Ronan deserves more recognition
I don’t think it’s not that they don’t admire and respect him. There are sylvari who talk about him with some degree of reverence, and areas of the Grove named after him. But there are two reasons for treating Ventari differently.
The biggest trouble is that Ronan didn’t leave much behind to remember him by (aside from the Pale Tree.) No code on a tablet, no teachings to live by… depending on when he died and how quickly the Pale Tree matured, even she might not remember him. He’d be just a name to them.
And there might be a reason for that. Ronan brought the seed back to be a gift to his daughter, and planted it to be a memorial to his family. As far as we know, that’s all it ever was to him- a tribute to his dead. Even as early as Eye of the North, it’s Ventari that’s caring for the sapling, and who appreciates how remarkable it is. Add in how much longer Ventari lived than Ronan, and even if the Pale Tree was old enough to understand what was going on around her, it’s quite possible her planter didn’t leave much of an impression.
And for all that? The sylvari still claim that he “represents the goodness in all beings.” That’s pretty close to a patron saint for a race that doesn’t have patron saints.
R.I.P., Old Man of Auld Red Wharf. Gone but never forgotten.
(edited by Aaron Ansari.1604)
I don’t know where I read this but I’m certain I saw somewhere that the sylvari based their appearance off of Ronan and that’s why they look so much like humans.
There’s a few different theories. The one that’s generally considered the most likely now is that the Pale Tree used the dead from Ronan’s village as a template for the sylvari, Blighting Tree style.
R.I.P., Old Man of Auld Red Wharf. Gone but never forgotten.
As much as I truly believe that Ronan was a vital catalyst in the history of the kind Mordrem, I have little belief he has any value as a saint or otherwise ‘great descendant’.
He took a seed from a cave guarded by plantmonsters, and gave it to his daughter (or rather, planted it on her cave) never caring what would grow out of it. He probably never even saw it sprout, or saw a sapling at best.
Ventari actually knew, and prepared to leave all his wisdom and lifestyle for the Sylvan
Well, it’s simpler to think Ventari also had no idea the sylvari were coming. There’s no evidence for it- he left behind his teachings, yes, but this was a person who tried twice in his life to found settlements of humans and centaurs on earlier forms of those beliefs. Wanting that dream (heh) to live on after his death is reason enough to carve the tablet. And by the same token, you’d have to explain how he might know. Short of Glint levels of precognition, or the Pale Tree speaking to him (recall that she didn’t form the Avatar we speak to until well after the Secordborn came along, and that we don’t know if she knew she’d be a mother in when Ventari died in 1180) and the whole thing quickly becomes a convoluted mess.
R.I.P., Old Man of Auld Red Wharf. Gone but never forgotten.
Well, it’s simpler to think Ventari also had no idea the sylvari were coming. There’s no evidence for it- he left behind his teachings, yes, but this was a person who tried twice in his life to found settlements of humans and centaurs on earlier forms of those beliefs. Wanting that dream (heh) to live on after his death is reason enough to carve the tablet. And by the same token, you’d have to explain how he might know. Short of Glint levels of precognition, or the Pale Tree speaking to him (recall that she didn’t form the Avatar we speak to until well after the Secordborn came along, and that we don’t know if she knew she’d be a mother in when Ventari died in 1180) and the whole thing quickly becomes a convoluted mess.
true, true, a lot of it is speculation, but weren’t the original centaurs quite enlightened, like the old Jotun used to be, maybe he had some clairvoyance or foresight something great would happen in the future, not knowing what, but leaving a tablet of wisdom for whatever else because he couldnt think of anything better.. I mean, I dunno, just guessing
I’m the only one that thinks is funny that Ronan just wanted to protect the seed?
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that it makes every other class in the game boring to play.”
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