Dark Portal hooded figures, the Eternal Traveler and the infinity snake

[Lochton]

I noticed that the same symbol we see with Oribos, the snake, can also be seen on the Dark Portal, and the hooded figures look similar to the hood of the Vestments of the Eternal Traveler, which also has the snake infinity symbol on its chest. So there obviously is a connection here. You can see the hooded figures all around Azeroth, even in Duskwood, the Burning Steppes and the Blasted Lands, around portals, altars and a graveyard. They are even seen on the Draenor side of the Dark Portal, even in the WoD Draenor.

Who are these hooded figures and what did they have to do with Azeroth? Are they the ones that pull the strings from the shadows?




Xolartios, the guy that gives you the Vestments, also says something along the lines of when we meet him (in Oribos I assume), those Vestments will be our way of interacting with their faction. Not sure if that is gonna play a role gameplaywise, I actually doubt it, but he said something like that.

Well, you got to admit, can't only be the Titans who could travel between worlds in the days of young. I mean, the is more and more proof that the Titans may have borrowed from someone else than them actually creating everything as Shadowlands were there before the Titans.

[Kyphael]

Cloaked guardians holding a sword just seems to be Blizzard's go for decorations, probably because they're less gaudy looking than say, gargoyles.

[Engal]

Well, you got to admit, can't only be the Titans who could travel between worlds in the days of young. I mean, the is more and more proof that the Titans may have borrowed from someone else than them actually creating everything as Shadowlands were there before the Titans.

Elune, the " upstart Godess"

[KrvaviSale]

Cloaked guardians holding a sword just seems to be Blizzard's go for decorations, probably because they're less gaudy looking than say, gargoyles.

That, and also any fantasy hero should have period with hood for discuise and giant weapon for demonstration of unhidable power.

[Alanar]

I think they just made them bc they are cool looking and many charscters in wow wear hoods like these.. I mean hell evwn the darkmist headpiece looks similair.

This feels kinda the same as that one guy made a whole post with pictures pointing out the ears of the nigh elf model statues, claiming they are highborne, while they are just old blood elf models and were all pre burning crusade. Meaning they are just old models and didint had the right models back then to reflect that. Conclusion of it all is.. you are looking to much into it.

The traveler gear is pointing towards the shadowlands.. idk if there is much else to it.

[lagiacrux]

even in wc3 the dark portal was looking like this



and i dont they they thought about possible lore implications back then. they just looked cool.

doesnt mean they cant give them some background afterwards, but i think originally they didnt have any.

[Warferno]

The statues are supposed to resemble figures of the Shadow Council if I remember it right. This is why the altar of storms use these figures and why they are found on the sides of the dark portal. The statues in duskwood and thorghast are just for the rule of cool.

[babyback]

I am pretty sure the hooded figures were made just because they look cool without any lore behind them.

[ksehsatoo]

theyre the nazgul..

[Yarathir]

More likely the armor and sigil were inspired by the older art on the Dark Portal - probably a way to cement some thematic links between the Legion and the Shadowlands as that is a concept we'll soon be exploring i.e. the Helm of Domination and Frostmourne having originated from the Shadowlands.

This.
It's more likely that if there's a connection, Blizzard just made it now, not over a decade ago.

[RedFenix]

If you're a fan of Warcraft content creators on YouTube, you might be familiar with Pyromancer. He did a speculation video recently talking about the Heroic edition of the Shadowlands Pre-Order giving these Vestments of the Eternal Traveler and how the aesthetic implies some interesting connections.

Pyromancer talked about how the blue and gold color scheme to the vestments was somewhat similar to the "titan of death" we know as Argus, the Unmaker, and of course his scythe. It's interesting and worth mentioning, but it's not something I'll be focusing on as much as Pyromancer. Color-scheme aesthetics can be shared by many unrelated forces within the Warcraft universe, so I'll mostly just stick to the symbology, architecture, and characters involved.

Another thing Pyromancer mentioned was that these hooded figures on the dark portal are also present on Torghast, Tower of the Damned.







(Hooded figures on Torghast concept art)

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And then the infinite serpent that is on top of the Azerothian Dark Portal as well as the Vestments of the Eternal Traveler is also the sigil for Oribos:





(Infinte Serpent representing Oribos in concept art)

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And then we have the infinite serpent parallel to the crooked serpent mentioned in the Doomsayer Pamphlets during Legion. Here is the quote:

An emerald sun dawns in the vault of the heavens, but it casts no shadow.

The world lifts her voice in terror, but only one can hear her cries.

From the space that is everywhere and nowhere, the crooked serpent feasts on stars.

It has no eyes to see, but it dreams of infinite endings and beginnings.

<Strange glyphs and writing in an unknown language cover the rest of the scroll.>

"the space that is everywhere and nowhere" - The Shadowlands
"the crooked serpent feasts on stars" - Oribos "feasting" on the souls (stars) of the universe
"It has no eyes to see, but it dreams of infinite endings and beginnings." - The Arbiter



(Concept art of the Arbiter)

Even take a look at the concept art for the Brokers in Oribos!



Both the Brokers and the Arbiter have no visible eyes to speak of! They likely don't need eyes to perceive their surroundings in the Shadowlands. Eyeballs are meant to process light in the physical plane. Obviously there are beings that have eyeballs in the Shadowlands, but the residents of Oribos don't seem to need them in order to do their jobs.

Now lets go back to the Dark Portal that sparked this conversation. The Dark Portals made in Outland and AU Draenor both had the hooded figures as well, but the Azerothian Dark Portal is the only one with the crooked serpent on top. Keep in mind that this iteration of the Dark Portal wasn't created by Medivh when Sargeras possessed him; That Dark Portal was destroyed. The current Dark Portal on Azeroth was created by the Horde led by Ner'zhul BEFORE he was turned into the Lich King by Kil'jaeden. We have no confirmed lore stating who exactly made the second Azerothian Dark Portal, but we can assume it was either by Ner'zhul personally, or one of his followers. I believe it was none other than Teron Gorefiend!

I took this off of Teron's wowpedia page, which has an official cited source from the original Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal manual, Legends of the Land:

Leading the death knights beyond the Dark Portal before its destruction, Gorefiend remained on Draenor until he convinced Ner'zhul, Gul'dan's former master, to come to the forefront and unite the remaining clans into the Horde of Draenor. Ner'zhul intended to open new dimensional gateways to other worlds, and Gorefiend desired to claim a world for his own, but both needed powerful items to stabilize their portals. To that end, Ner'zhul sent Gorefiend through a reconstructed Dark Portal to claim two powerful artifacts required for his spell: The Book of Medivh and the Eye of Dalaran. [...] Gorefiend was ultimately defeated by adventurers. He said the "wheel of death" had spun many times for him, and when struck down he remarked that the wheel was spinning again; it remains to be seen if he will return once more.

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Teron_Gorefiend

I then looked at the actual wording of Teron's description from the same manual:

The ancient Orc spirit of Gorefiend writhes within the decaying body of this fallen Knight of Azeroth. Malicious and extremely cunning, Gorefiend desires to open his own Portal from Draenor and claim a world for his own. Although the wretched Death Knight has discerned the true magikal nature of the Dark Portal, he would share that knowledge with Ner'zhul for a price.

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Warcraft_I..._Portal_manual

So Teron understood the nature of the portal that Gul'dan and the Sargeras-possessed Medivh created, and he convinced Ner'zhul to unite the orc clans to invade Azeroth in order for them to confiscate The Book of Medivh and the Eye of Dalaran to construct more portals to other worlds on Draenor. Teron was a Warlock in life when he was a part of the Shadow Council , and he was a Death Knight in undeath when he crossed back into Azeroth in coordination with Ner'zhul. The other interesting thing of note was the mention of the "wheel of death" on more than one occasion by Teron. I think this "wheel of death" is the same "circle" that the minions of the Void Lords frequently mention:

"Your coming was foretold in the rings. The long circle is nearly complete. Come, little ones. Savor your fear as we feast upon it!" - Il'gynoth, the Heart of Corruption

"This trifling skirmish is little more than a distraction. The true battle draws neigh as the circle nears completion." - Xal'atath

"Roused by her screams. Stirred by da whispers. A blessin from da Masters. Now Ogmot understand! A door. A path. Ours... Ours... Fool! Da circle awakened us all!" - Ogmot's Dream Journal

"You will never leave the Circle." - N'Zoth in Ny'alotha

We even have Sargeras telling Aggramar that the "circle neared completion" during the Visions of Torment quest during Legion. Ogmot talking about being "roused by her screams" seems to parallel to the Doomsayer's Pamphlet I mentioned earlier that said "[...]The world lifts her voice in terror, but only one can hear her cries. From the space that is everywhere and nowhere, the crooked serpent feasts on stars.[...]"

From what we now know, Ardenweald is the "Autumn/Winter" to the Emerald Dream's "Spring/Summer," as told by Blizzard at this last Blizzcon. These two realms are interconnected in the circle of life and death that spins behind the veil connecting all of the worlds in our physical reality. It's obvious that the dreadlords (who look strikingly familiar to the renthyr in Revendreth) that stole Frostmourne and the Helm of Domination from the Forge of Domination within Torghast at some point told Sargeras and the Burning Legion about the Shadowlands. This would include individuals like Kil'jaeden, Gul'dan, and eventually Teron Gorefiend. The nathrezim were known to be masters in the arts of summoning when they were once enlightened, and continued their mastery of shadow magic when they were born into the Twisting Nether as demons. A part of summoning magic is the use of portals, and now I bring the point full circle back to the Dark Portal.

Obviously we don't know the details, but it's apparent that the nathrezim dreadlords, Sargeras, Kil'jaeden, Gul'dan, Teron Gorefiend, and probably many other minions of the Burning Legion have been planning the end of the cycle of life and death in the Great Dark Beyond. They plan to "complete" the long circle, which should be an infinite loop (the serpent of Oribos). The plan to overthrow the Arbiter and unravel the universe just like Sargeras wanted is being shared by the likes of Sylvanas and the Jailer. The forces of Chaos and Death have allied with each other to kill the cosmos. The minions of the Void are tricking us into marking ourselves with their "gifts" so our souls don't go into the Shadowlands, which is now going straight into The Maw.

[RedFenix]

Elune, the " upstart Godess"

We only have the denizens of Azeroth, and possibly Elunaria, that have made architecture in her name, and that has been either titan or night elf design. However, I wouldn't be surprised if there were deep connections to the Arbiter, the Archon, the Winter Queen, and Elune.

[cparle87]

here are the links for Op's pictures;
http://i.imgur.com/wu2rpdf.png
http://i.imgur.com/RIOLlwF.png

nice find I would say. But if seriously blizz thought about this all the way back at TBC already, hats off.

Shortly after Chronicles came out there was a BC timewalking event. The last boss in Arcatraz says a couple of things. "We bear allegiance to forces untouched by time, unmoved by fate. No force on this world or beyond harbors the strength to bend our knee, not even the mighty Legion." And after you beat him he says "I am but one of infinite multitudes." If that doesn't sound like the Void Lords and Old Gods it's one hell of a convenient coincidence.

[Nerovar]

I always thought those hooded guys were just Shadow Council goons. They seem to like hoods.

[RedFenix]

also, two of these statues are in knight's hollow



knight's hollow is a grave for an unknown soldier, a place related to death. also, the soldier is undead, doesn't seem to be affiliated with the scourge.

Although I love the death correlations, I do wholeheartedly believe this was purely an instance of asset reuse. Just look at the concept art:



The only similarity is a humanoid statue with a sword held downwards.

[Linuriel]

They are also inside of the Black Temple, all over the place. Which is weird, cause that was build by the Draenei.

[Verdugo]

They are also inside of the Black Temple, all over the place. Which is weird, cause that was build by the Draenei.

I dont think Draenei built a massive orc statue either, but its still in the orc section of the temple. Obviously it was a later addition by the shadow council.

[Linuriel]

I dont think Draenei built a massive orc statue either, but its still in the orc section of the temple. Obviously it was a later addition by the shadow council.

With the orc statue, sure. For the hooded figures it is not so clear. But even if they were added later, the question remains who added them and why.

[Kaichu]

I always thought those hooded figures were the OG Death Knights like MU Teron Gorefiend. The Shadow Council AND Outland stuff fit perfectly to this interpretation, IMO.

[Linuriel]

I always thought those hooded figures were the OG Death Knights like MU Teron Gorefiend. The Shadow Council AND Outland stuff fit perfectly to this interpretation, IMO.

wow that would make a lot of sense
maybe that was what it originally meant