Why did Zhaitan sleep in the ocean?

[Slowpokeking.8720]

It obviously loves to move on the ground, we can see it raised Orr up to be its lair and main base. Then why did it sleep so deep in the ocean? Is it because it was attacked or weakened before?

[Ayrilana.1396]

It was beneath Arah which went beneath the ocean/sea because of Vizier Khilbron.

[Danikat.8537]

Like Ayrilana said it probably wasn't the ocean when Zhaitan went to sleep. Orr only sank when the Cataclysm (triggered by Khilbron) destroyed it, before then it was above the sea. Even now it's not as high as it was because there's a lot of ruined buildings in the Straits of Devastation which would originally have been above ground.

Remember it's been approximately 11,300 years since the dragons last rose. Given how much Tyria changed in the last 250 years I doubt there's much resemblance between how it was then and how it is now.

[Slowpokeking.8720]

@Ayrilana.1396 said:It was beneath Arah which went beneath the ocean/sea because of Vizier Khilbron.

I don't think so.

If it slept underground of Orr. Why didn't the Catalysm awake him right way? Mordremoth awoke simply due to the magical wave. And Catalysm's magic was strong enough to blow up Orr underground.

[Aaron Ansari.1604]

@Slowpokeking.8720 said:

@Ayrilana.1396 said:It was beneath Arah which went beneath the ocean/sea because of Vizier Khilbron.

I don't think so.

If it slept underground of Orr. Why didn't the Catalysm awake him right way? Mordremoth awoke simply due to the magical wave. And Catalysm's magic was strong enough to blow up Orr underground.

Could be a couple of reasons.

A.) Mordremoth was already waking up in 1327, while Zhaitan wasn't in 1071. Remember, he was already conscious enough to get into Scarlet's head and steer her into feeding him a leyline.B.) Mordremoth was given a burst of magical power on top of a relatively high background magic, while Zhaitan had a low background. A river is more likely to flood its banks when it's already running high, not when it's been through a drought.C.) Leylines are what Mordremoth, and quite likely Elder Dragons in general, feed on. Forbidden god magic might not be. The form of energy might matter, the same way you need to plug a computer into an electrical current and not just put it in an oven.D.) The leyline appeared to make physical contact with Mordremoth, while Zhaitan was insulated from the direct blast of the Cataclysm by who knows how many hundreds or thousands of feet of earth. The fact that you might wake up if someone brings fresh bacon into your bedroom doesn't mean you'll also wake up if someone makes it in an apartment five blocks down.

[Ayrilana.1396]

@Slowpokeking.8720 said:

@"Ayrilana.1396" said:It was beneath Arah which went beneath the ocean/sea because of Vizier Khilbron.

I don't think so.

If it slept underground of Orr. Why didn't the Catalysm awake him right way? Mordremoth awoke simply due to the magical wave. And Catalysm's magic was strong enough to blow up Orr underground.

"For more than a millennium, Zhaitan rested beneath the land that would become the Kingdom of Orr once humanity,"-https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Zhaitan

"In panic, Vizier Khilbron searched forbidden texts and discovered a scroll that had been hidden away by the Five Gods. He stole it from Arah, taking it to his tower, and there, unleashed its might upon the land. With a flash of light and explosion of flame the nation of Orr crumbled and was lost into the depths of the sea."-https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Cataclysm

It's pretty established that Zhaitan has been below Orr all of this time and not out in the ocean.

[ugrakarma.9416]

Perhaps a touch to make it more realistic, as with our planet, old things tend to be buried via erosion and natural agents.

[Fluffball.8307]

I imagine the dragon's don't really care what the environment is in the same way I don't particularly care if it's 50F or 60F outside; I'm just fine either way. The ground or ocean don't suffocate them or wake them up.

[Bast.7253]

@Aaron Ansari.1604 said:

@Slowpokeking.8720 said:

@Ayrilana.1396 said:It was beneath Arah which went beneath the ocean/sea because of Vizier Khilbron.

I don't think so.

If it slept underground of Orr. Why didn't the Catalysm awake him right way? Mordremoth awoke simply due to the magical wave. And Catalysm's magic was strong enough to blow up Orr underground.

Could be a couple of reasons.

A.) Mordremoth was already waking up in 1327, while Zhaitan wasn't in 1071. Remember, he was already conscious enough to get into Scarlet's head and steer her into feeding him a leyline.B.) Mordremoth was given a burst of magical power on top of a relatively high background magic, while Zhaitan had a low background. A river is more likely to flood its banks when it's already running high, not when it's been through a drought.C.) Leylines are what Mordremoth, and quite likely Elder Dragons in general, feed on. Forbidden god magic might not be. The form of energy might matter, the same way you need to plug a computer into an electrical current and not just put it in an oven.D.) The leyline appeared to make physical contact with Mordremoth, while Zhaitan was insulated from the direct blast of the Cataclysm by who knows how many hundreds or thousands of feet of earth. The fact that you might wake up if someone brings fresh bacon into your bedroom doesn't mean you'll also wake up if someone makes it in an apartment five blocks down.

Also, Arah, is kind of the guild wars 2 Atlantis I feel like. It was advanced in the form of everyone freely using magic constantly. The people of Arah probably soaked up all the excess music and constantly drained whatever zhaitan could have potentially absorbed while he was asleep.

[Torolan.5816]

Because he is larger than a giant airship which enables him to sleep whereever he wants.^^

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

@Slowpokeking.8720 said:

@"Ayrilana.1396" said:It was beneath Arah which went beneath the ocean/sea because of Vizier Khilbron.

I don't think so.

If it slept underground of Orr. Why didn't the Catalysm awake him right way? Mordremoth awoke simply due to the magical wave. And Catalysm's magic was strong enough to blow up Orr underground.

You know that you're literally saying "the developers are lying to us about the writing that they wrote."

Zhaitan was sleeping beneath Arah - probably not "beneath" when he went to sleep though, as time does result in dirt and whatnot piling on top of things - and only woke up "in the ocean" because Orr was beneath the waves. This was why when he woke, he lifted Orr.

That said, he wasn't actually in the ocean, due to Orr not being in the ocean.

Furthermore, Mordremoth was already mentally aware for a few years prior to Scarlet's actions at Lion's Arch sending him magic, and we know this is fact because Mordremoth was telepathically communicating with Scarlet. There's also a major difference between the Cataclysm, which was magic surrounding Zhaitan, and what Scarlet did, which was magic being fed into Mordremoth's mouth.

[Ithilwen.1529]

Water is traditionally symbolic of sleep, dreams and death. It's a totally appropriate ream for Zhaitan to control.

[arenta.2953]

90% chance its because he saw this boat and descided it matched him

[Eclipse.6203]

@"arenta.2953" said:90% chance its because he saw this boat and descided it matched him

Where did you find that image from?

[Dayra.7405]

@Slowpokeking.8720 said:It obviously loves to move on the ground, we can see it raised Orr up to be its lair and main base. Then why did it sleep so deep in the ocean? Is it because it was attacked or weakened before?

If you are a large and especially heavy dragon: you only get pressure marks if you sleep at land for a long time, but in water, your buoyancy let you float such that it is very comfortable, if you do not have to breathe. ;)

[The Greyhawk.9107]

@Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

@Slowpokeking.8720 said:

@"Ayrilana.1396" said:It was beneath Arah which went beneath the ocean/sea because of Vizier Khilbron.

I don't think so.

If it slept underground of Orr. Why didn't the Catalysm awake him right way? Mordremoth awoke simply due to the magical wave. And Catalysm's magic was strong enough to blow up Orr underground.

You know that you're

literally

saying "the developers are lying to us about the writing that they wrote."

Zhaitan was sleeping beneath Arah - probably not "beneath" when he went to sleep though, as time does result in dirt and whatnot piling on top of things - and only woke up "in the ocean" because Orr was beneath the waves. This was why when he woke, he lifted Orr.

That said, he wasn't actually in the ocean, due to Orr not being in the ocean.

Furthermore, Mordremoth was already mentally aware for a few years prior to Scarlet's actions at Lion's Arch sending him magic, and we know this is fact because Mordremoth was telepathically communicating with Scarlet. There's also a major difference between the Cataclysm, which was magic surrounding Zhaitan, and what Scarlet did, which was magic being fed into Mordremoth's mouth.

To be fair, it wouldn't be the first time devs retconned shit, but all the same both yourself and Aaron laid out a pretty decisive argument for the current canon.

[arenta.2953]

@Eclipse.6203 said:

@"arenta.2953" said:90% chance its because he saw this boat and descided it matched him

Where did you find that image from?

imgur.com xD

sorry i don't have the original source

[Zola.6197]

Zhaitan is Bubbles confirmed

[Rikis.3984]

Zhaitan did nothing wrong! Can you imagine? You go to sleep in your comfortable bed after having a delicious, fulfilling meal. Then you wake up underwater because of the shenanigans of some bed bugs?! Why, you'd probably be quite upset too and want to exterminate all the bed bugs in your neighborhood too! So you have some breakfast and they still won't leave you alone! Of course, we all know his day just gets worse and worse due to those same bed bugs.