Onlinewelten: Hi Ree, Hi Eric. There weren’t any female charr in either GW: Prophecies or GW: Eye of the North. But they will most likely be included in Guild Wars 2. Where have they been hiding so far and how can we imagine them?

Ree Soesbee: There certainly are female charr in GW2. In the history of the charr, the women were once strong warriors, as respected as the males. However, when the Flame Legion took over and tried to unify the race, one of their methods of forcibly pacifying the other legions was to refuse combat training to female charr. During this dark time, females had to train in secret, passing techniques down by word of mouth and suffering horrible penalties – even death – if they were caught using weapons or fighting in battles. During the charr revolt some 40 years after the fall of Ascalon, a female charr named Kalla Scorchrazor led an uprising, doubling the strength of the armies that opposed the Flame Legion. In the end, it was their courage that freed the charr legions from the domination of the shaman caste.

Onlinewelten: The sylvari descend from a tree and have no children. Nevertheless, there are images of male sylvari. How do you explain this?

Ree Soesbee: Both male and female sylvari descend from the Mother Tree. As to whether the sylvari can have children? That question, like whether or not a sylvari can die of old age, is still unanswered. They simply haven’t been around long enough to have a conclusive answer to either one.

Onlinewelten: Could you tell us a bit about the “evil” slyvari, the Nightmare Court?

Ree Soesbee: The Nightmare Court can be compared to legends of the Unseelie Court, the Dark Fae, and other faerie creatures of darkness. They are evil, like many things in Guild Wars, but they are intelligent and rational – they have chosen a path that they believe is the ‘correct’ one, and they are eager to convince the rest of the sylvari race to embrace their ways. We’ve said before that The Dream has two sides – it is neither wholly good, nor wholly evil in itself. The Nightmare Court have an affinity for the darker side of The Dream, and they seek to understand its depths. They hold Dark Vigils filled with regal depravity; twisted courtliness and sadistic tournaments that pervert sylvari chivalry.


The Nightmare Court don’t consider themselves ‘perverse,’ and some among them might even argue that they are not wholly ‘evil.’ They simply follow the darker side of The Dream and explore depths of the sylvari soul that already exist. Who is to say that the sylvari were not wrongly influenced by Ventari’s ancient teachings, that clinging to the lessons of his Tablet has not changed them from what they were meant to be? The Nightmare Court feel that they need to commune with all parts of their spirits, with all parts of nature – no matter how horrible or vile. There, they find secrets and enlightenment that other sylvari are too chivalrous – or too afraid – to seek.