wow Spoilers on Major Characters in Legion #3

[Zadina 923]

The revelations from the Alpha of Legion continue in this third installment of the Spoilers series.

There have been multiple new builds in the Legion Alpha lately and with them, some new spoilers on the lore of Legion have surfaced.

 

It’s been a long time since we’ve done one of these articles. If you want to freshen your memory, here are the two previous ones:

• Part 1, where we discuss Varian and Anduin, Vol’jin, Sylvanas, Tirion, Cenarius and Ysera
• Part 2, where there is mention mostly of Thrall, Vol’jin, Sylvanas, Magni and Eitrigg, Malfurion and Ysera

This time, we will explore the fate of characters we haven’t seen in the previous articles. We have a good selection of spoilers again, so be aware!

 

The anti-climactic return of Alleria and Turalyon

 

 

Everyone has been waiting for the return of Alleria Windrunner and her husband, Turalyon, for many years now. Even the occasional loading screen tip has been teasing players with their disappearance. Alleria and Turalyon (along with Khadgar and Danath Trollbane) were part of the Alliance expedition to Draenor, after the events of the Second War.

 

However, the expedition went south and the company was forced to seal the Dark Portal from inside Draenor, while the planet was about to be destroyed by chaotic energies unleashed by Ner’zhul. Khadgar, Alleria, Turalyon and the rest managed to escape this destruction by temporarily fleeing into another world. When they returned to Draenor, the planet had been shattered but they were all alive and well. However, years after, when the Dark Portal was reopened, Alleria and Turalyon were nowhere to be found and nobody knew of their fate.

 

Fans have been wondering in which expansion the couple would make their return and this has been a popular topic in lore Q&A panels in BlizzCon. Finally, it was announced that they would be returning in Legion. Alas, it is not what you’d expect. Alleria and Turalyon had a son, the half-elf Arator, who can be found in the Paladin Order Hall. In a message from Arator's parents, discovered by the leaders of the Paladin Order, it is explained that they hunted the Burning Legion through space and time in order to secure a safer Azeroth for their son. However, they failed in the final battle and they send this very message to warn their son and Azeroth that the Burning Legion is coming. After all this time, Alleria and Turalyon were dead…

 

The Four Horsemen are back!

 

The old Four Horsemen in Naxxramas

 

The Four Horsemen were one of the most iconic fights of Naxxramas. As part of the Death Knight Order Hall campaign, Thassarian, one of the Death Knight leaders, advocates that the Four Horsemen are needed to combat the Legion. However, we won't see the return of Sir Zeliek, Lady Blaumeux, Thane Korth'azz and Baron Rivendare, but a new team of Horsemen:

 

Nazgrim is the first one to be raised. Since his first appearance in Wrath of the Lich King, Nazgrim rose through the ranks of the Horde and was always extremely loyal to his faction. So loyal that he couldn't betray his deranged leader, Garrosh Hellscream, and thus sided with him during the Siege of Orgrimmar, where he is killed by the players. Nazgrim will return as an Order Hall follower, much like the current Garrison followers.

 

The second Horseman to be raised by Death Knight players is Thoras Trollbane. He was the king of the human Kingdom of Stromgarde, in Arathi Highlands. Thoras was one of the founding members of the Alliance and he was renowned for his physical prowess and strength as a warrior. He died under mysterious circumstances and was succeeded by his son, Galen Trollbane. The power of Kingdom of Stromgarde eventually diminished and Galen was turned into an Undead by Sylvanas Windrunner. When you go raise Thoras, you learn that he was killed by his own son. Having failed as both a father and a ruler, Thoras has a second chance to redeem himself by fighting against the Legion.

 

The third known Horseman (or Horsewoman) is Sally Whitemane, also known as High Inquisitor Whitemane. She was a Priestess and the leader of the Scarlet Crusade, as well as the last boss of Scarlet Monastery. At a young age, Sally Whitemane saw her family die from the plague of undeath. This personal tragedy drove her insane; she formed the Scarlet Crusade, where she fought both living and undead along with the rest of her fanatical following. Like Thoras, Whitemane can redeem herself as part of the Horsemen and she is seen training as a Death Knight Initiate.

 

Who is the fourth Horseman, though? So far, there are only quests for three out of the four Horsemen. Wowhead has datamined the parts of a last scenario: it looks like the fourth Horseman might be… Tirion Fordring! As we’ve said in our first article, Tirion will die during the Retribution Paladin artifact questline. Even though it’s not 100% sure that he is the fourth Horseman and despite the overall shock value, it makes sense in a way. The Knights of the Ebon Blade owe a great deal to Tirion, since it was he who freed their will from the grasp of Arthas. He was also one of the greatest Paladins ever and he is definitely a threat for the Burning Legion. Plus, as Baron Rivendare was sort of the leader of the old Four Horsemen, Tirion can be the star of the new Four Horsemen.

 

What happened at the Broken Shore?

 

 

We witness the beginning of the battle of the Broken Shore in the amazing Legion cinematic trailer. The Alliance version of the Broken Shore questline has been made available in the Alpha recently. At the end of this questline, Varian Wrynn presumably dies during a cinematic that is not yet in the Alpha. The player then goes to Stormwind, where the Alliance leaders and the Human citizens pay respects to their former king. Of course, there are always voices among the community that advocate in favour of a "no body = not dead" theory, but personally I think Varian is really dead.

 

From the dialogues of the other Alliance leaders, especially Genn Greymane’s and Jaina Proudmoore’s, you get the feeling that something transpired at the Broken Shore, an event that might deteriorate the conflict between the Alliance and the Horde. It seems that the Horde abandoned the Alliance and retreated at the last moment. This has enraged Genn and Jaina, who has changed her opinion on the Horde for the third time now (really?). On the other hand, some earlier Sylvanas voice lines - datamined by Wowhead since February 2016 - may indicate that the battle of the Broken Shore may in fact have been a trap set by the Legion and the Horde had no choice but to retreat. We don’t know the truth, since the Horde version of the questline hasn’t been released yet. At least, King Anduin Wrynn is being level-headed about it, despite his grief.

 

The return of Thunderaan the Windseeker

 

 

This is part of the Shaman Order Hall Campaign. After enlisting the help of a slightly reluctant Neptulon (he is back too), the Earthen Ring plans to reanimate Thunderaan to take Al’Akir's place as Windlord. As you know, during Cataclym Al’Akir was defeated in his own plane, thus making his death permanent.

 

To remind you a bit of his story, Thunderaan’s essence was consumed by Ragnaros after the betrayal of the Firelord’s lieutenants, Baron Geddon and Garr. To this date, the respective bosses in Molten Core still hold the two bindings of Thunderaan’s essence. By getting both of these bindings, players can start the questline for acquiring Thunderaan’s blade, Thunderfury. At the last stage of the quest, you have to defeat the Windseeker himself. Since he is defeated in Azeroth, Thunderaan doesn't actually die, though.

 

In Legion, the shamans of the Earthen Ring will enlist the help of the Elemental Lords for the fight against the Burning Legion. Shaman players will travel to the Vortex Pinnacle, they will even get hold of Thunderfury (that easily) and they will restore Thunderaan back to life as Windlord. The only question that remains is: who will replace Ragnaros as Firelord?

 

Illidan’s role in Legion and the real villains

 

 

He may be the protagonist of Legion and appear on its cover, but so far Illidan hasn’t graced us with his presence in the Alpha. However, we do get a glimpse of Illidan’s fate in the recently released novel World of Warcraft: Illidan. Even though the novel mostly tells Illidan’s story during the events of the Burning Crusade, in its end Illidan has a vision of the future:

 

Before Illidan could defend himself in any way, a bolt of pure Light blasted from the Naaru. It struck his empty eye sockets and filled them with a golden glow. Illidan braced himself for a blast of Agony that did not come. In the pastsuch magic had always racked him with pain. It would normally have done the same to any user of fel magics. His vision shimmered and faded, and he found himself looking down on a terrible battlefield.

Amid mountains of corpses, a winged figured battled at the head of the legions of Lights. A golden glow surrounded his warglaives. He cleft demons asunder with mighty blows. The soldiers surrounding him gazed up in awe and wonder at their leader. It took Illidan a moment to realize that this being's features were his own, transformed, his eyes glowing fiercely. This avatar of the Light looked calm and strong and at peace. His face was filled with confidence, shorn of all suffering.

As Illidan watched, the winged figure rose above the battle, defying gigantic entities of darkness, creations of the evil of the Void. A halo played around his head. His body began to glow brighter than the sun, and from his outstretched arms, rays of Light emerged to strike down his foes.

There was a sense of rightness about this, as if he looked upon a vision of the unborn future. For a moment he could not believe in it, but then his doubts rushed back. This could not be true. It was not any path he had ever set out on. It was not who he was. He was a fighter and a killer , as driven by darkness and his own desires as he was by any urge to do right.

"You will defy death," the naaru's voice said as the vision faded. "I have seen this. Whatever you were, whatever you are, a champion of Light is what you will be."

There was utter certainty in the naaru's voice, and it communicated itself to Illidan. For a moment, he felt the Light embrace him, and his heart was at rest. He had been given a vision of redemption beyond any he had hoped for. Peace filled him as he communed silently with the naaru. The moment lasted only a heartbeat, but when it ended, Illidan felt as if it might have been a lifetime.

"You will be a hero," said the naaru. "But there will be a price."

"There always is."

 

This piece of information can potentially be linked with two new models of Illidan datamined by Wowhead (they can be found here and here, notice the second one). We should also not forget the new data on Azeroth’s lore from World of Wacraft: Chronicle vol. 1; especially the fact that there are beings far more nefarious than Sargeras’ Burning Legion: the Void Lords. It’s not sure if we will see these Void Lords in an expansion called Legion, but you never know. It is without doubt, though, that Illidan will get his redemption story and he is the mightiest opponent of any force threatening Azeroth.

 

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As this article comes to its end, we have one last remark. It's nice to see all these familiar faces come back and joining the respective Order Hall. On the other hand, it is slightly disappointing if their role is restricted merely to that of mission followers. It would be awesome to see all the heroes of Azeroth - players and NPCs alike - unite in an epic final battle against the Legion. Still, this might not be possible since each Order Hall has recruited several legendary characters from Warcraft's lore and the battlefield might get chaotic with all these Warcraft celebrities!

 

What do you think the ingame role of these followers will be? And what do you have to say about today's round of spoilers?

[demonardvark 556]

As a death knight i love the horsemen concept (almost makes up for messing up our class). Naz was a bro and it was sad to fight him in SoO. So him coming back is like having an old friend come back to visit except now kinda zombie undeadish. Also the irony of getting the top pally on our side is ironic and fun :D

 

dem voidlords though, dat lore retcon though, i mean the burning legion is getting a little played out, 3 expacs sorta based around em is a bit much. so its cool they got the next bad guy lined up. so we'll see how it plays out. i can't help but wonder though, instead of everything being green will it now be purple?

[gguga12 0]

Is therazane(forgot her name) the earth elemental mother helping the shamans too ?

[Zadina 923]

Is therazane(forgot her name) the earth elemental mother helping the shamans too ?

 

Sorry, just saw your response! She will be present in at least one artifact weapon questline. So yeah, she will help Shamans :)