Into the Void [Fan Expansion Concept]

[RedGamer030]

The Voidlands are fragments of worlds consumed by the Void that have managed to survive through various means. They provide a safe zone for mortals to exist in the Void. At least for a time.

So you mean the Twisting Nether, the border between the Light and the Void. Also uninhabitable...

[CaptainV]

those ethereal concept arts are the most origional and interesting idea ive seen so far, I would 100% want to play one like that 10/10 to artist.

[KrakHed]

My lore goes that certain entities of pure Void, like Voidwalkers, are reflections of creatures who exist in the material universe - they dwell in the 'light' and cast a shadow on existence, which becomes a being of the Void. They won't look identical, but twisted and monstrous.

I do think that the Void takes and learns from what it absorbs - I'm planning to have some familiar faces show up later, with some 'improvements' granted to them by the Void. Void revenants that appear in the Voidlands are from a race that was once called the 'thivan', who were native to the world of Algol

Well, going by the quest reference I linked, it's clear they're able to transform even the souls of the long dead into more Void creatures. I'm just thinking about that. When a world is consumed by the Void, the souls of all of its past and present inhabitants would be added to its armies. Everyone who has ever lived or died upon that world would become one of them.

Anyhow, my theory was that they were the "hole" leftover when a being's existence was consumed by the Void. They retain that roughly humanoid shape, and maybe even a few aspects of the original entities memories or personality, because holes tend to be the same shape as that which was removed.

Of course, I don't think that's the only source for them. There are signs they're able to split off fragments and servants, so not all would originate from consumed souls.

[Golden Yak]

So you mean the Twisting Nether, the border between the Light and the Void. Also uninhabitable...

No, I mean what I wrote. The Voidlands are fragments of worlds consumed by the Void that have managed to survive through various means. They exist within the Void and provide a safe area for mortals to survive. I go into more detail in the individual zone pages.

those ethereal concept arts are the most origional and interesting idea ive seen so far, I would 100% want to play one like that 10/10 to artist.

Thanks!

Well, going by the quest reference I linked, it's clear they're able to transform even the souls of the long dead into more Void creatures. I'm just thinking about that. When a world is consumed by the Void, the souls of all of its past and present inhabitants would be added to its armies. Everyone who has ever lived or died upon that world would become one of them.

Yeah, this is something I plan to touch upon. In my story most beings are simply consumed outright by the Void, which manifests creatures of pure darkness to serve it, but some beings are transformed into special, empowered servants of the Void. The Void is served by a group of such beings called the Noctarchs, who are ethereals that were consumed by the Void and then transformed into its agents. There'll be more such creatures later from other, non-ethereal races. Anything that exists in the material universe or within the Void is capable of being consumed - only beings who enter the Light are immune, and even then maybe not forever if the Void becomes powerful enough.

[Skeppio]

Now this is a concept I can really get behind. Though, given what we now know of the Void and the Void Lords via the Chronicles book, wouldn't Old Gods or their spawn also populate this twisted dimension?

Also, am I detecting a hint of the Mechari from Wildstar in your Ethereal concept art?

[Golden Yak]

Now this is a concept I can really get behind. Though, given what we now know of the Void and the Void Lords via the Chronicles book, wouldn't Old Gods or their spawn also populate this twisted dimension?

Oh yeah, big time. The Old Gods in the Voidlands will make their presence known gradually, reading through the WoWpedia pages can give people a few hints as to what they're up to.

Also, am I detecting a hint of the Mechari from Wildstar in your Ethereal concept art?

Maybe! I do love Wildstar's artstyle and just recently found a big cache of it online and have been pouring over it. Eff the Dominion though - Exiles 4 life.

[Destinas]

You are very talented, and I enjoy the concept overall. However, there are two minor details that conflict with current lore/designs as far as K'aresh and Ethereals.

K'aresh is described as an arid planet with a thriving ecosystem. K'aresh also apparently had two suns before it exploded, which adds to the "arid" part of it. I wouldn't imagine it would simply be forested, but more like Uldum - vastly desert with some rainforest-like areas. That would still be a thriving ecosystem, then. Which makes sense, considering what the Ethereals are based off of in the real world.

Speaking of, the Ethereals aren't as Egyptian-themed as they are pre-Islamic Arabian. They use altered Arabic names (Shaffar, Bashir, Ameer, Haramad, Salhadaar, etc) and their society is based off of pre-Islamic Arabia - however, instead of being separated into oasis city-states, they're separated into cartels in WoW. Some of the designs of their clothes and technology (especially markings on said items) are far more Arabian than ancient Egyptian - though, this was used again in WoW for the denizens of Skywall. They also mimic, somewhat, the mindset of the middle east before Islam, where everything was focused on science (thus why in real life there's an "al" in the words alchemy, algorithm, algebra, etc).

Pretty much the only Egyptian part of the Ethereal culture is that they're mummies. They could still use masks as facial features, that was a very good choice, but far more of them could be Mesopotamian (Assyrian, Persian, Babylonian) in design, rather than Egyptian. Some could even be the mosaics used frequently in Babylonian designs.

[Flurryfang]

Love the concept of the new race. I am personally very in love with the idea of having the Etherals be a neutral race, which could show us an entire new world. I would though love if the Ethereals was not that Egyption. From what i have learned from their apperance in TBC, they are more like nomading traders, who travels the void, then an actual arabian people. Also since the threads of cloth is really what holds them together, i would love to see if you could personalize their outfit in some way? Maybe showing how they maybe have different colours, trinkets and jewels implemented in their binding.

[Skeppio]

Oh yeah, big time. The Old Gods in the Voidlands will make their presence known gradually, reading through the WoWpedia pages can give people a few hints as to what they're up to.

Maybe! I do love Wildstar's artstyle and just recently found a big cache of it online and have been pouring over it. Eff the Dominion though - Exiles 4 life.

Awesome. I can't wait to see how/if you'd depict the Void Lords themselves!

You are very talented, and I enjoy the concept overall. However, there are two minor details that conflict with current lore/designs as far as K'aresh and Ethereals.

K'aresh is described as an arid planet with a thriving ecosystem. K'aresh also apparently had two suns before it exploded, which adds to the "arid" part of it. I wouldn't imagine it would simply be forested, but more like Uldum - vastly desert with some rainforest-like areas. That would still be a thriving ecosystem, then. Which makes sense, considering what the Ethereals are based off of in the real world.

Speaking of, the Ethereals aren't as Egyptian-themed as they are pre-Islamic Arabian. They use altered Arabic names (Shaffar, Bashir, Ameer, Haramad, Salhadaar, etc) and their society is based off of pre-Islamic Arabia - however, instead of being separated into oasis city-states, they're separated into cartels in WoW. Some of the designs of their clothes and technology (especially markings on said items) are far more Arabian than ancient Egyptian - though, this was used again in WoW for the denizens of Skywall. They also mimic, somewhat, the mindset of the middle east before Islam, where everything was focused on science (thus why in real life there's an "al" in the words alchemy, algorithm, algebra, etc).

Pretty much the only Egyptian part of the Ethereal culture is that they're mummies. They could still use masks as facial features, that was a very good choice, but far more of them could be Mesopotamian (Assyrian, Persian, Babylonian) in design, rather than Egyptian. Some could even be the mosaics used frequently in Babylonian designs.

This is very true, I forgot to bring it up earlier. Actually, now that you mention it, Disney's Aladdin would actually be pretty useful for reference, it's very much the kind of setting that the ethereals would live in.

[Golden Yak]

You are very talented, and I enjoy the concept overall. However, there are two minor details that conflict with current lore/designs as far as K'aresh and Ethereals.

Great post Destinas, thank you. For K'aresh, I did envision it pretty much exactly like Uldum, though with larger forested regions, especially the area around the capitol. Not exactly a sprawling rainforest like Stranglethorn, but closer to that than the kind of forest you'd see in Elwynn for example. Tropical or oasis might bring to mind the right image.

Re. the ethereals, I'm totally aware of their naming roots, I've tried to tap into more of that for some names of my own - the name of the city of Or'Damaz and the villainous Ahriman both come from pre-islamic religion, namely Zoroastrianism (Ormazd and Ahriman are deities related to it). I started with egyptian funeral attire since it first came to my mind when thinking of having masks as the 'face' of ethereals. Masks and statues from the other cultures you mentioned could also be a great source of facial features and designs. Wouldn't mind working the lamassu into things somehow, maybe as their racial flying mount.

Love the concept of the new race. I am personally very in love with the idea of having the Etherals be a neutral race, which could show us an entire new world. I would though love if the Ethereals was not that Egyption. From what i have learned from their apperance in TBC, they are more like nomading traders, who travels the void, then an actual arabian people. Also since the threads of cloth is really what holds them together, i would love to see if you could personalize their outfit in some way? Maybe showing how they maybe have different colours, trinkets and jewels implemented in their binding.

Thanks! Like I mentioned to Destinas, there's definitely a wealth of imagry out there for adding even more visual customization potential to the ethereals. I started with the egyptian masks because their funeral iconography was the type I first knew best, but there's no need to stop there.

[KrakHed]

...the villainous Ahriman...

Am I wrong to think your Ahriman description reminds me a bit of Krona from DC comics?

[lolbubble]

Really well done concept!

It surely has more content than WoD

[Flurryfang]

Thanks! Like I mentioned to Destinas, there's definitely a wealth of imagry out there for adding even more visual customization potential to the ethereals. I started with the egyptian masks because their funeral iconography was the type I first knew best, but there's no need to stop there.

Cool to hear that you already have other things in mind. Im really a huge fan of your previous work and i am looking forward to see what you can bring with this new expansion

[Arbs]

As always Golden Yak, 10/10 Amazing job!.

[AeneasBK]

*dons flameproof armor*

I kinda figured when we *do* head out into the void/twisting nether Blizzard would expand on the garrison idea, where instead of a static garrison we commandeered Eredar space-craft style things (something akin to Mechanar but smaller) where we would again, decide on what features/'buildings' we'd have inside. All of the zones we visit would be via the engines of our new craft so they wouldn't be "physially" connected to each other; each one would have a 'landing spot' or maybe even a few (afterall, it wouldn't need much space as the garrisons did as we would never 'land'); so they could keep an element of it being a vast empty plane of existence, rather than being focused in any one "place". Hopefully after learning the lessons of WoD they could balance the garrison so it required less of your time to maintain and you spent more of your time out in the world...

Absolutely everything about your post is awesome Was just throwing that in there. I don't know that fragmenting the map you've created would "make sense", and I wasn't advocating any change

[Golden Yak]

Am I wrong to think your Ahriman description reminds me a bit of Krona from DC comics?

I wasn't thinking specifically of him, but there are some parellels. Both are 'sciencist going too far in pursuit of knowledge' types.

Really well done concept!

It surely has more content than WoD

I thought of doing a smaller, WoD-sized concept, but then came to my sense. Who wants less?

*dons flameproof armor*

I kinda figured when we *do* head out into the void/twisting nether Blizzard would expand on the garrison idea, where instead of a static garrison we commandeered Eredar space-craft style things (something akin to Mechanar but smaller) where we would again, decide on what features/'buildings' we'd have inside. All of the zones we visit would be via the engines of our new craft so they wouldn't be "physially" connected to each other; each one would have a 'landing spot' or maybe even a few (afterall, it wouldn't need much space as the garrisons did as we would never 'land'); so they could keep an element of it being a vast empty plane of existence, rather than being focused in any one "place". Hopefully after learning the lessons of WoD they could balance the garrison so it required less of your time to maintain and you spent more of your time out in the world...

Absolutely everything about your post is awesome Was just throwing that in there. I don't know that fragmenting the map you've created would "make sense", and I wasn't advocating any change

I did neglect any kind of 'garrsion/classhall' deal with this concept. But in my Reign of Azshara concept I thought about this Warship idea - sounds similar to what you were thinking of here, including using it to travel to different zones. In my lore the ethereals have magical dimension-sailing vessels as well, not quite as advanced as naaru ships like Tempest Keep, but similar. With the appearance of massive demon airships in Legion, I think we could be seeing more vessels designed to move between worlds in the near future.

Someone else suggested that the different zones in the Voidlands could be separate and broken apart, some maybe drifting high above others, with jagged and crumbling landscapes and floating debris fields inbetween the areas. I really like the idea, and unique ways to travel between the realms that involve flying could be a cool element. Each area is meant to be a lot like Outland, with magical currents and floating islands all over the place.

[AeneasBK]

Wow, yes that Warships idea sounds mint

[TheImperios]

They also mimic, somewhat, the mindset of the middle east before Islam, where everything was focused on science (thus why in real life there's an "al" in the words alchemy, algorithm, algebra, etc).

Arabian culture was not really scientifically developed before Islam. It was only after they, through the Muslim conquests, absorbed the more sophisticated lands of the Fertile Crescent that their scientific development really jump-started. Algebra, algorithm and alchemy are all words from the Islamic era, not pre-Islamic.

Nor were Arabs that scientifically curious after the Caliphate. Most Middle Eastern scientists were Persian, while Arabs disseminated their knowledge through war and commerce.

As for the expansion itself, brilliant idea. I see a lot of Wildstar influence in your work. I wonder if we could see a Void Lord in your expansion, by the way.

[Northem]

I should really apply one of these days.

But quickly! Before it is too late!

- - - Updated - - -

On topic: Very good work, especially taking into account that the "void theme" is still somewhat unexplored.

[Amunrasonther]

Not a big fan of natural races after the Panda debacle but I have to say, that Ethereal concept is insanely awesome. But I'm biased since I'm an Egyptomaniac. Love love love it.