The final battle against L’ura is a great victory for the heroes of Azeroth in World of Warcraft. But is it really?
In World of Warcraft Midnight, the final raid of the current content “March on Quel’danas” has been live for a few days. At the end of the last fight, there is again a cinematic that shows the consequences of our victory. But what looks like a victory could turn out to be a dramatic defeat. Because Xal’atath has long since set her plans into motion.
Spoiler warning: This article discusses the conclusion of the raid “March on Quel’danas” and the subsequent events.
What happens in the cinematic at the end of the raid? The raid “March on Quel’danas” ends with the battle against L’ura. The Naaru guards the Dark Well, the creation of which was Xal’atath’s objective.
After the successful battle, Xal’atath emerges from the Dark Well and seemingly wants to kill Vereesa and Arathor. However, she is stopped – by Sylvanas, who apparently escaped from the Maw temporarily. Xal’atath admits that she had not planned Sylvanas’s appearance but seems to have little concern otherwise. She returns to the Dark Well and sinks into the depths.
Sylvanas then has a brief moment with Vereesa, allowing the two sisters to reconcile somewhat. Vereesa hopes that Sylvanas can return permanently from the Maw, but Sylvanas has another revelation: The Shadowlands are not what they seem. Something she has previously expressed to Arathor as well. Then she disappears again through a portal and returns to the Shadowlands.
You can see the end cinematic here on the YouTube channel of wowhead:
Xal’atath is in Azeroth, her plan is succeeding
What does the cinematic mean? At first glance, it may seem like we have won the battle. Xal’atath is forced to retreat and disappears, Sylvanas has saved the day.
But that is not what happens. Because those who look closely can see small details that tell a different story. As Xal’atath speaks and the power of L’ura and the Voidstorm flows into the Sunwell, one can repeatedly see shadowy outlines of Void creatures also flowing downwards. Xal’atath also disappears in the Void ray – and sinks into the ground. She is therefore not returning to the Voidstorm but literally sinking into the planet.
To understand this, one must know that the Sunwell is one of the major keystones of the ley lines on Azeroth. These are not only like the lifeblood of the planet and particularly imbued with magic, but they are also something else. Since The War Within, we know, that the ley lines were created by the Titans and are part of the distributor (“Manifold”). This is a connection between all titan facilities on Azeroth that is used to observe and control the world soul of the planet.
We know that the world soul is gradually influenced by the Titans so that Azeroth can eventually rise as a Titan. But right now, Xal’atath is positioned within this network of observation and manipulation with her servants. She will influence the network, possibly destroy the titan facilities and machines in order to ultimately devour Azeroth.
Even though it seemed at first glance that we had won the battle in Quel’danas and pushed back Xal’atath – she had already achieved her goal long ago. Her plan is already in motion, and we will likely not understand what this actually means for Azeroth until “The Last Titan”, the next expansion.
Another circumstance in World of Warcraft Midnight is quite curious. Because an area does not fit at all into the story and seems to have been added later: Harandar. That Blizzard recycled this area and it actually shouldn’t belong to Midnight is now certain.
