I had a great response on yesterday’s post, so thanks to all who read and commented! You know, there are definitely a lot of things in WoW that I get feely about. Blood elf stuff is up there, of course, and sometimes the in-game music hits me just the right way and brings me back.
But when it comes to the storyline for a single character, it’s really tough to beat Arthas.
In many ways, he reminds me of Anakin Skywalker (assuming you roll with the prequel stuff.) He’s brash and full of himself and makes some bad choices (that he thinks are right) and then becomes the Big Bad. The difference is that Darth Vader is ultimately redeemed, and Arthas is not. He is a tragic character with a tragic ending, and yet despite it all, you still feel for him.
thanks tvtropes
Arthas is, in many ways, THE Big Bad of Warcraft. Oh sure, Illidan gets a lot of love and Sargeras is technically the Big Bad, but Arthas was the lovable boy next door who turned around and killed his dad and then rained death and destruction on both his people and the elves. Arthas hits closer to home, which makes him both scarier and more relatable, at the same time.
Will there ever be another villain quite like Arthas? Probably not, but who knows. He was a fantastic high point to a fantastic expansion. Well played, Blizzard!
When people talk about the women of Warcraft, they tend to go with old standbys like Jaina or Sylvanas, or new favorites like Yrel. But I rarely see Liadrin getting much attention from either Blizzard or the fanbase. And that, my friends, is a crying shame, because she is freaking amazing.
Here’s why Lady Liadrin is my #1 fave:
(WARNING: Contains serious spoilers from the novella “Blood of the Highborne.” If you haven’t read that yet, and want to be surprised when reading it, then hold off on reading this article!)
The Lady herself!
1. She survived the Scourge invasion of Quel’Thalas.
Reminder that 90% of the elven population died during this thing. Not Liadrin, a priestess at the time, who spent her time valiantly working to keep her injured allies alive even as they all fell around her. She did this almost right up until the very end, when some old friends teleported her to safety (against her will, I might add.)
2. She decided to get revenge.
Because if there’s anyone who doesn’t sit around, it’s Liadrin. Concluding pretty much immediately that it was time to take action that was more decisive than just healing (she was angry at the Light for failing her people, anyway), she strolled on up to Lor’themar about five seconds after returning to Silvermoon, grabbed a nearby club, and said “I am sure one of your men can show me how to use this.” Then she went directly to Quel’Danas to decapitate trolls and undead, without stopping to pass Go or collect $200.
3. If her people are at stake, then she wants results. Now. No matter what.
One day, Grand Magister Rommath and Magister Astalor Bloodsworn came up with a great idea: what if you could channel the Light through a weapon like paladins did, but by force? They had a pet Naaru (gifted by Kael) to practice on, so they asked Liadrin if she wanted to try it out.
She said yes pretty much immediately. Why? Because the Ghostlands was under constant siege from the remnants of the Scourge, which were still running amok due to the meddling of one Dar’khan Drathir. If channeling the Light through a Naaru was going to be their ticket to the safety of Quel’Thalas, you’d better believe Liadrin wasn’t going to turn it down.
4. She founded the Blood Knight Order and trained new Blood Knights just because she could.
Liadrin wanted the Blood Knights to be the best damn fighting force on Azeroth and, welp, if you want something done, you’d better do it yourself.
I don’t actually know if this is Liadrin but it looks like her, so it works.
5. All the Blood Knights looked up to her and respected her immensely…
…including Mehlar Dawnblade, who had previously been a paladin (of the Silver Hand) and had trained under Uther the Lightbringer him-fecking-self. And he still answered to Liadrin because, like, you don’t NOT answer to Liadrin. She is that good at what she does, and has that forceful of a personality.
6. She will never turn her back on a friend.
Unless that friend happens to be Dar’khan, in which case screw him for being the biggest traitor in the elves’ long and storied history.
…but that aside, one of Liadrin’s longtime friends was a fellow priest named Galell. After the fall of the Sunwell his condition quickly deteriorated and before long he was giving in to his addictions and eventually became Wretched. But Liadrin never gave up on trying to save him and was even there in his few last moments, right up until she was forced to kill him in self-defense. After that she held his lifeless body and cried for hours, because she had failed him.
True. Friendship.
Clockwise from top: Dar’khan (disgusting traitor!), Galell, Liadrin, and Lor’themar
7. She will change her opinion based on facts, without hesitation
One of my very favorite things about Liadrin is that if someone, or something, successfully changes her mind on something she doesn’t let pride get in the way of her opinion – she immediately adapts her position.
She turned away from the Light with no qualms when she felt it had failed her home.
She turned away from Kael’thas with no qualms when she realized what he was really doing.
She joined the Shattered Sun Offensive after talking to A’dal for like thirty seconds, and she even changes her tabard, in an in-game event, to reflect this.
And once the Sunwell was restored, she wholeheartedly opted to embrace the Light again.
Wishy washy? Heck no, just damn intelligent. Intelligent enough to know that sometimes things change, and you just gotta go with it. As she has said frequently: “Times change. People change.”
8. Basically if she decides she doesn’t like you, it’s game over for you
Liadrin has a really strong sense of justice. You know why she’s in Warlords of Draenor? Because “Liadrin is sickened by the depravity of the Iron Horde and aims to wipe them off the face of Draenor.” Like, that’s her reason. The Iron Horde is terrible and once Liadrin got wind of this she marched off to a distant world to feckin’ dispose of them herself. This is what I love about Liadrin. No nonsense, no messing around.
9. She wields Quel’Delar
Check it out:
Quel’Delar, for the record, was the sword of the katana used by Thalorien Dawnseeker to make a last stand against Arthas on Quel’Danas. Liadrin’s got it now because come on, is anyone else going to make better use of it? (The answer is no.)
10. Liadrin and Yrel are totally girlfriends.
…okay, maybe not. (But they so are.)
Guess where THEY’RE goin’?
So yeah. Long story short Liadrin is 100000% my favorite Warcraft lady. She’s smart, she’s strong, she takes no BS from anyone or anything, and I’m REALLY EXCITED THAT SHE’S GOING TO BE IN THE PALADIN HALL IN LEGION, I’M SO GLAD THAT I’M LEVELING A PALADIN SDK578A;LFGKHAS;DG
You know what part of the upcoming expansion I’m most excited about?
I’ll tell you what: Felo’melorn.
I don’t even main a mage and this is the most exciting tidbit of WoW info I’ve heard in forever.
So lemme tell you guys about this weapon.
Felo’melorn
This weapon was originally wielded by a guy named Dath’remar Sunstrider, who was a Highborne night elf. He was kind of a weird night elf, though. For starters, the name “Sunstrider” was really strange for a night elf name. Also his hair was golden. Ever seen a night elf with gold hair? I didn’t think so!
The Highborne eventually got kicked out of Night Elf World for magic tomfoolery, and they ended up far away where they founded Quel’Thalas and became the high elves. Anyways, Dath’remar had a weapon called Felo’melorn, which is Thalassian for Flamestrike. This was handed down through his family to his grandson, Anasterian Sunstrider, and eventually ended up in the hands of his great-grandson, Kael’thas Sunstrider.
Reborn from the Ashes
See, during the Scourge Invasion in the Third War, Anasterian Sunstrider wielded this legendary artifact against Arthas in one-on-one battle, but unfortunately the blade could not withstand the might of Frostmourne, and it was sliced in half. Kael’thas took the two pieces, reforged the blade himself, and guess what? When he went to fight Arthas with it himself, the blade held. Felo’melorn was stronger when re-forged than it was originally… just like the elves themselves.
That’s the weapon that fire mages are gonna get in the expansion. That whole story and legacy of at least ten thousand years. And boy am I stoked that I’m leveling a blood elf fire mage right now.
So yeah. Have a fire mage? GET HYPED.
Not gonna lie, I’ve kind of been in love with this thing for a while. Just a little bit.
One Last Thing
Someone got to my blog via the search term “how long ago was it that kaelthas went to outland?” The correct answer is: lore-wise, it was about ten years ago. Specifically, it was 22 years after the First War. Hope that helps!
DISCLAIMER: This could all be fake. But it looks real to me so for now let’s roll with it. I can’t think of anything else to write about today anyway.
So yeah, apparently Blizzard trademarked a new thing. It’s called “Council of Glades” and it’s being trademarked as computer game software, i.e. not a book.
The million dollar question relevant to WoW players is, of course, is it Warcraft related? My money is on yes, and here’s why:
The Council of Tirisfal is a thing in lore. Tirisfal Glades is a thing in game. Thus, Council of Glades.
StarCraft 2 is already getting its (final, I think) expansion.
It doesn’t really sound Diablo related to me. Councils exist, but I’m not so sure about glades. But who knows, I guess?
This brings us to four possibilities: A WoW expansion, a Hearthstone expansion, something involving HotS, or something entirely new. Hearthstone just got a new thing and I don’t really see Blizzard doing anything completely new with the Warcraft universe, since Hearthstone is still pretty young. It might be HotS, but that’s not nearly as exciting as wild speculation. (Although I would sell a kidney for a Medivh hero.)
So, let’s see here:
Medivh was (is?) in the Council of Tirisfal
Medivh is connected to Khadgar
We were just reintroduced to Khadgar
It’s about time for a WoW expac announcement
“Council of Glades”
…
…….
KHADGAR/MEDIVH THEMED EXPANSION WITH KARAZHAN INVOLVED.
So today someone got to my blog by searching for “Kael’thas Withdrawal”. Do not fear, my friend– I, too, occasionally suffer from Kael’thas withdrawal. But do not worry! I am here, to help you sate your desire for images of Azeroth’s most beautiful, gorgeous, and stylish elf.
Starting with some Stormpunk Kael.
And moving on to Kael’thas being a sexy beast in this loading screen:
(Disregard Illidan, we all know that Kael is the real center of attention here.)
He got ripped in three weeks thanks to Heroes of the Storm!
And now we move on to Pike, aka yours truly, sitting on his head.
Alrighty, will that do it for now? I think that’ll do it for now. Dear friends and readers, let me know if you ever suffer from Kael’thas Withdrawal in the future, and I shall come to the rescue.
…and as for a serious answer to your query, Kael’thas went to Outland to try to find a cure for the blood elves’ magic withdrawals (caused by the destruction of the Sunwell). If you want more information, or if you want me to NERD OUT about blood elf lore in general, you know what to do! *points to comment box*
No one knows who this guy is and that’s sad. That’s sad because Lor’themar is the best. Full stop. He has an interesting story, he throws benches in fountains when he gets mad, and he has a kickin’ rad eyepatch. Speaking of which, let’s start the list:
1. He has a kickin’ rad eyepatch
Source: Wowpedia
Alright, look at this. Look how cool he is. See that eyepatch? No one else can pull it off. No one else can be as rugged and gorgeous, at the same time, as Lor’themar.
2. He got the eyepatch being badass and fighting the Scourge
In case you have been living under a rock in the middle of the Barrens somewhere, during the Third War, the Scourge invaded Quel’thalas. Lor’themar, a Ranger Lord of the Farstriders, was scouting around Zul’Aman for troll activity when he noticed something odd happening. Upon going to investigate he stumbled into a bunch of re-animated dead elves. Lor’themar managed to push aside his shock and fight back – losing an eye in the process, but on the plus side now he looks super cool.
No one else will ever be this badass. (Source: “The Sunwell” manga)
3. He took over after the Scourge invasion because damn straight he did
Lor’themar was always a brilliant tactician and soldier. He was second-in-command to Sylvanas Windrunner during the Second War, and when Sylvanas met an ill fate during the Third he promptly took charge and gathered up all the survivors that he could find. Kael’thas was so impressed that he put Lor’themar in charge of everything until he could come back later. Which brings us to our next point…
4. JUST KIDDING, Kael’thas went nuts so now Lor’themar is still in charge
Lor’themar never really wanted to be in charge of all of Quel’thalas, because why would he? He’s a badass ranger who is really good at killing things and telling his men how to kill things. But what else was he supposed to do when Kael betrayed his own people and forced them into a Civil War? Well I’ll tell you what Lor’themar did, he just stayed in charge because they needed him to, and he knew that. Silvermoon expects that every elf will do his duty.
“I am large and in charge, but only if I get to have a kickass bow and sword”
5. Lor’themar will mess you up if you mess with the blood elves
And there will be two hits: him hitting you, and you hitting the ground. He loves his people and his homeland and you do NOT want to get on his bad side because you’ll know when he’s mad. Because…
6. He flings benches into fountains when he gets angry
This actually happens at the end of the Divine Bell questline if you’re Horde. It’s worth doing the entire time-gated questline just so you can view this awesome moment.
7. If Alliance try to attack him he casts Mass Charm on them
8. He carries around more baggage than a jumbo jet
Random sampling of stuff Lor’themar is either largely or solely responsible for:
Telling his old friend Dar’khan Drathir all about the Sunwell’s defenses because why not (Dar’khan immediately turned around and gave Arthas all the juicy details)
Kicking the high elves out of Silvermoon when they decided they didn’t want cool green glowy eyes not to siphon magic from living creatures
Asking the blood elves to fight in wars that are not really theirs or that they do not have available forces for, because they have no other choice
Basically he is either directly or indirectly responsible for a great deal of Bad Things. But he shoulders these burdens because…
9. That’s just what he does
Lor’themar is a Farstrider who is stuck being, well, decisively not a Farstrider. It kinda sucks, but much like the sin’dorei have their own less-than-ideal lot in life at the moment, so too does Lor’themar. Sacrifices have got to be made if Silvermoon and Quel’thalas are ever to return to their former glory.
And, finally…
10. He’s smokin’ hot
And he has two smokin’ hot advisors named Halduron and Rommath and all three of them are gonna mess up your day. Or alternatively cause you to drool all over yourself. Depending on which way you swing.
TLDR Lor’themar is the best racial leader in World of Warcraft. And now you know.
Kael gets a bit of a bad rap. Of course he was nuts by the time Tempest Keep (and Magisters’ Terrace) rolled around, and to tell the truth he was more than a little misguided by the end of WCIII: The Frozen Throne. But up until that point I maintain that he did nothing wrong.
So let’s talk about Kael. He was in Dalaran – and had been for several decades, at least – when Quel’Thalas (and his dad, King Anasterian) fell to the Scourge. He rushed to his homeland’s aid as soon as he was able to, and immediately set about fixing things. He destroyed the Sunwell, but only because the corrupted Sunwell – which had been tainted by Arthas’s act of tossing Kel’Thuzad’s skeleton in it – would corrupt and probably eventually kill the elves. He had no idea that destroying the Sunwell would cause another problem to arise – his race’s addiction to its arcane magic.
Kael, suffering from withdrawals. Look at that angry face.
Angry, sick, and upset, the elves turned to the Alliance, who they had been allied with previously during the Second War. Unfortunately the Alliance was not particularly interested in working with the elves. You can thank a racist buttlord named Garithos for getting that partiuclar ball rolling. He forced the newly-christened blood elves into what were essentially suicide missions in order to keep them out of his hair. You can imagine how frustrating this must have been to Kael, who was dealing with the fact that 90% of his populace had just been, you know, genocided. Every last soldier he had was important. The Alliance sending him on suicide missions wasn’t going to fly with him.
So when the Naga showed up and offered their aid, Kael reluctantly accepted.
The humans found out about this cooperation and weren’t particularly pleased, so Kael and the other blood elves were locked away in the dungeons of Dalaran. That is, until Lady Vashj came, once again, to the rescue. She was the one who explained to Kael exactly what the odd cravings his people were having for magic were, and she also told him that she knew a guy who could help.
That guy who could help? His name was Illidan. Now you readers have probably got the warning bells going off in your head, but remember what Kael’s state of mind was: Silvermoon was in ruins, remnant Scourge and the Amani trolls were taking advantage of this fact, and the Alliance was actively making things worse by throwing the few remaining blood elf lives away. What else was he gonna do?
So off he went to Outland to find Illidan. And that’s about when it all started to go south for poor Kael and company and he began his slow descent into madness. But you can’t blame the guy for trying. And hey, you gotta respect someone who can kill a level 100 with falling damage.
I’ve mentioned it before, but for those who missed it, I really didn’t play much of MoP. I played up until 6.1 and then quit, and didn’t come back until WoD.
In retrospect I maybe should have stuck around for 6.1 because dang. I don’t know how this is for Alliance but for Horde at least this is some good questing.
I’ve been working my way through this questline and its accompanying dailies for the past few weeks as part of my neverending quest for mounts, reputation, achievements and so on. I don’t want to post too many spoilers lest anyone decide to do it for themselves, but let’s just say that it starts with a bang and has you working your way up through an increasingly perilous situation. Many of the Horde racial leaders are involved in one way or another, and Blizzard does a fantastic job of making you feel like they really need you to help them keep the Horde together.
It’s been a long time since I was genuinely eager to advance in an in-game storyline for reasons other than, you know, experience or loot, but this is just amazing. If you haven’t done it, you should go do it. The main quests are gated behind dailies but those dailies take like ten minutes a day as a level 100.
I know the whole Garrosh thing caused some controversy, but like it or not, it did certainly give us Horde-folk a really neato storyline! 10/10 A++++ would recommend again!
In many ways, he reminds me of Anakin Skywalker (assuming you roll with the prequel stuff.) He’s brash and full of himself and makes some bad choices (that he thinks are right) and then becomes the Big Bad. The difference is that Darth Vader is ultimately redeemed, and Arthas is not. He is a tragic character with a tragic ending, and yet despite it all, you still feel for him.
