Primeval Trees
Primeval Trees, also referred to as Life Wardens, are a group of special trees. A long time ago, there used to be forests of magical, sentient trees. However, through decades of deforestation and Pandoric influence, many of the trees are now dead.
History
In "The Sleeping Widow" quest, it was revealed that they were created as Life Wardens by Aideen's light, as a way to protect the flora and fauna of the island. These beings took the form of trees, and were said to live forever in Jorvik. Eventually, they were discovered by humans; however, instead of destroying them, the people sensed their magical power. They were given great respect due to this, and were given the name of Primeval Trees.
In their time, each tree was an individual and was much stronger, referred to as "their glory days." Eventually, the Jorvegians' exploitation of the island's resources caused them to wither and weaken, to a point where most of them are now asleep.
In the legend of the Golden Apple, some of the Primeval Trees had these apples that could change bad witches into good ones. However, the witches knew of this, and destroyed several of the Primeval Trees that produced them. The surviving ones made allies with the kind-hearted witches to strengthen their powers.
Deep below Fort Maria, long ago when the Wild Weave was whole people used the Primeval Tree's roots for travelling. But over time as trees began to die through being weakened and deforestation, so did their roots, and the people could no longer travel them. This lead to the network being damaged and unusable.
During one of Jon Jarl's adventures on Jorvik, he was given a Life Warden seed by the druids as proof of their alliance however he wasn't given a chance to plant it or tell his subjects about it before his people buried him with it.
Present
Six of the Primeval trees still live, but only four have been discovered. The other two trees are speculated about by the players, due to them having very similar models to the Sleeping Widow.
As a seed
Forgotten Fields
Scarecrow Hill
South Hoof Peninsula
Wildwoods
Firgrove
Valley of Frozen Mist
Forgotten Fields stump
Growing Primeval Tree seed
- The Forgotten Fields: Sleeping Widow
- The Forgotten Fields: Growing seed
- Scarecrow Hill
- South Hoof Peninsula: Singing Yew
- Wildwoods: The Sentinel Tree
- Firgrove Mountain
- Valley of Frozen Mist
There is also a large tree stump present near the Sleeping Widow that has been confirmed to be the remnant of a deceased Primeval Tree. The seed being grown by the Soul Riders (called the "Companion Tree Sapling" by its NPC name tag and also nicknamed the "Little Life Warden") is growing on top of it.
Star Stable Online
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Spoilers ahead! This page contains detailed information about the story plot of the game. |
Primeval Trees play a part in the main story the game. The first Primeval Tree the player comes across is the one on Scarecrow Hill. From Linda, the player learns that the Witch Pi can be turned good again by picking a golden apple from the tree. Despite being bombarded by witches, the players manages to retrieve the apple. The evil witch Pi eats it, and is turned good.
Next, the player and Druids attempt to rescue Lisa. With Starshine's help, they find her trapped in a Pandoric Crack in the Graydew Mountains. From her, Starshine and the player learn to seek aid from the Sleeping Widow. After learning of the tree's history, the player waits until nightfall to use a powerful fragment of Aideen's Light, as well as her tears, to wake her up.
By using these powerful relics, the player manages to awaken the tree. Although a bit slowly, the Sleeping Widow remembers her promise to Lisa, as well as sensing Aideen's light within the player. She realizes they fight for the same cause, and that she also exchanged a promise with the trapped Soul Rider. Coming to a resolve, the tree agrees to use her powers and help reach Lisa. Aware that she was not so nimble as she used to be, she was unsure if the attempt had been successful. With an encouragement to the player to look for Lisa, the Widow returns to her slumber.
Once Lisa has returned to repay the favor, the Sleeping Widow seeks their help from her prison. Despite not being able to forgive the humans, she asks the Soul Riders to help reconnect her roots to the Primeval Tree living upon Scarecrow Hill. She suggests that the player and Lisa use Aideen's light, music, and song to do it. After finding Aideen's harp and playing its music, the duo reconnected the Sleeping Widow to the other trees.
The next Primeval Tree the player meets is the Singing Yew on South Hoof Peninsula. After setting Justin free, the Soul Riders seek the tree to help Justin and find Concorde. With a power boost from Alex, the player uses the music of the wind to wake up the Sleeping Yew. Alex tries to ask the tree for a favor, but the Sleeping Yew is a little snappy in the presence of strangers until it notices Tin-Can. Then, the tree asks what the Soul Riders need. Upon hearing their request, it performs the Whisper's Cry with Justin. It likes the idea of keeping him for eternity as a Lignos as payment, but is convinced by the player to let Justin be in exchange for a favor. The tree asks that the player and Alex return at some point in the future to help the tree grow. As the ritual begins, the tree tells Justin to relax and close his eyes during it. When the experience began to hurt, the tree said that it wouldn't keep him, but that there would not be any pain. When Justin saw thousands of horses, feeling their joy, purpose and need, the Singing Yew told him to focus on that need, especially Aideen's gift. When the boy spoke of seeing symbols like on the Runestones, the tree called it the language of Jor. Aware of the danger, the tree told him to hurry, as his safety couldn't be guaranteed. Right before the connection ended, Concorde was found.
Just before Singing Yew reenters its slumber, it reminds Alex and the player that one day they will have to repay the favor.
In Wildwoods, the player sees a Lignos. Later, they see it again, and this time it leads them into Northern Wildwoods. While exploring the area, the player meets the Foresters, Mystics and Warrior horse herds. Through gaining their trust, the player is led to the center of their homeland and the Great Sentinel Tree.
After the Soul Riders find Mrs. Holdsworth in the Fort Maria Library, she tells them more about the Primeval Trees. According to a paper she read about the trees, they can sometimes become entangled with Garnok's tendrils and be turned evil, but can often be purified by the Keepers of Aideen. If the purification is failed, the tree should be chopped down. Primeval Trees also have a tendency to become enraged if they feel that they have been tricked by humans. She also says that she has suspected that there are "a good number" of the trees that the Druids have not found yet, and that some witches can enter a covenant with the trees to strengthen their powers. The other documents and books that are found by Mrs. Holdsworth give additional details about the trees (see Fort Maria#Books).
By opening the secret section below the Fort Maria Library, the Soul Riders discover that the Life Wardens combined their root system to create the Wild Weave, but it's been hidden for so long that any magic there is gone. Upon Alex's suggestion to heal it, they study the murals discovering the Wild Weave's ancient past and a partial map to everywhere their roots could go. Understanding that they need another Life Warden Tree to complete the network, Linda and Anne remember that Jon Jarl was buried with a Life Warden Tree seed. They head for his tomb and convince him to give them the seed. After seeing the player's bravery, he surrenders it, hoping the Soul Riders could do one thing he couldn't: plant it.
The group puts the seed on top of the Primeval Tree stump in the Forgotten Fields to grow. Over the following days they nurture the sapling. A portal is shown in cutscenes to be slowly forming in the Wild Weave cave. Then, once the little sapling grows to full size the wild weave becomes full active again allowing the Soul Riders to use the roots to get into Devil's Gap.
Powers
A few of their powers are mentioned:
- Communication: Primeval Trees use their roots to communicate with each other. In the dream world of Pandoria, they can communicate with others who are trapped there.
- Roots: Their roots have the ability to reach all the way to Pandoria.
- If the tree is destroyed, their connection is lost.
- Their roots play a bigger role if enough Primeval Trees are intact. They will activate the Wild Weave below Fort Maria as a means of people and horses using them to travel, but if one tree and their roots die then the network will remain inactive until another Primeval Tree can be grown.
- Hibernation: They can sleep for a very long time.
- Whisper's Cry: They can make a union with a Wild Whisperer to help their search for Starbreed horses. However, this union is not without its dangers: if it continues for too long, the person will become a Lignos, part of the tree.
- They may also be able to transform people into a Lignos outside of this, through the person's voluntary sacrifice or other means.
- Covenant: The trees can enter a covenant with a witch to strengthen the witch's powers. According to Mrs. Holdsworth, it is unknown if it also has a benefit to the trees as well, and that both good and evil witches have drawn energy from the trees.