Dark Whispers and the Banshee Queen

If you have spent any time in a major city during the Legion pre-event, chances are you were effected with the debuff that caused you to turn into a dreadlord, or maybe you saw another person turn into one instead. A player who knows what they are doing can cause quite an amount of chaos in the city until they are defeated. This isn't all that far fetched as dreadlords (or Nathrezim) are commonly known to be masters of manipulation and can use these abilities to weasel their way into positions of power without anyone knowing. Before I get started I wanted to say that this post isn't going to be about the "Jaina is a dreadlord" theory. In my opinion, that's just stupid. Instead this is going to be my theory on why Sylvanas was put into her new role as Warchief of the Horde.

Up ahead contains Legion spoilers, so if you haven't don't the Broken Shore scenario, turn back now. As with all post like this, read it with your tin-foil hat on as this is meant to be fun. Let's begin!

We will talk more about Lady Sylvanas and her new status a bit later. Right now, let's travel back to Wrath of the Lich King and earlier expansions. If you happened to visit the Banshee Queen around that time, by her side was a dreadlord named Varimathras. He and the Dark Lady had quite a strained history. He first helped her by giving her information vital to escaping the grasp of Arthas and the Lich King. Shortly after this he offered her to join the Legion, which she refused, making her an enemy. She brought her army against his forces, but before his defeat he pleaded with her to spare him since he had information on the locations of other demons. She agreed to this and together they hunted down and killed his brethren. Standing by her side as Majordomo, he eventually helped her to build up her Forsaken empire. Of course there is much more to his backstory, and you can read all about it over on WoWpedia.

Things went on seemingly normal until the Battle for Undercity. Varimathras had gotten not only Professor Putress, but many other members of the Royal Apothecary Society on his side. He had not only remained loyal to the Legion all those years, but he did it right under the Banshee Queen's nose. His plans were to overthrow her leadership on Undercity and take control of the Forsaken. During this now removed quest, each faction took different paths with the Alliance defeating Putress and the Horde "defeating" Varimathras. You can view the Alliance side and the Horde side on Youtube. It gives a pretty good idea to what went on during these quests.

Fast forward to current times and the Broken Shore scenario. During the Horde's final stand against Gul'dan and the Legion, they are overrun and Warchief is gravely injured. Vol'jin tells Lady Sylvanas "do not let the Horde die this day". It is here she is forced to make the decision to pull back the Horde forces. This is possibly a decision she did not want to make as she knew it would cause more faction tension. Her apprehension can be seen over her face as their boats leave the shore. Once back in the city, the Horde get a bonus cinematic - the death of the Warchief. It is here, in front of each faction leader that Vol'jin states to the Banshee Queen: "The spirits have granted me clarity - a vision. They whisper a name many will not understand, but you must step out of the shadows and lead. You must be Warchief."

A shocked Sylvanas.

At this moment not only are the other leaders, namely Baine, possibly the player (depending on how you view Sylvanas), and also Sylvanas herself shocked by this revelation. While everyone was celebrating the victory of this fan favorite picked as Warchief, my mind couldn't help but going back to Varimathras and all they had been though. We now know that demons can only be killed in the Twisting Nether, so anyone defeated elsewhere can always come back. Many previously defeated demons can even be seen on the Alliance side of the Broken Shore scenario. Once again, dreadlords throughout the years have used their powers to sway different things to go their way. To name a few, Balnazzar disguising himself to infiltrate the Scarlet Crusade, Mal'ganis guiding Arthas to become the next Lich King, and Sathrovarr possessing Kalecgos. With this information, I don't think Vol'jin was hearing whispers of the spirts. Instead, he was hearing the dark whispers of a dreadlord.

So if this is true, what would Varimathras gain out of having Sylvanas in such a high position? Well if you were Alliance, you don't know what happened on the Horde side of the Broken Shore. To you it would have looked like the Horde retreated, leaving you to die. This raises faction tension once again. If you're busy fighting each other, things can start to slip in through the cracks. Secondly, it's uncertain how the other leaders of the Horde feel toward the Banshee Queen. Her manner of continuing on the Forsaken race had always been a questionable practice. Perhaps some will not agree on the way she choses to do things. Tension with the opposite faction is one thing, but when your own people turn on you, then you have trouble. Lastly we know she will be heading to the Broken Isle, perhaps Varimathras will use this opportunity to overthrow her as he once tried many years ago. The odds would be in his favor this time. So I ask again, what would Varimathras gain? Let's just say that revenge is a dish best served cold.

Blog Azeroth: Oaths

Blog Azeroth seems to have come to life again with the beginning of the new year. I have other posts planned out, but some of these are so good that I may be posting twice a week! I wasn't going to participate in this one, but after thinking it over I decided it would make a good continuation to my RP Intro I did a while back. I hope you enjoy it!

"What vows would your character say, intend, or break, and to what allegiance? Would it be to class/race/specialization, deity, or ruler?"

Velgana followed a small group of undead into the huge city. She was never able to witness the mighty city during its time of glory, but even in its current state, Lordaeron was an amazing site. They walked past the courtyard and into the throne room, going deeper and deeper into the bowels of what was once a great city. She was shocked at the amount of people that were now inhabiting every dark corner of the catacombs. They were all the same... all like her... all stuck between life and death.

Before she knew it, they came to a huge room which was dimly lit with lights all around. In the middle was a raised section where this woman stood surrounded by guards and Banshees. She quickly motioned to the guards who hastily left the group alone with her. She walked down the steps and analyzed the small group. Velgana could feel her throat in a knot... this was The Dark Lady, The Queen of the Forsaken... Lady Sylvanas - The Banshee Queen. She began, and her voice echoed throughout the halls:

"Children of the Grave, heed my call! In life, we suffered unspeakable tragedies. We've watched, as our homes were razed to the ground! We cried out in agony, as our families were cut down before our eyes. Finally, in the face of such atrocities, we were denied even the release of death!"

Velgana could feel the fight she had left burning deep inside of her. She listened as the rest of the group did, never taking her eyes off the Queen. The Lady continued:

"We are not monsters! We are not the mindless wretches of a ghoul army! NO! We are a force even more terrifying! We are the chill in a coward's spine! We are the instruments of an unyielding ire! WE ARE THE FORSAKEN!"

Cheers followed as the guards walked by and handed each of them a tabard with the Forsaken crest on them. Everyone quickly put them on and kneeled before their Queen.

"Wear these with pride. Never forget where you came from, but remember, those who do not stand with the Forsaken stand against them, and those who stand against the Forsaken will not stand long."

Before the group knew it, The Dark Lady was gone from sight. It was from that point on that Velgana pledged her allegiance to the Banshee Queen. The Forsaken were her family now, and she would do anything to protect her family from harm.

Lady Sylvanas's speech is a modified version of the speech she gives during the lighting of the Wickerman during Hallow's End!

The Lady's Necklace

In my previous post about the WoW soundtracks, I wanted to touch more on the Lament of the Highborne and the quest line to go along with it. If you didn't level up a Blood Elf or quested in the Ghostlands zone to get Loremaster, then chances are you never completed this. It's out of the way and acquired by getting an item to drop off of some mobs. Sorry everyone... this one is Horde only!

"I hope my sisters and I can grow up and get married together." - Sylvanas Windrunner
Art by: Vice08

The Windrunner family lived at Windrunner Spire in Quel'Thalas. The eldest sister, Alleria was given a necklace by her parents which contained three stones: an emerald, a ruby, and a sapphire. She was sent on a mission with her rangers to chase the orcs beyond the Dark Portal, however, before she left, she had her necklace melted down into three pieces. She kept the emerald piece for herself. The two remaining pieces were given to her Lieutenant Verana to deliver to Sylvanas and Vereesa. Verana decided to wait for Alleria's return so she could gift the pendants to her sisters herself; However, Alleria has never returned. Eventually Verana did give the pendant to Sylvanas and I'm sure we can assume that Vereesa also got hers. During the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas, Sylvanas lost her necklace; She saw her death here and also sealed her future to become our Banshee Queen. The sisters were forever broken apart.

While adventuring in Ghostlands, you stumble into the Windrunner Spire. Fearing for your life, you kill the first banshee you see, and she drops an item called The Lady's Necklace.

Upon further inspection of the piece of jewelry, you realize that it once belonged to the Dark Lady in Undercity. You decide to take it over to High Executioner Maven in Tranquillien who may know something more about this odd piece of jewelry.

Maven takes a look at the necklace and tells you to deliver it to Sylvanas in Undercity. You're not really fond of the place, but you head there anyway. Upon arriving in the Dark Lady's Sanctum, you aren't greeted happily. Sylvanas does seem a bit taken back by the delivery.

"Lady Sylvanas Windrunner looks down at the discarded necklace. In her sadness, the lady incants a glamour, which beckons forth Highborne spirits. The chamber resonates with their ancient song about the Sin'dorei..."

I can't help but feel that deep inside her heart, she still has some love for her sisters. I'd love to maybe see them in a happy reunion someday even though I really don't think it would happen as Vereesa doesn't seem to keep on befriending any Horde since the death of her husband, Ronin.

As you turn to leave the Queen's chambers, Ambassador Sunsorrow motions you towards him. He gives you an item and says:

"Just a small songbook that I thought you might like to have. It contains the lyrics to a song known as the Lament of the Highborne; the one that Lady Sylvanas glamoured from the air."

You can either keep the book or discard it. I decided to keep in on this character that I used for these screenshots since I no longer have it on my main. It's a nice little memento that to remind you of the quest, and it also has the lyrics to the song. So, if you're bored and find yourself wandering around the Ghostlands, this is a nice little quest to do that takes less than 5 minutes of your time.

Added Bonus: This is a picture of me doing the quest during The Burning Crusades on Velgana. This is the old Sylvanas model singing the Lament of the Highborne with her Banshees.