Guild Wars_ Ghosts of Ascalon - Matt Forbeck [42]
By the same token, there were matters that were completely beyond them. Emotions seemed to be a hard concept for them to understand fully, as was tact. The sylvari he had dealt with over the years would often unknowingly offend others by pointing out obvious and uncomfortable truths.
“We are the bounty of the Pale Tree, which grows at the center of the Grove,” said Killeen. “Long ago there was a human warrior named Ronan who found the seed of the Pale Tree in a cavern. Ronan tired of war and, along with a former foe, a centaur named Ventari, traveled to the south and planted the tree in what would become the Grove.
“Ronan passed on, and so, too, in time did Ventari, who spent his life tending to the young sapling. Before he died, Ventari carved his tablet and set it down at the base of the tree. When we awakened, that tablet became our law, and we were infused with the spirit of both brave Ronan and gentle Ventari.
“We were not there when all this happened, but we know it because of the Dream of Dreams. While we were quickening within the golden fruit of the Pale Tree, the tree spoke to us of the world outside. She taught us, if you will, of the nature of the waking world.
“We are not all-knowing,” she continued. “The Dream of Dreams is not like a tome of all knowledge. But it does give us a life before our life, in which we learn much of the world we are coming into. Fire is hot. Wild animals can be dangerous, but many can be tamed. Here is the proper way to use a sword. This is how you cast a spell, if you are so disposed. We come into the world with knowledge of the world, but not necessarily the experience.”
Riona shook her head. “Is there a difference? Experience gives you knowledge.”
“For humans, most likely,” said Killeen, “but not for us.” She picked up an oversized drumstick. “This is the leg of a young moa. I know that it was a moa from the Dream, and further that it is well cooked but not overcooked. I know what it tastes like but have never tasted it myself.” She took a bite of the leg, and chewed for a moment or two. “Chicken,” she said at last, the word muffled by the food in her cheek.
“I don’t know what is weirder,” said Riona, looking a little uneasy, “your telepathic dreams or the fact I am watching a plant eat an animal.”
“Many plants eat animals,” countered Killeen. “Flytraps, ibogas, jacarandas, pitcher plants. The oakhearts chase down and mash animals they encounter and use the remains to fertilize their young.”
“Of course they do,” said Riona. She turned to Dougal and whispered, loudly, “Creepy!”
If Killeen heard the comment, she did not respond to it. “But we don’t have telepathic dreams. In the Dream of Dreams, one grows one’s identity. When one is Awakened into the world, we leave the Dream behind, for the most part. But what we learn in the world goes back into the Dream to help new sylvari understand. The Firstborn entered into a world without sylvari, but what they learned helped all that followed them. So, too, what I learn will help future generations.”
“Must make it hard for sylvari to keep secrets,” said Riona, and Dougal realized what she was thinking: Killeen knew everything they knew about the mission. Who else has emerged, newly fallen from the Pale Tree who knew about this?
“We try not to keep secrets,” said Killeen, almost smugly. “But knowledge is rarely specific. A face, an item, perhaps a name, may stay with us once we Awaken. We may feel drawn to a particular place or person, or feel that some task needs to be done. Occasionally, something in the Dream echoes back to an awakened sylvari, but it is more of a feeling than a vision filled with details and specifics. That is one reason so many sylvari wish to fight the Elder Dragons: we dream of a great shadow in the Dream, and awaken to a world where the dragons cast an equally deep shadow on the land.
“As an example”—she motioned at Dougal with her moa bird—“I know about the long war between the charr and the humans, but not as much about the reasons why, or what happened