Guild Wars 2

So I was thinking/reading the other day about the ending cinematic (awesome btw) and I never thought/realized that as the camera goes past dead scarlet’s face, you see those green “streaks” on her face. Someone on the forums later said it was obvious that she was corrupted. Now, I know there is an argument about the capability of Sylvari being corrupted, but that’s not what I really looking to talk about it. I just was just thinking of a few different things that have been said and seeing if they fit together.

First off, in the short story “What Scarlet Saw” you have this line:

-The sylvari woman brought her open hand up and spread her fingers wide. A thin vine crawled from her sleeve and began weaving between her splayed digits.-

Later she uses said vine/thorns to kill Omadd.

Then, the mask we get for beating her is called “Scarlet’s Veil”

and finally the green streaks.

So my thought was, was she really corrupted (as in body, we know her mind was something else) as she gained this thorn power. And was she trying to hide it? The helmet we get is called a veil. Is there any significance to that use of the word? Or is just Anet looking for a word other than helmet.

And was she trying to hide it? Because we (the player) don’t even see the green streaks until her death.

Again, I am not totally sure where this train of thought is going, but I felt it might be connected, so I wanted to throw it out there.

tl;dr – Green Streaks, Thorn powers and Veil – are they connected?

I’d say that the thorns are just general Sylvari plant manipulation.

I thought the yellow streaks made her look like a ‘husk’.

There is a strong possibility that she was corrupted and that the lines across her face are evidence of the physical symptoms associated with corruption. However, keep in mind that Scarlet is dead – she may well have sustained injuries in her final moments that have been mistaken for something else.

I think it’s just her usual ‘glow’ as every sylvari has. She just had a unique face, therefore she had unique glow pattern.

Jelle.4623:

I’d say that the thorns are just general Sylvari plant manipulation.

Name one other recorded instance of it.

DarcShriek.5829:

Jelle.4623:

I’d say that the thorns are just general Sylvari plant manipulation.

Name one other recorded instance of it.

Plant Manipluation? How about the creation of the grove. Every plant-like structure is proof of Sylvari ability to manipulate plant growth.

As to the Thorns? I’d say it’s very likely that they are similar to the types of briars that Nightmare Court create in order to wall in their holdings.

^Answered by Narcemus (@DarcShriek)

To add upon that: Sylvari racial skills are plant manipulation if I recall correctly.

That’s true, the creation of plant turrets, healing seed turret, etc. Also plant manipulation abilities.

My Sylvari characters can’t make thorns come out of their fingers, and there is no recorded instance of any other sylvari doing so. It’s not what they do. I asked for a specific example and all you folks could do is give other examples. Nice try, but no cigar.

DarcShriek.5829:

My Sylvari characters can’t make thorns come out of their fingers, and there is no recorded instance of any other sylvari doing so. It’s not what they do. I asked for a specific example and all you folks could do is give other examples. Nice try, but no cigar.

No, but she can make roots come out of her legs and feet, which then sprout into mortar turrets.

Scarlet’s thorn antics were just a take of the same concept not possible because of mechanics.

There’s no second recorded instance of a necromancer summoning a swarm of rats, yet Killeen does this in GoA. There’s no second recorded instance of a necromancer animated a full corpse (not mutilating it into a Bone Fiend/Minion/Blood Fiend), or a full skeleton, but Killeen does this in GoA. There’s no second recorded instance of a norn taking on a red Wolf Form, yet Eir does this multiple times in EoD.

Is Kasmeer some form of powerful unique creature like a dragon minion because she can make five copy illusions that talk? No. It’s just not something available to players in mechanics.

Mechanic limitations != lore limitations

So your argument is kind of moot, because the act of growing vines out of the hand is only unique in that Scarlet did something possible to all sylvari in a unique – her signature if you will – form.

From what I’ve seen, Scarlet was in fact corrupted.

However, this does go against what we previously knew of the sylvari; that they were immune to corruption from elder dragons. The only way around this from what I can guess, is that the dream created by the pale tree IS a form of corruption, albeit mostly a benevolent one, and thus the sylvari already corrupt cannot be corrupted again.

In this way, when Scarlet went into Omadd’s machine, she was freeing herself of the dream, and also her protection from corruption. Once free of the Pale Tree’s dream, Mordremoth was able to step in and force his own will on Scarlet.

If my theory is true, it would seem that dragon corruption is much more a mental/magic condition than it is a physical one.

The Dream isn’t created by the Pale Tree. It is something that predates her.

And dragon minions can be corrupted twice. See Crucible of Eternity (mainly Kudu, Kudu’s Monster, and Subject Alpha).

But the general idea that ignores the “sylvari are dragon minions from the beginning” more-or-less-debunked speculation is that the Dream is what prevents the corruption – but not as a form of pre-existing corruption. My theory is that the Dream is tied to the Mists, and the Mists holds the “antidote” to draconic corruption – Forgotten and Mursaat magic was also tied to the Mists, and they had forms of immunity too.

Scarlet only uses her thorn powers in the web stories. She uses grenades and shotguns within game and that doesn’t fit with the theme of a jungle dragon minion. You would expect any minions to live in verdant surroundings and manipulate/corrupt living matter.

The veil name is suggestive but it could explain any number of other things as well. Since it is only a disposable cosmetic it will presumably never come back into the story.

Scarlet’s Veil is just a helmet. I heard that her shoulders and gauntlets have item codes too.

DarcShriek.5829:

My Sylvari characters can’t make thorns come out of their fingers, and there is no recorded instance of any other sylvari doing so. It’s not what they do. I asked for a specific example and all you folks could do is give other examples. Nice try, but no cigar.

Wow really???

“Duh they can grow plants, but they’ve never grown thorns so it’s impossible?”

That’s like saying we’ve only ever seen engineers make grenades, so it would be ridiculous to believe that they could make bombs…

Bad example Narc though you hold the right argument.

Okay, we know Engineers can make mortars (specifically charr ones) but since we don’t see them make cannons it’s impossible. Better?

BTW, I know they can make bombs, I have a engi secondary. I just couldn’t come up with anything better at the time.

Okay, we know Engineers can make mortars (specifically charr ones) but since we don’t see them make cannons it’s impossible. Better?

BTW, I know they can make bombs, I have a engi secondary. I just couldn’t come up with anything better at the time.