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The Calling and Anduin's Crisis of Faith - A Short Story Analysis
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Опубликовано
05.06.2024 в 00:17
DiscordianKitty
The Calling
is a short story from
The Voices Within
, the upcoming
World of Warcraft
book. Written by Christie Golden, the story follows Anduin as he grapples with trauma, friendship, and a crisis of faith.
Faith on Azeroth
Religion is increasingly a complicated thing in the world of Warcraft. Mortals on Azeroth canonically know for certain that not only is there a life after death, but many of them have visited the Shadowlands itself. Believers in the Cosmological forces have often had the chance to meet and work with the godlike beings from those forces. Many creatures have been able to meet their own creators.
Uther once famously told Arthas that no one is worthy of the Light, but that through grace they are still able to wield it.
It's grace, pure and simple. We are inherently unworthy, simply because we're human, and all human beings--aye, and elves, and dwarves, and all the other races--are flawed. But the Light loves us anyway.
His speech references a Christian Bible verse that claims something very similar.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
However, Christians will generally tell you they believe in an all-good, all-perfect, all-knowing God - while the people of Azeroth have often had to come to terms with the fact that the forces they believe in are not necessarily like that. One of the more interesting characters over on
Season of Discovery is the Paladin Aeonas
. He was originally ostracized from the Church of Light for claiming the Light was neither good nor evil - at the time, a heretical belief. However, the Church of Light has since changed their view, due to the Light still providing powers to clearly evil mortals such as the Scarlet Crusade. During
Legion
, the Conclave - Azeroth's Order of Priests - have accepted other once-heretical beliefs. For example,
Natalie Seline
, a Shadow Priest, has been accepted as a member of the Order, despite her teachings that there must be balance between the Shadow and the Light.
This all doesn't mean that faith has no place on Azeroth - but that it is slightly different to faith in, say, our world. In some ways, it might even be more difficult, and perhaps that's part of the reason behind Anduin's crisis of faith. Because on Azeroth, it's not so much faith in the Light that necessarily grants Light powers - it's faith in oneself. The Scarlet Crusade can wield the Light because of their conviction. Anduin is a Priest of the Conclave - he must be well-versed in his own religion enough to know that a person does not have to be morally perfect or pure to wield the Light - and yet he struggles to call on it himself. That is because it is his belief in himself that has been shaken.
Anduin's Crisis of Faith
For his entire life, Anduin has had a strong moral code that was central to his very being. His experience in the Shadowlands has made him question that, and now he struggles to call on the Light because he barely knows who he is himself anymore. This is the situation we find him in at the opening of his short story.
Set sometime before the
War Within announcement cinematic
, the story follows Anduin, now back from the Shadowlands, but not yet ready to return to Stormwind. In fact, Anduin seems to be running - mostly from his own thoughts. He accepts a job at a water mill in Stormsong Valley, attracted by the promise that the work will keep him isolated from other people. We see that Anduin is deeply traumatized by his experience in the Shadowlands, and that he also worries about being a threat to other people. Still, he ends up developing a friendship with the mill's owner, Rodrik, who as a war veteran recognizes the fact that Anduin shows signs of PTSD. He also ends up developing a friendship with a visiting fox - though he tries to avoid developing too much affection for it by refusing to give it a name, which only results in it being named Fox.
To Anduin's dismay, Rodrick is mortally wounded during a raider attack. Anduin tries to call on the Light to save his friend, but is unable to. With Rodrick's dying breath, he asks Anduin to take care of his family - which Anduin promises to do. As a result, Anduin ends up spending less time isolated as he grieves with Rodrick's family. When another raider attack threatens them, he helps save them, wielding Shalamayne against the attackers. During the fight, he hears the Radiant Song for the first time. Knowing he has to answer the call, Anduin leaves to follow the Song - first giving Fox to Rodrick's daughter. (Sadly, Anduin will not be respeccing to Hunter this expansion.)
Anduin's Core
Throughout the story, there are signs that Anduin's moral core remains intact. When he's expected to kill the fox, he chooses a peaceful solution instead. Killing a fox that's a threat to chickens would be considered a perfectly moral and acceptable thing to do, but Anduin's peaceful nature wins out. He can't bring himself to take an innocent life, no matter how justified. On the other hand, the fact that Anduin will fight if needed to protect those he loves is also demonstrated during the raider attack, when he kills without hesitation.
For Anduin, not being able to call on the Light is a failing. But it doesn't make him useless. Though he was unable to save Rodrick's life, he is able to do what he promised - keep Rodrick's family safe. Later, after fighting the raiders, Anduin takes note of how Shalamayne is still darkened - no Light shines in the blade anymore. But that didn't stop Anduin from wielding the blade as effectively as Varian ever did, in exactly the purpose it was made for - to protect the people he loves and is responsible for.
He stared at Shalamayne, seeing it as if for the first time.
There was no light moving in the blade’s curve.
No gold, but at least, blessedly, no icy blue.
For now, at least, Anduin is unable to call on the Light. But while he sees this as a failing, it is making him stronger. Anduin is learning to define himself without the powers of the Light. He is learning to do what he can, even when he doesn't have Cosmological help - and is choosing to do what is right, even when there is no Light to guide him.
A great deal is made about the mortals of Azeroth - every Cosmological force seems to be varying degrees of impressed and threatened by them. Anduin will likely regain his ability to wield the Light - this is not the sort of universe where a main character is likely to suffer from a debilitating debuff forever - but it's his capabilities without the Light that truly make him remarkable, and illustrate just why Azeroth's mortals are so special.
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