Some theories suggest that the players in WoW are working towards their own downfall. The lore would at least allow for that.
Actually, the story of Legion is quite simple. The Burning Legion is attacking Azeroth. The diamond-encased dwarf king Magni awakens from his stupor and tells that Azeroth has spoken to him. To prevent the impending attack of the Burning Legion, the peoples must find the five Pillars of Creation, for only thereby can the demon portal be permanently sealed and strike the Legion.
But is that really what will happen?
How the heroes deliver Azeroth to the slaughter
The new raid, the Emerald Nightmare, makes me doubt that. Especially the boss Il’gynoth turns many things upside down that we think we know from the lore. Il’gynoth is a spawn of an Old God and keeps whispering things to players as long as they are near him.
The creature has seven different sentences ready (translated from English):
- “Your heart is a crater and we have filled it.”
- “The King of Diamonds has been made into a servant.”
- “Five keys open our way. Five torches illuminate our path.”
- “The Lord of Ravens will turn the key.”
- “Flesh is his gift. He is your true creator.”
- “To find him, drown yourself in the circle of stars.”
- “The Boy-King serves at the Master’s table. He will offer you three lies.”
Shadow Priests receive even more knowledge when they carry the artifact weapon Xal’atath, which is a piece of an Old God. Then they hear from their blade:
“It seems that the prison of N’Zoth is no longer as strong as it once was. What you see here is the small outgrowth of a giant who might still devour your world.”
This is quite a lot, but I hope you stay with me! I try to address the sentences one by one, as what they (possibly) mean could have quite severe implications for Azeroth. Of course, the following is just theory and speculation, but try to keep an open mind.
Let’s start with the sentence from Xal’atath. The blade makes it quite clear that Il’gynoth is a part of N’Zoth – the most powerful Old God that has ever existed on Azeroth. So powerful that the Titans could not kill him without annihilating Azeroth, which is why they locked him away. This very prison is now loosening, the binding weakening. N’Zoth is slowly but surely breaking free.
“Your heart is a crater and we have filled it.”
Several individuals could fit for this sentence. It could refer to both Jaina Proudmoore and Sylvanas Windrunner, both of whom have experienced significant tragedies. Particularly, Jaina would likely trigger several alarm bells regarding “crater” (think of Theramore). However, there is another possibility that is much more likely: Azeroth.
We know that Azeroth is a Titan, and we also know that Azeroth is female – as Magni addresses her as female in the pre-quest to Legion. It’s possible that the corruption of Azeroth has progressed so far that Azeroth herself is already under the influence of the Old Gods.
“The King of Diamonds has been made into a servant.”
The “King of Diamonds” is clearly Magni Bronzebeard, as no other character consists of diamond or has any connection to this gemstone. Magni is regarded as the “Speaker of Azeroth” since he has heard her voice – at least he thinks so. Il’gynoth’s whisper implies that Magni has never heard Azeroth, but rather the voice of a very different master – the Old Gods? Or the voice of Azeroth, who is already under the influence of the Old Gods?
“Five keys open our way. Five torches illuminate our path.”
For this sentence, we need to clarify who “we” actually is. Here, the obvious solution seems to be the Old Gods. Possibly also the “Void Lords” behind the Old Gods. But for now, let’s assume it’s the Gods. What’s more interesting is the term “five keys” – because coincidentally, we are collecting exactly 5 Pillars of Creation in Legion.
“The Lord of Ravens will turn the key.”
When people think of the “Lord of Ravens”, most probably instinctively think of Lord Ravencrest from the Raven Guard or of Odyn – but those thoughts are incorrect. The true “Lord of Ravens” is the Guardian of Tirisfal, who can turn into a raven with the staff Atiesh – either Medivh or Khadgar. Since Medivh should be more or less “out of the running” and we already know that Khadgar wants to use the Pillars, he seems to be the right choice. Khadgar will “turn the key” and thus “open the way”.
“Flesh is his gift. He is your true creator.”
This is just typical “Old God blabber” with little meaning for the theory, but still contains some content. The “Curse of Flesh” was developed by N’Zoth, but the Old Gods “share” their special gifts. The Old Gods often work together as they pursue the same goal: the corruption of a Titan soul. It’s even possible that they are all one great creature since they represent different body parts.
This “cooperation” of the Old Gods is evident in several places: Yogg-Saron was able to use the “Curse of Flesh” against the servants of the Titans in Ulduar (the curse originally comes from N’Zoth) and N’Zoth, in turn, can also use the Nightmare, as we see with Il’gynoth (the Nightmare originates from Yogg-Saron).
“To find him, drown yourself in the circle of stars.”
This sentence is also not particularly important and likely only refers to N’Zoth’s resting place, which should be somewhere in the darkest depths of an ocean – just like the city of Ny’alotha, a city of the Old Gods.
“The Boy-King serves at the Master’s table. He will offer you three lies.”
For “Boy-King”, only Wrathion, as the leader of the black dragons, and Anduin Wrynn, the new King of Humans, are really candidates. Anduin seems like the right choice, but this sentence leaves a lot of room for interpretation. One will need to pay attention in the next patches whether Anduin has anything to do with the number 3. However, I can hardly imagine Anduin being a traitor – if he does something evil, it would be mainly because he has been deceived and led astray.
So let’s summarize everything compactly!
The complete theory looks like this: Azeroth has already been corrupted by the Old Gods. Azeroth, under the influence of the Old Gods, spoke to Magni and told him that the five Pillars of Creation can close the portal of the Legion. In truth, however, they open the prison of the Old God N’Zoth. Khadgar will use the Pillars of Creation and thereby open the prison.
The beauty of this theory: It also explains why Azshara suddenly has an interest in the Pillars of Creation. As a naga, she is an ally of the Old Gods (who transformed the elves into nagas). Until now, it seemed that Azshara was cooperating with the Legion – which simply made no sense or had not been explained sensibly until now. With the theory explained above, however, everything fits together again.
At first glance, I can only think of one counterargument against this theory. Why would Il’gynoth tell us this? It could be that all the sentences are merely deceptions and distractions. But then such a theory wouldn’t be fun anymore, would it?
Phew, that was quite a bit of work. I hope you enjoyed it, as I have spent the night on it. What do you think of this theory? Do you have anything to add? Let me know in the comments!
