Lore Spotlight: Deep Dive into Sylvanas and the Jailer hints in Folks & Fairytales Book (Story Spoilers)

Live Posted 2021/05/28 at 4:36 AM by DiscordianKitty

Sister is Another Word for AlwaysVereesa Windrunner Short StoryFolk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth is a collection of short stories set in Azeroth. What makes these stories unique is they are not just stories we are being told about the world - they're the stories that the people of the world tell each other. It's important to note that, while some of these stories are rooted in canon, they are still fables that should be taken with a pinch of salt.Brief Summary

It's interesting to note this isn't the only story that speaks of the living following a mysterious sound after a loved one dies. The story "Lay Down My Bones", about a Vulpera death ritual that goes wrong, speaks of a "Wailing Bone" that begins to cry out when a Vulpera caravan approaches the destined resting place of their own recently deceased.

What This Means for Sylvanas and The JailerSylvanas was supposed to go to ArdenwealdEdge of Night

Sylvanas Windrunner drifts in a sea of comfort, physical sensations replaced by the purity of emotion. She can grasp bliss, see joy, hear peace. This is the afterlife, her destiny. The eternal sea in which she found herself after she fell defending Silvermoon. She belongs here. With each recollection, her memory of this place palls. The sound grows distant; the warmth, cooler. The vision takes on the pallor of a half-remembered dream. But with horrific clarity, the memory always ends the same: Sylvanas's spirit is wrenched away. The pain is so intense it leaves her soul forever torn. The grinning face of Arthas Menethil, with his lopsided smile and dead eyes, leers at her as he pulls her back into the world. Violates her. His laughter—that hollow laugh—the memory of it makes her skin crawl!

- Edge of Night

The Jailer has had a hold on Sylvanas since her very first deathNo More Lies and a Choice - What's Going On With Sylvanas?

But the man with the empty heart did not swing for me. He swung for her. The spiked head of that mace drove down through the thick, volcanic air, She stared for a moment. She clutched her chest, mouth open wide with no scream to fill it. Then she stumbled.

Her eyes slid toward the Banished One, and fear crept into their calm silver shine.

- Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth

"You will not find her here," its voice thundered finally.

"I know," I murmured. "She could never be here."

"Not yet." Something like confidence and mockery simmered in the voice's tone.

- Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth

Edge of Night

Annhylde remained patient, her voice soothing and measured. "To show you the consequences of your passing, and to offer you a choice…"

"I've made my choice," Sylvanas interrupted.

- Edge of Night

Sylvanas's missing shard of soul - Courage? Love?

Courage gasped for air. But she found only blood and love. She did not struggle, but held me tighter, stroking my face with her hand, trying to memorize me, wanting the love more than life.
- Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth

“Finish it,” she whispered. “I deserve . . . a clean death.”

His voice floated to her from somewhere as her eyes closed. “After all you’ve put me through, woman, the last thing I’ll give you is the peace of death.”

- Arthas, Rise of the Lich King

"Your people will perish!" said the dark-haired Val'kyr. She had clearly been the youngest of the battlemaidens in life and was now the most impatient in her undeath.

Sylvanas thought about her people. They had been honed into the perfect weapon. Her weapon. And they had struck the killing blow for which she had built them. She cared nothing for their fate.

"Let them perish!" Sylvanas cried. "I am finished with them!"

- Edge of Night

The Jailer seems to feel like he was the one who was betrayed by the Eternal OnesWe recently learned more about their side of the story in a datamined 9.1 cutscene.

"Family is only a title for those who can hurt you more piercingly than the rest," he said, and his voice was soft suddenly, as soft as the dust left at the end of destruction. "My blood kin betrayed me to this fate. I would not take a single step for the sake of their souls. Nor should you. There is no balm to be found in the blood that binds, only the blood that is spilled. You must go. Courage cannot be found here."

- Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth

"I have a hole in my heart like that," I said gently.

His glowing eyes burned expressionlessly into mine. Hot orange sparks from the million fires of the wasteland tumbled through the air, disappearing into the chasm of his chest.

Everyone does, he said slowly. "It is only that mine is easy to see."

- Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth

How much can we trust this story?The Paladin's Beast

Why had I come so far? For what? What could be more important that I would abandon the war of my people?

- Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth

World of Warcraft

I grew lean in those places. I lost the hardness and thickness of a soldier. My skin sank in against my bones.

- Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth

It's described as a very long journey, leaving "fighting plains" (presumably in the Eastern Kingdoms, as this is where the Alliance forces were facing the Scourge) for "dense and deep" forests that became "deserts" which bordered a "vast river" surrounded by "thick-leafed oaks". Later the trees would change to "thin, miserly, needled pines" where "frost prickled the earth", then "snow, heavy and without forgiveness" - suggesting a mountainous area. Finally, she reaches "gates of black glass", behind which she finds "glassy volcanic crags" and "scattered tombstones and deep mausoleums". The pair of "Acceptance" and "Regret" statues are found in the center of the "abandoned place", and "snow piled up between their granite figures".

9.1 questline involving Uther.Shadowlands

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Comment by WimbertThe less actual lore and plot foreshadowing there is in a book about fairy tales, the better. We have the game and the usual supplemantary materials to drive on the main plot. Fairy tales should feel timeless, and mostly unbothered by their world's realities. So I hope this one is mostly just a bit of harmless world-building that gives us some insight into azerothian cultures, and that the obviously plot-related Vereesa-story, which isn't even presented as a common story, is a one-off here.Comment by WepstarSylvanas was supposed to go to Ardenweald The first thing we can gather from this story is Sylvanas was probably originally destined for Ardenweald. We already suspected Sylvanas's intended afterlife wasn't always the Maw, as the short story Edge of Night showed her remember catching a glimpse of a peaceful afterlife before Arthas ripped her soul back into her body.Comment by AenduinSo Arthas killed Sylvanas, one part of her soul went into Frostmourne, meaning into the Jailer's grasp, and the second part of her soul went to Ardenweald, only to be pulled back into the world of the living and turned into the Banshee aka the Sylvanas we know?

Feel free to correct me.Comment by DracorienSylvanas was supposed to go to Ardenweald The first thing we can gather from this story is Sylvanas was probably originally destined for Ardenweald. We already suspected Sylvanas's intended afterlife wasn't always the Maw, as the short story Edge of Night showed her remember catching a glimpse of a peaceful afterlife before Arthas ripped her soul back into her body.Comment by DracorienSo Arthas killed Sylvanas, one part of her soul went into Frostmourne, meaning into the Jailer's grasp, and the second part of her soul went to Ardenweald, only to be pulled back into the world of the living and turned into the Banshee aka the Sylvanas we know?

Feel free to correct me.Comment by NzallWhy does this article consistently reference Vereesa's name as "Vareesa"?Comment by DiscordianKittyWhy does this article consistently reference Vereesa's name as "Vareesa"?Comment by NailikWhy does this article consistently reference Vereesa's name as "Vareesa"?Comment by DiscordianKittyThanks for taking the time and fixing the name.

No, need to hide under a bed. We all make mistakes. I have miss spelled a name due to the same reason, while doing a case study for my Masters Program. Trust me, my past professor never lets me live it down while working with her during my PHD studies.

Thanks for the amazing post.Comment by IkusameWasnt the fairy tales book already stated to be none-canon?Comment by DracorienWhy does this article consistently reference Vereesa's name as "Vareesa"?Comment by AeroziaSylvanas was supposed to go to Ardenweald The first thing we can gather from this story is Sylvanas was probably originally destined for Ardenweald. We already suspected Sylvanas's intended afterlife wasn't always the Maw, as the short story Edge of Night showed her remember catching a glimpse of a peaceful afterlife before Arthas ripped her soul back into her body.It will also be interesting to see if Sylvanas ever discovers just how much the Jailer has been manipulating her. And how she will react if she does.Comment by LautnerAwesome article. Buying the book from amazon right now!Comment by NzallWhy does this article consistently reference Vereesa's name as "Vareesa"?Comment by DiscordianKittyThanks for fixing this. Now, I don't want to seem even more like an ass, but I thought I'd do a quick search for "Var" and I found there also appears to be a place where you called Vereesa "Vareess", in the first paragraph about Sylvanas' lost shard of soul. I didn't notice it when I read the article the first time, but searching for it found it. Sorry for ruining your day even more.Comment by nosteam43

She wasnt made an undead though. She was made a banshee, she was never stuffed into a body. She later reclaimed her own body, after arthas left, she wasnt raised as a normal undead.Comment by NzallThanks for fixing this. Now, I don't want to seem even more like an ass, but I thought I'd do a quick search for "Var" and I found there also appears to be a place where you called Vereesa "Vareess", in the first paragraph about Sylvanas' lost shard of soul. I didn't notice it when I read the article the first time, but searching for it found it. Sorry for ruining your day even more.Comment by WikkitGreat article! There is some really juicy lore here, even tough it's a bit weird having it inside a book of fairy tales. Anyway, i guess such a story like this specific one won't be just meaningless, so it's fair to assume we could see another sister to sister talk at some point during the expansion, specially considering these facts:
1. It doesn't seem we are killing sylvanas in her raid encounter, so her story will continue. Without any huge buffs and with a mechanic that seems to limit our time to take her down in the last phase, it seems impossible to drop her from 70-80% to 0 health.
2. If we have to believe anduin, there's still a trace of sylvanas' mortal life hunting her. After watching her violent reaction to these words, we can assume he's right about this.
3. Sylvanas' love for vereesa is so strong it can even eclipse her darkest side, as we could watch in the three sisters comic, where she spared her and alleria after she heard vereesa apologising for not wanting to share her life as an undead, a glimer that lasted for just one moment, until they left.
At this point, it seems the banshee queen title fits her in the most literal of all aspects. Blizzard has turned her story into the most tragical in the game i'd say (if it wasn't before).Comment by EkkaGreat article! There is some really juicy lore here, even tough it's a bit weird having it inside a book of fairy tales. Anyway, i guess such a story like this specific one won't be just meaningless, so it's fair to assume we could see another sister to sister talk at some point during the expansion, specially considering these facts:
1. It doesn't seem we are killing sylvanas in her raid encounter, so her story will continue. Without any huge buffs and with a mechanic that seems to limit our time to take her down in the last phase, it seems impossible to drop her from 70-80% to 0 health.
2. If we have to believe anduin, there's still a trace of sylvanas' mortal life hunting her. After watching her violent reaction to these words, we can assume he's right about this.
3. Sylvanas' love for vereesa is so strong it can even eclipse her darkest side, as we could watch in the three sisters comic, where she spared her and alleria after she heard vereesa apologising for not wanting to share her life as an undead, a glimer that lasted for just one moment, until they left.
At this point, it seems the banshee queen title fits her in the most literal of all aspects. Blizzard has turned her story into the most tragical in the game i'd say (if it wasn't before).Comment by ValkyrstudiosSylvanas was supposed to go to Ardenweald The first thing we can gather from this story is Sylvanas was probably originally destined for Ardenweald. We already suspected Sylvanas's intended afterlife wasn't always the Maw, as the short story Edge of Night showed her remember catching a glimpse of a peaceful afterlife before Arthas ripped her soul back into her body.

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