Charr

The land north of Ascalon’s protective Great Northern Wall is occupied by a savage race of beasts known as the Charr.

To the Charr, flame is the physical representation of their gods. In order to keep the gods happy, they must first fulfill their obligation to the flame. To that end, the Charr have constructed a series of sacred buildings known as Flame Temples. On raised platforms, these bestial creatures have inscribed huge circular runes, which define and magically feed the sacred fires. Further defining the ring are pillars of pure obsidian or carved sandstone, sculpted to depict the faces of the mysterious creatures the Charr worship. Between these pillars, in the very center of each of these temples, are the ever-burning sacred flames. The Charr believe that as long as the flames are burning, the gods are pleased. If the flames go out, then the Charr have failed in their duties, and will be punished by the gods.

Each temple has its own fire, which is tended at all times by four Charr Flame Keepers. The Flame Keepers have only one job—to keep the Sacred Flame burning. This is the most prestigious position a Charr can occupy; only the strongest, most capable Charr can take this honor, and all other Charr bow to the Flame Keepers.

In addition to the temples, whenever a large Charr warband travels anywhere, they take with them a bronze brazier, lit at a Flame Temple by the Sacred Flame. These braziers are placed upon palanquins, which are then carried from location to location by four Charr Flame Carriers. Each night when they make camp, the Flame Carriers erect a flammable effigy in the shape of one of their gods, then ignite it and let it burn till daylight.

Humans learned quickly how to read the flame sign: if the flame is lit, the Charr camp is occupied. If the flame is out, the Charr have moved on.

The Charr Invasion
At around the time of 1070 AE, when the three Kingdoms were busy fighting each other in the Guild Wars, none of them took the Charr seriously enough. At that time they were still restricted by the Great Northern Wall. But the Charr had gathered all their forces and found a way to summon a great devastating magic from the skies. How they organized themselves so well and how they mastered such arcane powers, remains a mystery, though the Titans may have helped them for their own purposes, as hinted at by the resemblance of Charr idols to the Titans. They set out to conquer all humans:


 * During the Searing, with their powerful magics, they rained fire on the lands of Ascalon past the Great Northern Wall and effectively brought Ascalon to its knees. The beautiful land of green hills and lush foliage was completely ravaged and turned into a scorched and dry land, with little to no plants or water. Most of the major cities and settlements were destroyed and turned into ruins.


 * After Ascalon fell, their armies rushed towards the Kingdom of Orr. The Orrians believed their armies would hold back the Charr, but quickly faced crushing defeat and the Charr were marching on the capital, Arah. In a moment of desperation (or malicious calculation) the personal advisor of the King of Orr, Vizier Khilbron, invoked powerful forbidden magic to defeat the invading Charr forces. The result was a powerful explosion that wiped out those Charr and most of the peninsula of Orr. This event is referred to as The Cataclysm.


 * The Kingdom of Kryta at first faltered before the Charr hordes and the ruling family fled. Then a man by the name of Saul D'Alessio led the fight against the Charr, and aided by gods he called the Unseen Ones he was able to turn the tide. The followers of Saul formed the White Mantle which has ruled and protected Kryta ever since.

In the quest A Flickering Flame in the Realm of Torment, you find out that the titans appeared to the Charr as fiery gods, and urged them to invade the human world in order to weaken resistance against Abaddon, before ultimately abandoning them.

Eye of the North
According to the May issue of PC gamer, the unnamed Charr homeland will be visited in Eye of the North. The Charr homeland, which is north of Ascalon is described as resembling Pre-Searing Ascalon. Scorch Emberspire refers to "the flames of the lands that we called home", which could refer to either volcanic activity or the Charr-built sacred flames. According to the article, the Charr are in a civil war after being abandoned by the Titans.

The Charr in Guild Wars 2
According to the May 2007 issue of PC Gamer, the Charr will be a playable race in Guild Wars 2.