http://www.scrollsoflore.com/forums/...d.php?t=220628
I'm more than half way through Illidan, and am really enjoying it so far. Its definitely the darkest WoW novel, with some scenes on par with Bleeding Sun (the Sunwalker Dezco short story). I won't spoil everything or provide a summary (I still have to do a review for Blizzplanet a little closer to release), but here are a few things:
-The dreadlord homeworld is called Nathreza. It's not the world they were worshipping the void lords on mentioned in Chronicle.
-Worlds that belong to races in the Legion are not destroyed, instead they remain inhabited and intact. Nathreza is full of giant cities and gleaming obsidian towers, all fel-corrupted of course.
-These Legion worlds are among the "areas significantly covered in fel magic" mentioned in Chronicle. If a demon is killed on Nathreza or Argus, etc. they die permanently.
-Illidan's master plan which would have succeeded if a raid group didn't kill him, was to open a portal to Argus and kill Archimonde and Kil'jaeden there.
-It confirms the "only one Legion across all realities" stuff, and explains how that works, and that Archimonde is still alive after Warcraft III.
-Illidan is not portrayed as a hero, the idea being, and outright said by one of the main characters (a demon hunter named Vandel) is basically "Yes, Illidan's a madman, but he's the only one capable of defeating the Burning Legion so that's we follow him."
-The book isn't kind to Maiev. Even Akama says she's no better than Illidan.
-While we were busy questing in Outland, Illidan and his demon hunters committed the single greatest defeat the Legion had suffered "in millenia" by destroying Nathreza using the same portal magic that blew up Draenor.It does mention that every world that doesn't end up joining the Legion is left a lifeless Mardum or Outland type husk (though not shattered, just lifeless and barren). It's only places like Nathreza and Argus that remain intact strongholds.His demon hunter army was his trump card. They tore through Nathreza's armies like a blade through tissue paper, with the added benefit of the demons' deaths being permanent.(I doubt this one because he has a new model, so its just speculation)There is a line that seems kind of like its implying Illidan won't come back to life in Legion.
It's mentioned that if his soul were to be severed from his body, he could never be resurrected and would be stuck as a spirit for all eternity. That sounds a lot like what Gul'dan did with his body in Black Rook Hold.
Well, I finished the book. It's really good, probably one of my favorite WoW novels.
Don't worry, Illidan does some very awful stuff too. Two things in particular are so heinous in an "ends justify the means" way that they're what cause Akama to free Maiev and rise up against him despite the threat of the Shade.
Also, the ending is pretty major. I won't spoil it, but it has some important lore that makes me see why the book came out after Chronicle, it wouldn't make sense otherwise without some of the information from it. I'll give you one hint though: Sylvannas isn't Kerrigan.
Last note: I really hope Vandel (one of the point of view characters who I'm pretty sure is meant to be William King's actual character he plays in WoW based on one interview) shows up in game. He's given waaaay too much importance in the plot for it to make sense for him to just never be brought up againSylvanas appears?Not at all. I was referring to how everyone was saying in the Legion thread that Sylvannas was going to end up being like Kerrigan at the end of LotV. She's not the one you should be comparing Kerrigan to... And that's all I'll say on it.Illidan likes Vashj most out of his advisers because she's the only one who seems to be completely, unwavering loyal to him. He doesn't care at all when he learns she died, though.
We're portrayed as misguided fools who are doing the Burning Legion's bidding for them and destroying our best chance at defeating them. To say more would be spoiling things too far.