Project Lore

Proverb is a twice-weekly column discussing the lore of Warcraft. It is spoiler heavy for all Warcraft games, novels, and other media. Comment on this post or send a tweet to @Heartbourne and let us know what you would like to see in future columns!

Fan rendering of Ysera, night elf and dragon forms

Of all the dragonflights, the green and red dragonflights are considered to be the most peaceful. Alexstrasza, the aspect of the red dragons, the Life-Binder, rules over Wyrmrest Temple and has long been a protagonist of many perilous adventures. Ysera has not gotten nearly as much attention as Alexstrasza, but with Neltharion as the main antagonist of Cataclysm, Malygos killed in the Nexus War, and Nozdormu likely involved in the Infinite Dragonflight (see previous Proverb columns), Ysera and the green dragonflight may be one of our last remaining draconic allies. Ysera, like all dragons, was created by the Titans from the great proto-dragon Galakrond. The titan Eonar gifted her with the powers of nature. Eonar also imparted some of her power to Alexstrasza, but the form it took was more specifically in life energy. Ysera was tasked with safeguarding the natural world and the Emerald Dream, an alternate realm that exists parallel to the mortal realm where all mortals dreams take place, among other things. The Emerald Dream exists much as the world was at its shaping, a lush, green paradise. It is what the world would be like if sentient beings were not to exist. Even those who can walk the Dream, including its master, Ysera, cannot alter the Dream; it will always quickly revert to its unaltered state. Many powerful beings, especially those skilled in the ways of natural magic, can exist in both realms at once, or move their spirit through the Emerald Dream while their physical forms remain in the mortal realm. Novice spellcasters can easily become overwhelmed by the serenity of the Dream and never return to their bodies. Their physical forms slowly die of starvation, destroying their spirit as well.  Ysera, known as The Dreamer, nearly always has her eyes shut, wandering the Emerald Dream in spirit while she freely roams the mortal realm. Ysera often takes the form of a female night elf with green robes, hair, and eyes, especially in the Emerald Dream.

Ysera's current (temporary?) model in her night elf form in WoW

Cenarius, the patron of the Druids, was "adopted" by Ysera. Cenarius' actual parents are Elune and Malorne (known to the Tauren as Mu'sha and Apa'ro), but as Cenarius was much more mortal than Elune, she entrusted him to Malorne for his upbringing. Malorne was very close friends with Ysera, and Ysera seemed a more proper mother figure for Cenarius' life. Cenarius learned much about natural magic from Ysera's teaching and became a master of the wistful Emerald Dream. Perhaps 55,000 years after these events, Cenarius imparted this information to the night elves, training Malfurion Stormrage as the first druid. Many druids maintain a very close relationship with the green dragonflight, as they both spend much of their time tending to the natural world and the Emerald Dream. Many druids even become dragonsworn. Soon after Cenarius began training Malfurion, the Burning Legion invaded Azeroth. The night elves fought a difficult war and many of the Ancients, including Cenarius, ultimately helped decide the outcome. Neltharion, later known as Deathwing, tricked the other four dragon Aspects, including Ysera, into sacrificing much of their power into an artifact known as the Dragon Soul, later called the Demon Soul. He did not impart any of his power to the artifact, and as such remained much more powerful than the other dragons. Malfurion and Krasus attempted to travel to the lair of the Aspects so that Krasus could commune, but Neltharion had erected a strong barrier, making it impossible for them to enter. Malfurion entered the Emerald Dream to seek out Ysera to grant them an audience with Ysera. After repeatedly mentioning that he was a student of Cenarius, Ysera allowed his spirit passage to the meeting of the Aspects. While the Aspects discussed the demon soul, Malfurion investigated it silently with his mind. Neltharion noticed his meddling, and attacked him with silent spells. Malfurion attempted to escape to the Emerald Dream, and Neltharion surprisingly was able to follow, and follow undetected to Ysera. Neltharion took on an even more fearsome form in the Dream, but appearances in the dream world mean little. The implications of this event are many; the fact that powerful spellcasters such as Neltharion can enter the realm without communing with nature is interesting, as is the possibility of such beings entering the Dream without Ysera taking note.

Creature of the Dream

Neltharion's madness drove him to use it against anyone not of his flight. This caused a desperate struggle that resulted in the vast majority of dragons perishing, including practically all of the blue dragonflight. After a long battle, the demon soul was taken from Neltharion and sealed far beneath the earth, with an enchantment that prevented it from ever being wielded by dragonkind again. The War of the Ancients, as it later became known, ended with great losses, such as the death of most night elves and the exile of the highborne. Illidan Stormrage recreated the Well of Eternity using the Vials of Eternity, which caused his imprisonment at the hands of the remaining night elves. Ysera rewarded the night elves by planting a great tree in the Well of Eternity using an acorn from the Mother Tree G'Hanir, which perished with the death of its master Aviana during the War of the Ancients. This new tree became known as Nordrassil, the first World Tree, which greatly aided druids with natural powers, including the entry into the Emerald Dream. This direct endorsement from Ysera of the druids may have been one of the reasons druidism grew. This tree was blessed by the remaining Aspects. Nozdormu's blessing made the tree timeless, and the night elves inherited from it the power of immortality, causing them to never age (until the tree's eventual destruction). Look for part 2 tomorrow!

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WoW-centric sites aren't the only ones excited about the upcoming expansion. The venerable GameTrailers has thrown their hat into the speculation ring, as well, detailing all sorts of areas they would love to see in Cataclysm. For the most part, they cover the same sorts of unreleased zones I've been discussing in my Cataclysm Countdown series of articles, but there are several that I neglected to touch upon. Most intriguing of these is the Emerald Dream, something that most of us have anticipated seeing in another future expansion. Despite this, I think some arguments can be made for its inclusion in Cataclysm. The great Night Elf Druid, Malfurion Stormrage, played a big role in the War of the Ancients. Currently, he is trapped (or willfully stays within) the Emerald Dream, combating the forces of the Nightmare that have corrupted it. Malfurion Stormrage, Lord of the Druids The rumors that have surfaced mention Malfurion returning to the physical realm to activate Thrall as the next Guardian of Tirisfal. If these events actually occur, he may bring news of what's occuring in the Dream with him. And if that news can be linked to the greater threat of the Maelstrom and Azshara, there may be cause to send players into the wild green yonder. Another idea that piqued my interest was opening up Timbermaw Hold. It doesn't seem to have any particular importance to the grander storyline, but if Azshara's going to turned into a 10-20 zone, it would make a perfect 5-man dungeon for that level set. It may also serve as a pathway into the nearby Mount Hyjal. The video also goes over a number of the random, unfinished zones still littered throughout Azeroth (such as the Ironforge Airport and the barren area to the west of Brill in Tirisfal Glade). If these areas aren't filled in, they'll probably be removed or otherwise modified in the new version of the world. Ultimately, it seems the folks over at GameTrailers know about as much as we do. There's nothing new to be found here, and all of the footage in the video is taken from existing areas, but it's nice to have a well-produced visual overview of what we all hope to see in the coming days. Watch the video and discuss! Let us know what you think of GameTrailer's speculation, as well as our own!

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One example of phased content: the Wrathgate event. The MMO is an odd beast. Like most games, or game series, it evolves and grows in expected ways over time. Players are provided with a bevy of new options or the graphics are given a shiny new coat of paint (especially if it's associated with a generational jump in hardware). But the online RPG is no moulting reptile. It can't simply shed its old skin. Expansions offer new content, but rarely do much for the old, so we're stuck with the less impressive aspects of the game, and the developers are consistently reminded by these ancient artifacts of their failings the first time around. I'm sure Blizzard would love to reshape the original continents as much as we players would like to see them do it, but the drain on resources would be absolutely massive. I know I've stated this in previous posts, but it entails so much more than a graphical overhaul. They'd have to reconsider how quests, dungeons, leveling, and other such balance-related aspects of the game are dealt with. What starts as one problem to deal with quickly spirals out of control. But let's be honest, who is it that wants to experience this content again? I'd wager it's largely people who are at the end game, and have been there for a very long time. Often, that means relegating yourself to a scant few zones worth of content, which, as we all know, can get boring very quickly. A first-time player should still have a lot of fun exploring the old world and those who are leveling alts likely want to progress through it as quickly as possible. Mainland Azeroth, specifically Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, is the bread and butter of the Warcraft universe, though! It seems necessary to revisit and reinvigorate those areas so absolutely central to the lore. So, how do we do that? What can Blizzard do to persuade us to go back? Well, by moving forward, actually. Through the idea of phasing. It's already in the game, if you're looking for it. The go-to event whenever anyone talks about this sort of thing is the Wrathgate, and as great of a showcase as it might be, it doesn't really deal with the complexities of the concept's implementation.  Simply put, phasing allows parts of the world to look/act/behave differently for players at different stages of the game. The problem with Wrathgate is that it's mostly cosmetic: a player who hasn't completed the line will see a standing army and one who has will see, well, the aftermath. A better example to look towards, and perhaps a test bed for what we can expect looking forward (should Blizz choose to go down this road) is actually Icecrown Glacier. There are several questlines involving the Argent Crusade and Ebon Blade that slowly change certain parts of the zone, even opening up new questlines along the way (which otherwise wouldn't be available to players who haven't progressed that far yet). For phasing to truly be game-changing, it needs to be able to make sweeping changes to the player experience. What this all boils down to is this: why not phase the whole of Azeroth? If some world-changing event is ahead, make it so that level 80-90 players see a different kind of world. What if the Crossroads were in ruins or you suddenly had high-level mobs in the newbie zones? Those are simple examples, but they could scale with the amount of work Blizzard feels they want to put into it. It's the Battle for the Undercity on a much greater level! Of course, that does present some problems to overcome. Specifically, how two such versions of Azeroth can exist concurrently. Blizzard isn't completely shy about fudging the timeline (which would explain how Kael'Thas could exist as an uber raid boss in Tempest Keep and in his weaker, defeated form in Magister's Terrace at the same time), and you could argue that's necessary in a persistent-world MMO like Warcraft, but there are more practical concerns. For instance, would it be possible for a level 80+ character to return to the old version of Azeroth and how would that even be justified in the lore? What if they want to play with or help our some of their low-level buds, who they wouldn't be able to see in the phased version of the world? Would things like auction houses be connected across the great 4th-dimensional abyss? The disconnect between gameplay and practicality does eventually reach the point of becoming undesirable if you stretch players' suspension of disbelief too far. Nonetheless, I can think of at least one solution, as cliche as it might be: portals. WoW lore does have a few built-in fail safes for things like this. We already know there are alternate versions of Azeroth, like that of the Emerald Dream. And then there's the possibility of the Infinite Dragonflight finally finding success in corrupting the timeline, resulting in a completely different chain of events. Areas, or possibilities like these, can be accessed through special gateways opened up by the dragonflights in their attempt to restore order. What sorts of ideas might you readers have for this sort of thing? Is phasing a viable option? Would you be willing to excuse the lore to explore an alternate version of Azeroth at any cost, or should it have to jive with the existing story line? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

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A series of trademark requests that Blizzard Entertainment recently filed may indicate the possible name and lore of the next World of Warcraft expansion. Wednesday, Tumblr blogger Supererogatory revealed that Blizzard is seeking trademarks that would include computer games, paper-based products and online games with the name "Cataclysm." For all we know, that could be the name of Blizzard's super-secret project under development, a new MMO or something else completely unrelated to WoW. But given the name's relationship to the Maelstrom, some people (including myself) speculate that this could be the name for the next WoW expansion. There's been a great deal of speculation for a long while now that the next expansion will relate to the swirling vortex of power that lies between Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, the Maelstrom. To refresh your memory, the Maelstrom was created in a huge world event at the end of the War of the Ancients, thousands of years ago. Often referred to as the Cataclysm or the Great Sundering, it all started with the destruction of the Well of Eternity. The giant explosion that this caused ripped Azeroth asunder, destroying most of the land mass (previously there was one giant continent, Kalimdor) and reshaping what little remained. In place of the Well of Eternity now lies the Maelstrom, a constant, thunderous reminder of the peaceful times that now are lost to the world. It also is implied that the giant storm is slowly drawing in the surrounding land masses. It could even eventually swallow all that remains of Azeroth. What more could you ask for in a conflict? Another noteworthy, though perhaps coincidental factor: WoW.com pointed out that the WoWcataclysm domain expired on June 26, the same day that the trademark requests were filed. Interesting. There also have been a lot of guesses that the next expansion could be related to the Emerald Dream, the realm of Dragon Aspect Ysera. That speculation was flamed by several blue posts that hinted at the area as a possibilty for future development, but I haven't seen any new, official mentions of that for at least a couple of years. Let's see if we can glean a little bit more information for what the Trademark would encompass by reading the details of the applications, which were filed June 26. According to the documents posted on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website, the three requests are classified to cover:

• Computer game software and related instruction manuals and guides sold together as a unit; downloadable computer game software; interactive multimedia computer game program; mousepads
• Comic books, computer game strategy guides, trading cards, coloring books, adhesive stickers, rub-on transfers, notebooks, stationery-type portfolios, posters, greeting cards, calendars, instructional leaflets in the field of computer games, computer game instruction manuals, catalogs in the field of computer games, advertisement boards of paper or cardboard, photographs, art prints
• Entertainment services, namely, providing on-line computer games; providing computer games that may be accessed via a global computer network; and providing on-line information in the field of computer gaming entertainment

It certainly sounds like an MMO to me. So what does everyone else think? Would you be all for some maelstrom-based content for the next expansion? Do you think that's what all this information points to? What else do you think the trademarks could be for?

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Maelstrom, Emerald Dream Or Some Combination? A collection of Blizzard's community managers have been teasing the next expansion lately, according to WoWInsider, and it got me thinking about things I would like to see in number three.  Outside of the added content, The Burning Crusade's biggest feature was the space goat - does anyone else think of "Coast to Coast" after reading that? - and sexy horde character, as well as Blizzard giving up on balancing faction-exclusive classes.  For its part, Wrath of the Lich King introduced everyone to the first hero class, the overpowered, free-minded Death Knights.  Without further ado, I present one of the major additions I would like to see in the upcoming expansion, whatever it may be, new leveling zones. We've essentially been leveling from level 10-60 in the same zones since World of Warcraft launched back in late 2004.  If it wasn't for The Burning Crusade's addition of opening zones for the added races, we could extend that to level 1-60.  Sure, Azeroth offers many areas that overlap in their level range, but after leveling six characters to level 60, the content has run dry for me.  I can only fight the raptors outside Menethil Harbor, squish the spiders of Duskwood, and farm various animals in Stranglethorn Vale so many times. There's no serious indication that this could happen in the next expansion, but I will grasp any bit of information that can be skewed and twisted in a fashion to make my dreams seem possible.  Case in point, when the topic of redesigning some of the Old World zones for a new expansion was raised, Zarhym chimed in with a seal of approval, "Good post :)."  It's nice to know that someone within the Blizzard dictatorship agrees with us common folk, even if it is a disembodied, chattering skull. Although I would prefer new content rather than redesigned zones, I will take what I can get.  After all, the overhauled version of Silithus for The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj was absolutely brilliant and we need something brilliant to bring us back to the Old World.  It may be a bit premature to begin thinking about the next expansion before we have killed Arthas, but that has never stopped me before and it won't stop my brain from thinking of new things either. Do you think there's a chance that the developers will revisit the old world, whether it be adding new areas/zones or redesigning existing ones?

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