The final chapter in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands - Eternity’s End - launched today, and with it came the conclusion of the majority of the Shadowlands storyline. The chapter titled Starting Over tasks players with creating a new Arbiter to judge the souls of the dead. The covenants of the Shadowlands were assembled, and they marched on the Crypts of the Eternal. After much fighting, including a battle against the soul of Argus, Pelagos took it upon himself to become the new Arbiter, and the Shadowlands were restored.
The story of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is almost at an end, but there is one final chapter that has been clouded in secrecy, set to be released next week. Titled Judgement, it will serve as an epilogue to the larger story arc at play and answer questions that still linger, mainly the fate of Sylvanas Windrunner. The Shadowlands story has been rife with controversy and criticism, but next week the story will officially come to a close and Blizzard will be focused on preparing for the ninth expansion. Little is known about how exactly this story will conclude, and there are many ways it could go.
The Heroes of Azeroth Escape the Shadowlands and Move On
The Arbiter has been restored, and the Jailer has been defeated. One ending that perhaps the majority of players have been hoping for would see the heroes of Azeroth turn to their Shadowlands brethren and say their goodbyes, then enter a portal back to Azeroth and close it behind them. The Shadowlands are left to their own devises and the factions of Azeroth move on to other threats. Not many people talk about the year they ventured into the world of the dead, and the story of World of Warcraft moves on.
The Shadowlands story has garnered criticism throughout its run due to retcons and a villain who was seen as severely lacking. Players have wanted to return to Azeroth for a long time and forget that this story ever occurred, and maybe Blizzard will deliver on that. More likely, it will introduce a new big villain and reference the Shadowlands throughout its next expansion; even if players would rather it is forgotten.
The Heroes Wake Up from N’Zoth’s Dream
At the end of Battle for Azeroth, players fought and defeated the old god N’Zoth. He had been manipulating certain characters behind the scenes, and had caused others to go crazy through visions. Alongside him came the introductions of Horrific Visions; dark and corrupted versions of Azeroth that N’Zoth used to twist mortal minds in hopes that they would serve him. Players seemingly beat him with a laser shot forth from the Heart of Azeroth, but there has been a popular fan theory that maybe players failed to defeat him.
One of N’Zoth’s defining traits is his love of corrupting and imprisoning the minds of mortals. Some players have theorized that maybe the entire story of Shadowlands was merely a vision created by N’Zoth to torture and distract the heroes of Azeroth. While they were all subdued in his vision, he took the time to corrupt much of Azeroth and bend it to his will. When the heroes eventually leave Shadowlands, maybe they will uncover an Azeroth that they do not recognize the land they started in. This would give players a reason to seek out new allies like the dragonflights and give Blizzard a good justification for another world revamp like in Cataclysm.
The Real Jailer is Revealed
As players prepare to leave the Shadowlands in the hands of Pelagos, they could hear a sinister laugh coming from the Arbiter’s chambers. Perhaps they spent time clearing out Zereth Mortis, uniting the covenants, and defeating the Jailer’s forces for naught. Everything that the player did was actually to fulfill the Jailer’s plan, not defeating Zovaal but The Primus; the creator of domination magic. The entire time he was biding his time in the shadows, waiting until the players took out Zovaal and revived the Arbiter so he could enact his master plan.
Little is known about The Primus or his motivations, as players spent the entire beginning of Shadowlands using him to create legendary items and only learned he was The Primus in 9.1 Chains of Domination. Players helped him gather all the covenant sigils, and he has been instrumental in stopping the Jailer. During the end cinematic for Sepulcher of the First ones, The Primus was the only Eternal One not shown, he was simply a shadow looming over Zovaal as the Eternal Ones banished him. Having him be the true villain the entire time would be an intriguing plot twist that could recontextualize everything that the players had done up until that point, and it would provide one last boss to kill before leaving the Shadowlands forever.
Sylvanas Will Be Exiled
One of the biggest questions that is lingering in the minds of players is the fate of Sylvanas Windrunner. She was responsible for the burning of Teldrassil, and she was the one who broke the veil of death that led to the events of Shadowlands. Some players are begging for her downfall while others would rather she be exiled. Some fear that Blizzard will choose to redeem her instead. The epilogue chapter will most likely focus on this decision since it is called Judgment, and more signs point to her redemption or exile than they do her downfall.
The Horde would never allow Sylvanas to lead them again, and the Forsaken currently have Lillian Voss as their leader, with many players believing that Calia Menthil may claim that title. That leaves Sylvanas with nothing to lead, and thus she may be exiled until Blizzard has use for her again. It did the same thing with Thrall, who was in self-induced exile until Battle for Azeroth. Maybe Sylvanas will spend some time in Quel’Thalas reconnecting with herself now that she has her entire soul back, or maybe she will spend years in Northrend monitoring the undead scourge.
The ending of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is fast approaching, with the final chapter hitting servers on March 29. This chapter has been clouded in secrecy, as it was never available on the PTR, and thus players have no idea what the ending will be. Either Blizzard has some huge twist coming that will fix many of the criticisms of Shadowlands’ story, or it just wanted more time to get the ending right.
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