In the following event, Sky Pirates of Tyria, released later in June, players originally learned of the evil Scarlet Briar, as Trin uttered her name moments before players arrested her down in her secret hideout.
It wasn't until the Queen's Jubilee and Clockwork Chaos events in August that Scarlet chose to show herself. She took control of the towering Watchknights Queen Jennah was hoping to use as defenders, and subsequently escaped once more.
In the Twilight Assault event in October, players finally discovered that the Aetherblades and Scarlet were working together, and about the giant airship fleet Scarlet was planning to use for a large attack. Her base was later uncovered during the Tower of Nightmares event. In The Nightmares Within episode held mid-November, players finally got the chance to encounter Scarlet, in addition to a krait/sylvari monster.
Released in January 2014, The Origins of Madness event held a massive Twisted Marionette boss for hundreds of players to defeat, summoned by Scarlet. Once down, the boss left a clue for what Scarlet was up to, pointing to the heart of the city of Lion's Arch.In February, during the final episodes of the season, Escape From Lion's Arch and Battle for Lion's Arch, Scarlet finally set her sights on the legendary city which would eventually fall to the minions of evil. The destruction of Lion's Arch was an emotional roller coaster for both the Guild Wars 2 developers and playerbase.
While Scarlet may be out of the picture for now, in her final moments she made it clear that the heroes of Tyria need to prepare for a new master. We'll get to learn more about this new threat in Season 2 of Guild Wars 2, coming July 1. Leah B. Jackson is both an Associate Editor at IGN and Corgi megafan, and not necessarily in that order. Follow her on Twitter and MyIGN!