The Golden Cave - CONTAINS LW S2 SPOILERS

[Starfall Leyline.2481]

I know that after seasons 4, after Heart of Thorns even, seems an odd time to be bringing up a relatively niche thing from the Living World Season 2. However, it's something that's been pegged in the back of my mind. I was curious to see if it had caught anyone else's interest, too. I realize that at this point it's likely too late for Anet to even consider doing anything with this, but I'll just spill my thoughts and see what people think.

Do you recall in Season 2 when you were planting the memory seeds for Caithe to find where she had taken the egg? After that process, you end up going into a massive golden cave with an archway in the corner, clearly Forgotten/Exalted in design, but filled with a landslide of golden sand to the point that it's impassable.

The cave is significant, it has its own soundtrack, and your character's attention is drawn by your buddies to just how amazing it is. But biggest (to me) is that once upon a time... that golden archway led somewhere. I don't think Exalted or Forgotten were in the habit of simply building structures in random locales just for the heck of it. Now, Anet might have just put it in there for effect and to introduce the visual cue to the player at the time preparing for HoT, but does anyone else wonder if there were more to that cave's story than just a pretty place to fight a Mordrem boss?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D-suJChMOec/VLt7W60zsaI/AAAAAAAAIpI/KVNupD0FMkA/s1600/gw515.jpg

[Danikat.8537]

I think there was definitely more to it, but I also think we've already got the answer: it was hinting at the introduction of the Exalted and Tarir in HoT. Remember Season 2 was released before HoT was even announced, and the entire story is basically leading up to the start of HoT's story, so there's a lot of things in there which hint at what we'd be seeing later.

According to A Study in Gold (tablet 9) the Exalted and the Forgotten created several sanctuaries for themselves and for Glint's Scions which had to be abandoned for various reasons before they fulfilled their purpose and turning everything gold seemed to be a part of that. Kesho in Elon Riverlands, where Vlast grew up, is the same.

You're right that the cave is significant in the story, but I think it's more because of what happens to us there - it's where we finally catch up to Caithe, where we get the final revelations about Mordremoth, the sylvari's history and Caithe's past and where we finally catch up to the Master of Peace and fight the Shadow of the Dragon so it's a fairly major part of the entire Season 2 storyline.

It would absolutely be of interest to the Priory and other scholars because of it's history as an earlier home for the Exalted, but I can't imagine we'll get to go back and see it being excavated unless it also somehow becomes relevant to the ongoing story. Which could happen of course, Anet are in full control of the story so they can send us wherever they like, but it seems unlikely to me.