The Different Races

So far as we know are there 5 different races:

1. Sylvari
2. Norn
3. Charr
4. Asura
5. Human

Sylvari: Long ago, a weary soldier planted a strange seed in the depths of the Maguuma Jungle. For centuries, the Pale Tree grew, branches arching over the forest, until at last--twenty five years ago--it bloomed, and the Firstborn stepped into the world. They were followed by their brethren, season after season of sylvari, wide-eyed with wonder and searching for purpose in this strange land. Shaped first by the Dream that nurtured them before they awakened, the sylvari now travel Tyria seeking adventure and their place in the world. They struggle to balance curiosity with duty; eagerness with chivalry; and warfare with honor.

The Dream still lingers in their souls, like an echo of a distant song. Through it, they can sense the ebb and flow of their race, feel the empathic connections between all sylvari, and share their discoveries and knowledge like water into a river's current. They have a deep connection with the land and the riches it bears, and know that all things which grow and blossom are their brethren. Guided by the lessons carved into the sacred Ventari Tablet, they have built a city within the forest, and created a culture that blends the mystery of magic with a steel-tempered resolution to do good.

But not all sylvari are noble, and not all Dreams are pleasant. Some of the children of the Pale Tree walk a shadowed path, devoted to a Nightmare that boils beneath the surface and whispers of dark moons, wicked revels, and terrible secrets murmured at midnight. The Nightmare Court rejects the virtues of their brethren and seeks to draw all sylvari toward their sinister philosophy. If they are not stopped, they will taint the Dream with their evil deeds and corrupt the Pale Tree herself, condemning the noble race of sylvari to a future of vice and corruption. In the battle between Dream and Nightmare, the fate of the newest race in Tyria will be determined by heroes.

Norn:They hail from the frozen north--the norn, a race of heroes. These massive, shape-shifting warriors prize individual valor and victory above all. They trust only the power of steel.

The norn do not beg or grovel for the favor of the Gods, no. Instead, they revere the spirits of animals and draw strength from them. The norn can assume the form of their sacred totem beasts--bear, snow leopard, raven, and wolf--and call upon their power whenever they do battle, which is often.

Driven from their homelands in the distant north by the Ice Dragon, Jormag, the norn have carved out a new homeland with their blades in the frigid heights of the Shiverpeak Mountain. The great Ice Dragon's shadow falls over these proud exiles, for some twisted, corrupted norn--the Sons of Svanir--worship Jormag as the ultimate Totem spirit. A brutal and bloody destiny awaits these traitors.

Scattered throughout the unforgiving Shiverpeaks, the norn live in fortified hearthsteads and communal lodges, like the great hall Hoelbrak. They hold the governments of the weaker races in disdain, for the norn do not follow--they lead. No norn has ever bent her knee before King or Queen, and none ever will.

Every norn knows that only the bold and the strong achieve immortality. Victors are celebrated in story and song; the weak are forgotten, buried by the snows of time. Such is the way of the hero; the way of the norn.

Charr: The thundering sound of their advancing war machines makes the lesser races tremble with fear. They are the charr, and conquest is their birthright.

The charr race was forged in the merciless crucible of war. It is all they know; war defines them and their quest for dominion drives them onwards, always onwards. The weakling and the fool find no place among the charr.

Many generations ago, the charr overthrew their religious caste and reestablished the ancient Legions, the foundation of their military culture. The charr turned their backs on the false gods and embraced industry, creating weaponry and great machines of war as deadly and unforgiving as the charr themselves. They use any means available to crush their foes--be it ambush, bombardment, or claw and fang. Victory is all that matters, achieved by any means and at any cost.

The charr train from youth to be warriors. Their society is organized into war bands, companies, and the four great legions. Ash Legion, Blood Legion, and Iron Legion are loosely allied, while the treacherous religious zealots in the Flame Legion conspire against them all. Today, conquered Ascalon is the homeland of the mighty Iron Legion, but even under charr rule it is still a nation at war. Operating out of the massive Black Citadel, the three legions battle against human rebels, the ghosts of long vanquished Ascalonians, and a tyrant of the Flame Legion who seeks to make himself a god. The charr have never had a shortage of enemies, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Asura: They may be short in stature, but this subterranean race of magical inventors are intellectual giants. These incredibly intelligent beings use their knowledge and skill with magic and crafting to assert their natural dominance. In the world of the asura, it is not the strong who survive, but the clever. Other races believe they should rule by virtue of their power and strength, but they delude themselves. All will serve the asura - in due time.

Driven to the surface of Tyria by minions of Primordus, the Fire Dragon, the asura have created a complex new society based in vast Maguuma Jungle metropolises like the awe-inspiring Rata Sum. Asura life is based around the study of the Eternal Alchemy, an all-encompassing metaphysical theory that they analyze in their great research institutions - the College of Statics, Dynamics, and Synergetics.

Asura use their magical skill to create servitor golems, asura gates, blasting rods, and other magnificent inventions. Their culture is organized, but highly flexible--these small geniuses often gather in specialized work groups called "krewes" to accomplish greater tasks. Asura establish their reputations with their peers by building a portfolio of successful projects or by becoming the foremost expert on some arcane field of study. They constantly seek to prove their own intellectual superiority, and by extension the superiority of the asura race.

Who are more fit to rule Tyria than the asura? The more primitive, warlike races can be useful when an asura needs something heavy lifted, but they mistakenly believe that brute force or resiliency entitles them to power. How mistaken they are. As any asura will explain, mastery of the Eternal Alchemy equals mastery of Tyria. Who can argue with such logic?

Human: The resiliency of the noble human race has been tested many times. They have paid a dear cost for their security and liberty, yet their spirit remains unshaken.

From the invasion of Ascalon by the savage charr, to the cataclysmic rise of the lost kingdom of Orr from the depths of the sea, mankind has been battered and overwhelmed. They have lost homelands; their prayers go to silent skies. Now, the remaining sons and daughters of man have one last homeland--the nation of Kryta, ruled by Queen Jennah. Harried by bandits and marauding centaurs and torn from within by political intrigue and treachery, the Seraph guard stand watch over a troubled land. Only through courage, will, and unity can the humans retain their storied culture and reach once more to rise above.

For more than a hundred years, pennants have flown above the city of Divinity's Reach, an island of civilization and peace in an otherwise chaotic world. In Ascalon, valiant human fighters in the stronghold of Ebonhawke struggle to keep the last ember of resistance lit against their charr conquerors. They swear that one day they will reclaim that lost nation; that they will never abandon the cities of their ancestors or forgive the charr, who crushed the ancient armies of Ascalon beneath iron boots.

The candle of mankind would have been snuffed out long ago were it not for the courage and dedication of heroes. These defenders of the realm are the best, last hope of their people. Despite all odds, humanity will prevail, bolstered by faith in their gods, devotion to their queen, and the dream of a brighter future for all mankind. They will stand the wall against the enemy once more, from Divinity's Reach to Ebonhawke, and they will not fail.