lore post (wip)
Mar. 7th, 2022 03:46 pmTYRIA
SONG
❁ BEING SYLVARI
✳ Here you'll find a brief rundown on what sylvari (sil-VAH-ree) are like. They are so vastly different from mammalian lifeforms that I think it's important to describe what interacting with one is like.
✳ The sylvari are plant people. They are not plant-like people, they are not plant-fused or tainted by nature. They grow from pods and emerge fully formed. As of present in Guild Wars 2, it has been 33 years since Tyria's first sylvari were born, and the oldest show no sign of aging in the animal sense. If you were to cut one open, you'd find a cluster of plant matter that imitates musculature and hardwood that resembles a bone skeleton. The origin point of growth would be the equivalent of a human's tail bone, and this is evident in many of the sylvari's "homegrown" clothes. They do not, however, eat sunlight.
✳ Sylvari are bioluminescent! At night and in the dark, certain parts of their body glow and they come in all colors. Trahearne specifically glows fuchsia on his hair, bits of his face, and along his limbs. The light pulses in and out, like slow breathing.
✳ Being closer to plants in biology than animals, sylvari are more likely to be affected by plant diseases than animal ailments. Think black spot instead of the flu.
✳ The sylvari are, on average, slightly shorter than humans, and on the outside their form seems to be an almost perfect imitation of human physique. This is not the case on the inside: sylvari do not have the same internals as a human does. They have no heartbeat and produce no body heat; the "blood" that they have is a golden sap. It's even debatable as to whether or not they breathe with lungs; some sylvari don't have noses, though they do use underwater breathers as other races do (which might be purely a gameplay aspect, however). Funnily enough, they do produce waste after eating, but the process of which is unknown.
✳ Indeed: sylvari are practically the same as humans on the outside, and that means they can mate, but internal biology means they cannot reproduce. Sylvari sexual dimorphism is entirely for show. In general, sylvari don't approach gender in the same way as the older races do and often see gender roles as quaint relics of the past. Sylvari romance is more courtly, but sex is not shunned or considered dirty - it's a part of life.
✳ Only the Pale Tree, the sylvari "mother," can create more sylvari. This, technically, makes every sylvari born from her siblings. It was revealed in the expansion Heart of Thorns that the tree - and by extension, the sylvari - are purified minions of Elder Dragon Mordremoth. She is technically a minion factory.
✳ As a result, sylvari are immune to the corrupting magic of the other Elder Dragons - this means they cannot be made Risen, Branded, Icebrood, or Destroyers. This is very specific to Guild Wars 2, however, so it might not apply to Songerein, but...you never know! LOOKS AT LAENA
✳ The sylvari are plant people. They are not plant-like people, they are not plant-fused or tainted by nature. They grow from pods and emerge fully formed. As of present in Guild Wars 2, it has been 33 years since Tyria's first sylvari were born, and the oldest show no sign of aging in the animal sense. If you were to cut one open, you'd find a cluster of plant matter that imitates musculature and hardwood that resembles a bone skeleton. The origin point of growth would be the equivalent of a human's tail bone, and this is evident in many of the sylvari's "homegrown" clothes. They do not, however, eat sunlight.
✳ Sylvari are bioluminescent! At night and in the dark, certain parts of their body glow and they come in all colors. Trahearne specifically glows fuchsia on his hair, bits of his face, and along his limbs. The light pulses in and out, like slow breathing.
✳ Being closer to plants in biology than animals, sylvari are more likely to be affected by plant diseases than animal ailments. Think black spot instead of the flu.
✳ The sylvari are, on average, slightly shorter than humans, and on the outside their form seems to be an almost perfect imitation of human physique. This is not the case on the inside: sylvari do not have the same internals as a human does. They have no heartbeat and produce no body heat; the "blood" that they have is a golden sap. It's even debatable as to whether or not they breathe with lungs; some sylvari don't have noses, though they do use underwater breathers as other races do (which might be purely a gameplay aspect, however). Funnily enough, they do produce waste after eating, but the process of which is unknown.
✳ Indeed: sylvari are practically the same as humans on the outside, and that means they can mate, but internal biology means they cannot reproduce. Sylvari sexual dimorphism is entirely for show. In general, sylvari don't approach gender in the same way as the older races do and often see gender roles as quaint relics of the past. Sylvari romance is more courtly, but sex is not shunned or considered dirty - it's a part of life.
✳ Only the Pale Tree, the sylvari "mother," can create more sylvari. This, technically, makes every sylvari born from her siblings. It was revealed in the expansion Heart of Thorns that the tree - and by extension, the sylvari - are purified minions of Elder Dragon Mordremoth. She is technically a minion factory.
✳ As a result, sylvari are immune to the corrupting magic of the other Elder Dragons - this means they cannot be made Risen, Branded, Icebrood, or Destroyers. This is very specific to Guild Wars 2, however, so it might not apply to Songerein, but...you never know! LOOKS AT LAENA
❁ THE GROVE
✳ where trahearne comes from and the beliefs that shape him.
✳ Ventari's teachings serve as the great basis for sylvari beliefs and attitudes towards the world. Trahearne sees the seven tenets as a guide to navigating tough situations and finds great wisdom in them.
I. Live life well and fully, and waste nothing.
II. Do not fear difficulty. Hard ground makes stronger roots.
III. The only lasting peace is the peace within your own soul.
IV. All things have a right to grow. The blossom is brother to the weed.
V. Never leave a wrong to ripen into evil or sorrow.
VI. Act with wisdom, but act.
VII. From the smallest blade of grass to the largest mountain, where life goes—so, too, should you.
✳ Ventari's teachings serve as the great basis for sylvari beliefs and attitudes towards the world. Trahearne sees the seven tenets as a guide to navigating tough situations and finds great wisdom in them.
I. Live life well and fully, and waste nothing.
II. Do not fear difficulty. Hard ground makes stronger roots.
III. The only lasting peace is the peace within your own soul.
IV. All things have a right to grow. The blossom is brother to the weed.
V. Never leave a wrong to ripen into evil or sorrow.
VI. Act with wisdom, but act.
VII. From the smallest blade of grass to the largest mountain, where life goes—so, too, should you.
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