| “ | The Mursaat preyed upon the weak and impressionable, who in turn worshiped them as gods. Calling themselves the White Mantle, these converts sacrificed innocents and toppled the Krytan monarchy. The chaos they inflicted on Tyria was short-lived. They were eventually crushed, and their scattered remnants went into hiding. But pockets of their fanatical followers have been operating in the shadows ever since. | „ |
| ~ Squad Leader Bennett on the White Mantle. |
The White Mantle are a major antagonistic force in the Guild Wars franchise that serve as the main villains in the human personal story campaign of Guild Wars 2. They are a cult of humans that worship the Mursaat as their deities and once ruled over Kryta before being overthrown and banished. Now vengeful and more fanatical they seek to destroy the current Krytan monarchy from within the shadows and eventually take Kryta for themselves.
History[]
The Beginning[]
The origins of the White Mantle can be traced back to the year 1067 AE, when humanity was at war with the beast-like warrior race known as the Charr. From outside the conflict was a man named Saul D'Alessio. A drunken gambler turned petty thief, Saul was exiled from his kingdom of Kryta as a result of his crimes. Wandering alone in the woods Saul discovered the Mursaat whom he dubbed The Unseen Ones. The Mursaat healed Saul from his wounds and so Saul returned to Kryta with a new purpose.
Now a prophet, Saul preached the doctrine of the Mursaat, claiming them to be gods that'll bring salvation during humanity's time of need. From this point Saul's influence started to spread across Kryta as more and more people flocked to his new religion, with Saul offering kindness and aid to both believers and non-believers alike. Saul would then stage several small scale raids on Charr encampments killing many of their leaders. This alerted the rest of Charr invading Kryta who proceeded to combine their forces into one big army in an effort to crush Saul D'Alessio and his most loyal followers for good.
In their darkest time of need, Saul and his followers prayed for the Mursaat to grant them salvation against the charr. Their prayers where answered and three Mursaat appeared, wreaking havoc on the charr invaders and forcing the remaining survivors to retreat. Thou this prayer came at a steep price, no one is allowed to gaze upon the Mursaat and those that do will perish. The Mursaat then mercilessly murdered Saul's followers revealing their true colors, and before he could recover from the shock and guilt on what had transpired and reveal the truth, the Mursaat abducted the now disillusioned Saul, locking him up in a secluded area where no one could find him.
With Saul gone, the remaining followers that where deemed most loyal to be spared by the Mursaat grouped together, and fabricated the story that Saul sacrificed himself defending humanity from the charr keeping the White Mantle's origins a secret. With Kryta devastated and the monarchy dead, the White Mantle set themselves up as the rulers of Kryta creating a reign that lasted for 240 years.
War and Tyranny[]
Initially the White Mantle's rule over Krytan society was fairly stable, but as time past the cult slowly became more corrupt and power-hungry. They started to impose taxes on the non-believers they constantly belittled. When they are not thriving on the poverty they forced onto their citizens, they are taking people away from their families and sacrificing them to the Mursaat under the guise of "receiving special training".
Eventually, the White Mantle's tyranny became too much for the people of Kryta to bare and so a group of Krytan rebels fled into the Maguuma Jungle and formed a resistance called The Shinning Blade, with the purpose of freeing Kryta from the corruption the White Mantle and their false gods.
Through spying and guerilla tactics, the Shining Blade were able to reveal the horrific true nature of the White Mantle as well as killing many high-ranking White Mantle leaders. Even still, the White Mantle was still in power and more ruthless than ever. Under the leadership of Confessor Isaiah, the White Mantle declared an all-out war on those who oppose them, kickstarting the bloody conflict known as the Krytan Civil War in 1072 AE. The war lasted for eight years culminating in The Battle of Lion's Arch, where the Shining Blade fought and eventually slew Confessor Isaiah as well as the remaining Mursaat (with the exception of Lazarus).
Leaderless once more and with their deities dead, the surviving White Mantle members fled to the Maguuma Jungle where they set up their base of operations in Bloodstone Fen, while the Shining Blade freed from White Mantle's reign, reinstated Queen Salma as the official ruler of Kryta. However this wasn't the last the world has seen of the White Mantle. now a banished cult, the Mantle now has a new goal, to sow the seeds of distrust and decent towards the Krytan monarchy, hoping to one day reclaim their place as the rightful rulers of Kryta
Gallery[]
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 Villains
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