Unnatural Creatures, Unnatural Creations, or What?
While nothing is said of the Riders in the Manuscripts, there are at least three quests that relate to these creatures, but even they unveil little of their mysterious nature.
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Have you also been studying the local flora and fauna? I find the storm riders to be quite fascinating. It seems they exhibit powers and abilities not dissimilar to those a Mesmer might use. I have studied a few of the smaller species, and I believe their tissue might be put to some beneficial purpose.
As this suggests, they are an entirely new species to Ascalon, and, as anyone who has played a Mesmer would know, they are renowned for illusions, interruptions, hexes, and energy, or rather, magic, manipulation.
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Ages ago, a power-mad mage named Sybitha unleashed the monstrous storm riders upon this land. One of her first and most powerful roams the Salt Flats to this very day, an ancient and corrupt creature the Centaurs call Yxthoshth.
Interestingly, however, this indicates that they are a far older species, which is also supported by the Ancient Eyes dropped by the Wind Riders in the Maguuma Jungle.
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Good day to you. Perhaps you could help me with a little situation. I recently hired a young man by the name of Grahm from Loamhurst to accompany me on my travels. Not the sharpest arrow in the quiver, but he has a strong enough back. I sent him to the Sage Lands looking for a beast called Gale Stormsend. If legend be anything to base fact upon, it carries within itself a rare and preceious jewel known as the Lilac Eye.
This little quest begs the question of how exactly Gale Stormsend got its..Tentacles, I suppose, on the Lilac Eye, but nevertheless, it may suggest something of the Riders' nature.
Where are the Riders Found?
All over Tyria. Nearly everywhere you go, you'll eventually run into these creatures. In the Maguuma Jungle, the Tarnished Coast, recently in the ruins of Ascalon, and the Crystal Desert. The only place you won't find them is in Cantha and Elona, which gives a bit of support to Sybitha either having created them or unleashed them from some other plane.
So, here's where I'll unload my screenshots, by area, as per usual.
Ascalon.
Pockmark Flats:
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Diessa Lowlands:
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Regent Valley:
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Crystal Desert.
Salt Flats:
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Skyward Reach:
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Prophet's Path:
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Tarnished Coast.
Magus Stones:
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I excluded, again, the Wind Riders around Ventari's Sanctum due to the same reasoning from my Observations thread, well, that and I simply forgot. I also excluded shots from the Maguuma Jungle because there are so many of them in certain areas, I felt it partially unnecessary, and partly feared doing another clusterbomb picture.
What do all of these areas have in common?
Magic. Lots, and lots of magic. As shown in my Diessa Lowlands picture, the lightning doesn't seem to be due to a storm, but rather due to unstable magical energies within the crystal itself. This suggests that the crystals, since they are in large quantities in certain areas of Ascalon, (Pockmark Flats in particular) saturated the area with magic.
The Tarnished Coast, after the Cataclysm, was swept with a wave of magical energy, which is part of what attracted the Asura to the area as they fled from their tunnels. Note, this is eight years after the Cataclysm. Magic, I suppose, is akin to radiation in that it doesn't go away quickly, which I'm thinking will be the case with Ascalon as well.
The Maguuma Jungle. This area, while not brimming in magic, does contain a Bloodstone, which likely does leak a bit of magic into the region. Not only that, but with some of the structures taken to be of Druidic origin there, they appear almost to retain magical energy in some way. That is, the glowing bit of blue within certain green, plant structures.
The Crystal Desert. This place just has to be saturated with magic. It's been the playground of Gods and power-mad mages for some years. Abaddon appears to have cast his first strike here. Sometime later, the Sorcerer Lord Kree came here, and ruled over Prophet's Path with an army of beasts, of which the minotaurs were some. What was his fate? Unknown. Perhaps around the same time, perhaps after or prior, it is simply unknown, Sybitha came to the Salt Flats as noted above.
Where do the Riders come from? Where do they come into play?
It is suggested by Telius that they are:
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That is why we have to abhor all that is unnatural and corrupt.
Well, latter two. So, if they aren't natural, they must be created, right? Well, I don't think so. Telius clearly states Sybitha unleashed them, which suggests to me that possibly they were creatures somehow brought forth from the Mists. Of course, it's entirely possible that they were created, but I'll elaborate on my thoughts as to why they were summoned later.
What is also interesting is that, in the very same area that Sybitha may have unleashed the Storm Riders, which is suggested by their largest concentration being found there, there appears to have another unnatural event that occurred. This is noted by Tirzah:
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Forgive me if I seem startled, but it has been ages since a living being has spoken to me... Please, don't think less of me, but I have a rather selfish request of you. When the...event...that destroyed my people occurred, I was supposed to meet my betrothed Chebar out in the Salt Flats near one of those curious teleportation pads. We thought it was a perfect place to be alone. It has been my single lasting torment that I never found out what happened to Chebar. Although it is unlikely that any sign of his...remains...would have survived to this day, I would like to be certain.
While it has been suggested here that it was caused by the "Weapon X" found in the Arid Sea, we now know what that was to be used for, and that it probably isn't what caused the "event." So, what if, perhaps, the event that destroyed Tirzah's people, was Sybitha's experiment gone awry? We know not her fate, so perhaps she died in the process, and killed off the other "Seekers." If those were Tirzah's people, that is.
But I have yet to answer the question, where do they come into play? Well, each area they've been found in has had some disaster occur, or, if not that, a saturation of magic. What if, these creatures, these supposedly unnatural, corrupt creatures, according to Telius, are, in fact, very natural, and very helpful? Each area I have noted in Ascalon, there are crystals, in two of the areas I note in the Crystal Desert, there are stones with an unusual appearance about them, rather large ones in Skyward Reach, in fact, and in the Prophet's Path picture, what appear to be remnants of similar rocks.
Perhaps, perhaps, these creatures are in fact restorers of balance or order in an environment. Magical sponges, of sorts, that may even live off of the magical energy, or perhaps, convert it in some manner. But..What suggests this? What implies this? Well, aside from their attraction to the crystals in Ascalon, one might say nothing.
However, I have suspected for some time, that the unnatural stones that are found in Skyward Reach are actually remnants of Abaddon's assault on the Forgotten armada. The unnatural stones, of course, being the "stars" noted in the Scriptures of Abaddon:
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An unsettling silence swept across the waves. The twilight sky shattered and stars streaked down upon the Forgotten armada. The seas boiled and ruptured, and gave birth to a maelstrom from which not even light could escape, and transforming the sky above into a midnight void.
However, it should be noted, that the stones in Skyward Reach, and the smaller stones in Prophet's Path, are not the only stones of their kind to be found. They can also be found elsewhere in the Crystal Desert, perhaps supporting this idea.
If this is the case, these stones might be much like the Searing crystals, containing a large amount of magic, which would be why the Storm Kin are attracted to them. And perhaps the reason the crystalline part is no longer found on them is due to the Storm Kin sapping the magic from them, which may be what formed them, and held them together in the first place. As they sapped them, it eroded them, much like what occurs to any rocks over time, turning them into the sand that covers the Crystal Desert. This would help explain why when a grain of sand from the Crystal Desert is examined, it appears crystalline in nature.
The argument against this, of course, would be why are they not found in abundance across the Crystal Desert, then? Well, we don't see many of those stones now do we? And also, it may be that they haven't any need. There are odd anomalies of lightning and smoking ground in the Salt Flats, perhaps a side-effect of Sybitha's experimentation gone awry, and unstable magical energies in the area. If I am correct, the Riders absolutely love magical hot spots, which is highly suggested by their sudden presence in Ascalon after the Searing, thus, if the Salt Flats are a hot spot, it may be some years before the Storm Kin ever even find a need to move outward. It may even be that they are starting to now, as indicated by their slight presence outside of the entrance to the Salt Flats from Prophet's Path, and in Skyward Reach.
As to why they are attracted to magical energy, well, say they are natural inhabitants of a world unprotected from the Mists, or perhaps they are natural inhabitants of the Mists. If Magic is merely a manipulation of the Mists, then the Mists as a whole would simply be untapped magical energy waiting to be manipulated, that, if the Riders are originally from there, they could easily absorb, and possibly use as a form of sustenance. Although, I do not believe the Smoke Walkers are support for this, given the profession difference.
But what really, really, supports this? We've never seen them convert magical energy into anything in the Maguuma Jungle or Ascalon!
True, in the case of Ascalon, but we also haven't seen them in the six years since the events of Prophecies in those areas. As to the Maguuma, well, we don't know how far the effects of the Bloodstones go, but if they somehow sapped magic from it, and converted it, perhaps they just spread its effect into the water, in the form of Fount of Maguuma. Although this is still unclear.
So, where it really shines, is in the Tarnished Coast. While it cannot be seen in my screenshot, there are, as I noted in my previous thread, single Wind Riders continually circling the stones in Magus Stones. What are they doing? Why are they doing this? Well, by my theory, they are converting the abundant magical energy to make the stones float. Why? Well, I can't honestly say to get rid of the magical energy, as they're just making it do something different, but perhaps they are doing it to erode the rocks more quickly, to create wide open plains for them to float over more easily? As to how making them float makes them erode more quickly, well, there's not as much protecting them from the wind and just the elements in general.
By this idea, they are part of the explanation for the floating stones found in Magus Stones and Riven Earth, at least perhaps.
In summary:
The Riders are natural creatures, that feed off of magic, and when it is in excess, convert it in some manner, perhaps subtle, perhaps excessively obvious, but always in some manner utilize it.|||I'd actually consider Riders as a sort of indicator on the strength og Magic in a certain area. You say the Riders may unleash their magic into the Maguuma water to spice it up a bit, but why not the other way around? Riders are mostly found in the watery areas of the Maguuma because of the magic in the water. If the Riders were the cause, we'd see similar effects in other places.
It's a possibility Sybilla created them as a form of "magic trackers", moving out using the wind and storms to all kinds of areas in search of powerful magical location which she may then claim for herself. While we have no exact date, it's possible Sybilla came after Odran and wanted to use the Riders to find the portals Odran hid. Riders finding magical hotspots would then feed and "reproduce" on the magic in the area, which would explain why the Ascalonian type are new, weak and not that widespread yet, and a stronger type roams around the Mursaat base. Their Mesmery skills would help ward off other magical creatures who would also benefit from the magic.
At any rate , Wind Riders show some of the least intelligent behavior we witness from foes. Apart from staying in a group for more power, all they seem to do is patrol areas or in some cases even remain still in the same spot, which are often magical hotspots. This would indicate they are more likely to be artificially created rather than beings from the Mists, which have shown an advanced form of intelligence at least, and Razah shows a great ability to learn.|||First of all, great article, Leon.
I had a thought, though. There are no Riders in the Southern Shiverpeaks, and unless I'm very much mistaken, is there not a Bloodstone there? If the Bloodstone is the reason for the Riders to be in the Maguuma, shouldn't it follow that they ought to be in the Southern Shiverpeaks as well? If not, maybe there's another reason that the Riders are in the Maguuma than the Bloodstone.|||Sticking to your stones theory - there are quite a few of them that seem to orbit the stones at Magus Stones.
There are a few mobs that go back and forth, but there are always solo riders at the stones. The Facet of Illusions appears here too when you are doing the Cipher quests.
That's all I've got to add really - that and Lyssa is a god that is impossible to second guess, so good luck with it all!
-Art|||Quote:
First of all, great article, Leon.
I had a thought, though. There are no Riders in the Southern Shiverpeaks, and unless I'm very much mistaken, is there not a Bloodstone there? If the Bloodstone is the reason for the Riders to be in the Maguuma, shouldn't it follow that they ought to be in the Southern Shiverpeaks as well? If not, maybe there's another reason that the Riders are in the Maguuma than the Bloodstone.
There is no bloodstone in the Southern Shiverpeaks (that we know of). The only indication we had for that was that the Mursaat were planning to saccrifice Saidra and Misses Useless on a Bloodstone and they were captured at the Southern Shiverpeaks. It still leaves open other possibilitie such as:
- The Bloodstone in Bloodstone Caves
- Mursaat teleporter system which we know is near|||From Guru:
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Where are the Riders Found?
You forgot Verdant Cascades, by the way.
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The Tarnished Coast, after the Cataclysm, was swept with a wave of magical energy, which is part of what attracted the Asura to the area as they fled from their tunnels.
Is this stated anywhere? I only recall this as a theory. Be careful with your wording as you make it sound like fact if it is indeed just a theory.
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The Maguuma Jungle. This area, while not brimming in magic, does contain a Bloodstone, which likely does leak a bit of magic into the region. Not only that, but with some of the structures taken to be of Druidic origin there, they appear almost to retain magical energy in some way. That is, the glowing bit of blue within certain green, plant structures.
It should also be noted that most, if not all, riders reside on or along waterbeds. And we all know what property the water in the Maguuma holds.
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The Crystal Desert. This place just has to be saturated with magic. It's been the playground of Gods and power-mad mages for some years. Abaddon appears to have cast his first strike here. Sometime later, the Sorcerer Lord Kree came here, and ruled over Prophet's Path with an army of beasts, of which the minotaurs were some. What was his fate? Unknown. Perhaps around the same time, perhaps after or prior, it is simply unknown, Sybitha came to the Salt Flats as noted above.
You forgot the presence of Augury Rock and Glint. I'd say those two are the biggest influences past Sybitha, as they are very resent and at least in the case of Augury Rock, most likely very powerful magic concentration.
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Perhaps, perhaps, these creatures are in fact restorers of balance or order in an environment. Magical sponges, of sorts, that may even live off of the magical energy, or perhaps, convert it in some manner.
Very interesting, this being the key point I presume in your post.
A thought: What if Sybitha's experiments were not to "unleash" the storm riders, but the experiments attracted the storm riders?
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If this is the case, these stones might be much like the Searing crystals, containing a large amount of magic, which would be why the Storm Kin are attracted to them. And perhaps the reason the crystalline part is no longer found on them is due to the Storm Kin sapping the magic from them, which may be what formed them, and held them together in the first place. As they sapped them, it eroded them, much like what occurs to any rocks over time, turning them into the sand that covers the Crystal Desert. This would help explain why when a grain of sand from the Crystal Desert is examined, it appears crystalline in nature.
I'll have to look at the stones in game, but this theory could be very helpful in supporting the theory that the Scriptures of Abaddon describe a previous "Searing" occuring.
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Although, I do not believe the Smoke Walkers are support for this, given the profession difference.
Actually, it could be support for this. These are the only of their "kind" that doesn't have the name "Rider" in it - instead it is Walker. What if it is a sub-species of the Rider species, which also causes the profession difference.
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The Riders are natural creatures, that feed off of magic, and when it is in excess, convert it in some manner, perhaps subtle, perhaps excessively obvious, but always in some manner utilize it.
Wouldn't the magic, if it is sustenance, simply be used as food and thus be converted into energy which would mean it is converted into the Riders' spells and movements? Thus, it would be the opposite of what you said for the Tarnished Coast and the Maguuma - they are not making the rocks float and the waters heal, but stealing the magic which allows this. In other words, after some time, if this theory is correct, there will no longer be floating boulders unless the Riders are all killed. I don't think the Maguuma will change much, as even if Riders continue to feed off the magic, it's coming from a bloodstone and thus is seemingly unlimited (as it just filters magic from the Mists) which means that if those Riders are all killed, then there would be more magic flowing from the bloodstone to the world.
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While we have no exact date, it's possible Sybitha came after Odran and wanted to use the Riders to find the portals Odran hid.
Going on what I said earlier about Sybitha not bringing them but attracting them - if Sybitha came after Odran, then the Riders could have possibly wondered through his portals (which, incidentially, we know one is in the Crystal Desert and another is in Ascalon - two of the five general areas Riders exist).
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At any rate , Wind Riders show some of the least intelligent behavior we witness from foes. Apart from staying in a group for more power, all they seem to do is patrol areas or in some cases even remain still in the same spot, which are often magical hotspots. This would indicate they are more likely to be artificially created rather than beings from the Mists, which have shown an advanced form of intelligence at least, and Razah shows a great ability to learn.
The Torment Demons don't all seem to be very smart. Those seem to me to just be following orders except for the occasional powerful ones like the Hunger and the Drought. Same goes for the Deadspawn Maw's spawns - only the more powerful ones seem to have much intelligence.
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There is no bloodstone in the Southern Shiverpeaks (that we know of). The only indication we had for that was that the Mursaat were planning to saccrifice Saidra and Misses Useless on a Bloodstone and they were captured at the Southern Shiverpeaks. It still leaves open other possibilitie such as:
- The Bloodstone in Bloodstone Caves
- Mursaat teleporter system which we know is near
Actually, it is the Bloodstone Caves bloodstone - Linsey Murdock confirmed it for us on Wiki.|||I seem to recall that a Bloodstone could be seen in Iron Mines cut scene. I guess I'll have to go back and look when I have the chance. It's been a while since I actually watched those.
But as you pointed out, there is the Bloodstone Caves and the Mursaat teleporter. So, plenty of opportunity for magic that could potentially interest the riders. Unless, of course, they simply can't live in colder climes. All the areas we can find them are either temperate or arid.
Edit: I shouldn't type so slow. That was in response to Jack. Looks like I have some confirmation on that Bloodstone though.|||That isn't a bloodstone. Go on top of it, clearly isn't (or just go into the old Bloodstone thread). To quote Linsey:
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Quick clarification: over on Unanswered questions#Bloodstones you stated that there was a Bloodstone in the Southern Shiverpeaks. Does this refer to Bloodstone Caves, which at least borders on the Southern Shiverpeaks, or some other Bloodstone? - Tanetris 18:40, 9 September 2007 (UTC)
I was referring to the Bloodstone in the Bloodstone Caves. The caves do extend under the mountains of the Shiverpeaks and that is where the Bloodstone is located. -
Linsey talk 19:31, 22 January 2008 (UTC)http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/User_...e1#Bloodstones
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Q: Where are the remaining two Bloodstones? Is the platform in the Iron Mines of Moladune a Bloodstone?
A: There is a Bloodstone in the Southern Shiverpeaks. It is not a platform in Iron Mines of Moladune. -
Linsey talk 06:24, 29 July 2007 (UTC) A:The bloodstone found in EotN is the Shiverpeaks bloodstone, being in the mountains.
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Guild...re#Bloodstones|||Quote:
I'd actually consider Riders as a sort of indicator on the strength of Magic in a certain area. You say the Riders may unleash their magic into the Maguuma water to spice it up a bit, but why not the other way around? Riders are mostly found in the watery areas of the Maguuma because of the magic in the water. If the Riders were the cause, we'd see similar effects in other places.
It's a possibility Sybilla created them as a form of "magic trackers", moving out using the wind and storms to all kinds of areas in search of powerful magical location which she may then claim for herself. While we have no exact date, it's possible Sybilla came after Odran and wanted to use the Riders to find the portals Odran hid. Riders finding magical hotspots would then feed and "reproduce" on the magic in the area, which would explain why the Ascalonian type are new, weak and not that widespread yet, and a stronger type roams around the Mursaat base. Their Mesmery skills would help ward off other magical creatures who would also benefit from the magic.
At any rate , Wind Riders show some of the least intelligent behavior we witness from foes. Apart from staying in a group for more power, all they seem to do is patrol areas or in some cases even remain still in the same spot, which are often magical hotspots. This would indicate they are more likely to be artificially created rather than beings from the Mists, which have shown an advanced form of intelligence at least, and Razah shows a great ability to learn.
Sybitha, but you make a very good point. I was thinking mostly along the lines of "Hovering around stones, stones floating about..They're helping cause it!" I did realize though that, while it worked there, it failed elsewhere, aside from the absorption of magical energy.
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I had a thought, though. There are no Riders in the Southern Shiverpeaks, and unless I'm very much mistaken, is there not a Bloodstone there? If the Bloodstone is the reason for the Riders to be in the Maguuma, shouldn't it follow that they ought to be in the Southern Shiverpeaks as well? If not, maybe there's another reason that the Riders are in the Maguuma than the Bloodstone.
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But as you pointed out, there is the Bloodstone Caves and the Mursaat teleporter. So, plenty of opportunity for magic that could potentially interest the riders. Unless, of course, they simply can't live in colder climes. All the areas we can find them are either temperate or arid.
Aside from the colder temperature point, it may also be that since the Bloodstone in question may be that of Aggression, they simply won't go near it. Maybe realizing that it would drive them to kill one another or something else.
One of the other reasons that the Wind Riders may, aside from the magic again, stick around the Bloodstone in Maguuma, is that it may be the Bloodstone of Preservation, which lengthens their life span. In fact, this would explain why the Wind Riders drop Ancient Eyes around there.
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You forgot Verdant Cascades, by the way.
Didn't forget, so much as excluded in much the same way as I did with the ones in the Maguuma, but yeah, I probably should have mentioned it in my initial post.
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Is this stated anywhere? I only recall this as a theory. Be careful with your wording as you make it sound like fact if it is indeed just a theory.
This was stated somewhere, prior to Eye of the North's release. I recall that whenever it was stated the fellow who was talking mistakenly said Orr, which really had us excited until we were told it was a mistake. I'll dig up the thread in the Northern Tyria section, as I remember discussing it.
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You forgot the presence of Augury Rock and Glint. I'd say those two are the biggest influences past Sybitha, as they are very recent and at least in the case of Augury Rock, most likely very powerful magic concentration.
Augury Rock, yes, I did forget, a tad ironically. However, in the case of Glint, she's in a pocket dimension that's in a grain of sand for some bizarre reason. I suspect that her magical energies may be masked, to prevent intrusion. That Primordus managed to get in somehow is indicative of his power. But yeah, you more or less said that yourself about Glint, in other terms.
Also a note, I've always thought Augury Rock might be the largest stone leftover from Abaddon's assault. It just always struck me as being a giant meteorite or something..Issue I've had is the chamber within.
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Very interesting, this being the key point I presume in your post.
A thought: What if Sybitha's experiments were not to "unleash" the storm riders, but the experiments attracted the storm riders?
Yes, that more or less is my central point here. The converting was my initial thought, but later transformed into the magical energy as sustenance/general absorption.
As to Sybitha's experiments attracting them, it's a possibility, but it still begs the question of where they may have initially come from. Plus, one of the quotes, "One of her first and most powerful.." implies to me their being intentionally summoned or created by Sybitha.
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I'll have to look at the stones in game, but this theory could be very helpful in supporting the theory that the Scriptures of Abaddon describe a previous "Searing" occuring.
As a note, these are the stones I was rambling about awhile back to you, as I was looking around the Crystal Desert. Which can also be located in Vulture Drifts.
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Actually, it could be support for this. These are the only of their "kind" that doesn't have the name "Rider" in it - instead it is Walker. What if it is a sub-species of the Rider species, which also causes the profession difference.
It's possible. However, there are others of their kind that don't have Rider in the name, such as Breeze Keeper and Storm Kin.
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Wouldn't the magic, if it is sustenance, simply be used as food and thus be converted into energy which would mean it is converted into the Riders' spells and movements? Thus, it would be the opposite of what you said for the Tarnished Coast and the Maguuma - they are not making the rocks float and the waters heal, but stealing the magic which allows this. In other words, after some time, if this theory is correct, there will no longer be floating boulders unless the Riders are all killed. I don't think the Maguuma will change much, as even if Riders continue to feed off the magic, it's coming from a bloodstone and thus is seemingly unlimited (as it just filters magic from the Mists) which means that if those Riders are all killed, then there would be more magic flowing from the bloodstone to the world.
Possibly, but then how does one explain the stones in the Crystal Desert? Depending on the amount there were originally, could they have eroded in a thousand years by normal means? Or, it may be that the sand has just slowly buried many of them, but then, the sand appears to be made of the crystals. It's a bit of a conundrum in that area. But, yes, the reverse most likely would be the case. Although, it begs the question of why they still circle those stones, unless the stones themselves are simply that saturated with magic. It may be like a magnet when you put the same poles next to each, they push apart, and if they aren't circling those stones, they remove the opposite charge keeping them down for absorption purposes. Assuming this is all correct, of course.
Generally, I blame being a bit tired, and being very enthusiastic about the idea of these creatures creating magical anomalies in some manner.
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which, incidentially, we know one is in the Crystal Desert and another is in Ascalon - two of the five general areas Riders exist
Actually, we still don't know with absolute certainty if the one in Ascalon is still canon. The Storm Kin from the Crystal Desert could have easily floated over across the Blazeridge Mountains to Ascalon as they sensed the magical energies, in my opinion.
Edit: Here's where the Cataclysm had magical energy swept over the Tarnished Coast originated from..Digging around a bit more to find the exact bit where it came from though. Bloop.|||Quote:
As a note, these are the stones I was rambling about awhile back to you, as I was looking around the Crystal Desert. Which can also be located in Vulture Drifts.
I have no memory of what rocks you mean. But I went in game to Skyward reach to the spot of the picture - if those are the rocks you mean, they don't look unnatural to me at all.
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It's possible. However, there are others of their kind that don't have Rider in the name, such as Breeze Keeper and Storm Kin.
Yes, I initially forgot about that. Perhaps it is caused by a different plain? Also, one thing that is consistent is that for the Tyrian Riders, their names deal with air (Wind, Breeze, and Storm). The FoW one is smoke - that deals more with fire than air (or, more precisely, the combination of the two). As healing is also a form of denial (denial of being harmed), one can view it as similar but more supportive and it could be that the type deals more with fire than air.
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Possibly, but then how does one explain the stones in the Crystal Desert? Depending on the amount there were originally, could they have eroded in a thousand years by normal means? Or, it may be that the sand has just slowly buried many of them, but then, the sand appears to be made of the crystals. It's a bit of a conundrum in that area. But, yes, the reverse most likely would be the case. Although, it begs the question of why they still circle those stones, unless the stones themselves are simply that saturated with magic. It may be like a magnet when you put the same poles next to each, they push apart, and if they aren't circling those stones, they remove the opposite charge keeping them down for absorption purposes. Assuming this is all correct, of course.
I fail to see the issue with reversing the idea in terms of the Crystal Desert. As for those in the Tarnished Coast - could be that they are finishing off the magical properties before risking to move out in search of more "food."
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Actually, we still don't know with absolute certainty if the one in Ascalon is still canon. The Storm Kin from the Crystal Desert could have easily floated over across the Blazeridge Mountains to Ascalon as they sensed the magical energies, in my opinion.
This is true, especially as their names are also very similar, might mean that the Ascalonian and Crystal Desert Riders are closer related than the others.
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