Alleria and N'Zoth (audio drama spoilerth)

[Deleted]

Regardless of what void creatures we have faced in WoW, for some reason I really think Blizzard hasn't established what the actual Void Lords are in-game and lore. For all we know the Void lords could be the next big baddies for 10+ years. I'm still crossing fingers for some Azaghthoth-like beings.

[DesMephisto]

In addition all the other cool stuff going on in 'A Thousand Years of War', we got this cool bit when Alleria is hanging out in the Void with Locus-Walker, having visions of the infinite possibilities the Void contains:



One possible path lead Alleria to 'the one who slumbers beneath Azeroth's waves', very likely a reference to N'Zoth, the final Old God said to be slumbering somewhere beneath Azeroth's oceans. One vision shows her kneeling before N'Zoth, another shows her apparently usurping N'Zoth.

None of this can be taken as true prophecy - the Void shows innumerable paths, tainted by its own desires and hopes. It's not what will happen, but it is what could happen, or at least, a ghost of what could happen. Pieces of it may be true, to an extent.

Alleria and N'Zoth - two majors players in a future expansion perhaps? Could Alleria be the one who actually breaks N'Zoth's chains, which are already weakening, and lets the Old God free? Or destroys him and takes his place, perhaps succumbing to the influence of the Void?

The void shows "Half truths" which means, she will stand before N'Zoth.

[Svad1287]

I just wanna know if the Doomsayers, that could be in the main hubs, will start chanting "Ia, Ia N´zoth Fthgn"

[Ryuda]

I don't believe this to be true. Locus-Walker says the void sees all paths and believes all of them to be true. This means most of what the void shows you is false, with very little of it being true. I'm almost certain the purpose of Alleria's vision is to show something completely outlandish so that we, the reader/listener, full grasp the nature of the void.

Kind of makes the Void Lords sound like the "Sphere Builders" from Enterprise. Beings that exist outside of our space-time and are able to examine multiple (all possible) realities, and perceive each as true, which, imo is actually pretty cool. Probably the first bit of lore to come out about them that really gets me exited to learn more about them

[Twilight Cultist]

Kind of makes the Void Lords sound like the "Sphere Builders" from Enterprise. Beings that exist outside of our space-time and are able to examine multiple (all possible) realities, and perceive each as true, which, imo is actually pretty cool. Probably the first bit of lore to come out about them that really gets me exited to learn more about them

Yeah, and that is the reason I believe the void leads to madness. Showing a person so many different possibility would cause severe paranoia and confusion.

[Archmage Xaxxas]

Yeah, and that is the reason I believe the void leads to madness. Showing a person so many different possibility would cause severe paranoia and confusion.

If I might, I'm thinking the ideas behind the Void and Light's "blindness" to one another's paths is kind of a strange reference to.. Us. How we live our lives.
Allow me to explain:

The Void is black, nothingness, and shows unending possibilities, it's more or less showing you the unknown, the un-happened.
The Light, is all based on faith. One path, one course, one timeline, yet it's still has changes.

Now I want you to think about how Photons work, they follow a straight path, until they hit something. Part will be absorbed and the path rebounds and continues straight.
All of the Light, in our real life is constantly happening, it's what makes life seem to go! In WoW's terms, it's the true timeline.
Although the idea of the Light as a faith is different, I'm sure this applies.

The black, nothingness of The Void, isn't nothingness, but everythingness.
When you encounter a pitch black room, what are you certain is in the room? Without Light, you can't tell. So your mind creates possibilities, the same paranoia you've described.

The other natural place you see encounter Black Everythingness, is your Mind.
The Thousand Year War audio-drama references opening your "Mind's Eye" to the Light, and the Void and I don't see that as a coincidence.

The basic principle I'm seeing in the Light/Void is how the Light represents the unstoppable Happening of the Universe, and the Void is the never ending potential happenings of the Universe.

Your thoughts stay in your head as ideas, in your Mind's Eye (The Void) until you decide you have the power and/or free will to make new ideas happen, inside the Happening, and that way, you recourse the path of the Light.

[Deleted]

I get more a feeling that they will do the "Berserk" approach. The Child of light just like Griffith unites the old gods and the horde and alliance for a big battle with either the void or the core.

[KrakHed]

My personal view of the Void Lords, and I think this is supported by some of their representation in-game, is that they aren't that powerful as individuals - we fight one bound at the Broken Shore, and another during Chromie's scenario, and they can be taken out pretty easily. Though these may represent weaker Void Lords, or perhaps fragments of their true power represented outside the Void.

But I actually prefer the idea that they are individually weak, especially outside the Void, and that only together do they become terrifying threats. I imagine that it took hundreds of Void Lords to manifest a single Old God, and possibly thousands or even millions to generate an avatar like Dimensius that can consume worlds. This makes them rather like the Auditors from the Discworld series.

Just a thought. I'm very interested to see how they're depicted in canon lore.

I really can't agree there.

Xal'atath whispers: I long for the day our masters can truly pass into this realm. You have only seen fragments, shadows; the faintest of echoes. Ask the Ethereals what one of these manifestations are capable of.

It seems more to be like what we call "Void Lords" ingame are just fractions of their will. If they were individually no big deal, than their entry into the universe wouldn't be much bigger a deal than any Void Revenant shoving its face in. As for how I'd describe the one in the Chromie scenario? Well, it uses the Void God Naaru model, and I have a theory about that.

Forked tongues flicker through the black pits in dead stars.

Naaru are the stars in this pretty little piece of poetry, implying that the "Void God" stage of their development cycle may be a Void Lord beginning to manifest its will through them. The "Void God" is the "forked tongue", if you will.

My theory may actually be the opposite of yours. Xal'atath describes Dimensius as a fragment. To use your own words, I'm thinking that one Void Lord may actually have thousands or millions of mostly independent avatars. With minds that "see all paths as true", splitting off pieces of themselves shouldn't be hard. Tiny slivers of the real thing, but perhaps becoming more tangible and connected to the original as they gain power enough for their sire to truly work through them.

Sort of like every single Void Lord being like an Element to its own, and almost every "Void Elemental" could potentially be an emanation of a particular Void Lord. From the lowest Voidwalker to the Old Gods themselves. However, this only becomes apparent once they gain enough power to properly project more of their master's consciousness. Before that point, they would just seem more generically Voidy, only reflecting the most base attributes of the true Lords.

This would also fit in with how Old Gods and the Faceless Ones work. They're described as pustules of their Old God. Just extensions, despite seemingly having their own independent name and identity.

Xal'atath whispers: For this idiotic pustule of N'Zoth to have lived so long... it does little to refute my opinion of this world's new owners.

This eldritch creature was captured in the depths of Ulduar, ensnared as it lapsed into a catatonic state after the defeat of Yogg-Saron. Since Dalaran arrived at the Broken Isles, the monstrosity has mysteriously awakened, and only the powerful wards of the Violet Hold keep its powers in check.

This description of the same Faceless One says they actually go catatonic when their master's are defeated, at least until another Old God links up with them. In a sense, the Old Gods would basically be a more independent relay station.

For supposed creatures of chaos, it's always seemed odd that they love hiveminds so much. Unless they love hiveminds so much because it comes naturally to them, with how they can split their focus in so many different directions, so that they essentially are the entire hive and the hive is them. The old lore had even the A'qir referred to as avatars of the Old Gods. So, what if that's the case with each and every minor Voidling? What if they're all linked back to the Void Lords? What if they're all avatars, of greater and lesser power? What if every quasi-sentient mote of Void had the potential to manifest a Void Lord if it ever grew large enough?

Because that's the thing I noticed about actual Old Gods and Void Beings. The societies they promote are highly organized. Extremely ordered, and with minimal internal conflict since all within them are absolutely loyal to the cause. Yet they violently wage chaotic warfare against other Old Gods. However, this explanation would make sense of that. In a way, those societies are just extension of their God, and their Lord through them. It's only in their interactions with a truly separate entity, such as forces belonging to another God or Lord, that they show their true tendency towards disunity and chaos.

Their hives on Azeroth may seemingly have billions of independent individuals, but the actual number of distinct entities is really only somewhere around four. All those infinite legions, countless as the stars, are just four or five dudes with extreme schizophrenia. Like the elements as I mentioned earlier. All fires are part of the elemental spirit of fire, no matter how different they may seem.

EDIT: And really, the Void Gargantuan you mention doesn't seem like its too concerned by either your presence or its defeat, which would be strange for an entity which spent all of existence trying to enter Azeroth. Unless it was a minor incarnation. Then its faintly bemused attitude makes sense. "Strange. What are YOU doing here?" kind of just reminds me of Xal'atath's tone when she's commenting on something she finds interesting.

[Deleted]

I don't believe this to be true. Locus-Walker says the void sees all paths and believes all of them to be true. This means most of what the void shows you is false, with very little of it being true. I'm almost certain the purpose of Alleria's vision is to show something completely outlandish so that we, the reader/listener, full grasp the nature of the void.

"all" everything basically. So that's it, and don't forget we still have Killrog's vision

[huth]

EDIT: And really, the Void Gargantuan you mention doesn't seem like its too concerned by either your presence or its defeat, which would be strange for an entity which spent all of existence trying to enter Azeroth. Unless it was a minor incarnation. Then its faintly bemused attitude makes sense. "Strange. What are YOU doing here?" kind of just reminds me of Xal'atath's tone when she's commenting on something she finds interesting.

It sounds more surprised than anything else.

What you describe sounds less like a hive mind and more like remote controlled drones, though. Rather than multiple minds linked into one, you have one mind spread over multiple bodies, as evidenced by the Faceless basically shutting down when no longer linked up.

[KrakHed]

It sounds more surprised than anything else.

What you describe sounds less like a hive mind and more like remote controlled drones, though. Rather than multiple minds linked into one, you have one mind spread over multiple bodies, as evidenced by the Faceless basically shutting down when no longer linked up.

That's what "bemused" means. The phrasing of his question is confused, but rather casual. Like he's just noting an oddity. It reminds me of what Xal'atath says after you get killed by Elune. It's more "Huh" than "Fuck". There's not much investment in it.

adjective
1. bewildered or confused:
a bemused expression on his face.
2. lost in thought; preoccupied.
3. mildly amused, especially in a detached way.

But yeah, drones might be more accurate. It's clear the Faceless Ones do have some level of independent identity, as in they don't all share the same name, but it seems like it's somehow just an aspect of their masters. I think Void Lords use semi-independent drones, drone relay stations, and try to convert other forms of life into further drones. That could help explain the apparent contradiction of loving chaos, but being highly ordered. I mean, insects are often a symbol of extreme order, and Old Gods love bugs. Of how they're opposed to the imposition of the Light and find it horrifying, but have no issue enslaving trillions. Because they aren't enslaving them. They're eating them. Hollowing them out and replacing their innards.

That's a common thing Void creatures talk about, isn't it? Slowly consuming souls.

The void sucks at your soul. It is content to feast slowly.

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Puzzle_Box_of_Yogg-Saron

Anyhow, this theory would suggests that Old Gods are to the Void Lords what Il'gynoth is to N'Zoth.

Xal'atath whispers: It appears the prison of N’zoth is not as strong as it once was. What you see is a tiny growth of the behemoth that may yet consume your world.