Hare Spirit of the Wild

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

@Ogwom.7940 said:The Vaettir are spirits, just like the Spirits of the Wild, except vaettir are fallen where and therefor their names are named after some specific iniquity. Perhaps they were once types of Spirits of the Wild and had fallen is what I am trying to say.Vaettir, unlike Nuflastu, are a type of Nightmare. Nightmares are souls that have been twisted and made malevolent - we see this in Xandra's quest in GW1, and again in the Hall of Chains mission where Dhuum turns a few dozen spirits into nightmares before our eyes.

The Vaettir around Nulfastu, despite their shared model and skills, are the souls of those who Nulfastu killed. As the quoted description below says, Nufastu is "constantly surrounded by the spirits of those he has trapped." The vaettir there are, ultimately, Nulfastu's victims.

@Kalavier.1097 said:

@Ogwom.7940 said:@Kalavier.1097 I don't see how you would know for sure that it is not related to the Spirits of the Wild.In an old Arenanet Blog, A Spirit of Legend, Ree Soesbee seems to indicate that the Greater Spirits of the Wild, or rather all the ones animal ones that they consider "friends", are spirits of nature that are embodied in animals.She also goes on to say that Spirits of the Wild are not strictly animals. There are ones of Darkness, Mountains, Fire and etc. whcih are all non "sentient" things compared to the type of animals that Norn would revere.

He is not a spirit of the wild in any relation to the animal spirits. You imply he's related to Hare/rabbit, which is not true. Re-reading it, Nulfastu is merely described as a "great, northern nature spirit" And that he was struck down by the others, his body in one realm and his power in another. So if he was one of the spirits of the wild, he lost that status. Yes there are spirits of action and elements, but Nulfastu is explicitly been struck down by his fellow "nature spirits". His existence also was before the deeper look at the spirits of the wild and the Norn belief system.

https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Egil_Fireteller

It's rather falicious to say it's not a spirit of the wild. Keep in mind there are more Spirits of the Wild than the animal spirits. As explained by Egil Fireteller in GW1:

"The Norn do not know gods, at least not in the way humans do. But we do revere the spirits of the animals upon whom we depend for food and shelter. There are many such spirits. Bear is the mightiest of course, but Raven, Owl, Wolf, Wurm, and Ox all have their place in the world and in our hearts. While we hunt and slay these creatures, we also praise their spirit, and thank them for their sacrifice. The animals are our brethren; their spirits guide us as we live and hunt.""There are more hostile, even malicious, spirits in the world...spirits of the mountains, seasons, fire, and darkness. The animal spirits are our allies against these foes, and we thank them for their aid, singing the praises of all beasts as we hunt. This is the Norn way."https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Egil_FiretellerThe key I'm referring to is in the second paragraph - that when talking about the Spirits of the Wild, Egil doesn't limit it to animal spirits but also reference "other spirits in the world".

The description for Nulfastu is such:"Once a great, northen nature spirit, Nulfastu descended into the dark arts in an attempt to destroy his brethren and usurp their powers. When his intentions were revealed, the other spirits struck down Nulfastu, binding his incorporeal body to this realm and his spirit powers to the next.""Beware! Nulfastu retains great power and should be avoided by all but the most heroic or foolhardy Norn. He can manipulate the minds of the living and is constantly surrounded by the spirits of those he has trapped. The lone survivor of an encounter with Nulfastu reported he appeared as a simple rabbit before wresting control of her mind. "https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Notorious_Foe:_Nulfastu,_Earthbound

While it is true that Nulfastu has no (known) relation to Hare, and it doesn't seem to be an animal spirit given its appearance (and it would be weird for it to be a spirit of fish), it is a nature spirit which is, ultimately, what the Spirits of the Wild are. Though in GW2 it does seem like the norn and kodan use "Spirits of the Wild" to refer specifically to the animal spirits, given they never reference the Spirit of Fire dealt with in Season 3 Episode 3 as a Spirit of the Wild, though do as a nature spirit.

The oddity of Nuflastu is that it has a unique name, which is not very norn-like at all. They, and kodan, refer to the spirits by what they represent. In fact, norn refer to the Six Gods by such too per an old interview - they refer to Kormir as "Knowledge", Balthazar as "War", Grenth as "Death", etc. rather by their legit names (shame that upon visiting Kormir, even though they had the charr use the title 'god of knowledge' sarcastically and with proverbial air quotes, they didn't have norn simply caller her Knowledge, or Spirit of Knowledge). It'd be curious to learn what Nulfastu was the spirit of.

[Kalavier.1097]

Yeah, I read that and correct to He's not related to the animal spirits, and by his description, he's been stripped of his status as a nature spirit due to his actions. I suppose a good question is if Nulfastu is still around in GW2 lol.

I'd say based around his abilities and description, he was probably a nature spirit of trickery/mischief of some sort.