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RPT
The End Time Prophecies Revisited in Battle for Azeroth (Spoilers)
RPT
Publié
02/02/2019 à 20:55
par
perculia
Jaina, Sylvanas, Baine, and Tyrande are all major characters in Battle for Azeroth, but their current character development bears striking similarity to the versions seen in the End Time from Cataclysm. In this article, we'll examine the parallels between their echoes in End Time, a world devastated by N'Zoth, and their current situation in Battle for Azeroth, in which we're fighting a faction war... while N'Zoth yet lurks in the shadows.
Story spoilers for 8.1.5.
Echo of Baine
The Echo of Baine, warped by his failure to protect the Horde, is consumed by anger and regret.
Enraged by his failure to protect the world and, most importantly, the Horde, this time-ravaged shade of Baine Bloodhoof lingers within the ruins of the Obsidian Dragonshrine. Although he's still as powerful as the tauren high chieftain from the present, within this shattered future Azeroth, this guilt-ridden echo is little more than a discordant vessel of unquenchable malice and anger.
Image of Nozdormu says: The undying flames are all that remain of this sacred place. I sense much anger here...a seething rage, barely held in check. Be on your guard.
Echo of Baine yells: You! Are you the ones responsible for what has happened here...?
Echo of Baine yells: What dark horrors have you wrought in this place? By my ancestors' honor, I shall take you to task!
Echo of Baine yells: A just punishment!
Echo of Baine yells: My wrath knows no bounds!
Echo of Baine yells: Suffer for your arrogance!
Echo of Baine yells: There will be no escape!
Echo of Baine yells: This is the price you pay!
Echo of Baine yells: Where... is this place? What... have I done? Forgive me, my father...
Throughout Battle for Azeroth, Baine has harbored concerns about the state of the Horde, and expressed dissatisfaction with Sylvanas' leadership. In Patch 8.1, he
helps Talanji and Vol'jin
investigate why Sylvanas was appointed Warchief, spurred on by his distaste of Sylvanas' decision to raise Derek Proudmoore with plans to mind control him into killing his family.
Baine: Sylvanas!
Baine: What reason could you possibly have for this madness?!
Sylvanas: Derek Proudmoore was a hero to the Kul Tirans.
Sylvanas: They are sure to stage a rescue attempt when they learn of his fate.
Sylvanas: And once his mind has been properly conditioned, we will allow the Proudmoores to recover their long-lost prince...
Sylvanas: ... so he can slaughter them in their sleep.
Baine: This is too far!
Baine: How many times must we forsake our honor?
Sylvanas: There can be only victory or death for us, Baine.
Sylvanas: And death is mine to master.
In the
8.1.5 Horde War Campaign
, Baine openly defies Sylvanas, returning Derek Proudmoore to Jaina with the help of Thomas Zelling. Player choice once again plays a large role in this questline, as you receive different dialogue options based on the choice you made in Saurfang's 8.1 questline, and face another choice to notify Nathanos of Baine's plans or not.
Baine's defiance doesn't slip past Sylvanas though, as she condemns and imprisons him in front of the entire assembled Horde leadership. All the Horde leaders
react to Baine
, with some expressing concern over whether he acted too soon or put his people at risk.
"I cannot fault Baine's heart, even if his actions were drastic. Through this act of defiance, he exposed a schism in the Horde that has been growing since the attack on Teldrassil.
I fear that by openly opposing Sylvanas, he may have put his own people at risk. As mine would be, were I to side with him.
These are perilous times. We must be cautious... and deliberate."
"You see what happened to Baine? To Zelling? That's why we need to lay low, keep our heads down, follow the warchief's lead. At least for now.
Baine's mistake wasn't acting against Sylvanas. His mistake was acting too soon."
In Patch 8.1.5, Baine's imprisonment for defying Sylvanas parallels the Echo of Baine who failed to protect the Horde. Sylvanas is taking the Horde in a new direction, and while the other leaders are bothered by her actions, no one within the Horde is openly defying her after his punishment. Baine's situation in Patch 8.1.5 can be seen as a failure to meaningfully protect the honor of the Old Horde.
Echo of Jaina
The tormented fragment of Jaina Proudmoore has been split and infused within the shattered pieces of her staff. To restore balance to the timeways, this echo must be defeated. However, the devastating magical power possessed by the once-proud ruler of Theramore is hardly lost to her time-havocked spectre. In this future Azeroth, she is only divided, and waiting...
Image of Nozdormu says: This is all that is left of the Blue Dragonshrine. A great battle shattered the timewaves leading out of this forsaken place. You must reconstruct the fragments strewn across the ground and defeat the trapped spirit to proceed.
Echo of Jaina says: I don't know who you are, but I'll defend this shrine with my life. Leave, now, before we come to blows.
Echo of Jaina yells: A little ice ought to quench the fire in your hearts...
Echo of Jaina yells: I hate resorting to violence.
Echo of Jaina yells: Perhaps this will cool your heads...
Echo of Jaina yells: Why won't you give up?!
Echo of Jaina yells: You asked for it.
Echo of Jaina yells: You forced my hand.
Echo of Jaina yells: I didn't want to do that.
Echo of Jaina yells: I wish you'd surrendered.
Echo of Jaina says: I understand, now. Farewell, and good luck.
The Echo of Jaina is still incredibly powerful, but crazed after losing Theramore, and in Mists of Pandaria, we saw this come to pass when Garrosh used the mana bomb to obliterate the city. Broken and enraged, Jaina chose to resort to violence, planning on destroying Orgrimmar with her magical powers. Her character underwent more development in recent expansions, as she transitioned from a character that wanted peace at all costs, to one who stood up for herself, grew more politically savvy (perhaps a good thing), and expected the worst from the Horde (perhaps a bad thing).
Jaina's character was absent from Legion, after she disagreed with the Kirin Tor's choice to work with the Horde against the Burning Legion, but she returned in a big way in Battle for Azeroth, in a story arc that began with
Warbringers: Jaina
and ended with
La Fierté de Kul Tiras
. Here players learned about Jaina's story since
Warcraft III
. including the tough decisions she made along the way, such as leaving Arthas and allowing the Horde to kill her father.
One part of the story saw Jaina exiled by Lady Ashvane to Thros, the Blighted Lands, after she was labelled as a traitor of Kul Tiras, though her mother, sensing the danger Jaina was in, underwent a dangerous mission to rescue her. There we saw Jaina's tormented psyche, encountering many illusions of Jaina, replaying traumatic experiences over and over. This parallels the Echo of Jaina, who has been split into multiple pieces.
Echo of Sylvanas
Spawned from shattered timeways and cloistered within the Ruby Dragonshrine, a maddened fragment of the Forsaken's leader, Sylvanas Windrunner, waits restlessly. Having lost everything and unable to find peace, this tormented echo aches for a chance to unleash her dark fury at anything still living within these barren, time-twisted wastes.
Image of Nozdormu says: This is where she stood, heroes, and this is where she fell. The time-lost echo of Sylvanas Windrunner will reverberate through the rotting limbs of the Dragonshrine for all eternity.
Echo of Sylvanas yells: Another band of Deathwing's converts? I'll be sure your death is especially painful.
Echo of Sylvanas yells: And so ends your story.
Echo of Sylvanas yells: Cry havoc!
Echo of Sylvanas yells: Watch, heathens, as death surrounds you!
Echo of Sylvanas yells: This... isn't how it's supposed to... end.
Sylvanas has lost much throughout the story of Warcraft, starting with her very life and most recently her city at the start of Battle for Azeroth, though she shows cunning in using it as a strategic move to trap the Alliance leadership, rather than surrendering. In the build-up to Battle for Azeroth, we also saw her reunite with her lost sisters, only to lose that bond as well in the comic "Three Sisters." In the short story "Edge of Night," Sylvanas throws herself off the parapets of Icecrown Citadel, finally hoping for peace:
Sylvanas stepped back, the wind whipping her hair and snapping her frayed cloak. The memories of who she had been and what she had become closed a knot in her stomach, and she moved now to unravel it. No more would she be the vengeful leader of a mongrel race of rotted corpses. Her work was done, and her long-denied reward awaited her. Longing for that forgotten bliss, she allowed herself to fall backward from the top of Icecrown Citadel. The wind rushed past her, a growing wail. The pinnacle, and the silent Val'kyr at its peak, disappeared…
Her body burst on the saronite stones below with a crushing finality.
Tragically, she is denied it, instead plunged into a realm of torment:
She saw only darkness.
And then she felt—truly felt, for the first time in a long while. She recoiled. In agony.
Here she was, her spirit once again feeling whole, only to feel it suffer. To feel once more, only to feel abject pain. Cold. Hopelessness.
Fear.
There were others in the darkness. Things she didn't recognize, because nothing so terrible could exist in the world of the living. Claws tore at her, but she had no mouth with which to scream. Eyes looked at her, but she couldn't look back.
Sylvanas chose to return to the state of Undeath, making a deal with the Val'kyr to protect her. Since then, all of her actions have been focused on protecting herself from returning to that state of permanent torment, and ensuring the survival of the Forsaken.
In End Time, Sylvanas has the ability to raise Undead, an action which horrified Saurfang during the Battle of Lordaeron. In Patch 8.1, Sylvanas raises more races as Undead, including Night Elves which seems to be a new development. Here is the Dungeon Journal description from End Time:
Sylvanas ascends towards the sky, pulling all of her enemies below her. Her calling then summons eight Risen Ghouls in a circle around Sylvanas. A shadowy link forms between each ghoul, and the area behind each ghoul fills with shadows. The ghouls then march mindlessly towards Sylvanas. When a Risen Ghoul reaches Sylvanas, it performs the Sacrifice spell.
Both versions of Sylvanas end up suffering great loss, denied peace, fighting against the living, and raising Undead to serve their purposes.
Echo of Tyrande
Once the leader of the night elves and High Priestess of Elune, this time-twisted fragment of Tyrande Whisperwind now wanders the wastes of the desolate future of Azeroth. Enveloped in a perpetual midnight, she has all but lost sight of the comforting light of Elune.
Image of Nozdormu says: There is an unnatural darkness to this place, a perpetual midnight. Take caution, heroes, and do not stray from the light.
Echo of Tyrande says: There is nothing left for you here, nothing but death and sorrow.
Echo of Tyrande says: The darkness surrounds you, the light of Elune is your only salvation.
Echo of Tyrande says: The moonlight can bring rest to your weary souls in this forgotten place.
Echo of Tyrande says: Give yourselves to the night, Elune will guide you from this mortal prison.
Echo of Tyrande says: You have chosen a path of darkness. Mother moon, guide my hand; allow me to bring rest to these misbegotten souls.
Echo of Tyrande says: Let the peaceful light of Elune soothe your souls in this dark time.
Echo of Tyrande yells: Eyes of night, pierce this darkness!
Echo of Tyrande yells: Spear of Elune, drive back the night!
Echo of Tyrande yells: Moon goddess, your light dims! I am lost without your guidance!
Echo of Tyrande yells: The darkness closes in...my vision is clouded...
Echo of Tyrande yells: Mother moon, I can no longer see your light! Your daughter is alone in the darkness!
Echo of Tyrande yells: Elune guide you through the night.
Echo of Tyrande says: I can...see the light of the moon...so clearly now. It is...beautiful...
Like the others before her, the Tyrande in End Time has also suffered great loss, while the Tyrande in Battle for Azeroth is currently reeling from the catastrophic loss of Teldrassil and invasion of Darkshore. It's implied that Tyrande had lost Malfurion in End Time, just as she nearly did in the War of Thorns.
In End Time, Tyrande feels abandoned by Elune and turns to darkness as her weapon, which mirrors her development in Tides of Vengeance, as Tyrande undergoes a ritual to channel the darkness of Elune, becoming the Night Warrior. We learn in the 8.1 quests that the Night Warrior ritual is extremely dangerous - perhaps this AU version of Tyrande attempted a similar ritual, but instead of being elevated a champion was left in ruin.
Maiev Shadowsong says: Legends say that long ago, Elune bestowed her fury upon our greatest warriors to secure Kalimdor.
Maiev Shadowsong says: In a sacred ritual, the strongest among them became her avatar--the Night Warrior. Our victory was swift.
Maiev Shadowsong says: None who have attempted the ritual since then have survived. Elune's raw power tears them apart.
The Echo of Tyrande uses similar abilities to the empowered version of Tyrande in 8.1. Echo of Tyrande uses
Trait lunaire
,
Lumière lunaire sombre
, and
Larmes d’Élune
, while Tides of Vengeance Tyrande uses
Lune noire
and
Éclipse
. Even though the Echo of Tyrande feels abandoned by Elune, she is able to call upon the
Yeux de la déesse
for assistance, who aids her with
Regard perçant d'Élune
and
Soutien lunaire
. In Tides of Vengeance, the infusion of Elune's power makes Tyrande much stronger, even able to destroy a Val'kyr.
Completion of the Night Warrior story also awards new customization for Night Elves, allowing characters to select dark eyes, reflecting the look of Tyrande's new model and the Night Elves fighting at Darkshore, drawing upon the dark power of Elune. In End Time, Echo of Tyrande also references this power of Elune, crying out "Eyes of night, pierce this darkness!". While Elune is mostly seen as a benevolent and healing force throughout
Warcraft
, End Time provides a glimpse into the vengeful side of the moon goddess, later seen in Tyrande's Night Warrior ritual.
Influence of N'Zoth
At the Hour of Twilight, N'zoth's master plan, the Old Gods will break their imprisonment and return to destroy life on Azeroth, and the End Time shows what will happen that plan is not stopped. N'Zoth deployed many agents to bring about the Hour of Twilight, including Al'akir in the Throne of the Four Winds, Ragnaros in Firelands, and Azshara in Vashj'ir, while N'Zoth's greatest weapon was the corrupted Deathwing, who was infused with unstable power and shattered the landscapes of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms.
The Hour of Twilight was ultimately stopped by the Dragon Aspects and Thrall in the Dragon Soul raid, but at great cost to the Dragon Aspects, who lost their immortality and much of their power. In Battle for Azeroth, we begin to see that N'Zoth is returning once more, and in Patch 8.1.5, we see N'Zoth free Xal'atath in the Crucible of Storms, bestowing upon helpful players a gift as "the Bringer of Truths... the Torch That Lights the Way."
N'Zoth is concocting another plan, and once again, it's close to being launched on Azeroth.
N'Zoth: The hour is close at hand.
N'Zoth: That which was sunken shall rise.
N'Zoth: All that were sleeping... shall be awakened.
N'Zoth: Receive my gift and see all truths before you.
The phrase about us being the "Torch that lights the way" echoes another said by Il'gynoth: "Five keys to open our way. Five torches light our path". If we are one torch, who are the other four? On the most recent
Wowhead Weekly
, we speculated that the four featured characters of End Time, who are now playing large roles in Battle for Azeroth, may be related to those four remaining keys.
Whether these End Time bosses are related to N'Zoth's latest plan or not, the four featured characters play a role in both situations and it's cool to see a dungeon from years ago parallel the story today. Who do you think the four other torches are? Have you noticed any other old stories or bosses that seem unusually relevant now? Will we stop N'Zoth, or is Battle for Azeroth simply a staging ground for a new End Time?
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