Guild Wars 2

I’ve done this Fractal a couple of times now, and even if I dislike jumping puzzles with a burning passion this fractal really fascinates me. What is the story behind it? It looks like some kind of broken Rata Sum, or something like that. Does anybody know about it?

The Mists are a realm of moments to come, moments past, moments that could’ve been and moments that never will be.

It could be an alternate timeline, or it could be the future. I certainly hope that it isn’t the future.

The cat-golems were created by the raving Asura, obviously. The harpies that moved in are just a natural problem to ruins, but their presence suggests that the Raving one had been alone for a very long time on them. The presence of an ettin, flame legion shaman and dangerous rabbit in the prison suggest that there had been a change of hands in the peacekeepers in charge of the prison, as actually dangerous threats were locked away rather than harmless drunken bears.

Lot of questions raised. I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.

My theory is that Dessa had another Krewe that got trapped inside the fractal. The raving asura is the only survivor and as he spent time in isolation, he went mad His dialouge, “All of us! Abandoned! You aren’t real. You can’t be here.” supports this and might expalin why Dessa ran off at the beginning. She feels responsible for the Krewe she abandoned and the asura who is now trapped in that fractal.

That dialogue, erik, only shows that he was left alone after something. And that fractal is Rata Sum destroyed.

My bet follows one of two possibilities – both of which Frosty said. Either it’s an alternate timeline, where Rata Sum’s already destroyed, or it’s a possible future.

Dessa running off could just be explained by how it’s her home that’s all wrecked.

However, I think it’s more reasonable to believe that Dessa ran off because she’s not from our Tyria – take note that she doesn’t know the existence of Sylvari, and that she believes Lion’s Arch is a pirate haven (while true, her wording – “Lion’s Arch? No, there must be a misunderstanding. We’d never launch this lab from that pirate haven.” – implies that she views it to be too hostile; though there are rumors in distant areas that Lion’s Arch is less than hospitable).

So I think that Dessa comes from another dimension that houses a copy of Tyria where Lion’s Arch never improved hospitality wise, Rata Sum was destroyed, and the sylvari never became a recognized race (if even existed).

He’s a crazy theory. What if… now this is a big if… what if Dessa’s lab is a Fractal.

Think about it. She’s from a decidedly different era of time, a time before both Sylvari and the creation of Lion’s Arch as a free city (this is a roughly 70 year window between 1230 and 1302 source).

Ultimately, my crack-pot-lets-put-on-some-tin-foil-hats theory aside, I still think the best bet is that she’s simply been stuck in her lab working on this for the past 30-50 years. However, the theory can easily be debunked if somebody would be so kind as to point me to where I can find out how old the average Asuran lives.

Well, technically, Dessa’s lab is a fractal… that connects via asura gate-like technology to other fractals.

Now, Dessa being a fractal being is unlikely, given her mentality. Though possible.

And a couple notes about your theory:

• The Mists not only copies things from all times, but connects all times. Meaning that the Mists can be used to time travel. Theoretically, at least. So she could be from the past without being from a fractal.
• Her lab doesn’t seem to copy anything, let alone something from the past.
• Asura lifespan is approximately 5-10% longer than the human lifespan, and “exceptionally old” asura can be as old as 120. So being stuck in a lab for 23+ years is completely possible.

Who is to say that the Fractals run at the same time-duration as those outside of it? The Fractals that we go through are isolated in terms of time-eras/probabilities. Maybe they are isolated from each other’s time-duration?

But that can’t be it. If it exists in that known universe, time will have to be constant even when it it outside of the Fractals.

Hmm, you make a good point. A bit of lore that can back you up would be that of The Rift:

“In the middle of The Mists is a spot where time moves neither forward nor back. It is a tear in the fabric of the cosmos, the point of perfect balance between all forces of the universe. This place is known as the Rift, and there is nothing to which it does not connect, nothing that cannot be reached from inside it. Those who have the know-how to travel across the universe through the Mists must pass through the Rift on their way to all other places. It is the center of all things. "

In the Rift, time doesn’t move. Of course, it also connects to all times. So it’s plausible that other places of the Mists function similarly – or just different. Since the Mists connect to all times via the Rift, you can enter, spend ten years’ worth within the Mists, then come out ten seconds later.

Hence my mention of theoretically, the Mists can give access to time travel.

Yeah, it could honestly be that Dessa moved into the Mists with her krewe say 50 years ago, then they worked there for 10 years, but when they got connected to Tyria through the gate network they connected to a time 40 years ahead of them. There are many possibilities as far as working this situation out.

Having ventured into FotM for the first time just recently, I’d like the throw something into this discussion in case anyone has further information for me: what’s the Consortium’s connection?

I mean, Dessa says they would never launch this lab from Lion’s Arch, and it’s true that she doesn’t seem to be talking about LA as we know it. However, that also means that she’s not aware of where we’re coming through from and why. She’s too focused on her work to give it too much thought, but it makes me wonder how and why the Consortium set up a gate to her lab and started offering people the chance to go through it.

Fractals was added with Lost Shores, which introduced the Consortium as an untrustworthy faction out to make quick money, with little regard for safety and a tendency to not think things through very well. I’m starting to wonder if they just hooked up a gate to Dessa’s lab as a separate endeavour, without her permission as such.

I realised I should go to the wiki before I posted this, and I note this line from Dessa’s dialogue re. the Consortium:
‘Those money-grubbing connivers? It’s bad enough I lost my boyfriend to those shady “businessmen.” Take my advice: reject their advances. Nothing good will come of their machinations.’

Well now. Hint, hint? What’s the Consortium’s interest in this? (and, raving asura, any connection to a ‘boyfriend’?)

There is no Consortium connection to the Fractals – not one that the Consortium intended, at least. The gate linking to Dessa’s lab was actually an accident. It was intended to link to the asura gate in Southsun Cove’s Pearl Islet (there’s a half-made one among the ruins), but the LA one malfunctioned because the Cove one wasn’t made and it somehow linked to Dessa’s lab.

The Consortium is just taking advantage of this one-in-a-billion chance occurrence to make more money, since as you said, they’re just out to make quick money.

Huh, interesting Konig, I did not know that. I assumed a deliberate connection because when I had a character hit 80 recently I got an advertisement in the mail encouraging me to come and visit Fractals, in the typical Consortium advertising style. It does make sense that they’d jump on it after the fact, though, and make the best of it.

Still intrigued that Dessa has previous dealings with them, in the past/her world/wherever she comes from.