Guild Wars_ Edge of Destiny - J. Robert King [0]
axe-rifles fired, Logan Thackeray
swept his hand out in a fan.
A blue aura bled from his fingertips into the air, solidifying it in a curved wall before the scouts.
“Fire!” the charr centurion roared.
The axe-rifles boomed and vomited smoke and lead. But the shots struck the ethereal membrane and sank into it and were eaten away. Bullets showered rust to the ground.
The leader of the charr stared, his jaw dropping. “You’re full of surprises!”
“I’m Logan Thackeray. I protect those who are mine.”
“I’m Rytlock Brimstone,” the charr shot back. “I kill those who aren’t.”
“I recognize your blade. Did you say Rurik Brimstone?”
“Rytlock,” the charr snarled.
Logan shrugged. “I just figured since you stole Prince Rurik’s sword, you probably also stole his name.”
Rytlock lashed the air with the burning blade. “The sword’s mine now.”
“After this fight,” Logan said, whirling his war hammer in a figure eight, “Sohothin will once again be in the hands of a human.”
“During this fight,” Rytlock spat, “Sohothin will once again be in the guts of a human.” He looked back at the charr around him. “Turn those damned rifles around and chop them to pieces!”
ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE
GUILD WARS NOVEL SERIES
Ghosts of Ascalon
Matt Forbeck and Jeff Grubb
Pocket Star Books
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by ArenaNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved. NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, ArenaNet, Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, Ghosts of Ascalon, Edge of Destiny, and all associated logos and designs are trademarkes or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Pocket Star Books paperback edition January 2011
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Cover art by Kekai Kotaki
Cover design by AJ Thompson
Map cartography by Robert Lazzaretti
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 978-1-4165-8960-0
ISBN 978-1-4391-5604-9 (ebook)
To Eli, the ardent player;
To Aidan, the ardent listener; and
To Gabe, who named his hamster Rytlock
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to everyone at ArenaNet, especially Will McDermott, Ree Soesbee, Jeff Grubb, James Phinney, Randy Price, Stephen Hwang, Colin Johanson, David Wilson, and Bobby Stein. A special thanks to Jeff Strain, Patrick Wyatt, and Mike O’Brien, the founders of ArenaNet and creators of Guild Wars.
Thanks also to Pocket Books and Ed Schlesinger, and to fellow authors Matt Forbeck and Jeff Grubb.
And thanks especially to Jennie and the boys, for putting up with me as I fight dragons.
Time Line
10,000 BE: Last of the Giganticus Lupicus, the Great Giants, disappear from the Tyrian continent.
205 BE: Humans appear on the Tyrian continent.
100 BE: Humans drive the charr out of Ascalon.
1 BE: The Human Gods give magic to the races of Tyria.
0 AE: The Exodus of the Human Gods.
2 AE: Orr becomes an independent nation.
300 AE: Kryta established as a colony of Elona.
358 AE: Kryta becomes an independent nation.
898 AE: The Great Northern Wall is erected.
1070 AE: The Charr Invasion of Ascalon. The Searing.
1071 AE: The Sinking of Orr.
1072 AE: Ascalonian refugees flee to Kryta.
1075 AE: Kormir ascends into godhood.
1078 AE: Primordus, the Elder Fire Dragon, stirs but does not awaken. The