Guild Wars 2

So yesterday in Verdant Brink I came across something that caught my eye. Initially, I noticed that one of the canopy islands was well high above the rest and got interested in reaching it. I eventually managed to, only to later find out that a copter takes you right to it, but found it to be more interesting than simply the highest place on this side of Verdant Brink.

On the island is a point of interest: “Ascendant’s Ring.”: This is a circular structure that has been overgrown and buried, made of gold like in The Sealed Cave and with eight pillars on the top side of the structure with eight more on the outside, going into the ground. Both sets of pillars are exactly the same, as you can find some popping through the ground and even the edge of the platform; the outer ones are placed in the center of the gaps of the inner pillars.

While the design and size differs, the placement of the pillars and the circle itself reminded me greatly of the Altar of Glaust. The main difference being how it would be held up – either the Ascendant’s Ring was built into the ground, or was elevated like the Altar of Glaust was – but where the Altar of Glaust is elevated by a large base, the Ascendant’s Ring would have been elevated by the eight outer pillars.

Due to the similarity I saw, I began wondering if this could be where the Pale Tree’s seed (and Malyck’s Tree’s seed) were purified? Perhaps as a prototype for the Altar of Glaust – smaller and weaker to purify a non-champion dragon minion?

What caught my eye the most was the champion fight that happens at night there. It’s a triad of champion mordrem that share abilities with each other on proximity. When you arrive, they’re kneeling in the center. But more interestingly is that after you kill the three champions, a legendary spawns (seemingly dropped in – though I didn’t get a good look), and without any indication on the legendary mordrem’s part (again, didn’t get a good look at his spawning), a barrier forms around the Ascendant’s Ring, connecting the pillars. Almost as if the barrier formed due to the presence of a very powerful dragon minion…

I’ve attached a series of screenshots for others’ comparison.

Like I said there’s clear difference between the two in size and design, but the equidestant eight pillars is questionable, at the least.

Curiously, there’s also a mordrem vine that stops directly over the circular structure, poised almost to try to strike at it… but prevented.

Others’ thoughts?

As I mentioned in another thread I don’t think the seeds had to be purified in the first place, because I would guess they are uncorrupted before they sprout and Blighted Trees get corrupted as they are growing. Seeds don’t have a mind on which Mordremoth can grasp his corruption.
Also it sounds very unlikely that Ventari or Ronan went deep into the jungle to place a seed (from which they likely can’t know its corrupted) in a circle, which they likely don’t know exists, to perform a ritual, which they likely don’t know either. And who did it for Malycks tree? Or do you think the cave where Ronan found the seed was from a (druidic?) cult who wants to stop Mordremoth by cleansing seeds? Sounds ineffective.

But I can definitely see the similarities and this circle having a place in the story for this purpose – to remove the corruption of an important character. I heard rumours once it would be possible for the sylvari player character to become a mordrem guard, I don’t know if its true or where this information is from, but if thats the case, thats probably our place to be, since we don’t want our PC to stay that way.

The champions are probably send to try to destroy the circle (for obvious reasons)?

On one hand, yeah, I agree with Amraston: it wouldn’t make sense for Ronan or Ventari to have gone outta their way to purify the seeds in the Maguuma Jungle. But, in contrast to that, who said it had to have been either of them?

We’ve no prior knowledge of Mordremoth’s activities following the last rise of the Elder Dragons; we’ve no idea if anything like the Sylvari/Mordrem Guard have existed before in this capacity, in these conditions. It’s very feasible to think that, following the transition to dormancy, something stole the seeds necessary for what is essentially a minion factory, purified them, and hid them away to reduce the power Mordremoth would have upon awakening.

Did the barrier look like anything special? Maybe hints of Divine Fire/Forgotten influence? Or was it more just general “barrier”?

Amraston.2846:

As I mentioned in another thread I don’t think the seeds had to be purified in the first place, because I would guess they are uncorrupted before they sprout and Blighted Trees get corrupted as they are growing. Seeds don’t have a mind on which Mordremoth can grasp his corruption.

If the Pale Tree is not corrupted, then how are the sylvari dragon minions?

Amraston.2846:

Also it sounds very unlikely that Ventari or Ronan went deep into the jungle to place a seed (from which they likely can’t know its corrupted) in a circle, which they likely don’t know exists, to perform a ritual, which they likely don’t know either.

I never said Ronan or Ventari utilized this ancient, unknown-until-now ritual that had last been used 3,000+ years ago. In fact, I explicitly stated that I don’t adhere to the theory that Ronan and/or Ventari purified the seed – in any fashion.

I’m saying that the ancient races likely purified the Pale Tree’s seed (and the other seeds/creatures in the cave) at Ascendant’s Ring, most likely as a test to see if the ritual would work before attempting it on a powerful mind-reading dragon champion (Glaust aka Glint).

Amraston.2846:

And who did it for Malycks tree? Or do you think the cave where Ronan found the seed was from a (druidic?) cult who wants to stop Mordremoth by cleansing seeds? Sounds ineffective.

More likely a trove of previous purified dragon minions. Would be as effective as purifying Glint, wouldn’kitten if one became a dragon champion?

Amraston.2846:

I heard rumours once it would be possible for the sylvari player character to become a mordrem guard, I don’t know if its true or where this information is from, but if thats the case, thats probably our place to be, since we don’t want our PC to stay that way.

I’ve only heard this being a wild hope/speculation of players.

Shevek.2691:

Did the barrier look like anything special? Maybe hints of Divine Fire/Forgotten influence? Or was it more just general “barrier”?

I put an image of it there. Though due to it being night time, it’s a bit hard to see.

It appears golden, like the structure. But effectively it’s the same – but retextured – from the barrier that the Molten Firestorm creates in its phase 2. Air waves in appearance and pushes players outward, off of the platform.

And as an addendum to my comments in the OP:

The barrier does, indeed, appear as the legendary lands (it does indeed land from the sky), but shows no indication of being summoned by the legendary. It wraps from pillar to pillar in a circle. So it seems to be created from the structure, not the mordrem.

If it’s coming specifically from the pillars, it does seem like a reactionary function in regards to the Legendary. It could be another altar similar to the Glaust one, and it may play a central role in the Personal Story—the purification of Sylvari who’ve been corrupted? Maybe, at some point, Glint’s egg due to possible corruption?

If that’s the case in either respect (or more), I’m very interested in the implications. If there’s two, how many actually exist? Maybe Glint had a variety of precautionary plans for the return of the Elder Dragons, and used the Forgotten to enact them.

Alternatively, I recall reading that the Forgotten are from the Mists, too, and are far older than even the earliest civilizations. Maybe they were a vanguard sent by the Gods to “scout” the world? Maybe these altars exist as contingent plans for what the Six foresaw.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

If the Pale Tree is not corrupted, then how are the sylvari dragon minions?

Is it absolutely clear that they are? I would guess people in Tyria just jump the gun a little by calling them dragon minions, because they leap to that conclusion after some Sylvari turned against the pact in a crucial moment. In fact they aren’t yet, they are just the only race responsive to his call, since they’re plants.
How would he have corrupted those seeds? He corrupts by persuading minds, and was asleep. How would he have prepared those seeds? Before he fell into sleep? Thousands of years ago? Probably would’ve decayed.

But if the Pale Tree is indeed a purified minion, the ancient race thing would be a possibility, yeah.

I’m wondering what the purpose of the barrier is.. imprison minions for the duration of the ritual.. maybe?

Amraston.2846:

Is it absolutely clear that they are? I would guess people in Tyria just jump the gun a little by calling them dragon minions,

Developers aren’t people of Tyria, nor is the Dream, nor is the voice sylvari alone hear.

While I’d rather it be a case of Tyrians jumping the gun, or that they would conclude instead that sylvari are corruptible by Mordremoth because they’re plants, that’s not the case.

Amraston.2846:

How would he have corrupted those seeds? He corrupts by persuading minds, and was asleep. How would he have prepared those seeds? Before he fell into sleep? Thousands of years ago? Probably would’ve decayed.

Every Elder Dragon has champions around for when they slept – Primordus had the Great Destroyer; Jormag had Drakkar; Zhaitan had the Giganticus Lupicus; Kralkatorrik had Glint (who betrayed him thanks to being purified).

Why wouldn’t Mordremoth? And what would happen if the champion was killed, and its attempts to create a replacement champion (the seeds) were purified?

We know that dragon minion eggs can go into stasis (see Glint’s egg, and how risen eggs only hatch when hostiles are near), it would not be strange if corrupted seeds are the same – in stasis until the need for them to awake arises. And we know that dragon minions don’t age – at least not like standard mortal creatures do. So I doubt that any corrupted seed would decay over thousands of years if a rotten corpse remains unchanged for so long.

Amraston.2846:

I’m wondering what the purpose of the barrier is.. imprison minions for the duration of the ritual.. maybe?

But why would it push away non-minions (the legendary just teleports into the center if it hits the barrier – unclear if this is to prevent him from being stuck on the outside, e.g., mechanics alone, or if it’s part of the lore of the structure’s barriers)?

Regarding the corrupted status of the seeds: The seed of the Pale Tree, and possibly others, was explicitly created by Mordremoth to create Mordrem Guard. That’s what the revelation of the end of Season 2 was.

It’s natural to presume that anything that was created by the dragon to serve as a minion factory, would already have dragon corruption instilled in it from the beginning. In fact, even if it’s still a seed, I’d argue that Mordremoth would have had to go out of its way for it to not start corrupted, and I can’t see a reason why it would do that. We’ve seen that eggs can be corrupted and hatch into dragon minions, so I can’t see any reason why a seed created by an elder dragon that was intended to grow into a dragon champion (which would then create more dragon minions in turn) would not be corrupted from the start.

Thus requiring, in the Pale Tree’s case, for the seed to have somehow been cleansed to create a sapient tree that can become an enemy of Mordremoth.

Shevek.2691:

Alternatively, I recall reading that the Forgotten are from the Mists, too, and are far older than even the earliest civilizations. Maybe they were a vanguard sent by the Gods to “scout” the world? Maybe these altars exist as contingent plans for what the Six foresaw.

It’s stated in GW1 lore, but that source is suspect. I can’t remember the source, though, but it’s indicated in GW2 lore that they did so as well, although possibly a lot earlier than the ~1700BE that is cited in the GW1 lore.

The GW2 source.

Which more or less confirms two things about the GW1 lore: they as a whole do serve the Six Gods and they as a whole do come from the Mists. And then stats that those in the Crystal Desert were “guardians” left to protect Glint (which is both with and against GW1 lore – the guardian to protect Glint was said then, but not the ‘left behind’ part, as in GW1 it was largely under the impression that all remaining Tyrian Forgotten resided in the Crystal Desert and their ties to the gods were questionable at best).

Aye, that and Ogden’s discussions in Arcana Obscura. Ogden says that the mythology of the Forgotten starts in 1769 BE, but it’s possible that he’s referring to the same source we had in Prophecies which turned out to be suspect. If that was really the first arrival of the Forgotten, then either the dragons have a hibernation period of less than three thousand years (which seems too short for new sapient species to arise and develop into new civilisations) or something has accelerated their awakening this time around.

Given Abaddon, I’d be inclined to argue that “something has accelerated their awakening” in the same manner that something accelerated their slumber (Bloodstone).

TBH, it never made sense for the time since the previous awakening to be in the same line as all prior ones due to those two things. So I’ve always been suspect of Varra Skylark’s claims in Arah.

Probably. The unrestrained Gift of Magic made Tyria’s magical levels go from 15 (since the EDs leaked at least a bit back already) to 100 basically overnight. It might not have fully roused the Elder Dragons from their slumber before the Gift was brought back to acceptable levels, but it probably gave their magic sense that they use to know when to wake up a good couple of nudges.

So with the confirmation that the golden city, aka Tarir, was prepared by the Forgotten, I think that furthers the thought that the Ascendant’s Ring is related to the Altar of Glaust.

Though my question is why wasn’t the Altar of Glaust gold/why do we now have gold stuff?

Konig Des Todes.2086:

So with the confirmation that the golden city, aka Tarir, was prepared by the Forgotten, I think that furthers the thought that the Ascendant’s Ring is related to the Altar of Glaust.

Though my question is why wasn’t the Altar of Glaust gold/why do we now have gold stuff?

Maybe it’s just a matter of using the materials available. Could be that it’s the structure, not the materials it’s build off that is the important part.

Didn’t mean to imply the materials were important, but rather that the change of materials is interesting to note.

However, a thought: in the HoT trailer (the first one) we saw an Exalted making a structure glow golden. Meaning that while the Exalted were hybernating, it wasn’t golden. Or at least as bright.

So maybe if the Exalted were to interact with the Altar of Glaust it would become bight, shining gold?

Maybe that’s the purpose of the golden orb in the Wealdwood which turns the nearby place gold.