Back in His Shoes

I'm warming up to this little ghost kid. Next he sends me to find...a rock. Well whatever. I'm back in Arthas' shoes, this time recreating the culmination of the prince's trek to the Frozen Throne. Yes that's right, his duel with Illidan. It's pretty much as quick and anticlimactic as it was in WC3 too, but still cool. For those who don't know, Illidan was charged by Kil'jaeden to destroy the Frozen Throne while Arthas was away, making it vulnerable. Arthas raced back to Northrend and the duel ensued in the final battle. The result is Illidan totally losing it (yes, he was sane prior to his loss) and Arthas fusing with Ner'zhul to become the Lich King.

This quest also introduced an interesting little snippet of lore. Apparently Arthas cut his own heart out and threw it down that random pit of doom so he would be truly remorseless and evil... a little unusual crossing the physiological heart with one's 'spirit', 'soul', or 'goodness'.

People are speculating that after you defeat Arthas he gets 'redeemed' and you destroy the Lich King... I thought it was possible but when you cut out your own heart, I think redemption would be a little tough.

Another rumor that I think is ridiculous is that Illidan will come back to fight Arthas. I guess it's based on the concept that Kael'thas randomly returned after being 'killed' in Tempest Keep. I guess what people forget is that after you hand in Kael'thas' quest item in Shattrath, he shouts how he isn't really dead. He didn't just randomly appear again.

Silence descends upon Shattrath
A'dal's thoughts invade your mind
Kael'thas Sunstrider has been defeated by and (his/her) allies
The time to strike at the remaining blood elves of Tempest Keep is now. Take arms and let A'dal's song of battle empower you!
Kael'thas Sunstrider yells: Your monkeys failed to finish the job, naaru! Beaten but alive... The same mistake was not made when we took command of your vessel.
Kael'thas Sunstrider yells: All for what? Trinkets? You are too late. The preparations have already begun. Soon the master will make his return.
Kael'thas Sunstrider yells: And there is nothing you or that fool, Illidan, can do to stop me! You have both served me in your own right - unwittingly.
Kael'thas Sunstrider yells: Lay down your arms and succumb to the might of Kil'jaeden!

While Illidan makes it pretty clear that he's dead, at least in my eyes.

Maiev: It is finished. You are beaten.
Illidan: You have won...Maiev. But the huntress...is nothing without the hunt. You...are nothing...without me.
Maiev: He's right. I feel nothing. I am nothing. Farewell, champions.
Akama: The Light will fill these dismal halls once again. I swear it.

Illidan was awesome, my favorite hero in WC3, but face it. He's dead. He's not gonna be a good guy, a tragic hero, or anything like that. He was a tragic hero when he became a demon hunter, embracing the Burning Legion's own power to use against them. He was shunned by his people, becoming The Betrayer. He helped again a little bit teaming up with Malfurion afterward he became a bad guy. Then he became insane. Then he became dead.

Edit: Hah! Knew it!

World of Lovecraft (Not That Kind of Lovecraft)

So I was strolling through Icecrown, fighting the good fight. During one of my forays into a tunnel I happened to blow myself up. The kersplosion blasted me into an extremely conveniently placed deep pit of glowing green abyss, with an even more convenient pool at the bottom. After a nice swim, I surface to find myself surrounded by the most curious beasts. The faceless ones. Weren't they stuff of legend? A nighttime tale? Oh wait... there was that one guy in Ahn'kahet, and another in some other cave in Icecrown... ah whatever. So they're real. Spooky.

If you played Warcraft III (which you should have) these guys may be vaguely familiar. There were a couple missions as Arthas who, along with Anub'arak ran into these baddies on their way to the Frozen Throne and ultimately fought a Forgotten One. Remember C'thun? He's one of them... well sorta, not really. C'thun's an Old God, so the Forgotten Ones are kinda avatars, or maybe C'thun was an avatar of an Old God... it's really all confusing. But these have popped up elsewhere too. You may remember back in Shadowmoon Valley, the Arakkoa were summoning another, either a forgotten one or Old God.

But I'm rambling... either way this is probably showing portents of a true Old God. I believe back when WotLK was recently announced, they said that there would be the first Old God in the game. Maybe when they bring Arthas in. Hopefully they flesh out this bit of lore a good amount, I find it quite interesting.

Of course all of this is based on some of the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Hopefully you've read him, you better have at least heard of him. I certainly recommend reading all of his short stories. They aren't easy reads; many are pretty long and his writing style was considered very old fashioned for his time, back around the turn of the century (that other turn of the century, the older one).

A whole lot has been influenced by Lovecraft in World of Warcraft. Everyone's favorite frog-thing, Murlocs are based on one of his stories. Many old world quests, at least Alliance ones are based on his not so supernatural stories, many dealing in undeath and lots of death. It's all good stuff. You can probably find a volume of most, if not all of his short stories at any library, so go do that.

That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons, even death may die.