The Destruction of the Vale

One of the biggest bombshells of the 5.4 PTR is that the Vale of Eternal Blossoms has been utterly devastated. Its water has been drained away and the Sha-corruption that we've seen in various parts of the world (Dread Wastes most of all, of course) has run completely rampant throughout the zone. If you thought the Horde dig that opened up in 5.3 was bad, then oh man, just wait until you see this. To give you an idea of the scale of the devastation visited upon the Vale, one of the two enormous Mogu statues has crumbled and fallen.

This is not just an instanced version of the zone - this is what it will look like for, I believe, all level 90 players (though I could imagine there being a quest that brings you into this phase, even if that is not the case for the current dig site.)

There are a number of implications here:

For one, this is really the last straw for Garrosh. Presumably, it was his actions in the Vale, with the theft of the heart of Y'shaarj, that led to the Vale's destruction. Given how important the Vale is to Pandaren culture, and also clearly to the Titans, this seems like a most heinous crime indeed.

Taking a step back, however, there are more grievous consequences for what has occurred. We've never really gotten an explicit answer about what, exactly, the Vale is - was it a new Well of Eternity? Was it created to purify the remnants of Y'shaarj? There is great power there of an uncorrupted nature, despite the presence of an Old God's heart. Yet as we see, the Vale is now lost, with only the home-city-shrines left somewhat intact.

This is a very bad thing, and could very well lead into the next expansion's plot. Might the Burning Legion take this as an opportunity to invade? Or perhaps the Titans will return and attempt to countermand Algalon's judgment of us.

I'm hoping that as more of the patch's story is revealed, we will find out just what the Vale was for, and also what will happen now that it is pretty much in ruins.