Welcome to another line of my musings about Warcraft lore. But this time, it’s not a joke concept - yeah, some serious stuff for a change.
Truth be told, this idea came to my mind back during the BfA announcement at Blizzcon 2017. These first few minutes of the opening cinematic. So, what’s up with the premise in these first two minutes? Sylvanas’s inner monologue about war, where she blamed herself for inaction. The Alliance is sieging the Horde capital. Anduins wears the lion helmet that obscures his facial expressions.
During these first few minutes, I only had this possible explanation in my head: Anduin became a conqueror, he declared war upon the Horde to claim Lordaeron.
But… then, we got the famous scene with Anduin dropping his father’s sword in order to heal the wounded - as opposed to simply continuing the fight. This action is followed up by him asking for the Holy Light’s aid with literal tears in his eyes. And then, he charges back into the fray with a telling rallying cry, “Stand as one! For the Alliance!” With all of that, it became obvious that Anduin Wrynn is the same guy as before, so in turn, the attack on Lordaeron was likely an act of retribution.
But let’s pause everything on the first part of the cinematic. Let’s try to envision the very same Battle for Azeroth expansion, but with a different introductional story arc.
Anduin first met Calia Menethil in the famed Netherlight Temple, where he was trying to find allies for the noble cause of healing the war torn world. Since then, the princess of Lordaeron started to subtly convince him that Sylvanas Windrunner was planning something horrible. She claimed that the Banshee Queen must be stopped, and that Lordaeron must be returned to the Alliance.
When Trade Prince Gallywix had offered Sylvanas to secretly mine Azerite en mass, she declined the idea. This new substance was intriguing to say the least, but she didn’t want to provoke the Alliance by hoarding this new mineral in giant proportions. In the end, she ordered Gallywix to refocus his efforts from researching the site of the Wound (chances are that he started to mine the golden mineral on his own already, but alas) to full blown mining of Azerite. One reason alone forced the Warchief to change her mind: her personal spies reported about the return of the last daughter of Menethil and her twisted schemes. By that moment, Windrunner was sure that the Horde was in danger, thus she was ready to risk the life of the world for the lives of the Horde.
And in turn, Anduin became even more adamant in his belief in Calia’s words.
The Kirin Tor magi and the knights of the Argent Crusade were deeply unsettled by the recent events. Thus, they set up a plan to prevent this upcoming war between the Alliance and the Horde. They called upon both living and undead people of Lordaeron and proposed a meeting between them: The Gathering of the Arathi Highlands. There were a few Forsaken in the ranks of the Crusade. The undead with free will were also welcome in the city of Dalaran. King Anduin easily accepted this offer in the hopes of preserving peace. Windrunner was wary of possible betrayal, but accepted the proposal.
Calia also ventured to this meeting: only Anduin and his closest advisors were privy of that development. And while the princess wasn’t the most altruistic person, she, indeed, wished to help her estranged nation.
Alas, the keen eyes of dark rangers spotted the Menethil in the crowd. The banshee concluded that Arthas’s sister returned to start an uprising. A few minutes later, she was leading a number of the undead to the site of Stromgarde Keep. These Forsaken wished to live together with their living loved ones. And yet, this particular idea wasn’t born from Calia’s mind: it was one of the Forsaken, who had offered her this endeavour. Such was his love for his family.
Lost in control of herself, Sylvanas ordered the dark rangers to kill Calia and all, who agreed to follow her. The last of the Menetjil was shot dead, just as her newfound allies. The rest of the undead were left alive. But still, not all of them escaped punishment in the halls of Undercity.
But the truth is that in the Gathering Calia was presented with a great opportunity. If she had survived, she would’ve slowly moved away from the darker path, which turned her into this power hungry figure. In time. Because, even during the events of the Gathering she was still planning to rebuild Lordaeron. In a way, Sylvanas was right to worry about the princess, but Anduin never learned this truth.
Anduin called retreat, because he knew that the war would only bring ruin. But after Calia’s death, he started to regard her as a saint martyr. Well, she became alive once again very soon - thanks to him, Alonsius Faol and the naaru Saa’ra. Reincarnated, Calia became even more ambitious. She truly believed that it’s her destiny to become the queen of reborn Lordaeron.
She showed the king of Stomrwind visions. Visions, born of the Mother of Light herself. The one, who lived in a far realm of the Lightbound. Anduin saw fragments of both past and future, which made him believe that Sylvanas was a vile and hateful tyrant. In the end, he started to blame her in the death of his own father, king Varian Wrynn.
These visions had also promised a prosperous rule and final peace. Both of which would be achieved by a short and easy war. And in reward, he would become one with the Light and bound by its will.
These visions, together with the death and rebirth of Calia, Horde’s actions in SIlithis and other events had finally convinced Anduin that war was the only solution. But he still had some doubts. He had some reservations about Calia’s words, and somehow knew that there was at least a small hint of lie, hidden in her promises. He could never place why he had these thoughts, for he continued to regard the undead woman as a holy beacon of Light.
But Genn Greymane convinced Anduin that even if Calia couldn't be trusted, the siege of Lordaeon would only bring them good: reclamation of Lordaeron, the Eastern Kingdoms under control of the Alliance, the fall of the Horde.
Indeed, the old wolf didn’t trust “holy” Calia in the slightest. On the contrary, he believed that she was just as to blame for the Arathi tragedy as Sylvanas. On that day he had finally realized that not all Forsaken were monsters. But it also led him to believe that the Alliance must claim Lordaeron both for the living and the dead.
Thus, the armies of the Alliance started the siege of Lordaeron. It was the land of the Forsaken, the land of Sylvanas. Soldiers under the blue banners blamed her for the death of their beloved king. They knew that the banshee was gathering more and more Azerite for a potential war effort. The time had come for the Alliance to strike first. One swift attack to finally behead the Horde and save Azeroth.
But Sylvanas didn’t expect such cowardly and unprovoked attack. At least, not so soon. Azerite wasn’t enough to scare away the Alliance. And yet it allowed the Horde to even up the playfield on this field of battle.
Sylvanas felt as she was dying again. Since the day she was named the Warchief, this thought had been growing within her mind: her undead being obtained a new purpose in existence. She had walked away from the shadows and started to slowly embrace warmth of the sunlight. Many members of the Horde trusted in her, and to her own surprise, she found herself trusting in them. Now, she cared about them.
Of course, she was still a dark and cunning mistress of the undead. She had many different schemes. Especially, when it came to the proper future for her Forsaken. But her dreams were no longer about just this true immortality and a kingdom of the Forsaken. Now, she wished for a world, which would make late Vol’jin proud. In a way, she was forced to back down from her more gruesome schemes. After all these years, something bright had sparked within her, something trying to prove other Windrunners that she’s still Sylvanas.
And this Warcheif would not allow anyone to threaten the Horde. Never.
And while Sylvanas was going through this strange metamorphosis, Anduin was becoming all the more grim. Deep inside, he knew that this war was a mistake. That if not for his stupidity, perhaps, the true peace between the Alliance and the Horde would’ve been finally forged. But he refused to accept this truth. It would’ve meant that his soldiers died for nothing. The King of Stormwind became one with the cold mask of his lion helmet. On one hand, he was influenced by his feelings of anger and grievance: from the deaths of Varian and his men to this wish of cleansing Lordaeron from undead filth and Horde’s corruption. But on the other hand, his calculations on the fields of battle were cold as steel: yes, he fought like a crazed bloodthirsty butcher, but his tactical mind was as sharp as ever. Now, his intellect became a terrifying weapon, and despite all his mournings, he continuously sacrificed hundreds of men in one battle to save thousands in the next.
Perhaps, one day Anduin will become a defender of peace. Just as he once was. But the sins of this war will always weight on his shoulders.
Clever usage of Blight, necromancy and Azerite allowed the Forsaken to evacuate from the city. And thanks to the genius of Varok Saurfang, all this destructive weaponry was deployed in such a manner that the chances of friendly fire were reduced to zero. Indeed, old overlord became the saviour of Sylvanas and a voice of honor by her side.
For a time, the Horde barricaded itself in their Kalimdor strongholds. But they were already preparing a daring counterattack.
Night elves were concerned with Anduin’s actions in Lordaeron and mate it clear: they had no intentions of becoming pawns in the king’s doomed attempt of fixing his own mistakes with a meaningless war. But the fate was not on their side. Teldrassil was absorbing Azerite from the earth. This World Tree basically soaked up blood of the world. And somehow, in return, it saturated the world-soul with life-giving energies. Telrdrassil was the only World Tree that demonstrated this phenomenon: all thanks to the tree’s unique history.
It didn’t remain a secret from the Horde. Soon, Teldrassil could’ve become even greater nexus of Azerite than Silithus. And the Alliance armies from the Eastern Kingdoms were already on its way to the desert. Even the very existence of this tree, brimming with such power, was a terrifying threat for the Horde.
The night elves had no intentions of using this power in the faction war. It was true. But Sylvanas had no proof that this would last, if, say, she would besiege Stormwind. Hence she prepared a ruse, which led Alliance to believe that the Horde is preparing all its forces to defend Azerite mines in Silithus. In reality, the crimson armored warriors of the Horde moved towards Teldrassil.
Sylvanas’s plan was quite simple: claim the Wold Tree, gather enough resources, expel the Alliance from Kalimdor and force them to negotiate on the Horde’s terms… and then act based on circumstances.
The invading force had all manners of siege engines and powerful spellcasters at their disposal. But the Warchief feared that this would not be enough. And to truly scare away the Alliance, she ordered her elite troops to cut down a piece of Sargeras’s sword. Greatest minds of the Apothecary Society dedicated themselves to awakening the fragment of this blade. This unholy relic now served as the core for the newest siege engine.
In the end, they triumphed. Great Teldrassil was looming before Sylvanas’s very eyes. And at this very moment, she heard a mighty and horrifying voice, speaking inside her mind. She had heard this being only once… during the Battle of Undercity.
“My Legion has finally claimed its victory.”
These words were followed by roaring laughter, all the while a lone scarlet star in the sky pulsed with newfound power. The blade of Sargeras fired a great ball of energy against Teldrassil. Malfurion and Tyrande called upon the might of Azerite, which was coursing through boughs of the tree, to defend against the Fallen Titan’s blow. But even this power wasn’t enough to best unholy might of Sargeras. The World Tree was set aflame.
Many leaders of the Horde doubted that the tragedy of Teldrassil was merely a horrid accident, and not a scheme of Sylvanas’s own making. Others were roiled up by the very fact that such weapon was deployed to the Darkshore. In secret. Yet, none of the Horde leaders were completely sold on the idea that their Warchief walked in Garrosh’s footsteps.
But for the night elves it was all too obvious. The great tree was scorched by the Horde. And even if among the invaders were those, who had opposed to this horrid massacre, they all left a trail of blood and death on holy kaldorei lands.
The night elves joined the frey. Amd when Genn Greymane had learned that Anduin wasn’t going to call back his forces to help the kaldorei, the old wolf left his side. He wouldn’t abandon his saviours. Thus, were born two inner factions within the Alliance.
Something similar happened to the Horde as well. This time, due to different views on the warfare. Those, who inherited Thrall’s teachings, refused to use some of the more underhanded tactics of Sylvanas, and had no intentions of using weaponry like the Blight.
But all these inner factions had both peacemakers and warmongers in their midst. There were Apothecaries, who openly demanded peaceful negotiations between the two sides of conflict. But all of these groups remained true supporters of their respective factions in this war.
Stormwind ships spotted a huge Zandalari vessel during their usual patrol. Princess Talanji tracked down prophet Zul in order to bring him back to Zandalar. And to stop his twisted schemes. Alliance marines, of course, were oblivious to such details. The great figures were captured and tossed down to the Stormwind Stockades.
Stormwind higher-ups were well aware of the Zandalari fleet and feared that the Horde would ask the Zandalari to aid them. It was a possibility, considering their old alliance in Zul’Gurub. It’s also important to note that the people of Stormwind saw no differences between Rastakhan’s loyalists and the followers of Zul, who had repeatedly attacked the Alliance. In the end, they set up a complex plan of how to use the troll princess in their own interests. To keep Zandalar on their short leash.
Agents of the Horde managed to learn about this development and freed princess Talanji. Proud trolls were thankful for this aid against the Alliance’s encroachment. They agreed to fight against the High King Wrynn, if the heroes of the Horde would help them with their own inner problems first.
To even up the playfield on the sea, Jaina proposed to lead Kul Tiras back to the Alliance. But it wasn’t her only motive. She feared that her motherland could’ve been caught up in this war and left with no protection. And she would need allies, if Anduin was to become even more cold blooded.
Jaina believed that her task wasn’t impossible, for she had already aided her people in the recent Legion invasion. Even if she did so under the guise of mysterious spirit of icy boreas from kul tiran folklore.
And just as the Alliance saw no differences between the factions of Zandalar, the Horde thought that Kul Tiras was always bound to aid the Alliance. Moreover, the sons of Proudmoore always were their sworn enemies. And due to this mutual enmity with the Horde, kul tirans agreed to aid the Alliance - if the Alliance would help them reunite the kingdom first.
Truth be told, this idea came to my mind back during the BfA announcement at Blizzcon 2017. These first few minutes of the opening cinematic. So, what’s up with the premise in these first two minutes? Sylvanas’s inner monologue about war, where she blamed herself for inaction. The Alliance is sieging the Horde capital. Anduins wears the lion helmet that obscures his facial expressions.
During these first few minutes, I only had this possible explanation in my head: Anduin became a conqueror, he declared war upon the Horde to claim Lordaeron.
But… then, we got the famous scene with Anduin dropping his father’s sword in order to heal the wounded - as opposed to simply continuing the fight. This action is followed up by him asking for the Holy Light’s aid with literal tears in his eyes. And then, he charges back into the fray with a telling rallying cry, “Stand as one! For the Alliance!” With all of that, it became obvious that Anduin Wrynn is the same guy as before, so in turn, the attack on Lordaeron was likely an act of retribution.
But let’s pause everything on the first part of the cinematic. Let’s try to envision the very same Battle for Azeroth expansion, but with a different introductional story arc.
***
Anduin first met Calia Menethil in the famed Netherlight Temple, where he was trying to find allies for the noble cause of healing the war torn world. Since then, the princess of Lordaeron started to subtly convince him that Sylvanas Windrunner was planning something horrible. She claimed that the Banshee Queen must be stopped, and that Lordaeron must be returned to the Alliance.
When Trade Prince Gallywix had offered Sylvanas to secretly mine Azerite en mass, she declined the idea. This new substance was intriguing to say the least, but she didn’t want to provoke the Alliance by hoarding this new mineral in giant proportions. In the end, she ordered Gallywix to refocus his efforts from researching the site of the Wound (chances are that he started to mine the golden mineral on his own already, but alas) to full blown mining of Azerite. One reason alone forced the Warchief to change her mind: her personal spies reported about the return of the last daughter of Menethil and her twisted schemes. By that moment, Windrunner was sure that the Horde was in danger, thus she was ready to risk the life of the world for the lives of the Horde.
And in turn, Anduin became even more adamant in his belief in Calia’s words.
The Kirin Tor magi and the knights of the Argent Crusade were deeply unsettled by the recent events. Thus, they set up a plan to prevent this upcoming war between the Alliance and the Horde. They called upon both living and undead people of Lordaeron and proposed a meeting between them: The Gathering of the Arathi Highlands. There were a few Forsaken in the ranks of the Crusade. The undead with free will were also welcome in the city of Dalaran. King Anduin easily accepted this offer in the hopes of preserving peace. Windrunner was wary of possible betrayal, but accepted the proposal.
Calia also ventured to this meeting: only Anduin and his closest advisors were privy of that development. And while the princess wasn’t the most altruistic person, she, indeed, wished to help her estranged nation.
Lost in control of herself, Sylvanas ordered the dark rangers to kill Calia and all, who agreed to follow her. The last of the Menetjil was shot dead, just as her newfound allies. The rest of the undead were left alive. But still, not all of them escaped punishment in the halls of Undercity.
But the truth is that in the Gathering Calia was presented with a great opportunity. If she had survived, she would’ve slowly moved away from the darker path, which turned her into this power hungry figure. In time. Because, even during the events of the Gathering she was still planning to rebuild Lordaeron. In a way, Sylvanas was right to worry about the princess, but Anduin never learned this truth.
Anduin called retreat, because he knew that the war would only bring ruin. But after Calia’s death, he started to regard her as a saint martyr. Well, she became alive once again very soon - thanks to him, Alonsius Faol and the naaru Saa’ra. Reincarnated, Calia became even more ambitious. She truly believed that it’s her destiny to become the queen of reborn Lordaeron.
She showed the king of Stomrwind visions. Visions, born of the Mother of Light herself. The one, who lived in a far realm of the Lightbound. Anduin saw fragments of both past and future, which made him believe that Sylvanas was a vile and hateful tyrant. In the end, he started to blame her in the death of his own father, king Varian Wrynn.
These visions had also promised a prosperous rule and final peace. Both of which would be achieved by a short and easy war. And in reward, he would become one with the Light and bound by its will.
These visions, together with the death and rebirth of Calia, Horde’s actions in SIlithis and other events had finally convinced Anduin that war was the only solution. But he still had some doubts. He had some reservations about Calia’s words, and somehow knew that there was at least a small hint of lie, hidden in her promises. He could never place why he had these thoughts, for he continued to regard the undead woman as a holy beacon of Light.
Indeed, the old wolf didn’t trust “holy” Calia in the slightest. On the contrary, he believed that she was just as to blame for the Arathi tragedy as Sylvanas. On that day he had finally realized that not all Forsaken were monsters. But it also led him to believe that the Alliance must claim Lordaeron both for the living and the dead.
But Sylvanas didn’t expect such cowardly and unprovoked attack. At least, not so soon. Azerite wasn’t enough to scare away the Alliance. And yet it allowed the Horde to even up the playfield on this field of battle.
Of course, she was still a dark and cunning mistress of the undead. She had many different schemes. Especially, when it came to the proper future for her Forsaken. But her dreams were no longer about just this true immortality and a kingdom of the Forsaken. Now, she wished for a world, which would make late Vol’jin proud. In a way, she was forced to back down from her more gruesome schemes. After all these years, something bright had sparked within her, something trying to prove other Windrunners that she’s still Sylvanas.
And this Warcheif would not allow anyone to threaten the Horde. Never.
Perhaps, one day Anduin will become a defender of peace. Just as he once was. But the sins of this war will always weight on his shoulders.
For a time, the Horde barricaded itself in their Kalimdor strongholds. But they were already preparing a daring counterattack.
It didn’t remain a secret from the Horde. Soon, Teldrassil could’ve become even greater nexus of Azerite than Silithus. And the Alliance armies from the Eastern Kingdoms were already on its way to the desert. Even the very existence of this tree, brimming with such power, was a terrifying threat for the Horde.
The night elves had no intentions of using this power in the faction war. It was true. But Sylvanas had no proof that this would last, if, say, she would besiege Stormwind. Hence she prepared a ruse, which led Alliance to believe that the Horde is preparing all its forces to defend Azerite mines in Silithus. In reality, the crimson armored warriors of the Horde moved towards Teldrassil.
Sylvanas’s plan was quite simple: claim the Wold Tree, gather enough resources, expel the Alliance from Kalimdor and force them to negotiate on the Horde’s terms… and then act based on circumstances.
The invading force had all manners of siege engines and powerful spellcasters at their disposal. But the Warchief feared that this would not be enough. And to truly scare away the Alliance, she ordered her elite troops to cut down a piece of Sargeras’s sword. Greatest minds of the Apothecary Society dedicated themselves to awakening the fragment of this blade. This unholy relic now served as the core for the newest siege engine.
In the end, they triumphed. Great Teldrassil was looming before Sylvanas’s very eyes. And at this very moment, she heard a mighty and horrifying voice, speaking inside her mind. She had heard this being only once… during the Battle of Undercity.
“My Legion has finally claimed its victory.”
These words were followed by roaring laughter, all the while a lone scarlet star in the sky pulsed with newfound power. The blade of Sargeras fired a great ball of energy against Teldrassil. Malfurion and Tyrande called upon the might of Azerite, which was coursing through boughs of the tree, to defend against the Fallen Titan’s blow. But even this power wasn’t enough to best unholy might of Sargeras. The World Tree was set aflame.
But for the night elves it was all too obvious. The great tree was scorched by the Horde. And even if among the invaders were those, who had opposed to this horrid massacre, they all left a trail of blood and death on holy kaldorei lands.
The night elves joined the frey. Amd when Genn Greymane had learned that Anduin wasn’t going to call back his forces to help the kaldorei, the old wolf left his side. He wouldn’t abandon his saviours. Thus, were born two inner factions within the Alliance.
Something similar happened to the Horde as well. This time, due to different views on the warfare. Those, who inherited Thrall’s teachings, refused to use some of the more underhanded tactics of Sylvanas, and had no intentions of using weaponry like the Blight.
But all these inner factions had both peacemakers and warmongers in their midst. There were Apothecaries, who openly demanded peaceful negotiations between the two sides of conflict. But all of these groups remained true supporters of their respective factions in this war.
Stormwind higher-ups were well aware of the Zandalari fleet and feared that the Horde would ask the Zandalari to aid them. It was a possibility, considering their old alliance in Zul’Gurub. It’s also important to note that the people of Stormwind saw no differences between Rastakhan’s loyalists and the followers of Zul, who had repeatedly attacked the Alliance. In the end, they set up a complex plan of how to use the troll princess in their own interests. To keep Zandalar on their short leash.
Agents of the Horde managed to learn about this development and freed princess Talanji. Proud trolls were thankful for this aid against the Alliance’s encroachment. They agreed to fight against the High King Wrynn, if the heroes of the Horde would help them with their own inner problems first.
Jaina believed that her task wasn’t impossible, for she had already aided her people in the recent Legion invasion. Even if she did so under the guise of mysterious spirit of icy boreas from kul tiran folklore.
And just as the Alliance saw no differences between the factions of Zandalar, the Horde thought that Kul Tiras was always bound to aid the Alliance. Moreover, the sons of Proudmoore always were their sworn enemies. And due to this mutual enmity with the Horde, kul tirans agreed to aid the Alliance - if the Alliance would help them reunite the kingdom first.
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