The MMORPG “WildStar” is about to launch, as early access begins on May 31 for all pre-order customers. For those who are not familiar with the various races and how their backstories are interwoven, we offer a summary here so that you know about each race.
I will introduce the races in the order they appear historically – luckily it also fits wonderfully with their affiliation, as the Dominion races come to the fore first before leaving the field to the Exiles. I will primarily focus on the intertwining of the story rather than detailing the peculiarities of each race – if you want to read more about that, you will have to beg!
The Dominion
Mechari
The mysterious race of Eldan created this species on the planet Nexus to observe the various other worlds of the galaxy and ultimately report their discoveries back to their creators.
The Mechari resemble robots but possess consciousness and personalities stored in their “head crystals.” Although the Mechari were created by the Eldan and served them, they never fully grasped the extent of their creators’ plans.
Cassians
About 2000 years ago, the Cassians (= humans) from the planet Cassius experienced a significant technological advancement, attracting the attention of the Mechari, and ultimately, the Eldan.
At the command of their masters, the Mechari fleet landed on Cassius and demanded from the leaders of the humans the legendary Valkyrie “Tresayne Toria,” an exceptional warrior. If the humans resisted, the consequences would be terrible, but if they complied, they would receive a gift of immeasurable value. The Cassians agreed, and Tresayne was taken to Nexus. After some time, the humans received their gift: the human-Eldan hybrid Dominus, who claimed to be the son of Tresayne.
But that was not all: Dominus brought superior Eldan technology and promised that if loyalty was sworn to him, they would together build the greatest empire in the galaxy. The Cassians unanimously agreed, and Dominus became the Emperor of the newly founded Dominion while the Mechari continued to follow the commands of their masters and aided the Dominion in expanding the empire as soldiers and advisors.
Draken
About 340 years after the founding of the empire, the Mechari recognized that the Dominion needed new soldiers to continue expanding and proposed to recruit the Draken from the planet Mikros.
This clan-living, dragon-like species believes in strength and violence to earn respect. Therefore, Emperor Azrion (the direct descendant of Dominus) landed with his army on Mikros, where the largest clan of the Draken was gathered. Azrion challenged the clan leader Zhur to single combat, with the winner obtaining absolute rule over Mikros. Despite Zhur’s untamed strength and ferocity, he was no match for the Eldan-human hybrid Azrion and died after a long battle, which led the Draken to swear loyalty to the Dominion.
Since that day, Mikros has been part of the Dominion, and the Draken are respected warriors within their ranks – even if their blood rituals and somewhat barbaric lifestyles sometimes raise eyebrows.
Chua
Approximately in the year 450 AE (After Empire: “after the founding of the empire”), the Mechari noticed the forest planet Bezgelor and the primitive yet intelligent Chua inhabiting it. They were curious and quickly became capable of understanding technological concepts, and they had a strong sense of competition.
The Mechari initiated conversations with the Chua and, hoping to accelerate industrialization on Bezgelor, brought a few simple Dominion technologies to them. The furry folk promptly thanked them with a counter-gift: a Bezgelorian tar beetle. According to its nature, the beetle exploded immediately in the hands of its new owners and covered everyone present with corrosive slime – the laughter of the Chua was said to be heard as far as Cassius.
Nonetheless, these “negotiations” led to the desired success. Within a few decades, the former forest planet was overrun by factories, and the Chua had exhausted the resources of the planet, thus they were compelled to join the Dominion in 538 AE. Since then, they have produced a large part of the weapons for the empire and continually seek new methods to dismember, blow up, decay, or otherwise inflict suffering on their enemies.
The Disappearance of the Eldan
Precisely in the year 600 AE, the Mechari received no further instructions from their creators, the Eldan. Despite their astonishment at this, the Mechari have since continued to carry out the last order: to support the Dominion and secure their rule in the galaxy.
What exactly happened to the Eldan is unknown and remains one of the greatest and darkest secrets of the galaxy, but over time, the once legendary Eldan have turned into mere stories and legends.
The Exiles
Granok
The stone beings “Granok” have lived on the planet Gnox for thousands of years, leading simple, uncomplicated lives. They grew grain, forged armor and simple weapons, drank a lot of beer, and engaged in lively bar brawls, after which they mostly made peace again – and drank even more beer.
Furthermore, they followed a simple teaching, the “Way of Stone”: No matter how much the world around them might change, the Granok remained the same and unchanging, like the living stone of which they themselves are composed. In 1219 AE, the Mechari envoys of the Dominion landed on Gnox and offered the Granok technology in exchange for their loyalty to the Emperor. The Granok refused, and after further discussion, transformed the envoy into a pile of smoking scrap, which led the Emperor to perceive the Granok as dangerous and declare war on the planet Gnox.
Despite their inferior technology, the robust Granok held out for months until the technological advantage of the Dominion slowly but steadily shifted the tide of war.
A young war chief of the Granok named Durek did not want to accept defeat and chose to act against the “Way of Stone”: With some troops, he stormed the military camps of the enemy and stole a large amount of weapons and technology.
Without technological superiority, the losses for the Dominion became too great, forcing them to retreat from the planet Gnox.
Durek, who survived as a war hero, was banished by the other chiefs of the Granok for breaking the “Way of Stone” and has since borne the name “Durek Stonebreaker.” He was forced to leave the planet along with his comrades, which was made possible due to the stolen technology. Since then, these exiled Granok have lived as mercenaries throughout the galaxy, but their hatred for the Dominion still remains.
Exiled Humans
As the Dominion Empire continued to grow, it became necessary to enact harsher laws to maintain control over the large numbers of inhabitants. Some of the laws displeased the humans, leading to the first protests against the Emperor around 1375 AE, which escalated into attacks on authority figures that were promptly crushed by the Cassian military – humans were thus killed by humans.
The military’s intervention led the highly decorated General “Serrick Brightland” to turn against the rulers, and his flagship “Star of Dominus” was used to provide shelter for the rebelling Cassians. Together with his loyal officers and soldiers, Serrick and the rebellion achieved several significant victories against the empire; however, the Dominion could draw on the resources of several planets while the rebels had no place for rearmament. Just in time, the rebellion realized that escape was their only option to avoid annihilation, and so the rebel ships fled into space.
However, time was not enough, and Serrick threw himself into the approaching Dominion ships to buy his followers more time. The Imperial ships were so surprised by this suicide attack that all rebel ships managed to escape, and against all odds, even the “Star of Dominus” later managed to rejoin the rebels. However, Serrick was so severely wounded that he has been in cryosleep since then – hoping to be awakened one day. The “Star of Dominus” was renamed “The Gambler’s Ruin” and has since served as one of the Arkships of the Exiles.
Mordesh
When the Dominion encountered the Mordesh of the planet Grismara, they were already very advanced. An absolute high culture, the entire species was endowed with elegance, grace, longevity, and their knowledge in alchemy overshadowed even that of the Dominion – moreover, they speak in alliterations, which makes them particularly cool.
The future of this species would be glorious now that they had joined the empire – or so it was thought. In 1578 AE, the alchemist “Victor Lazarin” developed the Everlife Elixir, a mixture that would relieve all consumers of the burden of mortality. The Mordesh relied on Lazarin’s genius, and so the elixir was distributed throughout Grismara. However, enthusiasm quickly turned to dismay, as although the mixture halted the aging process, it also initiated a decaying decomposition of all consumers, paired with mindless, cannibalistic rage.
The Dominion reacted promptly and placed Grismara under merciless quarantine. Within a few weeks, the elven-like race was decimated to a fraction of its original size, suffering losses of over 99%. During this time, Lazarin developed the “Vitalus Serum” and administered it to those Mordesh who were still sane. The serum does not heal the necrotic decay, but it suppresses psychological symptoms like the unquenchable hunger for flesh.
In their desperation, the remaining Mordesh reached out to the Exiles, who gradually smuggled them out of Grismara. Since then, the Mordesh have been searching for a cure and are tasked with the continuous production of the expensive Vitalus Serum – for if they go 10 minutes without it, the Mordesh irreversibly transform into flesh-eating zombies.
Aurin
For millennia, the Aurin lived in peace and harmony with nature on the planet Arboria until the Cassian rebel fleet arrived. The lively Aurin liked humans, and a friendship quickly developed between the two races.
To avoid attracting the Dominion to Arboria, the Exiles quickly left the planet. Despite all precautions, the Empire still managed to track down Arboria and declared the planet and all its inhabitants enemies for having helped the rebels, which led to the attack on the forest planet in 1656 AE.
The Aurin fought bravely, but they had nothing to counter the mechanical scythes, so the current queen, Myala Everstar, sent a distress call to the Exiles, who quickly devised a plan: they would evacuate the Aurin while pushing the Dominion back with Granok mercenaries – the rocky fellows had a score to settle anyway.
The plan succeeded, but it did not manage to save all Aurin, so Myala swore in 1658 to one day return and rescue the remaining Aurin. The fate of Arboria has been uncertain ever since.
The Discovery of Nexus
Immediately following the Arboria War, the planet Nexus was discovered, and the Exiles have set themselves the goal of populating this planet and establishing it as a new home, while the Dominion seeks to claim the planet for themselves, as it is said to be the original planet of the Eldan – the beings they have proclaimed rulers of the galaxy.
Which side will you stand on and with which race?
Now nearly 7 years have passed since the discovery of Nexus, and the colonization of the planet is still progressing slowly. Both the Dominion and the Exiles have a complex profile that makes it very difficult to categorize them into “good” and “evil,” as their “claim” to this world is no stronger than that of their opponents – especially since the planet itself also has inhabitants that need to be driven out.
This leaves only one question standing in the vastness of space: Which side will you stand on? With which race will you do that? And most importantly: Why exactly this species? Let me know in the comments!
Did you know that in WildStar there are no race bonuses, unlike many other MMORPGs? You can learn more about this Race bonuses gone! – MMO Racism at an End.
