Due to the cycles of WoW storytelling, it's rare that we get really big surprises. The first couple expansions were built around iconic figures we would face as final bosses, with Illidan (who got upstaged by Kil'jaeden when they realized that the final raid probably shouldn't come in the first patch,) Arthas (as always, I don't count Halion as Wrath's final boss, even if he was chronologically the last to be released in a 3.X patch,) and Deathwing. When Mists of Pandaria was announced in 2011, the details were very thin, but shortly before its release, we found out that Garrosh would be the final boss of the expansion, in the Siege of Orgrimmar.
That's the last time, though, that Blizzard has been totally up front about what an expansion's story is going to do. In Warlords, the fact that Archimonde would be our final boss was withheld. In Legion, we did find out we were going to Argus prior to 7.2's release, as a little quick teaser of 7.3 in that year's Blizzcon. And in Battle for Azeroth, N'zoth's status as final boss was intentionally obscured.
I'll confess that I'm not sure I love the way they've done this. Indeed, the presentation of the Jailer as a very clear final boss for Shadowlands was a bit refreshing - assuming that's actually the role he'll play.
At Blizzconline, many developers have hinted that the conclusion of the 9.1 raid, Sanctum of Domination, will be a massive lore development - one that they claim will shake the entire Warcraft cosmos. That's a pretty big deal.
But what does it mean?
In the past, most raids have had something of a pause between them. Looking at Castle Nathria, the conclusion to that raid is one of pretty unambiguous victory, where we capture Sire Denathrius within his sentient sword Remornia and imprison it within a tower under the watchful gaze of the Naaru Z'rali. Denathrius was apparently meant to die in Castle Nathria, but the developers loved the vocal performance by Ray Chase that they wanted to keep him on-hand - or at least that's the story they're telling.
In Legion, which I generally think is the expansion to beat for greatest ever (though Wrath is its rival - when judged within its own 2008-2010 context) the major "tier" raids ended with big events. The Nighthold saw the resurrection of Illidan Stormrage. The Tomb of Sargeras saw the opening of the gateway between Azeroth and Argus. And Antorus, the Burning Throne, saw the imprisonment of Sargeras along with the wounding of Azeroth.
Tomb of Sargeras in particular ended its events with a major crisis (engineered by Illidan to force a decisive conclusion to the endless conflict with the Burning Legion - because Illidan is hardcore Chaotic Neutral.)
Even though we knew we were going to Argus in 7.3, the reveal at the end of Tomb of Sargeras is a fantastic shocker - after we defeat Kil'jaeden as he flees back to Argus, Khadgar struggles to teleport everyone away before the Fel energy within the Deceiver destroys the ship everyone's on. Illidan uses the Sargerite Keystone that Demon Hunters helped him steal in the DH starting experience (meaning about a decade earlier, as that takes place during the Black Temple raid) to boost Khadgar's spell - or so it seems. So it's a great shock when Khadgar looks up and sees Argus in the sky above Azeroth, and the sense of horror at how much Illidan has just raised the stakes is palpable.
Ok, but enough recapping: what might we expect to happen in 9.1? Will the end of Sanctum of Domination be as jaw-droppingly crazy as the end of Tomb of Sargeras? And if we expect Shadowlands to have three major patches, can we afford to have such a major development at the end of what is effectively still Act One of Three?
Setting aside my worries that Shadowlands will only have two major content patches (it better have three or more! Surely Blizzard learned their lesson with Warlords?) let's talk about what might happen here.
The Maw has, seemingly, been set up as the ultimate final challenge to overcome, and is home to the expansion's Big Bad. While we've had Castle Nathria as a fairly substantial intro raid, it's a little surprising that we're getting to this so early. After all, we didn't go to Icecrown Citadel first in Wrath. Indeed, even if we were to compare it to Tomb of Sargeras, which was set up as what looked like the ultimate final raid for Legion, that one came as the second tier raid, or the third of four "big raids" (meaning with more than three bosses.)
Also, of note, is that not anywhere have they suggested that we have any meaningful encounter with the Jailer within Sanctum of Domination. While I had entertained the notion that Sylvanas might wish to try to usurp the Jailer's power, it really doesn't look like she has the opportunity or power to do so. Therefore, I think our confrontation with the Jailer must come later, and could very likely be the final boss fight of the expansion.
But that makes it weird that we're going to Torghast. After all, Torghast is essentially his castle within the Maw, which his his domain. To compare it with Wrath of the Lich King, it'd be like if we went into Icecrown Citadel first and fought Kel'thuzad, and that we had to go elsewhere to fight Arthas.
Our motivation to go there is, at least in part, to rescue Anduin. So, what is his fate?
It's clear from the cinematic trailer for 9.1 that Anduin is being controlled, rather than being corrupted. The Jailer speaks through him, and after he stabs the Archon, he has a moment of lucidity, in which he appears horrified at what he has done, before the runes on his armor flash and the Jailer's control is reasserted.
What's fascinating about Anduin's situation is the parallels with Arthas. When Arthas became a Death Knight, his skin was leeched of color, and he gained wrinkles that made him look like he hadn't slept in weeks, and his golden blonde hair turned white. All of these happen to Anduin as well while under the Jailer's control and with his illusions dispelled.
And this raises an interesting question: is this what Arthas was meant to be?
We know the Helm of Domination and Frostmourne were both created under duress by the Runecarver. Notably, when Arthas was first corrupted, it was only with Frostmourne, while the Helm of Domination (and the rest of the armor) remained within the Frozen Throne, inhabited by the spirit of Ner'zhul. Initially, Arthas acted as the Lich King's champion, and helped to decimate Lordaeron but also, notably, betrayed the Burning Legion and helped Illidan defeat Tichondrius. It wasn't until Illidan returned with his Blood Elf and Naga allies (coerced into this by Kil'jaeden) to assault the Frozen Throne that Arthas would become the Lich King himself.
But even the Lich King's intended role is now thrown into doubt. In the lore as originally received, Kil'jaeden created the Lich King by attaching Ner'zhul's soul to the armor (and Frostmourne, though I feel like this was a little inconsistent, even if Frostmourne was always implied to be brought to Azeroth within the Frozen Throne.) Kil'jaeden wanted to use the Lich King to create the Scourge as shock troops to soften up Azeroth for the Legion's invasion.
With the Jailer added to the lore - a figure who seems more on the scale of Sargeras than Kil'jaeden in terms of power level - the source of the helm and the sword is now shown to be something quite outside of the demonic forces of the Burning Legion. And it seems that he, too, meant for the Lich King to be his own champion within the world of the living.
The Lich King's rebellion against the Legion seemed to create a different, wholly independent faction on Azeroth - still a villainous one, but one that opposed another villain. Now, however, one wonders if Ner'zhul's decision to turn against the Legion was his own idea, or one programmed into the Helm of Domination itself. Not that the Scourge should be its own thing, but for it to be the vanguard for the Jailer, rather than for the Legion.
In that sense, the Lich King is not sovereign, but servant to the Jailer, who is the sort of Death Overlord.
Thus, it could be that Anduin is being compelled to act as the Lich King was meant to. Both Frostmourne and the Helm of Domination were shattered, and Bolvar proved that a Lich King could choose not to serve the cause of Death if one had a strong enough will. In Anduin's case, though, Lich King 2.0 now includes a system to prevent even the most righteously-minded, good-natured person from resisting the Jailer's direct control.
That we will eventually free Anduin from this is something I anticipate, though it remains to be seen whether we will accomplish that in 9.1.
What, then, would the big reveal be? What major development could happen?
The Jailer will not be there for us to fight in SoD. Sylvanas will, and I think she might wind up having a tragic end. She appears to be regretting her alliance with the Jailer, perhaps moved by Anduin's words, but if there's anyone who has dug herself too deep, it's Sylvanas Windrunner. Even if she wanted redemption (and I don't know even she thinks that's possible for herself) I don't think the world would be willing to give it to her. Maybe the Venthyr.
But there's a reason why Tyrande Whisperwind is currently in Torghast.
I think Sylvanas might make a move toward redemption, but Tyrande will cut it off - slaying Sylvanas before she has a chance to make things right.
Let's get back to Tyrande in a bit.
The Jailer is looking for "keys," one of which Anduin retrieves from the Archon (apparently not killing her, according to Blizzard.) What could these keys actually be for?
Given that the key he takes is a glowing rune in the shape of the Kyrian symbol, I suspect that there is one for each covenant. But I heard somewhere (and I really don't remember where) that there are five keys he's seeking.
And that reminds me of Il'gynoth, who has two quotes (one from Emerald Nightmare, one from Ny'alotha) referring to sets of five that will "open the way" or "light our path," one of which is keys. Sure, I had assumed these were the Pillars of Creation given their importance in Legion. But maybe this was something farther down the line.
But that raises a question: The Jailer seems to know what he's doing. We can tell because he's not telling us, and generally, the less we know about a villain's plan, the more likely it is that they'll succeed at it. But if that's the case, why would Il'gynoth, a creature of Void, be so eager for the Jailer, a creature of Death, to succeed?
Now let's get the Nathrezim involved.
There is a book one can find outdoors above Sinfall (it spawns sporadically) that reads as the account of an agent sent to infiltrate and manipulate the other major cosmic forces - Life, Light, Disorder, Void, and Order - on behalf of Death. There are many hints that the author is one of the Dreadlords, aka the Nathrezim. And much as been made of the fact that Nathrezim and Castle Nathira and Sire Denathrius all seem linguistically connected. Also, with his horns and hooved feet, pale skin and long ears, Sire Denathrius looks like he could be related to the Dreadlords (also the Accuser literally refers to him as "The Lord of Dread" - this is either a hell of a troll or some really major telegraphing).
Blizzard has actually said we're going to touch on the Nathrezim in 9.1, though we know almost nothing else about their role here. They did hint that someone might break Sire Denathrius out of his prison. Could be the Dreadlords do it?
And hey, if the Nathrezim really have succeeded in infiltrating the other cosmic forces, they have the perfect person to send: Lothraxion. While when he was first introduced, it looked like he had been redeemed by the Light, if the Nathrezim weren't even loyal to the Fel/Disorder in the first place, perhaps he's a triple agent, actually serving Death. But a light-redeemed demon might be the very thing that would cause someone like Z'rali to let her guard down.
All of this really rests on the following question: what does the Jailer actually intend to do?
In theory, the most obvious failure state for the heroes of the Warcraft cosmos is that when the Jailer takes over the Shadowlands, it turns the whole plane into the Maw, and all souls are destined for eternal torment. That is, naturally, a very bad thing that we should try to prevent.
But consider this: the Jailer rules the Maw, but he's also its main prisoner. He was cast down into it after some sort of fall from grace - like what might have happened to Sargeras had the rest of the Pantheon prevailed against him.
The Maw seems made in the Jailer's image, but perhaps Zovaal doesn't actually like it there. What if he's not looking to expand the Maw to make everything like it, but instead to absorb everything else?
Do the keys he's collecting allow him to escape simply the Maw and to enter the rest of the Shadowlands? Or is he planning instead on a total conquest of the cosmos entire?
Now, the "five keys to open the way" might suggest that these keys will allow the Void to be taken up by Zovaal, for him to absorb that power like a freaking infinity stone.
Ok, remember Tyrande?
For a long time, we had a sense that the Holy Light was good and the Void was evil. Given that the Naaru have generally helped us while the Old Gods are... terrifying, it made sense. Sure, we had weird edge cases like Sir Zeliek and the whole Scarlet Crusade, but these seemed to be cases in which the Light was being wielded in some remnant of goodness, just being kind of twisted by weird circumstances.
The first time we saw a real reversal of this narrative was actually in Spires of Arak. There, the Outcasts used shadow magic (which is Void magic) against the oppressive class that wielded the Light. While the source of that shadow was truly evil, it blurred the lines a bit.
However, never was there a bigger moment to rethink the Light than "The Gift Refused" cinematic, in which X'era tried to forcibly rewrite Illidan's being, replacing his Fel power with the Light. Illidan destroyed her for this, and I think it's notable that Velen, whose power is derived from the Light and who is a pretty unimpeachably good guy, basically said "yeah, man, I get it." Then, the introduction of the Void Elves suggested that perhaps the Void was not just evil, but misunderstood, and that inversely, the Light could be misused and harmful (which seems to be what happened on alt-Draenor, which saddens me dearly because I loved Yrel and hate that she seems to have become a villain.)
The Night Elves worship Elune, but while they seem to be unique among the people of Azeroth in that belief, we've now found that people on other worlds also worship her, like Therinax and Qadarin did in life.
Elune's precise nature, though, has been hard to pin down. She seems to have some connection to the Titans, as evidenced by the Tears of Elune, as well as Eonar's hideout on Elunaria, and even the fact that the Tomb of Sargeras, which had been the primary temple to Elune, was built over a Titan facility.
But she also seems to be connected to the Holy Light - Velen noted the similarities between the worship of Elune and that of the Naaru, and Khadgar believes that the Naaru were straight-up created by Elune.
And, of course, Elune has connections with Life. Cenarius is said to be the son of Elune and Malorne, the latter being a Wild God.
But hey, what about the Night Warrior?
The Night Warrior is a dark aspect of Elune. And generally, magically speaking, if we're talking about darkness on a cosmic scale, that could imply that the Night Warrior involves the power of the Void.
If Tyrande arrives to slay Sylvanas, which seems to me like a real possibility, she will do so with the power of the Night Warrior - a power that seems beyond what anyone else in Azeorth has wielded, except perhaps Sylvanas' use of the Jailer's magic.
Could she be, unwittingly, bringing him the power of the Void?
Now, one final thought:
If my theory is correct: that Zovaal the Jailer is trying to take the powers of the various cosmic forces... is he the first to attempt this?
Zovaal is referred to as the fallen brother by the other Eternal Ones. But the Winter Queen also, at one point, refers to Ysera as being her "sister's" pet. And the Winter Queen sure doesn't seem to show a lot of love in that reference.
What if Zovaal is trying to do what Elune had already done? What if Elune collected the various powers of reality to become a true Goddess, in a way that even the Titans never did?
If this is the direction the story is heading, it could mean that the Shadowlands expansion is going to soon become about something much larger even than the afterlives realms of Death.
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