Norn

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The Guild Wars 2 Wiki also has an article on Norn.

Concept art by Kekai Kotaki

Concept art by Kekai Kotaki illustrating Jora, the Norn hero and her brother Svanir in bear form

Concept art by Jaime Jones

“

The Norn are a race of nine-foot-tall warriors who live in the northernmost Shiverpeaks. They revel in the harsh climes, leading dangerous lives among savage beasts. These mighty hunters are not organized into a single nation. Instead, those who display exceptional strength and prowess in battle establish homesteads, though they are certainly not considered "rulers". They often spend years at a time tracking a particularly strong or clever quarry; they never give up on a battle, a pursuit, or a friend.

The Norn revere the spirits of nature—from the wolf to the snow lynx - but the most powerful of these is the Bear Spirit, who, according to myth, blessed the Norn with the ability to change shape and "become the bear".

— The Guild Wars Eye of the North Manuscript

[edit] Voice responses

Norn rank 0-4:

• "Are you hunting something?"
• "Never anger a Norn."
• "Who goes there?"
• "Who sent you?"
• "Why are you here?"

Norn rank 5-9:

• "Are you lost?"
• "Hail lowlander."
• "How can I help you?"
• "What is your business?"
• "Ya hey there!"

Norn rank 10:

• "By the bear!"
• "Hail, friend."
• "It is a good day to hunt" (female) / "'Tis a good day to hunt." (male)
• "Such a warm day."
• "Wurm's blood!"

[edit] Notes

• Norns generally do not help you or speak to you until you first best them in combat. This only happens in explorable areas.
• They will be one of the playable races in Guild Wars 2.
• Although it has not been explicitly stated, the Norn are implied to be closely related to humans.
• The Boreal Tonic will cause your character to appear to be a Norn.

[edit] Trivia

• The Norn are sisters in Norse mythology said to control a person's fate by their weaving.
• The American Heritage Dictionary: Second College Edition (copyright 1982) defines Norn as "One of the three Fates in Norse mythology."
• Early concept art for the Norn refers to them as "Norngolians".
• Possibly modeled after Tolkien's character "Beorn", a cheerful but also easily angered man who lives alone in the shadow of the mountains, is about 10 feet tall with long black hair and beard, and shapeshifts into a bear.
• Could also be a reference to Norse lore of Berserkers who would go into battle wearing bear skins, said not to feel pain and would usually be in a trance of fury. In some myths they were believed to actually turn into bears.
• The Norn also are very similar to the Chereks in David Eddings Belgariad. Particulary the character Barak that is able to turn into a massive bear form. The Cherek are also red haired, love to hunt, and are extremely large in stature.
• Norn use the old Danish (Viking) method of naming their children. Many of the names in use today are examples of this, as in Gustafson or Ericsson.

[edit] See also

• Norn rank

[edit] External links

• Norn - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W)
• IGN - Guild Wars: Eye of the North Dungeon Crawl
• Kotaku - concept art: Norn tower
• Guild Wars Guru forum thread: PC Gamer May 2007 Information - "Guild Wars Reborn"