Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain, now featuring an orphan on Air Guitar

So, with Children's Week upon us, the lore buff in me was wondering something: What's going to happen with Salandria?

If you had a high level character Horde last year and did the Shattrath Orphan's Week quest, you know what I'm talking about. Salandria, your Blood Elf Orphan, is a somewhat snooty and stuck up girl who loves to stick her nose where it might not be safe (such as the fire elemental up at the Throne of Elements), but she seems mostly like a normal, if slightly precocious girl.

Until she asks to go to Silvermoon and the Caverns of Time.

If you will remember from last year, when she asked to go Silvermoon, she said she wanted to be a Blood Knight, and asked to visit the Blood Knight's guild. Once there, she proceeded to head underground as if in a trance, and siphon power directly from M'uru, without prompting or instruction. Lady Liadrin, noticing this, immediately started making plans to adopt her and make her a Blood Knight initiate.

Of course, Lady Liadrin and M'uru are both gone from Silvermoon this year, so we can't very well have that same scenario play out. So what happens when she asks to go to Silvermoon this time? She no longer wants to be a Blood Knight. Instead, she wants to be a rock star, just like her hero, Sig Nicious of Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain!

So you head to Silvermoon and over below the balcony where they hang out, where she informs everyone that she is ready to rock, and proceeds to stand under a spot light and, in fact, rock out (playing air guitar and singing The Power of the Horde), while the members of L70ETC cheer her on. It's actually pretty cute, and totally not at all as foreboding as when she runs down to a secret underground lair and digs into a Naaru.

That said, the possibility of a Sinister future for young Salandria isn't completely lost. When she visits the Caverns of Time, she is still almost killed by the Wardens there. Zaladormu saves her and calls them off, saying that she cannot be held responsible for what she may do or fail to do in the future. She also talks about wanting to "own" a dragon one day, which still sets off alarms in my head, and makes me think of the Red Dragonflight being "owned" by the Orcs.

So what does this mean? Were the loremasters at WoW planning this all along? Did the history where Salandria became a Blood Knight and enslaved a Dragon disappear when Kael'thas stole M'uru? Or will Liadrin simply discover her at a later date, maybe on a visit to the Lower City?

Salandria always seemed to be a definite contrast to Dornaa, the gentle Alliance orphan, who receives the blessing of the Naaru O'ros, and shows an uncanny ability to commune with the elements, and wants to be friends with a Dragon (instead of owning one like Salandria). I always assumed that in the distant future, Warcraft 4 or 5 would feature the two facing off in an epic struggle between good and evil, With the haughty and arrogant Salandria facing off against the benevolent Dornaa, Salandria wreaking havoc upon Azeroth, and Dornaa torn between defending peace and a wish to bring her old friend from the orphanage back to her senses.

But anyway, maybe I have an over active imagination. Of course, the above scenario could still happen. All you'd really have to change is Salandria's character class. That's right, instead of a Paladin, she could just be the mistress of face-melting guitar riffs of ultimate evil. She could be a Bard.

Edit: People (including me) have started getting letters in their mailbox from Salandria. Just like last year, she still says that Liadrin is going to take her to Silvermoon to train as a Blood Knight. The question now is, are we to assume Liadrin's been taking tours of the Lower City and saw Salandria, or did Blizzard just forget to change the letter?