Mursaat

The mursaat, also known as "Unseen Ones", "Bringers of Wisdom", "Eyes That Watch All" and "Silent Saviors of Kryta" are a race of floating humanoid spellcasters. They have the ability to hide themselves from those who do not have the gift of True Sight and are considered gods by the White Mantle. They are creatures with three elongated toes and long black feathers growing from their backs, and they wear golden masks and armor and are often accompanied by Jade constructs and utilize their towers.

Not much is known of the mursaat's history before the year 1070 AE, except that they predate humanity alongside the dwarves and seers. Since the time before the gods brought humans to Tyria, the mursaat and the seers have been sworn enemies, and the mursaat had emerged victorious in a war between the two races.

Rise of the White Mantle
The mursaat were discovered in a "dense forest" by the Krytan exile Saul D'Alessio shortly after the end of the Guild Wars. When Saul found the mursaat, he was on the brink of death and saw the mursaat as godlike creatures. The mursaat saved him and Saul returned to Kryta to proclaim them as his gods, under the name of the Unseen Ones, forwarding this cause through the formation of the White Mantle.

The White Mantle and their Unseen gods rose to power during the war with the charr. Their grasp of Kryta was practically absolute when Saul and the elite of the White Mantle went on a suicide mission to assassinate the charr leaders in their main encampment. Though the plan succeeded, the rest of the charr army rained down upon them. In this moment, three mursaat - Optimus Caliph, Mercia the Smug and Lazarus the Dire - appeared and fought beside the Mantle, decimating the charr with their devastating magic. The charr were defeated and Kryta was saved - but at a high price.

When the charr were defeated, the mursaat turned on the White Mantle and murdered most of them. Saul was taken away by the mursaat as he realized his error in following them. Only three Mantle members were spared: Dorian, Hablion, and Thommis. The three survivors, whom the mursaat had deemed most devoted, told the Krytans that Saul had been killed by charr during their retreat back over the Shiverpeak Mountains.

The Veil Falls
For two years the mursaat held a firm grip on Kryta, with the White Mantle gaining more and more power and followers. But they knew they were not invincible - Glint's Flameseeker Prophecies foretold of the demise of their species at the hands of the titans. To prevent this from happening, they had the Mantle retrieve the Scepter of Orr and sealed off the Door of Komalie, which held the titans back inside the Foundry of Failed Creations. The Door of Komalie was powered by the soul batteries, annually charged by reaping the souls of the chosen on the bloodstone in the Maguuma Jungle.

A group of Ascalonians, taking refuge in Kryta from the charr after the Searing, discovered these rituals and retaliated against the White Mantle. They joined the Shining Blade, a group opposing the White Mantle, and eventually went through Ascension and became infused, which allowed them to see and fight the mursaat. The Ascalonians traveled to the Ring of Fire Island Chain to open the Door of Komalie, which Vizier Khilbron told them would put an end to the mursaat. The door was opened, the titans were let loose across Tyria, and most of the mursaat were exterminated.

Return of the Unseen Ones
Lazarus the Dire, one of the mursaat present at the rise of the White Mantle, had split himself into many different aspects, infusing them into a group of White Mantle under the pretense that it was a gift of power. After the titans were defeated, he began to free these aspects one by one, in a bid to reunite them and regain his former self. Justiciar Naveed, the host of the final aspect, had long since realized that this was no gift but a curse (as the process to remove the aspect killed the host), and he sought to free himself from it before it consumed him. With the help of the talented asura Glayvin, they were able to damage the aspect but not remove it. Once Lazarus reclaimed the aspect, he felt his power turn on him. With his plans ruined, he fled to go into recovery, promising that countless future generations would suffer as a result of Naveed and the asura's actions that day.

Since the titans' release, at least seven surviving mursaat had been assisting the White Mantle in their fight against the Shining Blade, the so-called War in Kryta. Although these seven are known to have been killed off, it can be assumed that the mursaat are not yet extinct; Lazarus' fate is still unknown.