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What's Inside Azeroth? Lore Speculation with Nobbel87
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DiscordianKitty
发表于
2023/12/10,17:00
Azeroth is our World Soul, but what else do we know about her? It's time for some more lore speculation with Nobbel87.
The question as to what’s actually inside of Azeroth has popped up a couple of times, especially with the latest end cutscene and some new in-game books, so time to sit down and look at the information we have, to see if we can’t throw some ideas together. An excuse to talk a bit about the origin stories that we have for the entire Warcraft universe.
The Titans
A big reason as to why we ‘know’ what’s inside of Azeroth comes from the Warcraft Chronicles, as well as information provided in-game by creations of the Titans. More and more they’ve been pushing the story into the direction that we can’t trust what they’re saying. For example, the Edicts of the Prime Designate, Volume 742 has Keeper Odyn give the order to purge all historical records documenting the advancements of the Black Empire.
Paint that age as one of chaos and misery, a pernicious blight that we Keepers eradicated. With the Old Gods locked in confinement, there should be no evidence available to contradict our assertions.
Surely if you care for these mortals, you would not wish to see them led astray into darkness.
Not the first time we see a Keeper modify history; you might recall how Keeper Loken had modifed the Tribunal of Ages to cover up his corruption.
Another big reason as to why we know what's inside Azeroth, is our direct communication with her through Magni Bronzebeard, who told us that she is indeed a Titan, however...
The king of diamonds has been made a pawn.
A pawn for whom though? When first the line was dropped, a lot of eyes turned towards the Old Gods and the Void, but what if they meant a pawn of the Titans? He was not always the king of diamonds after all, not until the Cataclysm, where the world was in turmoil and the king of the dwarves wanted to communicate with the land to figure out what was going on. He went through a ritual - an ancient Titan ritual - and did not just communicate with the land, he became one with it. Upon awakening, he was the Titans' greatest fanboy and took great care of the world, recruiting mortals to heal the wounds. But is his vision clear, or is it influenced by the Titans?
The Big Bang
More recently with Patch 10.2, we got a book which speaks of the Dream, and ponders if there’s more out there than what the domain of Order is selling.
It seems clear that the servants of the titans wish the Dream to stay unchanging--at least. unchanged by any hand but theirs.
Yet the very nature of life is one of change, is it not? Things are born, live, and die, but life itself goes on.
Perhaps life was never meant to be ordered. To be static and unchanging.
The titans' servants do not seem to understand that Life and Death are sisters, bound together in a Great Cycle.
Do they not wish to see this truth? Or is it beyond their fundamental nature to perceive it?
If we dragons see it, then it can only mean that we are touched not just by Life and Order, but other forces as well.
And if dragons are the product of powers great and small being eternally intertwined, then so must all mortals be.
Perhaps Azeroth herself was touched by all these forces. Or could she be their true source?
Some things are beyond knowing. Some things are meant only to be pondered... in dreams.
"Perhaps Azeroth herself was touched by all these forces. Or could she be their true source?" - Two ideas as to what could be going on within Azeroth itself: An entity that’s been influenced and fought over by all the different cosmic forces, or the one who gave birth to the cosmic forces at the beginning - the source, the Big Bang which started it all.
That was going to be my original angle for this video, support the idea that the world of Azeroth is a prison for the primordial energies that gave birth to the Warcraft universe. Diving deeper into this idea though, I’ve got some lore and speculation that could support it, but at the same time, there’s also plenty to support the idea of a First One or an actual Titan being inside the planet. We’ll go over the information and, as I said, it’s a good excuse to cover some of the origin story that we got.
The Cosmic Forces
Let's start at the so-called cosmic forces in Warcraft. Light & Shadow. Order & Disorder. Life & Death. This is the original chart that we got from the Warcraft Chronicles, but we’d get another one with the Grimoire of the Shadowlands.
This one is penned from the point of view of the domain of Death. They still describe the same cosmic forces, but we can see that Death and Life have been moved to the forefront. How could they not, seeing how this is written from the point of view of the domain of Death? Similarly to how, now, the Chronicles is written from the point of view of the domain of Order, we can see how the Titans put Order and Disorder as the most important forces in the universe...
Except they didn’t. Light and Void are in the middle - which is odd.
This could be because the Chronicles were originally something else, but to give it a story reason, perhaps it's because even the Pantheon of Order acknowledges the importance of where it all began...
Before life began, before even the cosmos took shape, there was Light… and there was Void. Unfettered by the confines of time and space, the Light swelled across all existence in the form of a boundless prismatic sea. Great torrents of living energy flitted through its mirrored depths, their movements conjuring a symphony of joy and hope.
The ocean of Light was dynamic and ever shifting. Yet as it expanded, some of its energies faded and dimmed, leaving behind pockets of cold nothingness. From the absence of Light in these spaces, a new power coalesced and came to be.
This power was the Void, a dark and vampiric force driven to devour all energy, to twist creation inward to feed upon itself. The Void quickly grew and spread its influence, moving against the flowing waves of Light. The mounting tension between these two opposing yet inseparable energies eventually ignited a series of catastrophic explosions, rupturing the fabric of creation and birthing a new realm into existence.
In that moment, the physical universe was born. The energies released by the clash of Light and Void raged across the nascent cosmos, raw matter merging and spinning into primordial worlds without number. For long epochs, this ever-expanding universe—the Great Dark Beyond—broiled in a maelstrom of fire and magic.
It then goes on to describe how things like the Twisting Nether or the Naaru came to be, basically the creation of the Warcraft universe. Then it goes on,
Even more extraordinary than the naaru were the colossal titans. Their spirits—known as world-souls—formed deep within the fiery core of a small number of worlds. For ages, these nascent titans slumbered, their energies suffusing the celestial bodies they inhabited.
When the titans finally awoke, they did so as living worlds. Cosmic winds howled across their gigantic forms, bodies shrouded in a cloak of stardust, skin crisscrossed with silvery mountain peaks and oceans shimmering with latent magic.
With eyes that shone like brilliant stars, they observed the fledgling cosmos and became enraptured by its mysteries. Whereas the naaru set out to safeguard life, the titans embarked on a different journey. They wandered the distant corners of the Great Dark, searching for others of their kind.
This grand, far-reaching voyage would one day alter the course of creation and shape the destiny of all living things.
That’s the origin story we got from the Chronicles: Light and Void exploding, creating the Warcraft universe as we know it today. What if the remnants of that explosion, the Big Bang of Light and Shadow still exists, contained within our world? The thing that is at the center of the Warcraft universe - at the center of every single conflict we’ve experienced in history. The power to create the universe as we know it... what a wild concept right? Surely something that the cosmic forces would fight each other over, and one of them actually got really close to getting what he wanted.
Every event set in motion. Every pawn put into play. All to claim the power slumbering within your world. The soul of Azeroth, wounded, vulnerable yet teaming with potential. Potential that I will use to eredicate this flawed reality. Death claims the soul of your world, now bear witness mortals to eternity's end.
The domain of Death, Zovaal the Jailer, came for what is slumbering within our world... but why? What did he want to accomplish? Well, our boy Zovaal, for whatever reason, whatever he saw, he wanted to rewrite the universe - remake everything, rewrite the rules of reality. If that’s your goal, what better way to do so than to claim the powers that wrote the rules to begin with?
The First Ones
Speaking of the Shadowlands, there we got another origin story for the Warcraft universe, once more through a lens, the point of view of Brokers and the domain of Death. They got the idea that it was actually the mysterious First Ones, or 'Progenitors', that build the universe - and the idea of the First Ones did not stay behind in the Shadowlands either. During the same period in which we got books hinting at the next expansion, we also got that book about Keeper Odyn wiping the records of the Black Empire. Not only that, he also ordered that mortals were not allowed to learn about the First Ones.
Mortals could not conceive of the wonders that the makers granted to the titans in Zereth Ordus. Thus, learning of the Progenitors would only confuse them.
It is enough that mortals know the titans brought Order to the cosmos, and that they are owed deference.
So not just the domain of Death, but also the domain of Order knows about the First Ones, so let's go over some of these research notes...
We once knew the Titans as the ones bringing Order to the universe, but of course, that’s what the Titans would like you to believe. In reality, the First Ones came first, according to the domain of Death.
All of the lesser cosmic beings were limited by nature as the First Ones had given each of their "children" only a portion of their gifts, and this is why the cosmic forces are constantly trying to overpower one another, like a tug of war, but balance is required - one can never be allowed to overtake another. The First Ones had parceled out their gifts, but gave no child all of them. No wonder these offspring bickered with such incessant jealousy. Their very nature was one of denial.
All these cosmic forces are aimed at domination in the grand scheme of things but again, balance is required. And it’s the First Ones who are given credit for gifting or empowering the cosmic domains, but only a portion of their gift. You can only imagine what real power these First Ones possess.
Six cosmic forces, but pointing towards a seventh unknown one which Firim thought was a contradiction, or variable, to solve, but was actually a solution awaiting its opportunity.
was both six AND seven, the six were one and the seventh the other. Both were, yet only one could be. Long have I scoffed at what I learned of Titans, or the Void lords, or demons of the Nether. I held Death's pantheon in higher regard, but now I know that they are just as limited. Truth lies not in one direction or another, but in their intersection.
That idea can be taken and used to explain how what’s inside of Azeroth gave birth to these cosmic forces. They are the one, blew apart, and six new domains came to be - but that origin point, the framework is still out there. That’s why the cosmic forces want to claim Azeroth. That’s why its children, the super duper "Maw Walkers", were so special for the First Ones. Which does make you wonder what would happen if these cosmic forces would ever be able to return to their origin point.
Expedition Report A37J
These six forces existed in strife. Well, not strife in the way one such as you or I would see it. Opposition surely, but whether malignant or benign is unclear. There was imbalance, until there was a need for something more.
They came together (or were brought together, depending on how one interprets the fractal) and gave form to their design. Forged? Scribed? Shaped? The exact word is elusive. Each architect gave a portion of themselves, and thus the pattern was drawn.
Six realms. Many intersections. Countless fractals.
In balance? Possibly. But that might be wrong. If six equal one, then what is the other? The one outside the pattern.
A few final questions for your consideration, good reader.
What if -- again, this is still purely speculative -- the mortal plane is not some distant corner of reality that the First Ones created to supply us with souls and anima?
What if it is the very nexus of existence, where Death is but one of many great powers that holds sway?
If true, what would this say of mortal souls and their potential?
And if the six (or seven, or... excuse my imprecision) each vie with one another to claim it, could they be driven by the unconscious knowledge that there exists some other force outside our understanding that seeks it as well?
The Jailer: You preserve that which is doomed. A cosmos divided will not survive what is to come.
Mortal souls and their potential were great enough to turn the tide in the Shadowlands, which rotates back to what the green dragon was writing about: that we are touched by more than one cosmic force, and therefore we can see beyond the lens of one domain. Here, they don’t suggest that the one is the origin point. Instead, they suggest that there’s another force outside of our understanding that seeks the six or seven as a whole.
Something that wishes to devour all we know in the Warcraft universe? Perhaps, but we’re drifting a little bit away from our original subject, which is what’s inside of Azeroth. So far I’ve been leaning into the idea of a cosmic force that’s the origin point of the universe. Some have taken the information from the Shadowlands and run with the idea of there’s actually a First One in there. But then there’s most definitely a case to be made for it to just be a Titan. That is the original story, after all, and we don't have to look far for it.
Argus
We've got Alleria Windrunner who was able to communicate with a World Soul - Not Magni with our World Soul of Azeroth, instead,
she communicated with the World Soul of Argus
.
Now she lived a history that surpassed the existence of the universe.
Blink.
It was energy, spinning out into the cosmos.
Blink.
It found warmth near a sun, and a world formed around it to protect it as it grew.
Blink.
Generations of life lived and died upon it.
Blink.
It was betrayed. It was bound by something powerful.
Blink.
Pain. Pain. It hurt so much. Its only solace lay within its dream.
Blink.
They enslaved worlds. They burned worlds. They used its strength to revive their fallen souls. It hurt so much.
Blink.
They found another. It was much more powerful. They wanted to claim it, too. Then they would be unstoppable.
Blink.
It screamed into the cosmos for help. Two children answered the call. Two bright lights.
Blink.
Two bright lights... from Azeroth. A world that was like Argus.
Alleria ripped herself free. Now she was lying on her side. Turalyon was shaking her. “Wake up! Alleria! Wake up! We have to go!”
She reached up, grabbed his shoulder. "Did you see?" she whispered.
"See what?"
He hadn’t. Why hadn’t he seen it? Why had she?
"Argus has a soul. This world has a soul. And so does Azeroth. That is why the Legion wants it."
It was energy, and a world formed around it - this very much lines up with what we know from the Chronicles when it comes to growing Titans. It does also mention that they want to claim another, and this would make them unstoppable. Would enslaving Azeroth increase their resurrection speed as it had done for Argus, or did they have more in mind?
The blood of Argus also held similar properties to the blood of Azeroth, so why would Azeroth be anything else but a Titan?
What Makes a God?
Well, one thing that’s kinda curious is that we’ve learned about beings like the Eternal Ones: beings similar to the Titans. They hail from Zereth Mortis and the Sepulcher. Their prototypes were infused with souls, but details are a bit vague since the soul of Argus was also planned to be thrown into one of these prototypes. And then Pelagos, his soul was enough to get a new Arbiter going. Either way, point being, these Eternal Ones are grown in the Shadowlands.
We know from Firim's research that each cosmic domain has a Zereth, and we know from Keeper Odyn that there’s a Zereth connected to the domain of Order - Zereth Ordus - so how come Titans are grown in the physical realm, inside of a planet - instead of inside a Zereth?
What if this energy originates from the Big Bang, that primordial original blast of Light and Void which came together, and depending on which force gets their hands on it, they get to shape the being and have it aligned with their domain? That’s not that far from the original story that we know at this point in time.
We know that the Void Lords, the domain of the Void, shot out the Old Gods in order to corrupt a slumbering nascent Titan. They wanted to corrupt it with their Void energies.
We know that the dreadlords on Argus managed to pump Argus so full of Death magic that his soul traveled to the Shadowlands.
Could it be that all this time the Titans pretended like they were coming to the rescue of one of their own, while in reality, they’ve just been doing what all the other cosmic forces have been trying to do? Lay claim to this World Soul, to this original energy, the very fabric of reality - to turn it to their side, aligned with Order similarly to how Shadow, Disorder and Death wanted to claim it?
That could explain why an Eonar is able to align more with Life instead of just mindless Order.
How long until we realize that the others, Life and Light, want the very same thing - tip the balance in the World of Warcraft, a balance that must be maintained? How interesting that the next expansion is going to have an Alleria at the forefront, but also
Xal'atath to represent the Shadow side of things
.
Chris Metzen
And really the big question for all the marbles, what have the Titans actually been doing since the dawn of civilization? What is the real purpose of all of their cute little installations slammed into the side of the planet? Do we know everything we need to know about their real intentions for our world? At Ulduar, you will bear witness to the return of the Titans to Azeroth. And there, you will uncover a vast conspiracy, one that stretches throughout the history of the world. One that will challenge everything you think you know about the Titans, their intentions, and the true nature of Azeroth itself.
Great revelations when it comes to the Titans await, perhaps all of the Warcraft universe. The children of Azeroth, those touched and aligned by all cosmic forces, have time and again shown their amazing potential. They will stand against any and all that will try to claim her as their own... but that’s a story for another time.
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