Sylvari
From Guild Wars 2 Wiki
“Evil threatens Tyria, but our Dream will guide us through darkness... to dawn.
— Caithe
The sylvari are a young, inquisitive race of botanical humanoids spawned from the Pale Tree in Arbor Bay at the dawn of a new age in Tyria. The tree was planted by Ventari and Ronan, a centaur and a human attempting to escape the violence that engulfed Tyria.
They are beings of light, as they have yet to be corrupted by the knowledge of sorrow, suspicion, or hatred.
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[edit] Culture
The birth of sylvari was a response to the threat of the dragons[1], and as such, sylvari believe it is their destiny to hunt the dragons. The sacred Ventari Tablet, inscribed with the ethical views of its creator, remains at the base of the Pale Tree. Sylvari have an innate bond with plants, and each other, which they call the Dream of Dreams. However, concealed within the Dream of Dreams are nightmares, something which the sylvari do not yet understand. These nightmares have manifested themselves in the form of the Nightmare Court, a sylvari faction who have turned against their own kind. Sylvari craft their armor and weapons from organic material, such as roots and leaves.[2]
[edit] Playing as a sylvari
When choosing sylvari as a race during character creation, one selects the time of day at which a sylvari is born, determining the season a sylvari is associated with. Their seasonal alignment affects their personal story, but does not grant them anything power-related.[3] It is widely speculated, but not confirmed, that seasonal alignments will affect characters' appearances in some way.
| Time of day | Season |
|---|---|
| Dawn | Spring |
| Day | Summer |
| Twilight | Autumn |
| Night | Winter |
Also selected is a lesser race that the character has sympathy for. For the sylvari, these races include the hylek, skritt, and quaggan.
[edit] Notes
- The term sylvari is used in the plural, possessive and singular forms.
- The sylvari have been noted to have more healing based racial skills than other races. [4]
[edit] Trivia
- Sylvari has an etymological root in Latin, as silva is Latin for forest.
- The concept for the sylvari was likely developed from the sidhe, a race planned for the unimplemented Guild Wars Utopia. This race in turn had probably evolved from the Irish mythological aos sí, also known as aes sídhe.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Guild Wars 2: Preview Interview, MMORPG
- ^ PCGameplay Article on Guildwars 2, english translation of Dutch PCGameplay article, Guild Wars 2 Guru
- ^ Guild Wars 2 - ArenaNet im Interview - Teil 1, Onlinewelten
- ^ Interview with Eric Flannum, Isaiah Cartwright, and Ryan Scott, Guild Wars 2 Guru
| Playable races | |
|---|---|
| Asura • Charr • Human • Norn • Sylvari | |
