In World of Warcraft, items have recently been found that present the views of a supposedly dead cult. These pamphlets of the Scarlet Brotherhood contain quite a bit of nonsense, but also a spicy and possibly important piece of information.
What are these items? Since Patch 8.3 “Visions of N’Zoth”, a total of four pamphlets from the Scarlet Brotherhood can be found. They all have special names and can be picked up and read:
- Traitor King
- The Pretender Queen
- The Cursed Old Wolf
- The Last of the Menethils
These items can be found in Tirisfal, the starting area of the Undead. There, a little south of the Calston estate, the four pamphlets are scattered under a group of trees.
Scarlet Crusaders spread “Fake News” and propaganda
What do the pamphlets say? Basically, the Scarlet Crusaders question almost everything that has caused the war during Battle for Azeroth. Their main focus, however, is on the Undead: The Scarlet Brotherhood has wanted to eliminate the Undead since its inception.
The leaflets claim, for example, that Anduin is secretly in love with Sylvanas and is trying to make the Alliance pity the Undead instead of exterminating them.
Spoiler about the book “Before the Storm”
In “Before the Storm”, the novel related to Battle for Azeroth, Anduin and Sylvanas organize a meeting between the Undead and their still living human relatives. However, this ends with Sylvanas slaughtering all the undead participants afterward.
The massacre in Lordaeron after the meeting supposedly never happened according to the Scarlet Crusaders, but is Anduin’s invention.
In the fight against this “false king” Anduin and the banshee Sylvanas, the Brotherhood plans to put the Worgen Genn Greymane in power, as he shares their ideals. After that, of course, he will be “deposed” again.
The full texts have been copied by the user Facemelta in the German WoW forum, if you want to read them yourselves.
Why are they so interesting? The Scarlet Crusaders have actually been gone for some time. In Wrath of the Lich King, they were wiped out, and it was believed that none of this cult had survived.
Apparently, however, the ideology has endured. Players are now speculating whether the Scarlet Crusaders might return with the upcoming expansion Shadowlands or play a larger role.
Small details could cause big trouble
However, two things about these findings could cause more trouble than they initially appear. The first and most obvious is the portrayal of Anduin as the “Traitor King”. There have already been theories that Anduin secretly serves the Old Gods.
This idea is especially reinforced by one of Il’gynoth’s statements, a boss from the Emerald Nightmare in Legion, who has now also returned in Ny’alotha: “At the master’s table, the child king serves. He brings you three lies.” Players are now wondering if these lies might be related to the Brotherhood’s propaganda.
The second detail is the mention of a throne heir of Lordaeron, a son of the now “not-dead” Calia Menethil. He is said to have survived an attack and is now under the protection of the Scarlet Crusaders.
If this son actually exists, Lordaeron would have a living, legitimate ruler. This was already the reason for Sylvanas to kill Calia because she feared for her rule over the Forsaken and Lordaeron.
If there were now a living heir (the “Last of the Menethils”), the Alliance would have a major internal conflict over the rule of Lordaeron to resolve. In addition, the heir would allow the Brotherhood to legitimately claim an area, since the “prince” belongs to them.
If at least this information is indeed true – which many players dismiss as nonsense, after all, this would have likely come to light earlier – there would be a larger problem for the Alliance in Shadowlands that they have to deal with.
As for the Scarlet Crusaders, there is a quest line that never made it to Battle for Azeroth. These books may also belong to this quest line and have merely been provided as small story snippets. What will really come of it, we will probably not find out until Shadowlands.
