'The kindling that burned inside Messmer the Impaler. A dark thing, eaten away at by a wicked serpent. Burns the sealing tree said to be found at the old Rauh ruins.' The Sealing Tree at the foot of the old Rauh ruins in the Land of Shadow is an ancient, unliving tree, hidden deep in these hornsent ruins beyond the high bridge that climbs from the first floor of the storehouse. The tree sealed something, the lore is careful never to specify what: a god, a memory, a vow, a ledger of crimes. Marika sealed her past inside it. To break the seal is to let the Land of Shadow remember what was done to its people.

'Message left by Dryleaf Dane, addressed to kindred spirits who also pursue Miquella's trail. We've found the sealing tree just ahead. But if we are to burn it, we need the proper kindling. That of Sir Messmer.' Miquella's questline routes through the burning of the tree because Miquella needs the seals broken. Messmer was Marika's son, made into a fire-and-serpent weapon and exiled as the punisher of the Hornsent; he is also the only family member who could spare the kindling that breaks his own mother's seal. The Tarnished completes Miquella's pilgrimage by burning the Sealing Tree with Messmer's flame, then arriving at the gate of Enir-Ilim where the new god is being born, and the Promised Consort waits to be summoned for the marriage.

◆ Sources

ItemMessmer's Kindling

The kindling that burned inside Messmer the Impaler. A dark thing, eaten away at by a wicked serpent. Burns the sealing tree said to be found at the old Rauh ruins.

ItemAncient Ruins Cross Message

Message left by Dryleaf Dane, addressed to kindred spirits who also pursue Miquella's trail. "We've found the sealing tree just ahead. But if we are to burn it, we need the proper kindling. That of Sir Messmer."