Friday, August 3, 2018

The Forsaken After the Banshee Queen

Sylvanas has plunged into the deep end of villainy, which makes the possibility of her death or at least removal as Warchief a distinct possibility. If she is gone, the Horde will likely elevate some more reasonable, moderate, and honorable leader to Warchief (though I think they ought to abolish the position entirely.) But where does this leave the Forsaken?

Here's my take on the Forsaken: I don't think they were ever given a chance to really be free. They began their unlives as zombies - minions of the Scourge who could not help but serve the Lich King. I don't know to what degree the Lich King controlled the everyday activity of simple zombies, but the closest a Scourge zombie could have to freedom is more just directionless hunger and violence.

It was actually Illidan who inadvertently freed the Forsaken. By attempting to shatter the Frozen Throne with an earthquake, the weakening of the Lich King's power gave about half the undead in Lordaeron their free will back.

Sylvanas did not cause this. She was freed in exactly the same way as the rest of the Forsaken. What she had, however, was the ability to lead and the charisma to draw people to her side.

My Horde main is an Undead Rogue, and to me the absolute most important value he has is freedom (he's True Neutral, with perhaps a hint of chaotic.) The Forsaken had experienced total servitude, and he, at least, would never want to be in that position again.

But the Forsaken culture as a whole has not embraced that ideology. "Freedom" for them is the freedom to either serve the Dark Lady or die.

And let's talk about that terminology: Dark Lady. Sylvanas has managed to become a kind of religious figure amongst the Forsaken. Forsaken NPCs say things like "Dark Lady watch over you," as if Sylvanas is not some political leader but a kind of omniscient goddess.

And it makes sense, to be honest. Think about countries that have tried to transition from authoritarianism to liberal democracy. It's a very difficult process that more often than not backslides into authoritarianism, because the idea of civil liberties not only for you, but also for those with different politics, and ultimately the idea of sharing power with your political rivals, is not something anyone gets practice with in an authoritarian system.

Sylvanas gave the Forsaken a false freedom by simply replacing the Lich King in their hierarchical worldview.

Are the Forsaken better off than they were in the Scourge? Yes, I would say that. They are at least in a state where they can interact with living people and not be forced into conflict. The Horde gave them one hell of a benefit of the doubt.

But their society is far from ideal. I can certainly imagine a lot of people who yearn for a return to the days of Lordaeron. At the summit in Arathi Highlands, Sylvanas wound up killing every one of her own people who came there. I think it's because she realized that one of her core arguments to keep her in power - that the Alliance would never accept the Forsaken back into the fold - was proven a lie, and she could not allow that truth to get out.

So what could happen to the Forsaken if Sylvanas was, for whatever reason, taken out of the picture?

It's possible they would be leaderless. The Trolls after Vol'jin died have not had a clear central leader. It took a while for Saurfang to emerge as the de facto racial leader of the Orcs. And without a city, the Forsaken are going to be staying in Orcish lands anyway.

The most obvious replacement for Sylvanas would be Nathanos Blightcaller. He has been her second-in-command since before they both died. It would be very easy to see Nathanos step into a similarly autocratic role among the Forsaken. And frankly, he might even do better with those who wish for a return of Lordaeron society, as at least he's a former human.

On the other hand, Nathanos is utterly devoted to Sylvanas (it's ambiguous, but it seems as if he is the closest thing the Banshee Queen has to a consort, which would make sense given the Windrunner sisters' thing for human men.) It seems unlikely that he'd do anything short of giving his life to protect Sylvanas. And if the Horde is behind her removal, it would be hard to imagine him happily stepping in.

Still, if he did, would he then maintain the cult? If Sylvanas falls out of favor with the Horde, the Forsaken might have to seriously rethink their culture.

Theoretically, this is something the Forsaken are going to have to worry about eventually. Unless Sylvanas manages to secure infinite resurrections like she's been trying to do, eventually she's going to run out of luck, and there's probably still going to be some Forsaken left when that happens.

But Sylvanas also seems very much like an "apres moi, le deluge" kind of leader - she doesn't worry about what comes after her because she won't be around for it to be a problem for her. She also probably doesn't really think she can die - at least not permanently.

So after they lose their capital, the Forsaken are going to be in a real crisis. My hope is that Blizzard addresses this - it's all well and good to see people like Saurfang reckon with the brutality of Teldrassil, but I want to see other Forsaken characters dealing with it as well. There's clearly a diversity of attitudes amongst them - not all Forsaken are as bloodthirsty as Sylvanas - and I'd really appreciate seeing Undead characters who aren't on board and are planning for the future - with or without the Banshee Queen.

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