Warbringers: Azshara

Azshara does not consider herself to be beneath anyone. Her actions in the War of the Ancients were born out of a sense that there was no mortal worthy of being her consort - she would settle for no less than Sargeras himself, and one can imagine that if her union with the Legion had been successful, she would have attempted to usurp his position as well (though Sargeras only had eyes of Azeroth.)

But in the end of the War of the Ancients, Azshara was in trouble. The massive, apocalyptic waves caused by the destruction of the Well of Eternity were closing in on her capital, and we see her attempt to stop them through sheer magical force.

Is she trying to rescue her people? Or her empire? I'd argue the latter - Azshara is maybe the most self-centered person in the Warcraft cosmos. But it frankly looks quite heroic at first, when you ignore her role in the events leading up to this catastrophe (though I also think it's worth noting that Malfurion either didn't know or didn't care that this would happen to a bunch of innocent civilians.)

The oddest of things, though, appears to her - a dying fish, flapping on the dry ground that is not in the breathable water because of Azshara's actions. She sees the fish drowning in air as she realizes she's about to drown in the water.

And then a voice speaks to her. This is the first of three voices she hears, but they are all presumably from the same entity. The first voice is soft, feminine, and almost seems familiar to her, like a mother or sister. It whispers to her that it's time for her empire to end, that she must let go.

And ultimately, she does, perhaps no longer having the strength to hold on.

She drifts through the waters, her drowned people dying around her. She envisions them rotting and swarming her as some kind of undead (not unlike the visions Jaina has in her Warbringers short,) and a voice begins to speak to her.

This is the second voice - it's male, but calm and charming. It offers a deal, saying that it can rescue her and her people in exchange for service. But it's a formless darkness, and then manifests as that drowning fish - not drowned any longer. Is it a dead fish? What is this being beneath the waves? It's unclear how much Azshara knows of this entity, except she sort of understands it to be something that was trapped in the deep places, old and forgotten.

When she belittles it, it reveals itself: A third voice speaks, this one booming and powerful, and we see a glimpse:

It appears to be N'zoth, in its full glory, a massive empire stretching out with obelisks pointing up as his massive tentacles reach out through them. And Azshara looks upon this empire just as she has seen her own crumble and can only say "Magnificent."

But when he offers to change her, make her part of his future, she declines. She will not be a slave - she is a queen.

The vision ends, and then my favorite moment in the short happens: Azshara looks smug, ready for N'zoth to fold. Then bubbles escape her mouth. She's still drowning. Panic begins to gradually creep into her expression, and just as she seems about to scream in terror - her ego and boldness finally exacting its price, and hey, maybe she could have learned something from this if she weren't about to die - the transformation begins.

Her form is twisted, mutated, and she becomes the Naga queen before N'zoth's enormous eye. Imbued with his power, the other drowning Night Elves are transformed as well, and the Naga are born. Azshara has secured her position - she will be Queen of a reborn Black Empire.

She certainly feels like she's gotten a win here. What I wonder is: was this N'zoth's plan all along?

Also, is there any way we're not fighting N'zoth by the end of the expansion?