The story of the next WoW expansion is not easy to understand. We will explain to you in short what it is actually about.
Although there is probably no doubt that the cinematic of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands was quite cool, there are still some voices from confused players. What actually happened? What is the story in Shadowlands about? What is the problem? We have gathered the information from BlizzCon and will explain the setting of WoW: Shadowlands.
This is what was seen in the cinematic: Sylvanas Windrunner faces the Lich King Bolvar in battle and defeats him with her strange powers that she has accumulated over the years. She manages to chain the Lich King and seize the Helm of Domination, with which the undead Scourge can be controlled. Instead of crowning herself as the Lich Queen, she breaks the helm, tearing a hole in reality – a portal to the Shadowlands is created, where players can dive in the future. This later leads to a new invasion of the Scourge.
The machinery of death is disturbed
What happens to souls in the Shadowlands? When beings die in World of Warcraft, their souls are brought to the Shadowlands. They appear before the “Arbiter.” This being analyzes the soul in the blink of an eye, sees its entire past, all deeds, and all thoughts. Based on this, the soul is then sent to one of the countless realms of the Shadowlands.
This is somewhat similar to the principle of “Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory,” but has many more layers and different realms for various types of souls. Some realms prepare souls for reincarnation, others serve as a final resting place, and yet others are integrated into a large, undead army – part of which served the Lich King.
Anima is the life essence of the Shadowlands: Each soul that arrives in the Shadowlands has an essence called “Anima.” Depending on how significant a person was, they have varying amounts of it. If someone led a simple life, they have little Anima. However, if they were a significant, important personality – whether good or evil – then they possess a lot of Anima.
This essence, Anima, is the life force of the Shadowlands and is granted to the realm where the soul is sent. So, if a soul is sent to Bastion, the realm draws on the Anima of that soul and can flourish.
In the Shadowlands, you are once again at level 50!
Everything ends up in the Maw: For some time now, however, this distribution of souls has been disturbed. All souls are wandering directly into “the Maw” without examination. This is an area in the Shadowlands that is actually meant only for the most cursed of souls, those who are never meant to escape. However, now all souls land there. “The Maw” is growing, while the other areas of the Shadowlands slowly wither and fear for their existence.
Sylvanas has power from the Maw: The origin of Sylvanas’ powers is also briefly mentioned. Sylvanas has allied herself with the “Jailer”. He is the ruler of the Maw, which has been growing significantly for some time. As the Maw gains strength, so too do Sylvanas’ powers. The significance of this will likely be revealed later.
This is the rough goal in Shadowlands: Throughout Shadowlands, we will travel through the various regions of the Shadowlands and find out how the rulers deal with the lack of Anima and try to understand why all souls end up directly in the Maw and what consequences that has.
More information about the story will surely be available in the coming weeks and months.
How do you like the basic story behind the Shadowlands? Does that sound interesting and exciting?
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