Jaina’s Decision
The entire expansion Mists of Pandaria dealt with very dark themes – and that despite the mostly friendly atmosphere of Pandaria. Over and over again, there are severe war crimes committed by Garrosh. Ultimately, this also led to Jaina experiencing a shift in her personality.
Alliance players find out during the campaign surrounding Operation Shield Wall that Garrosh has smuggled the Bell of the Gods through Dalaran because the Sunwalkers helped him – or rather, because they intentionally looked the other way. The Sunwalkers are a faction of blood elves in Dalaran and neutral – they belong to the Kirin Tor and therefore keep themselves out of the conflicts of Horde and Alliance.
However, for Jaina, that is betrayal. She confronts Aethas Sunwalker and loses control. She makes a decision and starts the quest line Jaina’s Decision:
For too long I have tried to mediate between the Alliance and the Horde. Over and over again I have trusted the Horde, believed in them – and over and over again they have misused that trust.
I refuse to be betrayed again! If the Horde wants to use the Kirin Tor as a weapon against the Alliance, then it has no place in Dalaran.
Come with me, hero.
In a series of quests, you help Jaina with a cruel act that resembles ethnic cleansing: All armed blood elves in Dalaran are killed. Those who surrender immediately can still count on the mercy of imprisonment. But those who only try to escape are immediately shot down.
The quest line is particularly dark, as Jaina proceeds with a cruel precision. At the beginning, you are to kill or blind the riding animals of the blood elves so that escape is not possible. Afterwards, house by house is “cleansed” and even accommodations in the sewers, where refugees may want to hide, are systematically searched.
At this point, Jaina shows no mercy. Not only soldiers die, but also civilians like merchants and travelers who have nothing to do with the matter. One of the darkest points in Jaina’s story and clear evidence that not everything is “fluffy” with the Alliance either.
Which quests in World of Warcraft did you find particularly cruel? Do you know of “worse” missions than those in our top 5? Let us know in the comments!
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