What If series ( Decide your leaders )

[JudgePayne]

What if you could play wow god and rearrange the leadership of both factions who would you place where and why. ( selected changed must be from current leadership or figures of equal standing within that races community )

Alliance-

Human : Jaina proudmore. Following the events at the siege of orgrimmar Varian had become increasingly aware of the plight of the alliance citizens within Lordaeron. He spearheaded a new campaign designed to retake the Worgen City of Gilneas for the alliance and use this vital area as an alliance staging point for any further assault on the north. During this campaign his royal entrourage was assaulted by forsaken forces and during the fighting Varian himself was poisoned by the very plague they had come to cleanse. In the aftermath of the fighting with the poison beginning to spread Varian was able to instruct his men that until Anduin is ready and his training complete the defense of Stormwind must rest with another. During the funeral service all members of the alliance gather as the final part of his will is read naming Jaina Proudmore the steward of the realm until such a time as Anduin is capable to lead. As her first offical act Jaina rebuilds the park district of stormwind in Varians honor and relocates dalaran off Gilneas to act as the human point of 6.0 questing.

Night elf: Tryande and Malfurion. Following the death of Varian, Tryande begins to prepare for all out war. The horde seeing the alliance in a weakened position decide to not remove their forces from Ashenvale as agreed and instead continue with production, this brash action is cemented when the horde fight off and kill several night elf druids defending their realm. This action forces the hand of Malfurion and in his rage he destroys the warsong lumber company operating within ashenvale.

Dwarf: No change, The current Dwarf system has good storyline Synergy

Gnome: Once again no change leadership wise. (although I might like gnomeregan to be an actual city again.

Dreani: Velen is cool ( still holding out for Kil'Jaden vs Velen scene)

Worgen: No change here ( see varian storyline worgen retaking gilneas would be good storyline)

Horde -

Orc: Saurfang. After the events of the siege the orcs are becoming increasingly aware that the other member races of the horde now see how easily the orc people turned on them and treated them like lesser races. Thrall with his child on the way and his duties to the earthen ring still in high demand offers the mantle of Orc leader to Saurfang as Thrall and Vol'Jin believe he is an orc that stands for valor and has the best interests for the horde and the orcs at heart.

Troll: Vol'Jin. The new warchief has the task following the siege to try and pick up the pieces of the horde and forge a new stronger horde to combat what ever may present itself.

Undead: Sylvanas. The dark lady has seen the ways of the other horde races and will not allow any other leader to dictate to her or her people how they should act moving forward. With the kor'kron now withdrawn from her city and Vol'Jin preoccupided with issues in Orgrimmar it is now time for the forsaken to fortify their hold on northern Lordaeron.

Tauren: Baine Bloodhoof. With Garrosh now dealt with one finaly task remains before the tauren can be once again at peace. Even through her banishment the grimtotem and their leader the elder crone have been a constant pain for the tauren and their leader baine. With permission from the new warchief Baine seeks to end the reign of the elder crone and once and for all be rid of the grim totem taint upon his peoples legacy.

Blood Elf: Lor'themar. In the weeks after the siege The blood elf leaders began a treaty to transfer sunreavers still being held in Dalaran in exchange for artifacts collected during the Isle of thunder campaign. With the knowledge that he is handing Jaina some of the most powerful items in the blood elfs vaults Lor'themar gives Jaina the anima of the thunderking in exchange for the release of his people. With the swell of sunreavers and their magics the blood elfs are finally able to silvermoon to its past glory be rebuilding the damaged half of their home.

Goblin: Gallywix. (Nuff said hes a boss)

[Zuben]

Orcs: Saurfang, the legend. Thrall was cool in the past, but what we have now is disgusting.
Trolls: No change. I'm not a fan of Vol'jin, but he fits leading his little tribe.
Tauren: Either give Baine some personality or switch him with some new young tauren who's not all about tauren hippie ways.
Undead: No change.
Blood elves: A council might be cool, but Lor'themar became decent in 5.1 and 5.2. Maybe give him a crown...
Goblins: Replace Gallywix with Sassy.
Huojin: No change, Ji is fine.

Humans: No change, Varian is pretty cool.
Dwarves: No change, as long as Muradin remains part of the council.
Gnomes: Irrelevant to me, but I guess Mekkatorque is as good as any other gnome, so no change.
Night Elves: Shandris, I don't like Tyrande.
Draenei: Maraad or some other younger, more warrior-esque figure. Velen's an old fart with little personality.
Worgen: No change, Genn is fine.
Tushui: No change, Aysa is fine.

[JudgePayne]

Orcs: Saurfang, the legend. Thrall was cool in the past, but what we have now is disgusting.
Trolls: No change. I'm not a fan of Vol'jin, but he fits leading his little tribe.
Tauren: Either give Baine some personality or switch him with some new young tauren who's not all about tauren hippie ways.
Undead: No change.
Blood elves: A council might be cool, but Lor'themar became decent in 5.1 and 5.2. Maybe give him a crown...
Goblins: Replace Gallywix with Sassy.
Huojin: No change, Ji is fine.

Humans: No change, Varian is pretty cool.
Dwarves: No change, as long as Muradin remains part of the council.
Gnomes: Irrelevant to me, but I guess Mekkatorque is as good as any other gnome, so no change.
Night Elves: Shandris, I don't like Tyrande.
Draenei: Maraad or some other younger, more warrior-esque figure. Velen's an old fart with little personality.
Worgen: No change, Genn is fine.
Tushui: No change, Aysa is fine.

Shandris is way too young and in-experienced to lead the night elfs, I do like the idea of maraad for the dreanei but I struggle to see the "peace-keepers of the light" be more military and not step on Scarlet Crusade toes.

Rest seems cool.

[Trassk]

Because its just wish fulfillment now given how things have gone, I'll just play with the idea.

Horde:

For one, no more warchief, the mantle is just a reminder of dark times, and if the horde can't work together without one person telling them what to do, then the theme of 'horde is family' is a worthless one.

Orcs -
Thrall or Saurfang. After the events of SoO, the orcs will have lost many of there kind, those that were not wanting to be part of the war, or those who just were not killed in it and looking for some hope. They need that, and either having Thrall return as there leader, or Saurfang taking up the mantle would give them hope for having strength and wisdom back in there fold.

Trolls -
Much as I'd like to suggest someone else, there isn't anyone else now, Vol'jin saw to that when he killed so many other troll tribes off, and there are no other decent troll characters in the horde now who stand. If he lived, I would have loved to see Zuni grow to become a prominant figure, but he didn't.

Tauren -
Kind of similar to trolls, but I think tauren have more figures in it with possibility. I would have liked to see Dezco develop more and take up leadership, since his story is a bit more int resting then Baines. Baines just a blank slate and nothing remarkable about him, other then making friends with anduin.. still just about who isn't Garrosh made friends witrh anduin.

Undead -
This is a tricky one. I would love to see a forsaken with new ideals other then Sylvanas. She's as cold hearted a bitch as you can get, not just because she's undead, but because she was a real bitch when she was alive too. I'd like to see a forsaken human, one who actually cares about his own kind and wants to lead them better, to take up the charge and show a better way of existing apart from being cannon fodder for sylvanas. For now though there isn't anyone else, so have to remain Sylvanas.. unfortunately.

Blood elf -
No change, lor'thearm proved himself a good leader, and one filling to fight, also showing a level of diplomacy. His thing about thinking of going back to the alliance does make him a questionable ally to the horde, but given what a dick garrosh was you couldn't really blame him.

Goblins -
Dear god, please, kill Gallywix and replace him with Boss Mida or sassy hardwrench.

Huojin -
No change, that provides Ji survives, there really isn't anyone else as part of the Huojin I can think of.

..........


Alliance: Same deal, if the alliance is meant to be 'an alliance', then having a high king defeats the purpose of that, really redundant development with Varian.


Human -
Varian might have been developed but he's to big for his boots now, he acts like someone speaking for everyone, and given how much this pisses off people, he shouldn't last. If anduin was older he might, but I recon he'll be as big headed as his father just in another way. Jainas now psychotic so can't trust her. In the end, all human leaders kinda suck, I'd sooner see another character develop with principles and diplomacy.

Night elves -
Tyrande still, can't think much else who would make for a better leader, long as they cut malfurion from the mix and stop having him undermine her leadership.

Dwarves -
Dear god, bring magni back, his daughters alright but this whole 3 leader complex is just annoying to follow.

Gnomes -
no change, mekkatorques the only leader I have no issue with, he represents gnomes at there best.

Draenei -
The draenei need someone new to represent them. Velen is also so preoccupied with the legion he doesn't seem to become invested in anything his people are doing with the alliance. If they had a new, younger draenei leader to represent them as part of the alliance.. which velen doesn't really care about, and have velen as there high priest, that would be peachy.. but like many other leaders, there really isn't anyone else whos been developed, so there stuck with velen.

Tushui -
Same deal as with Ji, no change, Aysa the only one of her faction I can think of.

[Zuben]

Shandris is way too young and in-experienced to lead the night elfs

She took part in War of the Ancients, which makes her at least 10 000 years old.

I do like the idea of maraad for the dreanei but I struggle to see the "peace-keepers of the light" be more military and not step on Scarlet Crusade toes.

They wouldn't have to be fanatics, just more aggressive. They'd still be Alliance-affiliated after all.

[Deleted]

Orcs: Thrall or Saurfang (though old he's still a great warrior).
Trolls: Keep Vol'jin in charge. It doesn't mean like the orcs are brushed under carpet.
Tauren: Baine is a good enough leader in my books, a little bit aggressiveness and it's perfect.
Undead: Sylvanas is starting to become a sassy, emotional wreck. I say ditch her and put Nathanos on top.
Goblins: Gallywix is too smart to get replaced. His short story says it all.
Blood elves: Don't care, so pretty boy Theron may remain in charge.

Humans: Varian, he should remain as a grumpy ass now that Garrosh is brushed aside.
Night elves: Don't give a damn, so I'm fine with Tyrande.
Dwarves: I don't see any problem with Moira, so keep the council.
Gnomes: Mekkatorque, but only because I can't find any better gnome leader. He'll suffice.
Draenei: Velen is ok but I think he's far too passive. Again can't find a proper replacement so he'll suffice.
Worgen: Though old, Genn is a fine leader. Keep him.

I didn't add the pandaren because they seem to have ditched the Horde and Alliance, as in SoO Aysa says to Ji to get back to the turtle so that they can be together.

[JudgePayne]

um, what? She's over 10000 years old and is the highest ranking officer and overall commander of the Sentinel Army second only to Tyrande who is more concerned with being a Priestess than a commander-in-chief. She runs a vast intelligence network in Kalimdor that branched into the Eastern Kingdoms when the Night Elves joined the Alliance. Above all she is a warrior and one of the best in Azeroth. There isn't another Night Elf around, Tyrande included, with her pure battlefield experience either. Tyrande has also left her in charge when she was afield. Arguably if Tyrande dies, resigns, or otherwise has to give up her mantle as leader of the Night Elves, Shandris will be the new head of state.

What I mean is that by general night elf standards shes young, she is Tyrande's adopted daughter but in all fairness imo the night elf leadership should be

Malfurion ( Arch-druid / general of the night elf and emerald dragon armies )
Tyrande (Leader of the night elves / Excellent Tactican / Priestess of Elune)
Captain Jarod Shadowsong
Sentinel General Shandris Feathermoon
Maiev ShadowSong (long shot but a good redemption story following wolfheart could be great for her)

[Combatbutler]

What I mean is that by general night elf standards shes young, she is Tyrande's adopted daughter but in all fairness imo the night elf

Actually Shandris is one of the oldest Night elves left, most Night elves that fought during the war of the ancients are dead.

[Deleted]

Really I think most of the leaders are fine. Only ones I'd change:

Saurfang should become leader of the Orcs, rather than Thrall. I feel having Thrall back would defeat the point of his lessons during Cataclysm, whereas Saurfang is a fully Horde character who strikes the perfect balance between aggression and reason.

Malfurion should let Tyrande rule the Nelfs on her own again. No good can come of him ruling both a neutral faction and an Alliance faction (same problem Thrall would have with the Earthen Ring.).

Get rid of Gallywix please and replace him with Sassy Hardwrench. The fact that Thrall reappointed him in the first place defies all logic and I don't think any of his cartel likes him. Sassy on the other hand is awesome, and we need more female leaders.

Sylvanas needs to be taken out at some point down the line. In a couple of expansions I'm guessing. Lillian Voss would be a good replacement for her, representing the Forsaken who actually support true free will.

[Deleted]

What I mean is that by general night elf standards shes young, she is Tyrande's adopted daughter but in all fairness imo the night elf leadership should be

Malfurion ( Arch-druid / general of the night elf and emerald dragon armies )
Tyrande (Leader of the night elves / Excellent Tactican / Priestess of Elune)
Captain Jarod Shadowsong
Sentinel General Shandris Feathermoon
Maiev ShadowSong (long shot but a good redemption story following wolfheart could be great for her)

Since losing their immortality and with all the losses they suffered in the Third War and afterwards, for the night elves a night elf over 900-1100 is ancient. Shandris is 10 times that age.

She may be Tyrande's adopted daughter... but while she is almost 3k years younger then Tyrande, I'd still say she's older then most members of both factions besides night elves and draenei... with their ages combined. To have you understand how old she is, if she lived on Earth, she'd have been born before the Great Pyramid in Egypt was even started... and she'd still be living and be in power.

And the night elf leadership is like this:
Tyrande (supreme leader of the night elves, voice of Elune)
Shandris (supreme leader of the night elven armies, secret service of night elves leader)
... (long break here) ...
Jarod Shadowsong (good tactician but... had been away from the night elves living with his love for 10k years, knows little of the struggles they're going through)
Malfurion (leader of the Cenarion Circle, fully neutral).
... (long break here)...
Maiev (turned into a villan, but probably some watchers are still loyal to her, at this point she has been reduced to same standard as... Edwin vanCleef but with more lore).

Also, Shandris is quite strong, she leads the secret service of the night elves. If you've played through Classic you know the quest with the buzzboxes. It seems those are actually terminals used to communicate all along Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, and not only that, but in lore they're spread all over the world.
Also, Shandris fought the naga on the assault on her home while being assaulted by tidal waves and she still managed to get everyone out. While she herself was hit, I think someone is quite strong when they stall a whole naga army while being hit by tidal waves.
Also Shandris fought Cho'gall with only some archers and the player and made him run from Dire Maul...

[Zaelsino]

Gnomes and trolls need more top brass leaders. It's kind of sad that both races have only character of note, one of whom now has far bigger responsibilities than just leading his tribe.

Blood elves, night elves, humans and orcs have it best IMO. You have a supreme leader, but also well-fleshed out advisors, a clear military leader, different figures to represent different facets and organizations within the races, etc.

That's all I'd really change for the current leadership roster -- just give races with only one or two characters of note a few more major figures.

[Deleted]

As for leaders:

Humans: Jaina Proudmoore - she was the one that led the assault on the Legion in WC3, she was the one that knows how to take some hard decisions, she saved many humans, high elves, dwarves and gnomes when she took them from the Legion, she was instrumental in making the original Alliance with night elves.
Dwarves: No change, it's good.
Gnomes: No change, because there's no other gnome characters of importance.
Night elves: Shandris Feathermoon, Tyrande(Tyrande could stay leader if she starts acting as she did in SoO and not as she did in A Little Patience scenario) could go focus on the priestly stuff and become a voice of the Goddess (in reality the leader of the night elves is Elune since they're a theocracy, Tyrande is the voice of Elune, she's like the pope).
Draenei: Velen or Nobundo.

Orcs: Saurfang, Nazgrel or Gorgonna. All have shown leadership skills and how to be both diplomatic and when diplomacy comes at an end.
Trolls: No Change.
Forsaken: No Change.
Blood elves: No Change.
Tauren: No Change.
Goblins: Sassy, because the current leader doesn't fit them at all, isn't present and is hated even by his own.

[Viradiance]

Humans: Varian lives long, dies of old age. Anduin Wrynn succeeds him, but is removed from power after proving far too moderate. A small civil war erupts and, as Stormwind is very nearly approaching dissolution, a tenuous peace is made. Two split factions emerge with in an uneasy peace, lead by Anduin Wrynn and an emergent, formerly unknown traditionalist.

Dwarves: Moira's Son succeeds her as he comes of age (as the throne is rightfully his). Wildhammers are appalled by his leadership and withdraw support from the Alliance.

Gnomes: Mekkatorque rules until the end of his natural life as a king without a kingdom. Memories of Gnomish culture slowly fade away as tehy are unable to re-carve their place in the world. Politically, they become little more than a faction of the Ironforge Dwarves, and the new king is nothing more than an ineffective token figurehead.

Night Elves: Tensions settle between the Highborne and the Kal'dorei. As time fades and the culture changes to adapt to the world, the theocracy falls to the wayside. High Priestess and Archdruid become religious titles, and a proper leader is eventually chosen. Traditionalists become very uncomfortable with the new Highborne leader of the Night Elves, and tensions arise in the city, but never reaches the level of conflict in Stormwind.

Gilneans: Invigorated by the Worgen Curse and with the strenght and endurance of a man fourty years younger, Genn Greymane lives far longer than what would have been his natural life. His pride and perceived xenophobia are a constant source of criticism, and the name Greymane becomes slang for "impotent". Despite this, Gilneas is reclaimed and rebuilt, but struggles economically because of its crippled infrastructure and the riskiness of settling so near the Forsaken. Tess Greymane takes the throne following Genn's death at the hands of a disgruntled Gilnean peasant.

Draenei: Velen lives on. The Draenei continue to venerate and honor him, nearly to the extent that the young see him as a deistic figure-- though formal worship never commences. He remains far removed from the motives of the other races.



Orcs: Orcs are never allowed to re-gain centralized leadership. The other races of the world have had enough of their bullshit. Though they are not detained, enslaved or sterilized, they are prevented from organizing and treated as second class citizens. In some generations, the anti-orc sentiment gradually fades away, and a young Orc who has heard his greatmother's tales of the Orc's position as the backbone of the Horde, as a scourge of entire worlds and as an honorable warrior race comes to some prominence and eventually returns the Horde to their former glory, leading thousands back to Outland.

Trolls: Vol'jin rules after his father. In an entirely political gesture, he consorts with a Zandalari priestess in an attempt to smooth the schism between the two factions and integrate the cultures. The resulting child replaces the late Rastakhan as King of Trolls. The troll empire re-emerges, but not as part of the Horde. Vol'jin's son is an idealist but dabbles with powers far beyond his control and the stories of the old Loa entice him. Rumors arise that he becomes possessed by a spirit he wished to commune with...

Tauren: The Tauren enjoy a period of relative stability. Baine Bloodhoof rules for the rest of his natural life. His successor enjoys a prosperous period, with the only tensions coming when the successor to Magatha Grimtotem wishes to once again join the Horde and bring her people to Thunder Bluff. It is a peaceful transition, and even those Grimtotem who don't join the Horde are no longer its enemies.

Blood Elves: The Theron dynasty begins, as Lor'themar is finally crowned the King of Silvermoon. He reigns with Lady Liadrin as both his military leader and his wife. The dynasty is long, though Elf culture stagnates. As the Plaguelands become more cleansed of the Scourge taint, they expand their borders into what had formerly been Loarderon. Tensions arise with those who would have wished to reclaim Loarderon. Population never recovers, and Silvermoon is never fully rebuilt.

Forsaken: Sylvanas remains a leader and cult-like figurehead of the Forsaken. She withdraws further and further from the other races of the Horde, thinking them to be plotting against her. Her paranoia keeps her alive for many long years and through many crises. Ultimately, her fate is sealed in a severe earthquake that buries the Undercity and destroys most of what remains of Loarderon city. The Forsaken gradually fade away into obscurity between reclamation attempts at Loarderon and their natural mental degredation. A faction emerges under the reanimated Calia Menethil vying for the voluntary extinction of the race and becomes a staunch opponent of Necromancy in Azeroth, hunting them with unparalleled vigor and brutally torturing and murdering any even thought to have been Necromancers in public as an example. Lilian Voss is an idol and leader in this practice.

[Grubjuice]

all i can say i would love to see Gallywix dead, he's complete douche. and Someone like Boss Mida or Sassy Hardwrench would be great, I would be pleased to see another female faction leader.

I like Sylvanas, Lorthemar, Vol'jin, Thrall (presumed returning to lead the Orcs)

I don't have much emotional connection to the alliance leaders. I could rather care less what happens to them. I do wish Velen would did more in game. Orbarring that, would appoint someone else to be charge. Velen seems so aloof, i wonder why he is even the nominal leader of the Draenei at all? Can't he put someone a little more young and active in the role of Chief Executive Administrator of the Draenei while he, i dunno, meditates, or does whatever he does?

[Vhalerius]

Horde Warchief : Garrosh Hellscream

Horde racial leaders : None, the Warchief is supreme.

Alliance racial leaders : None, they're dead and/or integrated into the Horde, Garrosh won.




THANK YOU BASED GARROSH.

[JudgePayne]

Horde Warchief : Garrosh Hellscream

Horde racial leaders : None, the Warchief is supreme.

Alliance racial leaders : None, they're dead and/or integrated into the Horde, Garrosh won.




THANK YOU BASED GARROSH.

Ok I see your choices and yes everyone is entitled to their own ideas.

[Wyrt]

For the draenei I would like to see the Triumvirate come back like they had on Argus. Ishanah, Nobundo, and a mage. Would represent the major portions of draenei society and could handle day to day things and let Velen focus more on his visions and stuff.

There are no notable draenei mage characters so Blizzard would either have to make one or pull one from the TCG or action figure.

[JudgePayne]

Even by night elf standards she's "old". You could assume that Sentinels serving in the War of the Shifting Sands may have been 1000 years old (a good age for a "young adult" night elf) when the war broke out, 1000 years prior from current timeline, so they are around 2000 years old and their commanders are all thousands of years older. Shandris embodies the spirited Warrior woman that Night Elven women are supposed to be.

Sorry What I mean't to say is that shes young compared to the others in the running for leadership.
Tyrande, Malfurion, Jarrod Shadowsong and hell even Maiev.

She may be a lot older then the average night elf but I was referring to the her age vs those mentioned above.

[Primaliron]

A little fictional preview of how I might set up the rest of the game if I had my druthers. All of this was just made up on the spot (though from ideas I have had for some time) and I am exhausted, so expect bad dialogue and silly twists.

The Horde

Warchief: The position is abolished in light of Garrosh's actions. The leaders of the Horde agree to a council setup. All military matters are now put through Varok Saurfang who is still referred to as warchief, but does not have dictatorial power over all domestic affairs. He is effectively commander-in-chief.

Orgrimmar: After Garrosh's defeat Thrall is put in place as the orc representative on the council. His concerns are now domestic as he has a child ont he way anyhow, and he will get to do what he always really wanted, to spiritually guide his people. The orcs also begin to send out more shamans to heal the wounds of the Cataclysm. Eventually Thrall and several of the most experienced shamans head back to Outland and together with the Aldor, the Scryers, and the Naaru, tries to bring the broken world together. The attempt is only partially successful, and Thrall dies from the exertion. Draenor is whole enough that many orcs migrate home and continue the work of solidifying the world. Eventually many Draenei join them and attempt to heal old wounds. The world becomes a marshaling point for the war against the Burning Legion.

Darkspear: Vol'jin remains their leader and will be preoccupied with reconciling issues between them and the orcs while keeping an eye on the Zandalari situation. He also serves as the effective chief intelligence officer of the Horde. Full war with the Zandalari comes soon enough when they try to take advantage of a resurgence of Naga assaults by seizing massive swaths of former troll empires. Vol'jin is eventually forced to do something unthinkable, and kill Rastakhan. To this end Vol'jin leads an invasion of Zuldazar. The temples of the loas must be destroyed to sever the link Rastakhan has with them before he is finally confronted. With Rastakhan's death Vol'jin points out that the old ways have failed for a reason and trolls need to look to the future. Then he departs the Zandalari to let them learn, or not.

Thunder Bluff: Baine continues to serve as their representative but takes a more active role under Saurfang in military affairs with the understanding that he will be Saurfang's successor. Renewed ties between the shamans of TB and Org lead to a great deal of healing throughout Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Eventually he hunts down Magatha Grimtotem, but does not slay her. Instead he cages her and brings her back to Thunder Bluff where she dies in disgrace. The Grimtotem are functionally wiped out in this process. All surviving members have fled and the young adopted back into regular tauren society. The tauren are the first in the Horde to rally against Sylvanas as she plunges the world into war.

Bilgewater: Gallywix is mysteriously assassinated after SoO. Sassy Hardwrench takes up the representation of his people and forms the Bilgewater Workers Union to combat the treatment they received under Garrosh. Azshara is ceded to the Alliance (reasons will be apparent below) in exchange for total dominion over Dustwallow Marsh. A new goblin capital named Bilgewater Bay is built in the center just south of Theramore's ruins, which are now a memorial. Sassy proves to be an effective and honorable (for a Goblin) leader. Her trade deals help keep some level of peace during a number of conflicts while her assassins do a good job cleaning house with Vol'jin.

Undercity: Sylvanas continues down a path that leads the Horde into a tight spot. She blights what remains of Kul Tiras which is being used as an Alliance shipping port, and generally pushes to control all the continent north of Dun Morogh. The Horde is finally forced to depose her. The battle culminates with the revelation that Sylvanas has found the darkness beneath Tirisfal Glades. She has been draining arcane and shadow energy from a portal that leads to a dead world long ago consumed by the Legion. There is only a husk floating in the twisting nether, gathering its energies. The rift remains from the War of the Ancients but was buried during the Sundering and exacerbated by the blight above. When she is defeated and lay dying, Sylvanas declares her fear of oblivion and attempts to drain the life from Tyrande. Sylvanas is then decapitated by Leonid Barthalomew who says "There was always another path. May you find in death the peace you never had in life and unlife." Leonid takes leadership of the Forsaken, ending the current crisis (though some in the Alliance like Jaina are unhappy). Barthalomew takes the Forsaken in a new direction towards redemption, though resistance remains. Forsaken get Paladins and "real" priests, and all the pain that comes from being undead and using the light. Eventually they accept their inability to procreate and that they will have to eventually leave the land to the living. They accept this extinction and it gives them new fervor to destroy the Scourge and the Legion that spawned it.

Silvermoon: Lor'themar remains in command and continues to focus on the rebuilding of Silvermoon. Although he is not particularly fond of the Alliance, he does favor peace and reconstruction. During the overthrow of Sylvanas he refuses to take sides because of torn allegiance. Eventually he is forced to accept that Sylvanas is becoming a danger to Silvermoon. After the death of Sylvanas he takes her body to the Sunwell and lays her in its waters with all the priests and blood knights of Silvermoon present, hoping there is some redemption for her. Velen, Anduin, and Tyrande appear with many of their fellow priests and paladins. They ask to be allowed to assist in the ritual. The spirit of Sylvanas is pulled from her body, leaving the taint of her unlife behind. The spirit smiles and disperses as the body dissolves into the Sunwell. The Alliance entourage begins to depart. Lor'themar stops them and asks why they came. Tyrande says dismissively as she walks away "We cannot have the Sunwell tainted once again like it was with Kel'Thuzad." She pauses for a moment and turns around. "Everyone here has seen people they loved and respected become tainted by the Legion and the Scourge. To abandon hope for her soul would be to abandon hope for theirs." She then turns back around and exits.

The Alliance

After the Siege of Orgrimmar Varian realizes that in some ways he has pushed the Alliance to be more like the Horde. With this in mind he places Anduin in charge of Stormwind while he retains Kingship but pursues the war against the Forsaken to the north. He brings Danath Trollbane back from Outland and the two retake Stromgarde as their base in the North. Although he is no longer the strict leader of the Allaince (let's face it that made no sense, he's a nub as anything but a warrior). He remains Grand Marshal of its military forces.

Stormwind: Anduin takes charge of Stormwind and the lands in the south. With Danath back and Stromgarde restored, Stormwind asserts itself as the new Kingdom of Arathor. Anduin spends a lot of time learning domestic affairs, but also as a priest he will be needed to guide his people since so many will head north to fight the Forsaken. While he continues to try to find ways to make peace with the Horde, he is less naïve than he used to be and has Jaina Proudmoore alongside him. Jaina and the Kirin Tor move Dalaran over the Undercity during the removal of Sylvanas. Jaina finally loses her mind during the conflict and during the final battle she nearly rips Azeroth apart while trying to turn the energies of the portal against Sylvanas. When the portal is about to rip beyond repair she realizes her actions and sacrifices herself to close the portal. The resulting damage kills her and the trapped souls Sylvanas was using to power the portal drain her of "life" and leaving her near death.

Ironforge: Magni is restored by Thrall as an act of contrition following SoO. Despite this, Magni cannot fully reassert himself as King. The Council of Three Hammers remains potent and he steps in as the Bronzebeard representative. Magni's influence in Ironforge tips the scales though and creates some interesting situations. Magni influences the raising of his grandson Fenran and comes to some accords with his estranged daughter. Fenran is heavily influenced by his uncle Brann as well and becomes very well studied in titan lore. He accompanies Brann across Azeroth as an adolescent and young adult, using the excuse of "needing to see the world" to get out of Ironforge. Eventually he meets the young daughter of Kurdran Wildhammer during an attempt to force the young couple to unite the three hammers. The two actually like each other but prank their parents for well over a year by pretending they do not. When they wed they change their clan name to Onehammer. Through all these years the Dwarves are stout members of the Alliance.

Gnomeregan: Mekkatorque gets the gnomes fully moved back into at least the upper levels of Gnomeregan which have been scrubbed. They continue to have troubles from below though as other things awaken in the depths. The gnomes continue to fight off such evils with the help of their dwarven counterparts even as they both push to assist the war against the Forsaken. Mekkatorque is instrumental in the repurposing and fortifying of titan technology to suppress the Old Gods since they can't really be killed.

Darnassus: Malfurion remains Archdruid, but the druids try to push for cooperation by mostly moving into the Moonglade and Mt. Hyjal. Tyrande continues to lead her people within Darnassus but becomes slightly estranged from Malfurion as the war with the Forsaken heats up. Teldrassil itself is bombarded from the seas with blight. The Night Elves are forced to move from Teldrassil to the northern reaches of Kalimdor where they establish a home upon the ruins of Nendis which now spends much of the day in the shade of Hyjal and the new world tree. This also marks an escalation in the fight against the Naga who burned Nendis down. Malfurion and Tyrande reconcile at the end of the Forsaken conflict. Azshara begins her full war against the surface world, but the battle hardened Kaldorei and their allies resist. Azshara herself comes to the surface to assault Nendis but is defeated by combined horde and Alliance forces. Feathermoon Stronghold in the south also becomes the replacement for Theramore.

The Exodar: Velen continues to lead his people through prophecy and vision, but also has learned from his new charge. He personally assists the Night Elves in relocating to Nendis and appeals directly to Saurfang and the Horde's council to turn against Sylvanas. This is done with some force as the Triumverate of the Hand marches on Orgrimmar, having taken a greater interest in Azerothian affairs as their leader has. There's a great speech in there about the potential for Draenei vengeance and a point made to Saurfang about the squeals of dying Kaldorei children. The Exodar, is initially moved to assist the evacuation of Teldrassil, and remains for a time to protect the new city and provide support. The Exodar takes some damage during the assault of Azshara, but nothing extensive. Eventually it is moved once more to the Dark Portal, where many Draenei pass through to re-establish on their old adopted world, and prepare to assault the Legion with their new allies.

Gilneas: Genn Greymane joins Varian and Danath in Stromgarde to fight the war in the north. Gwen and her entourage move into Stormwind after the blighting of Teldrassil along with several Night Elf druids who cannot remain neutral. Much of Gwen's time is spent assisting Anduin in the coordinating of supplies to and from Nendis and the Exodar. Once Sylvanas is defeated Leonid Barthalomew repeals all claim to Gilneas and the Worgen/Gilneans reclaim their home. Eventually the worgen manage to control the curse with the assistance of the Cenarion Circle and regain human form, though they master the pack form and continue to use it in battle.

Now my twisted and groggy mind is off to bed, assuredly I will wake and go "wtf did I write."

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Sorry What I mean't to say is that shes young compared to the others in the running for leadership.
Tyrande, Malfurion, Jarrod Shadowsong and hell even Maiev.

She may be a lot older then the average night elf but I was referring to the her age vs those mentioned above.

I think at 10,000 plus years age begins to matter a lot less. In some ways age can become a negative thing in a leader, especially in the face of a changing world.

[Trassk]

glad I'm not the only one who thinks the warchief title should be removed. It just creates to much bullshit.