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queer-as-used-by-tolkien · 2 years

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Storyline Study: Season 2 (feat. Shadow of the Dragon)

In many ways, Season 2: Glint's Prophecy (the name of the season according to the Living World Return achievements) is the jumping-off point for the rest of the game after it. In it, Glint's egg is introduced and instantly commands the attention of the story - and the Commander - for the next six story arcs over eight years.

S2 is longer than the other seasons, also with poor pacing and extremely hard boss fights. It's my least favorite season, for various subjective reasons, but I also never see people talking about it, despite its huge narrative importance.

The first quarter of the season is set-up, building on what little we learned from S1; learning about Scarlet, Omadd's Machine, and the threat of Mordremoth. The second quarter is spent convincing various world leaders to attend the World Summit - in the process, Braham is reunited with his mother and Rytlock is lost in the Mists.

At the Midpoint - a narratively significant moment - the World Summit is actually held, and the Pale Tree is attacked, not just by the Shadow of the Dragon, but also by many lesser minions.

The lesser minions arrive first, and the Summit is broken up to deal with the threat, and the world leaders are evacuated from the Omphalos Chamber.

The Commander (in this study, they are assumed to NOT be a sylvari) is the last to leave, but the Pale Tree calls them back to speak privately. She is clearly heavily injured. "These Mordrem tore at my roots and battered my branches."

Pale Tree: And... be warned. There is another... [...] One of the most dangerous... it comes directly from Mordremoth. It draws nearer! If I die... Commander: You will not die today. Where is it? [...] I will stand in its way.

The Shadow of the Dragon cuts off the portal that Kasmeer was holding; now the Commander is stuck in the Omphalos Chamber... alone. Your allies are yelling and panicking outside.

Braham: Kasmeer! What happened? Where'd your portal go? Kasmeer: I... I don't know! It was holding strong, then all of a sudden it was cut off! Taimi: (scream) It's attacking the chamber! Rox: Hang on! We'll do what we can from down here! Just hang on!

"What we can" amounts to keeping an eye on the Shadow of the Dragon and shouting reports at the top of their voices up to the Omphalos Chamber.

It is never helpful to yell at someone who is under a lot of stress - that just makes it much worse. Not only was the Commander surprised and ambushed, but they's cornered, trapped in the Omphalos Chamber - and there is no way of getting reinforcements. Even if they wanted to leave, they can't, without jumping out of the Chamber - a fall long enough to kill.

And on top of all that, this is powerful - a full-on dragon champion that reminds the Commander of Blightghast the Plaguebringer.

Blightghast the Plaguebringer was a powerful champion that took an alliance of all three Orders to defeat. And the Commander is alone. By these factors, we know that this fight lasted a very long time, was very stressful, and the Commander did not escape unscathed.

The Commander was heavily traumatized by this fight. Surprised, alone, knowing that people you care dearly about are also in danger and in significant distress. And they couldn't leave. It made most tactical sense to retreat, regroup, find a way to fight - but the Commander is the top combat strategist, and they's trapped in the Omphalos Chamber.

Being unable to flee is a trauma in itself. There's always the option to flee. Always. Except here. And the wiki says if you take long enough to kill the Shadow of the Dragon, it's health resets.

This one-on-one fight could have lasted for hours. If the Commander has spent ages whittling down the Shadow of the Dragon, and then it reappears, fully refreshed - they'd want to leave. They'd beg the Six, or the Spirits, or the Eternal Alchemy, or they realize that today is the day they die, and just do the best they can to do as much damage as possible first.

And if the Commander is a sylvari... the pressure and trauma is ten times worse. Mother Tree is already severely injured, and they's in a severe state of panic over her even before the Shadow of the Dragon shows up, and then they's the last line of defense. And a sylvari Commander is far, far younger than their non-sylvari counterparts.

I see significant evidence that Trahearne was traumatized by this attack on the Pale Tree, and he wasn't even in the Omphalos Chamber. There is no question that the sylvari Commander was traumatized.

I believe, however, that the human, norn, asura, or charr Commander was also traumatized. Being at risk for your life is trauma for normal people, as is even non-lethal injury, or even just witnessing injury or death. But two things here are HUGE risk factors, greatly increasing the severity and impact of the trauma, as well as how long it's likely to affect the traumatized person. These two things are that the event was unexpected; the Commander went from quietly discussing alliances to being in the middle of life-or-death combat action. The other is that the Commander was helpless and unable to leave. Those are both huge.

And I believe this trauma is actually played out and acknowledged in-game, and it has had a huge impact, not just on events immediately after the World Summit, but also with repercussions stretching into HoT and beyond. The reason is as follows.

When the Shadow of the Dragon was finally, finally driven off (but not killed), the Pale Tree called the Commander over and projected a vision into the Commander's brain. Even if it hadn't been a magically-induced vision, it would have become heavily associated with the trauma the Commander had just suffered.

Braham: A vision? What kind of vision? Commander: I don't know. There was golden light and crystals everywhere. [...] The Pale Tree showed me... It felt like a call to action. Kasmeer: What action? What was she talking about? Commander: I'm afraid I don't know. Rox: It's okay. We'll figure it out. Commander: Yeah, and the first thing is to learn all we can about dragons. [...] Kas and Jory, I want you two to go to the Durmand Priory. [...] Rox: You got it, boss. But what about you? What are you going to do? Commander: Decipher that vision. Tyria's future depends on it.

That vision was ultimately discovered to be about Glint's egg, and the Commander heads off to find it, leaving Trahearne and the Pact to fend for themselves. But first I want to point out a few moments that are... uncharacteristic of the Commander.

Ogden Stonehealer: Entertain an old dwarf. Tell me your tale. Commander: It was a portal to Glint's lair. Ogden: So it was. The Master of Peace and I set it up after Glint's death so I could guard it for the Brotherhood. Commander: I saw the Master of Peace take an egg. Ogden: The last one intact. It's been in stasis since her death. The Master of Peace is taking it where it will be safe and allowed to hatch.

Okay, so it looks like the Brotherhood of the Dragon (a dwarven organization of which Ogden is the last member) and the Zephyrites (the Brotherhood's successor) are doing their jobs. But note the Commander's response:

Commander: Where has he taken it? You must tell me!

It's only after this outburst that Ogden asks the Commander to look after the Master of Peace, which the Commander agrees to without hesitation, without even stopping to consider that the Pact might need them. As of yet, there is no indication that this is relevant to Mordremoth or that it is a need that must be addressed right now.

And yet, the Commander spends the whole rest of Season 2: Glint's Prophecy tracking down the egg.

Logan: I'm glad you're going with us. You got my mail? Commander: About that. I came to tell you that I may not be able to fight with you. Zojja: What? You're 74.3 percent of our firepower all by yourself! [...] Commander: I've been given a different mission that I can't turn down. Eir: What are you talking about? We're already one down with Rytlock gone. Commander: I have to swear you to silence. This can't go beyond us. Logan: I can speak for all of us when I say we can keep your secret. What is it? Commander: I had a vision from the Pale Tree, an important one. Glint had an egg. [...] A Zephyrite master took it for safekeeping. [...] I also saw a golden location. I believe he may be taking it there. Eir: If he is clever, then he has survived thus far. But he's in treacherous territory out there. Commander: So you see why I have to do this before I can go with you. Zojja: A dragon hatchling could turn into an enemy if raised in the wrong company. Of course, you must safe it. If it were to grow up as an ally to Tyria, it could change the course of history.

Destiny's Edge and the Pact, after the defeat of Zhaitan and before the crash of the Pact Fleet, suffering from a case of untempered pride that only quieted back down after the resounding defeat they faced in HoT. Quite understandable.

But... excuse y'all, the egg is being looked over by the Master of Peace, the person whose whole job it is to make sure it's protected and who will certainly raise it to be an ally to Tyria. He was taking it to Tarir, a well-protected sanctum designed to raise Glint's offspring. Which the Commander didn't know about and didn't have to because it wasn't their job.

Their whole reasoning is based on the idea that the Master of Peace can't handle himself, because "humans who are used to flying around on ships are going to leave a trail a mile wide."

Eir: But Glint never mentioned she had an egg. I would have... Commander: It's okay. It has had protectors. And now, it has me as well. Logan: [...] You'll return when you're done, right? We may not leave immediately. Commander: I definitely will.

Caithe opts to go with the Commander to track down the Aspect Masters, who are tracking down the Master of Peace, and in the end, Caithe steals the egg.

At first, the Commander appears trusting, even if you pick the more cautious dialogue option:

Marjory: She's sylvari. Commander: So? What are you trying to say? Marjory: Nothing. I just... Why would she take off with it? She wouldn't be the first sylvari we've known who - Commander (trusting): She did it to protect the egg, I'm sure. I'll thank her when we catch up. [Rox comes and changes the subject] Commander (cautious): I don't know. She can be difficult to read. Marjory: That's what I mean. How well do you know her? Commander: I know she's risked her life on many occasions for me and for Tyria.

Commander leads the group to the Pale Tree to find out where Caithe might have gone, and they follow her memory seeds until they dead-end into a cave with a closed door.

Commander is summoned to Camp Resolve by a letter from Logan, who, along with the rest of Destiny's Edge, believes the Commander is coming with the Pact Fleet.

Commander: I don't mean to cut this short but, Logan, I can't stay long. Logan: What? But we need to launch our assault on Mordremoth now. We risk losing the fleet to another sneak attack if we stay here. Commander: I agree, but I can't come along. Remember what I said about Glint's egg? Zojja: Remember? I've been eager to hear what happened. Did you find it? Commander: I did. But then Caithe ran off with it. I'm trying to track her down. Eir: She came through here not long ago, but she didn't stay and barely talked to us. She said she had something she had to do. If Zojja hadn't noticed her, we'd have missed her entirely. Commander: Did she say anything about what she was doing? Zojja: No. Only that it was a matter of life or death. She took off before we could even offer to help. Don't be too angry with her. She's independent and stubborn. Commander: I just wish I knew what she was up to.

Read: I wish I knew what she was doing with the egg.

Eir: Caithe is one of us. She's saved all our lives, at least once. I don't think you have to worry. She's just... rash.

Then Camp Resolve is attacked. Afterwards, Trahearne has a rather depressingly accurate read on things:

Commander: You don't need to convince me, Marshal. I hope I can join you. Trahearne: So, this means you're definitely not coming with us? Commander: I have a mission I need to finish first. Trahearne: I understand. Marjory Delaqua explained it - the egg. You're right to make it your priority. Commander: Be safe. We'll share a drink and stories when we meet again.

Excuse me, I need to go cry over that line.

Anyway, you talk to Logan:

Logan: Did Caithe tell you why she was taking the egg? Commander: No, she was just gone. I wish I knew what she was thinking. Logan: Caithe has always been different. The first time I met her, she walked into our camp like the queen of the world. No fear. Rytlock and I were both there, and on our guard. Commander: Caithe wasn't afraid of you? Logan: Caithe is a linear thinker. She takes everything literally. If she took the egg, it's because she felt it was necessary. She does nothing without a reason.

Logan doesn't think Caithe having the egg is a problem. She'll do right with it. I think he really doesn't think the Commander needs to go after her.

Commander: Do you have any idea where she would go with it? Logan: Not exactly, but I know she has secret places and hiding spots that hold significance for her. She's probably in one of those.

Then they get off on talking about Eir and Braham, and Logan circles back to make a point about Caithe.

Logan: [It's strange how you can work so closely with people] and still know so little about them. It is strange when you put it like that. I suppose we learn what we need to know - whether we can trust the person or not. Commander: That reminds me. Did Caithe ever mention a cave to you?

Commander's being a bit obsessive about this, I think.

Zojja (to Logan): I'm telling you, Logan, you can't assume that Caithe knows what she's doing. Logan: How long have we known Caithe? She doesn't think like other people, but she chose the path of good.

Remember that at this stage we didn't know how Mordremoth affected sylvari. Zojja (and Marjory) are operating on the pattern that Scarlet and Aerin were both sylvari, but that's not evidence of anything at this point.

There was no reason not to trust Caithe except that the Commander's vision was tied to trauma. The sylvari player calls it a Wyld Hunt, but the sylvari player already had the Wyld Hunt to fight Mordremoth, discussed with Trahearne during the World Summit, and non-sylvari don't get Wyld Hunts.

So the Commander leaves Camp Resolve for the last time before the crash of the Fleet, which led to the capture of Destiny's Edge and Trahearne, which led to the deaths of Eir and Trahearne, which have had very long-lasting repercussions on Braham and the Commander, respectively - not even taking into account the devastation the Pact faced that took years to recover from, new policies with regards to the duties of the Marshal, Logan's injuries that led to him taking that position, and Zojja's absence for eight years. And Aurene, of course.

The Shadow of the Dragon's attack on the Pale Tree was not given enough narrative weight for the role it played.

Characters and their arcs have four different aspects to them, but two are most important: the Wound, a significant trauma that causes the Lie, a belief or worldview that is false, and goes against a narrative's Truth - the underlying themes and messaging of the story.

Throughout a story, the Lie will be challenged, and either the character will heal from the trauma and overcome it, resulting in narrative victory, or else sink deeper into the false belief, which will often become worse. This path results in narrative defeat and is often used with villains.

In this case, the Commander's Wound was the traumatic fight in the Omphalos Chamber, and it led to the Lie that the egg is all-important, which led, in practice, to a violation of the story's thematic Truth: that through unity, many impossible things may be achieved.

The Commander had many chances to change their mind about going with the Pact, but in the end, they abandoned it for their own private goals. Narratively, this is a fail and consequences need to be dealt accordingly. Therefore, the Pact Fleet was crashed, and key members of the Pact were killed.

I am of the full and complete opinion that if the Commander had acted differently, the whole course of HoT could be changed, up to and including that Mordremoth's abilities would have been different and not led to the crash of the Fleet at all, and we'd have had a wildly different expansion. This is an example of the narrative direction making lore and worldbuilding decisions.

So, yes, if you want, you can blame the Shadow of the Dragon for traumatizing the Commander and leading to the Pact Fleet crashing and resulting in Trahearne's death. Especially if you have a sylvari Commander.

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