Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons: Full Main Theme - End of Dragons

End of Dragons' Main Theme begins with a prelude that you can recognize instantly, if you heard Factions' Theme - it's a clear callback to Jeremy Soule's composition, but the instrument used to play this motif is called: daegeum, which is a large bamboo flute, and is accompanied by soft violin. That's why I also decided to put a fragment of Factions' trailer, when Vizu crippled Shiro, so that Archemorus and Saint Victor could deal the final blow.
Then many instruments, which are trumpets, violins, french horns... (that have been used many times in that past, and are integral part of GW2's OSTs) play melody quite similar to Heart of Thorns' Theme. With addition of daego - a big barrel drum, which keeps the beat. I wanted to empower the energy of this beautiful orchestral opening by including the edited by me, fragments of the first End of Dragons' teaser.
The next part of this track slowly combines orchestral melodies with traditional Korean music - Gugak, you can hear this gentle metallic sound (pyeongyeong?), and I think geomungo, which is a zither which is played with a bamboo stick. In the video I wanted to put some older GW2 cinematics fragments that show the magic circle, because Joon says in the trailer: "Cantha is not just a spoke in some grand cosmic wheel" - that's why I used the cinematics from Path of Fire - the moment Deep Sea Dragon was shown in the triangle, slowly fading into the All, which Scarlet Briar saw, thanks to the experiments on ley lines that Omadd made.
Ever since Season 2, we have been trying to take into account the machinery of the All, or "Cosmic Wheel", and Aurene was the dragon that was meant to join the circle of Dragons. There have been few moments in the story that slowly have introduced us into how complicated Dragons really are.
That's why, when daegeum once again starts playing, I put Aurene's ascension cinematic from Season 4, after Kralkatorrik said "Mother", and we heard tidal waves while Aurene ascended.
Daegeum then combines with the raw, beautiful melody of taepyeongso, that's why I wanted to empower this strong, beautiful rawness with the footage of Jormag and Primordus's Clash, which released magics show the way to Cantha.
Taepyeongso's melody I felt really shows the wild magic, and I love that incredible vibratto which plays when Aurene communicates with "Mysterious Voice" in Cantha.
Once again the orchestral and traditional music lead sort of a musical dialogue, which I feel represents Tyria and Cantha, that's why I put the transition in the video when Aurene and "Mysterious Voice" create a link between two continents. Orchestral music tries to sound more and more "Canthan", tries to imitate the melodies, learn the new feel that it meets.
Then I decided to create portals in between CGI cinematic, and in-game footages, starting with the New Kaineng City, which opens with orchestral melody, but then also introduces Korean instruments: the metallic soft sound, geomungo and I think also haegeum (resembling a vertical fiddle with two strings), and daego. I wanted this fragment to play with Tyrian representatives and the Empress' meeting.
When Empress Ihn's figure transitions to her portrait, other instrument joins in, which is piri - a short flute, which plays until I transitioned the Kaineng City's footage to the Echovald Wilds...
And then a new element appears with orchestral fragment, which is synth! Beautiful, gentle melody of synth captures the modern Cantha really well. When it transitions to the in-game footages of the Echovald Wilds, synth gets more hearable, and the fragments says: "Once petrified and lifeless", which then I wanted to transition to the footage of the aftermath of what happened after Victor, Vizu and Archemorus killed Shiro - The huge magic wave released from the Harvest Temple, which turned the Jade Sea into solid stone, and made Echovald Forest petrified.
The music fragment that plays when I try to show that moment from many centuries ago gets wilder thanks to Korean instruments, it gets intense, vivid, chaotic - synth and orchestral melodies are replaced by geomugo, daego and pyeonjong (set of bells).
After Echovald Wilds section, music changes again, when I show Shing Jea Island and Jade Sea, piri and taepyeongso with daego, and orchestral music combines together - no longer separated, play in harmony.
The whole piece ends with orchestra and taepyeongso, pyeongyeong and synth fading one by one.

I think overall this is a track that tells a story of two different musical styles, at first playing separately, but then segement after segment those styles combine, try to get along, try to harmonize, and find a common ground, until it happens. And I think persue for modernity, moving forward (which I think is represented by synth - common ground), then once synth is introduced, Gugak and orchestral music starts to communicate, and in certain moments become one.