Description
Arborstone or the Cathedral zu Heltzer (named after Count zu Heltzer) is located within the Echovald Forest and many years ago was the home of the Kurzicks serving as a great city. It now serves as a hub for the Kestrels. The zone starts fairly bare, but the Arborstone Revitalization (The following mastery tracks are unlocked by completing goals in the End of Dragons expansion. A total of 26,416,000 experience and 89 mastery points are required to unlock all of the End of Dragons masteries.) mastery track allows the player to build out this base in a similar fashion to the Eye of the North, unlocking new interactions, services and collections.
The Echovald Forest belongs to the region of Cantha and the Dragon Empire. The region was formerly ruled by the Kurzicks, before Emperor Usoku unified Cantha, now all that remains of them are ruins of what was once the home of the Kurzicks. Many years ago the forest suffered when the Jade Wind was unleashed by Shiro Tagachi petrifying the entire place, over the years the forest has come back to life and now the wildlife thrives.
The Kurzicks were one of the two groups of vassals of the Empire of the Dragon. They once inhabited the Echovald Forest, where they dedicated their lives to art, music and the worship of the Five True Gods. After the Jade Wind, they focused on preserving and restoring the Echovald Forest to its former state. Although its people and culture were destroyed, there are a great number of structures and archaeological remains throughout the Echovald Forest, such as Arborstone.
The Eye of the North is an ancient, huge tower in the Far Shiverpeaks, with architecture matching that of no known species, and now in ruins. It is topped with a hollow spire, the uppermost part of which has always appeared to be either incomplete or broken off. The Eye contains two rooms—the main interior of the tower, which is large and empty save for ghosts of the Ebon Vanguard and an asura gate, and the Hall of Monuments, which was once full of statues commemorating the deeds of the long-dead hero who defeated the Great Destroyer as well as an ancient Scrying Pool.
