Guild Wars 2

Malyck is a sylvari not born of our pale tree. Now that we know that sylvari are… dragon minions (vomits), how is it he isn’t shouting the greatness of Mordy and killing everyone? The playable sylvari are protected by the pale tree, which must have been purified of its corruption by a series of unlikely events. His tree is also pretty darn close to Mordy, so why haven’t we seen sylvari from his tree that are controlled by the elder dragon?

Depends on where that series of events sits on the timeline. If the source of the Tree’s immunity comes from before Ronan found her, odds are the rest of those seeds, Malyck’s probably included, got the same treatment. More curious is why Malyck doesn’t remember the Dream, which we’ve been given to understand is the vector for sylvari immunity (or, I guess, the Mordrem overmind… an interpretation of data I find baffling, but equally valid in my current point). Guesses can and have been made, but at this stage they’re bridging a gap in our knowledge with bendy straws and chewing gum.

That’s the problem with writers not paying attention to established lore. They pull one thread, then another, and another. Then the tapestry starts unraveling to the point where repairs are needed, but tapestries rarely look as nice after such patch jobs.

Maybe for the same reason none of the other Sylvari were violent until now. Even the unprotected soundless. Chronologically, the tree literally just activated the bulk of the Sylvari Dragon Doom Squad, and we really don’t know what Malyck is about to do. We’ll have to wait for the next part of the story to really find out I guess.

Not every sylvari that wasn’t born of our grove would be initially loyal to Mordremoth. I’d guess that by the time of Malyck’s introduction, the dragon’s influence wasn’t even very strong. Besides, chances are that his sylvari people are similar to our sylvari in that they are also purified of dragon corruption. And now that you think of it, we have not known much about what they are like to begin with. I mean.

Malyck is most likely dead. I can’t believe that Caithe and the Pale Tree would allow him to return home and inform Mordremoth of the Pale Tree’s location and existence. They both knew he was from another tree and a minion of Mordremoth.

Well, the nightmare court didn’t go on a large scale global killing spree even though they weren’t under the pale tree’s influence/corrupted.
It might be possible the sylvari were meant to be sleepers.

darkace.8925:

That’s the problem with writers not paying attention to established lore.

Shouldn’t be so quick to jump to conclusions here. Yes there is reason to believe they changed some stories around to fit the Living World but certainly not all. While I understand it is nice to take things with a grain of salt, openly declaring their lack of intelligence on their own work is a tad bit… disingenuous and frankly, disrespectful.

I would like to think the story would be much different if their work was transparent and we could see the story boards in all their form, the scripts – speeches just before lunch being recorded and uploaded to Youtube. Frankly, that’s not how the business works, we have limited information and not near as much as we could have if we worked under ANet’s roof.

teh persun.6517:

Malyck is a sylvari not born of our pale tree. Now that we know that sylvari are… dragon minions (vomits), how is it he isn’t shouting the greatness of Mordy and killing everyone? The playable sylvari are protected by the pale tree, which must have been purified of its corruption by a series of unlikely events. His tree is also pretty darn close to Mordy, so why haven’t we seen sylvari from his tree that are controlled by the elder dragon?

Because they haven’t shown them. Think about it, the only time we saw any Sylvari that wasn’t Scarlet or Aurin was during the Tower of Nightmares and apparently those guys were mind-bent by mordy but then they just up and poofed away never to be seen.

It seems Anet was holding that card close to their chest for this big reveal and from now on we’ll start to see who and what is affected by Mordy. Including Malyck. Malyck is probably the duel wielding axe warrior that leaped at the Eir in that cinematic .

Additionally we now find out that Caithe new all along that Sylvari were dragon minions. When she found out about Maylyck she had to be concerned at the least as it seems plausible that the pale tree told Caithe about how she protects the Sylvari through the dream.

Malyck has no dream, so Caithe had to be worried. I wouldn’t be surprised if she killed Malyck before he got home. Or perhaps scouted to see where he went after.

As for Malyck not singing mordy’s praises, perhaps the Sylvari from his tree simply haven’t been controlled yet since he wasn’t awake. Now that he is awakening he is taking control.

Speculation: Perhaps the bulk of the Sylvari who turn on the pact at the end, were actually infiltrated Sylvari from the second tree. Almost nobody knows about the second tree, so wouldn’t have thought to question a Sylvari joining the pact.

Malyck has always been an interesting point in the story. I have some additional questions regarding him – can anyone shed some light?

1. The Nightmare Court already knows about him under the term “Harbinger”. Where did they get that knowledge and what is he supposed to be the “Harbinger” of for them? A harbinger is suppose to announce the coming of someone/something. Is that someone/something Mordremoth or someone else? Is Malyck not telling everything he knows?

2. The Knight of Embers says that finding the Harbinger is her “Dark Hunt” in “An Unknown Soul”. Then in “Source of the Issue” she says that “I am the Knight of Embers. I was born dreaming of you, and it has been my life’s ambition to draw you into nightmare.” and “Because you are the key to our freedom from Ventari’s false laws. Your coming marks the turn of the tide between Dream and nightmare.”

When the Knight of Embers indicates that she was born dreaming of him then presumably she got that information from the “Dream” as opposed to the “Nightmare” or has it been indicated that some Sylvari interact with the “Nightmare” before awaking?

If the Knight of Embers received a “Dark Hunt” calling to find the Harbinger then where did that calling come from? If Wyld Hunts come from the “Dream” then do Dark Hunts come from Nightmare?

If the Knight of Embers feels like her purpose is to turn Malyck to the Nightmare and if her calling came from the Nightmare and if the Nightmare comes from Mordremoth then we can’t assume that Malyck’s tree is automatically of Mordremoth – or can we?

3. Finally, either Malyck didn’t dream before awaking or doesn’t remember it. If he didn’t dream then the dream/nightmare can’t really be an indoctrination tool of Mordremoth can it? One idea for him not knowing of or remembering his dream is that his “pod” fell and developed away from his tree. It doesn’t really seem plausible for an offspring to develop that much (to not know the dream) away from its parent unless you fall back on magic.

If, if, if…

It’s making my head hurt.

This is way too long, so I had to separate it into smaller posts.

TL;DR

Champions of the Elder Dragons can gain empathy for humanity, but only Glint and the Pale Trees can read the minds of others. Also, the Pale Trees have never faced aggression from humanity.

Malyck is not actually Dreamless, he’s only lost the connection to his “Pale Tree.” Mordremoth controls Sylvari by proximity, so the proximity may also apply to the Pale Trees.

I may have an explanation for this given by the Living Story: both in the prologue and the epilogue.

During the Festival of the Four Winds, Anet made a point of educating young Zephyrites about the nature of Dragons. This was the prologue to Season 2, the point where we can reasonably assume Anet was really getting this story together. When taking in their story, keep in mind that they had to write it and while they had general plans for it early on, the bulk of the details was probably written later on.

Let’s focus less on how well the story is told and more on the story they are trying to tell.

During the Festival, the teaching Zephyrite said:

>The dragons are not inherently evil, children. They’re natural. They’re forces of nature as are the wind, the sun, and the lightning.

Focusing less on what was said and more on the fact that it was said during the prologue of Season 2, we can assume that Anet was trying to set the stage for the possibility of a grey area in the good or evil aspects of a Dragon. They go on to give the example of Glint who, after seeing the goodness in the heart of men, chose to assist them rather than destroy them. And then they continue to feed us the tale of Glint later on in the Living Story.

Assuming that Anet is trying to tell us something, the something they want to tell us is that the champions of the Elder Dragons (Glint being a Dragon is less relevant then being a champion of an Elder Dragon) have free will and are capable of being sympathetic to men, given the option. That the true “solution” to beating the Elder Dragons is not with force, but with love. Of course, that’d be boring and LOL, but it does seem to be what they are saying.

The Sylvari are minions of Mordremoth. That makes the Pale Tree a champion of Mordremoth. That makes every “Pale Tree” a champion of Mordremoth, including the tree from which Malyck was born. We know that the Pale Tree is sympathetic to humanity (and to Ventari, specifically) in that she made herself and her minions mimic humans (and follow the tenets of Ronan and Ventari). The rest of Mordrem are all very primal and monstrous while Sylvari and sleek and non-intimidating. But there’s no explanation for why the other “Pale Trees” would have that same sympathy unless we make some inferences.

Anet has claimed that Elder Dragons don’t have to be evil, and Glint’s example shows that their champions are the same way. So far, all other Elder Dragon champions seem to default to evil, though. Even Glint started evil before calming down. We know at least two “Pale Trees” seem to have a sympathy for mankind (since Malyck is pleasantly humanoid). So, what about Mordremoth’s champions is different than the other Elder Dragon’s?

The champions of Mordremoth that we are aware of are Vinewrath, the Pale Tree, and Malyck’s “Pale Tree.” We see that Vinewrath is very evil, soaking all of the magic power of Dry Top and Silverwastes for Mordremoth. But we look at the Pale Tree and see (or assume) she has done the opposite. The land around her flourishes with beauty and her minions set out to heal the land, not dominate it. And the other “Pale Tree”… We don’t know enough about to say for sure that she (or he) is inherently good, but we do know that they have given us at least one Sylvari. This Sylvari is known to the Nightmare (and by extension, the Dream of Dreams) rather ominously as the Harbinger, though we never discover of what he is the harbinger.

My theory about the Pale Trees:

This part is explained by the prologue.

What Anet is trying to tell us is that champions can be good or evil. Champions are typically hideous and humans immediately assume they are threats and attack. The Pale Tree’s spirit that we see is beautiful, but the Pale Tree itself is just a large tree that rains it’s minions upon the earth. Humans don’t see a sprouting tree as a threat and don’t attack it. In fact, they’d be fascinated by the sheer size of it and come to visit it to see it grow.

This might be an issue of first impressions. Most champions see humans as a barbaric plight. But not the Pale Tree.

Mordremoth’s tree champions are grown slowly. It took 225 years for the firstborn to sprout from the Pale Tree. Since the secondborn sprouted only two years after the firstborn, I would assume the firstborn took as much time to mature. So, the Pale Tree spent a little over 220 years before finally creating her first minions. Ronan and Ventari did not live this long. Her first experiences were with them, but then there was a long gap that was likely filled by other experiences.

Also, keep in mind that Mordremoth is not only the Elder Dragon of plants but of minds as well. Consider that the Pale Tree has a connection to the minds of all of her minions via the Dream (and loses that connection permanently when they succumb to Nightmare) and the Pale Tree can enter the mind of the main character (arguably the strongest, most resistant character in the world). Just like Glint, the Pale Tree can read your mind and sense intent.

The second “Pale Tree” having the same sympathy would make sense as it seems to have close proximity to our Pale Tree, so would see humans in a similar light. However, we have no way of knowing if a “Pale Tree” grown in a different continent would see us the same way, or would mimic their Sylvari after humans instead of Tengu, Dredge, or some other race.

My theory about Malyck being Dreamless:

This part is explained by the epilogue. Also, keep in mind that they didn’t want to spoil this storyline of Mordremoth so early, so they left it ambiguous.

What Anet is showing us in the epilogue is that Sylvari can be taken under Mordremoth’s control, but not until they are over Mordremoth’s lands. The location that the Zephyrites crashed imply that they were close to Mordremoth before Aerin began murdering Zephyrites aboard the ship. Being on the ground in Dry Top or the Silverwastes doesn’t appear to be close enough to Mordremoth to control his Sylvari minions, but we can debate the geography later on. I imagine Anet won’t prevent Sylvari players from entering the new zones, so there will have to be some explanation, there.

So, what we can see is that there is an issue of proximity. This might even be a limitation of every Elder Dragon, that in order for their minions to be under control, either the Elder Dragon or one of their Champions needs to be nearby. Otherwise, they would have free will (or something else would happen in the case of corrupted minions).

I believe that it’s the proximity that forced Malyck to essentially “reset.” That Malyck had a life before he showed up and that he hadn’t just been born, as was implied. Since the Nightmare (and the Dream of Dreams) know him as the Harbinger, that implies that he come from something or somewhere else. I believe that he came from a far away continent for some reason, but somehow lost his memory and with it, his mission. I believe he was delivering a message to the Pale Tree from another, but lost his memory. Maybe he came in brief contact with Mordremoth and came to after it released him. He is a powerful warrior, so it makes sense that he’d be able to fight off the corruption. Of course, there may not be any dragon influence there at all and simply an issue of being too far from his “Pale Tree”.

I believe the same thing happens to the Sylvari that go under Mordremoth’s influence or venture too far away from their champion. Scarlet (I hate making excuses for Scarlet, but she’s canon), being the exceptional Sylvari she was, was potentially “reset” by coming close enough to Mordremoth and lost her connection to the Pale Tree due to proximity. Then her life’s mission suddenly changed and she began anew.

This idea of a “reset” is also supported by the Nightmare Court. Though, not as drastic as forgetting your entire life prior to your reset, Sylvari that are lost to the Nightmare are lost forever, never being able to return to the Dream for any reason. While the Nightmare doesn’t appear to be a connection to Mordremoth (since Faolain would probably be aware of it), it does appear to be an example of Sylvari completely losing their connection to their own Pale Tree.

In summary, I think Malyck somehow lost his connection to his “Pale Tree”, not that he is actually Dreamless*. If he were actually Dreamless, then we’d be left with no explanation for why he is both good and humanoid. The story supports the idea that a Sylvari can forget their Dream since we decide to find it for him almost immediately, as though this were something that happened before. And that we can’t see his Dream doesn’t necessarily mean that he doesn’t have one, but that we just can’t access it. Those two details together imply he’s simply forgotten it, but Anet doesn’t tell us that immediately so they can leave that story arc open for interpretation, for now.

I believe that we are going to find more Pale Trees. I believe that some of them will be corrupted and their minions will look like corrupted Sylvari. Lore-wise, they shouldn’t, but in the interest of telling the story without making it confusing, they likely will. Like I said, focus on the story being told, not how well it’s being told.

I believe we will see Malyck again, with Faolain on his tail, but we will get more details since not everyone has experienced a Sylvari personal story (in the interest of telling the story). I believe these details may or may not retcon some of what we already know about Malyck, but at least it will give us a more solid story to work with.

I also believe that the Pale Tree will tell us more of her past and the experiences between Ventari and the firstborn. Whether we experience them as a living story episode or just witness them via a cinematic or in-game explanation, I don’t think it’s fair to leave that gap for us and I’d hope their storytellers agree with me.

Soon, my friends. Soon.

Great ideas Koviko! And I really hope we get to see Malyck and his people.

With regard to Malyck being dreamless because of a proximity reset the storyline does more than imply that he had just been born. In the player story chapter “Source of the Issue” they find his pod beside the river and he says: “There it is. The pod in which I awakened. That’s where my life began.”

To further add to the mystery is what Amaranda says about Malyck in “A Different Dream”: “A distant shore—and darkness. A root, a cave…you. You are the seed. What Ronan knew and never told still lingers in the Dream.”

Malyck is a harbinger and a seed – neither of which is particularly evil sounding on their own. Then, what is it that Ronan knew but didn’t tell? Caithe and Traeherne are described as disturbed by Amaranda’s revelation (like they knew something) about Malyck but doesn’t say why.

It seems like Malyck is a much bigger part of the story than we’ve seen so far.

I played the other half of his story, so it’s good that you said that. Since they found a pod, that means that he didn’t travel there on his own. But he was put there, somehow.

The Points of Interest stream just mentioned that they didn’t forget about Malyck!!!

What we know of the sylvari creation myth is that Ronan went in to a cave. This cave had a number of plant seeds, hostile plant guardians (possibly Mordrem). Ronan took one plant seed and run out the cave trying to save himself from the hostile plant guardians. However the plant guardians did not gave chase and did not run out the cave. After all the plant guardians have to guard the remaining plants that were still in the cave. So Ronan got away and some time much later he planted the sylvari seed over the graves of his family.

The dream of the Sylvari is shared among all sylvari and the Pale Tree. My preposition is that the dream of the Pale Tree and her sylvari could have been shared with the other plant seeds that were in the dark dank cave back when the Pale Tree were a plant seed in the cave.

The above preposition could mean the nature of the other plant seeds (pale trees) who were in the cave would be more benign. Our Pale Tree could very much be siblings and closest of relations with the other plant pots that were in the cave and thus have a common dream in the same way all our pale tree sylvari shared the same dream. These other pale trees could shared the same dream as ours. Thus if Malyck is from one of these pale trees then Malyck should share the same dream as our sylvari does. Not now he doesn’t but eventually he would.

Koviko.3248:

They go on to give the example of Glint who, after seeing the goodness in the heart of men, chose to assist them rather than destroy them.

Regardless of what the Zephryites believe, or what Glint told them, this is not true.

No. The only way this all works is if the Pale Tree’s seed (and any others with hers) were purified by the Forgotten’s magic, or created by a Mordrem champion during the last Elder Dragon rise who was purified, or subject to Mordremoth’s corruption but then purified afterwards (like the seed we can use to make Mawdrey).

They could’ve then have evidence of this in the cave that Wynne was in—some seed casings, Forgotten artifacts, things that could imply that they were working their magic there, possibly even testing/perfecting the ritual they’d use on Glint later, or using a lesser version of that magic, since they probably weren’t at the altar for purifying the seeds.

Instead, they went with the lame cop-out “We belong to the jungle dragon because my Dream said so”. Disappointing.

teh persun.6517:

Malyck is a sylvari not born of our pale tree. Now that we know that sylvari are… dragon minions (vomits), how is it he isn’t shouting the greatness of Mordy and killing everyone? The playable sylvari are protected by the pale tree, which must have been purified of its corruption by a series of unlikely events. His tree is also pretty darn close to Mordy, so why haven’t we seen sylvari from his tree that are controlled by the elder dragon?

They were originally created to serve Mordremoth. The fact that there are those amongst the sylvari, such as Caithe, who do not wish to, suggests that stating that they are dragon minions is only confusing the matter. They are not true dragon minions, in that they start their lives as individuals, or with a degree of individuality, before being corrupted like any other race in Tyria right now. Because they are no longer bound to Mordremoth, we should expect to see signs of individuality from them, such as the consumption of food (they no longer gain sustenance from Mordy and begin to sustain themselves etc etc). The main issue has simply been how the sylvari were able to break free from Mordy in the first place.

The prevailing viewpoint is that a ritual performed in Arah is the only way that dragon minions can be liberated from their master. There has never been any suggestion that any other ritual, spell or technique can be used. However, the full story has yet to be told and I’m sure we will learn more about this curious mystery.

If Glint is a champion of Kralkatorrik and was able to exercise free will and NOT obey its master, then why can we not accept that the Pale Tree was also a champion whose free will was strong enough to not obey Mordremoth? And by that extension, that the champion could spawn minions that also had the ability to exercise free will?

I think we should be assuming that all champions HAVE free will, but most of them choose to use that free will to assist their master. Glint and the Pale Tree have, instead, chosen to aid humanity.

Koviko.3248:

I think we should be assuming that all champions HAVE free will, but most of them choose to use that free will to assist their master. Glint and the Pale Tree have, instead, chosen to aid humanity.

Um, no. That is not at all how the link between dragon champions and the dragons work. Glint had to be freed from Kralkatorrik’s control by the Forgotten before she chose to help humanity. The Pale Tree’s seed would’ve also had to have been purified in a similar way for her (and the sylvari) to have free will too.

Because Glint HAD TO BE GIVEN free will, by the races the dragons were fighting. That was a pretty major point in the dungeon path. It was the Forgotten ritual that gave her the ability to choose.

I’m still slowly playing through GW1, so that’s not a fact I was aware of yet.

That could explain what happens in the gap that I was mentioning: the gap of time between the death of Ventari and the birth of Trahearne. If we assume that Ronan and Ventari didn’t cleanse the corruption themselves (which is unlikely, IMO), that means that something must have happened to the Pale Tree during those two centuries. Since the very nature of trees suggests that they have roots, perhaps the influence even comes from underground.

What are everyone else’s thoughts? Do you think that the Pale Tree was somehow “freed” from Mordremoth’s corruption sometime during her growth? And if so, by what?

You won’t find that bit in GW1. We don’t find out about Glint being a former minion until one of the books, and the ritual until the Orr dungeon in GW2.

Glint had to be freed from the control of Kralk, but how do we know that the Pale Tree seed wasn’t freed from the control of Mordremoth after it was taken from the cave and planted at the gravesite? We don’t. If it was somehow freed from Mordy’s control at that point, then this would explain a lot about the sylvari as PC’s and it would fit with the theory that ED Champions (and maybe even ED’s themselves) are capable of free will/fighting their intended purpose to become friend instead of foe

The second Tree will be in the expansion. I suggest we just wait and see, hmm?

doesn’t read thread because it’s almost 6am here

i theorized (read: guessed and hope it’s right) that the cave we find in ep.8 is the cave Ronan found the pale tree’s seeds, and the seeds of what would be other pale trees. most importantly, ronan’s seeds, alongside the other seeds in there and pretty much everything in the vincinity (hence the coat of golden, “ancient and pure” magic everywhere) was purified in a Forgotten ritual (much like Glint). it is, after all, a cave sealed by the Forgotten, who are known to have purified dragon minions before, and the magic in the cave is described as “pure and ancient”, AND for some reason that cave is a huge deal to wynne, who learned sylvari were dragon minions in her dream and then was drawn to that cave.

so while i have nothing conclusive, my guess is that Malyck’s tree was also freed from mordy’s corruption, at the same time the pale tree was, way before Ronan was even born.

Malyk the Harbinger sounds like a fitting name for a Mordrem Lieutenant or Champion.

Nilkemia.8507:

Koviko.3248:

I think we should be assuming that all champions HAVE free will, but most of them choose to use that free will to assist their master. Glint and the Pale Tree have, instead, chosen to aid humanity.

Um, no. That is not at all how the link between dragon champions and the dragons work. Glint had to be freed from Kralkatorrik’s control by the Forgotten before she chose to help humanity. The Pale Tree’s seed would’ve also had to have been purified in a similar way for her (and the sylvari) to have free will too.

We still don’t know the extent of the ritual for her was like, yet though. According to Glint the ritual just made her more sympathetic and she still watched the Forgotten die, those who conducted the ritual in the first place. It wasn’t instantaneous so what I think Kov is getting at here is that IE: Germans enlisted in World War 1 and 2, they were doing what they thought was right for their country. The ritual just merely opened her eyes to see what she had been doing to others which mind you isn’t a new concept in story telling by any means. Villains turn heroes out of finding out something “new” is quite common, borderline cliche.

BrunoBRS.5178:

doesn’t read thread because it’s almost 6am here

i theorized (read: guessed and hope it’s right) that the cave we find in ep.8 is the cave Ronan found the pale tree’s seeds, and the seeds of what would be other pale trees. most importantly, ronan’s seeds, alongside the other seeds in there and pretty much everything in the vincinity (hence the coat of golden, “ancient and pure” magic everywhere) was purified in a Forgotten ritual (much like Glint). it is, after all, a cave sealed by the Forgotten, who are known to have purified dragon minions before, and the magic in the cave is described as “pure and ancient”, AND for some reason that cave is a huge deal to wynne, who learned sylvari were dragon minions in her dream and then was drawn to that cave.

so while i have nothing conclusive, my guess is that Malyck’s tree was also freed from mordy’s corruption, at the same time the pale tree was, way before Ronan was even born.

This however makes me wonder the anatomy of the seed. Could it be possible that The Shadow of The Dragon and the Pale Tree both come from the seeds? And that The Pale Tree was unique in that it was planted rather than left there to incubate? That thought has been going through my mind a bit lately and it makes me wonder how offspring act based on how they are placed in the environment.

Ronin.7381:

BrunoBRS.5178:

doesn’t read thread because it’s almost 6am here

i theorized (read: guessed and hope it’s right) that the cave we find in ep.8 is the cave Ronan found the pale tree’s seeds, and the seeds of what would be other pale trees. most importantly, ronan’s seeds, alongside the other seeds in there and pretty much everything in the vincinity (hence the coat of golden, “ancient and pure” magic everywhere) was purified in a Forgotten ritual (much like Glint). it is, after all, a cave sealed by the Forgotten, who are known to have purified dragon minions before, and the magic in the cave is described as “pure and ancient”, AND for some reason that cave is a huge deal to wynne, who learned sylvari were dragon minions in her dream and then was drawn to that cave.

so while i have nothing conclusive, my guess is that Malyck’s tree was also freed from mordy’s corruption, at the same time the pale tree was, way before Ronan was even born.

This however makes me wonder the anatomy of the seed. Could it be possible that The Shadow of The Dragon and the Pale Tree both come from the seeds? And that The Pale Tree was unique in that it was planted rather than left there to incubate? That thought has been going through my mind a bit lately and it makes me wonder how offspring act based on how they are placed in the environment.

well if my idea proves right, then the shadow of the dragon wouldn’t have originated from the same cave as the pale tree, as the seeds in there were cleansed of dragon corruption (in fact the whole place pretty much irradiated with magic that scared lesser modrem away). we don’t know exactly what mordremoth’s minion-factory process is yet though.

Koviko.3248:

Champions of the Elder Dragons can gain empathy for humanity, but only Glint and the Pale Trees can read the minds of others.

-snip-

Malyck is not actually Dreamless, he’s only lost the connection to his “Pale Tree.” Mordremoth controls Sylvari by proximity, so the proximity may also apply to the Pale Trees.

-snip-

During the Festival of the Four Winds, Anet made a point of educating young Zephyrites about the nature of Dragons. This was the prologue to Season 2, the point where we can reasonably assume Anet was really getting this story together.

-snip-

Focusing less on what was said and more on the fact that it was said during the prologue of Season 2, we can assume that Anet was trying to set the stage for the possibility of a grey area in the good or evil aspects of a Dragon.

-snip-

Assuming that Anet is trying to tell us something, the something they want to tell us is that the champions of the Elder Dragons (Glint being a Dragon is less relevant then being a champion of an Elder Dragon) have free will and are capable of being sympathetic to men, given the option. That the true “solution” to beating the Elder Dragons is not with force, but with love. Of course, that’d be boring and LOL, but it does seem to be what they are saying.

Okay:

If proximity to the tree affects sylvari, why are there unaffected sylvari in Fields of Ruin? Are you saying Malyck’s tree is so far away as to be further than Pale Tree to Ebonhawke?

That Zephyrite teacher was added with Bazaar of the Four Winds – part of Season 1, which hinders your “it’s part of Season 2 and that’s when Anet was getting their storytelling act together” argument – and is teaching what all common Tyrians think. And this line of thought is what we’ve been told since 2009. However, the Personal Story and Season 2 shows to counter this. Particularly Mordremoth – who has shown direct cunning in its targets. The Pale Tree states in the Personal Story that the Elder Dragons know all their minions know – that means that they have the knowledge of countless civilizations within those noggins (particularly for the dragons that corrupt living beings primarily like Zhaitan, Jormag, and Kralkatorrik).

Dragon champions do not have free will, this is proven in Arah explorable where the Forgotten ritual was used on Glint – then called Glaust – to give her free will. With this free will, Glint was then able to at a later point betray Kralkatorrik (on top of having free will, she needed convincing). This implies that the Pale Tree had something similar done to her in the past – something magical that undid the corruption (and the same would go for Mawdrey, whom we fed all sorts of strange magics to).

I was operating under the assumption that Anet was doing a kitten-poor job of getting their point across and giving a theory that plays into the idea of them mucking up their own story. But if we consider all the details and assume that nothing is wrong so far, then my theory makes no sense.

Koviko.3248:

But if we consider all the details and assume that nothing is wrong so far

which is what should be done in the first place >.>

I do not doubt that Anet mucks stuff up here and there. In fact, I think I’ve proven on multiple accounts over the years they have. But those points don’t seem to be muck ups in the least.