#æthnen

[archesa]

Happy anniversary, Æthnen!

Two years ago, today, I made this beautiful fern for my Trahearne lives AU and I've never looked back!

More pics and some lore and creation details under the cut.

The choice of face preset has been a real pain in the arse (Trahearne's facial features in creation mode when, Arenanet?!) and took a good long time staring at my Total Makeover Kits, but I'm quite happy with the result.

The loss of the dark thicker leaves framing his face to Mordremoth's corruption left furrows in their stead, and his once violet glow has turned golden due to the fusion with the dragon.

He lost his left arm to the dragon's possession and ultimate attempt on the Commander's life and arbours a complex prosthetic, a combination of asura and exalted technology fuelled and activated by his hard-earned control on the draconic magic that remained after Mordremoth's defeat.

Nightmares and draconic magic were not the only reminders he keeps from his possession - as the Dragon's unwilling Champion and Vessel, he retained some hold onto the Mordremoth's domain, and if the fact that flowers endemic to Caledon seemed to grow wherever he went was easy to ignore, the entanglements and coils of vines that armoured his necromantic minions called for some reconciliation with the darkest hours of his existence.

He also develops a strong bond with Aurene/ First, a connection through the energy he was once the vessel of, filtered and diffracted through a prism to allowed the Egg to hatch.

And an evergrowing attachment for the little dragon he and Anwen consider as their daughter.

He rarely - if ever - returns to The Grove after Maguuma.

It never felt like home to him, his heart turned towards the shores of Orr long before he left to complete his wyld-hunt, and the divide between him and his kin too deep already when the darkness shrouding him called to the deep ingrained fear of the dragon of shadow and death... irreconcilable now that his mere presence called the memory of the shadow of a dead dragon within them all.

To conclude... I really need to get back to writing for this verse as most of the development has happened in conversations between @lilypixy and I, in my head or via answers to asks, so... if I have as much time on my hands as I expect this week I'll try and actually finish one or two of these WIPs!

#Æthnen #aka my trahearne clone #trahearne lives au

[archesa]

Happy birthday to my (first & main) Trahearne clone, Æthnen

Been digging deep into denial for one full year already ^^ Well, one year after Maguuma, here’s our favorite goth-fern, and his playful dragon daughter! (Anwen’s probably taking the picture! 😄)

#æthnen

[archesa]

have 2, 17, 28, and a free space from the gw2 asks! :D (i feel like i've missed a couple instances of you reblogging ask games recently, though i could be making that up alsjkdfadf, but i caught this one! xD) @kerra-and-company

 Oooooh! These call for pics and long answers 😁

Thanks so much for these! 🥰

2. fave profession :

I got to say Guardian because I have a long history of playing paladins and valiant knights on several games (*cough* 12 years of WOW *cough* ) and I absolutely adore Anwen but, I've been playing a lot on my Necro lately and Æthnen has become my first character to go to if I want to chill, do map exploration or even meta events. I play him as a Reaper but rarely use the greatsword 😅 I feel like Trahearne would not have gone anywhere this kind of weapons of not for Caladbolg 😅 and since, for now, it's Anwen who weilds it...🌹

17. Your glider? (if you don’t have one, the one you want the most)

I got a few actually ^^' Elianora, both Anwens, Æthnen and Galaëd all have their own, personal glider that I wouldn't use on any other character no matter how much I love the skins, they're theirs!

Eli shifts between the Fox Spirit Glider, which fits her personality and is a little nod to her mini (you guessed! a fox!) and the Elemental Fury Glider.

Anwen Evergreen has the Crystalline Dragon Wings since (at least - jury’s still out regarding Anwen’s becoming as a dragon champion) Aurene's ascension.

Her elementalist counterpart, Anwen Swynwr has the Spellforged Glider (that her Guardian-self had before she used the crystalline wings)

Galaëd has the Lunar backpack and assorted glider! The funny part is, for other characters I chose the glider based on their story / personality. For Galaëd it was the other way ‘round. I got the Lunar backpack in a Black Lion chest, so I decided he loved fireflies and stars. From there @lilypixy pointed the connection with the Moon Shield, Canach being its current bearer, and bam! Two sylvari who thought they had found what the dream had showed them only to have their whole perspective shifted (Galaëd with the Green Knight, Canach with the Moon Shield).

And last but not least, Æthnen (aka my Trahearne clone for the two in the back 😁) has been very much nurtured back to health by the Exalted after the campaign of Maguuma, and as such he has the Exalted Glider (complete with Luminate’s Backplate Exalted Shoulders and Auric Weapons)

Avalwyn (my other Trahearne clone, yup I got two of them, don’t rub me the wrong way or I’ll show you my third! 😅) aka Druid!Hearne also has the Fox Spirit one, as a little nod to his Fernhound Caliborn.

28. What is your favorite legendary weapon?

I loved collecting stuff for Kudzu! I still have to upgrade the precursor to its actual Legendary form but I had a great time collecting the seeds for it! It tingled my herbalist sense nicely and fitted quite well in Anwen's themes and story!

And of course, since I'm an eenie-meanie I just have to collect Mordremoth's weapons for Æthnen ! I'll probably go with the staff but if @lilypixy 's conjecture is right and next Necro elite spec has the hammer as its weapon I will full on embrace it and give Trahearne a very nice not at all corrupted by any dragon what are you on about hammer!

Let Trahearne smash things with a hammer! He deserves it!

Mordremoth, dead, somewhere in the Mists, with its siblings : I gave my Champion my weapons! Look how stylish he is!

Kralk, being the only lucid one in their brood, probably : Fucked up a perfectly good scion is what you did! Look at him, he’s got anxiety!

Edit : I forgot the free space! I used a random number generator and got 37, so...

37. Your favorite HoT event?

I have to say the Octovine! Yeah of course it's extremely infuriating when you get slackers and auto attackers but if run right it's so very satisfying! The loot is sweet and even the 'Event failed' cutscene is heartbreaking!

Apart from that I would say the first event from the Pale Reavers outpost, in Verdant Brink! That was the moment I truly felt the weight of the mantle of Commander (and I loved it 😅🤣), when you make a stand atop that cliff with the wreckage of the fleet still burning on the horizon and the mordrem swarming below — especially when Laranthir's so relieved and happy to see you!

#archesa answers #elianora #anwen evergreen #anwen swynwr #æthnen #avalwyn #blighting pod au #trahearne lives au #trahearne lives au²

[archesa]

Since we’re there, thirsting about Trahearne, I thought this could be relevant :

#trahearne #(featuring my trahearne clone Æthnen) #(special thanks to the most useless gizmo in the history of gizmos : the rose bouquet!) #(just for this i don't regret buying it at St Valentine!)

[archesa]

#trahearne #(featuring my trahearne clone Æthnen) #trahearne lives au #champion of mordremoth

[archesa]

Heart of Thorns with Trahearne

#trahearne #(featuring my trahearne clone Æthnen) #(@antis : there! now it's really his story not yours!) #heart of thorns

[archesa]

Even inside the shell of my little egg, I could feel them—the stranger. Their soul smelled of pain and ached, but somehow I knew… I knew that I was safe in their care.

Magic. Everywhere. Swirling and whispering, like a flock of birds dancing through the air. It settles at my feet. Dust, piling higher and higher like sand on a beach… Wake up, it says. Wake up.

You should never lose anything or anyone, ever again. The world should be like a beautiful garden and only grow around you forever. I know it can’t happen that way, but I don’t want to be what you lose next.

#aurene #trahearne #trahearne lives au #trammander #anwen evergreen #meryw #(featuring my trahearne clone Æthnen)

[archesa]

Left to rot in a forest of corpses where the Pact fell.

Splintered atop a spiral of thorns in the jungle's heart.

#trahearne #shards of a thorn #heart of thorns #caladbolg #(featuring my trahearne clone Æthnen)

[archesa]

Ghosts are guilt, ghosts are secrets, ghosts are regrets and failings. But most times, most times a ghost is a wish.

#trammander #trahearne x anwen evergreen #path of fire #path of fire spoilers #the departing #(featuring my trahearne clone Æthnen)

[archesa]

Your main(s) for blorbo bingo!

Ouuuh ! That's gonna take a while! *brews some tea* 🍵 Thanks a lot for this!! ^^ As you asked for my main (and I wanted to leave room for other asks in case) I only did my currently played characters (and Elianora, because she's The canon!verse Commander!)

Elianora, my beloved!

My feral little gremlin, 5' of whoop ass, and since she follows the canon!verse, in dire need of therapy! I don't play with her at the time (and to be honest I don't think I ever will again) but I cherish her so much! She's the first character I played the PS with, and she still owns a huge part of my heart! As for the Beloved (derogatory), it comes more from her novel counterpart, that I can't seem to get right and it frustrates me to no end! 😤

Anwen Evergreen (Trahearne lives AU, aka Storyverse) & Anwen Swynwr (Blighting Pod AU / Blighting Clone AU because I can't seem to decide which one sounds best 😅)

I'm cheating a little bit there! But since they're the same person, at least till Hearts and Minds, I thought I could do them on the same page ^^ (Anwen Evergreen in dark blue, Swynwr in light)

No surprise there, she's the one I get closer to Bingo with! I'm basically never not thinking of her, lately. I had been in a pretty bad drought as a writer, before I started writing my Trahearne Lives AU and I'm having so much fun with playing the story, picking things that would change, filling the blanks with headcanons, sharing this verse with my best friend @lilypixy and now, with EoD finished just as today, imagining what will come after (yup, that's a whole ass fanfic to come! yup this will end up like my skyrim fic, I will probably spend the next ten years on it. no I regret nothing!)!

I don't yet play with the Elem version of Anwen (I wanted to finish EoD and progress on the storyverse fanfic before I explored the Blighting Pod AU deeper) so she's a bit of a Cryptid, but if you happen to see her in game, don't hesitate to say hi! ^^ I happened to do the Octovine with @thorns-and-brambles the other day and I was soooo happy they recognised one of my characters (Æthnen to be precise) ! 😄 And of course, as a character who lives through the canon ending of HoT, she's in dire need of therapy too! (Oh, and, "A world without you" is now, with the season 4 version of Fear Not This Night, the official theme for the Blighting Pod AU, thanks to @lilypixy 🥰 I'm sorry I don't make the rules! 😄)

Galaëd of the Cycle of Dusk, my somft autumn twig! 🍂

I love him, and I can't wait to develop his story further when @lilypixy and I play through the story with him and Rorschach! Unapologetic Mary-Sue, because his resurrection of the Green Knight is over the top and I can't pretend to care! 😄

#archesa answers #heart of thorns spoilers #hot spoilers #just to be safe ^^ #galaëd of the cycle of dusk #anwen evergreen #anwen swynwr #trahearne lives au #blighting pod au #elianora #my canon!verse commander

[archesa]

You know... I wondered for a while if Trahearne would be present at Eir’s memorial — on one hand he’d want to pay his respect to her and her sacrifice, on the other hand he would be overwhelmed with grief and guilt — but replaying the story instance with Æthnen, listening to all the dialogue and having this adorable 12' fern shifting between standing his ground and looking as though he hoped to dissolve in the shadows (dearheart, you're taller than any Norn here...) is something that I just can't not write!

#trahearne #trahearne lives au #lws3 spoilers #hot spoilers #post hot spoilers

[archesa]

oc ask game time!! have 🎨✨⚡ for whoever you'd most like to answer for! :D @kerra-and-company

Thanks a lot for the ask (and sorry for taking so long to answer 😅 I kept getting caught in doing events or stuff on Æthnen and forgetting to take good screenshots to illustrate the answers 🤣)

🎨 Is your OC artistic? Can they draw or paint or do they prefer another medium? Are they a writer or musician or do they do something else? Give us a quick run down of what they can get creative with!

Anwen plays the harp quite well — she and her brother had a more extensive artistic education than would be deemed appropriate by the highest society, but both did thrive in the arts, Faren in theater, Anwen in music. It has never become anything more than a hobby, but in good company, on private occasions, you might hear Anwen humming and plucking a few strings from her harp at home, or a lyre on the field.

Her Weaver self even uses the Orchestral staff, a gift of her brother, to channel her powers and cast her spells.

And both share a certain liking for the sound of the flute.

✨ If your OC were a deity of some kind, what would they represent? What do they look like? How are they worshipped and what offerings would they expect? What are their places of worship like? Their followers? Their teachings?

Galaëd would be some summetset deity, associated with the setting of the sun and the dawning days of autumn. He'd be considered a trickster god — a playful, mostly harmless one — and celebrated in midsummer to early winter festivals, bright with colours, warm with shimmering lights, honouring the starlight and fireflies in his wake.

He'd most likely retake his mortal shape to participate in the celebration, or don that of a white stag to observe mortals from afar, leaving boons and blessings to those who amused or touched him.

He'd be worshiped by all sorts of tricksters – artists and children but also by warriors, who'd rely on his ruse to always keep their adversary on their toes.

⚡ What are your OC’s phobias? Is there any reasoning behind these? How do they calm themselves down after getting scared? What are they like when they’re afraid? Is there any chance of them overcoming their fears?

Anwen has a crippling fear of being resurrected and used to harm those she loves. This came from her first contact with Zaithan's magic — the Seraph lieutenant, Kellach, and his descent into madness as Zaithan's corruption devoured him — and from the dark fate of Apatia.

The journey through Maguuma, with the threat of being killed and used by Mordremoth was particularly straining but she held on and swallowed her fear — only addressing it with her brother — because the Pact needed a Commander and most importantly her friends needed saving.

But when they reached Elona, and both Balthazar and Joko seemed to make a personal stake of defeating and humiliating her, she asked Trahearne to find a way to prevent anyone could defile her corpse if she was struck down in battle. He designed the spell, and they found a tattoo artist in Amnoon who inked the assemble of protokrytian runes and ancient orrian protection sigils Trahearne had drawn on her ribcage, at the tip of her heart.

Her resurrection erased the tattoo. Her scars were core memories, images of herself she revisited in the Domain of the Lost, but the rune was one her soul needed to forget, lest not even Grenth would be allowed to bring her back.

Following the death of Joko, the absorption of his magic by Aurene, and her daughter's miraculous resurrection, she choses not to have the provisory design Trahearne retraced on her skin tattooed. If there's a single chance, as Aurene's Champion, that she be blessed with some of the Lich's power to cheat death, she will not let fear hinder her return. She has made a promise to Trahearne and she intends to fulfill it.

#archesa answers #anwen evergreen #anwen swynwr #galaëd of the cycle of dusk #a little season 4 angst because i said so 😅 #(i'm a bit obcessed with season 4 since yesterday!) #(can't think of anything else!)

[archesa]

35, 40, 48 :eyes:

Thanks for the asks!! 😁

35. What was the worst experience in story?

End of Heart of Thorns, where I was, quite obviously, crying my eyes out (I knew what was coming, but I didn't know we'd be the one to kill Trahearne and I wasn't prepared for how brutal his death would be... The fire/leyline energy consuming him, and the explosion ? Huge 'nope' for me! I somehow manage to slap my headcanon that these are Anwen's flames cleansing him of Mordremoth's corruption so I'm good now but...😕) and the cutscene ends, and poof! Suddenly I'm standing at the base of the spiral of the heart of thorns with the lil happy ''quest completed'' jingle!

It took me so much by surprise that I either shouted or laughed (@lilypixy could probably bear witness there, I don't remember which one it was but it was either one or both 🤣)

I was so furious! 😅

40. Do you visit dungeons?

No. I wish I did though! @lilypixy and I should get to it someday ^^ we've been planing on doing so but always end up caught up in the story or the achievements and we never actually get to it!

48. Post last screen you took in game.

Don't have my computer at hand right now, so I'll take a wild guess and provide the screen the da after tomorrow!

It's either a screenshot from Anwen and Meryw in Neo Kaineng or a screenshot of Æthnen and Dairban during one of their infamous flat-fuck meetings 🤣 Probably atop the volcano in Emberbay!

#archesa answers #heart of thorns #heart of thorns spoilers #to be safe #trahearne lives au