Former Wildling?

[Michaux]

So, I have an idea for an ex Wailer character who would also be a former Wildling. I've been doing a lot of research on Greenwrath, woodsin, and Wildlings, and have noted that nearly all the sources of information we have about these are 1.0 quests. It seems that in 1.0, once a person became a Wildling, there was really no going back from that, except I think for one instance when the Elementals took a number of people, but then released them after the Padjals prayed to them. 

 

But what about now? What happened to the Wildlings that were running around the Twelvewood when the Calamity occurred? We know that the Elementals were severely weakened by the Calamity, and going by the 2.0 Shroud quests, there's no reason to believe that they're still claiming a bunch of people and turning them into Wildlings. Is it possible that someone who became a Wildling at some date prior to the Calamity could have been released by the Elementals after they were weakened? 

 

As I said, my character would have been a Wood Wailer who ended up in a situation where he became so overloaded with woodsin that his mask could no longer protect him (that is why Wailers wear the mask, yes? And I read that the masks can shatter if they absorb too much woodsin), and the wood claimed him. Sometime after the Calamity, he would wake up somewhere with very little of his memory intact. I know something like this occurs to an NPC in 1.0, but I believe that character still belongs to the Elementals, whereas I want my character to be freed from their influence (at least for the most part).

 

So, does this sound at all plausible? Not that this is not an excuse to make my character an IC white mage, or anything like that. He's just a humble lancer.

[L'ohba Tia]

It sounds reasonable within the lore. Even if your character wasn't released by the Elementals willingly, there could be a number of other reasons why they recovered once the Elementals lost their hold. As long as there's precedent for a Wildling recovering, then you have all you need. Sounds like a good point for character progression too, if the reason why they were released could amount to something more important.

[Kilieit]

Personally, I got the impression that becoming a Wildling was essentially (if not actually) being tempered by the Elementals - and tempering is irreversible. But I don't know if that's actually the case?

 

Hopefully someone more familiar with 1.0 than I am can help you out!

[Sounsyy]

As I said, my character would have been a Wood Wailer who ended up in a situation where he became so overloaded with woodsin that his mask could no longer protect him (that is why Wailers wear the mask, yes? And I read that the masks can shatter if they absorb too much woodsin), and the wood claimed him.

 

Yes that is why Wood Wailers wear the mask!

Our masks allow us to avoid the gaze of the elementals. The magic within them hides far more than the flesh beneath. The forest is our mother - we hunt and harvest when and where she tells us' date=' and we would give our lives to protect her. Still, culture and nature can never be in complete harmony. It is an unavoidable fact that some of what we do serves to anger the elementals. At such times, our masks spare us their greenwrath.[/quote']

 

And yes, they can become overburdened by Woodsin!

If the woodsin upon a soul is too great' date=' the power of the purification mask may collapse under the burden. But I do not think you are in any such danger.[/quote']

 

 

__________________________

Sometime after the Calamity, he would wake up somewhere with very little of his memory intact. I know something like this occurs to an NPC in 1.0, but I believe that character still belongs to the Elementals.

 

Yep, his name is Morys!

Yes' date=' Brother Morys was indeed a wildling. Very few of the conjurers are privy to this. Those who do know have been forbidden to speak of it. Once claimed by the wood, one undergoes certain…changes. Wildlings have great potential to become powerful, powerful conjurers. If knowledge of this fact were to become widespread, we fear many would allow themselves to be turned out of lust for power. But once claimed, wildlings can seldom be retrieved from the wood.[/quote']

I spoke to you before of the mysteries surrounding Brother Morys. But I was not entirely open. He was found some time ago' date=' fallen in the forest. Not unlike the knight you yourself found. He bore no sigil or crest, and claimed to have no memory of how he had come to be there. Try as we might, our attempts to coax him into recollection yielded nothing. And so he began his life again, in the forest, as one of us.[/quote']

 

 

__________________________

But what about now? What happened to the Wildlings that were running around the Twelvewood when the Calamity occurred? We know that the Elementals were severely weakened by the Calamity, and going by the 2.0 Shroud quests, there's no reason to believe that they're still claiming a bunch of people and turning them into Wildlings. Is it possible that someone who became a Wildling at some date prior to the Calamity could have been released by the Elementals after they were weakened?

 

It is possible, but with the severe lack of lore regarding the wildlings in ARR, it's hard to say for certain. I may add this to my list of questions for Fanfest. But there are canon cases of the elementals relinquishing their hold of their tempered souls, so it may very well be possible that the Calamity's crippling of the elementals might have released the hold over a wildling's mind. Though it still might be unwise for a wildling, former or not, to attempting straying far from the Hedge.

 

And are you— Hey! You understand what I’m saying' date=' kupo! Save a wildling? You mean one taken by the greenwrath, kupo? Taken and claimed? Cleansing a wildling is not easily done, kupo. The conjurers must perform their cleanses. Purges and cleanses, rituals and rites.[/quote']

I have imparted the truth of what transpires' date=' and in their benevolence they have forgiven us much of the greenwrath. So, too, have they consented to return to us those forestborn who were spirited away.[/quote']

 

 

I hope this helps! ^^ Here's the rest of the lore I was able to dig up on Wildlings.

[Michaux]

Thank you so much Sounsyy! All this seems to confirm the research I've been doing on the subject. The one remaining issue is that my character will definitely need to leave the Shroud, so I might need to think about that a bit more. (Or do a wee bit of handwaving and hope most RPers will forgive me.) It sounds like that's a bit of an unknown, since we don't have an example of this sort of thing happening after the Calamity. If you get an answer to that question at fanfest, I'd love to hear it!

[Valence]

Personally, I got the impression that becoming a Wildling was essentially (if not actually) being tempered by the Elementals - and tempering is irreversible. But I don't know if that's actually the case?

 

Hopefully someone more familiar with 1.0 than I am can help you out!

 

Maybe there is tempering, but we should take caution since Elementals are not primals, so nothing says that it's the same Tempering with capital T. Elementals are of the same class of magical beings than Dragons/Higher Dravanians/Meracydian wyrms. The only difference is their shape and the way they live on a rather different plane of existence.

 

I wonder if there is any kind of similarity to drinking dragon's blood. If yes, then turning into a dragon brood might be reversible, but I'm speculating like hell.

[Sounsyy]

Maybe there is tempering, but we should take caution since Elementals are not primals, so nothing says that it's the same Tempering with capital T. Elementals are of the same class of magical beings than Dragons/Higher Dravanians/Meracydian wyrms. The only difference is their shape and the way they live on a rather different plane of existence.

 

This is actually incorrect. Elementals are actually more closely related to Primals than they are to Dragons. They are not the same class of creature at all.

 

Dragons fall under the Bloodborn Kingdom or Regnum, and are more specifically classified as Spoken, as they are sentient creatures with their own language. Elementals, on the other hand, belong to the Transcendents Kingdom along with primals, fae, and voidsent. Transcendents are beings made up entirely of ambient aether and toe the boundaries between the Physical and Aetherial planes of existance. Hence, transcendents. Dragons are creatures of flesh and blood and though very much magical, are unable to do this.

[Valence]

Mh. I'm very confused. I think I jumped to conclusions as I remembered something mentioned about that in the DRK storyline.

 

I went to check back and it happens in the lvl54 quest with E-Sumi Yan. But... It is not quite said that they are of the same class of being. Merely that they hold one power and it's of the same kind, which is... slightly different and I think my inner logic screwed up a little bit here.

 

The exact statement is (speaking about the great spiritual presence inside a girl):

 

It is not the product of training' date=' rather an innate power with which she radiates... akin to the one of the Elementals... or the Dravanians.[/quote']

 

Which doesn't mean they are of the same class of things, my apologies. Not totally sure how I jumped to that conclusion, memories got probably confused.