Heroes and Villains Battle to Reach the Pillars of Eternity
There’s a lot going on in the next expansion for World of Warcraft that it’s kind of hard to keep track of it all. That definitely goes for the main characters who are heroic or evil, from this world or the next. These heroes and villains are at odds with each other and it’s pretty interesting to know why. I’ll be going over ten characters to keep an eye on that play a major role in the game. These aren’t the only characters to watch out for, but they’re ones you’ll be hearing about and seeing a lot of.
Illidan scouts Maiev as she hunts him down
Maiev Shadowsong
Maiev Shadowsong was just a young priestess of Elune when the War of the Ancients began. She followed her sisters, taking up arms against the Burning Legion. During that time, she was helpless as she watched all of her family and friends be slaughtered by the Legion.
The war ended and she had lost everything, only gaining a furious hatred of the Burning Legion and the magic they used. Arcane magic. She believed it created impending doom wherever it went.
Sometime after replacing Tyrande as High Priestess, Maiev was on an expedition to inspect Mount Hyjal and stumbled upon something horrible. Illidan Stormrage had created another Well of Eternity and demons were pouring into the world. During his capture, Illidan let out a blast of arcane energy that killed many and rendered her brother, Jarod Shadowsong, comatose.
She was horrified at the duplicate Well, vowing to never let Illidan see the light of day when he was captured. Her anger was like nothing before, now needing revenge for her brother as well as everyone else. Her hatred for Ilidan was added to everything as well.
She became his eternal jailer as well as leader of the Wardens. She also ran bounty hunter missions and acted as an assassin. While she was guarding the vault, Tyranade released him with hopes of getting him to fight the Legion.
Maiev wasn’t happy about this, knowing that Ilidan was more unstable than before. She finds him and kills him in the Black Temple, imprisoning his body to prevent his soul from ever finding peace. His last words hung with her and she agreed with them.
The hunter is nothing without the hunted. She felt a great loss of purpose but continued to guard his body. Now, the Burning Legion is back, Gul’dan has stolen Illidan’s body and tries to escape through his fel portal.
This doesn’t stop her from jumping into the portal after him. We don’t know where she is now, just that she has released the Illidari demon hunters to help against the Legion.
Xavius was punished to have this form forever
Xavius
The Night Elf Xavius was Queen Azshara’s High Councilor. He became obsessed with arcane magic and believed that Sargeras was a god sent to deliver Azeroth. He convinced Queen Azshara to have a portal to the Twisting Nether to let Sargeras through.
When he failed to bring his master to Azeroth, he was punished appropriately. After being made to live as a disembodied spirit for a while, Sargeras brought him back as a totally different being. His cloven hoofs, shaggy goat legs, razor-sharp claws, and long leonine tail became the characteristics of his satyr army.
Malfurion manages to kill him again as he did during the War of the Ancients. Now, he’s in the Emerald Nightmare trying to bring it into reality. He’s sworn to kill all those who put up a fight against the Burning Legion.
Anduin in Heroes of Warcraft artist: Wayne Reynolds
Anduin Wrynn
The son of Varian Wrynn is quite different from his father. Instead of following the warrior of Stormwind’s path, he wanted to be closer to the light. He is skilled with daggers, probably because of Valeera’s teachings while she was his bodyguard. He is a firm believer in diplomacy, wanting to do everything possible to come to an understanding before trying anything else. In this expansion, he will either have to compromise his beliefs or learn the hard way that some just can’t be reasoned with.
Tidemistress Athissa will do anything to serve her master
Tidemistress Athissa
Tidemistress Athissa’s devotion to Queen Azshara is unparalleled. She’s prepared to lead a massive naga force in attempt to find the Pillars of Creation. You will face her in Azsuna, where the ancient relic is rumored to be located.
Genn has to come to the aide of the Alliance and take more responsibility than ever before
Genn Greymane
The King of Gilneas has been in power for decades. He rules his walled kingdom with little help from the outside. As a ruler who’s used to making tough choices he built the wall to keep out petty conflicts.
He battles Sylvanas at some point in the beginning of Legion, near Stormheim. Why this happens is unclear but it puts the loose alliance between the factions in question.
The Underking has destroyed thousands of years of safe sanctuary
Dargrul the Underking
A drogbar leader, Dargrul the Underking has demolished the centuries long time of peace on Highmountain. The tauren and the drogbar are in chaos as he tries to take control of the zone.
After stealing the Hammer of Khaz’goroth he succeeds in breaking the peace. The hammer is an ancient, powerful artifact that belonging to the Highmountain tauren.
Khadgar has had such an impact on Azeroth, an herb is named after him
Khadgar
Khadgar is one of the most powerful magic-wielders to have ever existed. You explore Draenor with him by your side. This is only possible because he used magic to make the portal go there.
In Legion, he is searching for a way to reseal the Legion’s portal and stop them from succeeding in their plans. He believes that the combined forces of Azeroth will be the only way to stop the Legion.
Gul’dan from Draenor is causing mayhem once again
Gul’dan
This Gul’dan isn’t the same from expansions before. He’s the one from Draenor that planned to deliver our Azeroth’s world to the Legion. His plans were foiled by Garrosh, who convinced his father not to drink the blood of Mannoroth. This allowed Grommash to kill Mannoroth just like in the original timeline.
He was imprisoned by the Iron Horde to be released by the Alliance and the Horde as they came to stop the Iron Horde. He then decided to continue his corruption of the world and tries to offer the blood to Grommash again, who declined. Angry, Grommash decided to kill Gul’dan for poisoning his people. Gul’dan used his warlock magic to put Grommash down and took control of the Iron Horde.
He managed to summon Mannoroth and Archimonde the Defiler, but was sent into a portal by a dying Eredar. He then finds solace in the Broken Isles, stealing Illidan’s body and opening another gateway for the Legion to invade.
Sylvanas has always been a champion for the Horde
Sylvanas Windrunner
The Banshee Queen has every right to claim that title. She fought the scourge and died, losing her soul to the Lich King. Forced to serve him, she aided in the destruction of Silvermoon. She eventually broke free from his control and made her way to Lordaeron. After a failed assassination attempt on him, she switched her focus to taking Lordaeron for herself.
Now Queen of Undercity, she rules hoping that one day she can find freedom for her cursed people. In Burning Crusade, she took part in aiding the Blood Elves and convincing Thrall to let them join the Horde. Wrath of the Lich King gave her an opportunity to wreak vengeance on Arthas and in the process she has to retake her own city from demons.
She finally confronts the Lich King, not before the spirit of Uther Lightbringer spoke to her from Frostmourne. He told her that he Arthas could only be defeated in the place he was created, the Frozen Throne. He finally dies and Sylvanas is in some trouble for her actions during the war.
In Cataclysm she’s in the doghouse for those actions but doesn’t pay Garrosh much mind. When the change in leadership occurred in MoP she said that she respected him but held no loyalty towards him.
Now, in Legion, her future is in danger. She must fight to keep her soul and some heavy decisions will need to be made. The fates of her people and her own will converge; will she be able to choose her people over her own soul?
Illidan was cursed to have this appearance forever
Illidan Stormrage
Twin of Malfurion Stormrage, Illidan was different from his brother in many ways. He felt magic call to him in a different way, the druidic potential inside him untapped. He has aligned himself with Queen Azshara at the time.
When Sargeras invaded, Malfurion convinced Illidan to leave her, telling of her treachery. Regardless of this, Illidan admired the magical power of the Burning Legion and how it made them ferocious and have seemingly endless numbers. Xavius preyed on this and his distrust only grew.
He decided to seek out the Legion’s power and it didn’t help defeat them as he had hoped. He ended up delivering the Demon Soul to Sargeras before trying to steal it back. After learning about his brother and the love of his life, Tyrande, he continued to search for more power, convinced that all he needed was more to defeat the Legion.
Sargeras saw this, and admired his plan to get the Demon Soul, giving him a gift in return. His eyes were burned out and replaced with mystic fire. They allowed him to see all forms of magic and arcane tattoos covered his body.
After the sundering, he took the seven vials of water he had saved from the Well of Eternity to the peaks of Mount Hyjal. Creating a new well in a lake, he horrified Maiev and his brother when he was discovered. Malfurion failed in convincing his brother about the errors of his ways.
Illidan continued to insist that the magic would be necessary to defeat the Burning Legion. For this, he was ordered by Malfurion to be imprisoned underneath Mount Hyjal. For 10,000 years he spent every waking hour there.
Tyrande came to him when the Legion invaded again. His love for her was still strong, and he said yes when she asked him to help defeat the Legion. He promised to do so and to disappear from the night elves forever.
He grew too powerful, disgusting Malfurion once again. He banished him and after some time of moving around, settled in Outland.
The self-proclaimed Lord of Outland was defeated at the end of Burning Crusade. His body disappeared and is rumored to have been taken to the Vault of the Wardens once again. Maiev brought him there for his soul to suffer for eternity. She also locked away his Illidari, detesting the magic the creatures had submitted themselves to.
There are many more characters that are important to the plot of Legion. As complicated as the Warcraft universe can be, this list could go on forever. Keep an eye out for these characters while you travel throughout the Broken Isles and help or fight them.
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