Guild Wars 2

How exactly do Soundless view the Tablet? Do they follow it as Dreamers do or do they Reject it like Courtiers? Or do they somehow ignore it altogether?
Furthermore, if they ignore/reject the Tablet then why are the Wardens protecting them while they would not hesitate in killing a courtier? Also if they do reject it then what makes them any different from a courtier?

//edited to keep to topic more ^w^

As far as we can tell they still follow the teachings of the tablet, though in more loose a sense than the dreamers, but it is the Dream specifically that they are trying to get away from.

The courtiers do not like the Soundless at all, and if the Soundless had rejected the tablet then they would like them a little more – because that’s what the NC is all about.

The Nightmare Court don’t just reject the teachings of the tablet, they want to corrupt the Dream by causing pain, harm, and suffering to other Sylvari who will then share these emotions with the Pale Tree. They don’t see themselves as evil, yet intentionally bringing harm to others makes them so.

The Soundless on the other hand just don’t like being told what to do. They disapprove of the idea that their purpose in life has already been lain out for them. Hence they try to quiet the connection between themselves and the Pale Tree. I don’t believe any have talked about their views on the tablet. Questioning or rejecting the teachings of the tablet does not automatically make one Nightmare Court, but it makes them a target and more easily lead down the wrong path. The Soundless don’t like the Nightmare Court, so they probably still hold to most of the tablet’s teachings.

It’s not that the Soundless disapprove of “destiny” or anything similar. They are mainly comprised of Sylvari who, for one reason or another, cannot handle their non-stop connection to the Dream. They find the flood of emotions or the empathic connection with other Sylvari to be too much to bear, and they want to cut themselves off from it.

“As I understand it, the Tablet is the whole Sylvari races’ moral guideline and all of them follow it and if they don’t and they reject it or ignore it then they are automatically Nightmare”

=> It’s not that simple, actually. You see Sylvari that aren’t Nightmare Sylvari, but apparently did things that got them banned. I think there’s two NPC in this situation, the only I remember about the most is the one in Caledon Forest, who tells you he got banned because he stole something from a firstborn. There’s also a Sylvari in Sparkfly Fen who complains that some of her friends at the camp started to enjoy killing, or something along those lines.
It’s more about what you do, I think. I don’t see why a Sylvari would be instantly turned Nightmare just because he said “I’m not interested in this Ventari stuff, I’d rather follow my own way, kthx”. It’s clearly about acts, and/or starting to have a twisted mind (Physically or mentally abused Sylvari are also prone to fall into the Nightmare, as you can see in Twilight Arbor, with the conversion-pods thingies : we don’t know exactly what happen inside of it, but they seem to suffer a lot, and sometimes gets changed into Nightmare Courtiers when you save them too late).

For your question about the Soundless and Ventari, I actually think it’s more of a personnal thing rather than “they all do this or that” : they’re all individuals, so their point of view about it must differ from Sylvari to Sylvari. It’s not very realistic to think that they all work the same way.
Some Soundless must follow Ventari teaching, other not, and I’m quite sure it’s possible for a Dreamer to not be interested in that Centaur stuff, and as long as he does nothing criminal, I don’t see why he would become a Nightmare Courtier. Rejecting a philosophy does not equal being a psycho. :’p

From what I understand, the Nightmare Court (NMC) are not inherently evil. They are a group of Sylvari that wish to break the newer generations of Sylvari and the Pale Tree away from the teachings of the Ventari Tablet which are mostly “lawful good” type teachings. The ultimate goal of the NMC is probably a “True Neutral” aligned Pale Tree and Sylvari race. Thus in order to do this, they feel that they need to balance the lawful good influences of the Tablet on the dream with both chaos and evil to eventually reach a state of true neutral throughout the dream.

On the otherhand I don’t think soundless care about this at all. They don’t care so much for the “fate” of the Stlvari race (like the NMC). As such most probably follow its teachings as they are born ewith it etc. What they care for though is simply to not be influenced, by, nor influence the dream.

That’s not really the impression I get, Reikou. The Nightmare Court basically believe that the darker aspects of emotion (pain, hatred, anger etc.) is the TRUE Dream, and the true ideals that Sylvari should aspire to. They believe that such negative emotions is the true natural state of the Sylvari, and that those who follow the teachings of Ventari are simply deluding themselves. They gain converts both by appealing to Sylvari who have more selfish or violent natures, and by torturing and hurting others until they develop a reverse Stockholm syndrome. Ultimately their wish is to feed enough negative memories and emotions into the Dream to try and turn the Pale Tree herself to their beliefs. (Although some who are aware of the existence of Malyck believe that perhaps they can simply find this other Tree and ignore/destroy the Pale Tree since she is no longer needed.)

To sum it up, I think Soundless are the human equivalent of atheists.

To each their own.

Lutenne.7902:

To sum it up, I think Soundless are the human equivalent of atheists.

To each their own.

If Sylvari were Borg, Soundless would be 7 of 9 – intentionally cut themselves off from the collective.

The soundless want to live free from everything, including the tablet, but in peace. The court exists to spread their faith which is based on hate against others, trying to set their own on fire. It’s more like, soundless are simply introverted while the court burns with hate against all sylvari who refuses to join them – even if they say so it’s not true, and they want to “set everyone free from the tablet’s false teachings”, that’s just a lie, an excuse for themselves to justify their terror. There is a huge difference, even if both factions started their journey with the same idea. Sylvari are all about life, love, piece and balance. The soundless is harmless and peaceful, the court isn’t that much.

The soundless probably have a range of views on the tablet, or on morality and ethics in general. A soundless could probably be quite bad. I’d imagine that many Sylvari pirates and other lawless types are probably soundless: the dream would be like having your mom always felling you to straighten up and get a real job.

They can’t become nightmare court without returning (or being dragged back) to the dream.

I don’t think it’s fair to talk about the soundless as a group. In truth, they would probably want to be known as individuals.

The Pale Tree is a strong influence on Sylvari. Some may find the voice of their mother overbearing. Some may find the emotions the floods through them overwhelming. Some may think the dream given to them as disappointing. There are many reasons why a Sylvari may leave the Pale Tree. I don’t think it’s fair to assume they’re all the same.

The Soundless are out to establish their own individuality, find their own paths, for their own reasons. In some cases, they’ll follow the teachings of Ventari, but only after the come to the same conclusions themselves. I don’t see them as “atheists”, but rather “skeptics”. When they hear “All things have a right to grow”, they question whether or not that is true, and try to find the answers themselves.

I imagine that the soundless have the potential to be stronger evangelists of Ventari’s teachings than any other Sylarvi. They would not only have the conviction, but the first-hand experience that upholds the things Ventari teaches.

Of course, they would also be at most risk to abandon Ventari’s teachings as well. I’m sure many soundless have turned to the Nightmare court. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the soundless started worshiping the Human gods, or prayed to the Norn Spirits, or even sacrificed to the fires of the Flame Legion.

Reikou.7068:

From what I understand, the Nightmare Court (NMC) are not inherently evil. They are a group of Sylvari that wish to break the newer generations of Sylvari and the Pale Tree away from the teachings of the Ventari Tablet which are mostly “lawful good” type teachings. The ultimate goal of the NMC is probably a “True Neutral” aligned Pale Tree and Sylvari race. Thus in order to do this, they feel that they need to balance the lawful good influences of the Tablet on the dream with both chaos and evil to eventually reach a state of true neutral throughout the dream.

On the otherhand I don’t think soundless care about this at all. They don’t care so much for the “fate” of the Stlvari race (like the NMC). As such most probably follow its teachings as they are born ewith it etc. What they care for though is simply to not be influenced, by, nor influence the dream.

Seems more like Soundless are Neutral since they try to cut themselves off from the Good vs Evil stuff. If anyone’s still interested in this, the link below explains it quite well.
http://guildwars2roleplay.wikispaces.com/A+Comprehensive+Guide+to+All+Things+Sylvari