I wanted to submit a theory about why the Pale Tree has grown so tall. For this theory, I wanted to use Malyck as a control and by extension, his tree. For the purpose of this theory, I will assume that Malyck’s tree does not participate in the Dream; obviously, Malyck does not participate in the Dream. My theory is this: That the Pale Tree has grown so tall because it sits atop a magical reservoir created by the mass grave site that is the village destroyed by the Mursaat, a grave site in which Ronan’s family is buried.
The grave site might be a point at which the barrier between Tyria and the Mists has weakened due to the nature of death itself. The passing of a soul into the Mists involves the creation of a portal between realms. This portal is like a door; if only one soul is passing, the door can be opened and shut without incident. But imagine if this door was being used frequently – it is open more than it is closed. Mass graves form the kind of point at which this might happen – so many souls are passing into the Mists that the portal between realms doesn’t truly close. Thus, when Ronan planted the seed on the site of the graves of his family, he planted it at a weakening of the barrier between realms within the Mists. As a result, the Pale Tree has access to a form of magic emanating from the Mists, through which she is able to create such things as a portal, project herself in the form of an avatar and also participate in the Dream.
Malyck’s tree was not planted on a grave site (or any unintended magical site, for that matter), thus it did not have access to the same magical reservoir. But Malyck’s tree still produces sylvari formed in the image of humans. It may be that when Ronan entered the cave he handled more of the seeds than he was able to take. In the Tower Of Nightmares, having entered Scarlet’s side room, when you handle the toxic seedling it is said to warm to your touch. As has previously been hypothesized, the seeds may have remembered the genetic profile of whatever being handled them. How it did so, if it did so, I cannot provide any possible explanation for at this time. Alternatively, other humans may have handled the seeds. The general area is considered a hideout for such groups as the White Mantle, after all.
Obviously, this theory considers whatever magical reservoir is sustaining the Pale Tree is “good” – that is, she hasn’t been drawing on magic from the Underworld. Where exactly the Dream is within the Mists is still something to speculate about.
