Project Lore

Warning! This post is speculative and potentially spoiler-heavy. I won't lie. I've been cringing inside at the thought of Garrosh Hellscream replacing Thrall. How could he? What would this mean for the fate of the Horde? And why would Thrall allow it? Amatera's recent post on glimpses of the changing Horde on the PTR solidified that even more. I am not a fan of Garrosh, to put it lightly, and based on the comments on that post, plenty of others aren't, either. In fact, it's easy to name plenty of other Horde leaders who would make a better Warchief. Among the contenders, on one humorous forum thread: Cairne Bloodhoof (which would be difficult if he's dead), Saurfang, Sylvanas, Hogger (/chuckle), Westfall Chicken or a Sickly Gazelle. And with all this mounting contention against Hellscream, it was only time before the issue would be addressed via Blue Post. Kisirani took the call in a thread questioning Hellscream's ability to lead the Horde. Here's what was said:

"Garrosh is a character with a lot to prove. I realize there's a great deal of consternation out there concerning the tales of what's to come, but I want to reassure you that we understand that concern. We know where you're coming from. Why are we still going this route? With all respect, you haven't seen the entirety of who Garrosh is. You've seen a great deal of his faults, certainly, but people grow over time, and you may find, come Cataclysm, that he is not quite the disaster you portend. :) (Mind you, that doesn't mean he's Thrall, either.)"

Can you hear the collective sigh of relief? No? Well, I'm still not exactly crazy about the idea, either. But it does remind me that what we're hearing so far is only bits and pieces of what surely will be a much larger, more complicated story. If you think back to the Burning Crusade, we did see a slightly different side of Garrosh. Before he knew of his father, Grom Hellscream's heroic death, Garrosh is portrayed as ashamed, intimidated at the thought of becoming a great leader, and even a little depressed. Thrall's news that Grom had fought valiantly to his redemption is a huge part of what transforms Garrosh into the strong, confident, belligerent being that we now know. But at least we see that he is capable of growth and change as a character. My guess is that there's going to be some massive world event leading up to the Cataclysm, or it may even be the Cataclysm itself, that forces Garrosh to grow as a character once again. Let's hope that by the time Garrosh leads the Horde, if this indeed is to come, that he is a multi-dimensional character with more layers than the surface one we've seen up until now. And if that's not the case, then may Thrall (or one of those other potential leaders - I'd root for Sylvanas) overthrow him and retake the Horde!

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The yearly celebration of all our fallen heroes is upon us! That is right folks, the Harvest Festival started yesterday and will run through Saturday. The Harvest Festival isn't as exciting as some of the other seasonal events, like the Midsummer Fire Festival or Children's Week, but it is worth checking out if you haven't been apart of it previously. I will be bringing my new level 30 character over to Ironforge to crash the festivities and grab some of that free food and drink. After having my fill, my buddy and I will be making our trek out to Western Plaguelands and honoring the first Paladin of the Knights of the Silver Hand, Uther Lightbringer. The quest is an easy one – and worth a lot of XP – but Uther is quite possibly the most deserving of the recognition since it was Arthas, the first Death Knight, that felled him. For the hordies out there, you guys need to head to Ogrimmar for your side of the festival. Your champion is a more complicated individual than the pure of heart Lightbringer. Grommash Hellscream, best friend of Warchief Thrall and drinker of Mannoroth's blood is the target of horde affection. By drinking the blood of the demon, Hellscream aligned the horde with the Burning Legion.  In the end he redeemed himself, but paid the ultimate price to break the curse and free his people. If you wish to lean more about the fallen heroes head over to the Uther Lightbringer or Grom Hellscream WoWWiki pages. Grom is also a feature in two of the Warcraft novels, Warcraft: Lord of the Clans and Rise of the Horde, both by Christie Golden. Uther has not had such treatment.

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