Guild Wars: Factions Preview

GameSpot is offering up an "environment" preview for ArenaNet's Guild Wars Factions, in which they profile a handful of locations from the upcoming expansion. A snip about the Petrified Forest:
Two hundred years ago, the Emperor of Cantha was slain by his closest bodyguard--a man by the name of Shiro Tagachi. When this bodyguard was finally brought to justice, his death wail was so powerful and full of hatred that it petrified the forest and turned the sea to jade, forever changing the landscape of Cantha and its neighboring nations.

In the intervening years, life has crept back into the wasteland that was created after Shiro's wail. The sun's rays have broken through the cracks in the solid stone canopy, and where they touch the ground, plants are beginning to grow. Humans have returned as well, building their homes into the trees themselves.