Ara'lon

SS Ardenweald

Ara'lon was a sylvar member of the Wild Hunt and a recurring quest giver in Ardenweald. He joined the Hunt after the death of his grove, Tirna Noch.

Sacrifice of Tirna Noch
Ara'lon was responsible for looking after the wildseeds of Tirna Noch, one of which contained the soul of the Wild God Ursoc. During an encounter with the Winter Queen, Ara'lon swore an oath to protect the wildseeds in his care, no matter what trial he faced.

When the anima drought fell upon Ardenweald, it became increasingly difficult for Ara'lon to find new anima. One day when returning from foraging, he came across members of the Wild Hunt sacrificing the wildseeds in Tirna Noch to preserve the little anima remaining. Ara'lon immediately attacked them, declaring that anyone who threatened his grove was his enemy. He stayed his hand when the Winter Queen herself appeared with other members of the Wild Hunt. Confused, Ara'lon told his queen that he had kept faith that she would save them from the drought, and he didn't understand why she would send scavengers to his grove. In response, the queen showed the sylvar a vision of a future in which all of Ardenweald had perished in the drought, and members of the Hunt explained that they had to sacrifice some groves to allow others—and the forest as a whole—to survive.

Ara'lon was faced with the choice of honoring his original oath or sacrificing Ursoc's wildseed to preserve the forest. He sorrowfully chose the latter, telling Ursoc that he would serve the wilds one last time and asking for the Wild God's forgiveness, before draining the anima from his seed, killing it. Afterward, Ara'lon joined the Winter Queen's Wild Hunt, swearing the protect the souls that could yet be saved.

The Wild Hunt
Ara'lon joined a hunting party led by Hunt-Captain Korayn in Glitterfall Basin. A Maw Walker, sent by Lady Moonberry to aid Korayn, found Ara'lon and Lumera as the only survivors of the party, the remainder killed by Drust. Ara'lon is able to confirm Korayn's suspicion that the enemy has far greater numbers than the Wild Hunt can combat. While Korayn pursued her hunters' killer, her former ally Lorkron the Hunter, Ara'lon sends the Maw Walker back to Tirna Vaal with a Spirit Cradle for a wildseed the adventurer had connected with in that grove, which would allow the wildseed to be transported to safety. Later, as the wildseed is escorted to Hibernal Hollow, Ara'lon leads the Wild Hunt in defense of Soryn's Meadow to prevent the Drust and their Blighted minions from overrunning the hollow. Ara'lon teams with the Maw Walker to beat back the invaders to clear the road and ensure the wildseed's arrival at Hibernal Hollow.

To secure enough anima to help the wildseed grow, Ara'lon directs the Maw Walker to his former grove of Tirna Noch. Ara'lon detects a massive amount of anima coming from the heart of the grove; though the anima of the grove had been reclaimed due to the drought, the heart had been empowered by the Drust with anima stolen from other groves. Ara'lon, the Maw Walker, and a sylvar huntress named Niya battle their way into the grove and confront the Drust champion Vroth, who guards the Heart of Tirna Noch. Although the amount of anima within the heart could possibly restore Tirna Noch and other groves, Ara'lon accepts that his grove was sacrificed for the good of Ardenweald, and that the anima in the heart was needed elsewhere.

The wildseed from Tirna Vaal is revealed to contain the spirit of the green dragon Aspect Ysera. When the wildseed is brought to the Winter Queen at the Grove of Awakening, she asks why she should expend anima to save what she calls her "sister's pet". Ara'lon beseeches her to remember that while some must indeed be sacrificed, some must also be saved; otherwise "all that will remain will be empty shells and sorrow". The Winter Queen relents, and Ysera is reborn.

The Fate of Ara'lon


Lord Herne, leader of the Wild Hunt, dispatches Ara'lon at the head of a hunting party to Blackthorn Grove near the Heart of the Forest, which has been overrun by the Blighted. When they did not return, Lord Herne dispatched a Maw Walker who had sworn to the Night Fae Covenant and joined the Wild Hunt to find him. Using masks to infiltrate the grove, Ara'lon and the Maw Walker discover that of his hunting party, only Gwyeir was still alive, but she was corrupted by the Drust curse. The spirit of the Drust Thornspeaker Kivarr dispatched Ara'lon to find a Witch's Satchel to help combat the Drust curse, but never returned; all the Maw Walker was able to find when retrieving the satchel themselves was Ara'lon's broken spear. Despite the efforts of the Maw Walker and Kivarr, Gwyeir ultimately succumbed.

When Lord Herne and the Wild Hunt confront Gorak Zhar, the leader of the Drust invasion, at Darkreach, Lady Moonberry discovers that "Gorak Zhar" was in fact an illusion, and that their enemy was in fact Ara'lon, used in a Drust trick to distract from their true objective. Mortally wounded, Ara'lon warns that the real Gorak Zhar was on her way to the Grove of Awakening. Lord Herne swears that they will stop Gorak Zhar "for Queen and grove", which Ara'lon echoes before he dies.

Quests

 * Echoes of Tirna Noch
 * Passage to Hibernal Hollow

Objective of

 * The Missing Hunters
 * He's Drust in the Way
 * Passage to Hibernal Hollow

Quotes

 * On-click
 * Are you in need of the Wild Hunt?
 * I serve the queen.
 * What do you fight for?


 * Pissed
 * What do you want from me?!


 * Farewells
 * For Ardenweald.
 * The forest will endure!
 * Do what you must.

Gossip
Thank you for coming to find us. Ardenweald could use more like you.
 * In Glitterfall Basin

I am Ara'lon. I fight for the Wild Hunt.

Once, I served in a beautiful grove called Tirna Noch, nurturing spirits through their long winter. But that grove fell, and I found new purpose.

I serve Ardenweald.

We can never quite recover all that was lost. But that does not mean we are helpless.
 * At Tirna Noch

Speculation

 * It is possible he was the Droman of Tirna Noch.