Feedback:User/Shai Halud/The Divine Gambit

I think this was an idea discussed in earlier months, though I don't remember where. You see, one of the major questions after The Movement of the World was revealed was "Why don't the gods do anything?". In fact, rather than intervening, the historical article said that they were taking an even less active role in Tyrian affairs. (And I don't want to hear a word about what happened at the end of the "Gate of Madness" mission. We come all this way, kill the Lich Lord and Shiro and all we get is a damn pep-talk? Besides, Abaddon was a wussy god half-way in the grave. I think Primordus and Zhaitan qualify as a slightly more serious threat.) Now, it should be a given that gods are at least a little more powerful than ancient dragons and could defeat them if they tried, so why don't they? Well, if these dragons have enough power to be any kind of threat to the gods, then they probably are powerful enough to have already wiped out or enslaved all intelligent life, so why havn't they used their power?

Perhaps, the gods and the dragons are holding each other at bay with the threat of mutually assured destruction. If the gods attack the dragons directly, the dragons will immediately wipe out all life on earth; if the dragons use their power in its full measure to attack centers of civilization, the gods will attack them and likely wipe them out. Thus far, the dragons have not attacked major cities directly nor have they made any concerted effort to wipe out any of the races. Primordus could probably have slaughtered the entire Asuran race before they had time to react if he had waited until he could attack them himself or made the destroyers a little more powerful, but, instead, he gave them time and an opportunity to evacuate so as not to provoke a war with the gods. For now, the dragons will only engage the five races in indirect conflict using their minions.

Now, this also has another side to it. As things stand, if the gods attacked they could defeat the dragons at the cost of losing all progress regarding civilization, but they could re-create the races afterwords resulting in a general victory for the gods. Also, the dragons' only hope of eventual domination of Tyria is to wipe out the races and defeat the gods. For now, they are not powerful enough to achieve this, but they must be seeking a power which could overthrow the six gods. It would be no surprise if they have made alliances with Dhuum and Menzies (possibly others) and the Mursaat to help them achieve this end.

This could make up the overarching story line as the five races try to defeat the dragons and thier allies before they gain the power they need, but it could also spawn numerous subplots and side-quests. The Charr Gold Legion may try to make an alliance with the dragons in order to regain thier former glory. Dhuum and Menzies may need to be sealed before the dragons can be safely exterminated. We may need to seek out and restore the race of Seers before we can hope to confront the Mursaat once again. Another power may even be needed to prevent the dragons from lashing out at the last minute to destroy most of civilization.

Another major development will be when we revisit Cantha and Elona. It wouldn't be surprising if the Canthan emperor tried to make a deal with the dragons to obtain even greater power over his empire. He might even fancy himself a god, with a legion of dragon warriors answering his beck and call. As for Palawa Joko, I'm not sure he'd be as interested in sharing power with the dragons as the Canthan emperor would be. He may try to ally with and then betray the dragons, but I think he will eventually need outside help and we'll end up serving by his side once again. It would also be interesting if the Utopia continent and/or the area east of Tyria were opened up to exploration as part of the search for the power necessary to safely defeat the dragons.