Speculation thread, wanna hear your ideas. ALso, sorry if this is a re-post theres a lot to post and I didn't feel it appropriate to tack it onto someone else's thread.
So after reading some of the Cdev questions, I read the question:
"Q: During your recent Cdev, you stated that it wasn't an Old God underneath Tirisfal. Any chance you could give us any kind of hint as to what's down there? Any tidbit of info would be awesome.
A: I hate to do this, but I didn't want to leave you hanging without an answer. My answer is: We're not saying. Not yet."
cited here:http://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comments...developer_ama/
And the first question asked about this subject was this:
Q: Is there truly an Old God underneath the Tirisfal Glade?
A: Nope! There’s something incredibly unsettling there, but it’s not an Old God. It isn’t recommended to go digging through the Glades, though.
cited here:http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/6489940501
Got me thinking, if it isn't an Old God, then it's gotta be something with some type of nightmare-esque qualities. all the animals around the whispering forest are frightened and scurrying, there's the fairy circle that could have very well been placed there by Malfurion himself based off of this excerpt:
"Malfurion and Tyrande Whisperwind cleansed the Emerald Dream everywhere, except in the rift where the Nightmare stubbornly held firm. There was no point to keep pushing, as the people of Azeroth still needed the couple's help. Thus, Malfurion sealed off the vicinity around the rift, he and Tyrande silently agreeing that the day had been saved, and this was another war that would have to wait for a better time."
cited:http://www.wowwiki.com/Rift_of_Aln
This could be heavily tied to Vashj'ir, with this excerpt found at the same cite above:
"Curiously, only then did Malfurion truly sense that the ancient evil, though it fought to keep its grip there, did so from somewhere deep in the depths of Azeroth's own seas."
Knowing that all of the "old god-ish" tenticles from around abyssal depths, and the sudden cancellation of the Abyssal maw may have something to do with it not being ready, not in the sense of development but in the sense of story-line.
Also the interesting site in Kalimdor, specifically southern barrens in Bael Modan - where an NPC says:
"Turn away, <class>.
Before the cataclysm hit, we found something.
We dug something up that should've stayed buried.
Pray to whatever you believe in that the landslide was enough to keep it down..."
Maybe this is one giant f***in' Old god?
Also, the interesting question "Q:Arathi Highlands has the potential to be a real epic convergence of a lot of stories, the Forsaken warmachine was last seen setting up camp here, Stromgarde sits eagerly awaiting revival as well as being the last line of defense between the Forsaken and Khaz Modan, giving the Dwarves and interesting stake in it. What are your plans with this zone, if any?
A:Agree completely. But, it's unlikely we'll revisit old zones once again. Until the next Cataclysm... "
This could possibly be coincidence, or maybe I'm just "in the moment" and trying to pull things into this speculation that really don't fit, but maybe this Old God sparks up yet another cataclysm after being defeated or "subdued"? But I also know this could be GC just being sarcastic.
There is also strong presence of Lord Xavius in this speculation,
"Lord Xavius was a powerful user of magic, and the high councilor to Queen Azshara."
Looking back at the fairy circle, the "fey-drunk darter" or "Faerie dragons, also known as sprites or blink dragons, are fey that look like flying lizards (much like a chameleon with butterfly wings). Though not actual dragons, these mystical looking creatures police the Emerald Dream from magic. As such they are immune to magic."
then take the name Fey "1. doomed; fated to die. 2.appearing to be under a spell; marked by an apprehension of death, calamity, or evil."
cited:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fey
If the darter polices and is immune to magic, how is it possible it's fey-drunk? Lets say it's impaired by evil, the only real explanation is an old god, which was kinda taken out of commission by previous quotes, or Lord Xavius, who is said to be located in the rift of aln.