Gwen's Story

For the mission associated with this book, see The Flight North.

Contents

 * 1) [[Image:End of the World.jpg|thumb||87px]]End of the World
 * Her name is Gwen. This is her story.
 * She was ten years old when the Searing struck Ascalon. Gwen lost her family, her home, and her childhood in a matter of hours as the sky-summoned fury of the Charr Shamans shattered the world around her.
 * Thousands of Ascalonians died that day, and thousands more fled before the Charr Invasion. Gwen wandered alone in the wreckage of a nation searching desperately for the hand of a friend. Instead, she found the Charr. More to the point, they found her.


 * 1) [[Image:The First Escape.jpg|thumb||87px]]The First Escape
 * The Charr did not kill young humans. They enslaved them. For seven long years, Gwen toiled under the constant lash of her taskmasters. As fellow prisoners broke under the strain or were slaughtered out of hand, the embers of fear in her soul sparked into a blaze of hatred. When she finally saw her chance, Gwen fled into the wilderness, vowing never to be enslaved again.
 * She did not make it far...the Charr recaptured her easily. They judged her useless to them. She should have been slain on the spot, but her captors decided she could serve them, at least one more time, as entertainment.


 * 1) [[Image:Into the Arena.jpg|thumb||87px]]Into the Arena
 * The Charr build arenas within their military camps dedicated to the glory of the legions. Inside these cruel stadiums they set unarmed humans against wild creatures, reveling in the blood sport and applauding as the beasts disemboweled helpless humans.
 * Now it was her turn. She is just another prisoner in a holding pen awaiting a brutal death for mere amusement. She prays for the strength to endure her ordeal. And she prays for the chance to strike back...


 * 1) [[Image:Through the Ruins.jpg|thumb||87px]]Through the Ruins
 * Gwen defeated the Charr's pet monster through guile and good aim, and escaped into a maze of tunnels beneath northern Ascalon. In those ruins she found more evidence of the Charr's handiwork...the entombed remains of years of their death matches. In the depths of this abbatoir she also discovered power, in the form of Mesmer spells within the journals of a long-dead researcher.


 * 1) [[Image:The Ebon Vanguard.jpg|thumb||87px]]The Ebon Vanguard
 * Stronger for her ordeal, but still alone in the heart of Charr territory, Gwen set her sights on the distant mountains and the promise of freedom they offered from the pursuing warbands. She knew that if she were caught again, her death would be slow and painful. She would not be given the luxury of a merciful execution.
 * Gwen's prayers were answered when she stumbled upon a group of free humans, a squad of Ascalonian soldiers operating deep behind enemy lines. They called themselves the Ebon Vanguard and their leader was Captain Langmar, a seasoned veteran.


 * 1) [[Image:Champion of Ascalon.jpg|thumb||87px]]Champion of Ascalon
 * Gwen joined the Ebon Vanguard and served them well. Years of forced labor and punishments turned this innocent girl into a ruthless woman, her hands guided by rage and a deep fear of her captors. Over time she learned to cope with her emotions. She learned when to strike and when to hold back. In her short life, Gwen has known hatred as well as mercy, and knows when to choose between the two.
 * She has become a champion of Ascalon.