Expansion Idea, need help with Lore: Shadowlands

[Steampunkette]

So I kinda had an idea, recently, while talking to my husband about WoW and places they can go from here to introduce new concepts or locations for a future expansion, after all we've basically explored all of Azeroth at this point and most of Draenor, Outland, and even a big chunk of Argus. We sort of wound up likening it to D&D books in the end 'cause we're both massive dorks. And we'd both love to see another Pandaria type expansion, that is to say one which explores a new style of the world rather than just another area with Rolling hills, European Castles, and Mountains to create zone-borders.

We talked a bit about an "Al-Qadim" style expansion focusing on a desert region with a lot of Arabic, Bedouin, Egyptian, and Tartar cultures tied into it, but since Azeroth has, basically, been explored there's no place to -put- it. Then he kind of made a comment about a Ravenloft Expansion and my jaw hit the floor.

What if the Devs did a Shadowlands focused expansion? One in which the powers of Death and Necromancy were present in a separate "Big Bad" agency from the Void Lords or The Burning Legion, but one that was no less staggeringly dangerous. But even then, you can't really do the whole of the Shadowlands in a single expansion, since it would be the entire world, but the dead version. And it could get really boring and monotonous in an "Emerald Dream Expansion" sort of way if you ever tried. But then I remembered Cataclysm's Time Dungeons and it hit me: We could break up the world without using Mountains by breaking it into separate regions.

Think of planar rifts, essentially, in key zones across Azeroth itself. Gilneas, maybe. Pandaria. Northrend. Different holes between the land of the living and the land of the dead that lead to specific mirrors of the living world's zones with no direct connection to any other zone, just gray haze and mist beyond the borders, stretching off to infinity.

Step through the Portal into Gilneas's Shadowlands version and witness the Gilnean Civil War continuing on in death, as soldiers and revolutionaries battle in the streets of the Great City in the service to Worgen and other, darker, things. Head to the slopes of Mt. Neverest in Pandaria to fight against the rising spirits of the ancient Mogu Kings from their Tomb-Palaces. Go down into Azjol-Nerub to keep the Nerubians from crossing through the portal with an unstoppable army of Yogg-Saron worshipping saronite armored soldiers bent on wiping out the Living, and possibly the Lich King.

And all of it in the spirit world. Graveyards and twisted architecture, meeting (and possibly fighting) fallen heroes and villains of Azeroth, and introducing or defeating a whole new threat to the world that is trying to break free of death itself. And since you'd be traveling to and from the land of the dead through portals in the zones where they exist, you can use "Old World" Azeroth for traveling between them, giving the player the chance to revisit old zones and see what horrors they hold beyond the veil...

But, my esteemed lore fans, who or what could even be in this expansion? Would it even be viable? Or am I just throwing out a silly idea, here, with no merit within the game's storyline?

[George Lucas]

I thought about a expansion set in the shadowlands myself and I think it would be a great option, considering Blizzard seemingly doesn't want to use updated old zones as "new" zones.

To tie the story into the main world I would use Kel'thuzad. His followers want to bring him back, but he has a better idea and his phylactery whispers to them of a place were he and them could achieve immortality, beyond light and void: the Shadowlands.

In the pre-expansion event the player would investigate the activities of the Thuzadin, a group that broke away from the cult of the damned, that is completely loyal to Kel'thuzad. They ally with what is left of the Amani and Gurubashi, led by the Atal'ai. The player tries to stop them, but since the Alliance and Horde are at each others throat they come to late and the Thuzadin and their troll allies open a portal to the Shadowlands in Jintha'alor, were Kel'thuzad is brought back to (un)life and enters the Shadowlands. Shortly after that the player and some others would follow them.

I would divide the Shadowlands in different representations of life and death. The central zone would be a wasteland, filled with ruins that resemble the places we have been to; Fading memories of Azeroth, Argus, Draenor... Than there would be the realm of Atal'Hakkar, a place made out of flesh, blood and bones, representing physical decay and the struggle to survive. Next you enter the realm carved out by Kel'thuzad, a stylized version of Lordaeron, a paradise for the Thuzadin and their master, fueled by the souls of those who wander the Shadowlands. The next zone would be a titanforged old god, being cured from the curse of flesh and hiding in the Shadowlands since time immemorial. We would help him fighting constant infections, that would eventually bring an end to the Shadowlands, by giving the void an entry point. The last zone would be ruled by Malchezaar, an Eredar older and more powerful than the Triumvirate, who interferes with the flow of time and hunts for artifacts.

As side characters I would bring back Ner'zhul and Arthas to finally end their stories in a good way, without redemption and without damnation. Culuthas would be a good lieutenant for Malchezaar. The spirit of Terenas or Uther could be recurring quest givers. If Vol'jin gets fucked over in BfA, he could finally get his own story. For the Horde the Revantusk tribe and the cult of forgotten Shadows would be fitting factions. For the Alliance a new Auchenai order and the Bloodfang pack would be great. As neutral factions I would use the Brotherhood of Light and the four Horsemen/Lich King.