SecondWar
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Know Your Lore: Anduin Lothar
I'll admit it -- I've been slack in profiling Alliance heroes for Know Your Lore. That is because heroes, in general, are boring. Complex, shades-of-gray characters have always been more enticing for me, so I tend to scoff at goody-two-shoes like Malfurion and Uther. But with the AV boycotts, battle cry arguments, and general put-uponness of the Alliance lately, you guys could really use a self-esteem boost. So today we present a true war hero of the Alliance: Anduin Lothar, the man who defeated the Old Horde. (Kind of.) (Not really.) Who: Anduin Lothar, the Lion of Azeroth, the Last of the Arathi. What: Human warrior/knight/fighter, which strikes me as three names for the same thing. History: We don't know too much about Lothar's parents, other than that they were direct descendants of Thoradin, the founder of the Arathi nation. And actually, we don't know too much about Thoradin, either, although since he founded Stromgarde we can safely say that most players who went through Arathi Highlands pre-2.3 would like to spit on his grave. Whoever Lothar's parents were, they didn't seem to be very interested in him, because they let him spend his childhood running around in the court of Azeroth with his friends Llane Wrynn (prince of Azeroth and future assassinee) and Medivh (demon-possessed kid and future swarthy dress-wearer.) The three got into many unnamed hijinks in their youth, but when they came of age, they went their separate ways. Medivh fainted and fell into a coma for years, Llane took up more duties in the royal court, and Lothar joined the army.
Refighting the Second War
The WoW general forums have been on a bit of a nostalgia kick lately. First, someone posted old maps of Azeroth from WC1 and 2 for discussion. Now, Aest of Twisting Nether asks, "If somehow, the Horde and Alliance broke out into all out war, who would be left standing?" He also mentions that the Burning Legion, the Illidari and the Scourge have all taken a holiday, so they can't interfere. Of course, the first time this happened, the humans banded together and took down the orcs after losing Stormwind. But like Aest mentions, things are different now. The Horde has been on a consistent upswing since the Second War, and is strong and united under the leadership of Thrall, whereas the Alliance has lost High Elves and have a very divided high command. Sure, the Blood Elves and the Forsaken are in the Horde less for "Yay, Horde" and more for "Let's get revenge on our enemies", but that works okay, especially since the Forsaken are in the weapons of mass destruction business.
