Project Lore

Project Lore has been a bit hung up on the whole Arthas/Lich King tandem of late.  And why not.  Blizzard has been trickling information on patch 3.3 for over a week now.  Between the model updates - which elude to an awesome in-game Icecrown event - character bios refreshes and general patch updates, there's no better time to get excited. Earlier this week I posed the question, "How do you want Arthas to die?" Only one clear cut morsel of information came of that discussion; that the playerbase isn't in agreement that he should die.  Pixiestixy asked the perfect follow-up question, "Is Arthas capable of redemption?" Before you jump to your conclusion, here's all the well-known people he's screwed over the course of his life, including that as the Lich King: Jaina Proudmoore:  Jaina grew up with pretty boy Arthas, making her one of the few people, that still breaths, to know him through the course of his tumultuous life.  The leader ofTheramore loved the man, only to be pushed away by him during their formative years.  It's at this time that Arthas begins slipping, making ever worse decisions, and all Jaina was able to do was deny helping him.  The budding student of Dalaran witnessed his descent into obsession.  She was even party to some of his acts.  But she never once tried to stop his acts, not even in Stratholme, leaving the proud mage with an immense amount of guilt on her conscious. Even more soul crushing, Jaina knew him when he was good, a true bearer of the Light.  A believer.  That's something she is hell bent on returning, a good, true, loving Arthas.  Hopefully her emotions and feelings don't cloud her judgement if there's no alternative, or if her very life is on the line. Sylvanas Windrunner:  Jaina may agonize over Arthas for knowing him when he was good, but Sylvanas has only known the bad.  The two females have entirely different views of the man; Jaina reveres him as a man who lost his way, whileSylvanas despises him for destroying her home.  Ruining Sylvanas ' way of life wasn't enough.  Instead of turning her into one of the mindless undead, Arthas decided to teach her a lesson for standing up to his Scourge army.  Upon her death he allowed her to retain her memories as a banshee, but he remained able to bend her to his will when needed. That's until she broke free from his control, attempted to murder him (obviously failed), founded the Forsaken, and now continues to seek her revenge. It has already been confirmed that these two leading ladies will be partaking in the assault on Icecrown Citadel. Muradin Bronzebeard:  Muradin is in much the same position as Jaina, only without the sex (we hope).  The former Ambassador to Lordaeron helped train the young Arthas, enabling the prince to become a well-versed warrior in a variety of weapons.  Muradin was witness to some of the worst atrocities Arthas committed in his quest to rid the world of Mal'ganis, including stranding his men on Northrend, and murdering the very mercenaries who helped him get that far. If seeing your student go completely insane isn't enough to tear someone apart, how about a shard of ice through the chest?  That's exactly what Muradin was treated to when he tried to stop Arthas from retrieving Frostmourne and forever becoming bound to the Lich King.  Muradin has never been the same since. Muradin will be in attendance for the Icecrown Citadel festivities. Tirion Fordring: The next three people don't have much beef with Arthas directly.  They just happen to hate the Scourge with more venom than anyone else on Azeroth.  Fordring was one of the original members of the Knights of the Silver Hand before being exiled for saving a greenskin. During the Third War he routinely dispatched minions of the Scourge army to protect his small farmstead and trail his son.  Upon his son's death, Tirion set his mind to destroying the threat, the Lord of the Scourge.  To accomplish this goal he brought the old Knights of the Silver Hand and the Argent Dawn under a new banner, the Argent Crusade, that has been bolstered by the death knight faction, Knights of the Ebon Blade.  He continues to run the faction. Darion/Alexandros Mograine:  This father and son duo also lack a direct hatred of Arthas.  As both former Scourge minions, and wielders of Ashbringer, the pair still pose a threat.  Darion remains steadfast in his quest to eliminate the Lich King, while Alexandros' fate isn't known as of now.  It's suspected that Darion saved his father from the clutches of The Dark One when he impaled himself on Ashbringer, but it has not been confirmed. Their tales are told in-depth in the excellent one-shot comic by Wildstorm, World of Warcraft: Ashbringer.  Highlord Darion Mograine is another confirmed raiding member. Varok Saurfang: Saurfang is one of the more recent high profile characters to mix it up with the Dark Lord of the Dead.  He first got on the Lich King's tail when he was sent to lead the Horde warparty in Northrend.  Initially just a routine station, it became personal for Varok after his son, Saurfang the Younger, was killed by the Lich King during the battle of Angrathar the Wrathgate. The newcomer in the Lich King's matrix will be aboard Orgrim's Hammer for the horde encounter. Kil'jaeden:  The current leader of the Burning Legion isn't a nice guy.  He doesn't take failure very well, and he doesn't enjoy people turning against him.  Ner'zhul, whom was the original Lich King, and later one-half of the being, managed to fail and then betray his master.  That's two strikes when normally one is forty two too many.  Arthas himself was never a direct underling of The Beautiful One, but he was indirectly being controlled by manipulation through the nathrezim agents sent by Archimonde.  It's roundabout, but Kil'jaeden was ultimately the creator.  Like how Steve Jobs created the iPod. Kil'jaeden slips many people's minds when they think of the Lich King's enemies, but he'd love to possess the Lich King once more.  Or put him down for failing, and then betraying him.  Still, it's highly unlikely that the spotlight will return to the Burning Legion in this fashion, or any time soon. The list is in a specific order, my order of who deserves it the most.  I still believe that Jaina requires redemption more than anyone else.  You'll have to read the novel to understand all the intricacies, but she's been hurt by Arthas, when he was good and as he became bad, and then when he became the Lich King.  The triple threat.  She's also the only person on the list who isn't in it mainly for the revenge, but to try to save him.  She may gain something from saving his soul, but at least she'd be bringing a person back into the world, instead of dispatching one. I am fairly confident that that encompasses all of the major players.  If I've missed someone important, or overlooked a connection to another character, leave me a note in the comments or @iTZKooPA and I'll check it out.

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Finally, subscribing to @Warcraft on Twitter has paid off.  Yesterday, Blizzard, by way of said Twitter account, updated all its followers with news that Jaina Proudmoore "needed new attire for an urgent upcoming event.  So our artists obliged."  Obliged indeed, but they didn't just stop at her attire (which is the same look, but appears to actually be fashioned armor, instead of squishy cloth). Jaina also received a much needed makeover, complete with a unique face.  The whole ensemble clocks in at a higher resolution (is that a belly button?!), giving the famed character all the glam and curves any NPC could ever want.  It's not exactly how the comics portray her though.  I am of course referring to the size of her...staff.  It's much taller than her in the comic...Yeap, the staff. /me looks around shifty-eyed. This is actually the Ruler of Theramore's second major update since her former lover became the focus of our attention.  The first being minor adjustments to her face and stomach.  She wants to save him so badly that she's resorted to cosmetic surgery to return him to the light! With Jaina all dolled up, the artists can now focus on some of the other leaders.  I don't know about you, but after almost five years I'd think Thrall would have replaced his gear.  Especially since he's been chasing Jaina all over Azeroth.  Even orcs should realize that human females enjoy men who change their outfits! A forum thread on the topic prompted Zarhym, everyone's favorite disembodied chattering head, to tease us with further Patch 3.3 details.  "We feel now is a very good time to get Jaina an update since her and Sylvanas will play key roles in the five-player Icecrown Citadel dungeon. That isn't to say other heroes will not receive similar treatment in the future. ;)" Seems safe to say that Jaina and Sylvanas will be appearing during the assault on Icecrown Citadel, and hopefully in the absolutely epic death of Arthas.  I hope I am not overselling the upcoming event, but I am quiet excited to see which direction Blizzard takes us.  After all, it'll be the culmination of Warcraft III's events, allowing us to progress into uncharted territory. Here's a link to the old image of Jaina for comparison.

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Death By Tar & Feathering? Patch 3.3 is so close that I can almost connect to the PTR long enough to play it.  We've been waiting for this content patch ever since it we revealed that Arthas would be joining the game dedicated to him a little late - by C'Thun the star could never arrive on time.  Now that we have the PTR housing patch 3.3, the first round of ever-changing patch notes, maps of the dungeons and lots more, one burning question remains.  How will Arthas die? Let's start with the more appropriate question.  Will Arthas die? It has almost become cliche that World of Warcraft's bosses manage to slip through death's grasp at the last second.  A large number of the best known bosses have merely been de-summoned, released from someone's control or regained their sanity (put down at his request).  In the case of the Old Gods, we mortals have been fighting parts of them, leading some to believe that we've only faced a portion of their vast power.  Is it possible that Blizzard could allow one of Warcraft's most infamous villains to avoid the grave?! Hell no.  The disservice done to fans by allowing Arthas/The Lich King to live would be unfathomable.  He's going down. Of course, then we return to the original discussion, how do you want Arthas to die?  Blizzard could go one of a hundred ways for Arthas' demise, so I can only tell you how I'd like to see him die.  That would be by Jaina's hand.  If there's anyone who needs redemption for all Arthas has done (that's still alive) it is Jaina, his former lover. Rather than another Maiev + raiders vs. Illidan team-up, I'd like to see Arthas go all Hulk on us, freezing our toons when we get him to zero HP.  As he's toying with us, attempting to crack our minds, Jaina pops out of no where to confront him.  Being the former suave Prince The Lich King tries to sweet talk his former mate, only to be struck down mid sentence by an icy bolt, and then finished off with a melee move from her staff.  Double tap, it's important.  Her icy demeanor would vanish as he falls to the ground, and then she'd weep over his fallen corpse (as we looted it) as she curses the gods for putting her in such a position. The odds of my vision coming to fruition are slim to none, but it doesn't hurt to dream.  It wasn't until I finished reading Christie Golden's book that I came to believe Jaine is the only person to send the Prince of Lordaeron six feet under.  How do you want the former paladin to go down?  What about you hordies?  You likely have a different view on this whole Scourge debacle since one of the leaders of your nation-states didn't date the backstabbing necromantic.  Although I hear Thrall has the hots for Jaina.  Just a rumor someone's spreading.  And there is that Slyvanas lady.  Perhaps she'll get her revenge in the horde script?

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