View source for Mursaat

{{spoiler|[[The Ruined City of Arah (explorable)]], [[Bastion of the Penitent]], [[Living World Season 3]], ''[[Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure]]'', and ''[[Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds]]''}}
[[File:Lazarus concept art.jpg|thumb|Concept art of [[Lazarus|Lazarus the Dire]] by [[Naomi Baker]].]]
{{quotation|[[Waiting Sorrow]] in [[A Legacy Damned]]|The mursaat. They were often at war. With a dragon, with the seers... Then, for a while, they were trying to keep a door closed. A door to another world. To keep the strangers out of Tyria. But they went about it in an...extreme way. Killed a lot of innocent people. And in the end, the strangers won anyway. And they wiped out the mursaat entirely.}}
The [[mursaat]] were an ancient, terrible race of spellcasters who had once been members of the [[elder race]] alliance in an effort to fight against the [[Elder Dragon]]s during the previous [[dragonrise]]. Known as the '''Unseen Ones''' due to their ability to cloak themselves from view, they could use their [[magic]] known as [[Mursaat Shadowcraft|shadowcraft]] to slip beneath the skin of the world, phasing between [[Tyria (world)|Tyria]] and [[the Mists]].<ref name="Story of the WM">[[gww:The Story of the White Mantle|The Story of the White Mantle]]</ref><ref name="The Unseen Ones">[[The Unseen Ones: A Primer on the Mursaat]]</ref><ref name="Scrawled Notes">[[Scrawled Notes (Seer's March)|Scrawled Notes]]</ref> They were also responsible for creating [[Spectral Agony]], which they used against their enemies with deadly efficiency, and having ties to the enigmatic arcane construct known as the [[Eye of Janthir]].

After the mursaat's disagreements with their [[seer]] allies led to a [[Seer-mursaat war|millennia-spanning war]] between the two races which the mursaat won, they learned about the [[dragon]] [[Glint]]'s [[Flameseeker Verse|Flameseeker Prophecies]], which foretold their doom in the jaws of the [[titan]]s, and set about to prevent the prophecies from coming true. The mursaat created the [[human]] [[White Mantle]] cult to serve their needs in [[Kryta]] and abroad and used [[bloodstone]]s to sacrifice magically potent mortals known as the [[gww:Chosen|Chosen]] to keep the enchanted [[gww:Door of Komalie|Door of Komalie]] in the [[Ring of Fire]] islands shut and prevent the titans from entering [[Tyria (world)|Tyria]] through it.

Despite their efforts to remain hidden, the mursaat's schemes were exposed by Chosen [[Hero (NPC)|heroes]] who ultimately ended up unleashing the titans on Tyria long enough for most of the mursaat to be wiped out in 1072 <small>[[Mouvelian calendar|AE]]</small>, while the remaining mursaat met their end in the [[gww:Krytan civil war|Krytan Civil War]] when attempting to end the rebellion against the White Mantle in 1079 <small>AE</small>. After the mursaat's apparent extinction, there are some who believe that some mursaat might have survived the onslaught against the odds and have been waiting in the shadows for centuries to fulfill the promise to avenge the fallen race one day.

{{spoilers|The Tyrian mursaat are revealed to have been a faction originating from [[Nayos]], the Realm of Dreams, who have been exiled to Tyria as punishment for an unknown crime by the rest of their kind millennia ago.<ref name="The Unseen Ones" /><ref name="Journal of Secrets">[[Journal (Tower of Secrets)]]</ref><ref name="Strength of the Unseen">[[Strength of the Unseen (achievement)]]
:'''Mabon:''' Well, it's likely my own bias, but if we were exiled to Tyria as punishment...
:'''Mabon:''' Then perhaps the demon realm possesses something better than this? Would he want to come back.</ref> Additionally, multiple Tyrian mursaat survived their race's downfall but chose different paths. [[Lazarus|Lazarus the Dire]] swore revenge on humans and [[asura]], while [[Mabon]] decided to join the secretive [[Wizard's Court]] to keep Tyria safe from Mistborn threats. While these two mursaat would perish centuries later under different circumstances, further clues point out to an unknown number of mursaat elders exiling themselves to far corners of Tyria after their disagreements with their faction's bloodstone sacrifices, and the researchers [[Darda]] and [[Orestes]] fleeing titans to unknown lands west across the [[Unending Ocean]] after the Door of Komalie was opened.<ref name="Researcher's Record">[[Researcher's Record]]</ref><ref>[[Scroll (Balrior Peak)]]</ref>|[[Living World Season 3]], ''[[Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure]]'', and ''[[Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds]]''}}

== Physiology ==
The mursaat were a race of floating humanoids with powerful [[magic]]al abilities. They had elongated toes and long black feathers emerging from their backs, and usually wore golden armor. There were no mursaat fighters, instead they had powerful [[Jade Construct]]s that were capable of defending them when their magic was not enough and served as their foot soldiers. Female mursaat did not have perennially enlarged breasts as their chests appeared to be indistinguishable from male mursaat; however, it is unclear if their breasts would grow temporarily after having children of their own.<ref>[[Sybil]] is a topless female mursaat whose chest is indistinguishable from male mursaat.</ref>

The mursaat were exceptionally powerful spellcasters who had retained their magic despite the creation of the [[Bloodstone]], having fled [[Tyria (world)|Tyria]] before its creation. This had made them especially dangerous. Of particular note was their most devastating ability, [[Spectral Agony]], which could kill an unprotected target incredibly quickly, and their powerful magic to shift themselves out of phase with the world that rendered them invisible to any without the [[gww:Gift of True Sight|Gift of True Sight]].

== Culture ==
The mursaat presence in the continent of [[Tyria]] was centered around the [[dragon]] [[Glint]]'s [[Flameseeker Verse|Flameseeker Prophecies]] which foretold the death of their race by [[titan]]s. They went to great lengths and committed great atrocities to prevent the [[prophecy]] from ever being fulfilled; erecting great fortresses of dark jade on the [[Ring of Fire]] islands, and using [[Saul D'Alessio]] and his [[White Mantle]] followers as pawns in seizing control over [[Kryta]] in order to find and slay the [[gww:Chosen|Chosen]], people with magical potential, to keep the [[gww:Door of Komalie|Door of Komalie]] shut and thus prevent a titan invasion. The mursaat were depicted as cruel beings due to the fact that they refused to cooperate with the other ancient races, were selfish and cowardly people, were only concerned with preserving themselves and exploiting others to do their dirty work, and were living in hiding in a half-world.

One of the few distinguishable features of mursaat culture was their jade architecture which could be found wherever they wished to establish a position of power, such as in temples dedicated to them. The mursaat were capable of establishing great fortifications of dark jade—magical defenses and portals—and were especially known for their [[gww:Mursaat tower|towers]]. Their magical constructs would also carry a fraction of their agonizing power, and were elaborate and powerful enough to the point that they could act on their own and possess unique skills.

== History ==
=== Early history ===
{{section-stub|lore|missing additional lore about the last dragonrise and the mursaat-seer war from SotO}}
The mursaat are not native to [[Tyria (world)|Tyria]], but instead originate from [[Nayos]], the Realm of Dreams, which has since become known as a [[demon]] realm. At some unknown time in the distant past, a faction of mursaat were exiled to Tyria from Nayos by their brethren.<ref name="The Unseen Ones" /><ref name="Journal of Secrets" /><ref name="Strength of the Unseen" /><ref name="Researcher's Record" />

As one of the so-called "[[elder race]]s," the mursaat's influence stretches far back into ancient history, to the time of the [[Great Giant]]s, when [[magic]] was wild. Some time around 10,000 <small>[[Mouvelian calendar|BE]]</small>, when the [[Elder Dragon]]s last roamed the surface of Tyria feeding on its magic, the mursaat allied with the other contemporary elder races—the [[dwarf|dwarves]], the [[Forgotten]], the [[jotun]], and the [[Seer]]s—in order to find a way to stop the dragons. The Forgotten and the mursaat fought together against [[Zhaitan]] but failed due to lack of support from the other races.<ref name="mursaattablet">[[Mursaat Lore Tablet]]</ref> Realizing the Elder Dragons to be too powerful a threat to defeat, the elder races agreed to give their magic to the Seers, who would seal it within a [[Bloodstone]], starving the dragons.

However, the mursaat had found a way to become invisible and to literally become out of phase with Tyria. Angered by the other races' refusal to help them and the Forgotten against Zhaitan and wishing to rule the world in their own image, the mursaat betrayed the other races and left them to rot, keeping their own magic and fleeing into a half-world.<ref name="mursaattablet" /> Some time later, at the time of writing of the [[Tome of the Rubicon]], they warred with the Seers, nearly wiping out the race.<ref>[https://1.guildmag.com/ GuildMag issue #1 Interview with Ree Soesbee], GuildMag.com</ref>

In 272 <small>AE</small>, the [[dragon]] [[Glint]] compiled the [[Flameseeker Verse|Flameseeker Prophecies]] which, among other things, foretold of the demise of the mursaat at the hands of the [[titan]]s. From this time, the mursaat's priorities shifted to preventing this eventuality from coming to pass.

=== Fate of the Unseen ===
[[File:Salvation Pass cinematic mursaat.jpg|right|350px|thumb|The mursaat reveal themselves to [[Saul D'Alessio]].]]
The mursaat did not resurface until relatively recently, secretly establishing the [[Bastion of the Penitent]] deep in [[Woodland Cascades]] for important prisoners from different races whom they tortured to mold them to their liking.<ref>[[Scholar Glenna (Bastion of the Penitent)#Dialogue|Scholar Glenna]]</ref> In 1067 <small>AE</small>, before the [[Human-charr conflict#The charr invasion|charr invasion]], the exiled [[Kryta]]n [[Saul D'Alessio]] stumbled upon a city of massive towers reaching into the heavens with alabaster and golden filigree—a mursaat city.<ref>[[gww:The Protectors of Kryta|The Protectors of Kryta]]</ref> Saul, awed by its denizens, returned to Kryta a changed man with the mursaat's blessing as they viewed him as the perfect tool to enact their plans. Before long Saul and his [[White Mantle]] took power from the kingdom's disgraced crown with the mursaat, who remained invisible to all but the Mantle's most devoted, controlling things from behind the scenes.

The mursaat answered Saul's prayers and appeared in battle to help his forces drive back the invading charr. Three of the mursaat—[[Optimus Caliph]], [[Mercia|Mercia the Smug]], and [[Lazarus|Lazarus the Dire]]—appeared and decimated the charr with their devastating [[magic]] and in so doing saved Kryta. However, their assistance came at a price. After destroying the charr, the mursaat turned on Saul's squad, who had moments earlier worshiped them as their gods, and murdered most of them as the Unseen Ones did not wish to be observed by anyone except the most devout. Only a handful of the most zealous White Mantle in the squad survived the unexpected treachery. Realizing Saul's changed attitude at the sight of the massacre and to keep him from telling the Krytan population what he had seen, the mursaat took him with them.<ref>[[gww:Saul's Story|Saul's Story]]</ref>

Following his disappearance, Saul was elevated into a martyr and a hero of Kryta by the new White Mantle leadership under [[gww:Confessor Dorian|Confessor Dorian]] who spread a lie that Saul had died in the charr ambush. The White Mantle grew into a religious cult dedicated to the Unseen Ones and ruled Kryta although the unseen hand of the mursaat was guiding the actions of their leaders who alone were aware of the Unseen Ones. Following the mursaat's instructions, the Confessor and the conclave had the White Mantle use the [[Eye of Janthir]] to find gifted people among the Krytan population and bring these [[gww:Chosen|Chosen]] to the [[Maguuma Jungle|Maguuma]] Bloodstone in [[Bloodstone Fen]] where the selected group was sacrificed in order to keep the Door of Komalie shut.

When it was discovered that the White Mantle were keeping the titans at bay by performing annual sacrifices of Chosen atop the Maguuma Bloodstone, the [[Scepter of Orr]] was stolen from the [[Ruins of the Unseen|Temple of the Unseen]] by the [[Shining Blade]] rebel group, beginning the [[gww:Krytan civil war|Krytan Civil War]]. A group of Shining Blade, having [[Ascension|Ascended]] and thus gaining the Gift of True Sight, were able to bypass the mursaat's invisibility and could, with the aid of one of the few remaining Seers, partially shield themselves from their Spectral Agony. The mursaat were driven out of the [[Shiverpeak Mountains]] and the titans were [[gww:Abaddon's Mouth|released]], breaking the mursaat's stranglehold on Tyria.

When the titans first emerged from behind the [[gww:Door of Komalie|Door of Komalie]], one of the mursaat called [[Lazarus|Lazarus the Dire]] survived by splitting himself up into several aspects and sealing them within members of the White Mantle, disguising them as blessings. Six years later, after the threat of the titans had passed, Lazarus returned to reclaim these aspects, finding that reclaiming them killed their hosts. The host of the final aspect, [[gww:Justiciar Naveed|Justiciar Naveed]], sought the help of the [[asura]] [[gww:Glayvin|Glayvin]] in the desperate hope that they could remove the aspect without the loss of his life. This was not possible, however, but they did manage to damage the aspect. When Lazarus absorbed it into himself, its power turned on him and severely wounded him. Lazarus [[gww:The Justiciar's End|fled]], vowing vengeance on "countless generations".

Not long after, the final few resisting mursaat were killed in [[gww:the Battle for Lion's Arch|the Battle for Lion's Arch]]. As centuries passed, the mursaat were believed to be extinct, even by [[Scholar Yissa|leading experts]] on mursaat history in the [[Durmand Priory]]. However, those same experts did admit that the mursaat tended to reappear when they were finally believed gone for good.

=== [[Living World Season 3]] ===
;[[Out of the Shadows]]
[[File:Lore Blog mursaat.jpg|thumb|[[Lazarus]] bides his time after his brethren's demise before emerging out of the shadows.]]
In 1329 <small>AE</small>, nearly a year after the death of the Elder Dragon [[Mordremoth]], the White Mantle reemerged from the [[Stronghold of the Faithful]] deep within the Maguuma Jungle. "Operation Rebirth" headed by High Inquisitor [[Xera]] was revealed, ushering in the revival of Lazarus. Days later, the Maguuma Bloodstone within [[Bloodstone Fen]] exploded, releasing its magic to be absorbed by an unknown individual. Following the chaotic aftermath Lazarus [[Confessor's Stronghold|showed himself]], fully healed, before the White Mantle and Confessor [[Minister Caudecus|Caudecus Beetlestone]] whom he then deemed a heretic.

;[[Rising Flames]]
Shortly after, as [[Glint's Egg]] hatched in [[Tarir, the Forgotten City|Tarir]], Lazarus appeared to [[Dragon Vigil|defend]] the newborn dragon against [[Primordus]]'s [[Destroyer]]s. He somehow knew of the egg, Tarir, and the attack. He offered an alliance with the [[Pact Commander]], claiming to have learned from past mistakes.

;[[Flashpoint]]
However, Caudecus's journal, which had been recovered during a [[Confessor's End|raid on his manor]], claimed that Lazarus could not have been revived because one of five relics containing [[Aspect of Lazarus|aspects of Lazarus]] had been stolen from Xera and replaced with a fake for the ritual to revive the mursaat. The Lazarus imposter [[Taimi's Pet Project|turned out]] to be the returned [[Six Human Gods|god]] [[Balthazar]] who imprisoned several White Mantle members in [[Draconis Mons]] and replaced them with [[Balthazar's Mercenaries|mercenaries]] in his hunt for the Elder Dragons.

;[[One Path Ends]]
The real Lazarus remained out there, however. Having thought Lazarus revived, the White Mantle had scattered the five artifacts they held across Tyria. Elsewhere, the [[Eye of Janthir]] had left the Bastion of the Penitent upon the demise of the mursaat's prisoner Saul D'Alessio, and was tracking down and collecting the aspects of Lazarus. Using this, the Shining Blade had retrieved the aspects instead, including the one that had been in Caudecus's possession preventing Lazarus's earlier revival.

The final aspect was still in the hands of Balthazar, who had taken it to [[Siren's Landing]] in [[Ruins of Orr|Orr]] before departing. The Eye of Janthir led the Pact Commander and [[Livia]] (then under disguise as [[Exemplar Kerida]]) to [[Abaddon's Reliquary]] where the pair used the aspects to revive Lazarus and confront him. Lazarus was slain in the [[The Last Chance|battle]] with [[The Shining Blade]], a powerful magical artifact of Seer origins. With Lazarus's death, the Eye of Janthir seemingly disintegrated, confirming that the last of the mursaat was finally gone for good from Tyria.

=== Legacy ===
;[[The Ruined City of Arah (explorable)]]
Interest in mursaat has remained in the centuries since their disappearance from Tyria. Researching the mursaat's ability to phase into the Mists, the [[Inquest]] headed by [[Operative Brie]] entered [[the Ruined City of Arah]] following Zhaitan's demise in 1325 <small>AE</small> to find a means to replicate the phasing ability so they could phase out of Tyria and return to rule the world once the Elder Dragons had fallen into slumber again.<ref>[[The Ruined City of Arah (explorable)#Mursaat|The Ruined City of Arah explorable Mursaat path]]
:'''Scholar Yissa:''' Stop right there! You've stolen enough mursaat relics.
:'''Operative Brie:''' We've only just begun. With this knowledge, we can become like the mursaat themselves!
:'''Operative Brie:''' We will leave this world to the Dragons, and then return and rule once they sleep again.</ref>

;[[Living World Season 3]]
Mursaat defenses continued being active in the Ring of Fire, and the White Mantle researched the jade constructs before unleashing them in the [[Siege of Divinity's Reach]] in 1330 <small>AE</small>. In the same year, the Shining Blade made a breakthrough in their research on the mursaat's phasing ability. Using remnants of recovered jade constructs, they created a [[Channeled Agony|sigil]] which allowed its wearer to cast a limited form of Spectral Agony as well as siphon lifeforce when near death. However, using the sigil had its risks: the longer its power was tapped into, the more it would pull the wearer into the "next world," presumably the Mists.<ref>[[Eyes on Lake Doric]]
:'''Exemplar Caulden:''' The mursaat's ability to phase between our world and the Mists allows them to tap into magics unobtainable in the mortal realm.
:'''Exemplar Caulden:''' Spectral Agony is the pinnacle of this ability. And we think we've found a way to harness a form of it for our own use.
:'''<Character name>:''' You've reproduced the powers of the mursaat?
:'''Exemplar Caulden:''' Yes! Well...in a sense. With some limitations.
:'''Exemplar Caulden:''' You see, unlike a mursaat or their construct, you can't phase between our world and the Mists at will.
:'''Exemplar Caulden:''' But while close to death, you've already got one foot in the Mists... "At death's door," as they say.
:'''Exemplar Caulden:''' Using remnants of jade constructs, I've fashioned a sigil that allows you to cast Spectral Agony when you're near death.
:'''<Character name>:''' I try to make it a habit to avoid those "almost dead" moments, but this does sound intriguing.
:'''Exemplar Caulden:''' But I'll warn you: the longer you tap into this power, the more it will pull you into the next world. Use it wisely.</ref>

;[[Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure|Secrets of the Obscure]]
{{section-stub|lore|Missing information.}}

;[[Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds|Janthir Wilds]]
{{section-stub|lore|Missing information.}}
{{quotation|[https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/the-unseen-ones-a-primer-on-the-mursaat/ Official site]|The mursaat practiced a kind of magic called [[Janthir Wilds mastery tracks#Mursaat Shadowcraft|shadowcraft]], which allowed them to travel through a shadowed pocket of existence within Tyria. Using mursaat mirrors, they were able to travel long distances in a short amount of time by passing through that shadowed realm.}}

== Types ==
{{member list}}

;Other mentioned members
* [[Antenor]]
* [[Atticus]]
* [[Baraq]]
* [[Celsa]]
* [[Darda]]
* [[Elka]]
* [[Mercia]]
* [[Miri]]
* [[Optimus Caliph]]
* [[Orestes]]
* [[Otho]]
* [[Poloni]]
* [[Seraf]]

== Gallery ==
{{see|:Category:Mursaat screenshots‎}}
;Concept art
<gallery>
Rise of the White Mantle concept art.jpg|The mursaat and [[Saul D'Alessio]] concept art.
"Lazarus" render.jpg|[[Lazarus]] render by [[Marcus Jackson]].
</gallery>

;Screenshots
<gallery>
Bastion cinematic01.jpg|The mursaat kidnap Saul D'Alessio.
Bastion cinematic02.jpg|thumb|The mursaat and the [[Eye of Janthir]] torture Saul D'Alessio.
Mursaat Shadowcraft mastery pop-up.jpg|[[Mursaat Shadowcraft]] mastery pop-up.
</gallery>

== Trivia ==
* Several features of ''[[The Lost Shores]]'' are allusions to the mursaat, such as [[Ascended equipment]], [[agony]], and [[infusion]].
* The word "mursaat" is a [[w:portmanteau|portmanteau]] of the words "Murder" and "Satan".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201026111110/https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/comment/534148/#Comment_534148 Post by Isaiah Cartwright] in "Hidden Fun Facts gw1", Guild Wars 2 Forums (Archived)</ref>
* The mursaat are also referred to as:
** The Unseen Ones<ref name="Story of the WM" />
** The New Gods
** The Bringers of Wisdom<ref name="Story of the WM" />
** The Eyes That Watch All<ref name="Story of the WM" />
** The Silent Saviors of [[Kryta]]<ref name="Story of the WM" />
** [[Bava Nisos|Nisosian]]<ref name="Scrawled Notes" />

== See also ==
* [[Bava Nisos]]
* [[Bestiary]]
* [[Eye of Janthir]]
* [[Mursaat Armor]]
* [[Spectral Agony]]
* [[The Unseen Ones: A Primer on the Mursaat]]

;Associated items
* {{item icon|Ancient Mursaat Relic}}
* {{item icon|Endless Yagon Tonic}}
* {{item icon|Mini Lazarus}}
* {{item icon|Mini Mabon}}
* {{item icon|Mini Yagon}}
* {{item icon|Mursaat Backpack Glider Combo}}
* {{item icon|Mursaat Brogan Box}}
* {{item icon|Mursaat Robes}}
* {{item icon|Mursaat Runestone}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/the-unseen-ones-a-primer-on-the-mursaat/ The Unseen Ones: A Primer on the Mursaat], Guildwars2.com
* [https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/studio-update-repentance-is-coming-to-guild-wars-2/ Studio Update: “Repentance” Is Coming to Guild Wars 2], Guildwars2.com

== References ==
{{gww}}
<references/>

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