July 18th, 2011 
Ubi Maior 
Spoiler Warning: This article contains significant spoilers for Edge of Destiny, and minor spoilers for Ghosts of Ascalon.
Writing about Logan is like writing about two or three different personalities that evolve during a story following what seems to be the engine that runs Logan’s life: his emotions.
Let’s start from the beginning.
Logan Thackeray, descendent of Gwen & Keiran Thackeray, is, first of all, a little brother. And like every little brother in the world (Tyria included) he looks up to his older one in awe. Dylan Thackeray sure is a good role-model: a strong fighter, passionate about his kingdom, and sure about his place. He is a Seraph, and we may very well say he is The Seraph. Dylan is the stereotype of the soldier, his strongest desire being only to protect his queen and fight for her as her champion, something he never had the chance to do. Because of that, he has his first reason for annoyance towards Logan when he becomes Jennah’s champion. Being the younger brother of someone that seems so perfect and sure about his way is just too much for young Logan, who at first chooses to play the role of the rebel. Instead of joining the ranks of the Seraph (where Dylan always thought his true place was) he becomes a mere scout-for-hire who works for caravans near Ebonhawk, almost a mercenary in the eyes of Dylan who always looks down on him, denying Logan that big brother relationship he always looked for, and that he will finally find with Rytlock.
The first time Logan and Rytlock meet is in battle. As soon as they both try to kill each other and fail (both being excellent fighters), prejudice and anger start to make room for respect, perhaps even admiration. Their bond soon strenghtens because they both realise they’ve much in common; being two outsiders of their own race, strong action-oriented personalities, and looking both for a place in their lives that truly feels right, righter than being a shiny puppet or taking orders from weaklings. The two wouldn’t ever be able to know each other if it wasn’t for Caithe, the firstborn Sylvari that acts as the good conscience, giving advice, guiding them, and calming them down with her naive yet wise way of being.
STOP...Hammer time!
The third role that Logan plays in the books is almost quiescent at first and then explodes when Jennah takes the scene. I’m talking about being a guardian. Logan fights with a hammer and he is the best at defense. “I’ll guard you, let them come through ME first!” is Anet’s catch phrase for the profession and it sure fits Logan: his way of fighting creates blue magical auras that surprise his enemies and even his allies when they find themselves unharmed and safe instead of smashed somewhere as everybody thought. The true guardian in Logan though, erupts in the arena in Lion’s Arch while fighting to regain his freedom along with Caithe and Rytlock (Edge of Steel team). One day Queen Jennah comes to watch a match and strikes Logan like lightning: smitten by love at first sight, the fighter completely loses his mind and the guardian in him explodes, making him run to her and ask for the role Dylan never got: to be her champion. His relationship with Jennah is very complicated. It’s not clear if the Queen, who is also a powerful mesmer, uses her powers to attract Logan, or just to be sure he can be trusted. Therefore all the warm-hearted letters the two share may be of true love, or they may be a subtle way of pointing Logan (and Destiny’s Edge) in the direction wanted by the Queen. In either case, it would seem Logan is really infatuated with Jennah and while he derives strength from these feelings, he is also deeply attached to her, both for the vow he made (coming to her in the time of need, wherever, whenever she calls) and for the feelings he has towards the beautiful mesmer.
The last role is the simplest yet the most important both in Logan’s life and in the chain of events. He is a human, a living being driven by emotions. Logan is not only the chosen character to play the guardian profession, he is also the chosen ambassador of the human race among the portrait of races that is Destiny’s Edge: Eir is the stereotype of the northern warrior, strong and brutal, Caithe is the wise/naive sylvari, Snaff and Zojja are the smart yet subtle Asura and Rytlock is the ferocious Charr. Logan represents the human race and therefore all virtues and limits of this race are at their fullest in him. He is courageous beyond all, honorable and full of talent yet he is also fragile and emotionally driven: a problem if you are a hero. This is why, because of his very humanity, that he leaves all of his friends from Destiny’s Edge in the beginning of their most important battle. Because he loves Jennah, she called for help and he is just not able to rationalize and see that a greater help could be done right where he was, killing the dragon, instead of leaving the battlefield to save the day somewhere else. The emotion of love completely overwhelms Logan, but he’s a human and humans do so. He is also loyal, both to his heart and his vow so the reader that first blames Logan for all that happens (the defeat of Destiny’s Edge, the death of Snaff and the break-up of the group) after some time should start to at least understand his behaviour… he ran away to save his Queen, his love, the brightest light of his race. Who wouldn’t put everything on the line for such a stake?
Destiny's Edge, the legendary heroes of Tyria
Little brother, rebel, guardian, human….Logan Thackeray is all these and more: there is one last role we know him to play in the novels, a role that is just a bridge to the true fulfilment of the character that we will probably experience in the game (his comeback in Destiny’s Edge and his role as a true Hero-Legend while defeating the Dragons). In the first novel, which takes place after the events of the second, we see Logan as the legendary chief of the Seraph, the old fighter that has lost that sparkle in his eyes, but still has it somewhere deep inside. The bureaucracy and the fights in Divinity’s Reach tire him and his love for Jennah is the only thing that keeps him going. In the official Anet Blog there were some nice passages that described the everyday skirmishes between the Seraph and the nobility, with their own army, to control the capital: here we see a much more mature Logan. The hero is just a legend now, but one of those legends that might come back when the time is right.
Probably the most complex character in the novels so far, Logan Thackeray both is fun to read and hard to embrace. The reader finds themselves both being exalted by the awesomeness of his actions and then screaming in anger for what he does to his friends, leaving a sense of something unfininished that keeps the expectations very high for the last of the novels and the game itself.
To The Readers: What are your opinions on Logan? Love him or hate him? Do you think he was right or wrong about his decision at the end of EoD? What role do you think he’ll play in Guild Wars 2?
Also, check out our lore index for more profiles and story-centric articles.
About the Author: Ubi Maior is an Italian Guild Wars player and fan. He enjoys reading & writing about the game and loves to hear the feedback and opinion of other fans. He can be found on twitter.
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