A black forest
A city
A city sorrunded by a black forest
A land
A land with a black forest in it
A land sharing the name of the city in it
A land with a black forest around a city sharing it's name
Mankrik's wife
Other
Found this image here: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bx35BsyGcE...27lyeh+low.jpg
Normal is the name for the mental disorder present in the majority of humanity.
Xinjun
Basically Ny'alotha is supposedly an underwater city of the Old Gods, where N'zoth lies dreaming. Probably tied to the Emerald Nightmare as well. The "black forest" could refer to seaweed in the depths of the ocean, not necessarily a literal forest.
NOTE: It's been brought to my attention that some of this is said by Y'shaarj and not by Yogg Saron, but most of it seems to be from Yogg's puzzlebox. If I incorrectly attribute something to Yogg, ignore that inference but for the most part I stand by my opinions regarding what the lines could mean.
Let's take a look at this:
Self-explanatory, possibly just whispers to get you to trust no one, since it comes from Yogg Saron who was known to corrupt others. Nothing more can be inferred.-Look around. They will all betray you. Flee screaming into the black forest.
Could be a hint towards the Emerald Dream/Nightmare since the Dream can overlap into Azeroth and blur the lines of reality.-There is no sharp distinction between the real and the unreal.
This, presumably, refers to our character.-There is a little lamb lost in dark woods.
Self-explanatory.-All places, all things have souls. All souls can be devoured
The Old Gods are otherworldly, from beyond the stars, and it's their machinations which bring fear. "Sweep chill currents" could also refer to underwater.-The stars sweep chill currents that make men shiver in the dark.
Almost certainly an Emerald Dream reference.-Do you dream while you sleep or is it an escape from the horrors of reality?
Ny'alotha might have a connection with the Emerald Dream. Since it's the WoW version of R'lyeh (where Cthulhu is) and Cthulhu and his minions sleep. ("In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming")-In the land of Ny'alotha there is only sleep.
It's a city of the Old Gods. Faceless ones and their kind abound.-In the sleeping city of Ny'alotha walk only mad things.
See above.-Ny'alotha is a city of old, terrible, unnumbered crimes.
Obvious mind tactic from Yogg-Saron but it could also hint at something underwater. Remember that feeling in Vashj'ir that something was lurking just beyond your vision? The elite sea monsters that roamed around to give that feeling that you're never safe?-It is standing right behind you. Do not move. Do not breathe.
This is Y'shaarj. Seven eyes = Seven Sha. "From the outside" could have meant watching the rest of Azeroth from his/its prison in Pandaria.-Have you had the dream again? A black goat with seven eyes that watches from the outside.
Refers to N'zoth, and is an obvious take on the above-mentioned quote about Cthulhu.-In the sunken city, he lays dreaming.
Definite hint at an underwater expansion. The depths of the ocean.-The fish know all the secrets. They know the cold. They know the dark.
This could just be Lovecraftian embellishment, as opposed to referencing an actual creature. If an underwater expansion it could be some kind of sea monster that guards Ny'alotha.-The giant rook watches from the dead trees. Nothing breathes beneath his shadow.
Probably refers to the depths of the city itself, in the darkest part of the ocean where there is no light, only the cold wet void.-Beneath the shadow of the darkened spire, there is no light, no mercy, only void, and the chaos within.
I wouldn't read too much into the Yogg puzzlebox since most everything in it is from Lovecraft or Lovecraft inspired (it wasn't mentioned here but the line about the sleepy staring houses that should be torn down is almost verbatim from Lovecraft's story "The Picture in the House") and since the Old Gods are also Lovecraft-inspired none of the lines need to mean anything. In Lovecraft's writings the manifestations were many different ways, and usually subtle at first.
Last edited by Nobleshield; 2013-08-22 at 07:09 PM.
Some of that stuff is said by Y'Shraaj in SoO. Not Yogg.
Normal is the name for the mental disorder present in the majority of humanity.
Xinjun
Yeah. Y'Shraaj starts being a typical Old God jackass and filling our heads with paranoid whispers while we fight Garrosh. The one behind you and the one about everyone betraying you are Y'Shraaj and a few others I think.
Normal is the name for the mental disorder present in the majority of humanity.
Xinjun
I hope that both the Emerald Dream and underwater ideas get used. Nyalotha is, like all things old-god-ish, based on Lovecraft. Specifically R'Lyeh. I'd like the idea that the Rift of Aln is a wound caused by the Shattering. Literally a file corruption caused by the inability of the backup copy (the Dream) to sync with the active copy (Azeroth). Since R'yleh is known for it's bizzare geometry and architecture that seems to defy dimensional space as we see it, Nyalotha literally straddling two dimensions would be a nice variation on that. A huge city (possibly Titan), at or near what would become the maelstrom, that is literally blown into another dimension by the Shattering. You have the imperfect, ghostlike Emerald Dream version of the city and the underwater ruined version on Azeroth co-existing in a superimposed state where neither can overwrite the other, and everything exists in a kind of "superposition" between the two realms.
Also, R'Lyeh is known for rising up from and disappearing beneath the sea.
Voting Azhara for "Miss Innsmouth 2013".
Last edited by Urti; 2013-08-22 at 07:49 PM.
"Stop being a giant trolling asshole." - Boubouille
"The Internet is built on complaints about asinine things" - prefect
"Facts became discussable when critical thinking stopped being the focus of education."- Chonogo
"Sometimes people confuse "We Don't Understand This Yet" with "Ooga Booga Space Magic" - Chazus
Mankrik's Wife.
A city surrounded by a black forest because it sounds awesome.
If I get to choose between 'a city' and 'a city surrounded by a black forest', then obviously I have better odds selecting 'a city', considering a city surrounded by a black forest is still ALSO a city :P
Normal is the name for the mental disorder present in the majority of humanity.
Xinjun
If they announce at Blizzcon that the next expansion will be called The Dark Below, won't you all be disappointed because you already knew what it was called?
/thecrowdgoeswild
Regarding Ny'alotha, I have many wild theories. Hold on to your hats because it is ludicrously wild speculation time.
We start with Whispering Forest.
Whispering Forest is a zone in WoW with a few easter eggs and a very unsettling atmosphere. One of these easter eggs is a mushroom circle that will occasional be surrounded by fey dragons. The little guys will cast some sort of spell and sing a strange song. This easter egg implies a connection between Whispering Forest and the Emerald Dream.
This place is also likely where the High Elves first landed upon the Eastern Continent created by the Sundering. Some force is known to have driven some of the elves insane and caused to them to flee north where they founded our favorite city of pointy eared pretty people.
This force has been confirmed by Blizzard as something other than an Old God. This revelation leads me to another location in Wow's lore.
Chamber of Krasus
This chamber is likely located beneath the Whispering Forest in an underground citadel of mostly high elf and a bit of unknown architecture. The chamber, within the deepest part of the citadel contains a mysterious pool. When looking into the pool, Krasus often saw strange things at the edge of his perception. These things seemed to be creatures with very peculiar features. "When he stared into the pool, he saw odd shapes, which were at times "silvery fish," and at others still, a human torso, legs, or arms."
I always thought this was interesting but never thought much else of it because the scene was from a novel and possibly not canon. That is until I soloed Ulduar for the first time.
Within Ulduar there is a part of the raid called "Descent Into Madness." Within the Descent are many strange stained glass windows lining the walls. The first windows show what look like tad pool/humanoid babies. As you progress through the descent, the images change to show aquatic humanoids and eventually beings that are most likely Old Gods.
If the Whispering Forest has a connection to the Emerald Dream and the pool in Krasus' Chamber is connected to the Old Gods...I'm lead to believe that the Old Gods and the Emerald Dream share a yet to be revealed connection that goes much deeper than N'zoth or the Emerald Nightmare.
The answer might be contained within Ny'alotha/the Black Forest.
My current theory is that something very old at the center of Ny'alotha is not only connected to the Old Gods but possibly responsible for bringing them to Azeroth and/or spawning their corporeal forms and it has some connection to the Well of Eternity and also the pool within Krasus' secret chamber.