Mission Storyline

Guildwiki has a great compendium of the missions and what's required in each of them, but I can't seem to find either text boxes or screenshots of the initial movies and cutscenes of each of the missions.

It seems like piecing them together would be a nice "short story" to read through that gives you an even better feeling of how the GuildWars story evolves.

Anyone have a link to a site that has this information? If not, this may be something we can compile in this forum.

By the way, here's the general storyline that guildwiki has on it...

http://www.guildwiki.org/wiki/Storyline%28Ch1%29

Prologue
Players begin the game as recruits in the Ascalon Academy. The nation of Ascalon has just come out from the Guild Wars and seems to be returning to its never-ending struggle against its savage neighbors to the north, the Charr. This area is a tutorial area that allows players to get used to the game. Following a short mission, the actual events of the story begin to unfold.

[edit]A Kingdom in Despair
The Kingdom of Ascalon

A terrible magical event conjured by the Charr, called "the Searing," kicks off the actual story of the game. The Searing rains fire and giant crystals on the beautiful land of Ascalon turning it into a desolate landscape. King Adelbern of Ascalon believes his kingdom can still withstand the Charr with the help of the Great Northern Wall, while his son Prince Rurik disagrees and believes Ascalons should take the initiative and take the fight to the Charr.

The king's estimates are soon proven false as players discover in the Great Northern Wall mission that the Charr are amassing a great army to overtake Ascalon. The forces of Ascalon are thrown into chaos at the sight of the approaching forces and a hasty retreat to Fort Ranik is needed. There, with the aid of the players, the assaulting Charr forces are pushed back.

During their retreat, the Charr take many prisoners and Prince Rurik, determined to teach them a lesson, decides to free those captives. In the Ruins of Surmia mission, he frees many such prisoners with the aid of the players. While fleeing the Charr, the Prince finds the legendary horn Stormcaller.

Rushing back to the capital of Rin, the Prince and the players are distraught by the sight of an invading Charr army burning and ransacking the great city. With the help of Stormcaller's magic, the players are able to stop the onslaught and save the city.

This victory is shortlived, however, as it is ensued by a confrontation between the Prince and his father. Prince Rurik begs his father to accept an offer from Kryta for shelter, having seen the abilities of the Charr first hand, he is convinced that Ascalons need to pull back and regroup. His father refuses any cooperation with Krytans and banishes his son from the land.

[edit]The Long Journey Across
The Northern Shiverpeak Mountains

Prince Rurik decides to leave Ascalon and head for Kryta and a new home free of the Charr. He is joined by the players as well as many Ascalonians who believe in their prince. The journey to Kryta, however, would not be an easy one. For between the two nations lies a great mountain range known as the Shiverpeak Mountains.

The Shiverpeaks are home to the Dwarves, and the players arrive at the most inopportune moment. The Dwarves are caught in a civil war between the Deldrimor Dwarves and a new faction called the Stone Summit. Unlike the hospitable and traditional Deldrimor Dwarves, the Stone Summit seek to drive all strangers out of the mountains and believe dwarves are superior to all other races.

This does not bode well for the Ascalon refugees traveling through as the Stone Summit tries to prevent them from going through the mountains. Through the Borlis Pass and the Frost Gate missions, players make their way through legions of Stone Summit to clear the path for the refugees. This is not without a price as the brave Prince Rurik meets his demise at the end of the Frost Gate mission leaving the Ascalonians to an uncertain future in Kryta.

[edit]A New Home, a New Challenge
The Kingdom of Kryta

Arrival at Kryta offers little rest for the players as they discover that the land of Kryta is beset by the plague of an undead legion led by a figure called the Lich Lord. After helping the White Mantle (the order that rules Kryta) repel another wave of undead in the Gates of Kryta mission, the Mantle extend welcome to Ascalons offering them a settlement north of their capital Lion's Arch. The White Mantle also enlist the players' aid in defeating the undead hordes.

While assisting in one of those expeditions, the players end up saving Confessor Dorian (the leader of the White Mantle himself) from an undead mob in the D'Alessio Seaboard mission. In that mission, they also help him secure the Scepter of Orr (an artifact of great power) from the undead seeking it.

As a reward, the players are enrolled into the White Mantle and given the honor of administering the Test of the Eye and finding the Chosen among the people in the Divinity Coast mission. The Chosen (people deemed by the Eye of Janthir to have great talent/power) are selected by the Eye each year and lead away by the White Mantle to presumably study and become great scholars. After the players administer the test and lead the Chosen to their destination, they are surprised to find out that those Chosen were kidnapped after they left them by a small rebel group opposing the White Mantle. This group is called the Shining Blade.

[edit]The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
The Maguuma Jungle

The White Mantle ask the players to go into the Maguuma Jungle and find where those Chosen were taken, bring them back and inflict justice upon the Shining Blade. In the Wilds mission, players are able to discover how the Shining Blade traverse the Jungle so easily. As such, they are able to catch up to the group that kidnapped the Chosen. Upon confronting them, the players discover that the Shining Blade kidnapped them to save them from the White Mantle.

As proof, players embark upon the Bloodstone Fen mission to find out what exactly the White Mantle do to the Chosen. At the end of that mission, players discover that the White Mantle kill those Chosen in cold blood to serve their masters, the Unseen Ones. Along with this discovery, players confront and kill a prominent White Mantle leader, Justiciar Hablion.

With the death of Hablion and the exposition of their true identity, the White Mantle go on a rampage to destroy the Shining Blade and the players who are now seen as traitors. What is most troubling about this assault is that there seems to be an agent within the Blade betraying their secrets to the Mantle. The Shining Blade leader Evennia is able to find a magical portal to open the ancient Henge of Denravi and asks the players to activate this portal in the Aurora Glade mission. The Shining Blade would use this fortified location to make a stand and wage war against the White Mantle.

Emboldened by their new base, the Shining Blade seek to enlist allies in their fight against the White Mantle and find an ally in Vizier Khilbron. In exchange for his aid, the Vizier asks Evennia to acquire the Scepter of Orr from the Mantle, which the players do in the Riverside Province mission. Unfortunately, while delivering the scepter to the Vizier in the Sanctum Cay mission, the players discover that the Shining Blade were indeed betrayed by one of their inner council members named Markis. They succeed in delivering the Scepter to the Vizier and fleeing with him, but the Shining Blade are scattered by the White Mantle.

[edit]Seeking Glory
The Crystal Desert

Vizier Khilbron suggests that players head to the Crystal Desert to try and achieve the feat of Ascension (gaining the attention and blessings of the Gods of Tyria). Only through Ascension, the Vizier believes, will players be strong enough to face the White Mantle's masters and true source of powers, the Unseen Ones.

The Desert is a pause in the story as players no longer interact with Ascalons or Krytans, but ghosts of long forgotten nations. The ghost of Turai Ossa guides the players through the Ascension process which takes them through three missions:

In Elona Reach, the players gather the Vision Crystal to focus the gaze of the Gods on themselves.
In the Dunes of Despair, players help Turai Ossa take over the Throne of Pellentia and control the Temple of Ascension.
In the Thirsty River, players defeat six teams of Forgotten (the serpent-like inhabitants of the desert) to prove themselves worthy.
After completing these tasks and passing the final test of facing the Doppelganger, players are brought to the Dragon's Lair for an audience with the dragon prophet Glint. There they face multiple facets before finally gaining an audience with her. Glint tells the players about the Flameseeker Prophecies which describe the events that had unfolded in the world of Tyria so far. She also informs them about the treachery of Markis, and about the true identity of the Unseen Ones, that they are a powerful race of spellcasters known as the Mursaat. She sends them to the Southern Shiverpeaks to face the White Mantle and rescue what remained of the broken Shining Blade.

[edit]The Confrontation Resumed
The Southern Shiverpeak Mountains

Players arrive at the Southern Shiverpeaks to find the remains of the Shining Blade fleeing into the mountains to escape the wrath of the White Mantle. The Mursaat have come out of hiding, and are helping the Mantle in their fight and all the major forces in the mountains (the Deldrimor Dwarves and the Stone Summit) are reeling before their advance. Players start working with the Deldrimor Dwarves to save the Shining Blade and put an end to the White Mantle's rampage.

Players first rescue Evennia from the grasp of the White Mantle during the Ice Caves of Sorrow mission. They also discover that the Mursaat posses a devastating ability known as Spectral Agony against which they have no defense. Evennia and the dwarves instruct players to seek out an ancient creature known as the Seer deep in the mountains which might know of a way to counter this powerful ability. The players are able to get to the Seer in the Iron Mines of Moladune mission and with the help of infusion, they are able to face the Mursaat and kill Markis for his treachery.

This is yet another short-lived victory... The presence of yet more non-dwarves in the Shiverpeaks arouses the Stone Summit ire and the players find out that the capital of the Deldrimor Dwarves, Thunderhead Keep fell to the Summit. In that mission, the players, along with King Jalis Ironhammer the king of the dwarves, are able to drive off the Stone Summit invaders, kill the Stone Summit leader Dagnar Stonepate and then make a stand against the Mursaat invaders. They slay Confessor Dorian and send the White Mantle forces reeling.

The Vizier re-appears to tell the players that the fight is not over yet. They must now travel to the Ring of Fire Islands to take the fight to the Mursaat and unleash the only weapon that can destroy them.

[edit]A Final Treachery and a Final Stand
The Ring of Fire Islands

As players arrive to the islands, they discover that the Mursaat have gone to great lengths to prevent one and all from approaching the Door of Komalie where this secret weapon is locked away.

With the help of the dwarves, players are able to make it past the initial defenses of the Mursaat in the Ring of Fire mission and on to the base of the great volcano Abaddon's Mouth. In that mission, players are finally able to get to the Door of Komalie and break the seals around it to unlock it. They are surprised however to learn that they were betrayed.

The door unleashes terrible creatures known as the Titans. With the help of the Scepter of Orr, the Vizier is able to subdue these creatures, but it is then revealed that he is the evil Lich Lord. He used the players to gain access to the Scepter and to the Titans. With the Mursaat defeated and the Titans under his command, the Lich Lord hopes to rule all of Tyria.

In the Hell's Precipice mission, players put a stop to the Lich Lord's plans and are able to once again close the Door of Komalie and bring an end to the Vizier's treachery.

[edit]Epilogue
Vision of Glint

Free of the Lich Lord's control, the Titans seek to crush the centers of human civilization. They mobilize massive armies against the major cities in Tyria.

Aided by a vision of Glint that the players receive at her shrine in Droknar's Forge, the players embark on a series of quests to rid Tyria of the Titans. They begin by staving off a pressing Titan assault on Droknar's Forge. They then help fend off assaults on Ascalon City, the Henge of Denravi, and Lion's Arch.

With a little luck and plenty of skill, they are victorious and the Titan armies are decimated. Glint advises the players to seek this opportunity to strike at the center of the Titan high command, which lies deep in the Charr-held lands north of Ascalon. The journey is long but eventually the players carve a path through the Charr forces and reach the Titan Source, whereupon they defeat the three Titan lords and free Tyria of the Titan menace.

someone must have put together a script for the cutscenes, though google isnt really suited for it, i'd guess youll find something on the 47th or later 'O'

i wonder what ever happened to the mantle and mursaat after Hells Precipe..

Titans wiped out most of the mursaat.

We killed Dorrian in THK, we finished off the last leaders of the Mantle in the Final Blow quest. The mantle is pretty much dead.

And besides, there are several quest in Fishermans haven where supporters of the Royal Krytan Family are trying to get them back into power. With a large number of Mantle now dead from their actions in the shiverpeaks ( you massacreing them, killing dorian and the constant battles with the stonesummit and deldimor, not to mention the climate probobly claimed a large number of lives) and the final battle on the Ring of Fire coupled with the subsiquent obliteration of the island, there isnt much left of the mantle. Let alone its entire command structure is in tattered peices.

I think there are many things in the Prophecies campaign that we could form into separate tangents - I may try to tackle one or two of these if they aren't in the plans.

Despite the victories at the end, there are some unanswered and unsettling questions:

Ascalon

The main question here is whether King Adelbern will re-establish his kingdom. First he has to deal with the Charr, which may retreat with the elimination of their Titan gods or may stay to finish the fight. Next, if the Charr menace is eliminated, how long will the rebuilding effort take? There is considerable pressure on Ascalon because the rebuilding of Kryta will likely progress faster than the rebuilding of Ascalon, and the tensions between these two nations (especially if the Guild Wars resume) may escalate if Kryta's nobles see an opportunity to seize some land from their weaker neighbors. I think the alliance formed with the Deldrimor Dwarves may be the only way Ascalon can gather the strength to hold their neighbors at bay.

Deldrimor

Dagnar Stoneplate is dead, but that does not mean that the Deldrimor Dwarves will be able to hold off the onslaught of the ever-growing power of the Stone Summit. Seeing that the Stone Summit are highly unlikely to negotiate any sort of truce (due to their fanatical ways), the Dwarves are likely to be locked in a civil war for many years, unless Deldrimor can gain an ally in either Ascalon (most likely), Kryta or the Shining Blade to crush the Stone Summit.

Kryta

There are many subplots here, most hinging on the rise of the Royal Family and the Lionguard and the elimination of the remaining White Mantle. Seeing that most of Kryta's infrastructure is still intact, it seems that their progression as the most powerful nation in the region is almost certain. Whether the Krytans will be appreciative and allow the Ascalon and Canthan settlements to thrive in their lands is unknown. Due to the ties between the Chosen and the Shining Blade, it will be interesting to see if an alliance forms between Kryta and Maguuma, and whether the Shining Blade may eventually merge into Kryta's government. If so, Kryta may wind up being the true rulers of Tyria sooner rather than later.

Maguuma

The rise of the Henge of Denravi as a true capital will take some time as the Shining Blade leave their guerrilla roots and try to form a civilization. This may be done in conjunction with aid from the resource-rich Kryta. Given their historically loose structure, it will be difficult to form a government or a structured civilization for a while. If much of the animosity can be alleviated based on the historical tensions, the most logical outcome would be for Maguuma to become a loosely-managed province of Kryta eventually, with representation of Shining Blade members in the Krytan government, much like Mexico and most of South America was a Spanish territory that had their own government.

Orr

This Kingdom was devastated, yet more and more people are rising to attempt to settle the Crystal Desert and surrounding islands. Whether the natural resources needed to sustain life still exist in the desert is unknown, but I can see Ascalon attempting to plant the seed in Orr's old kingdom in order to provide another ally (and a seaport to trade with Cantha) in the eventual power struggle for Tyria.

Again, it seems that most are preoccupied with the Canthan saga given the new release, but I'd love to speculate on what would happen to the history-rich situation of Tyria given the settling of the main danger.

Ascalon

Ascalon is pretty much doomed. It seems higly unlikely that the Ascalonians will be able to muster a force great enough to push back the Charr or even hold the Wall for a longer period of time. And besides, Ascalon itself is ruined. In time, most humans will probably flee to the Shiverpeaks/Kryta.

Deldrimor

The summit have been pushed back time after time by our heroes. I'd say they're a bunch of headless chickens on the brink of collapse. I mean, we butchered them at THK, reclaimed the keep, and we killed Dagnar.

Kryta

Kryta will become the next Tyrian powerhouse. The mantle is dead, so the Lionguard and the Krytan royal family will probably lead the nation. And I don't see why they won't accept the Ascalonian and Kurzick/Luxon refugees.

Maguuma

The Shining Blade are Krytan rebels, not jungle dwellers. (the druids are/were the only humans who inhabit the jungle.) Most of the Shining Blade was destroyed by the mantle, and the remnants will probably move back to Kryta as there is no reason for them to remain hidden the jungle and the shiverpeaks.

Orr

Orr is gone. Period.

Nice summary Monkey, but I would argue that Ascalon is not doomed...

I mean, there's enough high level characters who would love to clear out the Charr... if Anet gave them a chance!

Nice stuff here. I think from the game story we can all agree that from the end of the game storyline and from leaving things behind as we go through the adventure, many questions as to the future of Tyria and its inhabitants arise. I think the storyline/game developers did this deliberately, with so many things left unanswered in the game, to get us thinking about it ourselves and draw our own conclusions. Who knows what will happen to Tyria once the great Ascalon adventurers have all departed to Cantha? What if a new evil rises up...will those left behind be able to deal with it without us?

The things that most interest me are the futures of Kryta and Ascalon. I'd like to quote something I actually did in Sardelac a while back regarding 'evolution of Tyria for Chapter 2' which I now know can't happen, but it would be interesting to see if we return to Tyria in future Chapters as new plots unfold.

Those formed the main parts of my ideas, but I also included things on other areas, including:

I think the issue of the Elonian ghosts is quite important...surely for the work they have done in helping us ascend, they should be restored to their former glory?

The same could be said for other people/creatures who helped us on our way to saving the world. We have the power to help them.

Though I don't think such big 'evolution' things will happen soon, at least not until a future chapter when perhaps Anet my decide to bring us back to Tyria, I think it's interesting to bring up our own ideas about how Tyria will go on after the game story ends.

As a side note: Teh Monkeys, I recognise your name from GWOnline. I remember it from when I visited the lore forum there a while back. If it is true that you are the same person, then it's good to see you here. I read some of the stuff you worked on, it interested me greatly.

Ascalon: Currently, ascalon is under the leadership of a man whos mind is still filled with illusions of grandeur. He has no intention to ally him self with anyone, and will eventualy lead ascalon to ruin. If that is even possible.... lol.

The Dwarves: The summit arent finished. no way in hell are they done for. They most likely will take the crushing defeat at Thunderhead Keep as a rallying cry....
"hey! look at those Deldimor Dwarves! they cant defend them selves worth crap! they needed to get some vile humans to save their butts! we must destroy them and reunite the dwarves so we may be STRONG and defend our selves form the corruption of the humans!"

The Blade: Not much left here to rebuild with. The mantle took denravi, the blade were forced into the mountains where they were crushed between the Summit and Mantle. Game Over.

Very interesting points on the Shining Blade from both Monkeys and Warcheif.

If the Blade are basically a non-factor, what will become of the Henge of Denravi? Will the Maguuma Jungle be abandoned, or will Kryta eventually expand into the Jungle?

It seems like the Henge would be too valuable an asset to abandon entirely.

Ah yes, I can see it now.. the Charr invade Ascalon city, only to be pushed back by swarms of trade bots.

Dagnar is dead, so they have no leader. The Summit invasion force sent to capture the keep was obliterated. The war effort in the furnace has been severly crippled. I'd say the Summit took a serious beating in the final moments of the Prophecies campaign.

And Symeon, Ascalon has been at war with the Charr for centuries, I find it highly unlikely that they'll ever be pushed back by that old fool of a king in a few years time. I mean, come on, half the nation is either dead or left Ascalon alltogether. The Guild Wars took it's toll on Ascalon, the searing destroyed most animal and plant-life and 2-3 years of constant warfare with the Charr can't really be good either. Acalon's glory days are long gone.

As for the Maguuma... I have no idea. Since the Druids are now gone/in a higher plane of existence, I'd say the jungle will be more or less left alone by humans and be taken over by the centaurs completely. (Well, there are a few signs that some Krytans are moving deeper into the Jungle)


And yarr, it's me, Symeon. Quintus gets on my nerves some times, so it's nice to go somewhere else for a change. xD

It's amazing how an entire army cannot drive back the Charr, while a few level 20s can.

Ascalon

With the defeat of the Titans and mass murdering of Charr, hopefully they will give up. If the Charr just hate humans, I see no end to the war. If they attacked Ascalon to set off a chain of events ending with the Titans being unleashed (Conflict With Adelbern and Rurik > Chosen Leave Ascalon > Chosen Do Stuff In Kryta > Chosen Ascend > Chosen Unleash Titans), then maybe they will give a truce or something. Forget Adelbern. He's just another old man who's losing his mind...

Dwarves

The Summit still have great power, and the war will probably continue on and on for some time. Unlike the Mantle, the Summit are still going strong. Remember we ended THK with the Deldrimor and Summit killing each other like crazy?

Kryta

The Royal Family is back in power, and the Krytans continue to be quite generous (allow Ascalonians, Luxons, and Kurzicks to settle). Kryta is perhaps one of the most decent human kingdoms of all...but what of the undead? With <evilman> gone, will the undead become good? Or will they continue to rampage across Kryta - but now without a purpose?

Maguuma

The Shining Blade have probably spent so much time in the jungle, they will remain there (Denravi has grown from a small settlement to the major capital by the time we do Defend Denravi). Do they still have anything to fight for? The Mantle's order is pretty much shattered, but maybe the few remaining protestants will try to recreate their order, only to be swiftly destroyed. ^_^

Crystal Desert

With the prophecy fufilled, perhaps the Elonians can finally take a bit of rest (they waited for centuries for the day when they would lead some young heroes to Ascension). Glint continues to go around, forseeing things that we do not care about at the moment.

Our Good Friends

Rurik is now living happily ever after in the Hall of Heroes.

Adelbern is still crazy. I hope our characters rejoined our fellow settlers at the Ascalon Settlement. I don't want to waste time with the Charr insanity anymore.

Turai Ossa (the ghostly hero), as suggested by his npc dialog in the Ruined Tombs, helps lead people to the Hall of Heroes, and seems to be enjoying it.

Jalis - Still burdened with the matters of the Summit. With the SF quests, it's kind of a sign that Deldrimor is fighting back, taking the battle to one of the Summit's largest facilities, Sorrow's Furnace.

Devona, Cynn, Aidan, and Mhenlo - Our good friends continue to go on their own journeys to Cantha, and I sense Cynn and Mhenlo getting married some time soon...
---
It seems that Tyria is still pretty much wrapped in conflict, other than the peace of Kryta.

If the Blade to return to Kryta, they will probably encourage moving in, or be peace activists and suggest they leave nature alone. If the latter occurs, I agree the centaur will pretty much take over. I doubt the Blade would ever abandon Denravi, however.

Yeah, on the Defend Droks quest you find several snowdrifts topped with with mursaat corpses.

Eventhough we obliterated an entire army of Stone Summit in the southern shiverpeaks, the Stone Summit still own damn near all of it. Everything from the northern mines to sorrows furnace belong to the Summit. Also the Summit dwarves are "fenatics." the kind of people that dont give a damn about the odds of victory. they have a clear goal in mind for the world, and who ever gets in their way wont live to see how it all turns out.

And again, the blade are dead. very few of them survived the attack on denravi its self, and the Shiverpeaks alone are enough of a foce to kill an army. Haveing the summit, mantle and traitors in their midst probobly didnt help either. In short, they were owned complately.

Now we must ask a questions..

Now what?

We have a few things on our to do list:

Find Gwen
Defeat Stone Summit
Rebuild Ascalon
Rebuild Krytan Army
Defeat the rest of the Charr
Figure out how to get along
To various tasks for Glint

Gwen - Bah. We could speculate on this so much it deserves another thread.

Stone Summit - Eventually...but not for a long, long, long, long time.

Rebuild Ascalon - I still think Adelbern is just a racist, foolish old man who's lost most of his marbles. Whether the Charr are persistent enough to continue attacking, despite their Gods' defeat plays a great deal in this matter.

Kryta - Fisherman's Haven already has quests on allowing the Royal Family to regain control of Kryta. When you speak with Sergio during DNKP, he speaks as if the Lionguard has already greatly rebuilt itself.

Glint - She has a great concern for humans (which is ohhhhh so nice of her)...if there is ever another major plot occuring in Tyria (which I'm doubtful of with Factions on the horizon), she will hopefully be the one to tell us of it.

Get Along - Adelbern and his loyalists are crazy...the Summit are xenophobic in nature. That isn't a very large faction, except the Summit. Once again, the major concerns regarding Tyria's future are:

~What will it take to end the Civil War in the Shiverpeaks once and for all?

~Will the Charr EVER give up?

Other than that, things are pretty calm in the world of Tyria.

I find this thread very interesting and it does make me wish that at some point we could have an epilogue and actually zone back to Ascalon, LA, and the South Shiverpeaks and see what the actual resolution of the game is.

As pointed out, we know much of it in theory, but it would be great to have a '5 years later' follow up.

This entire thread is very fascinating

While I do realize that each chapter of Guild Wars is designed to function at a stand-alone level (and for appropriate reason), I still hope that there will be at least some meaningful continuity like others have previously mentioned as the chapters progress. After all, Ascalon is more or less our "hometown" so it would be kind of bizarre if we just packed up our bags and rode off into the unknown for good.

I swore I posted here two hours ago...

Anyways, since my post has been mysteriously magicked away, or I have extreme lag, I shall post it again.

A tiny, whimsical point the OP poster made.

I don't think Ascalon was out of the Guild Wars until the Charr invaded.

Doubt it, as beasts of war with no conscience, I don't think they'll settle for a measly draw.

Oops, careful. Beasts? No conscience? You must be reading the history books written by the conquerors. I don't think the Charr are less advanced or less 'humane' than any other race, and its possible they were pushed back from their normal homelands by humans in bygone days.

Humans aren't always right.

I would say the "Beasts" stereotype has a better basis in the story than the equivalent to other races theory. Never really hear the Charr speak, the wall was made to defend against them, they go out of their way to invade Kryta, and Orr, they kidnap and kill civilians.

As far as the Charr, it seems reasonable to suppose that they have been advancing or fighting back and forth with the humans for several years before the Searing. It may be possible that Drascir fell during the Searing, but it does seem like Drascir and even Nolani are north of the Great Wall...

Before Rurik fled, the humans were winning some and losing some battles, Rin burned but wasn't captured, the humans took Piken square, and were invaded and then repulsed the invaders from Ranik. If Adelbern is able to penetrate into Charr territory to fight off the Titans, then he seems to have survived through the latter 4/5 of the game, and not lost even the frontier gate to the Charr. In addition, Grendich Courthouse is still under human control when doing the Titan Source, so they still have some outpost far enough north to be inside Charr territory. Looks to me like Ascalon is at the least holding steady, and only the arrival of the titans made doom seem immediate. I personally don't mind fighting the Charr, and side with Adelbern in the Rurik v. Adelbern arguments, so maybe I'm more partial to Ascalon, but most of us are partial one way or another.

I think Kryta is really the only strong human kingdom left in the land.

I think the Stone Summit seem to be weaker than it might appear from how many we have to battle. If they held 90% of the Shiverpeaks (as it might appear from all the battles we have with them), they would have taken the few remaining outposts by now given the lack of guards in those outposts. However I can think of two "towns" that the Summit control, and the rest could just be bad luck in our running into them. The two "towns" being Sorrow's Furnace and what seems to be more of a town in southeastern Tasca's Demise.

The Deldrimor Dwarves control Thunderhead Keep and town, Droknar's Forge, Port Sledge, many towns up north (including Maladar's Fort and Grooble's Gulch which are not map-travel accessible). The possible town in the Deldrimor Bowl (could be a Centaur town, I think this is somewhat debatable), the town south of the Ice Tooth Cave (where frostfyre dryders like to attack when you try to walk into it), and so on. Seems to be a lot of towns under Deldrimor Control. Where are all the Dwarves? There have to be more Dwarves, but I'm not really sure where they are, maybe not in the towns solely to avoid excessive graphics and data transfer issues. Their troops seem weak most of the time, but that would indicate numbers are on their side (or they should be crushed far too easily). Maybe thats just because we fight the only summit (said in the lore manual that all are battle tested/hardened, etc.), whereas there are many Deldrimor Dwarves around and always newer recruits.

I agree with Eldin on the Shining Blade. Denravi is their capital even for the titan quests, and thus wasn't left behind. It may not be that large (growing to be large in such a short period of time seems nearly impossible), but it isn't a tiny outpost either.

My main difference though seems to be a difference in population views. I see outposts and even wild areas as having unseen friends and allies, such that the populatin of "bad guys" doesn't outnumber "good guys" but rather the other way around. If we presume that "baddies" outnumber the "good guys" and we're the only thing saving the world, the outlook is pretty bleak, but I think you can see some of my arguments as to why "good guys" outnumber "baddies" from my Summit vs. Deldrimor arguments.

What about the undead? Surely they weren't all destroyed with the demise of Vizier. Without a leader or someone/something to control them, wouldn't they be a force to be dealt with in eastern/northeastern Kryta, albeit an un-organized force?