Lion's Arch - Tumblr Posts

Glad I wasn't the only one who thought this...

You know what would be great? If Lion’s Arch would be rebuilt with a housing district! Hint hint, A-net…

She returned to Lion's Arch with an unobtrusive guardian at her back. The woman was more lightly armored than Milli had expected, though she wore a broadsword slung across her back with the air of someone who could handle the weapon. Her name was Lydia Carlysle and Valec said he trusted the woman to protect her. And Milli trusted Valec.

Milli wore her leather coat, still darkened with soot and char. The Nemesir butler, Virgil, kept asking if she wanted it cleaned. It smelled of ashes and burning and death. But Milli couldn't let it go. Not yet.

She had passed the post boards before while moving her belongings from her old house, but hadn't dared venture over and look for names. There were too many she hadn't wanted to see. But today it was her purpose.

Lydia followed, a shadow half a step back and to her left, keeping watch on Milli's bad side. Most of the debris had been cleared to the sides, leaving a trail. It wasn't like it had been before, clambering over fallen pieces of stone and wood. Milli was remarkably pleased for that. It meant the city was healing. There was still something that remained of her home.

"Over there, my lady," Lydia motioned toward a hastily erected notice board, candles lit surrounding it, wax puddled thickly around the edges of the platform.

"Thank you, Lydia," she smiled at the woman, accepted the hand to help her up the stairs. She was but a few months along, but she could feel the change in her sense of balance. Milli wasn't looking forward to the later months of pregnancy when she would be able to do little besides waddle between comfortable chairs. Her sister, Tsuu, had warned her.

Milli was confronted with a sea of pleading messages. Men and women looking for sons, daughters, siblings, husbands, and wives. Friends. Family. Some of the names were heartbreakingly familiar. She could only hope they were found.

"Are you a religious woman, Lydia?" Milli asked quietly.

"I worship the Six, my lady, and pay special heed to Dwayna, yes," Lydia replied, eyes watching the area with a constant sweep.

"Can you say a prayer for these people for me?" she ran her gloved fingers over the pages, many warped by wind and water this close to the bay. "I've never sought the aid of the Gods, and it seems to me it would be hypocritical to do so now."

"The gods would hear your prayers regardless, my lady," the guard replied gently, "but I will add them to my prayers tonight as I did right after the city fell."

Milli turned back, carefully climbing back down the steps. "Did you know anyone who died in the assault?"

Lydia shrugged sadly.

"Who didn't?"

The search took more than an hour, wandering about to the different post boards throughout the city of Lion's Arch. The missing, the heroes, the dead. Milli's head was filled with names and she'd spent a rather long time sitting on an upended stone outside her former shop staring up at the hollowed out remains.

Her guard, Lydia Carlysle, stood watch beside her, silent except when spoken to, making sure she was safe. Milli wished Valec had come, but at the same time she was glad he had stayed away. She needed to do this one her own. She relied on him, and while she knew he didn't mind it, likely enjoy it, she still had to be her own woman. That included searching for the names of her friends.

She hadn't seen Jack's name yet. Thankfully. One of the notes looking for someone looked like it was penned in Ainsley's hand. She would send the woman a letter later, see if she couldn't find her in Divinity's Reach. Ciara's name had been absent as well. Neither had she seen Jackrel's or November Morsus's names. She would have expected either of them to be looking for the other if they weren't together. So either they were both dead or both alive. Another letter to be sent to the Reach.

It was at the last post board that she found it.

Ciara Devaney

Her heart dropped into her stomach and she thought she was going to be sick. Her fingers slid back to the top of the page. Deaths.

Milli stumbled back, bent double as it seemed all breath left her, one gloved hand pressed to her mouth.

"My lady, are you alright?" Lydia asked, rushing forward to wrap her arms around the other woman, watching their surroundings and assessing the situation. "Can you stand? We should leave."

Milli shook her head. "No," she managed, gasping. The sobs ripped their way from her throat and she continued shaking her head. "No, I want to stay."

"Soon, then," Lydia said, standing up to keep watch as Milli's grief overwhelmed her.

Milli pressed her hands to her face, covering her eyes, pulling free her eyepiece and stuffing it in her pocket. Such rough treatment of the device was unlike her, but this was not a normal situation.

She remembered meeting Ciara. It had been Lady Livinia's masquerade ball, both of them Jack's dates, Fire and Ice. And Jack had tried to pull them all into bed. Cia was having none of it.

Milli had been pursued by men and women before, but she had never pursued someone herself. She wanted to understand Cia, comfort her. Care for her where it seemed no one else did. She remembered Cia kissing her in front of Clockworks & Mechanicals Unlimited, a surprise. The second kiss had been Milli's, on the beach. And even then, things were so fragile. Milli had never been able to make it work, to put the pieces together just right.

She remembered Cia with aqua hair, so like her eyes. How soft it was in her fingers. How sweet Cia's kisses could be, but delicate. Like spider silk, always about to break.

And after she'd saved Cia from the torture of her other knee's shattering, she'd demanded Cia stop doing things that were so dangerous. And Cia had refused. That rift had never healed. It was a rent in her heart even now. They had started to mend it, but now...

That was the hardest thing about death. The finality of it. What was done was done. And there was no changing any of it.

She cried for nearly ten minutes before Lydia lifted her to her feet. "We should go home, my lady," she said gently, but brooking no argument.

Milli wiped her face quickly and looked up at Lydia. "What happened to the bodies? Can we find her?"

Lydia shook her head. "I don't know, my lady. We can look into it."

Milli nodded as they headed back toward Nemesir Manor. "She was my friend. I would like to know where she came to rest."

A comparison gif and pictures of all the Lions Arch maps I’ve collected throughout my time playing the game. I have this one posted on Project Tyria. Full size gif here!

A gif from Project Tyria’s site detailing the changes of the Lions Arch map over the life of Guild Wars 2. 

Milli squinted against the bright sunshine. Lion’s Arch was much harder on the eyes with all its new glass and brilliant white buildings. She would have missed the entire event if she hadn’t been looking for Lionguard. An old habit, one she would likely never grow out of.

The man was clearly crude. And cruel. The way he threw rocks at the young woman by the pond proved that. A puffed up idiot with delusions of power. It made Milli frown. Once, long ago, this had been her city. She was sad to see the depths to which it had fallen now.

But Lion’s Arch wasn’t the only thing that had changed. Millicent Bowyen had grown accustomed to certain things. Giving orders was one. Having them obeyed was another. Marrying into nobility had its advantages.

Milli lengthened her stride as she approached the scene. Raising her hand to wave down the Lionguard who appeared to be on duty, she stopped when the fleeing girl looked back. It had been a long time, but it was a face she wouldn’t forget.

“Chessi!” she called after her. But the young woman didn’t notice her and disappeared into the waypoint’s blue glow.

Truly upset now, Milli strode over to the two Lionguard and the woman.

“Excuse me,” she stepped between them, facing the guard who had thrown the stones. “Who is your captain?”

The sober Lionguard looked on curiously, but seemed willing to let the other man answer. “Captain Irngarde,” he slurred proudly. Then he narrowed his eyes at Milli. “Why ya wanna know?”

“Because I will be filing assault charges with him." She turned to the other Lionguard. "And his name?" she jerked her thumb at the offender. "Corporal Martin East," he replied quickly, with a sharp salute. "And I am Corporal Lance Kryer." The response was met with cries of dismay from both the guard and his date. "What the hell, Kryer? You ain't on my side?" the man demanded. "Where's your loyalty?" the woman scoffed. "Common curr," she cursed at him. Then she turned to Milli. "You, as well! You wouldn't know nobility if it bit you on the ass!" Milli crossed her arms. "I am nobility," she said evenly. "And I know my rights. Not being assaulted by the Lionguard is among them. Perhaps," she narrowed her eyes, "you should think before you call someone a freak." She nodded to Keyes. "Thank you for your time." Then she turned and walked off, hoping she could find her cousin again.

Leptopelis uluguruensis