The story around the Old Gods in World of Warcraft finally makes sense. The arguably best story summary so far comes from a YouTuber.
The lore of Warcraft is complex and becomes even more extensive with each new patch. It is of little help that many characters in the lore simply lie or speak in obscure riddles that allow for a wide range of interpretations. Particularly, the story surrounding the Old Gods is one of the biggest discussion points in World of Warcraft.
The YouTuber and analyst Bellular has now dedicated himself to the story of the Old Gods. He has succeeded in uniting the many clues from the past with the latest story from The War Within.
The Old Gods no longer serve the Void Lords
The most important clue comes from the current story surrounding the “Lorewalking” to Xal’atath. In the questline, we experience how Xal’atath is imprisoned in her true form in a dagger, which later becomes the artifact weapon of priests.
However, the questline reveals much more. For it becomes clear from the quest that Xal’atath has begun a fight with the Old Gods. This may seem strange at first glance, as the Old Gods and Xal’atath are both on the “Team Void” and should be serving the Void Lords.
After all, the Void Lords created the Old Gods and hurled them into the cosmos to infect planets with world souls and prepare for the arrival of the Void Lords.
So why did Xal’atath want to destroy the Old Gods?
The YouTuber Bellular has dedicated a video to the topic and N’Zoth’s plans:
Azeroth’s power manipulates everything, even the Old Gods
That the world soul of Azeroth is the most powerful in the cosmos has been known for a long time. But it was only with The War Within that it became clear, that the Titans do not act as “good” as we always thought. For the Titans have constructed a prison around the world soul of Azeroth to observe and shape it closely.
The still sleeping (and dreaming) world soul of Azeroth, however, can exert influence on its surroundings.
When the Earthen built the prison around Azeroth’s soul on behalf of the Titans, some of them were touched by Azeroth’s spirit and developed free will. They rebelled against the Titans and the other Earthen and have since become mere legends of the Earthen.
To counter this, the titanic guardians began to “reset” the Earthen every few centuries, robbing them of their memories. This allowed Azeroth’s influence on the Earthen to be diminished and largely prevented.
Yet even the titanic guardians, such as Archaedas, were altered by Azeroth’s spirit. In one of his recordings, Archaedas reveals that he should not actually disclose all the information, but he “feels an inner urge to do so” – clearly the influence of the world soul.
Bellular’s assumption is now that Azeroth has manipulated the Old Gods in this way and granted them free will. As a result, the Old Gods suddenly had very little interest in summoning a Void Lord – as that would destroy the world, along with the Old Gods.
Through free will, the Old Gods have been enabled to prioritize their own survival over the plans of their former masters, the Void Lords.
We also know that N’Zoth has begun to build something “big” beneath Ny’alotha. When Xal’atath caught wind of this, she immediately launched her attack against all the Old Gods.
N’Zoth and his master plan
Above all, N’Zoth has always been a point of contention and discussion in the past. Many found the end of the Old God in the last patch of Battle for Azeroth undignified. The great genius, who could see all possible timelines, is defeated and dies – or does he?
What is clear is that N’Zoth knows very well which timeline is the real one. He has a direct view into the future and knows exactly which future will come to pass. For in the “Dragonflight” expansion, we accidentally revealed to him which timeline would occur as we travel into the past and N’Zoth recognizes us.
Thus, N’Zoth also knew that we are his chosen champions and would help him fulfill his goals – right up to his supposed “destruction” at the end of Battle for Azeroth. For the dagger, Xal’atath’s prison, may have absorbed a part of N’Zoth’s power or even his essence, and his destruction was merely an illusion.
This would also explain why N’Zoth can be recognized with little imagination in the new key art from Midnight.
In any case, the theory explains well why the Old Gods pursue their own goals and no longer work for the Void Lords. Now we just need to find out why Xal’atath has different plans now…
Whether Bellular is right with his analysis and theory will become clear in the course of the next expansion. At least his arguments seem coherent, and the narrative places the events of the last expansions – back to Legion – into a meaningful, logical context.
The Old Gods are among the most fascinating characters in the story of World of Warcraft – but also among the most confusing. If you are interested in the story of WoW in a nutshell, we have summarized the entire relevant WoW story.
