Damage Control

I don't know about you guys, but I love the 'Know Your Lore' section of wowinsider.com. I am one of those nubs that didn't know anything about Warcraft upon purchasing WoW. I never played any of the other Warcraft games, but Glassjaw has.

So anyway, since playing WoW and rerolling Horde, I have been digging deeper into the Warcraft lore and finding myself more enamored with it all the time. And one thing I have grown to REALLY love about Warcraft is Lorecrafting. And Ghostwalka (troll shaman) is especially good at it.

Here are three race studies he has done recently that had me dying for more. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it, too.

The original thread can be found here: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=81954865&sid=1&pageNo=1

World of Lorecraft: The Forsaken Tragedy

Greetings. I am Ghostwalka, Shaman of the Earthen Ring and member of the Argent Dawn. I serve as a Lorekeepa for the Darkspear Tribe. In this, I have been studying the stories and legends of the other races, and studying how each race is adapting to this changing world we now live in.

Today I bring my findings on the Forsaken to light. This race, along with the Night Elves, were ones I sought to naturally study. They are the ancient enemies of all Trolls, Human and Elf, but both are different from what they were before. In the case of the Forsaken, they have been... changed.

In the history of the Trollish People, there have always been legend of Necromancy. The first undead to walk this planet were not the minions of the Lich King, but the Mummified Legions of the Atal'ai. The Trolls, as a race, know, respect, and fear the Walking Dead. They are a part of our culture and a part of our memory of times ancient and terrible.

So in this, studying the Forsaken was fit for me... and my soul aches even now for what I found...

The Forsaken, as may be obvious, were once alive. They were humans. Many of them were simple commoners, or soldiers, or mages in service to Dalaran or some other land.

Few, however, realize the horror of this truth.

Inside each member of the Forsaken Race is the memory of their own death. For some it is the memory of going to sleep after eating a meal of bread and grains that were... tainted... ...for others there are memories of falling before a raging mob of Undeath, their very flesh ripped from their bones and great Ghouls biting into their still living bodies before death claims them.

We Trolls are no strangers to pain. Our regenerative abilities mean we've experienced grizzly injuries but stood up to fight and heal. But even we would be marked by such memories... and what happened after those memories. Many of the Forsaken remained conscious, locked behind the iron will of the Orc Lich, Ner'zhul, while they were forced to commit acts against their fellow humans. The lucky ones were destroyed by their fellow humans before they committed any acts of true horror.

The unlucky ones, driven by Ner'zhul's will, were forced to watch behind their own eyes as they devoured their loved ones... their husbands... their wives... their own children.

And now, they are free.

The Dark Lady has awoken them, and with the waning of Ner'zhul's might during the events of what history now chronicles as 'The Battle of the Frozen Throne', a vast population of former humans have regained themselves and their minds.

Yet... ...the memories remain.

Now, is it any wonder the path the race has taken? Many of the Forsaken, twisted by what they were forced to do and shocked by their own race's actions towards them, have gone down a dark path... After all, these are their brothers, sisters, and those who survived the Plague who judge now the Forsaken have become to be nothing but Monsters... irredeemable and that none should be allowed to exist.

To them, I say you be blind.

These people are as human as any of you. The difference is that they are cursed... and that they live with the horrors of what they were forced to do every day. Is it any wonder that, in order to try and reunite with their families, some people have gone slightly mad and think only of making a new plague to bring ALL Humans under the shadow of Undeath?

Is it any wonder that people like Keever, who is cited often by the Alliance as one of our worst Apothecarians, is a little mad? Is it any wonder that he is desensitized to death and the experiments he performs... because he was forced to watch behind his own eyes as he killed and devoured his own family and friends? Forced to watch as his homeland was destroyed by a plague of undeath, what sane man would remain so for long...

Is it any wonder that the Forsaken have become what they are and are doing what they're doing... when the people they love who still live turned their backs on them and treat them like monsters?

Let us go deeper into the social structure of the Forsaken now. It has been two years since the Forsaken joined the Horde. As of now, the Forsaken are fitting in to the Horde surprisingly well. They have become, more and more, accepted by the races they once fought and the races they once fought accept them.

Forsaken and Horde have fought together, bled together, and died together. There is no greater bond then that.

Others, however, have fought beside the Forsaken for years, and have come to rely and depend upon them. Each has their own little quirks to deal with the legacy of the past they hold in their memories. Some have repressed the memories, and act childlike, carefree, and even a little feral. Others take the aloof stance the Mages of Dalaran made common practice. Others still have become part of the Horde entire... and even form relationships.

Strangely true. Love can come between the Living and the Undead. Even if they are beyond feeling pleasure, they can still feel love and companionship. There will be no children born of such unions, nor will there be anything approaching a physical relationship... but there will be bonds formed between individuals that keeps them sane and whole... and perhaps will allow them to exist until a cure for the Affliction they suffer can be found.

The Forsaken have merged into the Horde, and over the years, we have become more and more a united force. Many Trolls, Orcs, and even the mighty Tauren, have come to accept and respect their abilities and even some of their more disturbing allies... such as the created Abominations that serve as living siege engines now in Horde Military Forces. Sylvanas is viewed with respect and admiration by many members of the Horde, and some members even assist now in the work of the Apothecary... disgusted by the actions of the Alliance, they'd rather have more Forsaken wandering around then more humans.

The Celebration of All Hallow's Eve that the Forsaken have adopted, and the speech given by The Dark Lady, strikes a cord in the heart of many a Horde member. Orcs know what it means to be a slave. Tauren know the struggle for Freedom. Trolls know the darkness and its power, and relish the release from it.

And what of the Cure? The Earthen Ring, a group of the most powerful Orc, Troll, and Tauren Shaman, which counts Thrall and Cairne amongst their membership... continue to search for a cure using the power of the Spirits. The Tauren Druids as well have added their abilities to the Earthen Ring's search.

The belief of many, these days, is that a cure will never be found until the being who sits now upon the Frozen Throne is destroyed. His power still drives the Curse of Undeath into existence, even if he cannot control them anymore. So, until the Throne is emptied... perhaps no Forsaken will walk the world in living flesh... and do not doubt that it is likely possible. We have ressurection spells. We have spells to knit flesh and revitilize tissue. We /will/ bring those back to life who want it, once we end the threat of the Lich King forever.

We do this now not because the Forsaken are a race to be pitied and we wish to patronizingly help them... but because they are a part of the Horde.

In the coming years, the Forsaken will continue to change as they become more and more part of the Horde. Only time will tell what courses the cold war between the Horde and the Alliance will take, and what threats await the world and both sides of the War... we must deal with them, and the Lich King, before any true progress towards a Cure can be made.

The future is dark and full of tidings of war for the Forsaken. Yet, they have survived the greatest tragedy possible to a living person. They have survived, and grow stronger and more numerous every day as more and more Scourge are broken free and arise to join the Forsaken. They are a powerful and noble people, who only want what they lost. Some have gone mad and seek only Power. Others remain sane, and seek only to exist.

I only say this now, and let all remember:

POWER TO THE FORSAKEN!

The Fate and Future of the Forsaken will be decided in...

The World of Warcraft.

World of Lorecraft: The Fall of Prince Kael

Kael'thas Sunstrider. Prince Kael'thas. KING Kael'thas. The last in the line of kings of the Sunstrider Dynasty... ruler of the Blood Elves.

Many questions have been asked about this passionate, fiery, powerful Prince who to the Blood Elves is revered as the Hero who saved their entire race.

But, until recently, none of the Blood Elves knew the descent into the darkest of dealings... and the plans begun by the Prince that are bearing ill fruit in the swirling chaos that is the Netherstorm.

Is Prince Kael now evil? That is a matter of perspective. But, there is one thing for certain... Kael has aligned himself with the Burning Legion.

Allow me to go into further detail, by first explaining just how the Blood Elves as a whole currently view their Prince.

Kael'thas is heralded as the source of the ability to feed on demonic energies as taught by the lone, now Grand, Magister Rommath, who was sent back to Azeroth to first give the Blood Elves a cure for their addiction... and to tell them that Kael is forming a Promised Land for his people in Outland. To quote the tales...

Q U O T E:
Rommath accomplished his mission: relaying tales of a glorious promised land, spreading the teachings of Illidan (teachings which Rommath smoothly attributed to Prince Kael'thas), and planting the notion that Kael'thas might one day return to lead his people to paradise.



Thus, Kael became savior in the minds and hearts of the majority of his people, save those who feared the new rise of power of the Magisters and now... Blood Knights. Save those who fed on the Demonic Energies they tapped... and felt not satiated of their addiction... ...but soiled.

To continue... now that the Dark Portal is opened, wave upon wave of Blood Elf Pilgrims... seeking Kael and the Promised Land, have come into Outland seeking their destinies. Many of these Pilgrims are recruited into the ranks of the Sunfury, Kael's Army in Outland, and either put to work defending what Kael claims for his own... or put to work tending to the structures that the Blood Elves have claimed and created with Naaru Crystal Technology.

Kael has claimed Tempest Keep, the ancient and powerful seat of the Naaru. He has displaced the Sha'tar and claimed Tempest Keep and all but one of its flying citadels for his own... the last of which was, of course, taken by the Draenei to Azeroth, but not without bitter cost.

Kael has also claimed dominion over the Mana Forges, once harmless living structures and citadels for the gathering of energy for Tempest Keep and home to the Draenei in the Plains of Farahlon... they are now the Mana Forges... sucking the raw power of the Twisting Nether from the very air and funneling it directly to Tempest Keep.

Kael's actions have had a terrible effect on the lands once, only a short time ago, where known as the Plains of Farahlon and were beautiful and vast... ...and is now the crumbling, eroding waste of chaos and disorder that is now the Netherstorm. These effects have occurred only in the last few months before we, The Horde and the Alliance, ventured through the Dark Portal into Outland.

The actions of King Kael have further terrible consequences. The Goblins of Area 52, come with the Horde and the Alliance to study and gather resources from Outland... have discovered that at the rate of progress now, if the Mana Forges are not shut down... The Netherstorm will explode in a matter of months. And with it, perhaps, most of the remnants of Outland still floating in the void.

All that is likely to remain... Tempest Keep and those Elves gathered to it by the Prince.

But wait... there is more, much more. Not only to the Blood Elves who seek the glory of King Kael find only a wasteland that is doomed and a ruler who sends them to die protecting sources of power they have barely any idea how to control... but Kael has aligned himself with the darkest of powers.

First, upon joining and swearing himself to Illidan, Kael had hope for his people. Illidan gave them everything he ever asked for. Power, knowledge, and a potential future for his entire race. However... that all came crashing down when Illidan was forced to kneel and grovel like a dog to his master at the foot of Kil'jaeden...

Kael has seen that Illidan is not the savior he thought the Night Elf Demon Hunter was...

Kael fought side by side with Illidan to try and destroy the Frozen Throne, yes. And it was by Kael and Vashj's hands that Illidan survived after his defeat by Prince Arthas, now the Lich King. Kael fled with the rest of Illidans forces that day, back to Outland. Though who knows how many Naga and Blood Elves died that day and were left behind... to become animated corpses under the will of a new God...

Illidan has since descended into a Madness that he cannot seemingly escape. He wishes to be free of the Burning Legion, yes. He plots with Kael and Vashj to create a new Well of Eternity from which there will be power enough to destroy Kil'jaeden and all the rest of the Legion. He trains Pilgrims sent to him by Kael... Blood Elfs all... into a new force, known and feared by the entirety of the Burning Legion.

Blood Elf Demon Hunters walk the world of Outland now, their eyes replaced by fel visions, their hands wielding glaives of doom. They are trained by those Night Elf Demon Hunters who, upon hearing of Illidan's need and call, joined him shortly after his release from his ten thousand year imprisonment. The Demon Hunters, the ultimate slayers of anything Demonic, serving the first Demon Hunter... Illidan... and a new legion of even more Arcanely potent warriors among the Blood Elves have joined that force.

Illidan, believing he has Kael and Vashj's ultimate loyalty, works even through his madness to assemble a force to destroy the Legion in secret, while openly appearing to serve the aims of the Legion as Outlands new Overlord.

Kael, however, has other plans.

Kael has, willingly, aligned himself with the Eredar Lord, Socrethar, to gain more minions and expert Mo'arg Engineers to help man the Mana Forges and Tempest Keep. He also pretends. He serves Illidan and sends him pilgrims to train to be Demon Hunters, and yet in the Tempest Keep he is fully aware that what he is doing is causing such instabilities in the Netherstorm that it might threaten all of Outland.

Kael does not care about a new Well of Eternity, though he carries a vial from the original Well... perhaps to seed in his homeland when he returns to it in glory...

Kael does not even care about the Legion. He hasn't told them what the Mana Forges are doing and that when he is finished... he is going to turn each and every Demon still on Tempest Keep into the FOOD for the satiation of the Blood Elf Addiction to Magic. He hasn't told Illidan that he fully intents to shift Tempest Keep and all three Citadels to the skies over Silvermoon, and arrive as a conquering lord with all the power of the Naaru and Tempest Keep at his disposal... even as he damns Outland in the process.

Is this what the Blood Elves really want?

Do they want to align themselves with a King that has willingly aligned himself with the Burning Legion, the force that commanded the Scourge to ravage their homeland...?

Do they want to witness their 'savior king' destroy Outland and bring Tempest Keep to Azeroth in some mad bid for godhood?

Kael has his own plans, and in truth, the madness of them is quite plain. Perhaps he is even slipping into becoming Demonic himself with the amount of power he has absorbed and the choices he has made...

Perhaps, if we do not stop Kael, he will not only kill Illidan, Kil'jaeden, and destroy Outland entire when the Netherstorm explodes... ...only to take the place of the Eredar Lord as the new Lord of the Burning Legion?

Kael'thas Sunstrider is a threat to all who now live on Azeroth. If he is allowed to gather more Blood Elves to his call, more servants to hasten his work, and enough power to Shift the Tempest Keep to Azeroth...

...our world is doomed.

If you think any Blood Elf who willingly works with the Horde now will be spared, think again. If you think the Horde or the Alliance will be spare, think again.

Kael is as insane as Illidan.

He has damned himself and, if we do not stop him, his entire race. What he did and has done he has done for the salvation of his people... but the means have made him as terrible as any Lord of the Burning Legion.

Hail Prince Kael'thas, savior of the Blood Elves!
Hail KING Kael'thas, Lord of the Burning Legion!

It will happen... unless we stop it...

World of Lorecraft: The Night Elf Condition

Greetings, mon. Ghostwalka again. Once more I bring Lorecrafting for people to enjoy.

One of the topics of interest I have at this moment is the Night Elf. While many have learned the truth of the history of the race, and still others wonder of the future of the race... there has been a distinct change in Night Elven culture the last while. The Age we live in now, which I have chosen to call the Age of the Adventurers, because while the Alliance and Horde still quibble, these free wheeling members of all eight, now ten, races are taking on their own paths. Each is trying to make their way in the world and deal with the dark problems besetting the world in the wake of the Scourge and the Legion and everything else.

But, it has been six years since the Last War. The Races of the Alliance and the Horde are mingling, fighting, and dueling... skirmishes arise and words and foul deeds are exchanged. Thankfully, marking yourself as specifically fighting for your Faction has kept people safe from unwanted attentions. Few people dare violate that silent pact. Those who do are dealt with, harshly.

But, on top of all this change and mingling and war... comes the change in the culture of the Night Elves. Night Elves, normally, can live two thousand years, if not three. This quality is shared by their high elven kin. Until 8 years ago, Night Elves were Immortal. They were protected from the extremes of heat and cold. They could not die of old age and lived in an eternal sentinel vigil. The Druids delved themselves into deep slumbers in the Emerald Dream, while the Amazonian Sentinels of Elune did guard them and their civilization, and watched for the return of the Legion.

Now the Return has come and gone.

Night Elves, once immortal, are now entirely and totally mortal once again.

As it stands, some of the older members of their race, old by the time of the Pact, are approaching their twelve thousandth year.

Others, the very young indeed, only a few hundred years old and born to the call of future omens of war... adventure and prance. Some have regressed to an almost animalistic ferality in terms of their choice of activities. Dancing with very little clothing. Revelry. Frivolity. Ex-Druids become Hunters, Rogues, and Priests of Elune, or even Warriors. Females join the Druidic Orders. The actions constitute an abandon of a race now free of a ten thousand year contract of immortality.

After ten thousand years, they are free of their Pact.

After ten thousand years, they are a race that has become mortal when the promise of immortality seemed eternal.

After ten thousand years, a culture that was sheltered, reclusive, and insular to the point of xenophobia... has been allowed to flourish.

The younger generations, and even some of the elder members, release themselves into mindless LIVING in every way they possibly can.

They are a race become Fey and dance in the forest under the stars and under the blue sky in an exaltation of life and living... for while they are not as short lived as humans, they are now mortal once again.

Some grow morose, of course. Others grow cold. To them losing their immortality was like dying. Some turn to Cults. Others turn to the Arcane. Some simply fade away in relief and gladness. But, the main trend is this fey abandonment. And it grows ever more. In a few months time the first half-Night Elf/half-Humans will be born from the many relationships that have formed. Like the normal Half-elves before them, they will carve their own niche in a society no longer as rigid as the High Elven society the first Half-elves were born into.

The Night Elves are a race that is changing before our very eyes.

It is the choice of the members of that race to decide where to take it now. Will they become as wild and free as the children of Cenarius they so revere? Or, will they adapt an almost human flexibility, merging the nature they have inherited from the past with the friends they have made now?

What will the Night Elves do, now that their race is mortal once again?

That is being decided on...

The World of Warcraft.