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The Blue Child returns to Azeroth
Players who were around during classic may remember that Azeroth once had two moons: The large, white moon was called the White Lady, and the smaller, blue moon was called the Blue Child. Lorewise, the White Lady was what the night elves called Elune and the tauren Mu'sha. The Blue Child doesn't seem to have figured quite as prominently in the lore, so I guess it was an auxiliary back-up moon for when Azeroth experienced sudden spikes in moon-related demand. The Blue Child disappeared during patch 1.10.0 before the Burning Crusade. Anne's theory is that, since this coincides with Blizzard's addition of weather effects to the world, it was probably removed due to graphical errors. Whatever the reason, since then there have been only occasional references to its existence within the game: You could see it around the three-dimensional map of Azeroth in Halls of Lightning, and it was briefly visible during the Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest quest line. However, players were delighted to discover that it made a reappearance on the Mists of Pandaria beta, and it looks like patch 5.0.4 has finally restored the Blue Child to the world. Thanks to Jeff Hoskins for the tip and Dawn Moore for the picture!
Know Your Lore, TFH Edition: The naaru are a menace that must be destroyed
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. A soothing light fills you as you approach the naaru. Slow musical chimes echo within your mind and though a word is not uttered, you feel an assurance of safety. They glimmer with the purity of the Light, and their very presence fills one with a warm, calm feeling of inner peace. They also teach the ways of the Light -- the draenei would not be paladins were it not for these mysterious creature's intervention. In fact, the benevolent naaru came to Velen in a vision when his world was at its darkest hour, offering him hope, salvation, escape ... and the knowledge that there was a far larger battle out there, one that had yet to come to pass. Kil'jaeden and Archimonde eagerly agreed to follow and serve Sargeras, becoming the highest-ranked members of the Burning Legion. As for Velen, he took the worried, the lost, the concerned draenei with him and fled, pledging his servitude to the naaru and their righteous cause. Two causes, one outwardly and easily identifiable as evil -- and the other, far more sinister and wicked than anything the Burning Legion could ever hope to achieve. Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on what is to come. These speculations are merely theories and should not be taken as fact or official lore.
Know Your Lore: Tauren origins and tinfoil hats
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. Where, exactly, do tauren come from? Yes, there's the old standby about a mommy tauren and a daddy tauren -- but in a world where some beings trace their origins back to stone constructs and ancient curses while others are native and still others were altered by the Well of Eternity, the question of where a people originated can be an important and convoluted one. The most recent Ask Creative Development thread from the official forums managed to cover a lot of subject matter, from Elune and her relationship with the Naaru to whether Forsaken priests could actually blow themselves up by channeling too much of the Holy Light. But the question and answer that most interested me was the following: Q: What races were on Azeroth before the coming of the titans? A: Besides the elementals, the only known sentient races on Azeroth when the titans' forces arrived to subdue the Old Gods were the trolls, the race known as "faceless ones," and the aqir. Due to the Old Gods' war against the titans, as well as the extensive terraforming that followed the war's conclusion, records of what races existed before even the Old Gods' arrival have likely been lost forever. source Anne already discussed this to a degree, but I wanted to take a longer look at the tauren, their history and mythology, what they seem to believe about their origins, and why it might matter to this question. Where did the tauren come from? Please remember the rules. This is all speculation, and while I try and build it on the framework of the lore we're supplied in game, I'm going to end up somewhere that is absolutely not at all in game.
Know Your Lore: An'she and the Holy Light
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. When considering the new race and class combinations that Blizzard has to offer, some are immediately recognizable, such as human or Forsaken hunters. It stands to reason they'd exist; they already have in game since the very beginning. Some take a little more research, such as the history of the Shen'dralar and how that effects new night elves that would like to study the arcane. However, some of these new race and class choices are so far out there and so inconceivable that the very mention of them existing seems completely out of place. The tauren race has long been a follower of nature, the spirits of the elements and the mysterious "Earthmother," as well as the elusive Mu'sha -- also known as Elune by the night elves. Yet in Cataclysm the tauren will be following the path of the Holy Light -- the paladin and the priest class. At first, the announcement seemed entirely out of line for the nature-loving race, but examining the tauren a little more closely gives the answers and the explanations we're looking for. To explain the tauren paladin and priest class, we first have to go way, way back to the dawn of tauren civilization and the only know records of tauren history, the Thunder Bluff scrolls. WARNING: The following post may contain some spoilers for the upcoming Cataclysm expansion. If you wish to remain spoiler free, do not continue.
Know Your Lore TFH Edition: Elune is a naaru
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how, but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. WARNING: The following post contains spoilers for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Players who wish to play the new expansion spoiler-free should veer away from this post. The above screenshot (go ahead and view it in full) was taken in the Temple of the Moon in Darnassus. Instead of the ever-present statue of Haidene, first high priestess of the moon, we see Elune. Or rather E'lune, a naaru that looks much like A'dal, which I suppose would be only appropriate given the sheer scope of what E'lune's power would have to be. I mean heck, she made the night elves what they are, didn't she? E'lune, (or Mu'sha, as she is called by the tauren) is the major deity worshipped by the night elves. That's right, night elves: Your deity is a giant light-spinning windchime. Maybe. If you haven't noticed by now, today is another "Tin Foil Hat" edition of Know Your Lore, which means we're going to talk about lore elements presented in game and attempt to weave them together into a logical conclusion that makes perfect sense in the context of Warcraft lore. Today's subject is Elune, the goddess of the night elves, An'she, the "missing half" of tauren history surrounding the Earthmother's eyes, and why tauren priests and paladins may not be quite as far-fetched as some people think. To begin, we have to go back to what all priests and paladins of World of Warcraft work with, that mysteriously vague magic school knows as the Light.
VC/WiiWare Friday: Number 300
It's a very momentous week for the PAL Virtual Console. Not only is it (still) a Hanabi Festival, the 300th Virtual Console game has been released in the region. It's either the wonderful Compile shooter MUSHA or the Konami table tennis game Smash Table Tennis, so ... let's say it's MUSHA. It sure took a while for Smash Table Tennis to show up, though.This news managed to overshadow the launch of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord, but don't miss it if you want to play a tower defense game ... from inside the tower! MUSHA (Mega Drive, 1 player, 900 Wii Points) Smash Table Tennis (Famicom Disk System, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points) Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord (WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points) A Little Bit of ... Puzzle League (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
Patch 3.2 PTR: Tauren Druid conversation may reveal lore and expansion secrets
Reader Chad forwarded us this screen shot of a conversation that takes place over on Elder rise in Thunder Bluff between two Tauren on the patch 3.2 PTR. Apparently it actually begins with a new quest by the Dalaran Portals, as pointed out in this thread at Scrolls of Lore, and while the quest leads nowhere, you do get to hear the linked dialogue. In it, Aponi Brightmane, a wounded warrior who wishes to return the front lines in Northrend, and Tahu Sagewind, a Druid, speak together about the history of Druidism, the moon, and the sun. They speak of Elune, whom they know as Mu'sha, one of the eyes of the the Earth Mother. They mention that it seems strange that if Tauren were the first Druids as their legends claim, that all Hamuul Runetotem teaches is the moon power of the Night Elves. Tahu wonders if Druids themselves, because of this, are out of balance. The idea segues back into the idea of the world out of balance due to the influence of the Scourge, wondering if sitting idle in Thunder Bluff is really a good idea when the Northern front is so bleak, wondering if balance must needs to be returned by action.
Wiikly Wares: Family Glide Hockey, High Voltage Hot Rod Show and Musha
It's Monday again, and you know what that means: A new rogue's gallery is easing its way onto the Virtual Console/WiiWare. Let's take a look.WiiWare:High Voltage Hot Rod Show (High Voltage Software, Inc., 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points): It may not be saying much, but this is as close as we usually get to being excited about a WiiWare game. It's not a great title, but the video we put after the break of this stunted and stunty racer actually looks like fun. If you're gonna pick up one thing this week, we'd recommend this.Family Glide Hockey (Aksys Games, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points): On the other hand, we were able to get through about 20 seconds of this video before we told Damien it was all for him and hung ourselves.Virtual Console:M.U.S.H.A. (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): Seven levels of classic shmuppy madness. Oh, in case you were curious, it stands for Metallic Uniframe Super Hybrid Armor. ... It's OK, we needed a second to absorb it too.
Metallic Uniframe Super Hybrid Virtual Console Game
Musha Aleste came out in Japan back in April, and it was rated by the OFLC for PAL release (though that hasn't happened yet). Also, it's a shooter, which almost guarantees a game's worldwide availability on the Virtual Console. We knew that Compile's M.U.S.H.A. (as it was known in its American release on the Genesis) would be bound for the North American VC soon, and now there's one less roadblock on the way to its release: it's been rated by the ESRB.If you haven't played it, M.U.S.H.A. is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Compile, creators of so many awesome shmups, including Zanac and Blazing Lazers. While it's hard to explain what makes one shmup better than others, we think this one's really keen.
Punch-Out!! developer making WiiWare card game as well
Next Level Games, the Canadian developer behind the Super Mario Strikers series, is currently at work on an extremely high-profile game: the Wii update to the classic Punch-Out!! series. According to an OFLC listing spotted by Spencer from Siliconera, they've decided to work on something else while they've got the Wii devkits out: something called Jungle Speed. Rather than a Donkey Kong-themed racing game (which has been tried on the Wii to little success), Jungle Speed is most likely a Wii version of a card game of the same name, in which players must get rid of all their cards while racing to take possession of a totem. We suspect that this title will end up on WiiWare: Jungle Speed also has a rating on the American ESRB, which lists its publisher as Playful Entertainment. Playful states on their website that they have "multiple, unannounced titles" planned for WiiWare.In bonus OFLC news, Mercs, Enduro Racer, and M.U.S.H.A. have also been rated! Awesome games from Sega consoles incoming![Via Siliconera]
Ask a Lore Nerd: Faith and religion
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, the column that answers your questions about the story and lore of the Warcraft universe. Click the Comments link below, ask your question, and blogger/columnist Alex Ziebart will answer you in a future installment!Two weeks ago, when I was going through my queue of questions, one stuck out as especially complex. Sean Riley inquired about the beliefs and practices of the various Azerothian religions. This topic really excited me as I kind of have a thing for analyzing religion and faith. I would never claim to be an authority on theology, but it's stlil something that is very interesting to me. Warcraft lore combined with theology? Yes please! Obviously this isn't really the place to analyze and debate religion, but taking time out to research the gaps in my knowledge on this particular topic was incredibly fun for me.Unforunately, I didn't have the space in that week's column to fit the answer to that question in, nor did I really have the time. It was a broad question and needed to invest a hefty amount of time into it. This one question has filled today's column, and while that may be disappointing to some that are waiting their turn, I hope it's an interesting read regardless.
April VC releases for Japan: Dracula X leads an awesome month
It's finally happening. When Hudson announced Turbografx-16 support on the Virtual Console, we thought "Oh, great, maybe we'll be able to get Dracula X!" Then when they revealed that CD-ROM titles would start coming out, we got really excited about being one step closer to Dracula X. Next month in Japan, Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo will be released on the Virtual Console for 800 points. As if Hudson hadn't already won at being awesome today.Other than the amazing Dracula X, there's actually a lot of really great stuff coming out in April. It has actually renewed our faith in the Virtual Console, which is why we're starting to think we're being fooled by a tragic April Fool's Day joke on Nintendo's part. Metal Slug and The Legend of Valkyrie are standouts, as is the incredibly vintage RPG Bokosuka Wars, if only because it reminds us of this shirt. Famicom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sky Kid Volguard II Bokosuka Wars Super Famicom: Famicom Detective Club Part II Heracles no Eikou IV Master System: Wonder Boy Mega Drive: Musha Aleste Phantasy Star III Phelios N64: Kirby 64 PC Engine: Riot Zone Legend of Valkyrie Dracula X: Rondo of Blood Digital Champion: Battle Boxer Monster Lair Neo Geo: Metal Slug
