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So. Do anyone who isn’t a gw2 player, some context. There are big dragons called elder dragons trying to end the world. At this point in the story, 2 elder dragons have been successfully killed by the military alliance (the Pact) that the player character (the pact commander, or just the commander) is the second in command of.

However, the attempt to kill the second elder dragon went very, very wrong. The vast majority of the Pact were destroyed, leading to a huge in story death toll including several major characters. This death toll includes the legendary hero, Eir Stegalkin, who is also Braham’s mother. Eir was the leader of a guild dedicated to killing the elder dragons, Destiny’s Edge.

Eir is a Norn. Norn society places a heavy emphasis on their legacies. Norn are expected to make names for themselves with notable deeds and legendary acts. Eir left Braham in the care of his father as an infant in order to accomplish these legendary acts. Braham had only just barely started to reconnect with Eir when she was murdered in front of him.

After Eir’s death and the wounding of two other key members, Destiny’s Edge is by and large considered over. A surviving member of the guild forms a new one with the player character. This happened at Eir’s funeral, which Braham did not attend because he was taking Eir’s death very hard.

Let’s look at the one and only time we get to talk to Braham after Eir’s Funeral. Quotes screenshot from the wiki and ID in alt.

There’s a lot that can be taken from this dialogue. But its’s pretty obvious that this is a young man facing a lot of pressure to live up to his mother’s legacy. He’s not even doing this for the glory of it all. He wants to save people from the same pain he’s feeling now. These are the exact same desires of the player character, because Braham is a foil to the commander.

Does he lash out? Yes. He does. Is what he says hurtful? Yes! But it makes sense for his character and I sincerely believe this does not warrant the hate he still gets years after the fact.