Gwen

Description
Gwen is one of the biggest mysteries in the game. She is a little girl that you can find in Lakeside County behind the Resurrection Shrine on the east-side of Ascalon City entrance. The first time you speak to her she will give you the Gwen's Flute quest in which you need to find her lost flute. If you complete the quest she will want to follow you in your adventures. She is a very useful sidekick as she is never targeted by enemies and can heal you for 20 HP randomly when your health is down. Speak to her to have her follow you and speak to her again to have her wait. If you have any of the items you can give her, she will ask for it instead.

If she is following you, she will be waiting for you anytime you exit an outpost (just like a pet) but if you logout or if you enter in Lakeside County from Ascalon City she will return to her original spawn point (as told before, in Lakeside County behind the Resurrection Shrine on the east-side of Ascalon City entrance).

You may also give all or any of gifts to Gwen to make her more attached to you:
 * Flute
 * Bought from any merchant in Pre-Searing Ascalon.
 * You can give it to her only once.
 * Her appearance will change once you give it to her, she will carry it in her hand.
 * It will make her a little happy, and she will start playing it.
 * While she is following you, she will play it once in a while when you are idle, and always when she heals you.
 * It seems that she will not heal you unless you give her the flute.
 * Small Girl's Cape
 * Bought from any merchant in Pre-Searing Ascalon.
 * You can give it to her only once.
 * Her appearance will change once you give it to her, she will be wearing it on her neck.
 * It will really boost her attachment to you.
 * Red Iris Flowers
 * Found randomly in most explorable areas in Pre-Searing Ascalon.
 * You can give her all the Red Iris Flowers that you find, she can't have enough of them.
 * It will slightly increase her attachment to you. If you plan to save the 200 gold pieces the Small Girl's Cape costs, you may just give this item to her.
 * Once she gives you the Tapestry Shred there is no reason to give more to her, so you may want to sell them instead.

Once she likes you enough, she will give you the most valuable thing she has (according to her) which is the Tapestry Shred. The fastest way to get the item is to give her the Flute, the Small Girl's Cape and three Red Iris Flowers (total cost: 219 Gold Pieces).

Note: If you join a party with someone who had already given the items to her, she will be wearing them already, the event will be messed up so you will not be able to get the Tapestry Shred.

Dialogue
Gwen speaks of many things as she follows you around. All the characters she talks about are characters you meet in the game. The following are Gwens lines:

While following While not following
 * "Prince Rurik and Lady Althea are going to get married! I can't wait! I hope I get to attend the wedding. I just love weddings!"
 * "Are you a hero, too, like Aidan and Devona? My daddy was a great Warrior, but he died when I was seven. Mommy says maybe we'll see him again after we die. Do you think that's true?"
 * "When I grow up, I'm going to be a hero like my daddy. I'd like to be a warrior, but the Mesmers' outfits are nicer, don't you think?"
 * "Have you met my mommy? Her name is Sarah. She's the town herbalist. She helps make sick people well again."
 * "Lady Althea's father is a duke. That means he's important, and he knows Prince Rurik. I'd love to meet the prince someday."
 * "Mary Malone brought us apples today. They're so lovely and ripe! Mommy wouldn't let me have one. She's saving them to bake a pie. Yummy!"
 * "Mommy says I shouldn't bother the grownups so much, but there aren't any children for me to play with. Besides, they're all so nice to me! Well, most of them are, anyway."
 * "Old Mack has a bull named Bill, and he's really mean. Once I saw him chase a man and hurt him real bad. Someone ought to do something about him. If my daddy was here, he'd kill that old bull and carve him into steaks!"
 * "Mr. & Mrs. Hathorn have children, but they're too young to play with me. Sometime Mrs. Hathorn lets me hold the baby. He's so cute!"
 * "Devona is so pretty! I love her hair. Do you think my hair will be that pretty when I grow up?"
 * "Are we there yet?"
 * "I'm on an adventure!"
 * "I hope this isn't too dangerous."
 * The Red Iris Flowers are my favorite!
 * I wonder how many flowers it takes to fill a vase?
 * You look really strong. Can you teach me anything?
 * When I grow up I want to be just like you.
 * I want to be an adventurer too. Can I come with you?
 * My daddy was an adventurer like you. Once, he let me go on an adventure with him.
 * Eww! A big beetle!
 * Someone help me!
 * I think I'm going to follow you!

Post-Searing
After the Searing you will be able to find a Tattered Girl's Cape and Gwen's Broken Flute as remnants of Gwen. Her fate, though, is unknown.

It is believed by many players in the game that, given the availability of Gwen items at every merchant before the Searing and given that her items are marked as Quest Items, that there is some quest that has to deal with her fate after the Searing that is yet to be announced.

Upon entering the Underworld via the Temple of the Ages, players will see the ghost of Gwen's mother, Sarah, worriedly asking other ghosts if they have seen her daughter.

Trivia
At the end of one of the BWEs during the beta stage of the game, the developers at ArenaNet unleashed a destructive Gwen upon the unwary citizens of Tyria as seen in this screen capture and in this movie (must be logged in to view).

This fueled the famous wallpaper (by a player) that shows her as some creepy demon-possessed child. Some players have misconstrued this as Gwen's actual future role.

In the Japanese Release of Guild Wars, Gwen makes an appearance as "Gwen-chan", and together with Dr. Boar, teaches the basics of the game to new players.