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Hello everyone!
Last blizzcon they told us that...
Right now we’re focusing on life and death,
but light and void are def one of those concepts
that’s out there to be explored in the future.
Yeah the shadowlands is the first step in
our big exploring of the cosmology of the
warcraft universe.
Light and void are definatly something on
the horizon some day.
This had me very excited because it’s been
a wish of mine for quite some time, so lets
go back in time and talk about ye olden lore
and what this new story plan has meant for
the story of warcraft.
In the past, and I’m talking about a time
before the warcraft chronicles, the story
of Warcraft had a lot more mystery.
Things like the titans or the old gods were
mentioned in rumors and shadows, but it was
pretty clear that if you took a story of warcraft
and traced it back to its origin...you would
end up at 1 of 3 different sections, different
pillars holding up the story.
Those being either the Titans, the Old Gods
or the Burning Legion.
For example the origin story of the Horde
and the invasion of Azeroth that was done
while under the influence of demonic blood
offered by the pitlord mannoroth.
Kil’jaeden and the Legion turning the orcs
because they wanted to use them to get rid
of the Draenei.
The draenei on the run because Sargeras had
converted some of their people to join the
burning legion.
Or the madness of Fandral Staghelm falling
to the effects of the emerald nightmare that
used the image of his son to manipulate him.
Manipulted which caused quite a bit of problems,
like a corrupted Teldrassil and Malfurion
stuck in a coma.
The son used was one he lost during the war
of the shifting sands, a battle agains the
old god C’thun.
The titans being responsible for bringing
order to azeroth, the staging ground for many
of our adventures.
Sometimes the pillars would somewhat overlap.
Like the madness of Deathwing, an aspect empowered
by the titans, his connection to azeroth making
him a prime target for the whispers of the
old gods.
As time passed on, we’ve dealt with the
front and stage characters connected to these
pillars, even going all the way to the source.
C’thun, Yogg’Saron,Y’shaarj and N’zoth
have apperantly been cleansed from Azeroth,
send to what ever realm old gods go to upon
death.
Their pillar knocked down.
The Burning Legion has attempted to take over
Azeroth several times.
We’ve faced archimonde in Warcraft 3, replayed
in the caverns of time and then warlords of
draenor.
Kil’jaeden at the Sunwell and in Legion
until even their leader, the creator of the
burning legion himself was confronted and
imprisoned with the aid of the titans.
The second pillar that has fallen, don’t
get me wrong, there are still demons out there,just
no burning legion as far as we’re aware.
There is still void and shadow, but we’ve
cleansed the corruption from Azeroth.
Even the final pillar, the titans themselves,
have seen what the world of Azeroth and beyond
has produced.
Champions capable to stand with them and now
they’re out there somewhere, at the seat
of the pantheon, potentially trying to talk
some sense into their fallen brother... but
the point is that these sources of lore have
been tapped into, sometimes multiple times
and now they’re working towards bringing
new elements into the story, with the aid
of the Cosmology Chart.
“Ahhhhhh haaaaaaaa”
Revealed in the Warcraft Chronicles volume
1, it says that Azeroth is but one small world
in a vast universe, a realm filled with potent
magics and mighty beings.
Since the dawn of time, these forces have
influenced Azeroth and the surrounding cosmos,
setting the stars in motion and shaping the
destiny of countless worlds and mortal civilizations...
In the middle of it all, there is reality,
the physical universe, represented with the
world of azeroth, but there are more wolds
out there.
Space in warcraft is called the Great Dark
beyond, pretty much all the unexplored planets
and what not, that is the great dark beyond.
Past the boarders of reality there are the
emerald dream and the Shadowlands.
The emerald dream is heavily connected to
life and nature where as the shadowlands,
well...we’re going to be exploring that
place a whole lot more in the upcoming expansion.
It’s the realm of the afterlife and while
its designed like these two stand opposite
of eachother, we now know that atleast part
of the shadowlands has a connection to the
emerald dream.
These are not the only realms that exist outside
of reality.
Take Nyalotha for example, very prominent
in battle for azeroth.
The old god n’zoth trying to break down
that barrier between the old gods domain and
ours and i’m sure that more will be added
in the future.
Moving another circle we see the representation
of the elements, fire, air, earth, water,
spirit and Decay.
And then beyond that come the big boys, the
big forces at play.
In the beginning there was light and then
there was void.
The tension between these two opposing yet
inserperable energies ignited a series of
catastrophic explosions.
In that moment, the physical universe was
born.
The cataclysmic birth of the cosmos also flung
shards of Light throughout reaility.
These shards suffused the matter of myriad
worlds with the spark of life, giving rise
to creatures of wondrous and terrible diversity.
Occasionaly, clouds of fractured Light gathered
and gave shape to beings of far greater power,
of far greater potential.
Among these were the naaru, benevolent creatures
composed of scintilating holy energies.
When they gazed out across the immeasurable
universe, they saw a realm of limitless possibilities.
The naaru vowed to use their mastery over
holy magic to spread hope and nurture life
wherever they could find it.
“The Light is your destiny!”
Light and shadow are the most fundamental
forces in existence.
Although contradictory by their very nature,
they are bound together on a cosmic scale.
So... over on the void side, there’s a prime
example of them expanding upon the story known
and diving deeper with this chart.
In the past one of the pillars was the old
gods, but with chronicles, we have a source
behind the big bad, namely the void lords.
Monstrous entities composed of pure shadow
energy.
These beings are cruel and merciless beyond
mortal comprehension.
Driven by an insatiable hunger, the void lords
seek to devour all matter and energy in the
physical universe.
These are the beings repsonsible for shooting
out the old gods across the great dark beyond,
landing and infecting random plantes with
their dark energies.
This was done with the hope of landing on
one containing a slumbering titan spirit,
so that the spirit could be corrupted, turned
to their side and aid them in accomplishing
their ultimate goal.
Light and void, one cannot exist without the
other.
Pure Light and Shadow dwell in a realm outside
the borders of reality.
So when it comes with the void, as it stands
right now we had the old gods, that have been
dealt with.
But their source, the void lords and their
domain is still very much waiting to be explored
in the future.
If and when we ever go into the great dark
beyond and explore more planets, we might
find some of them still infected or perhaps
conquered by the old gods.
Closer to home, there is still the storyline
of Xalatath, blade of the black empire.
The blade itself was used to carve a pathway
to N’zoth, but the entity released from
the blade is still out there, doing what ever
it is she wants to do.
The one handing over the blade was Azshara,
queen of the naga.
Last time we saw her, she mentioned something
about claiming a throne of power...
“I tire of intermediates and heralds.
The true throne of power beckons and I intend
to claim it.”
Which might relate to Sylvanas going for the
frozen throne or a story they wonna put on
ice for a bit, to be used at a later time.
And then for the Light, we know of naaru that
are in the physical universe, but as the chronicle
describes, pure light dwels in a realm outside
of reality.
If the void has the voidlords, does the light
have the lightlords?
A source behind the source, the possibilities
of building up stories is nearly endless.
What’s kinda cool about the whole light
storyline is that they’re adding more personality
to it.
Good or evil is very much a perspective, a
moral judgement we apply to the actions taken.
Light in the hands of a scarlet crusader might
be seen as evil where as a shadow priest using
the void to protect their allies might be
seen as good.
Demons are often on the more evil scale, while
warlocks using their powers to fight the good
fight can be seen as comrades.
Druids are often considered peaceful and lovers
of nature, but their skills in the wrong hands
can quickly be turned to grow corrupted world
trees.
Point being is that good or evil does not
depend on where the powers came from, rather
how they’re wielded.
That’s not to say that when having to make
a choice, I’d personally still ally myself
with the Light over the Voidlords that want
to consume the universe, but the Light hasn’t
shown more teeth lately.
The prime naaru Xe’ra tried to enforce a
destiny upon Illidan.
On alternate Draenor, Y’rell was apperantly
motivated by the light to go on a holy crusade
against the orcs.
I wonder if they too were motivated by a naaru
or if they’ve gone deeper into the source
behind them.
Another storyline they can further expand
upon.
If that gateway to alternate draenor ever
opens up again, we might learn more about
their motivations.
See alternate Lightbound Garrosh, find out
what ever happened to Grommash.
Explore further into what the lightlords could
be.
Moving on to Order and disorder:
These forces govern the cosmic systems of
the physical universe.
Order is most commonly perceived in reality
as arcane magic.
This type of energy is innately volatile,
and wielding it requires intense precision
and concentration.
Conversely, Disorder is manifested as highly
destructive fel magic.
This brutal and extremely addictive energy
is fueled by drawing life from living beings.
These two areas are pretty deeply explored
yet at the same time there’s always room
to add more.
The titans had their mission of finding and
waking up more of their kind, bringing order
to worlds in the process.
Sargeras was their greatest champion, eventually
tasked with fighting against the demons.
Yet when he found out about the old gods and
their intent of corrupting a slumbering titan
spirit, he formed his burning legion and by
opening the prison he had made for the demons,
he became infused with fel.
This in turn gave him the upperhand when the
titans confronted and tried to stop him.
That just goes to show that even though our
chart places them on opposite sides, that
doesn’t mean they can’t overlap or swap
over.
There are many examples of beings catagorised
in one area while dabbling or full on embracing
powers of the others.
Now the pantheons defeat meant torment at
the hands of their fallen brother and his
forces, trying to convert them into a dark
pantheon.
We have prevented that, liberated them and
the rift to Azeroth has been closed.
All that’s left is a red star in the sky
to remind us of those events.
When they want too, the pantheon is waiting
to return.
Inside of Azeroth there still rests a now
cleansed, slumbering spirit with quite a bit
of an injury.
The sword of sargeras is still stuck inside
of her.
That’s what we know so far, while they have
made mention of a titan homeworld.
“Uhh we’ve seen titans that represent
order, but we’ve mostly seen them through
their azeroths expressions of that.
We’ve went to the world eonar was on and
all that, but we havent gone to a proper titan
homeworld for example.
We’ve seen more how the titans interact
with other things.”
A source behind the source.
Imagine what the world of the creators would
look like.
Could they add more titans besides those known
as the pantheon?
Their return could mean the awakening of Azeroth.
Grabbing hold of that blade and stand with
them against that ultimate threat of the void
lords.
Explore the great dark beyond.
Visiting planets and other cultures they’ve
encountered and helped before or some entirely
new planets.
Eventually push forward and take the battle
to the domain of the void lords.
While cruising across space, we might also
see what happened to the demons of the burning
legion.
While their unified threat might be gone,
that doesn’t mean they suddenly stop being
their demonic selves.
With Sargeras out of the picture, they’re
free once more to do what they do best.
Infiltrating and corrupting civilizations,
destruction and mayem, worlds that might find
Azeroths experience with the Legion quite
handy.
We could discover more about the intricasies
of the twisting nether, new races amongst
the demons and perhaps even convince them
to stand with us against a future threat that
concerns both sides.
Just imagine shivarra or pitlords as an allied
race...one can dream...
“Yes im on your side, it’s complicated.
For reasons.”
Finally there’s the two sides that’s going
to play a big part in the shadowlands; Life
and death: The forces of life and death hold
sway over every living thing in the physical
universe.
The energies of life, known commonly as nature
magic, promote growth and renewal in all things.
Death, in the form of necromantic magic, acts
as a counterbalance to life.
It is an unavoidable force that breeds despair
in mortal hearts and pushes everything toward
a state of entropic decay and eventual oblivion.
Life and death, a balance that must be preserved
while some are actively working towards tipping
those scales.
“Ahh don’t grieve.
YOu’ll soon join your loved ones.”
“I grieve for you.
YOu’ve made life your enemy.
And that is a war you’ll never win.”
On the nature side we can see the wild gods
as primal manifestations of life and nature.
They are creatures of two realms.
The wild gods inhabit the physical world of
azeroth, but their spirits are bound to the
ethereal emerald dream.
This is the reason why certain slain wild
gods later made a return on Azeroth.
Cenarius is a good example.
Slain during warcraft 3, he returned to the
emerald dream but not directly.
With Shadowlands we learned there’s another
step, another example of opposing yet linked
domains.
You see, within the shadowlands there is Ardenweald
described as the autumn and winter of the
emerald dreams more spring and summer nature.
Their rebirth begins here until they’re
ready to return to the dream and eventually,
if they so desire, Azeroth itself.
But the Shadowlands houses more then just
Ardenweald, it has many destinations for spirits
to end up in.
Mortal spirits fallen to the inevidble powers
of Death.
Not just azeroths spirits as they clearly
ask you what domain you hail from.
Yet this is for mortal beings.
Blizzard has decided to make the destinction
between mortal and magical creatures.
Demons for example, they return to the twisting
nether.
Old Gods go to a different domain, potentially
where they come from.
Naaru and titans and insert something you’d
define as magical here, they got their own
realms to go too but not mortals...they have
to shadowlands to look forward too.
We can also see that necromantic magic is
mentioned.
Some souls are not destined to remain in the
shadowlands for ever.
While full blown resurrecting ,as your healer
does during raid, bringing someone just back
from the dead is extremely rare, necromancy
not so much.
Different generations of Death Knights, Lich
Kings and the Scourge, Sylvanas and the Forsaken.
Even back during the war of the ancients we
saw dreadlords experimenting with the powers
of necromancy.
I don’t want to go into spoilers for the
shadowlands as we do know a couple of things
about how the expansion begins.
Yet as with the other cosmic forces, you have
to wonder how far they want to take the story
and what characters might play a part.
There’s a balance to this, as mentioned
by Bolvar during legion and some are working
towards upsetting that balance.
Who might show up as the force behind the
force on the Death side and if this expansion
truly revolves around both life and death,
then will we see the same on the life and
nature side?
Potential for diving deeper into what Elune
might be, potential for diving deeper into
the origins of the lcih king and necromancy
as a whole.
Potential for exploring the cycle of life
and death and what it means for the greater
cosmic scale.
I think that’s a good place to end it and
of course when talking about future stories
they could dive into, future expansions they
could make, I always say that it’s a fantasy
story and they can keep it going for as long
as they want.
We’ve talked about exploring the great dark
beyond, but they could also dive back into
alternate realities with Nozdormu the bronze
and the infinite dragonflight.
I know, warlords left a bad taste when it
comes to that subject, but that’s not to
say alternate scenarions can’t be done right.
The what if videos about warcraft lore are
pretty popular.
Imagine exploring a reality where arthas never
picked up frostmourne, or one where the titans
never found azeroth.
A reality in which the dark portal never opened
up or any kind of what if scenario you can
think of, they could explore in such an expansion.
Just an idea, there are more of course.
By all means let me know in the comments down
below what you would like to see in the future.
If you’re curious for more details on all
the things we talked about today, then check
out the related wowhead article in the description
down below.
You could also subscribe if you like my videos,
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until next time...see ya!
