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Know Your Lore: A Precarious Position Part 2 - Alliance
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. There will be spoilers for patch 5.4 in this post If you remember last week's column, you know the basic premise of this series: covering the ways that the Horde and Alliance, post Hellscream's downfall, can mess things up and prevent an era of peace from coming about. On paper, things look to be about as promising in terms of Horde/Alliance relationships as they have been since the Third War - both the surviving Horde factions and those of the Alliance were united in an uneasy truce by their shared rage towards Garrosh, both worked together in the Barrens and in the invasion of Orgrimmar. If what we've gleaned from data-miners is true, then there will be a new Warchief appointed, with Varian Wrynn allowing it and withdrawing the Alliance from Orgrimmar. This doesn't, however, really deal with the issues that caused the war between the Alliance and Horde this time around. The Horde, in need of vital resources, invaded and conquered Azshara, pushed deep into Ashenvale, besieged Gilneas and used plague weapons to drive its populace into exile and totally annihilated the Alliance presence in Alterac. These situations haven't changed, and further, there are other problems among the peoples of the Alliance. So let's explore each of the nations of the Alliance and how they might react, or what they have on their plates to occupy them following the fall of Orgrimmar.
Review of World of Warcraft: Bloodsworn
Much like its counterpart Dark Riders, World of Warcraft: Bloodsworn is long, long overdue. Luckily, those that have been waiting for the new graphic novel from writer Doug Wagner don't have long to wait -- Bloodsworn will be released next Tuesday, August 27. While Dark Riders tackled some of the Alliance characters introduced in the 2009 special issue of the Warcraft comic series, Bloodsworn tackles the Horde characters introduced in the final edition. Although Dark Riders dove headfirst into familiar waters for those that follow Warcraft lore, Bloodsworn takes a different road entirely, giving us a behind the scenes glimpse of Garrosh's Horde. Taking place shortly after Cataclysm, Bloodsworn follows the tale of several different Horde characters, brought together and united to investigate and uncover the motives and actions of a seemingly new breed of centaur that are intent on wiping the Horde from the face of Azeroth.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The Dark Below
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. I see them! A million worlds glittering in their perfection! One above all others! We have fallen, we must rebuild the final Titan! Do not forget. Wrathion may have just finished chowing down on the heart of the Thunder King when he rattled off that strange speech about this bizarre "final Titan," but what he said seemed to indicate there is far more going on in Pandaria than we'd thought. Or, on the other hand, there is far more going on in Azeroth than we thought. Things that must be taken care of, things so urgent that Wrathion is attempting to set the war between Alliance and Horde on fast-forward so that we can skip that part and simply jump to what he thinks is the important stuff. Earlier this week, Blizzard appeared to be trademarking something called The Dark Below, and many have speculated that it's the name of the next WoW expansion, largely because of the existence of Ozumat and his title, Fiend of the Dark Below. The trademark was later revealed as a possible hoax -- and later still, revealed to be a trademark in Europe. So is it WoW? If it is a WoW trademark, what could possibly be in an expansion with that title? I have absolutely no idea. But that makes for some excellent Tinfoil Hat speculation, so why don't we look at what could potentially be lurking in The Dark Below? 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 how it happened. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
Know Your Lore: A Precarious Position Part 1 - Horde
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. Things are about to get much worse. - Deathbringer Saurfang On the surface of things, it seems like we may be about to turn the corner. Garrosh Hellscream's True Horde is about to face its enemies and the Warchief has alienated so many of his former allies that the Horde itself has erupted in civil war. But once we start thinking about the aftermath, it all starts to seem a little murkier. After all, even though we know that there will apparently be a new warchief appointed after the fall of Hellscream, that won't immediately fix the tensions that led to the Horde making war on itself. Hellscream's former supporters won't just vanish - with the vast majority of orcs behind him, Hellscream's legacy is bound to continue and any new warchief is going to have to face those orcs who took up arms for the True Horde and come up with a way to re-integrate them into the Horde as a whole. Meanwhile, it's likely that those who supported the Darkspear Rebellion are going to want to see substantial changes made to the way the Horde functions - the orcish ideals of Lok'tar Ogar, of unquestioning loyalty to the warchief are by necessity broken now. The Horde of the future is a Horde that has survived a mutiny, has seen a leader deposed - it cannot be bound by tight-knit expectations of loyalty and honor. The blood elves and forsaken, tauren and goblins and trolls who had a hand in making the new warchief possible will have demands, and they're not all going to be possible to meet. Meanwhile, the Alliance will have found itself in the position of kingmaker for its enemy. What does the future hold for Alliance/Horde relations? Will the Alliance forget the past several years of Horde aggression or will it demand concessions from its weakened enemy? And if Varian Wrynn doesn't take advantage of this moment to reclaim Azshara and Ashenvale, or Gilneas, what backlash will he have to face from within his own faction? Thanks in no small part to the threat of the Horde, Wrynn has found himself rising to the position of war-leader for the Alliance as a whole. But can he maintain that position with a much less threatening Horde, especially if he doesn't move to take advantage of its weakness? Let's look at potential threats to any return to stability. This week, we'll discuss the forces at play within the Horde.
Know Your Lore: Garrosh Hellscream and the nature of villany
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. Garrosh Hellscream has been a controversial figure ever since he took the reins of Warchief in Cataclysm, but never quite as contentious as he is now. Presented as the final boss of this expansion, Garrosh's actions have spun wildly out of control, his thirst for and abuse of power quickly turning him from a potentially good Warchief to a monster whose iron grip over the Horde has only served to splinter and fracture the individual races that compose it, rather than bringing them together. Although ... technically, Garrosh has brought the Horde together. The disparate races are working together with a sort of fierce, single-minded unity that we haven't exactly seen before. Rather than each race working individually on their own tasks, with their own motives for doing so, they have banded together with one purpose in mind, a goal that they all share: Getting Garrosh out. In a way, Garrosh has been just as good for the Horde as he has bad. But does Garrosh Hellscream work as an end game villain? Yes and no.
The Burdens of Shaohao: The Sundering
The Burdens of Shaohao: The Sundering is now available on Blizzard's Youtube channel. In the final installment, Emperor Shaohao travels to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms to comfort and protect his people from the devastating Sundering that is nearly upon them all -- yet as it turns out, there are still lessons for the Emperor to learn, and lessons for all of Pandaria as well. We all know how this story ends, having witnessed various accounts of the tale throughout Pandaria. But this interpretation puts a little more perspective behind the Emperor's final decision. Now that the series is over, I'm wondering what you guys thought of the tale. Pandaria's stories certainly set themselves up wonderfully for interpretation in this fashion -- but I'm wondering if we'll see more tales of Azeroth in the future. I'd love to see the story of Andorhal told in this fashion, or the story of Tirion Fordring and Eitrigg. Or heck, any number of myriad tales from troll or kaldorei history, as they're both apt to have plenty of stories worth retelling. Or how about the stories of the draenei? We haven't heard much from them, it would be interesting to see the flight from Argus as told by a draenei storyteller, or even Velen himself. What do you guys think? What kind of stories would you like to see come out of this experiment?
The Burdens of Shaohao Part Four: Anger
The Burdens of Shaohao Part Four: Anger takes young Emperor Shaohao in a new direction. Having found his trusted friend the Monkey King, Shaohao seeks to find an army -- at the heights of Kun Lai, in the Temple of the White Tiger. While there is certainly an army there waiting for him, there is also Xuen, the White Tiger to deal with. Will Shaohao get his army to fight the forces of the Burning Legion? I've heard some say that this particular tale points to a return of the Burning Legion next expansion. As a reminder, The Burdens of Shaohao takes place on the cusp of the Sundering during the War of the Ancients. What we're viewing here are events from over 10,000 years ago -- this isn't current-day material, this is the story of how Pandaria came to be floating in the middle of nowhere, cloaked by mists. Therefore, while the tale is certainly entertaining, the inclusion of the Burning Legion isn't really relevant to the story today. However, Wrathion's visions certainly have indicated something similar coming in the future, so who knows? Watch the video above, and don't forget to like it on Youtube and leave your comments if you like the content and you'd like to see more!
The Burdens of Shaohao Part Three: Fear
The Burdens of Shaohao Part Three: Fear has debuted on Blizzard's official Youtube channel. In this installment, Shaohao faces the insidious Sha of Fear, and confronts an enemy that frightened both pandaren and mogu alike -- the mantid. Artist Laurel Austin's stunning visuals of the Dread Wastes and the mantid are incredibly dark and creepy, and really capture the off-putting feeling of the zone and its residents. I also absolutely love the illustrations of Niuzao. While I love the August Celestials, I always felt like Niuzao really didn't have the same depth of character as the other Celestials, so seeing him in this tale was a welcome addition. Some of you have noted the differences between this tale and the scrolls we've read -- how there seems to be an absence of the mask portion of the tale told in game. While this is true, keep in mind that this is all ancient history that took place over 10,000 years ago. There are always bound to be several differing versions of the same tale, just due to the nature of the story being passed down for generations. Which version is the true one? For that, I suppose you'd have to ask Shaohao himself! Watch the video above, and don't forget to like it on Youtube and leave your comments if you like the content -- it's the best way to insure we'll see more of it.
The Burdens of Shaohao Part Two: Despair
The Burdens of Shaohao Part Two: Despair is now available on Blizzard's official Youtube channel. Picking up where the last episode left off, Emperor Shaohao continues his search for the Monkey King, this time traveling to Krasarang Wilds. Once again, Shaohao is faced with the Sha, and once again he looks to Pandaria for answers -- but will he find the Monkey King? Blizzard really wasn't kidding with how fast these shorts would be released! And, according to Lead Story Developer Micky Neilson on Twitter, this isn't the last we'll see of animated shorts in this fashion. Honestly, whether it's more Pandaria tales, or tales of other major impact in Azeroth, I don't really care -- the way these are being presented is something new, unique, and incredibly beautiful. Watch the video above, and don't forget to like it on Youtube and leave your comments if you want to see more.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: Where do the Tauren come from?
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 tauren peoples, the shu'halo, the taunka and the yaungol. We can't rule out that there are or were others at some point - there may have been a tauren people in the Eastern Kingdoms until the spread of humanity, for instance, and there may well be tauren on some hidden or lost landmass somewhere else on Azeroth. But we talked about the ones we know about last week. This week, we're going to speculate. (We've done this before, but I wanted to come at it again.) There won't be a definitive theory at the end - this is purely looking at the few things we do know and then playing what if with the ideas. For starters, tauren are the most physically powerful mortals native to Azeroth, rivaled only by the ogres who are themselves both invaders from another world and the descendents of the massive, ruthless gronn of Outland. There's no direct evidence for any such descent for the tauren. Indeed, the tauren appear to be very old, having existed (according to Brann Bronzebeard, anyway) before the arrival of the Titans. We have to take that cautiously because the Tribunal of Ages implies that the Titans created Azeroth, and returned later to find it infested with the Old Gods and their minions such as the Elemental Lords. If that is so, then the tauren cannot predate the creation of Azeroth and thus cannot actually predate the Titans. However, they certainly could predate the return of the Titans. It seems likely that they, and the trolls, are therefore the result of the natural evolution of the Azeroth project, and as such, not directly created by the Titans. (Technically, if the Titans created Azeroth, then those races would be indirectly the creations of the Titans and their ongoing evolutionary experiment, as embodied by their appointing of the five dragon aspects.) So let us therefore speculate as to where the Tauren may have come from.
The Burdens of Shaohao Part One: Doubt
Hot on the heels of the prelude released this weekend, Blizzard has just released the next official installment in The Burdens of Shaohao. Part one of the tale follows chapters three and five of the in-game book, The Emperor's Burden. Reading the complete text gives you a nice bit of lore, and the quest The Seven Burdens of Shaohao. However, there's a distinct difference between reading an in-game book and watching an animated version of it -- the gorgeous artwork and animation really brings the tale to life. What I really like about these animated shorts is that they expand on what we've already been told -- rather than a simple seven days of fighting, we get to see exactly how Shaohao defeated the Sha of Doubt. I'm hoping that as the tale goes on, we'll get more of these little details to help fill the story in. It'd be great to see exactly what happened when Shaohao pulled Pandaria away from the rest of the world in detail. As it turns out, we won't have long to wait -- according to Lead Story Developer Micky Neilson on Twitter, we should see the rest of the story released over the course of this week. This is a pretty new direction for the Blizzard lore department -- we've never seen animated works like this before. If you like the tale and the methods used, I'd suggest letting Blizzard know by liking the video on Youtube and leaving a comment. Who knows, it may get us more of these delightful little pieces in the future!
Know Your Lore: The future of the Alliance
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 Siege of Orgrimmar is almost upon us, and the Alliance stands strong, ready to dive in and put an end to Warchief Hellscream's reign. Along the way, they've picked up some entirely unconventional allies in Vol'jin's group of rebels, who are also insistent upon getting Garrosh out. But when the dust settles and all is said and done, if and when the Alliance prove their military superiority, take out Hellscream, and are declared the ultimate victor of what has been a very messy, bloody war, what happens next? Does the Alliance simply go home and wait for the world to rise up with yet another threat? Do they at last attempt some kind of tentative peace treaty with Vol'jin and his group of rebels? Will Varian Wrynn take a moment of clear victory and use it to crush what remains of the Horde? Will the Alliance leave a military presence in Orgrimmar, to carefully watch and make certain events like this don't come to pass again? What does the future for the Alliance hold, once Orgrimmar has been taken down?
Blizzard introduces The Burdens of Shaohao Prelude: The Vision
Do you guys remember that really great video series featuring Wrathion at the end of Cataclysm, the one that explained the legendary quest chain and served to introduce the errant son of Deathwing? It seems that Blizzard has decided to produce another short series for Mists of Pandaria along the same lines, starting with the video above, The Burdens of Shaohao Prelude: The Vision. The dramatic tale is told by none other than Lorewalker Cho and accompanied by beautifully animated illustrations by Laurel Austin that tell the tale of Shaohao's remarkable journey as the last Emperor of Pandaria. According to Blizzard, this is the first of a six-part series that will tell the tale from beginning to end. And unlike the Wrathion montage from Cataclysm, this features original art rather than in-game footage, which only adds to the whole flavor of the tale. It may not be World of Warcraft: The Animated Series, but it's a really lovely, vibrant way to introduce some of the most important lore in Mists of Pandaria. Take a look at the video above to watch the beginnings of the tale, and stay tuned for the rest of the series as it's released.
Patch 5.4 PTR: Siege of Orgrimmar story datamining -- major spoilers
Thanks to our friends over at Adriacraft, we have been alerted to some very interesting new information about the Siege of Orgrimmar. However, this would definitely fall under the category of a spoiler. A fairly epic spoiler at that, so we are doing our best to be bland and uninteresting this side of the break at least. But you know the drill, guys. The juicy tidbits are after the break. And man, if you don't want to see some serious spoilers, you had better not click it. You also shouldn't read the comments, or basically do anything else. Focus instead on how pretty Orgrimmar looks in this picture. Final warning: spoilers after the cut.
Know Your Lore: The tauren peoples of Azeroth
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. As of right now, there are three known sub-families of tauren humanoids on Azeroth: The shu'halo of Kalimdor, who believe in the provenance of the Earthmother and the sun and moon, An'she and Mu'sha. The taunka of Northrend, who have grown to seek dominance over the elements via extortion and compulsion of the elemental spirits. The yaungol of Pandaria, who are even more extreme in their dominant approach, viewing fire as both the weapon by which they will conquer the land and a source of mystical strength. What's interesting to me about all three of these known offshoots of the tauren people is their diversity of beliefs as well as their physical differences from one another. Both yaungol and taunka have marked physical differences from the tauren of Kalimdor. Are any of these people similar to their pre-Sundering ancestors, or have all three groups diverged? More interestingly, despite there being no current record of the Titans having anything to do with the origin of the tauren, there are definitely tauren represented in the visual art of the Ulduar complex. Why? At present we have no reason not to believe that the tauren are not native to Azeroth. Therefore, we have questions to ask. This particular KYL is dedicated to asking those questions, and speculating on what the answers might be.
Know Your Lore: The color of magic
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. .@yuvalaziza Both priests and paladins can wield the Holy Light. However, not all wield it through the same means (e.g., Elune, An'she). :) - Sean Copeland (@Loreology) July 22, 2013 Earlier this week, Blizzard Historian Sean Copeland was answering questions on Twitter when the above answer came up. People were upset about it because the answer, while seemingly pretty simplistic, seemed to devalue the importance of Elune and the unique nature of night elf philosophy and religion. Magic, in all its forms and function in Warcraft, is one of those tricky subjects to understand -- almost as tricky as trying to wrap one's brain around the cosmos of the Warcraft universe. These types of questions get asked a lot, however. And while not everything regarding magic in Warcraft has been fully defined, we can definitely take a look at these different schools of magic and how they relate to one another on Azeroth.
Know Your Lore: Worlds lost, worlds unknown
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. There are worlds we have not yet visited. Realms we have not seen, do not know. Some are demon-haunted nightmares, still others lost to our understanding, destroyed. The Burning Legion has been thwarted twice on Azeroth, but make no mistake - they have yet to bring their full power to bear, seeking instead to seize the world's unique magical energies for their own use. The dead world Xerrath demonstrates that the Legion has in the past destroyed entire worlds merely as a show of force to cow others into submission and slavery. What's worse is, there are races that were wiped out by them, but others who proved their worth were instead made into servants and slaves to the Legion - and Azeroth has balked their advance twice, putting us squarely in the strong enough to make good slaves category. Yet, too, there are worlds beyond even the Legion's control, worlds dominated by the vast hosts that the Old Gods and their servants such as the Prophet Skerram, worlds like K'aresh (home of the Ethereals), worlds shaped by the Titans, and worlds that yet sleep in their infancy, unaware of the struggle between ancient inimical forces. Azeroth was one such world not too long ago. The destruction of K'aresh by Dimensius the All-Devouring proves that there are forces, hungry and ravening, that serve no masters and have destruction on their mind completely unrelated to the Legion or the Old Gods. We know barely a fragment of the vast cosmos. Let us explore what little we do know.
Know Your Lore: The mysterious motives of Wrathion
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. Wrathion made his debut in the Cataclysm expansion -- not as a raid boss, but as a clever ally to rogues looking for legendary weapons. His words seemed genuine and sincere, although his actions revealed a vicious streak that players would be wise to avoid. Yet his origins go back even further, to a small quest chain in the Badlands in which Wrathion is born to a mother who is captive of the red dragonflight, his egg later tampered with and then hidden for safe-keeping. He's only two years old, give or take a few months. Yet Wrathion is far, far more clever than one would expect for someone of his young age. And given his actions in Cataclysm, and later in Mists of Pandaria, one thing remains perfectly clear: This is not your typical dragon. But what exactly is Wrathion after? What, exactly, is the purpose of his scheming, and perhaps most importantly -- should we be worried? Please note: There are some small spoilers for patch 5.4 content in this post.
Know Your Lore: A hostile universe
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. Sometimes, it may look like we've cleaned house on all possible threats. The Lich King is dead, leaving the Scourge in disarray, the Legion was driven off, Deathwing is dead and the Aspects are out of a job. With the fall of Garrosh Hellscream's 'True Horde' on the horizon, we'll have dealt with the Sha and put paid to the legacy of yet another Old God. We're good, right? Of course not. It would be silly to think that. Some of those threats I just mentioned are still, in fact, lurking around the corner. And there's plenty of other squamous monstrosities and terrible dangers lurking out there, ready to step up and take center stage and force not so reluctant adventurers to get their swords, spells or other implements of destruction ready. Azeroth, as has been pointed out, is a tiny oasis surrounded by perils. So let's take some time and look at just what remains out there to potentially kill us, or enslave us, or eat our souls, or some variation of same. Who's left? Not all of these contenders have been hostile to us so far, but past neutrality or even friendliness is no guarantee of the future. Also, these are in no particular order - it's not a top ten list, it's a however many occur to me list.
Know Your Lore: The peculiar puzzle of Sunwalker Dezco
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. As a follower of An'she, Sunwalker Dezco represents the first really major tauren paladin lore figure we've had -- while Aponi Brightmane had a minor role in the creation of the Sunwalkers, she never really had any story beyond the snippets we saw at the end of Wrath. Sunwalker Dezco is the leader of the Dawnchaser tribe, which is an apt name, given the peculiar journey that has brought him to Pandaria. The tale Dezco tells is a simple one. The tauren received strange dreams of a valley that was golden with blossoms and filled with the hope of peace. At the behest of Baine Bloodhoof, Dezco, his wife Leza and the rest of the Dawnchaser tribe set sail in uncharted waters to search for the source of these mysterious dreams. Although all had had the dreams, it was Leza alone who had visions strong enough to guide them all. And that's really where Dezco's story begins -- on the open seas, sailing into unknown territory, his beloved wife at his side along with his friends and his family. Please note: There is some speculation in this post, as well as spoilers for patch 5.4 content. Reader beware!
