I think it must have been, [Liem agrees as they press onward.] Whoever they were, it seemed like they emerged from the Tree once, like we all did.

[What kind of person that shard-bearer was, what they looked like, even what side they harmonized with, Liem has no idea. Does their final resting place beneath the Church of Helios make it more likely that they belonged to Meridian, or less? He couldn’t guess.

As make their way further through tunnels that now open up into larger caverns, the rock and earth about them continue to be rife with roots. Perhaps from Springstar’s Great Tree? It seems likely, since he can’t imagine what other roots would penetrate so far beneath the surface of the island.]

I got the sense that they didn’t just die… but that they failed. Perhaps, whatever war they were a part of, they got to see their side lose it.