Monday, December 18, 2017

Journal with Tantalizing Hints Found on PTR

On this Reddit thread, someone on the 7.3.5 PTR found a journal on a rare Twilight's Hammer-affiliated ogre in Silithus, which is spoiler territory for the Antorus Raid.

I don't know exactly how spoiler-conscious we should or even can be when discussing Silithus, so beware of UNMARKED SPOILERS FOR ANTORUS to follow. Also PTR SPOILERS.

The journal that players discover is called Visions of Ogmat the Steadfast.

Much like Il'gynoth, Xal'atath, and the Puzzle-Box of Yogg-Saron, this thing is chock full of prophetic mysteries. What's exciting is that it seems to refer to previous statements like those from Il'gynoth. What's really intriguing is that I don't know that it's talking only about the Old Gods...

Thanks to Reddit user Wilder_people for the find.

Let's go through the journal, interpret, and speculate:

The journal's description: Visions of Ogmot the Steadfast: "The handwriting is barely legible, and the primitive sketches contained within are best described as... unsettling."

Pretty standard for a Tome of Eldritch Lore. Let's crack it open:

"I was a mere boy fighting at the war camp when the Masters first blessed me with their visions. I have come to Silithus, to the site of the great wound, seeking wonders beyond imagining. Make me your vessel, Masters!"

Given that this is an Ogre, I suspect that his boyhood exposure to the "Masters" could have happened in Nagrand, perhaps near Oshu'gun (aka the Genedar,) where K'ure began to turn to the Void. Draenor never had Old Gods, which suggests to me that this Ogmat is referring specifically to the Void Lords

"Last night I dreamt of two great armadas clashing upon an ocean of blood. Shadows writhed beneath them, rising. Rising. I smiled in my sleep. Why did the skittering of insects have to stir me? Damn those bugs! No matter. We will finish what they began."

The armadas I would assume are those of the Alliance and Horde. But the ocean of blood? Could simply be metaphorical: the wound in Silithus has created a resource race between the factions to gather as much Azerite (aka Azeroth's crystalized blood) as possible. This war is also probably going to be heavily naval in nature, and the Shadows beneath the ocean could very easily be N'zoth or his minions (potentially Azshara.)

"Life returns to this dead place. First the bugs came. Now goblins skulk about. It is the blood they crave... I am sure of it. Bah, let them have these drippings! Soon there will be seas enough to sate every thirst."

"Life returning" could just refer to things coming back after the enormous destruction wrought by Sargeras, but one disturbing notion is that perhaps Azeroth's blood has helped to revive C'thun, whose mass exists beneath Silithus. It also suggests that Twilight's Hammer (or whoever) is going to bleed Azeroth until the world drowns in her blood. Not good.

"Today the smoke rose from my campfire and took form. A shepherd, cloaked in the shadows of her past, beloved by a flock of blind sheep. They followed her footsteps without question. Without thought. She guided them over a cliff. Even as they crashed upon the rocks, they never doubted her. The crows grew fat upon sheep flesh. Her laughter echoed all around."

Oh boy. Who is this shepherd? My initial thought was despair that they had finally decided to give in and make Jaina full-on evil. I'm not ruling that out, but I also wonder if it refers to Alleria. She has, after all, cloaked herself in shadow. It could be someone else, but what is suggested here is a long-festering betrayal that may have even begun already that we won't see until far later, if ever. Disturbing indeed.

"The blade's eye watches all. Why do you not see? The first of his lies has been offered. Bound by a throne? No... boundless. The next will come soon."

Man, if the previous one got me revved up, this one's got me climbing the walls. First off, the blade's eye could refer to Sargeras' sword, though what it "sees" remains unclear. Alternatively, and supported by a later entry, it could refer to Xal'atath - a dagger with a big eye in it (though there are other blades with eyes, like Xal'atoh, or even the Dark Edge of Insanity, which drops off of C'thun in AQ40.) Xala'tath is very talkative and cryptic, which suggests to me that she fits the bill best. But that's just the start.

The next refers to the first of "his lies." Il'gynoth says that "the boy king serves as the masters table. Three lies will he offer you." This has got to refer to the boy king, then. So is that Anduin? (We've heard him referred to as such by Gul'dan.) So what lie? If it is indeed Anduin, what has he even told us lately that could be a lie or a truth? And if it's not Anduin, who could it refer to? There actually aren't a ton of Kings in Warcraft - there's basically Anduin, Rastakhan (who is definitely not still a "boy.") There's Genn (see Rastakhan.) One could argue for Wrathion, though the Dragons never really had "King" as a title. There's Moira's son, but as far as we know he's still an infant or at least still a little kid, and we haven't heard a word from him. So Anduin really fits the bill best as Boy King. What, then, could the lies be, especially the first, that he's supposedly already offered us. And does he know it's a lie? Given that I'm about 90% convinced that Teldrassil's burning is not, in fact, the work of the Horde, could the lie be Anduin's motivation to attack Undercity?

Next (and yes, this is still just the four-line page 5) pretty much has to refer to the Lich King. While yes, Sargeras is now bound to a throne as well, I really do think that his story is over. But look at the Lich King: Bolvar is frozen in the ice of the Frozen Throne, but just as Ner'zhul had done, he has spread his influence far and wide. For the Lich King, being bound to the Frozen Throne is no handicap at all, and if my pet theory that the Lich King is actually far older than Ner'zhul or even possibly Kil'jaeden, and that all the Deceiver did was take a godlike entity and craft a physical form in which to store it, then boundless would very likely describe this entity.

Finally on this page, "The next will come soon." The next what? The next WHAT? The next Lich King? The next Old God? The next Titan? The next Warchief?

Moving on:

"A band of cultists arrived. Do they comprehend my blessing? My greatness? They speak of Argus. Of the one who was awakened. Of the victory that went unnoticed. I shared my vision, but the skinny one just laughed. I do not like her."

Ok, aside from the fact that Ogmat is distinct from whatever cultists (presumably Twilight's Hammer) have come, which is an interesting note, the most curious stuff is about Argus and this unnoticed victory.

I had floated the idea a while ago that the Pillars of Creation, being used to close the portal in the Tomb of Sargeras (which... um, did we ever do that? We chased Kil'jaeden through it and then got teleported back through Khadgar's magic and Illidan's portal network) actually served to open the restraints on N'zoth's prison (as Il'gynoth said, five keys to open the way, five torches to light our path, or something like that. We saw no immediate repercussions of using the Pillars (if indeed we did,) but wouldn't it be just like the Old Gods to let us think that everything had gone according to plan only for us to find out when it's too late to do anything that we just stuck all the keys in their keyholes and turned. The one who awakened, I would imagine, was N'zoth after the defeat of the Emerald Nightmare.

Now, what about this skinny female cultist? Granted, to an Ogre, anyone would look skinny. But I'd keep an eye out for humans and elves as likely candidates (which rule out neither Jaina nor Alleria.) What vision caused her to laugh? The one about the armadas? Is it because it's too obvious, or that there's something else going on?

"Many days have passed without a vision. Have I displeased you, Masters? I will leave you a sacrifice. Remember me!"

Not sure if there's too much here other than that this mad prophet isn't getting his visions. His sacrifices are almost certainly humanoid - is he killing the cultists?

"The star peers down. I must hide from its glare. The dagger spoke true. It has been too long since I was drowned. Do not forsake me, Masters!"

Ok, first off: star, not stars. Which star? Could it be the glimmering remain of the portal Illidan opened? (Following Antorus, the portal that has allowed us to view Argus in the sky is replaced with a faint, five-pointed red glimmer - presumably something less obtrusive that they can leave up in the skybox indefinitely.) Or is it something else?

The dagger speaking true... well, that sounds a whole hell of a lot like everyone's favorite talking cutlery, Xal'atath, and a dark prophet is exactly the kind of person she'd talk to. The line about drowning... well, remember that Il'gynoth says "to find him, drown yourself in a circle of stars." Is Ogmat going to try taking that advice? And is the star above related to the circle in which one must drown?

"The bones were picked clean, yet still I am granted no insight. The others scoff. They question my devotion. But I am the chosen vessel. I will not lose faith! Another sacrifice. Yes. One more of them will not be missed."

Sounds like another murder. But if the others are scoffing, is it possible that A. he's sacrificing people other than the cultists or B. he's a member of a different cult, sacrificing members of the visiting one, and that his own cult is scoffing?

"Roused by her screams. Stirred by their whispers. A blessing from the Masters. At last I understand. A door. A path. Ours. Ours. Fool! The circle has awakened us all."

This is where the journal ends. Is the "skinny cultist" the one who screamed? Perhaps dying, or worse, in the night? The whispers seem to have awoken him in whatever dark night this was, presumably giving him the vision he sought.

By the end, he claims "the circle" has awakened us all. Take note: he says Us. Ogmat sought to become a vessel for something - perhaps one of the Old Gods. Is it possible that when he says Us, he's not talking about his mortal form but rather than dark thing inside of him (and possibly others - maybe even the screaming female?)

Also, we get the word that has been haunting us throughout Legion: the Circle. What is the freaking Circle? The Legion, the Old Gods, and even the Titans seem to refer to this mysterious circle. Is this the Circle of Stars? And if so, how is it both a place one can drown and also some kind of metaphor for a cycle in time (if indeed, it ever was.)

Man, I love this stuff. It's like Blizzard is channeling Hidetaka Miyazaki for this story.

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