Guild Wars 2

Hereafter I am presenting a theory regarding the possible identity of the entity. I propose that the being behind Ceara is what could be termed a “fundamental being” or an “elemental being”. This kind of being is “pure” and “simple” in nature. What I mean by this is that it is composed (almost entirely, if not completely) by one of the five (or six) elements of alchemy.

Such beings are commonplace in Tyria. The most obvious are elementals. For fire, we have fire elementals; water, water elementals; earth, earth elementals; air, air elementals. In the case of aether, it is not as easy to find a corresponding “fundamental being”, although a chaos beast is a strong contender for this category. We also have djinn. These beings seem to be of a higher order than elementals, predominantly in regards to their sentience. They too are “fundamental beings” although they arguably could be re-categorized entirely. Of these beings, I propose that a djinn is a strong contender for the entity (credit for this suggestion goes to Etoain; my own investigation has led me to concur with him that this is a strong contender for the entity).
We also have the Elder Dragons – sure, they don’t seem to be representatives of an element, but they do seem to embody certain forms of magic (I can’t remember who pioneered this theory (aka that EDs are embodied eldritch energies), could someone supply a name?). In this way, they are what could be termed “fundamental beings”.
We also have the primordial beings, hinted at in the religions of lesser races such as the grawl, hylek and so on. These beings are possibly the simplest in existence in that they are the closest to the act of creation. Such entities would be Dhuum, “Chaos” (if the concept embodied by chaos beasts can be personified), possibly also the Dream and the Nightmare, and so on and so forth.

In summary, I propose that the entity is what I will term a “fundamental” being, something which could only be encountered in the Eternal Alchemy which represents an element/aspect of it: A djinn, an elder dragon or a primordial being.

In the matter of possible djinn “hiding” among us, I would like to propose three potential figures:
1) The Old Man Of Auld Red Wharf
2) Lady Grimassi
3) Isgarren

This is pure speculation.

I don’t think Djinn are a strong contender at all – a Djinn would have nothing to gain from manipulating Scarlet, nor do I imagine they would have a particular care for the goings on of Tyria.

I’d say a djinn would care for the goings-on in Tyria, and because of that it’d be out of character for one to be behind Scarlet. All the djinn we’ve seen that aren’t bound by humans to certain artifacts or sites (like Zomorros) have been caretakers and defenders of nature. In other words, exactly the sort to want to destroy the kitten that made a toxic waste of the prettiest zone in the game.

If we consider at Scarlet’s minions, do we think they will align with this entity? Should we be thinking of something that could give these alliances a new future, giving some reason to why the alliances still follow Scarlet. You’d imagine that the krait and pirates would have nothing to do with the elder dragons, for example, so perhaps the entity is something completely different.

Hi guys,
It was a bit enthusiastic of me to be so forward with my ideas. I accept your criticisms, which have helped me to form a clearer understanding of Ceara’s malady.

I was reading about Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy theory today and was struck by a reference to the work of humanist Camille Paglia. She believes that there is a biological basis to the dichotomy. Essentially, the higher cortex of a being is wrestling with it’s older, limbic and reptilian brain. I found this interesting, if only because it suggests that Ceara may be wrestling with herself and it also answers a long-standing question of mine regarding Scarlet’s choice of the krait for the “water” alliance:

Being reptilian, the krait were better suited to synergise with the Nightmare of sylvari consciousness. If this is correct, the idea would be that Scarlet was attempting to break the cycle of Dream and Nightmare represented by the Pale Tree and the Thorn Vine by producing a plant only representing Nightmare and producing progeny that could be termed “Nightmares” – hence the name of the concept art The Nightmare Incarnate. Anyway, that is all that I can really add to this.

Admittedly, an Elder Dragon could still be involved and this insight about the dichotomy could be a hint about the intended role of sylvari.

A slight correction, I still think that if this is more than merely an internal crisis for Ceara, whatever being is behind this will be (what I can only really describe as) “fundamental”. I lump Elder Dragons into this category, as well as personified concepts like Dream, Nightmare and the Elements/Aspects of the Eternal Alchemy (although I really don’t know what they all are).