It’s tough to talk about the sylvari because there’s still so much we don’t know about them. The newest of the playable races, they’re the only ones we haven’t encountered in Guild Wars and so we lack any hindsight for their existence or basis to really compare to. The state of their design also adds to the enigma; due to their nature as “plant-people”, their physical appearance is very important to understanding how they work in general. Do they use the sun for energy? What effects does seasonal “birth” have, if any? Etc.We won’t know for a while, and until then our primary source of information comes from the sylvari characters we encounter in the two companion novels. Which brings us to Caithe, the most well-known sylvari of them all.

 

Appearance:
Despite the cartoonish original design of the sylvari, Caithe’s looks always seemed much more elegant. Specifically, her current 3D model skin tone is fleshy and short silver pixie hair is..well, not particularly leafy. However, in most of her concept drawings her skin has a greenish tint to it, as we’d expect from her race.

Whether or not she’ll get a model re-design as well has yet to be determined. There seems to be no real indication of it so far.

Personality:
Like most of her people, Caithe has an innocent, almost brutal honesty that makes her companions a little uncomfortable at times, especially when she points out those awkward yet obvious things nobody seems to want to bring up. This is especially true when she speaks of Rytlock and Logan’s rather entertaining banter. She’s blunt and doesn’t really care for fickle nuances and sometimes simply cannot grasp metaphorical language.

She also differs from general conceptions of her race in a few ways. Most notably, it’s been stated that Caithe has a more fearless nature, willingly “seeking the shadows” to find truths that most others shy away from.

It has only been a score of years since the first twelve sylvari awakened from the branches of the Pale Tree; a handful of lives scattered into the world like petals on the wind. These Firstborn were quickly followed by others, more and then more, until the Grove was born in the heart of the Caledon Forest. Caithe was among those first to step upon the earth of Tyria, but where the others turned toward the sun, she sought shadow. While her fellows revel in the beauty and joy the world has to offer, Caithe has never been afraid to gaze into darkness–or to seek truths that others fear.

From this, we can make an assumption that the attitude of most sylvari is not much unlike sheltered children, in a way, curiously and cheerfully exploring their world and discovering what secrets and wonders it holds. Caithe seemingly deviates from this perception in her dark curiosity, something that bound her to the equally mysterious but considerably more sinister Faolain.

In contrast to Kileen (the sylvari necromancer in Ghosts of Ascalon), Caithe appears to have much more extreme emotions as well. However, it seems she doesn’t fully have a handle on them as much as the other races do, as seen by her distress over the conflict with Faolain. Frustration, confusion, despair, and betrayal are all feelings she has a hard time dealing with. She laughs, she cries. She seems unaffected by Logan’s rash exit, but then reacts somewhat dramatically to Edge of Destiny breaking up. How she compares to other sylvari in this regard is hard to tell.

There is a talk on whether or not Caithe is “bad”. According to her voice actress (via Races of Tyria, and Giving Tyria a Voice videos), she mysteriously pops up every now and then in game with seedy information that makes you wonder where she’s getting it from. I find it hard to believe, however, that she (or any sylvari, really) could be traditionally called “evil”. Even the nightmare court, judging by what we know and have read, seem more misguided than anything.

It would also go against a lot of how she was portrayed in the novel. Yes, a lot could have happened in the years since the events of EoD and it’s not impossible she turned to the seedier lifestyle due to the break up, but it still feels unlikely. Not after how openly hurt she seemed by their demise, her resistance of Faolain’s corruption and the resulting conflict, and the fact that the book ends with her “picking up the pieces” (literally and figuratively) after all is said and done. There is, however, Faolain’s dark insistence that she would one day get Caithe back; as such, it might not be out of the blue that Caithe eventually returned to her friend out of despair and is following a darker path.

She is also, unsurprisingly, a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.

Profession:
Despite having come out before the official profession reveal, it was obvious from the start that Caithe is a thief (although at the time, considered an assassin). Her weapons of choice are two white stiletto daggers which she uses to inflict quick and deadly strikes against her opponents.

Unclouded by the need for things like honor, showiness, or over-thinking, she has a very practical and straight-forward fighting style, which proves to be deadly effective. Her key tactic is exploiting the weak-zones of her enemies, like stabbing a certain spot on the devourer’s body which renders them helpless, for instance. Her strategy isn’t always the best way to go, however, which she sometimes finds hard to understand when the rest of Destiny’s Edge try to explain more delicate or complex plans.

Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of Caithe in-game so far. Newbie human players got a chance to encounter Logan during the demos at PAX-East and the recently showcased catacombs dungeons featured Rytlock and Eir. That leaves our lovely ladies Zojja and Caithe!

We can all hope we find out a little more about Caithe and her people in the upcoming sylvari week.

To the readers: What are your opinions on Caithe? Do you think she’s become a bad-apple or will still be a good-guy come GW2? What role do you think she’ll play in the game and/or for sylvari players?
Check out our lore index for more profiles and story-centric articles. 

About the author: Izari’s one of those obsessive fan types who’s been playing Guild Wars since the first beta weekend in 2004. She’s been blogging about video games for almost six years and is thrilled to have fellow fans to write for and with about the game. She can be found on twitter and really likes coconuts.