Guild Wars 2

So, in Hoelbrak at the Lost Spirits Hollow, we get some really depressing and ominous dialogue from the shrines to the ‘lost spirits’ there. The spirits in question are Owl, who we know has a decrepit shrine in the Shiverpeak mountains and still retains a shaman and some followers.

The lesser two Spirits of the Wild, are even less known and any attempt to research them bears little fruit, from the wiki to the forums. This thread is mainly about what the dialogue implies, when attempting to “pay respects” to the spirits, as the Spirits of the Wild are less known then the human gods, obviously. But are the only things relevant to being a norn, despite what Samuel Cuttler the human NPC trying to convert norn to follow the human gods in Hoelbrak.

Do we assume that the dialogue at the shrine in question, means Jormag completely devoured Wolverine and Ox? Consuming their magic, as maybe that’s all they are? Or is there something more here?

http://imgur.com/a/87jnp

It’s not unusual for lesser spirits to drop out of contact for a few generations, which is why the norn are so unsure. Most people I’ve talked to leave their survival as a question mark for the time being.

However… if we’re going to be reading into dialogue, my guess is that Wolverine is dead, and Ox/Dolyak is alive.

Oh, and fun fact- there are actually four lost spirits. Eagle also stayed behind to fight, although the poor fella didn’t get a shrine for their sacrifice.

If you pick ‘Protect the Spirits’ as one of your biography choices the level 10 story revolves around the Minotaur spirit. Eir is initially sceptical that the spirit could be involved in current events because it hasn’t been seen in generations, and no one seemed to think there needed to be a reason for that.

I think that’s a key difference between the human gods and the spirits of the wild. The gods are gods of the human race first and foremost. Whereas the spirits of the wild are primarily representations of animals (and natural forces I think). The norn admire them and choose to worship some of them, but it’s not reciprocal to the same degree – most of the spirits don’t feel any need to show themselves to the norn or to interact with them on a regular basis. (Even when you do work with Minotaur during that storyline it’s only because large numbers of minotaurs are also involved.) They will come and go as it suits their purpose.

So the fact that we haven’t seen Wolverine or Ox may simply mean that their focused elsewhere. Unless I’ve somehow missed them there aren’t even any wolverines in the parts of the world we’ve visited, and most of the dolyaks are tame – the spirit may feel they’re fine with the protection they’re given (or alternatively may feel they’re a lost cause due to being domesticated).

It could also mean that they’re dead, or too weak to show themselves.

From a story perspective I think the uncertainty is deliberate. The norn know the spirits confronted Jormag – at great risk to themselves – to give others time to flee. They know Jormag wasn’t killed but otherwise the outcome is unknown. They don’t know whether to mourn the dead spirits or hope for their return, or try to free them somehow.

As other said, the “minor” Spirits of the Wild can disappear for generations – for many reasons. Some may be more distant than others (like Gorilla), others may simply be less invested in the norn. Hare is another Spirit of the Wild that, like Minotaur, had been questioned to even exist due to its lack of contact.

Ox/Dolyak, Eagle, and Wolverine did not have havrouns at the time they fought Jormag – Owl did, and this is why the norn know that Owl is dead, because her Havroun felt her death. There were still shamans to Dolyak until recently (Forgal’s father is said to be “the last dolyak shaman”), but simple shamans don’t have the same connection to their Spirits as Havrouns do.

If I had to guess, I’d go with Aaron’s assessment – Wolverine is likely dead, while Ox is not. Or it’s possible all three are alive – after all, we were told that the death of a Spirit of the Wild affects all animals under it (so in Owl’s case, all owls were affected) – no indication exists that dolyaks/oxen, eagles, or wolverines were affected… but we also do not see any wolverines in-game.

I just find the Spirit’s of the Wild more interesting then the human gods as we get so little lore bits in regards to the Norn. And would find it a different experience to come face to face with one as perhaps all they are is large collections of magic, that are revered as gods? But, we know these spirits are capable of at least holding off an Elder Dragon as Ox, Wolverine, Owl and supposedly Eagle were able to give the Norn time to escape the dragon.

We do come face to face with Minotaur in the norn PS.

There is also Spirit of Wolf though it’s unclear if that is the Spirit of the Wild or not (the context of its appearance does imply it is though).

All four of the big ones also appear at the end of the PS, during Romke’s Final Voyage. (Although it doesn’t seem to be listed on the wiki…)

i find the Norm Havrouns very interesting, especially the ability and open portal for the mists, pity that has few appearances out of personal history.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Havroun_Grechen