A screenshot from BlizzCon caused quite a stir among fans of World of Warcraft. Especially priests were wide-eyed.
BlizzCon 2018 was full of new announcements surrounding World of Warcraft. However, a small detail wasn’t discussed in depth, yet it drew the attention of the fan community.
During the “What’s Next?” panel, the upcoming patches and story content of Battle for Azeroth were discussed. On a slide from the presentation, players discovered a detail that caused confusion and excitement.
What was seen? When Jeremy Feasel announced that the upcoming patches would also cover the stories of key characters like Sylvanas, a picture of Sylvanas was shown.
There she wasn’t holding her bow in her hands, but instead an intricately decorated dagger, which shadow priests might recognize: The blade Xal’atath.
What is Xal’atath? In Legion, Xal’atath was the artifact weapon of the shadow priests. It constantly whispered promises and secrets to the player and is known for eventually leaving its bearer or driving them insane. At the end of Legion, Xal’atath, along with all other artifact weapons, was sacrificed for the cleansing of the Sword of Sargeras.
What Xal’atath actually is remains somewhat unclear. It is suspected (and hinted through the story) that Xal’atath is a rather weak Old God, who was destroyed early by the other Old Gods during the Black Empire and then imprisoned in the blade.
However, Xal’atath disappeared without a trace after the cleansing of the Sword of Sargeras and only reappears in the upcoming Patch 8.1. Here, players can help Xal’atath gain more power and ultimately escape from the dagger to take on a physical form.
How exactly this quest will unfold remains uncertain, as data miners have only connected a few hints about it so far.
Speculations about Xal’atath in Sylvanas’ hands
Why Sylvanas wields the former blade of the shadow priests is still uncertain, but it leaves much room for speculation and theories, some of which we want to address:
A prison for an Old God
One of the currently most common theories is that the dagger, in which Xal’atath resided, is such a powerful relic that it can contain an Old God. Therefore, Xal’atath was in the blade. The other Old Gods (C’thun, Y’shaarj, Yogg-Saron or N’Zoth) imprisoned Xal’atath in the blade after Xal’atath lost a battle.
This is supported by Patch 8.1 Tides of Vengeance. After players help Xal’atath regain power, she directly appeals to N’Zoth, asking him to “release the last seal” and free her from the dagger – which indeed happens. Xal’atath gets a physical body, and the blade is left behind.
In some way, the blade finds its way to Sylvanas, who then uses it as a weapon. This would give Sylvanas a weapon capable of capturing and neutralizing the essence of an Old God.
Perhaps the dagger will play a significant role in how N’Zoth is defeated in later patches (possibly Patch 8.3 or 8.4).
This would also explain why the Void thinks so little of Sylvanas and why Alleria strongly urged her to kill Sylvanas in the comic “Three Sisters”. The Void knows all possible variations of the future and has likely seen some where Sylvanas emerges victorious over the Old Gods.
Xal’atath devours everything
Also interesting is the second theory that N’Zoth is not the real problem of Battle for Azeroth, but Xal’atath herself. After all, players ensure that Xal’atath has her own body and can roam freely in the world in Patch 8.1 – something that the other Old Gods cannot do, as they are firmly anchored in the crust of Azeroth.
Here some of her whispers from Legion return to play. There she said:
“We could encounter my brothers in this conflict. I even hope for it. Their power will belong to me. They will pay for what they once did to me.”
With “brothers”, Xal’atath is clearly referring to the other Old Gods and still plans to devour them to emerge victorious. At the same time, this whisper almost confirms that Xal’atath was defeated and imprisoned by the other Old Gods.
However, even more interesting is a second quote from Legion:
“What irony that the weakest among us might be the victor. C’thun, Yogg-Saron, Y’shaarj and … well. Only one will remain to devour the world. So it was always intended.”
Back then, it was believed that Xal’atath was referring to N’Zoth, the last of the known remaining Old Gods. But in light of the current story, Xal’atath might be speaking of someone else: herself.
After all, it was Xal’atath who was defeated first and thus counts as the “weakest” of the Old Gods. However, since she has been trapped in the blade, she has gathered more and more power, in Legion alone through the priest in large amounts. We consumed powerful creatures of the Old Gods for her and even gave her access to the Pantheon of Titans on Argus, for which “our glorious deeds will never be forgotten”.
As a shadow priest, I can only say: I’m really looking forward to the resolution of this story. I think it’s really cool that our “knife” Xal’atath plays such an important role.
What do you think, how will the story of Sylvanas and Xal’atath continue?
