Shadowmourne, the New Legend

I've briefly mentioned Shadowmourne a few times recently, as it seems inexorably tied to the upcoming Icecrown Citadel patch. The weapon itself intrigues me to no end, and it's not because it's a great looking axe. No, you see, Shadowmourne is considered a legendary item, and this prods at a part of my mind that wants to balk at the idea.

A New Legend?

I can accept the idea of "newly added" weapons being legendary. We've seen this a few times: a weapon that wasn't previously in lore is introduced into the world and given a significant history. Thus, its [Legendary] tag still makes sense when you consider the lore of the weapon. It may have mechanically been added recently, but the backstory claims it's been around for a while.

Or, at least, it's earned its place of notoriety. We've seen this with Sulfuras, Thunderfury, Atiesh, the Blades of Azzinoth, Thori'dal, and even Val'anyr. Shadowmourne, however, is rather different.

Shadowmourne is created right before your eyes.

This is where I'll warn you. The information below leads to PTR / datamined information on WoWHead.com, and it contains spoilers for the upcoming content of 3.3. If you wish to avoid spoilers, you can stop reading here. The reason I didn't tag this with the bloody red "spoiler" plate at the top is simple: The spoilers are largely focused around the weapon itself, and seem to have only a passing relationship with the character-related events of Icecrown. Certainly, some quests require the defeat of various bosses (including the Lich King), but overall there's not much in these quests that'll ruin the surprises that may lie ahead.

I reserve the "Bloody Spoiler" graphic for the potentially big stuff.

*grins*

That said? Follow the quest links and read on at your own risk.

The Forging of the Weapon (spoilers in links and text below)

The Sacred and the Corrupt
Shadow's Edge
A Feast of Souls
Unholy Infusion
Blood Infusion
Frost Infusion
The Splintered Throne
Shadowmourne!

Since the above information comes from a pre-released state of the game, we cannot guarantee the order of these quests nor the exact accuracy of their goals. Keep that in mind throughout this article, please. Regardless of that, these quests still provide us with some interesting insights.

From what we can speculate, Shadow's Edge is either forged from Arthas's old hammer, or forged with Arthas's old hammer. We then take the axe and empower it through different stages. It seems these stages require the deaths of a lot of folk, including some significant bosses in the Citadel itself.

Once we've empowered Shadow's Edge sufficiently, we are tasked with "containing" that power by gathering shards of the Frozen Throne itself. Makes sense, right? The Frozen Throne was made to contain Ner'zhul's spirit, so it makes sense that the same "Legion ice" could be used to contain the forces being forged into Shadowmourne.

By this time, you're well on your way to crafting your legendary item. But this touches upon my one primary issue with Shadowmourne in general. How can anything be "legendary" if it's newly created? One of the definitions of the term is as such:

"Extremely well known; famous or renowned."

This weapon is brand new. How can it be famous or renowned? Certainly, the origins are rather intriguing, but there are certainly lore weapons of greater renown classified as much less (*cough*Gorehowl*cough*). Is it constructed from shards of a potentially shattered Frostmourne? Or is Frostmourne still reserved for a different fate entirely?

What makes Shadowmourne legendary?

The Lich King's Last Stand

Oh, indeed. That would do it.

But this is still where it gets confusing. It appears as though you actually get Shadowmourne at the point just before this quest, but the chain isn't complete. The final step ... is the death of the Lich King, yet you've already been given the weapon. Do you get a non-Legendary version which gets traded in for the Legendary version after Arthas falls? Or is Arthas's death just a formality? I'm certain we'll have to wait and see on that.

But perhaps you see why this weapon piques my interest even more now. This isn't a weapon where the legend is buried in history and lore. This isn't a weapon made famous by some grand hero of time past.

No. This weapon is made legendary by you. How's that make you feel?

Weapons of Legend: Frostmourne

Frostmourne, the key that unlocked Arthas's fall. Or was it? How pivotal was the blade in Arthas's descent and subsequent rise as the Lich King? Where did this sword come from? How did it get into Arthas's hands?

Frostmourne

We do not know the exact details of how Frostmourne was made. But we do know that it was a weapon of the Burning Legion. Yes, the signature weapon of the Lich King, the lord of undeath, was forged by demons. Of course, when you consider that the Lich King himself was also a tool of the Burning Legion, and that necromancy was a form of magic that was largely first seen on Azeroth in use by the nathrezim, this makes sense. The Burning Legion made the Lich King. Therefore it's only fitting that they made his weapon as well.

It should be noted here that Tichondrius claimed at one point that the blade was forged by Ner'zhul. But this has been superceded by other sources which claim that Frostmourne predates the orc shaman. Whether this was a purposeful misleading on the part of Tichondrius, or a simple retcon, we cannot say for certain.

When Ner'zhul attempted his escape from dying Draenor through one of his dark portals, he was immedately captured by Kil'jaeden and tortured for attempting to run away. After being stripped of his body and tortured down to his soul, Ner'zhul was then ethereally bound to a set of magical armor and its accompanying weapon, Frostmourne.

Further wanting to limit Ner'zhul's ability to escape the Burning Legion's desires, Kil'jaeden encased the armor and weaponry into a block of ice from the furthest reaches of the Twisting Nether. Indeed, this was not your ordinary ice.

Kil'jaeden then instructed Ner'zhul on his new task: prepare Azeroth for invasion from the Burning Legion. The demon lord then flung the block of ice towards the unsuspecting world, where chained Ner'zhul crashed onto the frozen waste that is Icecrown Glacier.

As Ner'zhul's psychic power grew, he began to orchestrate his conquest of the frozen north. He knew that he would need a champion, and although the nerubians were proving to be able allies in undeath (at least, those nerubians he had conquered during the War of the Spider), he understood that he'd need someone greater (and perhaps, more inherently loyal) than even the powerful Anub'arak.

So Ner'zhul, now calling himself the Lich King, shoved the blade, Frostmourne, out of a crack in the magical ice and had his minions carry it far away. It was believed that the lure of such an ancient and powerful weapon would bring forth a champion strong enough to become the Lich King's next vessel.

Indeed, Ner'zhul was planning his escape.

We should stop here for a bit and discuss what Frostmourne actually is. You see, there are some misconceptions about the exact nature of a runeblade, and the powers their wield. At the simplest, a runeblade is merely a blade inscribed with runes. Nothing more, nothing less. The abilities of the weapon itself are wholly dependent upon the runes carved within and the power already imbued.

Not all runeblades are "vampiric," as Frostmourne was. Wielding a runeblade does not guarantee that you'll forfeit your soul to the Lich King. No, this was the risk encountered by anyone foolish enough to seek out a vampiric runeblade, such as Frostmourne.

Indeed, Flamestrike was a runeblade handed down through the Sunstrider Dynasty since before the highborne exile from Kalimdor. Orkenblade, a night elven blade forged specially to slay the orcs defiling their forests, is also a runeblade. Neither of these automatically allowed some far-off entity to steal the soul of the wielder.

Runeblades are also not inherently indestructible, as some people claim. There are many accounts of a runeblade being shattered. Flamestrike, again, serves as an example. It was shattered by Arthas when Anasterian Sunstrider fell defending the Sunwell of Quel'thalas. Later, it is revealed that Kael'thas fought Arthas with a version of Flamestrike that had gotten stronger since its reforging. We also have Marduk the Black and his shattered runeblade, the shards of which caused the Infectis Scar in the Plaguelands.

The runeblades that most people think of when they think of Frostmourne and the army of death knights are of the "vampiric" subtype. These are the runeblades that were forged to be conduits between the wielder and the Lich King. These are the weapons of a death knight, and are some of the most feared blades in existence. Some were forged by the nathrezim. Others were forged by powerful Scourge. And still others have perhaps entirely different origins before being subjugated by Ner'zhul's formidable will.

So with this knowledge we can gather a greater understanding of what Arthas would have faced as he claimed Frostmourne from guarding Revenants in what is now known as Frostmourne Cavern. As soon as he wielded the blade, he was willingly handing his soul over wholly to the Lich King himself.

His fall, then, was inevitable from this point.

What else do we know about the powerful weapon of the Lich King? Well, we know that it can steal the souls of the dead, as we see this when Arthas claims the spirit of Saurfang the Younger. We can also surmise that it serves as a focal point for the Lich King's powers, as witnessed when Arthas raised Sindragosa from the dead in the Wrath of the Lich King opening cinematic.

Does this weapon have an equal? Can the Ashbringer truly stand up to a sword forged in the depths of the Twisting Nether and reinforced by the sheer magnitude of the Lich King's power? We have seen Frostmourne go up against Flamestrike and the Blades of Azzinoth and survive, what other weapon can claim such a feat?

And what of Shadowmourne? What of this mysterious runeaxe said to be comparable in power to the legendary Frostmourne? Can Shadowmourne only be forged fully after Frostmourne's demise? Is Shadowmourne's creation sealed by fragments of the Lich King's legendary blade? Or is the axe a cousin of sorts—a parallel weapon created in the same vein as Frostmourne?

The events of Icecrown Citadel should reveal to us the truth.

Of Guardians, Comics, and Cataclysms

I know what some of you are thinking:

"Thar! Why do you have an article about the comics when the next issue isn't out yet?"

Well, I was pointed to this article on WoW.com, which further linked to this article on Blizzplanet.com, and they both sparked my inspiration. So now I inflict this—erm... now I bring to you, my dear readers, my own thoughts on how the comics will tie into Cataclysm and the events of that upcoming expansion.

But first, a little preamble.

The Problem Thus Far

The bulk of Warcraft's fans just play World of Warcraft. Certainly, there are enough people who buy the comics, the manga, the novels, and all the other little knick-knacks to support a reasonably lucrative market on such things, but that doesn't mean that every subscriber does. In fact, I'd wager a guess that there are more people playing WoW who have never read the comic or any of the manga than those who have.

Because of this discrepancy, we end up getting major characters from these secondary sources introduced into the game and made important to a group of people who have no idea why said characters should be important. I've come to dub this The Anveena Effect, to honor our wonderful little water fountain-turned-human-in-love-with-a-dragon.

You see, there were many people who entered the raid instance of Patch 2.4: Fury of the Sunwell wondering who the heck this human woman was and why she was being sacrificed. They had little to no real introduction to the idea that Anveena was the Sunwell. Or, rather, that she was what remained of its essence. So a chunk of those people just ignored the story and moved forward with the raid encounter. Another chunk balked at the "silly idea" of a human woman encompassing the remainder of the Sunwell's powers, and their respect for Warcraft lore dropped.

Risking your audience's enjoyment in the story because you did not properly introduce them to an important character is, to me, bad storytelling. And it's the core of why the Anveena Effect is dangerous. The less people pay attention to your game's story, the less chance you have to hold their attention into the future.

So how does this affect Med'an, our fresh-faced son of Medivh and Garona, wielder of multiple magics, and new Guardian?

The Med'anveena Effect?

How many people who play World of Warcraft know who Med'an is, you think? How many people even know who Medivh is, for that matter? I can only believe that the number is nowhere near the number of WoW's current active subscriber base.

As it stands, Med'an runs a pretty big risk of falling to the Anveena Effect. If he's introduced in-game as a half-human, quarter-orc, and quarter-draenei character who's the son of Medivh and Garona and somehow related to all those cool action figures... well, there will be eyebrows of inquisition raised aplenty.

So how will Blizzard handle this? Will they go forward and bring Med'an into game with no other introduction? Will they kill him off before he gets a chance to make an appearance (like, say, in the upcoming issue)? Or will we somehow be introduced to him more gradually through in-game quests and events?

Perhaps the answer lies in the prophecy to which we were introduced in the comics:

When the child of three realms becomes as Light, the ancient power will be released. The earth will tremble, the seas will rise up in answer, and all will be madness.  A new day will dawn, bringing with it chaos or peace…

Part of me (as well as those fine folks over at WoW.com and BlizzPlanet) thinks that "becomes as Light" essentially means he's going to die. Or rather, "not be around anymore to show up in-game and cause confusion." So perhaps he dies, or perhaps he somehow ascends. Either way, there's a chance we may see Med'an's story concluded more permanently come Issue #25 (especially since Issue #26 begins an entirely new pair of arcs with entirely new characters, writers, and artists).

They further go on to speculate that his departure will weaken the veil between Azeroth and the elemental plane, and that it's this weakening that allows Deathwing to break through from Deepholm during the opening events of Cataclysm.

Certainly, all of this is possible. But I'd like to point out a little incongruency with the timelines. As it stands, the current timeline we're experiencing in the WoW comic is actually happening in our relative past when Wrath of the Lich King is taken into account. Remember that the Lich King's invasion of Orgrimmar and Stormwind concluded back in Issue #20 of comic time, and almost a year of real / game time. Thus, if Med'an dies / ascends in Issue #25 and that kicks off the Cataclysm, we'd have already seen the results.

But with that said, it's entirely possible that Med'an's proposed death could still lead to the cataclysmic events of the upcoming expansion.

Co(s)mic Alignment

The events in the current monthly WoW comic are too large to ignore entirely, and it would be waste of months of storytelling to completely discard what's been going on with the current arc. So how can it all align with the events of the MMO?

Just some speculation:

Med'an faces off with Cho'gall, who's now fully empowered by C'thun. During this battle, Med'an gets beaten heartily, but pulls back at the last moment. It is then that Med'an draws his powers from the Light and gets bolstered by the naaru, putting him in a state of near ascension.

During this influx of power, Med'an defeats Cho'gall, and in turn is able to defeat what remains of C'thun, finally killing the Old God permanently. However, since C'thun and the other Old Gods are still tied to Azeroth, his death ultimately weakens the world and the veil between the elemental plane and the material realm. The extent of this weakening is not made apparent, however.

A new day will dawn, bringing with it chaos or peace…

The heroes of the world will see peace, and to them it will seem that the prophecy is fulfilled. Med'an will ascend fully to something greater and give back the Guardian power, which was part of the 'gift' that his father left him. The Council will be left to find another to take his place, but with Cho'gall and C'thun's threat gone for now, they won't seek a replacement immediately.

But the magnitude of such a shift in power will awaken another entity on the elemental plane, stirring the rage of a being vanished to the world for years. Deathwing shifts his attention once again to Azeroth and plots his return...

A Clean Merger

The above scenario would buy the storytellers at Blizzard a few large advantages. Firstly, it will remove Med'an from active continuity, which relieves them of the need to bring him in-game. Second, it opens up the position of Guardian, which coincides with some of the rumors we've heard about Thrall's supposed next position of leadership. In addition to both of these, it also sets up the catalyst for Deathwing's return.

This places the comic story arc solidly in the realm of "supplemental." The story becomes unnecesary for MMO-only players to understand, but it still fits cleanly within the lore for those of us who choose to pay attention to the expanded setting. None of the in-game plot elements feel shoehorned-in, as happened with Anveena, because all the in-game plot elements would already have been introduced ... in-game.

But, as per usual, the above is just a bit of off-sides speculation. It is by no means something that's set in stone. Instead, it's just something that I think would be kinda cool to see happen.

And when it comes to the monthly comics? WoW needs something kinda cool...

Echoes of Icecrown. 3.3 Soundclips (Spoilers)

The following article contains major plot spoilers from PTR/datamined content.

Some big lore news was reported last night on MMO Champion with the posting of many of the sound files to be included in Patch 3.3. Not only do we have a smattering of the boss voices (truly, some are hilarious), but we also hear two important scenes that advance the plot and develop these characters a bit more—three scenes, actually, if you count the Horde and Alliance versions separately.

Don't worry, I won't spoil anything major on this front page. I've safely linked the YouTube uploads of the files below, so you'll have to go there to hear them specifically (all files present at the time of this writing). If you're curious about what's going to happen after the battle with the Deathbringer and also during the events of the 5-man dungeons, read on and click the links.

Varian Redeemed?

No, this doesn't have much of anything to directly do with the plot, but it does address some of the rampant Varian Wrynn hate that's been flowing around. Claims of his genocidal and racist nature have bubbled up venomously from those die hard Horde supporters who feel Wrynn is nothing more than a warmonger hell bent on the destruction of their way of life.

This is largely untrue. He is a man of honor, and this is proven by his words after the Deathbringer encounter (assumed):

Click here to listen to the partial audio of this event (there is some setup with Muradin and Saurfang in the beginning).

Spirits of Frostmourne

Here we hear two encounters, one Horde and one Alliance, that mirror each other depending on your faction. We can reasonably assume that this is what we'll encounter in the Halls of Reflection instance, at the end of the 5-man chain of dungeons.

Listen specifically for a revelation regarding the truth about the Lich King, his weakness, and the ultimate fate of the Scourge.

Perhaps I was wrong in my previous belief...

Click here to listen to the partial audio of the Alliance Halls of Reflection encounter.

Click here to listen to the partial audio of the Horde Halls of Reflection encounter.

MMO Champion's sound file transcript page.

Conclusion

It's good to see Blizzard further develop King Varian's character, proving him to be the good man that we knew he was prior to the events of the Wrathgate. Seeing them tear down the facade of the warmonger is refreshing in the midst of the oppressiveness that is Northrend.

Now let's see them do the same for Garrosh, eh?

Conversely, I'm a little disappointed at what the Lich King revelations hint towards, as I feel that the potential story arc is a little ... rehashed. Perhaps we'll get a big surprise and the obvious assumed conclusion won't be what we actually see. But as it stands, it's leaning heavily towards the possibility that our immolated friend may have a story yet to come...

Weapons of Legend: Ashbringer

Heroes and villains rise and fall, but the most common legacies they leave behind are their weapons. In these Weapons of Legend articles I'll cover the history of some of these pivotal tools of war in hopes of gaining insight into the events and characters surrounding them.

Ashbringer

The tale of the Ashbringer itself is covered, quite fittingly, in the comic mini-series of the same name (World of Warcraft: Ashbringer). That same comic reveals to us the story of the man who earned the name 'Ashbringer,' and the fall of the Silver Hand and the rise of the Scarlet Crusade and Argent Dawn in its place. It also reveals to us the origin of Darion Mograine and how he came to be a death knight.

As it is told, a mysterious artifact of darkness was discovered during the assault on Blackrock Spire towards the end of the Second War. Taken by Alexandros Mograine, it was later discovered that this artifact actually had a dual nature. When struck enough by the Holy Light, the artifact began to change.  No longer an artifact of darkness, it had become an artifact of Light.

Thinking this could be used in the coming war against the undead Scourge, Alexandros and the remaining Knights of the Silver Hand had a powerful weapon forged by King Magni Bronzebeard of Ironforge. This weapon, imbued with Magni's vengeful passion at the reported death of his brother, Muradin, became a beacon of power against the evil of the Scourge.

The weapon, named the Ashbringer, was given to Alexandros Mograine, who used it to cut a swath of destruction through the invading Scourge forces the likes of which had never been seen in the war. His skill, and the habit of the sword's ability to turn the undead to ash, earned Alexandros himself the name of "Ashbringer."

Unfortunately, the victories of the Ashbringer were short lived, for Alexandros himself was betrayed by his first son, Renault Mograine, near Stratholme. It was here that Renault took the weapon and ran his father through, resulting in Alexandros's spirit becoming trapped inside the blade. His desire for vengeance against his son's betrayal corrupted the sacred weapon.

Alexandros Mograine was raised from the dead as a death knight by Kel'thuzad, and he was given back his weapon of choice. He again, found himself wielding the Ashbringer, only this time it was a vessel for his corrupted soul.

It was not too long before Darion Mograine, the younger and more favored of Alexandros's two children, braved the defenses of Naxxramas and faced off with his father. It was here that young Darion was able to take the corrupted weapon and flee into what remained of the kingdom of Lordaeron.

The voices from his father—voices from the blade itself—urged Darion to the Scarlet Monastery, and it was here that Alexandros's spirit found his vengeance. As Darion approached his brother, the truth about Renault's betrayal was revealed. Then, much to the shock of both Darion and Renault, Alexandros's spirit emerged from the sword and killed the elder of the two boys.

Vengeance had been served.  Frightened at the truth, young Darion fled the Scarlet Monastery and made his way to the Plaguelands, where he had been guided by a dream by Fairbanks. It was here that he met the self-exiled Tirion Fordring.  Fordring, being a former paladin of the Silver Hand, was no stranger to the Light or its adversaries. He revaled to Darion that only an act of love greater than an act of evil could free Alexandros's spirit.

It was then that Darion chose to travel to Light's Hope Chapel. Unfortunately, the Scourge had plans of their own, and they had prepared a massive assault against Light's Hope. The few soldiers who pledged their loyalties to the Argent Dawn stood valiantly in defense of their fellows, both living and dead.

For, you see, beneath Light's Hope Chapel existed the remains of a thousand of Azeroth's greatest heroes. Re-interred beneath the small church in an effort to prevent Arthas from resurrecting good men and women for his undead ranks, this concentration of spirits of the Light made Light's Hope a potent location indeed.

As the Scourge closed in around the small chapel, Darion Mograine remembered Fordring's words. In order to free his father's soul from its torment within the blade, he would have to make a great sacrifice of his own. And so, on the holy ground of Light's Hope, Darion Mograine ran the blade of the Corrupted Ashbringer through himself.

This sacrifice, this act of love, resulted in an explosion of power from the thousand souls buried there. The Scourge was decimated.

But the sword's tale is not over. While Darion succeeded in freeing his father's spirit from the weapon, he also succeeded in chaining himself to the blade. And once again, Kel'thuzad and the Scourge found themselves a champion.

It is here where we pick of the story of the Ashbringer in Wrath of the Lich King. We meet Darion Mograine as he leads the Ebon Blade of Acherus against New Avalon and the Scarlet Crusade. As a death knight, we follow him into battle in a second attack against Light's Hope, and it is here where we see the opening of the next chapter of the sword.

In this battle, as the brave defenders of Light's Hope fight off another endless onslaught of Scourge, Tirion Fordring appears and hands the Scourge its defeat. He confronts Darion and reminds the boy of his past, and a fading memory of Alexandros Mograine seems to catch the young death knight unexpectedly.

That is, until Arthas himself arrives and once again claims the soul of the elder Mograine. Tirion, enraged that Arthas would attempt to defile holy ground, strikes back at the Lich King. And Darion, feeling the corrupted weapon itself no longer answering his commands, tosses the Ashbringer to Fordring, who is miraculously able to cleanse it and strike back at Arthas.

And this is where things are currently, with Tirion Fordring in possession of the cleansed Ashbringer. Do we know how he cleansed it? Not really. It's a piece of lore that was somewhat glossed over during the opening death knight events. Do we also know why players have to retrieve the Ashbringer from within the Utgarde Catacombs in the early Alliance quests? No, we only have a vague idea of how Fordring lost it in the first place.

But despite these side bits, the story of the Ashbringer waits patiently until Icecrown Citadel opens up.  And then who knows what will happen?