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The Earthen and the Curse of Flesh - War Within Alpha Lore Speculation with Nobbel87
The War Within
Publicado
05/05/2024 a las 17:00
por
DiscordianKitty
The Earthen of the
War Within
are interesting - similar to our own Dwarves and yet unaffected by the Curse of Flesh... Or are they affected after all? Nobbel87 speculates...
Warning: War Within Alpha Spoilers Ahead
Curse of Flesh Origins
I was working on typing out some of the side quests for the Isle of Dorn, but quickly realised that there’s an interesting subject to talk about which relates to established lore and some of the lore that's coming up: the Earthen and the Curse of Flesh.
The Curse of Flesh originates from Yogg-Saron manipulating events at Ulduar to break out of his prison. Starting with Keeper Loken, he worked on taking over his jailers. Loken was then manipulated into using the Forge of Wills to create more of their Titan-forged and, unbeknownst to Loken, Yogg-Saron had added his Curse of Flesh to the machinery, tainting its creation matrix. Any Titan-forged created by the machine thereafter would fall victim to its affliction. Some would even spread it to previous generations of the Titan-forged. The Curse of Flesh would gradually spread and transform many of these infected servants into mortal beings of flesh and blood – beings who the cunning Old God knew could easily be killed.
Titan-forged like Vrykul, Mogu, Mechagnomes, Earthen and others. Titan-forged that used to help defend, shape, and maintain the world of Azeroth and its machineries.
It’s through the Curse of Flesh that we would see an evolutionary path in which Vrykul became humans, or Mechagnomes became Gnomes, or Earthen became Dwarfs. While Yogg-Saron had set out to weaken Azeroth’s defenses, by giving these Titan-forged flesh, it made them more vulnerable to the Old Gods’ corruption - but in turn, it also created their own worst enemy. The Titans could seemingly never have imagined ways of fully getting rid of the Old Gods without destroying the world and its soul within.
And so it would be these corrupted Titan-forged, once deemed by Algalon the Observer to be so corrupted that the whole world should be purified - until we knocked some sense into him. That level of unacceptable corruption rose up together with alien forces, native forces, elemental forces… everything and anything that we had to throw at them - and it did what their creators were unable to do: rid the world of Azeroth of its Old God infection. Now all that's left of them is their blood… well… and a bunch of units like the Nerubians, not to mention Xal’atath… Yeah, still plenty of Void corruption going around.
The Earthen of Khaz Algar
I’ve always loved this dynamic when it comes to the Curse of Flesh, and looking at the Earthen of Khaz Algar, we can see that they still have their stone forms. There's no flesh to be found here, and yet there are fractures amongst their ranks. The original directive of the Titans is no longer followed by all of them, becoming crystal clear in a beautiful side quest called “Remember me, Earthen.”
The Earthen on the Isle were placed here by the Titans and the Keepers with a purpose in mind, a directive to follow - like maintaining the coreway, keeping each other safe, and repairs when needed. It was a well-oiled machine until some of the Earthen started to realize the Titans were silent. Stepping away from the oaths sworn, they became unbound, living away from their capital and stepping away from their edicts and traditions. This caused a rift between the Earthen - a rift in their programmed way of life, and, in turn, the Earthen started to shut down.
You see, the Earthen have memory crystals, but only so much storage space. Normally they would go down below to upload their memories and refresh themselves, but stepping away from the others made this difficult for the unbound - and their great vault, I believe this is where they would store their memories, is offline. So their time has become finite. Run long enough, and their memory starts to overwrite itself - forgetting those closest to them, forgetting who they were, their life once lived, until they shut down entirely.
That’s how we meet Urtago and Korgran. Korgran has been the caretaker of Mourning Rise for a very long time, and they can sense that their shutdown is approaching. Well, they call themselves the caretaker, but in truth, Urtago has been taking care of Mourning Rise for some time now. She doesn’t mind, Korgran is very kind, but the situation has gotten away from them. Mourning Rise has been infested by the Kobolds, who desecrate their final resting place. What to the Kobolds look like statues ready to be plundered of shinies, to the Earthen are their former friends and loved ones, that have taken their final place. Obviously this will not stand, so we clear out the area, shut down tunnels, reclaim stolen parts, and place gifts to honor the memories of past caretakers.
But to Korgran, Mourning Rise is a sad place, not one where he would like to shut down.
“But shutdown in Mourning Rise is tradition,” Urtago replied.
“Did we become unbound from the Titans just to be bound by traditions?”
I have often walked the path between the outpost and the Mourning Rise memorial site.
I can recognize the ruts made by my heavy steps. Same as those who came before me.
But as an Unbound, I wanted to be free of traditions that lock me into performing the same duties day to day.
I chose to be a caretaker, but I wish I had wandered the Isle more. I didn't really know how much time I had left...
I would much rather shutdown by the ocean southeast of here, there is a lovely spot there I have wandered to often.
Or... Alas, maybe Urtago is right. I am just a crumbling earthen who is losing their pebbles.
If that’s where Korgran wants to shut down, then that’s where we’ll take him - but before that, he wants to craft an item that was meaningful to him. Before becoming Unbound, he was stonebound - working the mines with a lantern in hand until he lost it in a collapse. He would like to forge a new lantern to guide him through these final moments, so we gather the materials and help him with the forging as it's becoming harder and harder for his body to move.
I can feel it. It's like a shadow hanging at the edges of my memory.
It is growing, encroaching on me. It is like a dark fog that shadows parts of who I was and who I am.
Fading Memory
He does still remember how to perfectly craft a lantern, and it's time. His memory is fading, quickly, so fast in fact that he becomes confused - one of the final symptoms before shutdown. He doesn’t recognise us anymore, and runs away in fear. We look for his tracks and find his lantern. The lantern he crafted to guide him when he would be lost. The lantern's charged core illuminates the area with cool shades of blue. On its bottom side, a carving says, "Made by Korgran and a dear friend."
He doesn’t recognise us anymore, doesn’t even remember Urtago’s name, but we let him know that she’s waiting for him.
“Waiting for me? I must be important...”
To hell with tradition, if Korgran wants to shut down at the shore, then that’s what he’ll get. The sound of the waves, the sand under his feet. It bring together what shards of memories he has left. But there are so many memories that he has lost. His inception. His first wanderings of this land. Urtago is right, there is no other place that he would rather shutdown than here in the waves.
There is another tradition they uphold amongst the Unbound caretakers, where the master passes on the mantle to their apprentice. Figuratively, of course, and to do that, Korgran needs a horn - which we get him, as well as some Ashenfold which they can use to perform a symbolic ceremony of cleansing.
The master caretaker would face the apprentice, blow their horn, and the sound signifies the passing of the torch. We hand him the horn and while you might imagine that it’s far too late, his memory far too gone... here at the place he loved so much, the old caretaker has a moment of clarity and knows exactly what to do.
Korgran says: I, Korgran, bestow the title of Caretaker of Mourning Rise on you.
Urtago says: I, Urtago, receive the title with honor.
He always liked this spot. Always wondered what was beyond these shores. Here, the ocean will erode his body and take him over the dark sea. Don’ worry. His lantern will light the way.
Urtago says: Rest Korgran. Goodbye, friend.
<Korgran's body has hardened due to the shutdown. The once warm eyes are now locked in a gaze of wonder at the horizon as his lantern sways with the gentle ocean breeze.>
This side quest hit hard, not gonna lie, and I hope we're going to get voice acting for this one - but beyond the emotional part of it, it also offers some interesting things to consider. Some of their dialogue makes it sound like they’re extremely robotic in their functions and operations, which is something we’ve seen before with the Keepers' creations - the Titan-forged. The mechagnomes of Northrend come to mind, where they’re unmovable, unapproachable, and purely stick to their directives no matter what they might be.
Earthen Emotions
That bring us back to the Curse of Flesh and how it seemingly gave rise to free will amongst the Earthen. A heart and mind that could think beyond their initial programming.
Looking at the Earthen right here - they don’t have flesh, they are still far more robotic in their operations, and yet we do see that spark of individuality. We see a spark of emotions similar to what others would experience, as Urtago describes it like:
I feel my gut-gears grinding--that is a sign of anxiety.
I can feel the build up of pressure at my core. You outsiders call it sadness. It's hard for me to see korgran like this.
We also see an urge for individuality as the unbound stepped away from the edicts - their basic wiring and programming - yet at the same time, they also build traditions. Sure enough, traditions of their own desire and will, yet traditions all the same.
Korgran looked fondly back upon his time as an oathbound working in the quarry, it was one of the everlasting memories which allowed him to forge the lantern. So, what defines or bestows a soul, a spirit, a personality? Where is the line between robotic mindless servant and beings longing for their own individuality, culture and lives? Traditions in which you honor the passing of friends, of loved ones, forever stored in their memories. These Earthen show similar signs to having the Curse of Flesh, yet clearly not all the effects, so what’s going on here?
Considering this is alpha, that is still to be decided and explained. I imagine it could play a part when they become our allied race, but we do have an interesting report to look at. This was one of the earliest mentions of Khaz Algar. In a book we found in the Uldaman revamped dungeon at the start of Dragonflight, there is an observational report from Watcher Melenia on the Earthen, which says:
Fellow watchers,
When you were assigned to observe the state of our Titan-forged subjects who, regretfully, fell under the influence of flesh, the keepers could not have anticipated the effort necessary to follow them as they spread throughout the world.
I shall do my best to ensure your perseverance is recognized. But for now, you are to continue your duties until a new directive is authorized.
It is apparent from your reports that the degree of transformation in Titan-forged subjects is significantly diverse. There is no group in which this variance is more easily observable than the earthen.
While some have succumbed entirely to the malady, such as the earthen who emerged from Uldaman and called themselves dwarves, others remain resistant--whether in full or in part.
One particularly notable variant can be found in the earthen contingent dispatched to investigate the fissure detected in Sector AR-938 (for further details, search records related to geological anomalies).
Evidence of the Curse of Flesh?
I’ve discussed this text with others, and you can definitely read it in multiple ways, but to me it comes across as if they’ve kept an eye on all variations of Titan-forged that got hit by the Curse of Flesh, and they’ve found different transformations - different variations - and clear examples can be found among the Earthen. You’ve got our Dwarves that we know, and now the Earthen dispatched to investigate the fissure. Is the fissure what would become the coreway, the Titan passage that leads right into the core of Azeroth? If so, then where did the fissure come from, and what created it? When did this happen? All things still to be discovered.
In the course of their duties, these earthen began to manifest behaviors analogous to those which would one day be apparent in the self-styled dwarves, despite the two groups being separated by vast swaths of time and distance.
In fact, based on their origin dates, I could identify no corollary at all between these populations.
Yet while their behaviors, language, and demeanor show many similarities (for example, assigning Sector AR-938 the colloquial name "Khaz Algar"), physiologically the two groups remain distinct.
Is this distinctiveness due to exposure to the unique qualities of the anomaly, or is there another reason? We require more data before a conclusion can be reached.
Their behavior changed in a similar way to our earthen, yet their bodies did not. A pathway to the core of Azeroth and earthen that kept their crystalized bodies. There is another that obtained a similar looking crystal form: Magni Bronzebeard, who went through an ancient Titan ritual and became the Speaker of Azeroth. They’ve got a name for him or maybe for his kind? They call him a 'thraegar' - odd traditions and superstitions, Magni calls it.
Trying to put this into a timeline is a little bit tricky, because we don’t know everything yet there is to know.
The Earthen of Khaz Algar say that they follow the programming of the Titans, their edicts.
The Titans left Azeroth in the hands of the Keepers as they left and went into the Great Dark Beyond, as they abandoned the planet - only after that did Yogg-Saron go to work and manifest the Curse of Flesh.
The Curse of Flesh was transferable through Titan-forged themselves, so even older creations could be infected.
We don’t know if following the edicts of the Titans means the Titans spoke directly to the Earthen, or if they’re running off old programming left behind.
We don’t know when, how, or even if the Earthen of Khaz Algar shielded their land, keeping themselves hidden - perhaps it’s always been open and just never explored. The report does indicate that they’ve kept an eye on their Earthen creations, so you imagine contact has been possible for quite a while. Contact in which the Curse of Flesh might have been transferred.
A lot unknown and a lot of possibilities we could fill in for the Curse of Flesh to be the reason for these Earthen to want their individuality and stop following the edicts of the Titans. Xal'atath and the Nerubians definitely seem keen on keeping us out of that coreway - out of the pathway to Azeroth's core - so was this part of the Old Gods' plan all along? Did they plan for the Earthen to be hit by the Curse of Flesh so that they lay down their production, so that this would no longer be maintained and nobody could go down below... Plans upon plans - this is the Void that we're dealing with.
The answer as to why their flesh didn’t change could be because they were so close to the core of Azeroth itself. The datamined Earthen racial is Azerite Surge and Ingest Minerals. If the Titan ritual was able to convert Magni, perhaps Azeroth’s direct influence was able to stay off the Old Gods' corruption entirely, and help them maintain their original form. This innate ability is perhaps why they’ve been such a strong defence against forces like the Nerubians, and will perhaps come into play later if Xal’atath and the Void's corruption is going to spread further.
We could also consider the idea that it wasn’t the Curse of Flesh at all, and instead it was Azeroth's influence that gave them their sense of individuality and stepping away from the machineries. Stepping away from the planned edicts of the Titans aimed at keeping Azeroth under control... but that is a whole bunch of speculation.
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