titans, it was revealed that the Kodan village's healing master Fading Aurora was in fact Waiting Sorrow.

After the titans temporarily retreated from Janthir, the wayfinder brought Waiting Sorrow back to the Wizard's Tower. The wizards met, and harsh words were exchanged before Waiting Sorrow dropped her tone and spoke about the titan crisis happening on Janthir. The court then proceeded to have a secret conversation on the subject.

During the wayfinder's time in Janthir, the court decided to send Lyhr to stand in for Isgarren in the alliance.

Known bases

Horn of Maguuma

• The Wizard's Tower
  • The Wizard's Court

Organization

The court consists of Isgarren and his hand-picked wizards for each bastion. Neither the Bastions of the Natural nor the Obscure have been guided by a wizard for a millennium since the fall of their respective wizards Vass and Akeem. Lyhr, the Wizard of Judgment and the head of the Bastion of Balance, has been the latest wizard to ascend.

Original

Wizard	Race	Bastion	Title	Notes
Akeem	Djinn	Obscure	Wizard of the Obscure	Died in 635 AE.
Dagda	Jotun	n/a		Only wizard who did not want to operate a bastion.
Isgarren	Seer	Knowledge	Wizard of the Tower	Founder of the Wizard's Court. Owner of the Wizard's Tower.
Lyhr	Dwarf	Balance	Wizard of Judgment Wizard of Balance	Can split himself into the Facets of Emotion and Logic. Latest wizard to ascend.
Mabon	Mursaat	Strength	Wizard of Strength	First recruit of Isgarren.
Vass	Forgotten	Natural	Wizard of the Natural	Died in 635 AE. Tried to save as many flora and fauna of Tyria as possible from the ravages of the Elder Dragons.
Waiting Sorrow	Kodan	Celestial	Eyes of the Cosmos	Left the court with her ascension powers intact sometime between 716 AE and 1070 AE. Creator of the Heart of the Obscure.

Current

Wizard Race Bastion Title Notes Vacant Obscure Vacant since the death of Akeem. Dagda Jotun Celestial Wizard of the Celestial Successor of Waiting Sorrow. Isgarren Seer Knowledge Wizard of the Tower Founder of the Wizard's Court. Owner of the Wizard's Tower. Lyhr Dwarf Balance Wizard of Judgment Wizard of Balance Can split himself into the Facets of Emotion and Logic. Zojja Asura Ascended between the siege of Amnytas and the assault on Inner Nayos. Vacant Strength Vacant since the death of Mabon during the Kryptis invasion of 1336 AE. Vacant Natural Vacant since the death of Vass over a millennium ago.

See also

• Ascension (Wizard's Court)
• "An Unofficial History of the Wizard's Court, Volume 1" by A. Hawthorn
• "An Unofficial History of the Wizard's Court, Volume 2" by A. Hawthorn
• "An Unofficial History of the Wizard's Court, Volume 3" by A. Hawthorn
• "An Unofficial History of the Wizard's Court, Volume 4" by A. Hawthorn