Define “taint” then.
To me, it would be corruption by Mordremoth in this case. But having been purified, the Pale Tree is thus taintless – and I would argue the rest of that cave was too, given the lack of indication of Ventari going and performing a grand ritual on the Pale Tree.
So you’re saying that when Ronan found the seed, these pods were already pure?
…how!?
Let’s see, if we accept that Sylvari “come from the Dragon”, then the seed must come from him too, otherwise the race cannot stem from him. The fact that has been stated all over the announcements is that Mordremoth called, and many Sylvari answered.
So if the Pale Tree is without taint, so too would anything she makes. And this is true – until they’re influenced by outside sources like the Dream, Nightmare, and Mordremoth. Though the Dream is “good” so there’s no indication of “taint” in a negative sense; the Nightmare and Mordremoth are different situations, but we’ve been told that the two are not linked and that the Nightmare Court don’t intend to follow Mordremoth.
You are thinking only in black or white. What I pose is that, while the care of Ronan and then Ventari cleansed the Pale Tree, it was not complete. Something remained, that the Mother is constantly fighting. And Canach, the (Sylvari) PC and Laranthir, among others, clearly show that the call of Mordremoth CAN be resisted; so they are, in essence, free willed, but still can be tempted.
I will stress that NOTHING indicates that the Pale Tree was freed “due to care of Ronan and later Ventari” – this is 100% player speculation that has been proven false time and time again. Dragon minions are slaves, it’s not a matter of proper raising or convincing (aka nurture). They don’t have free will. Something must give them that free will first.
If what you says is true, that R&V’s actions had nothing to do with the Pale Tree being “good”, then someone needs to edit http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Pale_Tree. It clearly reads:
[…]He and the peaceful centaur Ventari then tended the young tree, and their attitudes and philosophy had a significant influence on her nature.[…]
Not only that, but once again, if we accept that Sylvari are Dragon minions, and yet they show free will and… resilience to his beckoning… then some sort of cleansing must have happened, even if it was partial.
And about Mawdrey – no, it is not an example. Why? Just look at all the stuff we feed it. Foefire magic, which is known to be immune to corruption and even counter act it (Kralkatorrik couldn’t corrupt the ghosts, and during A Grisly Shipment and Armor Guard ghostfire – from the Foefire – is used to fight risen and it is far more effective against risen than standard beasts). We have Mists magic. We have destroyer magic. We have a whole much of oddities being used. It could be any one of them – or the combination of it all – that allowed Mawdrey to be influenced by the PC and become “friendly”.
Alright, that’s true, we gave it all that. Maybe it was one of the ingredients, or all combined. Or, you know, the empathy that the PC showed by jumping through hoops to give Mawdrey what it needed. The fact is, only one line is written about its conversion, and it’s the one I quoted on my previous post.
And dragon corruption isn’t removeable. The Forgotten path only gave Glint free will – it didn’t remove the transforming corruption. Same with Mawdrey – it still looks like a mordrem.
You speak of Dragon corruption merely as a physical malady. ED also affect the mind, you have said so yourself: minions don’t have free will. King Reza was affected, Glint was affected, the risen chicken was affected. Restoring their free will did not remove their physical transformation (or decay), but perhaps there is no spell developed for that… yet.