Is Arator the Child of Light and Shadow? Patch 12.1 Cinematic Analysis

Posted 4 hr 38 min ago by Portergauge

WARNING: Patch 12.1 Spoilers in this post!Arator's Doubts in the LightAlleria Windrunner says: Tell me of Silvermoon, Arator. How bad was it?
Arator says: Honestly, if not for the Light forces intervening when they did, we would have lost everything.
Alleria Windrunner says: I see. And your father, is he well?
Arator says: He... I fear the Light... blinds him, Mother. In his rage, he... he struck down an innocent.
Alleria Windrunner says: Who, Arator?
Arator says: That... doesn't matter now. What matters is that if the Light can turn someone like him wrathful...
Alleria Windrunner says: You fear succumbing to it yourself.
Arator says: I already did, fighting the Void. You see these embers I bear? I burned myself in wrath. They remain as a reminder.
Alleria Windrunner says: Of what?
Arator says: That there's something... wrong with the Light.
Arator says: That thought terrifies me more than the Void ever could.Nothing existed for Turalyon now other than Arator. Arator, his only blood, so bright, loved by the Light, loved by Alleria, loved by him—

Arator, and the unholy thing that had snatched him right before his father’s horrified gaze. Tears poured down his face, and his heart was gripped with fear.

But not for long.

Screaming rose around him, the sounds of a fight still going, of anguished cries. Turalyon did not heed them. He roared his fury, uttered words that were raw and powerful, calling on the Light’s justice and power to annihilate this wretched, terrible being of fel, of darkness, of cruelty. To use him, however it saw fit, to accomplish this task.

Turalyon felt the Light answer at once, racing through him, its radiance, its heat, building, enveloping him, ready to be unleashed.

He called for justice.

Fury.

Wrath.

The world went white.

A male figure, tall and powerfully built, wrapped in gleaming, harsh white-gold light that obscured his features but flooded every part of the rocky space.

It was, as she knew and feared it would be, her beloved.

And yet it was not.

Alleria had seen Turalyon call upon the avenging aspect of the Light many times before. But it had never done this to him. As the sun lit the land, as a naaru shimmered and gleamed, thus was Turalyon. His white hair was the hue of a shaft of sunlight, his skin glowed gold, and brilliance poured from him almost like a waterfall of Light.

And his face… His handsome features were contorted in sheer, perfect rage. The scars on his face burned white, and his eyes were now twin suns. He was shouting, his melodic voice ringing out yet still his, still beautiful; church bells not calling the faithful to fellowship, but sounding the warning of a conflagration. The words were filled with hate, fury, and righteousness, but Alleria could not understand them, only feel their power.Magister Umbric: When I look upon the Void, do you know what I see?
Arator: Nothingness?
Magister Umbric: Possibilities. Infinite possibilities.
Magister Umbric: Through which there is always a way forward.
Arator: You found something.
Magister Umbric: A new lead: activity in the Twilight's Blade that may point to Xal'atath's whereabouts.
Magister Umbric: I want you to investigate it with me.
Arator: Well then. If the Light doesn't have the answers, maybe the Void will.Exposure to the VoidMagister Umbric says: Amani relics... why would the cult bring these here?
Arator says: We should be asking them. And forcing them to answer.
Arator says: Umbric, why not use the Void to pry into the cultists' minds?
Magister Umbric says: No, Arator. Such measures are too dangerous for my liking.
Magister Umbric says: It seems Xal'atath has abandoned her underlings.
Twilight Death-Dealer says: This is our chance to prove ourselves!
Arator says: Serves them right. But they might still know enough to lead us to her.

Arator says: Umbric, we'd make faster progress if you'd just pull the information from these cultists' minds with the Void.
Arator says: I've seen my mother do it before, and I know you can do it too.
Magister Umbric says: I could. But tell me, Arator... how did things play out when Alleria used the Void in that way?
Arator says: We... got what we needed. But it was a struggle. One that ended in the death of the ethereal we were questioning.
Magister Umbric says: Such is the nature of the Void. It is volatile and all-consuming. To wield it comes with immense risk.
Magister Umbric says: And even if it didn't... what's to stop me from doing it again? I would be shredding the psyches of my foes for the sake of expediency.
Magister Umbric says: If I were to use the Void to extract the knowledge we seek, it could very well tear our minds asunder in the process.
Magister Umbric says: There are those who accuse me--and all void elves--of being monsters. I will not prove them right.Arator says: Umbric, help! It... it hurts!
Lord Antenorian yells: What's this? Does the child of Light drown in the Void?
Arator says: It's all happening again! I'm--I'm falling!
Magister Umbric says: Focus, Arator. Find your center in the darkness!
Arator says: Is this... is this what they felt?
Magister Umbric says: The Void will tear you apart if you let it! Envision our escape in your mind's eye
Lord Antenorian yells: Foolish mortals! You cannot survive the Void! Whereas I am empowered by it!
Magister Umbric says: Arator. See the path to victory. How do we hit him hard and fast?
Arator says: My shield! Take it.Arator says: What was that place?
Magister Umbric says: Nowhere, and everywhere in between.
Magister Umbric says: Antenorian blindly opened a rift into it, and you followed him without a second thought.
Arator says: I couldn't let him get away. Not when he can tell us where Xal'atath's gone.
Magister Umbric says: And how could you pursue Xal'atath if you yourself had been lost or torn apart?
Magister Umbric says: We are both fortunate that you were able to maintain your sense of self for as long as you did.
Arator says: Toward the end, I could feel... not control, exactly. More like I was riding a wave without sinking beneath it.
Magister Umbric says: Hmm. That's usually the most one can hope for when dealing with the Void. Keep that in mind, Arator.Lord Antenorian says: You fall right into my trap!
Arator says: No!
Magister Umbric says: Arator, what are you doing?
Arator says: I--It just happened! But... I can see into his mind!
Arator says: There's... a giant monstrosity... and a name! Kith'ix!
Lord Antenorian says: I know not where Xal'atath has gone. But I do know that with Ula'tek slain, Kith'ix is free to rise again!
Lord Antenorian says: You will drown in blood!
Arator says: This ends now!

Magister Umbric says: All this time, Ula'tek was preventing Kith'ix from being resurrected. And now there's nothing left to stop its return.
Arator says: Nothing... except us. We need to report back to Silvermoon. Now.
Magister Umbric says: Arator, what you did in that tomb...
Arator says: I know. And you can lecture me later. We need to warn Lor'themar of what we've learned.Arator says: As much as I want to pursue Xal'atath, I can't abandon Quel'Thalas or Zul'Aman in a time of need. You have my blade.
Lor'themar Theron says: Facing evil at great personal cost... You are your mother's son, Arator.

Lor'themar Theron says: Umbric. Something has changed in Arator. What happened out there?
Magister Umbric says: We pursued our quarry into a rift in the fabric of reality. To survive it, I had to give Arator a haphazard lesson in how to manipulate the Void.
Lor'themar Theron says: But Arator is a paladin of the Light. How could he do that without causing a violent reaction?
Magister Umbric says: I'm tempted to attribute it to sheer luck. Yet both you and I know that Arator possesses a willpower like few others.
Magister Umbric says: Though he does not wield the Void, I suspect his determination to find Xal'atath gives him the strength to withstand its presence even while calling upon the Light.
Lor'themar Theron says: Let us hope that remains to be true. I've seen what happens when those two forces collide. There is a reason Turalyon and Alleria so often drift apart.
Magister Umbric says: And Arator is son to both of them. Perhaps in more ways than one.
Magister Umbric says: I will keep an eye on him, and guide him when he needs it. Arator has touched the Void... and that seldom happens only once.The Child of Light and Shadow Is Arator the Child of Light and Shadow?is.Xe'ra says: I am Xe'ra, one of the first naaru to be forged here during the great ordering of the cosmos.
Xe'ra says: You have come to the crucible of all creation in search of answers. Listen then, and find enlightenment.
Xe'ra says: In a time now long past, a great battle was fought that would determine the fate of all worlds. It was in that final battle that the all-powerful titan Pantheon fell to one of their own: Sargeras.
Xe'ra says: After the fall, none were left to oppose the will of Sargeras. Unfettered, the dark titan and his Burning Legion would go on to annihilate countless worlds in their Burning Crusade.
Xe'ra says: From the ashes of those ravaged worlds, survivors arose to stand against the demons. They became known as the Army of the Light.
Xe'ra says: But now, the Golden Army teeters upon the precipice of oblivion as their campaign on Argus nears its terminus. Should they fall, the Legion will initiate a new Burning Crusade, and with it the cosmos will tremble.
Xe'ra says: I am here now on a mission of desperation. I seek the child of Light and Shadow: the boy destined to end the age of demons.
Xe'ra says: The one called Illidan Stormrage.anythingmustotherHe spun to face the prince, surprised, as he often was when it came to humans, by how quickly the child seemed to be becoming a man, by the adult in the words hurled at him. And as soon as Anduin came into view, the world changed.

Instead of the prince, an armored warrior stood before him, his plate helm and breastplate shining with the essence of the Light itself. The warrior wielded a sword forged from the same material as the armor, held it aloft as he perched on an outcropping... Whether it was on another world or Azeroth, Velen couldn't quite tell. And suddenly the dark sky above erupted with the combined chivalry of Azeroth's races. The blood elves, orcs, trolls, tauren, and even the accursed undead and scheming goblins rode flying mounts of every sort and description. They were armored and armed with magical weaponry glowing with so much power it hurt Velen's eyes to look at them. Beside the legions of the Horde, the ancient night elves charged with humans, dwarves, and gnomes, whose ancestors formed the original Alliance, and the shape-changing worgen were united with them. Velen's own Draenei bolstered the army, their ranks adorned in otherworldly metals and bearing crystalline maces and swords.

The Alliance and Horde were not alone.

Dragons swooped and soared in formations that made the sky resemble a giant multicolored, reptilian wing. They blanketed the horizon with their physical size and numbers, and when they roared a challenge, it shook not just the earth Velen stood on, but the universe as well.

And yet, for all this, the greatest shock to Velen's senses came as he saw those that flew just beyond the army of dragons. The naaru had taken the field, so many that Velen didn't understand how creation could contain them. The power of these beings of Light filled Velen's heart with hope, swept away the lonely centuries, and left him in wonder that he could ever despair, that the dark, no matter how terrible, could ever truly reign.

And then a shadow fell.

It was vast and empty and swallowed all light that entered it. Velen knew it would be all-consuming until, at last, it would turn and devour itself, endlessly gnawing on nothing in the Great Dark Beyond, removing all meaning from the universe, from the most heart-breaking sonata to the most arresting sunset. It was too terrible to see, to comprehend, and yet the army headed straight for it. And the light began to fade...

Standing before the Prophet was only a human man-child, eyes wide and passionate, saying something unintelligible to him.Anduin made a soft sound of disgust and stood, hovering over her, considering her for a long and tense spell. A wisp of purple energy traveled down his arm, gathering in his palm. It happened in a blink, coming and going, dissipating before Mathias could see for certain what the king had done.

It startled Anduin enough to make him stumble backward. Shaw felt Jaina’s eyes upon him, and he glanced her way. If he was rattled before, the fear etched upon Jaina’s brow shook him to the core. Anduin winced, breathing hard, shaking out his hand before leaning back against the wall. Shaw knew better than to be staring when the king’s eyes began to roam their faces for a reaction.incrediblystillais Arator the Child of Light and Shadow?

Comment by SaboSaboVoid elf pally soon!Comment by xhugglesxVoid paladins confirmedComment by CBNBedtimeif we get shadow paladins we need pure light dps priestsComment by ScrumbulonI love how a post like this can highlight just how awful Blizzard's writing has become.Comment by JaninIsn't Xal'atath a child of Light and Shadow?
What if that child-Xal'atath was a Light holder, and then the Void took her.Comment by Acccattone"as he finally begins to wield the Void"

Factually wrong. He does *not* weild the Void - Umbric clearly states so. Arator simply endures it thanks to his determination and heritage, and preserves his ability to weild the Light even when touched by the Void.

Isn't Xal'atath a child of Light and Shadow?
What if that child-Xal'atath was a Light holder, and then the Void took her.Comment by GortuskInteresting read and good article. Makes me wonder how long they have been working on this story considering elements regarding it happened even before the Legion expansion was a thing.Comment by morvohif we get shadow paladins we need pure light dps priestsComment by AcccattoneMakes me wonder how long they have been working on this story considering elements regarding it happened even before the Legion expansion was a thing.Comment by Stoneheart98It would be interesting to see him physically change into a paladin that weild both light and void. By this I actually mean there might be a chance to see a hairstyle redesign.Comment by addictedtopixelsDon't know don't careComment by ol75Don't know don't careComment by SparkiekongIsn't Xal'atath a child of Light and Shadow?
What if that child-Xal'atath was a Light holder, and then the Void took her.Comment by Yetanotherone1Duh.Comment by voidoxMakes me wonder how long they have been working on this story considering elements regarding it happened even before the Legion expansion was a thing.Comment by ArcaneVertigoHope he doesn't survive the expansion.Comment by zugzugzuugwe are getting void void paladin?Comment by ArcaneVertigowe are getting void void paladin?Comment by shinji2004On the nose tattoos? Well that is an opinion not fact.

This should be marked as an opinion piece instead of news/speculationComment by rcn1155Is the sky blue, lets talk about it.