RuneScape Forum Archive | Spirit Tree Questions

Deltaslug

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1) Why are Spirit Trees only found on the main continent and west of the River Lum?
Misthalin, Asgarnia, Kandarin, Feldip Hills. Lots of places. Yet we find none in Morytania or the Desert, etc.

2) Could we see a Spirit Cacti?
It would make sense to survive in the harshness of the desert, the Spirit "Tree" could instead focus on a cacti.

3) Could we see other forms of plants becoming Spirit "Trees"?
Bushes, flowers, Jade Vines? Lots of plant life out there.
Perhaps even a Spirit Rock Garden? A little bit out of left field, but zen/rock/sand gardens are taken care of much the same way as regular gardens.

02-Apr-2018 02:42:18

Hguoh

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Deltaslug said :
1) Why are Spirit Trees only found on the main continent and west of the River Lum?
Misthalin, Asgarnia, Kandarin, Feldip Hills. Lots of places. Yet we find none in Morytania or the Desert, etc.

Generally speaking, where do you find Gnomes?

Spirit trees also seem to work via their connection to the Anima Mundi. As we learned from the Heart of Gielinor, Anima is funneled into streams (enough so as to have 3 distinct anima types (pure, corrupted, and volcanic) independently flowing through the heart), pooled into the Heart, and then shipped off somewhere else. So perhaps Spirit Trees can only make a successful connection with other Spirit Trees on the same stream of anima, which limits their range to certain locations.

Deltaslug said :
2) Could we see a Spirit Cacti?
It would make sense to survive in the harshness of the desert, the Spirit "Tree" could instead focus on a cacti.

No (we do not need a Spirit 'Plant' for every environment). We have magic carpets for fast desert travel, and a gnome glider in Al Kharid to link gnome transport to desert transport. It's also worth noting that a theoretical 'Spirit Cactus' would be a completely different species to a Spirit Tree. As a result, it would likely not have the same network as the Spirit Trees.

Deltaslug said :
3) Could we see other forms of plants becoming Spirit "Trees"?
Bushes, flowers, Jade Vines? Lots of plant life out there.
Perhaps even a Spirit Rock Garden? A little bit out of left field, but zen/rock/sand gardens are taken care of much the same way as regular gardens.

Why? Perhaps one could engineer other 'Spirit Plants' or breed Spirit Trees into different varied lineages (probably the better option), but I really don't see why you'd do that (players have many methods of transport) and the gnomes aren't exactly looking to expand.

02-Apr-2018 03:33:43

Healthorg

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Both Morytania and the Desert were subject to rapid changes in environment that would have killed native Spirit Trees. It's possible and likely that Hallowvale and the pre-desert Kharidian had Spirit Trees, but these were blasted or died after their respective changes.

I don't think it's possible for other 'Spirit Plants' to exist - perhaps in the future as situations develop, but I am particularly very entertained by the prospect of a Spirit Rock Garden.

As an aside, I am against the idea that Spirit Trees are tied completely to the realm and upkeep of the Gnomes; new forms and lineages of Spirit Flora wouldn't be exclusive to the Gnomes because while it's clear that the Spirit Trees are revered and close to Gnomish culture, they are their own entities tied to the Anima Mundi.

There was even a Spirit Tree locked out of the rest of the network and relatively unknown to the Gnomes for awhile.

02-Apr-2018 06:29:32 - Last edited on 02-Apr-2018 06:37:04 by Healthorg

Hguoh

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Healthorg said :
Both Morytania and the Desert were subject to rapid changes in environment that would have killed native Spirit Trees. It's possible and likely that Hallowvale and the pre-desert Kharidian had Spirit Trees, but these were blasted or died after their respective changes.

No. The Priff Spirit Tree is stated to have been growing since the First Age. She first claims to be in connection with her brethren, but not all of them. She becomes satisfied when you plant the Spirit Trees in Brimhaven, Port Sarim, and Etceteria. If there had been Spirit Trees elsewhere in the world, she should have known of them and mentioned that she could not hear them either.

Healthorg said :
As an aside, I am against the idea that Spirit Trees are tied completely to the realm and upkeep of the Gnomes; new forms and lineages of Spirit Flora wouldn't be exclusive to the Gnomes because while it's clear that the Spirit Trees are revered and close to Gnomish culture, they are their own entities tied to the Anima Mundi.

They are tied to the gnomes as the gnomes seem to have brought them to Gielinor and spread them around (similarly to how the World Gate and Fairy Rings follow Guthix's travels via the Elder Blade). Other races could theoretically spread them, but with a single exception (us) this hasn't happened (many times, it seems that they've been removed in locations where races other than gnomes are prevalent).

Healthorg said :
There was even a Spirit Tree locked out of the rest of the network and relatively unknown to the Gnomes for awhile.

But where was she? That's right, Prifddinas, the city of the elves. And we know that gnomes and elves had pretty good relations until and seemingly somewhat persistent through when Seren raised her anima barrier around the elven lands (which is the most likely event for when the Priff tree became disconnected from her brethren).

02-Apr-2018 14:19:28

Healthorg

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What part of "dead trees", "blasted earth" and the easily inferred notion of "inhospitable lands" do you not understand, exactly?

When the tree speaks of brethren she can not hear, she is 100% referring to those that yet have chance to regrow in their original spots.

This does not preclude the previous (and logical) existence of others, given how the trees are practically all over the world except the desert, Morytania, the Wilderness, and the deep north. Three out of the four used to be hospitable before two of them were quite literally blasted away, and the one turned into a mire.

You know - places where trees don't grow. Even if they once did. No hope for those parts of the world. Though it makes me curious about Spirit Trees in the Eastern Lands, given that the Gnomes have settled in the islands.

And, also - I was actually referring to the Poison Waste tree rather than the Elven tree because the Gnomes obviously at one point had connections with the Elves. The point being that the trees can survive quite easily without upkeep as long as the land is not being poisoned against them.

04-Apr-2018 05:39:57 - Last edited on 04-Apr-2018 05:43:08 by Healthorg

Hguoh

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Healthorg said :
What part of "dead trees", "blasted earth" and the easily inferred notion of "inhospitable lands" do you not understand, exactly?

When the tree speaks of brethren she can not hear, she is 100% referring to those that yet have chance to regrow in their original spots.

I didn't get that interpretation at all. She claims to hear the other spirit trees, but that she can't hear some clearly. She then lists off the locations of the ones she can't hear clearly (including the Poison Waste Tree, which she mentions sounds troubled (indicating it was still connected, and the ones that used to be where we can now grow one, which she says she cannot sense at all).

Surely if any other Spirit trees had existed in the 'inhospitable lands' you mention, she'd have classified them under 'cannot sense at all,' as she makes no qualifier as to whether she thinks they can be regrown or not.

Healthorg said :
This does not preclude the previous (and logical) existence of others, given how the trees are practically all over the world except the desert, Morytania, the Wilderness, and the deep north. Three out of the four used to be hospitable before two of them were quite literally blasted away, and the one turned into a mire..

Except that she should have known of such trees and we'd expect her to comment on them (if at least so that we'd tell her what happened to those areas or investigate where they had once grown to see if they could grow again (like we did for all other trees she couldn't sense at all).

04-Apr-2018 13:16:53

Hguoh

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Healthorg said :
You know - places where trees don't grow. Even if they once did. No hope for those parts of the world. Though it makes me curious about Spirit Trees in the Eastern Lands, given that the Gnomes have settled in the islands..

The Eastern Lands have their own Anima Barrier originating from Kami Shima. No way for the trees to establish a connection between the inside and outside (much like how the Priff tree was cut off from the network.

Healthorg said :
And, also - I was actually referring to the Poison Waste tree rather than the Elven tree because the Gnomes obviously at one point had connections with the Elves. The point being that the trees can survive quite easily without upkeep as long as the land is not being poisoned against them.

The Priff tree could hear the Poison Waste tree (claiming it sounded troubled) and we could meld with Hazelmere at a distance with the Poison Waste tree's aid, which Hazelmere attributed to the tree's direct connection with the Anima Mundi. It wasn't disconnected, the connection was just weakened.

And it's evidently the case that the gnomes/elves weren't aware of it's plight because any gnomes/elves that would care generally didn't go near that area since the Poison Waste formed.

04-Apr-2018 13:24:58 - Last edited on 04-Apr-2018 13:38:10 by Hguoh

Healthorg

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Hguoh said :
Surely if any other Spirit trees had existed in the 'inhospitable lands' you mention, she'd have classified them under 'cannot sense at all,' as she makes no qualifier as to whether she thinks they can be regrown or not.

Except that she should have known of such trees and we'd expect her to comment on them (if at least so that we'd tell her what happened to those areas or investigate where they had once grown to see if they could grow again (like we did for all other trees she couldn't sense at all).
She wouldn't have mentioned those hypothetical trees in any regard, let alone mention she 'cannot sense them at all', because said trees would have been dead for a very long time. Their status would not have been unknown to her, either - both Tumeken's eruption and Hallowvale's degeneration into dark swampland happened before the Elves even returned to Tirannwn, let alone when Prifddinas reverted to crystal.

Would you mention the existence of your eons-dead siblings to a trusted, but total, stranger who can do nothing about their demises? Maybe - but fact being, the tree doesn't have much dialogue beyond her immediately alive and cut-off brethren on the network. (That said stranger CAN do something about.)

Also, you mention Kami-Shima, but you've misinterpreted a very simple fact: the barrier prevents interference from the gods. Spirit Trees are constructs of the planet, more or less (and I stress more or less) - and Kami-Shima's "barrier" didn't stop Kakashi from using the island's power to try and blow up the World Guardian because of that exact reason: it taps into the power of the planet and is the source of the East's sea creatures.

The trees wouldn't be effected by Kami-Shima's barrier at all because they work from the same source.

Also, the rest of your clarifications support my original point that the Spirit Trees can clearly survive largely independently.

07-Apr-2018 09:32:29 - Last edited on 07-Apr-2018 09:39:26 by Healthorg