Gwen (GW:EN)

Gwen, GW:EN
After the Searing you can find Gwen's Broken Flute in Ascalon as a remnant of Gwen (a Tattered Girl's Cape also used to be found in Kryta, but no longer appears). In Elona, players adventuring in Barbarous Shore will find a Preserved Red Iris Flower in an unlocked chest. All these items are marked as Quest Items. All these item can be used in Eye of the North to start the quest Fire and Pain.

If you have a Prophecies Character and have a Tapestry Shred in your inventory then Gwen will offer you the quest Then and Now, Here and There. (you must complete the quest The Missing Vanguard first)

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

Gwen plays a role in the Bonus Mission Pack, in which you play as her as she narrowly escapes from the Charr. This takes place between The Searing and Eye of the North.

In the official trailer for Eye of the North released on July 19, 2007, which Gwen narrates, she was shown joining ranks of the Vanguard. She is also available as a hero in GW:EN.

See the section below to read more about how you will meet Gwen in GW:EN.

Lore
From the Manual:
 * ''Born in Ascalon, Gwen has witnessed horrible things in her young life, seeing both her country and family destroyed by the Charr. After the Searing, she was captured and enslaved by the Charr, but escaped and fled north, where she found other human exiles.
 * ''Since then, Gwen has become an adventurer. She makes her home in the Eye of the North, the headquarters of the Ebon Vanguard, where she serves Captain Langmar. She is one of the fiercest defenders of Ascalon, determined to exact vengeance against those who destroyed her home. Gwen has survived on the edges of Charr territory for years, watching them tear apart her childhood dreams and her beautiful homeland. Now she has nothing but memories—and anger—to sustain her. She is not the girl she once was . ..

Locations

 * Far Shiverpeaks
 * Hall of Monuments

Quests

 * The Missing Vanguard
 * Then and Now, Here and There
 * Fire and Pain

Recruitment
You can acquire Gwen as a hero by going into the Hall of Monuments and interacting with the scrying pool.

Armor
She starts out with mesmer armor labled as an Ebon Vanguard set. Her headgear is hidden. Her armor has energy +5 on chest and hand pieces, energy recovery +1 on leg and feet pieces, and an armor rating of 3 - 60 (depends on level).

See also Gwen/Armor Gallery.

From The Past
When you enter the Hall of Monuments with the Tapestry Shred, Preserved Red Iris Flower, Red Iris Flower, or Gwen's Broken Flute a dialogue will start between you and Gwen.


 * Gwen: "You say you are from the south. You look strangely familiar."
 *  : "We met long ago. I have some things of yours."
 * Gwen: "So many feelings. So many memories. I... no. The Ebon Vanguard needs us. We'll talk again after that matter is settled."

Reunion In the Underworld
Upon entering the Underworld with Gwen as a hero in the party, a dialogue between Gwen and Sarah begins:


 * Sarah: "Gwen? Has anyone seen my daughter, Gwen? Gwen?"
 * Gwen: "Mommy...? Mother, is that you?"
 * Sarah: "Gwen! Oh... my! Look how you've grown! How many years have passed me by in this place...? I feared I would never seen see [sic] you again; that you were lost to me forever."
 * Gwen: "Mother, I... I don't know what to say. I've wanted to see you for so long. I searched everywhere after... the Searing. I tried to find you. Others survived, so I thought... I hoped... that somehow..."
 * Sarah: "I know I wasn't there for you. I'm so sorry about that... But look at you now. You've become a beautiful young woman! Oh, the years I missed. There's so much to say; a lifetime of regrets I can never turn into words."
 * Gwen: "You don't need to regret the words we haven't spoken... only those we have yet to say."
 * Sarah: "To think that my little, carefree daughter, whose head was once so filled with adventures, could say such a thing."
 * Gwen: "I'm not that little girl anymore, Mother. Those days are lost behind a wall of fire."
 * Sarah: "Your life wasn't easy, was it? I can't even imagine. You were so young... Gwen... too young to grow up alone in that hellish world. Is it better now? I pray everyday that your suffering has ended, that the world has become sane again..."
 * Gwen: "The Charr are... they still threaten our homes, our people. We fight them even now, so that others will never know the pain we carry in our hearts."
 * Sarah: "Oh, Gwen. I know you were hurt. But you can't let wounds from your past guide the decisions you make in the present."
 * Gwen: "I can't forget what I lost, Mother. I won't forget you."
 * Sarah: "I'm not asking you to forget. Some things we carry within our hearts, always. We all have scars and memories, tears of loss and laughter from mirths long gone. They're a part of us. But they're not all that we are."
 * Sarah: "We are something greater than the sum of our parts. We can learn and grow. Let your experiences, both good and bad, teach you, guide you. But never let them control you."
 * Gwen: "Mother, I... this is not a fight I can abandon. Not after all we've lost. I must see this through. I must."
 * Sarah: "No matter how hard you fight, you can never bring those things back, Gwen. They belong to the past now. Your life... your... you belong to the present; no, to the future... Let me tell you something I learned only after my death."
 * Sarah: "We view this world through eyes cast forward, so we can see the future stretching out in front of us, beckoning us onward through our lives. So, if you must fight, fight for the life you want to lead... for the future you want to live in."
 * Sarah: "If you fight to fix the regrets of the past, you will lose. The past cannot be beaten. As you said, we shouldn't regret the words we never got a chance to say... or the life we never got to lead. Live your life, my little girl. That is all a mother wants... all I ever wanted."
 * Gwen: "I... I don't know what to say. I love you."
 * Sarah: "As I love you. Your eyes speak the words you cannot say. I know there is something you must do, Gwen. I always knew you would achieve great things."
 * Sarah: "Now, I see you before me. I see the kind of person you have become. Strong but willful, caring and empathic, but so driven. I will worry about you... that is a mother's right... but I won't stop you."
 * Sarah: "Go. Do what you must. Just be careful. I will be here, waiting for you to return."
 * Gwen: "When this is all over, I will return. I promise. And, if the gods are just, I shall bring good tidings..."
 * Gwen: "But please, don't wait for me, Mother. You must move on as well, and you will always be in my heart. Always. That is something I can take with me as I look forward to that future; that bright horizon yet to dawn. I love you, Mommy."

If your party re-enters the Underworld after viewing the above sequence, another dialogue will commence:


 * Sarah: "Gwen! You've come back to see me... and so soon. Time is difficult to gauge here, but you don't look a day older than the last time I saw you. You're still well and safe? Are you eating enough?"
 * Gwen: "Mother! Please... I'm fine. I'm a woman now, not a little girl. I can take care of myself. This world may be far from perfect, but it will take a lot more than what I've been through to stop me!"
 * Sarah: "I would say there are some things about you that you'll never outgrow... and no matter what happens, a mother will always worry about her little girl."
 * Gwen: Okay. I guess I can't ask you to stop worrying about me, but really, I'm doing well. I just wanted to come see you again. I... I miss you."
 * Sarah: And I you, my little darling. Come visit me anytime. I cherish these moments."

Gwen's Garden
Just west of the Eye of the North (outpost) there is a small garden with an Ascalon theme that belongs to Gwen. Putting Gwen in your party and taking her to this spot will trigger a dialog. Red Iris Flowers bloom on this hill. This triggered dialogue seems to only happen once.


 * "I've always loved red iris flowers, ever since I was a girl. I keep this garden for reason I can't fully explain. Perhaps to keep a little of my home alive in these harsh lands? It's amazing to me that something so fragile could blossom here, in this earth. When I look in this garden, I see what I lost, and what we all lost. But when that iris flower blooms, I see hope. If these flowers can survive, then so will we. The greatest forest can become cinders with a tiny spark. The Charr knew this, and they sought to stamp out our memories of home when they seared Ascalon. But what those beasts do not realize is that new life will always spring and, like a plant shoot, I am still standing. Still fighting for a life beyond this. Some day, Ascalon's field's will bloom again, and the scent of smoke in my nostrils will be the scent of clean air. People will come to the lush congresses of my home and they will know that the blood of heroes allowed the new life to spring forth. That is the future that I will have. But now, we have work still to do. Come, the journey is long."


 * A tamable Jingle Bear will spawn here for players who have completed all the quests from Lieutenant Thackeray during Wintersday 2008

Idle Quotes

 * "All the Iris flowers are dead. Soon, the Charr will follow."
 * "Devona taught me how to fight. The Charr taught me how to kill."
 * "I'm not a child anymore. It's time for you to follow me."
 * "It's so cold here. I should have brought my cloak..."
 * "Mother told me we see people again after we die. I miss her..."

Battle Quotes

 * "...and I'm all out of mossgum!"
 * "Again? Can't we get some real challenges?"
 * "Anyone who runs gets it in the back! The only thing you save is your pretty smile."
 * "Destiny? Destiny's nothing but justice without the smell of burned flesh."
 * "For Ascalon and the wall!"
 * "Forgiveness? That's Lyssa's job. It's mine to arrange the meeting."
 * "I'll tell you what I told the Charr: fur burns, too!"
 * "I'm learning about pain and torment one Charr at a time."
 * "If it bleeds, we can kill it."
 * ''"Mother...forgive me."
 * "Nobody gets away from me! I'll follow you to the ends of the world if I have to!"
 * "The Ebon Vanguard will fight until Ascalon is free!"
 * "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long."
 * "Victory to Dwayna! Victory to Ascalon!"
 * "You've got some really nice toys there. Mind if I break them?"

Trivia

 * It has been speculated that Guild Wars Eye of the North's GW:EN acronym may be an intentional allusion to Gwen.


 * The Quote "If it bleeds, we can kill it." is from the movie Predator.
 * The Quote "...And I'm all out of moss gum." is a popular reference to the movie "They Live" in which the main character says, "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum." This line was also voiced in Duke Nukem 3D by the titular character as "It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all outta gum!". Duke Nukem 3D also sourced the line from "They Live", but it is unknown which of the two inspired Gwen's line.
 * The Quote "Forgiveness? That's Lyssa's job. It's mine to arrange the meeting." is a reference to the movie Man On Fire, in which the hero played by Denzel Washington says, "Forgiveness is between them and God. It's my job to arrange the meeting."
 * The Quote "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long." is from the movie Blade Runner spoken by Eldon Tyrell when he is talking to Roy Batty. Many of Gwen's Pre-searing BWE quotes are also from the same movie.
 * The Quote "You've got some really nice toys there. Mind if I break them?" may be another nod to Blade Runner, as Roy Batty has a line "Gosh you've really got some nice toys here".