Warcraft Short Story: We Ride Forth

[Pebrocks The Warlock]

Blizzard just released a new short story about the current Four Horsemen and their views on the current Lich king.

https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/ne...-we-ride-forth

Nazgrim, Thoras Trollbane, Sally Whitemane, and Darion Mograine—the Lich King’s Four Horsemen—travel to Icecrown, hoping to ascertain their master’s inscrutable plans, and put an end to them if necessary.

“And we are certainly unprepared. What has changed? What force now compels you to keep us at bay?”

“Sylvanas Windrunner.”

Thoras Trollbane hesitated. Windrunner? The Lich King had kept an interest in her since the Fourth War started, telling his Four Horsemen to report any rumor of her whereabouts but absolutely forbidding them to hunt her down themselves. But Bolvar had also told the Horsemen she had never shown anything but contempt toward the Helm. “What of her?”

“Her war has upended the balance between life and death. Death feasts, and the power of the Helm boils,” Bolvar said. “The Legion turned our world into a charnel house, yet I felt nothing of the sort then.”

Trollbane still wasn’t certain what had disturbed Bolvar. “Whatever Sylvanas tried to do, she failed.”

Trollbane felt Bolvar’s anger flaring white-hot, but he had the strange sense that Bolvar was angry at himself most of all. “Do you see any sign that she believes she’s failed?”

Full story here: https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/st.../we-ride-forth

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I'm one page in and I already love it, especially this bit:

The Lich King had greeted these new death knights with a simple charge: “Death’s power grows. Rise, and become my champions.”

Nazgrim had expected to spend years training them to wield their new power, but almost all of them were sent back to their old homelands, forced to find their own way in a world that would fear and despise them. Nazgrim couldn’t imagine sending fresh recruits to war without trying to teach them how to survive. One day, he overheard Mograine challenging Bolvar about it.

“Even Arthas trained his new slaves,” Mograine said.

“I am not Arthas,” Bolvar said. “They are not slaves.”

“Precisely,” Mograine said. “We are cursed. We suffer every day. And the only comfort we can find is to inflict death and pain on the living. Without Arthas’sstrict control,most would have run wild. Some of these souls will not last long out there, and they may hurt innocents before they fall.”

Bolvar’s answer was cold. “A necessary risk.”

Basically giving the reason why they have no starting experience like before.

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When Nazgrim descended to the lower floors of Acherus, he found Thoras Trollbane waiting for him. “Well met, my lord,” the orc said in a singsong, bending his knees in a mocking parody of that strange human gesture called curtsying.

“Zug-zug, general,” the human replied with a weary sigh, as if participating in their long-running joke out of obligation.

Another great moment.

[BaumanKing]

Robert Brooks never fails to delight with his prose. A Thousand Years of War, A Good War and now this. What a simple but wonderful story.

[Ardenaso]

this short better address the increasing Scourge in Stratholme

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"Nazgrim had spent a long time in human-run internment camps; Trollbane had openly called for every orc in those camps to be executed."

nice touch there

[shuubu]

So basically, this story suggests near the end there that if Bolvar had dared to use the helm's power fully and just "given in" to corruption instead of fighting it he had won. He wanted the horsemen to kill him if he'd do this.

[Super Dickmann]

Brooks once again delivers. Will post more detailed thoughts later, but he can always wring out the very best out of whatever they give him.

[Aucald]

The idea of the Tomb of Sargeras no longer lit by the glow of Fel is paradoxically discomfiting - you'd think it would be the opposite, but somehow the notion of the Tomb being a lifeless husk is deeply sad.

[Nagawithlegs]

So basically, this story suggests near the end there that if Bolvar had dared to use the helm's power fully and just "given in" to corruption instead of fighting it he had won. He wanted the horsemen to kill him if he'd do this.

The question is what would have happened if he'd given in to the helmet. Considering the lore seems to imply it is the Jailer's brainwashing device, would it mean that the Jailer wouldn't even need the hole in the sky?

[omeomorfismo]

rotfl, they still cant stick with a single characterization for the undeads, every novel, patch, whatever, they change it. at this point im tired. fuck warcraft...

[Ulfric Trumpcloak]

All this dk hype is really making me want to play one. After 12 years my highest lvl dk was 73.

[Combatbutler]

Brooks once again delivers. Will post more detailed thoughts later, but he can always wring out the very best out of whatever they give him.

The nu undead are dead, till the next golden novel that is.

[Phunkle]

Is the Death Lord even canon anymore at this point?

I enjoyed the story a lot, but what happened to that position?

[Combatbutler]

Is the Death Lord even canon anymore at this point?

I enjoyed the story a lot, but what happened to that position?

It is inconvenient, so it is glossed over, they acknowledge it in shadowlands with pretty much a single sentence.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Is the Death Lord even canon anymore at this point?

I enjoyed the story a lot, but what happened to that position?

Likely non canon and is just a made up role for DK PC’s which doesn’t really exist in lore.

[tommyhil622]

The idea of the Tomb of Sargeras no longer lit by the glow of Fel is paradoxically discomfiting - you'd think it would be the opposite, but somehow the notion of the Tomb being a lifeless husk is deeply sad.

I think they're just referring to the beam that you can see in-game that goes from the tomb into the sky with the portal.

[Saltysquidoon]

The story itself is fine. It really suffers from being shackled to the SL prologue though.
Turning the absence of the ebon blade into an 11d chess plan by bolvar was kinda dumb and I wish they didn't just double down and sidestepped it.

Also, Acherus can really motor, the alliance and horde need that necropolis tech.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

I love short stories like this that elaborate on events only briskly seen in-game. This was a satisfying story.

[UndedoKoleda]

I wish this story could give a meaningful explanation to why did Sylvanas let Bolvar "live". Why didn't she end him after destroying the helm?

[Super Dickmann]

The nu undead are dead, till the next golden novel that is.

Reading that description of undeath made me very happy. Especially combined with not having the Horsemen be sadsacks, but just changed people. Brooks gets it.

[Skirdus]

You could have Tolkien himself write a retroactively-explanatory short story for Shadowlands and it still wouldn't justify the cinematic for me. Sorry

[tommyhil622]

I enjoyed this quite a bit.