Introduction
Before I begin, I wanted to rectify some details I have presented in a previous post about the nature of the relationship between the briar of Briarthorn Den and the Pale Tree. In the short story “What Scarlet Saw” the briar is said to cling to the tree like a desperate lover. I posited that the two could be in some sort of twisted love tragedy. Recently, however, I re-read “The Movement Of The World”, which reveals that the Pale Tree is an oak, a monoecious species. I missed this seemingly insignificant detail. Consequently, I do not believe that there is any “personal” relationship between these two plants. Furthermore, although I once believed that the Pale Tree produced drupes (I was guessing, having overlooked the detail about it being an oak), clearly it produces acorns. I’m sure many other players already know this, but I’m pointing it out nonetheless for the sake of bringing anyone who might have missed these things up to speed.
The Potential Relevance Of This Detail
The fact that the Pale Tree is an oak does provide a clue about the following statement posted in the wiki entry for the Pale Tree:
“Twenty-five years prior to the start of Guild Wars 2, the Pale Tree birthed the twelve Firstborn sylvari. More sylvari joined them six to seven years later, with more following with greater frequency and in greater numbers.”
This is a reference to a botanical phenomenon known as a mast year, often observed in plants such as oaks. For the Pale Tree, it seems that every year is a mast year (compared to the former). I’m not sure if the compiler of this wiki article added this detail on his or her own behest, or whether they were copying something verbatim from another source. However, it is encouraging to learn that development has put such attention to detail into their game.
Malyck’s First Memory
It is hard to imagine a Living Story Season 2 that does not deal at least in passing with the origin of Malyck. This mysterious sylvari is probably the most famous member of his race, although very little is actually known of him. Indeed, it would seem that even Malyck doesn’t know many of the things to which he seeks answers. Players of the sylvari storyline dealing with him, however, attempt to help him draw some conclusions. They do so in conjunction with either Caithe or Trahearne.
Traditionally, Caithe’s assistance has been viewed as beneficial, whereas Trahearne’s has been the subject of mixed reviews (like so many other forms of “aid” the latter is known for). Both firstborn try to reconcile Malyck to the Dream of the Pale Tree; both try to help Malyck recover what they presume are “lost” memories. Caithe does this in a very practical manner, tracking Malyck’s movements back to his pod. Trahearne, a scholar at heart, opts instead to introduce Malyck to Amaranda The Lonesome, another mysterious sylvari with unusually strong ties to the Dream of the Pale Tree. In both cases, the same conclusion is reached: Malyck was not born of the Pale Tree.
But the enigmatic utterance of Amaranda The Lonesome has long been the subject of speculation by the player-base. To what is she referring?
It is this question which I am proposing an answer to.
When questioned by the firstborn, Malyck states that his “first memory…was lying by a river, staring up at an arched bridge”. Caithe later accompanies Malyck to this bridge, located in the Brisban Wildlands between the Gotala Cascade and Venlin Vale. From here, Malyck is able to point out the location of his pod, further upstream and much closer to the Ogotl Grounds of the cascade. Trahearne is afforded no such conveniences. He never locates Malyck’s pod. Instead, he asks Amaranda The Lonesome to help Malyck recover his memories. Amaranda searches Malyck’s mind before uttering the words,
“A distant shore – and darkness. A root, a cave…you. You are the seed. What Ronan knew and never told still lingers in the Dream.”
The prevailing interpretation of this statement is that Amaranda is referring to the events surrounding Ronan’s acquisition of the seed of the Pale Tree. However, there is another possibility – Amaranda may be relaying the details of Malyck’s first memory. To try to demonstrate this, consider where Malyck’s pod was located. It was in a river some distance from Amaranda’s location, “a distant shore”. It was in “darkness”, a “cave” to be precise, within which roots can be seen.
Conclusion
If this second interpretation is correct, it would mean that there was no contradiction between the details emerging from Caithe’s path and Trahearne’s path.