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Xal'atath Confirmed the Harbinger, Will Have a Unique Rivalry with Alleria Windrunner
Publié
05/11/2023 à 14:22
par
DiscordianKitty
Xal'atath and Alleria Windrunner are going to be front and central to the next World of Warcraft expansion,
The War Within
. Xal'atath is confirmed to be the Harbinger, and she and the Void Elf will have a "unique rivalry".
Xal'atath
From her introduction in
Legion
, Xal'atath has been a mysterious character who seems determined to do things her own way. First introduced as the Shadow Priest artifact weapon, the blade of Xal'atath was rumoured to be made from the claw of Y'Shaarj. An even wilder rumor claimed that Xal'atath was the remains of a forgotten Old God who was consumed by its kin - perhaps even the fifth Old God of legend.
Xal'atath, as we know her today, is the entity that was trapped within the blade. To free herself, Xal'atath eventually made a deal with the Old God N'Zoth - who severed her from the dagger and kept the blade for himself in exchange. In the end, the blade fell into the hands of Wrathion, who used the dagger to kill N'Zoth in our final confrontation with him.
As for Xal'atath, we most recently briefly saw her standing with Iridikron during the Dawn of the Infinite dungeon, before the two of them disappeared through a Void portal. Before leaving, Iridikron spoke of "The Harbinger", who will pry "our world" from the Titans grasp.
With the
announcement of
The Worldsoul Saga
and
The War Within
, Xal'atath has finally been confirmed as the Harbinger. She has journeyed to the nerubians of Azj-Kahet, where she has enlisted them in her cause.
Freed long ago of the black blade that once bound her, she is now the Harbinger of a new era of the Void’s dark machinations. Her message is clear. The Black Empire has fallen. The Old Gods are dead and their ancient blood runs deep within the cracks of the world. We, the heroes of Azeroth destroyed them and the Harbinger watched all along. While the Black Empire has failed, Xal’atath seeks to set in motion the rise of a new dark legacy —one that knows our strengths and will seek to test them against a terrible power, the nerubians of Azj-Kahet.
Xal’atath has conscripted the nerubian queen, Ansurek, and offered her people a new future in which they would rise from their isolation and become a mighty kingdom once again. We will not find the nerubian soldiers of the Lich King here, but a mighty stronghold of nerubians as they once were—deadly survivors of the mythic wars that have played out again and again over thousands of years.
In return for their loyalty, Xal’atath has granted the nerubians the means of a dark evolution that will turn the nerubians into a new kind of ferocious and terrifying soldiers.
In promotional artwork, Xal'atath can be seen holding the artifact that Iridikron retrieved from the Dawn of the Infinite dungeon. Described by Chromie as "like the Dragon Soul, but even more ancient", Iridikron siphoned the essence of Galakrond into this artifact, and stated that Xal'atath would use it to reclaim the soul of our world from the Titans. Visually, it resembles the Heart of Azeroth, an item that has also been compared to the Dragon Soul - only instead of Azerite in the center, it's filled with the Void.
Xal'atath has been shown to be both ambitious and cunning, but she will have a rival, one who understands the Void herself and even how to handle it - Alleria Windrunner.
Alleria Windrunner
Older sister to Sylvanas Windrunner, Alleria was raised to succeed their mother as the ranger-general of Silvermoon, but she abdicated. Unlike many High Elves, satisfied with closing themselves off from the outside world, Alleria wanted to see the world beyond Quel'Thalas - to spend time with other races, and experience other cultures.
Alleria went on to become an important leader in the Alliance's armies, working closely with the human paladin Turalyon and the wizard Khadgar to fight against the invading orcs. Alleria and Turalyon fell in love, and in time, had a child - Arator - but they never got to raise him. The fight with the orcs ended up taking them through the Dark Portal, and after it was destroyed, they entered the Twisting Nether. Believed to be lost forever, statues were raised in Stormwind to honor Alleria and Turalyon's sacrifice, along with several others.
Within the Twisting Nether, Alleria and Turalyon met and joined the Army of the Light, a faction devoted to fighting against the threat of the Legion across the universe. Time travels differently in this place, and Alleria and Turalyon's time with the Army of the Light lasted thousands of years. Though rumors of the two persisted, they were not seen again until the events of Legion.
During their time with the Army of the Light, Turalyon became infused with the Light, but Alleria found another source of power when she was infected by the Void, which granted her visions. The Naaru leader of the Army of the Light did not approve of Alleria dabbling with the Void, and eventually imprisoned her.
During the events of Legion, Alleria was freed, and spent some time on Argus to learn more about her Void powers, eventually absorbing the dark Naaru L'ura, greatly increasing her own powers.
As a Void Elf, Alleria's relationship with the Void is a complicated one. Though she uses Void powers, her abilities come with a cost. Her husband, Turalyon, is a champion for the Light, and for a while, the two couldn't even touch without suffering great pain. Aleria herself is constantly bombarded with whispers, telling her to hurt and kill her loved ones, to seize power, to trust no one.
Though Alleria and the Void Elves are a part of the Alliance, there are many who don't trust them. Most characters who constantly have to listen to the whispers of the Void have fallen to them - usually infamously so. For example, Neltharion believed he could occasionally use the powers of the Void while keeping the whispers at bay, but he became Deathwing. During the Visions of N'Zoth, a vision of a fully corrupted Alleria kills both Turalyon and their son, Arator.
After the defeat of N'Zoth, Turalyon thought it might bring Alleria peace - but rather than stop, the chorus of whispers grew louder. It was, in fact, one of our earliest clues that the threat of the Old Gods and the Void wasn't quite as defeated as we believed.
High Exarch Turalyon says: Has the downfall of the Old God brought you at least a measure of peace?
Alleria Windrunner says: The whispers did not end with his defeat. In fact, it seems new voices have joined the chorus. When I think of the nightmares he forced into my mind...
By the time of
Shadows Rising
, the pre-Shadowlands novel by Madeleine Roux, Alleria and Turalyon seemed to have worked things out, but we still saw Alleria struggling with the whispers of the Void, and using questionable techniques. In one noteworthy scene, Jaina was shocked to witness Turalyon and Alleria working together to torture witnesses.
In recent times, Turalyon has been named Regent of Stormwind in Anduin's absence. Alleria, meanwhile, continues to act as faction leader to the Void Elves, constantly grappling with the threats of the Void's whispers for the sake of the power the Void allows her to wield. Alleria has always maintained that, unlike others, she could control her powers and reject the Void's attempts to overtake her. As we approach
The War Within
, she will finally have a chance to prove this once and for all.
Her journey will be central to the events and themes of the War Within. She, as a void hunter, must use all of her capabilities to hunt down Xal’atath while being torn between her own nature and the maddening call of the Void to which she is attuned. Along this adventure she will have a unique rivalry with Xal’atath whose twists and turns will come to define the nature of this new conflict.
Though she chose not to become the ranger-general, Alleria never lacked the skill. Her
expansion key art
reflects this heritage, and we can see how the Void accentuates her skills as a hunter rather than replace them.
It's easy to see why Alleria will become Xal'atath's chief rival. Alleria is determined that she will not be lost to the Void, and so she, better than anyone, knows how to fight it.
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