Has it ever been explained why only Wild Gods go to Ardenweald?

[darkoms]

I mean, there are various beings associated with nature. Why do we only see wild gods? Where are the Ents and the Ancients? Perhaps the Wild Gods are closer to mortals than to nature and therefore end up in the Shadowlands, while other creatures of nature go to the Gardens of Life?

[Skytotem]

I mean, lots of nature tied folks go there, there's nelfs and trolls and Tauren too

[Goldielocks]

They chose to focus on specific characters over a race. Pretty much everything that resulted from Eonar is what the life side focused on. Considering Shadowlands (and how it got a few death races), I’d imagine this part of the story is going to get changes as well. Elune being revealed is a big one.

[Firefall]

I mean, there are various beings associated with nature. Why do we only see wild gods? Where are the Ents and the Ancients? Perhaps the Wild Gods are closer to mortals than to nature and therefore end up in the Shadowlands, while other creatures of nature go to the Gardens of Life?

I think your perhaps here is the answer. I don't think "life elementals" go to the Shadowlands.

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I mean, lots of nature tied folks go there, there's nelfs and trolls and Tauren too

They mean to be reborn.

[darkoms]

I mean, lots of nature tied folks go there, there's nelfs and trolls and Tauren too

I mean beings of nature like ents, not mortals

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I think your perhaps here is the answer. I don't think "life elementals" go to the Shadowlands.

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They mean to be reborn.

Hmm, do you think the children of the Wild Gods also go exclusively to Ardenweald? For example Keepers of the Grove

[Derpules]

Hmm, do you think the children of the Wild Gods also go exclusively to Ardenweald? For example Keepers of the Grove

Mylune straight to the maw for not saving more baby animals.

[Ersula]

They're meant to protect the natural cycle of nature from the other side of the veil. The Vol'jin storyline talks about this.

[darkoms]

They're meant to protect the natural cycle of nature from the other side of the veil. The Vol'jin storyline talks about this.

Isn't this the work of the Winter Queen and perhaps the Arbiter

[Caerule]

I think Wild Gods are basically an exception. They are manifestations of a planet's nature, and have to be restored to keep life strong on such worlds.

But most creatures of nature are more replaceable. It's a loss to nature to lose a tree Ancient or a Dryad, but these are beings that reproduce. They do not need rebirth, for the system to be maintained. I'm not sure what that means for their souls though. I think animal souls just get recycled, their essence returning to the wilds, to be born anew. For other things, I do not know. But perhaps the realms of Life is a suitable destination for their souls.

[Ersula]

Isn't this the work of the Winter Queen and perhaps the Arbiter

Who do you think designates who gets reincarnated with their memories & who doesn't?

[SirPaper]

Bit off-topic, but since they're dead, would they be considered Calm Gods in Ardenweald?

[Khaza-R]

Night Fae campaign explains it pretty clear in their origin. Anyone who lived in service of nature goes to Ardenweald.

[CasualVader]

Didn't they Retcon that creatures heavily connected to the Emerald Dream now instead of going to Emerald Dream as a ''green ghost'' they are brought to Ardenweald to recover and then be sent back to their planet again.

So in short basically only mortal races go to the Shadowlands, and those connected to ''Emerald Dream and Life'' goes to Ardenweald such as Night Elf, High Mountain Tauren and the list goes on because the Arbiter decided it was most fit for them.

But for Wild Gods it works only as a place where they recover due to Ardenweald seems to be connected with the Emerald Dream in a way.

Believe there was a blue poster that said ''After his death, Cenarius recovered in Ardenweald of the Shadowlands before returning to Azeroth during the Cataclysm.''

And we have Ursoc ''Following the events within the Nightmare, Ursoc's soul traveled to Ardenweald in the Shadowlands, where he fell into slumber within a wildseed in Tirna Noch to await his rebirth.''

And there are talks about Ysera making a return somehow in Dragonflight so it is possible that either her ''daughter'' somehow seeks her out in Ardenweald to become the new Aspect or Ysera will be brought back through the cycle again.

Since Wild Gods which in most cases are Titan-Empowered Animals which can return to Azeroth through Ardenweald it wouldn't be far-fetched that a Titan-Empowered Dragon can return too.

[darkoms]

Night Fae campaign explains it pretty clear in their origin. Anyone who lived in service of nature goes to Ardenweald.

Ok, where treants? Ancients?

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Didn't they Retcon that creatures heavily connected to the Emerald Dream now instead of going to Emerald Dream as a ''green ghost'' they are brought to Ardenweald to recover and then be sent back to their planet again.

So in short basically only mortal races go to the Shadowlands, and those connected to ''Emerald Dream and Life'' goes to Ardenweald such as Night Elf, High Mountain Tauren and the list goes on because the Arbiter decided it was most fit for them.

But for Wild Gods it works only as a place where they recover due to Ardenweald seems to be connected with the Emerald Dream in a way.

Believe there was a blue poster that said ''After his death, Cenarius recovered in Ardenweald of the Shadowlands before returning to Azeroth during the Cataclysm.''

And we have Ursoc ''Following the events within the Nightmare, Ursoc's soul traveled to Ardenweald in the Shadowlands, where he fell into slumber within a wildseed in Tirna Noch to await his rebirth.''

And there are talks about Ysera making a return somehow in Dragonflight so it is possible that either her ''daughter'' somehow seeks her out in Ardenweald to become the new Aspect or Ysera will be brought back through the cycle again.

Since Wild Gods which in most cases are Titan-Empowered Animals which can return to Azeroth through Ardenweald it wouldn't be far-fetched that a Titan-Empowered Dragon can return too.

It seems to me, or did you read the title of the topic, but not the first post itself?

[Woggmer]

I would say that the Ancients and treants might be more within Elune's jurisdiction than with the Winter Queen's.

It may also be possible that Wisps can inherit the body of trees.

The wisps act in unison with the night elves and serve to strengthen the demigod-like trees known as the ancients. Beckoned by the night elves, wisps are capable of animating various trees and expanding themselves into rough-hewn structures of living wood and stone.

Source (Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual, pg 57)

If treants and Ancients are actually powered by Wisps, then it adds to the theory that Elune is involved.

Upon death, the souls of most night elves are brought to the Shadowlands like any other mortal race. However, some instead linger in the mortal realm as wisps. Ta'lora considers wisps to be a type of soulshape and believes that their existence is the result of the soul's intrinsic bond with their home forests creating a tether that allows them to remain among the living. However, he cannot entirely rule out the interference of Elune.

Source (World of Warcraft: Grimoire of the Shadowlands and Beyond, pg 13)

Honestly, it is actually a good question, but this is probably the closest answer you might get. Hope it helps.

[Vaedan]

They mean to be reborn.

Not every soul that go to Ardenweald is meant to be reborn. Only most powerful nature spirits like Ancients, Loa and Celestials (Wild Gods) are meant to be reborn. Mortal souls rather serve as keepers of the weald who help nurture slumbering spirits. It is possible that they turn into sylvar, vorkai or fae over time, in a same way mortal souls turn into kyrian in Bastion, to various undead forms in Maldraxxus or venthyr in Renvendreth.

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If treants and Ancients are actually powered by Wisps, then it adds to the theory that Elune is involved.
Source (World of Warcraft: Grimoire of the Shadowlands and Beyond, pg 13)

Honestly, it is actually a good question, but this is probably the closest answer you might get. Hope it helps.

If Elune is responsible for wisps, it might explain why was Winter Queen upset she "abandoned" her. I mean... if Elune intentionally kept night elf souls on Azeroth in form of wisps, then they were missing in Ardenweald, meaning less anima for night fae. During normal times, that might not be that much issue, but during drought, every drop of anima was precious.

[darkoms]

I would say that the Ancients and treants might be more within Elune's jurisdiction than with the Winter Queen's.

It may also be possible that Wisps can inherit the body of trees.
Source (Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos Game Manual, pg 57)

If treants and Ancients are actually powered by Wisps, then it adds to the theory that Elune is involved.
Source (World of Warcraft: Grimoire of the Shadowlands and Beyond, pg 13)

Honestly, it is actually a good question, but this is probably the closest answer you might get. Hope it helps.

I'm not sure if animating the Ancients with wisps is still canon, they must be much older than the night elves.

[Woggmer]

I'm not sure if animating the Ancients with wisps is still canon, they must be much older than the night elves.

It was either this, or that Ancients and Treants can't...fully die. In that I mean, they just break off from an ancient and then the branches fall off into earth and become Treants.

Their memory are as long and winding as their branches. A piece of their strength sometimes stays behind when ancients fall.

Source (Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdor pg 34)

Another way is with an Acorn of an Ancient.

The acorn of an ancient looks like any other acorn but, in reality, is much rarer, much more powerful, and magical. It holds all the knowledge of its tree, and all the knowledge of the tree's parent tree, and so on back to their origins.

Source (Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects)

Based on this logic, if all the memories of an Ancient is kept within those acorns. They could just plant them and create new Treants that preserve them and can eventually grow into Ancients, but it takes a long process.

I prefer the Wisp idea more since it is a lot more interesting than this one.

[darkoms]

It was either this, or that Ancients and Treants can't...fully die. In that I mean, they just break off from an ancient and then the branches fall off into earth and become Treants.

Source (Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdor pg 34)

Another way is with an Acorn of an Ancient.
Source (Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects)

Based on this logic, if all the memories of an Ancient is kept within those acorns. They could just plant them and create new Treants that preserve them and can eventually grow into Ancients, but it takes a long process.

I prefer the Wisp idea more since it is a lot more interesting than this one.

The idea of wisps doesn't apply to other Ancients. We saw the Ancients on Draenor and there are no wisps

[Woggmer]

The idea of wisps doesn't apply to other Ancients. We saw the Ancients on Draenor and there are no wisps

Those guys are different.

The ancients get their name from their analogues on Azeroth; they are tied closely to a prehistoric plant lineage that unites much of Draenor's flora and places them in opposition to the creatures of stone.

Source (WoW Blog, Beasts of the Savage Lands, Shadowmoon Valley)

At this point we're just digging into the realm of speculation because Blizz didn't explore much about the Primals or the Ancients in Draenor. I could only find 3 friendly Ancients in AU Draenor, one of which is just an Ashran objective while the other two is a sapling that you feed it something and the other is a fruit vendor that joins your Garrison.

The rest of them became hostile by-products of the Botani and the Primals in their war against the Breakers to take over the planet. However, that's sadly all we have to go by. There are two other Ancients that show up in Outland that are the last of their kind, but that's left as a total mystery as well. All we know is that, they existed, and that's it.