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Shouldn't Elonians be completely shocked at seeing Sylvari?


Ralan.5834

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Something has come to my attention in recent days and I haven't found an answer on the forums yet so correct me if I am wrong but...Seeing how up until the events in PoF, Elona had been isolated since 1275AE , and Sylvari only started sprouting in 1302AE, shouldn't then Sylvari be met with extreme confusion, distrust, or amazement? I mean it's not a far logical leap to see how after dealing with little mad aggressive cacti one would need a moment to understand and come to grips the Sylvari. Nope. No one bats an eye.Thoughts?Did we just discover a hole in the Lore?

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From everything we see in PoF, 'isolated' is, perhaps, overstating the matter. For instance, Vehtendi Academy seems pretty up-to-date on world happenings, in a filtered-so-everything's-Joko kind of way. For that matter, so does the Astralarium. Guns are commonplace among the corsairs. The Elona-desert region as a whole has both guardians and engineers. All in all, it seems that while we've known next to nothing about the Elona-desert region, the people there have been keeping comfortably up-to-date on us.

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yes and no, given the amount of strange creatures that already exist in the desert, would not be something to a "shock" level. Sylvaris may be new, but in matters of strange creatures, it is not a new in Elona. Theres Djinns, Jacarandas, undeads, and the mostly bizarre yet the Choyas ....

in the end of PoF, this is very well portraied.

Canach: For the last time, I am not a grouchy cactus man. Nor am I a giant talking choya. You urchins have the manners of a fifthborn.

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They should be a bit more surprised by asura and norn, for that matter. Even if they were around before, they weren't wandering around Elona for the last 60 or so years - at least, to their knowledge. While there is one child who bothers an asura NPC, Elonians took the presence of strange creatures in great strides.

Another minor hole filler people mentioned is that while it was mostly inaccessible, the Durmand Priory have made trips into the desert before (seen by the nonhumans mostly clustered around Augury Rock) and the Order of Whispers has had secret routes in and out of Elona for centuries. While trade might have been cut off, there have been visitors to Elona, some of which might have been sylvari.

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Short Answer: No.

We know that Destiny's Edge travelled mostly unhindered to Glint's Lair, so Tyrians could travel unhindered at least as far as the Desert Highlands even with Joko in power.That stands to reason, that if nothing else, any sighting of Caithe, Eir, Snaff and Zojja would have been retold around the rest of the desert regions.That's not to mention the apparent abundance of news that joke received, in enough detail that he could insert himself as the protagonist in a lot of current events.

The true isolation probably began only after branded started being an issue in the highlands region.

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@ReaverKane.7598 said:The true isolation probably began only after branded started being an issue in the highlands region.

I'd agree with this. To the west and northwest, Elona/Crystal Desert is cut off by Zhaitan and his minions. To the northeast its cut off by branded. So basically before Kralkatorrik awoke, there shouldve been correspondence and interaction between Crystal Desert and central Tyria

I'm going a bit offtopic here, but this with branded is something that always bothered me about PoF. It seems that elonians don't really care about the branded that much. Both Garden of Seborhin and the Academy seem to be working quite uninterrupted. All the heart quests in Joko's realm are related to the forged, there is barely any recognition that Kralk is in the region. Anyone has guesses on whys that (dont say because Joko made Kralkatorrik)

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GW2 is a fantasy universe. We as players live in the comparatively less magical and mundane real world. I don’t think we can put ourselves in the shoes of a habitant of Elonia where a myriad of magical and mystical beings already exists: the Sylvari would just be one such being among many others.

As such, I think the rather lackluster reaction of “Eh? That’s some new, giant kind of Choya or something?” seems about right.

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@Yannir.4132 said:

@maddoctor.2738 said:Sylvari look like more human-like choya so I don't see a reason for Elonians to be shocked. There are no Charr in Elona either, and those look like giant felines so there is no problem there either.

So you wouldn't be surprised if a lion suddenly appeared in your backyard?

First, lions are known predators. Second, if said lion walked on two legs, wore clothes and spoke English, I'd look at it much differently than just a snarling beast in my backyard.

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@Rognik.2579 said:

@maddoctor.2738 said:Sylvari look like more human-like choya so I don't see a reason for Elonians to be shocked. There are no Charr in Elona either, and those look like giant felines so there is no problem there either.

So you wouldn't be surprised if a lion suddenly appeared in your backyard?

First, lions are known predators. Second, if said lion walked on two legs, wore clothes and spoke English, I'd look at it much differently than just a snarling beast in my backyard.

Ur Talking bout Son Goku Charr Now?

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@kasoki.5180 said:

I'm going a bit offtopic here, but this with branded is something that always bothered me about PoF. It seems that elonians don't really care about the branded that much. Both Garden of Seborhin and the Academy seem to be working quite uninterrupted. All the heart quests in Joko's realm are related to the forged, there is barely any recognition that Kralk is in the region. Anyone has guesses on whys that (dont say because Joko made Kralkatorrik)

That may have to do with how many Elonians south of the Bone Wall view Palawa Joko (and his armies) as their lord protector. Those outside of his influence regarded Vlast as their protector, and most are probably ignorant of his demise. It is nevertheless odd that so many Vabbians seem so blasé about the Brand destroying many of their greatest cultural buildings and such.

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@"kasoki.5180" said:

I'm going a bit offtopic here, but this with branded is something that always bothered me about PoF. It seems that elonians don't really care about the branded that much. Both Garden of Seborhin and the Academy seem to be working quite uninterrupted. All the heart quests in Joko's realm are related to the forged, there is barely any recognition that Kralk is in the region. Anyone has guesses on whys that (dont say because Joko made Kralkatorrik)

One of the links I posted above touches on it, but essentially, the locals assume that Kralkatorrik is there because Joko wants him to be. In Vehtendi, the students are taught that Joko invited Kralkatorrik, and when you tell them that Joko lured Kralkatorrik to Vabbi to defeat him, or that Kralkatorrik is Joko's pet, or that Joko wants the dragon nearby to feed on its energies, the students eat it up. In the Garden, when a play is interrupted by the Branded, a bare minimum of ad lib from the actors has the whole crowd convinced that Joko commands the creatures.

It seems absurd from where we're sitting, but I think what ANet was going for is that the people there are so sheltered, and so indoctrinated, that they can't conceive of anything happening that isn't part of Joko's will. This is a nation that believes their god-king has already single-handedly slain two Elder Dragons. If he didn't want Kralkatorrik around, then why would he still be there?

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There's no real hole in the lore. In truth, this can be said of any species (Charr, Norn, Asura, etc) and sometimes characters hear background conversations that revolve around these issues. However, I'm guessing this is for ease of content, and that all characters are viewed as "Outsiders" when dealing with Elonians.

Then again, they also deal with walking undead, angry Genies, strange cactus people, discontent gods, and dragons. So maybe, with everything they currently have to deal with, they just don't care about the strange, non-threatening plant people.

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I am just surprised that Elonians are not even more racist against Sylvari and Asuras.They have met bad Asurans (Inquest), I guess?You can even meet a Charr Revenant Elite Spec Mentor in Elona.I would hoped Elonians would do something more regards which race you are playing as.

In the Olmakhan tribe village, you can hear two Charrs gossiping, talking racial about your PC as you walk by, which was a really nice small feature.I would've loved to see more of these dialouges!

If asura:Olmakhan Villager (male): I can't believe the elders are trusting an asura outlander.Olmakhan Villager (female): They say not all asura are like those invaders.Olmakhan Villager (male): I say they're all untrustworthy little rats.Olmakhan Villager (female): Hush!

If charr:Olmakhan Villager (female): Did you see that outlander? Such strength and ferocity in battle, yet so gentle and kind with our cubs.Olmakhan Villager (male): And such beautiful eyes...and such a charming laugh...Olmakhan Villager (female): Get a hold of yourself!Olmakhan Villager (male): ...and also, those biceps.Olmakhan Villager (female): Well, I mean. Yes.Olmakhan Villager (male): Mm-hmm.Olmakhan Villager (female): Mm-hmm.

If human:Olmakhan Villager (female): Have you heard? The outlander says they're not from Elona.Olmakhan Villager (male): A human from beyond the desert?Olmakhan Villager (female): The cubs are thrilled. They won't stop playing their new favorite game, "Sand Monster and Heroes."

If norn:Olmakhan Villager (male): That outlander is the biggest human I've ever seen.Olmakhan Villager (female): Not human. Norn. From north. Far north. Did you see them battle those invaders? I've never seen anyone fight like that.Olmakhan Villager (female): I heard they can take on different animal forms.Olmakhan Villager (male): Now you're just pulling my tail.

If sylvari:Olmakhan Villager (female): Have you seen that outlander? How do they not just wilt in the desert heat?Olmakhan Villager (male): Don't ask me. Until yesterday, I didn't know plants could talk.Olmakhan Villager (female): What about the choya?Olmakhan Villager (male): You call that gibberish talking?Olmakhan Villager (female): Huh. Fair point.

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