"Yeah. Because he didn't want to not fight the Elder Dragons, the other gods stripped him of his power and chained him in the Mists. He then wanted retribution at any cost, including Tyria's destruction. Which is why you fight and eventually kill him. Balthazar being crazy does not necessarily make the other gods evil, but you see why I'm real nervous about them ever coming back, right?"

"...yeah. Ouch. That would... shake a cleric or two up." Pause. "Kormir, too?"

"I'd say she's the least likely to be evil of the bunch, but I really don't know. I didn't like her much when I met her in Tyria. To be clear, I've also played a video game set in Tyria, but it was set 250 years before your time. So I have personal first hand knowledge of Tyria, but it's extremely out of date. Most of it's not relevant anymore, but some of it is. For example: I was there when she became a goddess, and I met her before she became one. And I didn't like her. Which isn't necessarily a mark against her character, or anything, I can not like perfectly morally upstanding people, just. I do not trust her, and I don't think I ever knew her very well, especially not after she got dragged into the Realm of Torment. That makes me very nervous. That, and..." She pauses, looking for the right words.

"I'm... I'm leery of Kormir knowing the exact right things to say to get me to shoo. Like, uh." She separates a lock of her hair from the rest of it and twists it between her fingers thoughtfully. "I cannot be defeated in a flat confrontation. That's just not a thing that can happen. Not when I'm still helping to write this story. But I can be reasoned with, and I can be tricked, because I'm a person. People are susceptible to those. I'm not Pedro, but if I were, I'd have Kormir, goddess of knowledge, creepily know way more things than she should. Like all of the conversations in the background I'm having, and all the ways a character could sneak around an author's influence to do what they want. I do not know Kormir, and I do not trust Kormir, and I have decided to take responsibility for an entire world, so I am damn well aware of things that could prevent me from taking proper care of it. And knowledge is one of the things that could stop me. So I'm nervous, and that makes me cautious and cagey.

"That's not to say I think the gods are definitely evil. I don't think they were wrong that a fight between them and Dragons would get very messy, and it could have been the right decision that they made in sincere concern for lives. Maybe they correctly guessed that people could take the Dragons on without them. Maybe they just didn't care. But I don't know. I do know that I have no ulterior motives for Tyria, and that I don't need their help. So I'd rather just keep this world saving in house and not involve them."

He nods. "That makes sense. You've done more in this while than they did in all their time here, anyway."

"Grenth did keep Dhuum in check, and I think Dwayna probably actually healed people," she says, wryly. "But yeah. Thank you. Though technically nothing I've done has actually gone through yet, what with time being paused, so I'm not sure it counts."

"I will be sure to retroactively invalidate my praise if everything turns out not to be fixed when time is resumed."

Giggle.

"Good. That is how it should be."

"And who are you going to replace Grenth with, then? I have a... vested interest in the subject."

Snort.

"I bet. Not to worry, I won't be taking undead minions away from you. Vlast will probably replace him, if he really is up for it. Vlast is Glint's son, he... was not well socialized by his caretakers, and finds being the second Glint really exhausting, especially since he didn't bond with anyone, but he's doing it anyway out of love for his mother and duty. He um, dies to save you, if no authorial meddling occurs. So." She coughs. "Apparently he will be much happier if he can just have the Underworld, not be bothered by anyone, and be ultimately free to not try to live up to his mom's legacy. ... Oh, I'll also be resurrecting Glint, because I don't see why I shouldn't do that. But I think she'd be better off in a more active role."

"Huh. Destiny's Edge is going to be very interested in that. ...do you think you could bring Snaff back, too?"

"Sure. I'll want to think of a plausible reason for his resurrection so people don't realize I'm directly meddling in the affairs of the world, but I think 'A nice Dragon takes over the Underworld' is probably a pretty compelling reason."

"And it being Glint's child—I though he was called Gleam?—also explains why she's coming back. Although I didn't think dragons went to the Underworld."

"Gleam was the name the bards gave him, as the baby that lives up to Glint's legacy. Which is an awful lot of pressure to put on a baby, really. Vlast is the name he picks for himself. I don't think they do, but I think there's probably some kind of clever way we can make it plausible that she comes back." She peers at the Guild Wars 2 Wiki. "... Apparently some people called the Zephyrites harvested the magic from her corpse and turned it into a really big airship. Okay then. Resurrecting her could have something to do with that."

"Ah, yes, they're in Lion's Arch helping with the rebuilding efforts. I did not know about the magic, though."

"They also have the last of Glint's eggs. It's unhatched, but—okay, I think I should probably explain precisely what happens in your storyline, so you can know what I know. So you just dealt with Scarlet, and the day was very annoyingly not entirely saved, despite having killed her?"

"...yeah," he sighs. "I couldn't—failed to stop her, and I don't even know what she was trying to do."

Wince. "Sorry. She was, um. Trying to wake Mordremoth." Extra wince. "... Succeeded. At waking Mordremoth."

"Why."

"Um." She swallows, then sets her shoulders and lifts her chin and steels herself and forges on. Her voice takes on a calm, slightly authoritative tone. "Let me be clear, do not repeat this to anyone. The only people that know about this are Caithe and the Pale Tree, and none of the sylvari are at fault. They were originally grown to be his minions. The Pale Tree is a purified Blight Tree of his creation. As he wakes up, he begins twisting their minds and forcing them to meet their original purpose. Scarlet included."

"Fuck."

"Yep. But I am now here, so he will not be doing that mind twisting nonsense."

He nods. "That one would have been one I'd have a pretty hard time dealing with. My expertise, as the Queen sometimes likes to remind me, is hitting things."

Snort. "Well that's not very nice of her. I think you're also useful for looking suitably heroic while hitting things."

"Ah, of course; my dashing good looks must serve some purpose after all."

"Yep. I worked hard for those, damn it," she sniffs.