So after the latest revelation of the living story, I developed a theory as to who the sylvari actualy are (spoliers for those who haven’t done the last chapter of LS season 2):
I believe the sylvari’s body is actually the physical manifestation of Mordremoth’s corruption surrounding the spectral bodies of ghosts. Who would these spirits be? Well my first guess would be the druid spirits that used to reside in the Maguuma jungle.
From GW wiki:
The Druids were a group of Krytan humans that long ago moved to the Maguuma Jungle in order to live with nature. It is said that they are devout followers of Melandru, though this is only rumors. According to the History of Tyria, they were forced out of jungles in the long distant past by other humans. They were last seen by others sometime before 982 AE and mysteriously vanished decades before 1072 AE. Although generally believed to have been killed off by the jungle’s predatory plants and animals, the Druids actually shed their physical bodies to become one with nature. The Druids now exist as spirits, appearing similar to Oakhearts.
Alternatively, the spirits that were corrupted may also be remnants of the Chosen who were sacrificed by the White mantle. The Chosen were said to have a higher aptitude for Magic.
I personally think it’s a mixture of both but not exclusive to these two. For example, shining blade soldiers or travelers/adventurers who may have died in the Maguuma jungle in which their spirits remained.
I believe the trees were a means for Mordremoth to siphon the nearby spirits that wandered the jungle in which the pale tree is one of them. The spirits would then be reborn as minions of the dragon in which their energies are used to continuously feed the dragon. The dragon would likely have a bigger appetite for the spirits with a higher affinity to magic (such as the druids and the chosen). The purpose of the trees is to retain the old memories and aspirations of these spirits which they had while they were alive so that they are left empty; the sylvari were supposed to be reduced to simply being a ‘prize’ to be ‘collected’ by Mordremoth once he awoken. This may explain the vulnerability of the soundless.
However, the Pale tree is unique in that shares a dream with the sylvari under its branches. For me , the dream is likely connected to those memories and aspirations that I mentioned while making them relevant to the present time. With these asumptions, it could be that the Pale tree is releasing or has released that essence which made those spirits who they were when they were alive while combing it with the teachings of Ventari. Why is the Pale tree doing this? Well we can safely assume Ventari has something to do with it. By releasing the ‘Dream’ to the sylvari, the sylvari are able to block out the dragon’s voice.
Yet, I don’t think the dream makes a sylvari completely immune to the dragon. It depends on the individual such as the conviction of their dream (which would correlate to the conviction of their character in life).
The PC sylvari may have once been a human druid who was tasked with containing the dragon’s corruption in the jungle but ultimately fell victim to it which would his/her dream.
Now this may explain several mysteries behind the sylvari:
1) Their human appearance
2) Their ability to summon druid spirits
3) Their immunity to Zhaitan
4) Their unique dreams which define who they are
5) The vulnerability of the soundless to the dragon
Now if all this were to be true, an ironic and paradoxical tragedy can be found in two of the biggest sylvari villains; Faolain and Scarlet. They both sought freedom from the Pale tree and tried to break free from their fate. Yet by rejecting their dreams, they essentially rejected who they once were and their past aspirations and thus they threw away their freedom. I personally think this would be a good direction to take the story.
This would also give us some insight into the possible consequences if Mordremoth were to reach the ascalonian ghosts and the the importance of preventing this.
Your thoughts?
(edited by Kayji.4390)
