Pale Tree: Vision During Season 2 Story
The bottom “Layer of Vines” is the beginning of Season 2 Living Story by this reckoning.
Also, I’m not sure if, but the Pale Tree goes through seasonal cycles. She was in Bloom season 1, fall season 2, winter season 3?
The face is likely that of the Pale Tree being shown in her branches. ArenaNet likes to do such symbolism a lot, and it would fit the earliest depictions of how she talks (the wind through the leaves forming her voice).
The “snow” scene to me seems to depict the leaving of the Grove as it’s rather akin to the western edge of the upper-most portion of the Grove.
The “Layer of Vines” are definitely Mordremoth’s corruption and not necessarily the beginning of Season 2.
As for the Pale Tree going through seasonal cycles – likely just as much as the rest of Tyria does. But that’d mean that as full years pass during Season 1, she’d be going through all four seasons and not just one during then. If she appears to be going through fall now, it’d likely be due to her being unconscious, more than any time of year it is now.
Stop treating GW2 as a single story. Each Season and expansion should be their own story.
Wooden Potatoes on YouTube has a interesting theory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNQNTgqeI2M
Lv.80 Scrapper (Alchemist Persenia)
Lv.80 Druid (Mender Zalintyre)