[Speculation] Sylvanas to capture N'Zoth in the empty blade

[huth]

It could be that too, but N'Zoth will be killed too and there are MANY more old gods out there.

He's the last one on Azeroth. There's plenty elsewhere, but they're kinda irrelevant. N'zoth is the only one we know of capable of fulfilling his purpose.

[Varodoc]

Since N'zoth's corruption was able to reach the Chamber of the Heart, it can be assumed that his grip on the World Soul has become very tight. Killing N'zoth could have tremendous consequences for the newborn World Soul, so destroying him so casually would not be advised.

[Unholyground]

Since N'zoth's corruption was able to reach the Chamber of the Heart, it can be assumed that his grip on the World Soul has become very tight. Killing N'zoth could have tremendous consequences for the newborn World Soul, so destroying him so casually would not be advised.

Maybe, containing his power in the blade might be a good thing to do as well.

[TigTone]

Maybe, containing his power in the blade might be a good thing to do as well.

It could also be N’zoth may have a “web or net” over the world soul but the world soul had a shield over it so he still needs to break through it or doesn’t anymore thanks sargareas blades.

Sarg attempt to kill Azeroth basically made it more possible for what he feared to happen a void Titan.

[Unholyground]

It could also be N’zoth may have a “web or net” over the world soul but the world soul had a shield over it so he still needs to break through it or doesn’t anymore thanks sargareas blades.

Sarg attempt to kill Azeroth basically made it more possible for what he feared to happen a void Titan.

Well because they wan't WoW to go until 2024 minimum I will guess we win and everything will be fine. Though having a twisted void version of Azeroth would be cool as an expansion. They can split the world into 2 versions kind of like the Phazon did from Metroid Prime 2.

[prwraith]

The God of the Deep, so ancient and cunning, is too smart to fall for Sylvanas' little tricks. He could see her intentions coming from miles away. You forget that N'zoth is so intelligent that even defeats work in his favour. He will not be outsmarted by some upstart Banshee who cannot even win a war against a boy king.

Uhhh

Let's just draw some parallels in level of qualified writers we have here.

Azmodan - Lord of sin and apparent master strategist...literally the worst strategists we've ever seen
Belial - Lord of lies - least sneaky person ever

Now let's think about the writing we've seen so far in BFA and think about whether or not this Master craftsmen N'zoth who's been planning for hundreds of years can be beat by sylvanas.

[TigTone]

Sylvanas has the power of her fans some of which work at blizzard. No power can destroy or out smart her.

[agentsi]

This is what I am saying, N'Zoth may have his master plan but you can be damn sure Sylvanas has her own.

I was agreeing with you. It makes perfect sense. lol

[Fred Skinner]

She will use the blade to kill the lich king, to gain his powers then. She will rule over the scourge and all undead.

[Unholyground]

I was agreeing with you. It makes perfect sense. lol

Nice, well at least I convinced someone haha,

[apples]

why does an outdated weapon give someone "untold power"

and why does having "untold power" mean you can do whatever you want?

also why are we fighting old gods when we literally just finished killing titans? titans were so much stronger than the old gods that the titans didnt even need to go themselves to kill the old gods, they sent shitters like loken and thorim, and they completely mopped the floor with old god bodies

[Hitei]

So the whole Xal'atath can capture Old God's comes down to one line from the artifact research that itself says it is a theory with no basis.

This makes it sound more like it is a fang or claw from an Old God than some sort of weapon crafted by some unknown being with the ability to capture and control Old God's. Especially given the next line, that it may be just that only from Y'Shaarj.

It's not so much about the dagger's production itself as it is that the lore leans heavily towards Xal'athath herself (the presence, not the Black Blade) being that remnant. Which is to say, Xal'atath is a sentient presence who is trapped in the dagger. Therefore if Xal'athath is the remnants of an Old God, then the Black Blade can contain (at the very least) a weakened or mostly destroyed Old God.

It is more than just the one line, there are a lot of things pointing towards her being what's left of a 5th Old God.

•That theory is singled out in the order hall lore, it is presented as the first theory and flagged with a "haha, there's no way that could be true though."
•Xal has a specific voice line that directly matches with that theory: "We may face some of my brethren in this conflict... a prospect that delights me. Their power will be mine! They will pay for what was done to me long ago." Lending it credibility unlike the Y'shaarj one (she never mentions Y'shaarj except the quote below)
•Xal does not speak like an Old God minion, those are almost universally in a constant state of praise and worship for the Old Gods, Xal is dismissive and casual about them, and at times outright hostile or belittling toward them ("A servant of the Old Gods. Let us consume it."; "There! A spy for N'Zoth. We should kill it.")
•Xal has an extremely important line about the Old Gods, one that is often brought up to discuss how N'zoth is the weakest one, but which people rarely put focus on as an entire line: "It is ironic that the weakest of us may be the ultimate victor. C'Thun, Yogg-Saron, Y'Shaarj, and... well. Only one would remain to consume the world, that was always meant to be.". Note that 1) she speaks as though she is an equal, not "weakest of them", "weakest of us", and 2) she adds an "and" for a 4th fallen Old God but trails off, implying there was another who no longer remains.
•Similarly, she has a line about Yogg: "To see Yogg-Saron's nightmare in full bloom fills me with jealousy... and some pride." that appears to have her once again viewing herself on par with the other Old Gods.
•In Chronicle III (released after Legion, and so after Xal'atath was added) there is an art piece (https://i.imgur.com/ckQRnEg.jpg) which depicts C'thun and the forces of AQ as its focus, but in the border has Yogg-Saron surrounded by mountains, Y'shaarj in his serpent form, N'zoth surrounded by waves... and an unknown 5th entity surrounded by skeletons and skulls.

Everything else aside, the deliberate inclusion of what seems to be a 5th Old God in the Chronicle artwork heavily reinforces that one existed at some point but was killed and consumed by the others prior to the Titan's arriving. Which makes Xal's dialogue and the priest order hall notes suggest pretty strongly that the presence in the Black Blade is what remains of that 5th one, and so the blade could arguably contain another, sufficiently disabled similar entity.

why does an outdated weapon give someone "untold power"

and why does having "untold power" mean you can do whatever you want?

also why are we fighting old gods when we literally just finished killing titans? titans were so much stronger than the old gods that the titans didnt even need to go themselves to kill the old gods, they sent shitters like loken and thorim, and they completely mopped the floor with old god bodies

If you can beat up a little kid, why is a spider or snake 0.00001% or 1% of that kid's size and strength a deadly threat? Strength and the degree to which something is a threat is about much more than how well you do in a 1v1 physical fight. Even imprisoned, Yogg corrupted most of the watchers guarding him, and spread his influence across the entire continent of Northrend. You being able to beat up the avatar of a titan with help from other titans does not make fighting something like that easy.

[Deventh]

I would support that.. i dont want sylvanas to ever die no more.

You and me both.

[Neverafter]

It's not so much about the dagger's production itself as it is that the lore leans heavily towards Xal'athath herself (the presence, not the Black Blade) being that remnant. Which is to say, Xal'atath is a sentient presence who is trapped in the dagger. Therefore if Xal'athath is the remnants of an Old God, then the Black Blade can contain (at the very least) a weakened or mostly destroyed Old God.

It is more than just the one line, there are a lot of things pointing towards her being what's left of a 5th Old God.

•That theory is singled out in the order hall lore, it is presented as the first theory and flagged with a "haha, there's no way that could be true though."
•Xal has a specific voice line that directly matches with that theory: "We may face some of my brethren in this conflict... a prospect that delights me. Their power will be mine! They will pay for what was done to me long ago." Lending it credibility unlike the Y'shaarj one (she never mentions Y'shaarj except the quote below)
•Xal does not speak like an Old God minion, those are almost universally in a constant state of praise and worship for the Old Gods, Xal is dismissive and casual about them, and at times outright hostile or belittling toward them ("A servant of the Old Gods. Let us consume it."; "There! A spy for N'Zoth. We should kill it.")
•Xal has an extremely important line about the Old Gods, one that is often brought up to discuss how N'zoth is the weakest one, but which people rarely put focus on as an entire line: "It is ironic that the weakest of us may be the ultimate victor. C'Thun, Yogg-Saron, Y'Shaarj, and... well. Only one would remain to consume the world, that was always meant to be.". Note that 1) she speaks as though she is an equal, not "weakest of them", "weakest of us", and 2) she adds an "and" for a 4th fallen Old God but trails off, implying there was another who no longer remains.
•Similarly, she has a line about Yogg: "To see Yogg-Saron's nightmare in full bloom fills me with jealousy... and some pride." that appears to have her once again viewing herself on par with the other Old Gods.
•In Chronicle III (released after Legion, and so after Xal'atath was added) there is an art piece (https://i.imgur.com/ckQRnEg.jpg) which depicts C'thun and the forces of AQ as its focus, but in the border has Yogg-Saron surrounded by mountains, Y'shaarj in his serpent form, N'zoth surrounded by waves... and an unknown 5th entity surrounded by skeletons and skulls.

Everything else aside, the deliberate inclusion of what seems to be a 5th Old God in the Chronicle artwork heavily reinforces that one existed at some point but was killed and consumed by the others prior to the Titan's arriving. Which makes Xal's dialogue and the priest order hall notes suggest pretty strongly that the presence in the Black Blade is what remains of that 5th one, and so the blade could arguably contain another, sufficiently disabled similar entity.

I am not arguing that the entity inside the blade isn't the remnants of a 5th Old God. They have obviously made that ambiguous enough now (Whether Azeroth had 4 or 5 Old God's).

My contention is that, just because there was an entity inside the blade before, that someone it could be used to trap another entity. Obviously there is still story potential with Xal'atath and the blade, I'm just not convinced its the all powerful Old God Masterball that people are saying.

Whatever the story potential, it's already greater than what Xal'Atoh got.

[Soot]

This just makes sense to me, it is designed to house an old god and that would give Sylvanas untold power, enough even to open a doorway to the Shadowlands preventing permanent death and creating an endless army like the Legion.

I don't think that's possible. Perhaps siphon part of his power into it or something like that. Or enslave some other lower rank leader under N'zoth with it.

[javierdsv]

She has the potential of ruling over the Old Gods controlling them. It's the only way her story would differ from Garrosh.

[Hitei]

I am not arguing that the entity inside the blade isn't the remnants of a 5th Old God. They have obviously made that ambiguous enough now (Whether Azeroth had 4 or 5 Old God's).

My contention is that, just because there was an entity inside the blade before, that someone it could be used to trap another entity. Obviously there is still story potential with Xal'atath and the blade, I'm just not convinced its the all powerful Old God Masterball that people are saying.

Whatever the story potential, it's already greater than what Xal'Atoh got.

Why would it not be able to contain an entity if it's already contained a similar one. Is your skepticism just that the process of binding itself is beyond the current story's reach?

[Jastall]

Sylvanas is portrayed as too dumb to win a war against a pacifist teenager.

But I'm sure Blizzard thinks having her out-think a millenia old eldritch abomination who is spying all over us this very moment will make for great storytelling.

[Bisso]

The God of the Deep, so ancient and cunning, is too smart to fall for Sylvanas' little tricks. He could see her intentions coming from miles away. You forget that N'zoth is so intelligent that even defeats work in his favour. He will not be outsmarted by some upstart Banshee who cannot even win a war against a boy king.

I mean, go play Act 2 of Diablo 3, and then come back telling me Blizzard knows how to write smart villains.

[MatthiasVonTzeskagrad]

Not a week ago I'd say OP had a point.
But CoS end tells another tell.
At best Sylvanas will improvise a plan after surviving being beaten up by the same murderhovos who gave her the weapon in the first place.