Well this was a deep ass rabbit hole to fall down. If any part of this is true then good on you.
I’ll be saving this post until after the expansion to see how much you got right.
Something else very interesting I've just found in Hallowfall, >!Alleria seems to confirm that [Xal'atath is NOT an Old God](https://imgur.com/a/qumSRi3). Maybe a survivor from the depths of time means she was from K'aresh?!< I'm guessing we may actually find out what she is at launch, but Blizz is holding off on that info for beta.
I mean, and forgive me for not finishing reading, but your intro to your theory revolves around why An'she is K'aresh's world soul, and is light-infused, and that the redirect is that it is An'she and not Azeroth singing the song.
Wouldn't the simpler redirect be that the crystal existing is the work of the harbinger, which is why the citizens of K'aresh heard the song too?
Xal'atath being sealed away before completing her work would explain the delay or time gap or whatever.
We know that world souls are named after their planets, and so K'aresh's world soul would be named K'aresh, just like Azeroth and Argus share names.
I don't see Blizzard making a huge, convoluted ordeal of a story like you're suggesting. Not that An'she won't feature, but it just seems way too complex when the much simpler story to tell is already here for us to see.
There's ancient artwork showing an old God holding the crystal like a prize. Why would that be a crystallized world soul, why would it be light-infused, why would it buck known naming convention for world souls, why would it be the parent of the naaru, etc.
It feels more likely that it's a new thing in the cosmic world and not a renamed world soul hanging out in azeroth's basement.
I don’t know if I would believe it or like this but you have put a lot of thought into this. I’m sure this is better than what blizzard will be coming up with
This is the part that makes me know it won't be this, unfortunately. I can't believe the same company that wrote shadowlands left hints about void stuff back in legion.
The last expansion Chris Metzen worked on was Legion, then he was gone for BfA and Shadowlands, and now he's back as creative director for The War Within and the Worldsoul Saga.
So at least in one sense, this \*isn't\* the same company that wrote Shadowlands.
Would love to hear what you think this means for Last Titan. An'she corrupted offworld, void invasion of Azeroth, then what. Azeroth helps us reclaim An'she?
Wait a second… doesnt some of this Elune / An’she stuff align a bit with the folks and fairytales story that alludes to Elune / the moon and her daughter etc.?
EDIT: this would also explain Xal’atath referring to Elune as the “Upstart Goddess”
To go with the Dimensius part, according to Xal'atath that was only a fragment of him as we have only seen fragments of the void lords, not the full things.
> [I long for the day our masters can truly pass into this realm. You have only seen fragments, shadows; the faintest of echoes. Ask the Ethereals what one of these manifestations are capable of.](https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Xal%27atath,_Blade_of_the_Black_Empire#Quotes)
Awesome post! Your theories are on a very grand and ambitious scale, and you've got the evidence to back it all up! I appreciate the eloquent and detailed presentation, it really made your thought process click for me. Thank you for the pleasant and thought-provoking read :)
You truly cooked with this one, this was a fun read! Unfortunately I've sort of lost hope lately in overarching narratives in my MMORPGs… but it was a good read.
my theory is azeroth is a first one in actuality and is personally responsible in creating elune and an'she.
The various pantheons of the cosmic powers were created by combining to different types of magic together for each one with a greater and lesser of each.
So elune would be nature, light and an'she light, nature.
The winter queen would be death, nature
This is why the winter queen sees elune as her sister because azeroth had a hand in creating both.
I think that the Azeroth worldsoul's similarities to the Earthmother are an intentional misdirect. An'she and the other sun myths are portrayed as counterparts to Elune. We know that Elune is connected to forces beyond the planet as though she were symbolic of every moon. Elune is labeled a Life goddess and was probably created by its respective First One.
The worldsoul devoured the Spirit of Life on Azeroth and in response Mu'sha/An'she were sent by the Earthmother to fix the problem where they found Lo'sho in the care of Tauren. The Tauren interpreted Lo'sho to be the Earthmother's tear but what if Lo'sho is the worldsoul? Azeroth is as much a blue celestial body as that other weird acting moon. The White Lady is overall characterized as an adoptive mother to this Blue Child. Moons revolve around planets like how parents revolve around their children.
Elune seems amoral and behaves very differently than other prominent deities. The sun is portrayed in a myth as aloof, even moreso than we know the moons to be. Planets revolve around stars. I would imagine that if we ever get to An'she that he will be an uncaring creator god, far beyond Azeroth. Mortals interpret his lack of care as some kind of wound because they're egotistical and think the universe actually revolves around them. The narrative needs that kind of symbolic reality check when moving onto the next 20 years of Warcraft.
As much as I love Tauren and thier lore, An'she being a real being conflicts with so much of thier own world building. The moon and the sun are both the eyes of teh earth mother (Azeroth?) and if true then Elune couldn't be the moon if An'she is the sun. While one thing can have two names, the fact that elune has physically interacted with us prevents the moon from being Mu'sha, the counterpart to An'she.
Not to mention no other creation myth in wow (that I am aware)) mentions the sun as a literal being, nor made of light. While it produces light, and also inspires, it is still just a euphemism for light vs Darkness as power based magics.
Like I said, love the idea but it just conflicts alot with the current lore and honestly, the vibe of the tauren deities.
Firstly, *major* props for putting so much thought, and organization into sharing this. I think you bring up some great points - so great, that I almost think it’s a little *too* big brain for Blizzard.
That said,
“Wake up babe, new Tauren lore dropped”
I’d still die of laughter if blizzard pulled something super random basically revealing one race, just one doesn’t matter who, was wrong the entire time with their religion. Like An’she? Not real, jokes on you Tauren. Or Elune? Not a true entity just a force that exists. A true “ding dong, your religion is wrong” moment
Well this was a deep ass rabbit hole to fall down. If any part of this is true then good on you. I’ll be saving this post until after the expansion to see how much you got right.
Something else very interesting I've just found in Hallowfall, >!Alleria seems to confirm that [Xal'atath is NOT an Old God](https://imgur.com/a/qumSRi3). Maybe a survivor from the depths of time means she was from K'aresh?!< I'm guessing we may actually find out what she is at launch, but Blizz is holding off on that info for beta.
I mean, and forgive me for not finishing reading, but your intro to your theory revolves around why An'she is K'aresh's world soul, and is light-infused, and that the redirect is that it is An'she and not Azeroth singing the song. Wouldn't the simpler redirect be that the crystal existing is the work of the harbinger, which is why the citizens of K'aresh heard the song too? Xal'atath being sealed away before completing her work would explain the delay or time gap or whatever. We know that world souls are named after their planets, and so K'aresh's world soul would be named K'aresh, just like Azeroth and Argus share names. I don't see Blizzard making a huge, convoluted ordeal of a story like you're suggesting. Not that An'she won't feature, but it just seems way too complex when the much simpler story to tell is already here for us to see. There's ancient artwork showing an old God holding the crystal like a prize. Why would that be a crystallized world soul, why would it be light-infused, why would it buck known naming convention for world souls, why would it be the parent of the naaru, etc. It feels more likely that it's a new thing in the cosmic world and not a renamed world soul hanging out in azeroth's basement.
I don’t know if I would believe it or like this but you have put a lot of thought into this. I’m sure this is better than what blizzard will be coming up with
This is the part that makes me know it won't be this, unfortunately. I can't believe the same company that wrote shadowlands left hints about void stuff back in legion.
The last expansion Chris Metzen worked on was Legion, then he was gone for BfA and Shadowlands, and now he's back as creative director for The War Within and the Worldsoul Saga. So at least in one sense, this \*isn't\* the same company that wrote Shadowlands.
Fair enough! I didn't remember when he left, so he certainly could have left some threads that he's picked back up on.
He was gone for DFs corny, cliche story as well
DF had a story?
What? You know that the chronicle came out in Legion right? There were hints about the void all over the place in Legion.
Would love to hear what you think this means for Last Titan. An'she corrupted offworld, void invasion of Azeroth, then what. Azeroth helps us reclaim An'she?
This was a fun read. Big if true, but I'm crossing my fingers!
Wait a second… doesnt some of this Elune / An’she stuff align a bit with the folks and fairytales story that alludes to Elune / the moon and her daughter etc.? EDIT: this would also explain Xal’atath referring to Elune as the “Upstart Goddess”
To go with the Dimensius part, according to Xal'atath that was only a fragment of him as we have only seen fragments of the void lords, not the full things. > [I long for the day our masters can truly pass into this realm. You have only seen fragments, shadows; the faintest of echoes. Ask the Ethereals what one of these manifestations are capable of.](https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Xal%27atath,_Blade_of_the_Black_Empire#Quotes)
Can’t wait to see the stolen and on dorons YouTube channel tommorow
Tauren Paladin bros its our time to shine. New cosmetic options akin to what druids got in 10.2 100% confirmed.
Awesome post! Your theories are on a very grand and ambitious scale, and you've got the evidence to back it all up! I appreciate the eloquent and detailed presentation, it really made your thought process click for me. Thank you for the pleasant and thought-provoking read :)
too intricate wont happen
The problem with your theory is that I see no place for Azeroth's worldsoul which obviously should be the most important thing.
You truly cooked with this one, this was a fun read! Unfortunately I've sort of lost hope lately in overarching narratives in my MMORPGs… but it was a good read.
my theory is azeroth is a first one in actuality and is personally responsible in creating elune and an'she. The various pantheons of the cosmic powers were created by combining to different types of magic together for each one with a greater and lesser of each. So elune would be nature, light and an'she light, nature. The winter queen would be death, nature This is why the winter queen sees elune as her sister because azeroth had a hand in creating both.
I think that the Azeroth worldsoul's similarities to the Earthmother are an intentional misdirect. An'she and the other sun myths are portrayed as counterparts to Elune. We know that Elune is connected to forces beyond the planet as though she were symbolic of every moon. Elune is labeled a Life goddess and was probably created by its respective First One. The worldsoul devoured the Spirit of Life on Azeroth and in response Mu'sha/An'she were sent by the Earthmother to fix the problem where they found Lo'sho in the care of Tauren. The Tauren interpreted Lo'sho to be the Earthmother's tear but what if Lo'sho is the worldsoul? Azeroth is as much a blue celestial body as that other weird acting moon. The White Lady is overall characterized as an adoptive mother to this Blue Child. Moons revolve around planets like how parents revolve around their children. Elune seems amoral and behaves very differently than other prominent deities. The sun is portrayed in a myth as aloof, even moreso than we know the moons to be. Planets revolve around stars. I would imagine that if we ever get to An'she that he will be an uncaring creator god, far beyond Azeroth. Mortals interpret his lack of care as some kind of wound because they're egotistical and think the universe actually revolves around them. The narrative needs that kind of symbolic reality check when moving onto the next 20 years of Warcraft.
The most interesting Theory 'bout TWW and the Ending so far
As much as I love Tauren and thier lore, An'she being a real being conflicts with so much of thier own world building. The moon and the sun are both the eyes of teh earth mother (Azeroth?) and if true then Elune couldn't be the moon if An'she is the sun. While one thing can have two names, the fact that elune has physically interacted with us prevents the moon from being Mu'sha, the counterpart to An'she. Not to mention no other creation myth in wow (that I am aware)) mentions the sun as a literal being, nor made of light. While it produces light, and also inspires, it is still just a euphemism for light vs Darkness as power based magics. Like I said, love the idea but it just conflicts alot with the current lore and honestly, the vibe of the tauren deities.
very cool. you're gonna be disappointed though because blizz doesnt think this hard about xpac stories.
Firstly, *major* props for putting so much thought, and organization into sharing this. I think you bring up some great points - so great, that I almost think it’s a little *too* big brain for Blizzard. That said, “Wake up babe, new Tauren lore dropped”
I’d still die of laughter if blizzard pulled something super random basically revealing one race, just one doesn’t matter who, was wrong the entire time with their religion. Like An’she? Not real, jokes on you Tauren. Or Elune? Not a true entity just a force that exists. A true “ding dong, your religion is wrong” moment