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Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The mystery of Archmage Khadgar
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. Last week, we talked about the history of Khadgar -- a mage who had the unfortunate fortune of being apprenticed to Medivh, the Guardian of Tirisfal, just as the Guardian unleashed an angry bloodthirsty rampaging army of orcs upon Azeroth. It wasn't Medivh that carried out this task, but the spirit of Sargeras that lingered on inside him, passed on from his mother, Aegwynn. Although Khadgar eventually figured out this plot and confronted and defeated Medivh directly, the consequences for doing so were dire -- Khadgar found his magic and his vitality sapped away, aging from a youth to an old man near instantly. The loss of so much of his precious mortality weighed hard on Khadgar, but it didn't stop him from accomplishing the seemingly impossible -- closing down the Dark Portal not once, but twice. The second time would be the last anyone would see of Khadgar for years, because he shut it down on the Draenor side of the Portal, stranding himself and the rest of the Alliance Expedition on the shattered wastelands of Outland until we found him again in Burning Crusade. And now, it seems Khadgar has closed the Dark Portal for a third time, with the aid of heroes both Alliance and Horde. Yet there's something strange about Khadgar, a peculiar mystery that keeps getting stranger the longer I look at it. Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
Know Your Lore: Garrosh, Gul'dan, and Warlords of Draenor
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. Who is Garrosh Hellscream? And what, exactly, is his game? In the end, what is Garrosh ultimately looking for ... and what will he sacrifice to get it? It's one of those lingering questions from Mists of Pandaria that remains as of yet unanswered, but we're beginning to see the bits and pieces of the story, and we'll see more as Warlords is released and the new expansion's story unfolds. For now though, that question still plagues players -- what is Garrosh after? Why did he spurn the idea of warlocks in Siege of Orgrimmar, going so far as to have them strung up in the streets, yet embrace the methods of the dark shaman? Garrosh isn't a character that can be easily understood. His motives -- and his morals -- seem to be all over the place, switching from merciful to merciless in an instant. And yet he's not the only piece to this puzzle -- in Warlords of Draenor, Gul'dan is already showing his face as a pretty prominent figure. Obviously Garrosh Hellscream knew of the Legion's evil when he traveled to this alternate Draenor -- he knew of his father's downfall. So why is Gul'dan still alive? Why wouldn't Hellscream, upon traveling to this alternate Draenor so similar to his own, flat out murder Gul'dan on sight and be done with it? Please note: The following Know Your Lore contains several spoilers for Warlords of Draenor.
Know Your Lore: The Shadow Council
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 others may have quailed from the looming threat of darkness, they embraced it. Where others reviled the blatant corruption of the Burning Legion, they not only accepted it, they went looking for more. And where others may have listened to common sense and turned from the face of evil, they saw evil for what it was, took its measure and took what it had to give, gladly. It wasn't about corruption, it was never about corruption -- it was about power. And for the Shadow Council, power was everything. Formed long before the creation of the Dark Portal and the first invasion of Azeroth, the Shadow Council managed to survive the death of its leader. In fact, it thrived in his absence, and despite the supposed extermination of this dark society, it still thrives today, albeit in lesser numbers than before. But though its direction and leaders may have altered, its purpose has never really changed -- devotion to the Legion, at whatever costs that may entail.
Know Your Lore: Gul'dan, the soul of evil
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. Every villain in the Warcraft universe has a story behind why exactly they're a villain. For some, it was the corruption of the Old Gods that slowly drove them mad. For others, it was the promise of great power by agents of the Burning Legion. But it's rare that we see a villain that is simply a villain without any kind of outside influence. Garrosh Hellscream is one of the better villains in Warcraft solely because he does evil things, but doesn't believe that they are evil -- instead, he believes that they are simply the right thing to do. But before Garrosh Hellscream was an orc who pretty much represented pure, unmitigated evil in its most concentrated form. He knew the corruption of his entire race was at stake, and he went ahead and traded it for the one thing he craved above all else -- power. Gul'dan may not have come from bloodlines that boasted glory, but he was ridiculously intelligent, cunning, and cruel. To Gul'dan, it wasn't about performing evil deeds. It was about amassing as much power and prestige as he could -- and the rest of the world could burn, for all he cared.
Know Your Lore: The History of the Warchief
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. This post exists because of the massive spoilers in this link, but the post itself will be spoiler free. As long as you don't click on that spoiler-heavy link, you will not see any spoilers in this post. (Edit - actually, there's one spoiler at the very end of the post - it's clearly marked as such, and it is a minor spoiler at best, but it is there. Let that guide your actions.) Instead, we're going to talk about the position of Warchief - how it came to be, how it evolved and then devolved, and how Garrosh Hellscream's reign as Warchief set the stage for what could be a completely new direction for his successor (whose identity I will not discuss). The position of Warchief actually began as a complete figurehead, and the first orc to hold that position, Blackhand the Destroyer, was placed in that position due to his combination of physical fearsomeness and egocentric self-aggrandizement - so easily was he misled and directed by Gul'dan, head of the Shadow Council and architect of the Horde, that he never once proved himself a threat sufficient for Gul'dan to ever consider replacing him. It's not that Blackhand was either a fool or an idiot, he was in fact a canny tactician and a respected warrior. He simply believed his own hype - so convinced was he in his own superiority that when Gul'dan presented to him that he would be a respected equal and his position as Warchief would be one of real power, he believed it, because he believed in himself. Throughout the war with the draenei and later, the invasion of Azeroth, Blackhand ruled as Warchief and allowed himself to listen to Gul'dan's words - allowed himself to listen because they were telling him what he wanted to hear. Even as the humans balked the orcs, and Blackhand's series of victories became defeats, he continued to listen to Gul'dan. This would be his downfall.
What If: Shadows of the Assassin
When we last left off with the what-if challenges, Rossi wrote up a perfectly delightful idea for the premise of Shandris Feathermoon being a main antagonist for an expansion, then left me with the notorious half-orc assassin Garona Halforcen for my next challenge. One would think it'd be easy enough to build an expansion around someone who makes a habit of stabbing people, but Garona has essentially been a non-entity since we last saw her, briefly, in the Twilight Highlands. Her absence from the final fight with Cho'gall was noticeable. One would think that she'd be more than happy to pitch in and help defeat the creature that had been controlling her the majority of her life, forcing her to do things that colored her fate in such a way that she's been forced into hiding. Yet ... Garona wasn't there. In fact, she's all but disappeared. Which makes one wonder ... how much of Garona is, in fact, Garona -- and what would she do if given the unique opportunity to change her fate?
Wouldn't this be cool? Garrosh and the Shadow Council
Wouldn't this be cool? With the most recent lore news from Blizzard that the Siege of Orgrimmar will result in Garrosh's removal as Warchief of the Horde at the end of the campaign portion of Mists of Pandaria, speculation has run rampant as to how or why both factions would want to end Hellscream's reign. The Alliance has plenty of reasons to storm the gates of the Horde capital and remove Garrosh, given his numerous victories at any cost. The Horde, while upset at Garrosh and the wedges he's placed between the many Horde factions, does not yet have the impetus to assassinate its leader Julius Caesar-style. What could send the Horde -- the very same Horde that drank the blood of Mannoroth and marched through the Dark Portal -- into such a fear and concern over their leader? The very same threat that the orcs succumbed to on Draenor, that's what.
The Classifieds: Enrich your character history with in-game RP workshop
The Classifieds brings you weekly news from around the WoW community, including our famous Random Acts of Uberness shout-outs to players who make your WoW sessions memorable. Pox held a roleplay workshop on Shadow Council (US-H) a few weeks ago. The feedback from the event was excellent; people came by and had a great time. The hosts were knowledgeable and helpful. These workshops look like a great opportunity to expand roleplay in the wild. The organizers will be hold another event this weekend, March 5 at 6 p.m. Mountain time. If you're curious about the event, check out what they have to say about it: This time, they're tackling character histories. Creating a backstory that respects WoW's huge history and lore while avoiding some of the common 'traps' and over-done character history pit-falls are just some of the topics the guild will cover. Oh, and there's cake. Lots of cake. For more info, visit www.wearepox.com. The event takes place March 5 at 6 p.m. mountain time at Thunder Bluff's bonfire. Everyone is welcome (alliance are asked to rock the scene in a Horde body).
Know Your Lore: Garona: A Study on Stealth and Treachery, part 1
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. The stories of battle and victory have always been told, and in the past, it was up to the leaders of each assault to document the past. While fine leaders in war, these chieftains lacked the ability to convey those actions with written words. I present as an example: "Thok go through shiny hole. Then me fall down, but me good. Me find many good things to eat. We find village. We mash them and eat their food. Thok stop now. Head hurt from write." The fact that I am of both Orc and Human lineage, combined with the skills and schooling I have acquired from my journeys, has elevated me to the position I now hold. As chief interpreter to the Shadow Council, the duty of preserving the accounts of our conquering of this world and the eventual crusade into the land of Humanity, has fallen now upon my shoulders. I, Garona, now humbly present that history. . . -- The Destiny of the Orcish Hordes What kind of terror courses through you when your body will not respond to the thoughts in your mind? Garona Halforcen was originally introduced in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. Throughout the course of the story, Garona continually referred to herself as half human. Garona's heritage was something that had been brought into question on more than one occasion in Warcraft lore. Since humans hadn't been seen on Draenor at that point in time, how could Garona be a full-grown half-orc by the time the Horde stepped through the Dark Portal? Garona's life was relatively lonely on Draenor. She spent most of it traveling and learning the culture of the orcs. This caught the attention of the Shadow Council, which marveled at her intelligent and cunning. Judging her an invaluable asset, they recruited her as Gul'dan's personal spy and assassin. Despite her standing, she was still vastly alone; as a half-orc, she held no particular allegiance to any clan. It wasn't until she arrived on Azeroth with the rest of the orcs that her keen intelligence and mixed blood came into play.
Pox holds RP workshops on Shadow Council this Saturday
Roleplay is more than just something you do here and there; to a lot of folks, it can be a fine art. Roleplay goes beyond just the basic mechanics of the game and attempts to introduce another level of personal story and immersion to the game. Of course, for folks just getting started with RP, that can be a little intimidating. Don't worry; your fellow roleplayers want to help. On Saturday, the guild <Pox> on Shadow Council (US-H) is holding a roleplay workshop. This event is the first such workshop, and for now, they're focusing on how to emote. Emoting really does go beyond /train and /flirt, and Pox will help show you how to get it done. The event takes place Hordeside on Shadow Council (US) in Thunder Bluff on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. server time (Mountain Standard). Check it out, and let us know what you think.
For Gnomeregan! Team ups
For Gnomeregan! is where the members of <B.L.O.G.> on Shadow Council (US-RP-A) roleplay guild meetings as part of an in-blog and in-game RP campaign. The rules for this campaign are: no ERP (Erotic RolePlay) and no vampires (though death knights are welcome). Everyone is invited to participate. Assume that to get into the guild, you at least pretended to be in full use of your faculties and are willing to fight for the cause. You are all welcome to join us here in the comments and those who wish to play with us in-game should friend Peenk and ask for an invite on Shadow Council (US-RP-A). Hey. Kixi Sparklebolt here again. Some of you have told me that you have training buddies or are teaming up for stuff. This. This is exactly the kind of initiative I want to see from all of you. I also have a training buddy. Darkpeep is quiet and weird and I'm not sure all of her brain was reanimated with the rest of her, but together we are practicing our battle skills on the Horde. Darkpeep is her nickname, obviously, but she won't even tell me her full name. Does she remember it? I don't know!
For Gnomeregan! It's time for battle!
For Gnomeregan! is where the members of <B.L.O.G.> on US Shadow Council-A roleplay guild meetings as part of an in-blog and in-game RP campaign. The rules for this campaign are: no ERP (erotic roleplay) and no vampires (though death knights are welcome). Everyone is invited to participate. Assume that to get into the guild, you at least pretended to be in full use of your faculties and are willing to fight for the cause. You are all welcome to join us here in the comments and those who wish to play with us in-game should friend Peenk or Kixi and ask for an invite on US Shadow Council-A. Hey! My name is Kixi and I'm subbing for Peenk this meeting. I'm her cousin and ... well ... yeah, I'm dead. I guess "undead" is the appropriate term. Whatever. I "died" during that whole Gnomeregan fiasco and then had to do chores for the Lich King for a bit, but now I'm back to help avenge my unlife! Or something. I don't quite get this life/death thing anymore. It used to be so clear! But I'm rambling. And that's something that's been going on too long here. Rambling. Many of you are out there ... training ... not hanging around in bed in Teldrassil inns. Ahem. But we've still been lax. So Peenk has made me her Person In Charge Of Training, or PICOT. I guess that's some sort of stitch or other. So I'm a stitch in time! Polite laughter is appropriate here.
For Gnomeregan! How goes your training?
For Gnomeregan! is where the members of <B.L.O.G.> on US Shadow Council roleplay guild meetings as part of an in-blog and in-game RP campaign. The rules for this campaign are: no ERP (Erotic RolePlay) and no vampires (though death knights are welcome). Everyone is invited to participate. Assume that to get into the guild, you at least pretended to be in full use of your faculties and are willing to fight for the cause. You are all welcome to join us here in the comments and those who wish to play with us in-game should friend Peenk and ask for an invite on US Shadow Council-A. For Gnomeregan! I've lived a sheltered life since my familee escaped our home citee, so I took my normal-sized feet to see the wide world. I traveled to all of our major allied citees in Azeroth, funding my trip by runneeng errands for people along the way. I was particularlee moved by my trip to the night elf lands. While prospective employers have treeted me with respect and have withheld judgment of my appeerance until after I have proven myself, the local adventurers have largelee been prejudiced and insulteeng. Emphasis on the word "large." They are gigantic there.
Know Your Lore: The First War
Welcome once again my friends to the lore that never ends, we're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside Know Your Lore. In the past two weeks we've talked about the formation of the Old Horde on Draenor, and the resulting rise of the Alliance of Lordaeron to oppose them. Unfortunately we were forced to give the actual events of the wars slightly short shrift in the interest of being done someday. So this week, we cover the First War. (Note: there are spoilers for the original Warcraft game and several books and comic books contained in this post. Be warned if you continue to read it.) When last we discussed the Old Horde, we mentioned that Gul'dan and his Shadow Council were feeling the strain after having been abandoned on a slowly dying world by Kil'jaeden after having apparently slain the draenei. As the demonic corruption slowly poisoned the land and turned the orcs (even orcs who hadn't partaken of the Blood of Mannoroth) a livid green color, two events occurred to forever change the fate of two worlds. The first was seemingly small: a plague known as the Blood Pox started spreading, forcing the establishment of a quarantine zone in Nagrand in the lands formerly held by the Frostwolf Clan. That clan, however, was no longer able to hold those lands due to the second and more immediately portentous event. Gul'dan was contacted by Medivh, the Guardian of Tirisfal and host to the essence of Sargeras himself, and offered to the dark orc warlock the one thing he truly craved. Power.
Scourgebane RP event on Shadow Council on October 25th
Here's a roleplay event, nicely timed to take advantage of the brain-munching Zombie plague. The Scourgebane Resolute on Shadow Council are holding a rally tomorrow (Saturday, October the 25th) to kick off their withdrawal from Outland, and re-focus their miiltary efforts toward Northrend. And like any good military body about to launch a strike, they want to convince the community of Azeroth that the Scourgebane are in the right, they have a plan, and everyone should go with them. The leader of the rally will be providing an inspirational speech, which is also recorded as an audio file. You can get a copy on their their Guild's website. And while they don't provide any information about other, structured activities, you can probably expect a plethora of roleplay, duels, and discussions about what the Scourgebane will be up to in Northrend. Since this event is taking place on the fringe of Brill, Alliance characters could drop by and hang out, also. It's on the way to the Wicker Man, which makes it easy for you to visit and say "Howdy!" (Alliance are invited, and since this is an RP server, you don't get insta-flagged for wandering nearby.) The Scourgebane don't explicitly say they'll be ganking zombies on sight -- but they are called the Scourgebane. Brain-munch at your own risk.
Shadow Council gnome rogues learn Draconic
This takes my vote for best bug of the patch, if not best bug ever. And not just because it's taking place on my home realm. Apparently as of yesterday's patch, each and every gnome rogue on Shadow Council (US) was endowed with the ability to speak and understand the Draconic language. Newly created gnome rogues don't have it, though, so please don't go flooding my realm with new characters. Get off my lawn! There is one theory as to how this came to pass. The Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest chain, which was how the gates of Ahn'Qiraj were opened back in the day, has as one of its parts a quest to reassemble "Draconic for Dummies.". Apparently at some point in the Wrath beta, players who completed that quest were awarded the ability to speak Draconian. Also apparently, one gnome rogue on Shadow Council by the name of Mag had just recently finished that quest before the patch hit. So what if Blizz attempted to patch in learning Draconian as a reward for that quest, but accidentally gave it to all characters of the same race and class as the player who completed the quest? It sounds unlikely, but other servers don't seem to be affected by this bug; I'm having trouble thinking of an alternate explanation. If everyone who's completed the Draconian for Dummies quest could check their languages, that would be helpful. Also helpful would be reports if there are any other characters that seem to have the language. [thanks, SpaceDrake]
The Colosseum: Stormie, of Shadow Council
The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, and otherwise), to interview some of the top Arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Netherdrakes.Stormie of Shadow Council has placed well over 2000 in each Arena bracket for the last two seasons. A bit of a character, and well-known on the Shadow Council forums, Stormie's always been kind enough to share wisdom (and wit) with most anyone who asks. "Ask Stormie" threads pop up from time to time, and usually get helpful useful answers from the Arena celebrity.The Colosseum was able to snag a bit of the gladiator's time for some questions, and you can check out Stormie's answers behind the cut.
Maintenance for June 17th will be short
Here's a heads-up to all our North American night owls early risers and Oceanic readers: It's Tuesday morning, and that means maintenance. Luckily, it's a short one today. Bornakk has said that they expect most servers to only be down a half hour, starting at 5AM PDT and ending a 5:30AM PDT. There are some extra servers that will be down slightly longer, until 6:30AM PDT. Those servers will be listed after the break. Aussies can rejoice as well, as any Oceanic servers not on this list won't be taken down until 5AM AEST (Which is noon over here on the American west coast). For the list of servers that will have a longer downtime, read on:
Know Your Lore: Auchindoun
Auchindoun is very much hit-or-miss on its lore, in my opinion. Some aspects of it are very cool, and others are quite... lacking. This is one area in which the retcons and alterations that accompanied The Burning Crusade are very apparent. The end result gave a proper 'feel' to the environment, but makes its history a little befuddling.The city of Auchindoun was founded as a City of the Dead by the Draenei. It was a burial place for their fallen brethren, beginning the remains of D'ore, a Naaru who had been killed in the crash of Oshu'gun. It remained this way for some time, a beautiful(though macabre) mausoleum in the heart of Terokkar Forest, second only to the Shadowmoon Valley of old and its blessed Temple of Karabor in the hearts of the Draenei of Outland.Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. During the rise of the First Horde, the Bleeding Hollow Clan of Orcs laid siege to the City of the Dead, much like what happened to the Temple of Karabor(now known as the Black Temple). The Bleeding Hollow turned Auchindoun from holy ground to a fortress. The Bleeding Hollow defiled the grounds of Auchindoun quite thoroughly themselves, and this was only made worse by their ceaseless attacks on the Alliance Expedition which had worked so diligently to force the Orcish Hordes from Azeroth. The expedition, with Turalyon, Alleria Windrunner, Khadgar, Kurdran Wildhammer and Danath Trollbane at the helm, took the fight to the Bleeding Hollow rather than allow themselves to be hassled. The Alliance Expedition took their turn to lay siege to Auchindoun. The Bleeding Hollow did not last long within their fortress.
Around Azeroth: Meet Murmur
Deep inside the heart of Shadow Labyrinth lurks Murmur, an elemental the Shadow Council is trying (and failing) to control for their own purposes. If you visit Shadow Labyrinth, you'll find Murmur waiting for you at the end -- the very last boss. Have you taken your chances to get reacquanted with Murmur, as reader Remmy is in the screenshot above?I think we've all had our chance to be killed by his Sonic Boom! But if you have your own unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world, tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com. You could find your pictures and story featured next on Around Azeroth!%Gallery-1816%