Queen Azshara is Back -- Right Now.

[Elestia]

Azshara has certainly been confirmed to be a new threat, long hidden since ancient times, finally emerging.

Could it be Azshara, not Sylvannas, lights up Teldrassil? I mean, it's the perfect crime for her -- she gets a war for free. The lighting of Teldrassil is also thought to be the first of five 'torches' which will herald the coming of N'Zoth.

Did Sylvannas really intend to occupy Darnassus or even think she could keep it while the nightelven army remains undefeated?

So better question - why would Azshara want to wipe out the Horde? It makes sense why the battle at Undercity is so dire and dire actions are taken. It makes sense why the Zandalari are the Horde's salvation...

I think it could be that we've given Sylvannas too much credit. She got greedy with the Azerite, thought she had the initiative and got burned, a blunder into an unforseen betrayal that has now both shifted the balance of power and awoken the full ire of the Alliance.

[Deleted]

that would .... make a lot of sense actually.

[Hitei]

What are the other torches then?

[Alanar]

If Azshara is smart and she likely is.. she could distract us by setting it on fire and start the war. While she does some prep work down below.
I buy it, soounds plausible!

[Sevyvia]

What are the other torches then?

Hard to say for sure, but two others could be Stormwind (With the prison breakout) and Undercity. Last two to come, maybe.

[styil]

It could be possible. If it was anybody other than Blizzard writing the story.

[Hitei]

Hard to say for sure, but two others could be Stormwind (With the prison breakout) and Undercity. Last two to come, maybe.

This is a silly line of logic. Anything that involves fire is a torch? UC is largely plagued not burned down

[Chickat]

This is a silly line of logic. Anything that involves fire is a torch? UC is largely plagued not burned down

I don't think torch means fire. I think it means event/something happening. Metaphor.

[Hitei]

I don't think torch means fire. I think it means event/something happening. Metaphor.

At which point it means nothing and you can just pick any five events.

I think it seems a lot more obvious it referred to the pillars of creation.

[Nize]

At which point it means nothing and you can just pick any five events.

I think it seems a lot more obvious it referred to the pillars of creation.

I agree that this is still the case, and that it'll be answered either from the animated short coming soon or sometime during Azshara patch.

[killwithpwr]

I don't think torch means fire. I think it means event/something happening. Metaphor.

Im a supporter of this. Old god lovers love to be vague af

[Chickat]

Im a supporter of this. Old god lovers love to be vague af

I mean they are right. If we go with an event it could literally be whatever blizzard throws against the wall. It makes more sense to me that it could be random events to us, but mean something more to them. Literal fires is dumb. I also think its the most likely that its the Pillars of Creation, but that seems too obvious. This is blizzard though. They arent exactly sublte most of the time.

[Hitei]

I mean they are right. If we go with an event it could literally be whatever blizzard throws against the wall. It makes more sense to me that it could be random events to us, but mean something more to them. Literal fires is dumb. I also think its the most likely that its the Pillars of Creation, but that seems too obvious. This is blizzard though. They arent exactly sublte most of the time.

It isn't even an issue with Blizzard picking an events. Even if we are talking "random events" that are significant to the Old gods, it is silly:

Five torches (events) to lead to Old God victory:

1. Draenor being connected to Azeroth, allowing Gul'dan to return
2. Legion Invasion
3. Creation of a portal between Azeroth and Argus
4. Sargeras wounding Azeroth
5. The Burning of Teldrassil

1. The Titans chaining the Old Gods where they could be forgotten
2. The Sundering opening the sea and giving N'zoth the Naga
3. The fall of Neptulon giving the Naga the Trident that controls the tides
4. The Worldwound weakening Azeroth
5. Ny'alotha being raised from the depths

1. Y'shaarj's death wounding Azeroth and leading to intelligent life that can be manipulated
2. The fall of the Dragonflight responsible for protecting deep places
3. The fall of Alleria Windrunner into the void
4. Sargeras' defeat
5. N'zoth's prison being broken

It is almost certainly not events because there are hundreds of things that have led us to our current point and these current events.

[vertigo12]

War of Thorns is the pre-BfA event/patch. Right now war mode will be highlighted and a thing. I think this is what started it all out and reignited the once again HvA strife.

[Nutri]

@OP. I like this. Sounds plausible!

[klaps_05]

War of Thorns is the pre-BfA event/patch. Right now war mode will be highlited and a thing. I think this is what started it all out and reignited the once again HvA strife.

I am enjoying the HvA vibe so much and usually I cba pvping even tho im on a pvp realm. While casually WQing seeing someone flagged as bounty just lights the spark in me to find them and collect its nice to go back a bit to HvA after slaying all the gods, old gods, proving myself 3 times to Odyn, titans, dragons, nagas, etc.

[gobio]

If half of what Sylvannas were doing in the pre-patch quest were true.
Then at this point the plot is pure fuck up before repair, who actually did it becomes moot.

Why is Sylvannas leading the horde?
Why Taruen with so many druid in their culture still went along?
Why the NEW Taruen (and nightfallen to be honest) went along with horde after this shit and not say "WTF did I join these war for".
Even when you are tricked to go to Night elf home turf to do spy work or whatever, the second Sylvannas gives you those retarded quest, where is the option to make her turn red and be attack-able? As a Tauren druid? where is the RP option to quit this stupid "horde"? After the horde went to attack and won over AR-FUCKING-GUS, NOPE, Sylvannas cannot be attacked by horde player even for the stupid shit she force upon you.

[dope_danny]

It does sound like the blizzard MO because right now theres 3 possible directions i can see:
1: Sylvanas is just fantasy pol pot and the horde is again just the bad guys and its garrosh 2.0
2: Its old gods directly influencing her and may tie back to the theories from some of the order hall and sidequest stuff hinting that yogg saron took a dive and has been manipulating all undead for years.
3: Its Azshara and this is the naga/south seas expansion people wanted masquerading for the .0 period as a horde vs alliance experience like a reverse pandaria and our mogu/sha twist is coming at the second act not the first turning into horde vs alliance like the pandaren campaign.

Personally i have no love for sylvanas. she spent most of the games life being a brat in the undercity singing when given an amulet. In cata she became a sociopath going "but muh smouldering generic painrage" and that was about it. Could she just be new garrosh? sure. But that makes me hope blizzard isn't coping out with a mind control deal again.
Given they way legion worked and general vibes that -if wrath was wc3 part 2, legion was pandaria part 2- then this is cataclysm part 2 i think Azshara might be a boss in a raid but not die in that raid. I think we are getting naga stuff but the only issue is how do they get around the people that, while its the same controls as flying, go into a screeching shitfit about underwater stuff?
The natural reaction therefore is another 'post launch zone' like argus but its the nightmare city rising from the depths and the horde vs alliance as, like the geniuses they are, weakened from infighting and dundundun all seems lost and its up to 10 people to run into an instance for loot to save the day!


Or its genn doing a false flag. Which is possible but considering how the night elves saved them in gilneas he owes them more for his people than he owes sylvanas for killing his son and his entire character is "shouldering my peoples burden", its even one of his lines when you click on him, so while i could see a writer like golden wanting to use that i dont think genn himself would stoop to that when in his mind he is already 100% on the "lets nuke the bastards from orbit with the vindicaar" side and everyone knows it. From his perspective why would he need to convince people the forsaken are a threat. To his thinking it should be as evident as water is wet.

[killwithpwr]

I mean they are right. If we go with an event it could literally be whatever blizzard throws against the wall. It makes more sense to me that it could be random events to us, but mean something more to them. Literal fires is dumb. I also think its the most likely that its the Pillars of Creation, but that seems too obvious. This is blizzard though. They arent exactly sublte most of the time.

Hell, the five torches could be people or creatures that are going to usher in the black empire...
Lets say: Azshara, Deathwing, Chogall, Xavius and *Blank*

Just a thought that went through my mind just now...

[Deleted]

that would .... make a lot of sense actually.

yup, too much sense. Blizzard writers would ever write something logical like this.