The Dark Below = The Rift of Aln?

[Deleted]

So I'm of the belief that The Dark Below is indeed the next expansion. It clearly references the Old Gods, however the evidence for the next expansion being Legion themed is too much to ignore imo. It's practically confirmed that Turalyon and Allyria will be returning next xpac and I remember mentions of new Belf and Draenei lore. So logically we're looking at a conflict between the Old Gods and the Legion and I think the Rift of Aln ties into both nicely.

From the Old God perspective it's where Malfurion senses some great evil that is almost certainly N'zoth. As the Emerald Dream mirrors the real world it can be assumed the Rift exists on Azeroth as well, probably beneath the Maelstrom. It's a good candidate for Nya'lotha, with the Emerald Dream connection.

From the Legion perspective? Well as it happens the Dark Below is already a place in WoW. According to the Warcraft RPG the Dark Below is: "a place inhabited by demons, devils and infernal creatures, from where some sorcerers take their power directly and sometimes have a patron beast to foster their magic." Now the RPG isn't canon, but that exact name showing up in any relation to WoW previously is too much of a coincidence to ignore imo. And as it happens the Rift of Aln opens up onto the Twisting Nether; the perfect place for demons to make their way into the depths of Azeroth's oceans. If I were to make a guess, I'd say The Rift is the entry wound Sargeras made when he tried to force his way into Azeroth.

So, that's my guess: Not just the location of Nya'lotha and N'zoth but an open door for the Burning Legion to enter Azeroth. And I'm betting there's a raging conflict going on between the Old Gods and the Burning Legion. Afterall, the Old Gods feed on planets and the Legion destroys them. I'm guessing it's not a good idea to get in between the Old Gods and their food.

[Yarathir]

There's a lot of potential stories for the Dark Below but one of them won't be Old Gods vs. the Legion.

Would be interesting to see though.




And sorry, but this thread isn't really necessary. There are quite a lot of The Dark Below threads in which this could've been posted in.

[nyctre10]

Both old gods and legion? sounds like a clusterfuck expansion..other than that..pretty good idea

[Deleted]

There's a lot of potential stories for the Dark Below but one of them won't be Old Gods vs. the Legion.

Why not?

Also apologies for starting a new thread, but threads quickly go off into their own directions and it can be quite hard to latch onto the conversation with a new tangent. I thought it best to start a new thread. Afterall an entire expansion, even a potential one covers a wide array of different topics, that don't all need to be contained in one thread.

[Myrandron]

So I'm of the belief that The Dark Below is indeed the next expansion. It clearly references the Old Gods, however the evidence for the next expansion being Legion themed is too much to ignore imo. It's practically confirmed that Turalyon and Allyria will be returning next xpac and I remember mentions of new Belf and Draenei lore. So logically we're looking at a conflict between the Old Gods and the Legion and I think the Rift of Aln ties into both nicely.

Where was it confirmed that those two would be returning? Also all of the things pointing to the next expansion being a legion themed one could be pointing to future ones, I mean come on there's gonna be two more expansions at least and I'm pretty sure they would save the biggest threat for last, being the legion.

[Pengalor]

So I'm of the belief that The Dark Below is indeed the next expansion. It clearly references the Old Gods, however the evidence for the next expansion being Legion themed is too much to ignore imo. It's practically confirmed that Turalyon and Allyria will be returning next xpac and I remember mentions of new Belf and Draenei lore. So logically we're looking at a conflict between the Old Gods and the Legion and I think the Rift of Aln ties into both nicely.

From the Old God perspective it's where Malfurion senses some great evil that is almost certainly N'zoth. As the Emerald Dream mirrors the real world it can be assumed the Rift exists on Azeroth as well, probably beneath the Maelstrom. It's a good candidate for Nya'lotha, with the Emerald Dream connection.

From the Legion perspective? Well as it happens the Dark Below is already a place in WoW. According to the Warcraft RPG the Dark Below is: "a place inhabited by demons, devils and infernal creatures, from where some sorcerers take their power directly and sometimes have a patron beast to foster their magic." Now the RPG isn't canon, but that exact name showing up in any relation to WoW previously is too much of a coincidence to ignore imo. And as it happens the Rift of Aln opens up onto the Twisting Nether; the perfect place for demons to make their way into the depths of Azeroth's oceans. If I were to make a guess, I'd say The Rift is the entry wound Sargeras made when he tried to force his way into Azeroth.

So, that's my guess: Not just the location of Nya'lotha and N'zoth but an open door for the Burning Legion to enter Azeroth. And I'm betting there's a raging conflict going on between the Old Gods and the Burning Legion. Afterall, the Old Gods feed on planets and the Legion destroys them. I'm guessing it's not a good idea to get in between the Old Gods and their food.

Bolded part jumped out in my mind: don't we already know what's beneath the Maelstrom (ie Deepholm)?

[Sierra85]

So, i'm picturing an Azeroth version of the movie Pacific Rim....

would that be about right?

[Deleted]

Where was it confirmed that those two would be returning? Also all of the things pointing to the next expansion being a legion themed one could be pointing to future ones, I mean come on there's gonna be two more expansions at least and I'm pretty sure they would save the biggest threat for last, being the legion.

By that logic the first expansion should have been the last because the Legion was the primary threat there. I think and hope that we get a couple more small conflicts fighting the legion before going up against Sargeras himself and finishing the Legion once and for all.

As for Turalyon and Allyria, Metzen said in an interview we'll need them for "what's next," or something. Technically "next" doesn't mean the very next expansion but it seems strongly implied to me. But then again Blizzard is known to tease it's audience. I'll find the link.

EDIT: Well it's not the original but here is a link: http://www.blizzplanet.com/blog/comm...eria-next-xpac

[Hitei]

Bolded part jumped out in my mind: don't we already know what's beneath the Maelstrom (ie Deepholm)?

Deepholme isn't below the maelstrom, a massive rift is.
Deepholme isn't even technically "on" Azeroth, it's a separate plane of existence that is linked to the planet, and the Maelstrom is a forced rip that is basically a wormhole between the two planes of existence.

[Deleted]

Bolded part jumped out in my mind: don't we already know what's beneath the Maelstrom (ie Deepholm)?

Deepholm is in an alternate dimension accessed by going into the Maelstrom. What's actually beneath it is a mystery.

[Mortaeron]

Sorry I have little clues about the lore,mostly from WC3 and what WoW has shown me,but I would like the idea of both in a single expansion.

[Pengalor]

Deepholme isn't below the maelstrom, a massive rift is.
Deepholme isn't even technically "on" Azeroth, it's a separate plane of existence that is linked to the planet, and the Maelstrom is a forced rip that is basically a wormhole between the two planes of existence.

I see, thanks for the clarification.

[Khaza-R]

Bolded part jumped out in my mind: don't we already know what's beneath the Maelstrom (ie Deepholm)?

The Maelstorm is a just portal to Deepholm for some strange reason (it originally was not). Deathwing came to Azeroth through it. My guess is its the weakest part of whatever barrier protects Azeroth. It probably closed after Deathwing's remains got sucked into anyway.

Although underneath the waters there is still the old highborne ruins.

[Hitei]

Deepholm is in an alternate dimension accessed by going into the Maelstrom. What's actually beneath it is a mystery.

As if struck by a giant hammer, Zin-Azshari and the Well were blasted downward toward the ocean floor. The Well pierced the planet's molten core just before being utterly obliterated.[2]
As it was driven downward into the sea, the Well of Eternity continued to collapse in on itself and was finally obliterated. Its violent destruction has left behind a deep trench on the ocean floor that reaches all the way to the planet's molten core. To this day that core remains exposed and heats the ocean's cold waters. The magical energies that still emanate from the trench have caused monstrous mutations in all nearby living things

There, at the bottom of the Maelstrom, the naga built for themselves a new city, Nazjatar, from which they would rebuild their power. It would take over ten thousand years before the naga would reveal their existence to the surface world.

It's partially known what is beneath the maelstrom.

[DeadmanWalking]

The Old Gods wont be fighting with the burning Legion, they want the Burning Legion to win because that would mean all life on Azeroth is wiped out, Azeroth dies and Azeroth is the prison which holds the Old Gods. No Azeroth means the Old Gods are free to roam the universe again.

Hell its why the Old Gods sent Rhonin, brox and Krasus through time in the first place, in hopes they would mess up the time line giving the burning legion the chance to actually win the war and release the old gods. It was a total roll of the dice that didn't pay off but it was worth the effort.

So no, the Burning legion would actualy be welcomed by the Old Gods.

[Myrandron]

By that logic the first expansion should have been the last because the Legion was the primary threat there. I think and hope that we get a couple more small conflicts fighting the legion before going up against Sargeras himself and finishing the Legion once and for all.

As for Turalyon and Allyria, Metzen said in an interview we'll need them for "what's next," or something. Technically "next" doesn't mean the very next expansion but it seems strongly implied to me. But then again Blizzard is known to tease it's audience. I'll find the link.

First, I don't think that we are ever going to take down Sargares considering the only person ever to hurt him was Broxigar and he only was able to do it with a special axe from Malfurion, doubtful that we will ever be the ones to kill him maybe we will help lead to the legions downfall but that's not important right now.

Plus again I do feel like if they were gonna do something legion related it would be strictly to do with the Legion as the main focus that we are facing as opposed to fighting both the Legion and the Old Gods at the same time.

[Deleted]

The Old Gods wont be fighting with the burning Legion, they want the Burning Legion to win because that would mean all life on Azeroth is wiped out, Azeroth dies and Azeroth is the prison which holds the Old Gods. No Azeroth means the Old Gods are free to roam the universe again.

Hell its why the Old Gods sent Rhonin, brox and Krasus through time in the first place, in hopes they would mess up the time line giving the burning legion the chance to actually win the war and release the old gods. It was a total roll of the dice that didn't pay off but it was worth the effort.

So no, the Burning legion would actualy be welcomed by the Old Gods.

I'm not buying it. Like I said, the Old God's feed on planets. The Legion wants to destroy every planet until there's nothing left. Evil as the Old Gods might be I don't think they want the universe destroyed. At most we'll get a temporary alliance where the Old Gods take advantage of the Legion to free them from their prison and then they'll go to war with them.

Also, from a personal perspective I want a bit more conflict between individual villains.

[Themerlin]

Na! The dark below signifies the emergence of Azhara into Azeroth's surface, where she will once again attempt to open up a portal into the laborynthian pit of the Twisting Nether.

It is the name of the first patch(The Dark Below) of the actual expansion that involves the Burning Legion (Revenge of The Burning Legion).

Patch 6.0 - Dalaran crumbles as Azhara emerges unto the surface, ruthless in annihilating her traitorous brethren, the Night Elves.

Patch 6.1 - Azeroth's heroes battle the corrupted naga/elves as they try to stop Azhara from calling the demons from the portal.

Patch 6.2 - Welcome to Argus/Xoroth and the Burning Legions, wear sunscreen.

...and so on.

[Myrandron]

I'm not buying it. Like I said, the Old God's feed on planets. The Legion wants to destroy every planet until there's nothing left. Evil as the Old Gods might be I don't think they want the universe destroyed. At most we'll get a temporary alliance where the Old Gods take advantage of the Legion to free them from their prison and then they'll go to war with them.

Also, from a personal perspective I want a bit more conflict between individual villains.

If they wanted to destroy the planets why are they inhabiting Argus and also Outlands? They don't want to destroy planets they want to destroy all of the titans creations, and most of the planets from my knowledge weren't created by the titans the faces of them were simply shaped and molded by the titans in the views of what they thought was good.

- - - Updated - - -

Na! The dark below signifies the emergence of Azhara into Azeroth's surface, where she will once again attempt to open up a portal into the laborynthian pit of the Twisting Nether.

It is the name of the first patch(The Dark Below) of the actual expansion that involves the Burning Legion (Revenge of The Burning Legion).

Patch 6.0 - Dalaran crumbles as Azhara emerges unto the surface, ruthless in annihilating her traitorous brethren, the Night Elves.

Patch 6.1 - Azeroth's heroes battle the corrupted naga/elves as they try to stop Azhara from calling the demons from the portal.

Patch 6.2 - Welcome to Argus/Xoroth and the Burning Legions, wear sunscreen.

...and so on.

Whys Dalaran crumble from Azhara resurfacing?

[Deleted]

Dark Below was a GENIUS name choice, the ambiguity of it leaves so much speculation

Even with Cataclysm people just linked it to The Sundering 2.0

The only way it couldve got more ambiguous is if it was called, World of Warcraft: The New Levelling Zone