Hypocritical, self-righteous, and a flat-out liar to people who are ostensibly her friends? Yep. Does that earn the title of monster…? I wonder.
The act of keeping the nature of Sylvari as Mordrem secret could be argued to be a good thing. While I agree that the Sylvari have just as much right to choose their paths as anyone else, the fact was that their intended function was psychic domination/servitude to a vaguely phytodraconic eldritch abomination. I don’t know if I’d really want to inform a species less than twenty years old (almost all of them painfully naive for their extreme youth) “yep y’all are supposed to be thralls of a creature that might as well be a primeval force”. I can see why the Pale Tree would want that kept secret; she seems to love her children. Why would she want them subjected to the pressure/stigma of knowingly being Mordrem in the waiting (especially given that Zhaitan, Jormag, and Kralkatorrik had already made their presences in the world known, pointing toward Mordremoth’s relatively near waking?). Can you imagine the damage that would’ve done to the species-wide general feeling of vitality and enthusiasm for learning about the world? The Sylvari share their experiences in the Dream, and it’s apparently susceptible to negative experiences as much as positive ones if their collective horror at Riannoc’s death is to be taken as evidence. One might even argue it would’ve catalyzed an even swifter fall to Mordremoth when the time came, or the Nightmare Court standing proudly atop the population as nihilistic despair over their future overtook the collective memory.
By the same token…To learn and keep that secret, Caithe knowingly and willingly butchered a tribe of civil centaurs alongside her gleefully axe-crazy girlfriend, letting something like idle curiosity lead them to brutal slaughter. And then once she heard something she couldn’t unhear, she chose to murder Wynne (who seemed to be doing a fine job keeping her secret until Faolain and Caithe rolled in and had hurt no one thus far) so Faolain wouldn’t torture the answer out of her (again, for pure spiteful curiosity). Y’know, instead of killing Faolain, who apparently already had a known proclivity for TORTURING folks to get what she wanted and murder. Also, Caithe didn’t see fit to come forward with this knowledge when we really, really needed it. Like, say, before the Pact flew for the jungle and got counterganked from within by a psychic domination none of the Sylvari (who could’ve stayed home where they were relatively safe!) could’ve realistically seen coming, thus leading to hundreds, perhaps thousands of Sylvari lost to Mordremoth right then, and dozens more taken by the jungle itself, fearful allies rightfully trying to protect their own hides.
This is putting aside that she routinely ignored our wishes during the Sylvari stories in favor of her own ‘judgment’, waffling over her definitely evil ex, and flat-out ignoring the wishes of the Pale Tree to hamper us throughout HoT until the very end of everything (again on some kind of ‘I know best’ justification), and the horrendous death toll of non-Sylvari Pact personnel, potentially thanks to her aforementioned reluctance to speak. And then she comes back in LWS3 with her stuttering not-apology.
I can agree with the ironic sentiment that Canach is more trustworthy than she is at this juncture.
Faolain was monstrous, certainly. Scarlet Briar was monstrous. Caithe…never seemed to mean any lasting harm. She’s criminally shortsighted and self-righteous for sure. And, ironically, has probably caused more damage to her people and the world for that than either of the former for it.
Good intentions can make a monster, I suppose.
