The Forsaken are one of the most interesting races inWarcraftlore. The series of animated shorts Blizzard is releasing in the run up toWorld of Warcraft: Shadowlands,Shadowlands Afterlives, could have some huge implications for them in theWoWlore and the upcoming game.
Not only have the Forsaken been abandoned by their Banshee Queen and found themselves without her clear leadership for the first time in their entire history, but the nature of death in theWarcraftuniverse as revealed in the shorts could mean some very interesting things for the undead inWorld of Warcraft: Shadowlands.
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Splitting Souls
InAfterlives: Bastionit is revealed that when Uther the Lightbringer was slain by Arthas, his soul was split in two. Part of it remained in Frostmourne, Arthas’ runeblade, as previously established. At the end of Lich King fight inWrath of the Lich King, all of the souls trapped in Arthas’ blade are released, including Uther’s. However, the Bastion short establishes that another part of Uther’s soul was taken to Bastion, but was unable to ascend due to the part of Uther kept trapped in the runeblade.
Sylvanaswas also killed personally by Arthas’s runeblade, as seen inWarcraft IIIand theWarbringers: Sylvanasanimated short made in the run-up toBattle for Azeroth. It is unclear if the fact that Sylvanas was raised as undead means that her soul was not taken by Frostmourne, but theBastionshort makes it seem entirely possible that the undead who were raised as part of the Scourge experienced a similar split in their souls to Uther the Lightbringer.
It is possible that the part of their soul that remained in their undead bodies was analogous to the part of Uther’s soul that was not kept in the blade, while another part of their soul was kept inFrostmourneand was not truly released until the death of the Lich King. Another possibility is that the Lich King’s necromancy tied their souls to their undead bodies instead of keeping them in the blade, while another part of their soul went to the Shadowlands.
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The Future of the Forsaken
In either case this makes it seem possible that characters like Sylvanas may be able to be reunited with a part of themselves in theShadowlandsthat they have not seen since their dark rebirth. This could even provide the cure to undeath that characters like Mani Winterhoof have been trying to find for years.
The fact that the Forsaken are a playable race makes it less likely that players will be able to meet their own spiritual other halves, though the Bronze Dragonflight quests inWotLKdid see characters face a version of themselves from the future. What is quite likely, however, is that exploring the Shadowlands will reveal far more about the nature of undeath and what exactly happened when Arthas rose the Forsaken into undeath than has ever been revealed before. WithArthas’ soul imprisoned in The Maw, it is possible that players will have the opportunity to ask him themselves.
Blizzardhas a big task ahead of it if the studio wants to develop a story that explores the afterlife without making death feel cheap. Many fans, especially players who have rolled as a Forsaken character since vanilla, will be interested to see what the new expansion reveals about the race, and how these revelations shape its uncertain future.
World of Warcraftis available now for PC. At this point,World of Warcraft Shadowlandsreleases on October 26 or 27 (depending on time zone) for PC.
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