World of Warcraft: Folks & Fairy Tales of Azeroth is a collection of short stories that tell tales, myths, and legends about Azeroth. The book features WoW celebrities as well as supporting characters like Veresa Windrunner. A reader has taken a closer look to the story "Sister Is Another Word for Always" in which Sylvanas’ little sister embarks upon a dream trip to the Shadowlands. He has also provided some exciting details in a brief excerpt from the book.
WoW Lore: Can Sylvanas Still Be Saved? A new short story offers hope (1) Source: buffed It seemed to be a small fragment of her, a sliver, dancing with light. A tiny baby mithril-head trout, her knowing eyes staring at me, nuzzling my wolf-fur. The mist dripped down into the mire and seeped into the pelt. This trial was worth every bit of her.
The fish fragment shimmered in my hood and then it was her all, standing tall as ever, poised as though to run on the edge a land that is hostile to her nature. Her golden hair in a long braid, and her gray
Veresa's Journey into the Maw
Veresa Windrunner, Sylvanas' little sister, is Veresa. Source: Blizzard. The story's plot is summarized by the reader. Veressa travels to the Maw in her dream. She searches for Sylvanas but ends up finding her soul. Only a small part of Sylvanas soul remains. Veresa attempts to save the little bit of her sister's soul and confronts her jailer in her dream. She claims that she wants to bring her sister's soul back home to Azeroth, the realm of the living. The dungeon master replied that it was only a small part of Sylvanas.
They are back! These few lines are crucial to the story of World of Warcraft. This excerpt confirms a fan theory that Sylvanas died the same way as Uther and that Frostmourne stole her soul.
"But was it really her soul?" It seemed to be a small fragment of her soul that danced with the light. "
Frostmourne was one of Frostmourne’s first victims. The Runeblade ripped his soul apart, making him a puppet for the dungeon master. Source: Blizzard We've heard of soul fragments before. Afterlife: Bastion shows Frostmourne ripping Uther’s soul to pieces and absorbing a part of it. The other soul fragment flees to Shadowlands where it awaits the verdict. Uther, who was unable to discern between justice and vengeance after his violent death and inner conflict, took a dangerous path in this afterlife. We help Uther overcome his traumas and vengefulness and find a chamber in Torghast that holds more Soul Fragments - all victims to Frostmourne. Patch 9.1
Sylvanas was also among the many victims of the Third War. She too lost her life fighting for the Scourge. No trace of her soul fragment was found in the Maw (as per the test server). The jailer has his personal collection of the dismembered souls found in Torghast. They are Frostmourne's personal collection and serve as a link to the other side of the soul. This allowed him to indirectly affect the fate of his victims. Uther and his spurned, unwittingly, prepared a way to freedom for the prisoner.
The Banshee Queen's grudge...
Frostmourne also ripped Sylvanas' soul apart, turning her into a vengeful Banshee. Source: Blizzard Does the Dungeon Masters also possess a piece of Sylvanas’ soul? What does this mean for Sylvanas? We have already speculated about why Sylvanas ended-up in the Maw following her suicide at the end WotLK. Sylvanas, a Ranger General was a shining hero who gave her life for her people. She sought eternal peace after Arthas's death, but she ended up in hell. This was a terrible turn of events, if you consider her moral standards. The short film Warbringer: Sylvanas shows that the Banshee Queen refers to her former self in the short film as a "fool". This bitterness is not accidental. For a moment, imagine yourself in her shoes. Sylvanas gave up everything and was punished with eternal damnation.
Her anger is understandable. We are not happy with the story because Sylvanas completely ignores the jailer and his role in her sad story. Why isn't the Banshee queen able to see Zovaal (the jailer) as the true string-puller who caused her personal and many other tragedies? Or does she not care? Lore fans are having a difficult time understanding the story of the Banshee queen. We still don't understand why Sylvanas follows the Dungeon Master so blindly. This blatant twist doesn't match the image of passionate Sylvanas that we love Warcraft 3.
Last Chance at Redemption
Prophetic Cover: The cover of "Sylvanas", the new novel, shows the two sides to the Banshee queen. Is the Ranger General's image a clue to her missing soul fragment? Source: Blizzard Perhaps the soul fragment Veresa finds at the Maw could be the key to the great mystery surrounding Banshee Queen in Shadowlands. Sylvanas' split soul might even be the easiest solution to her complicated story. Frostmourne has given the dungeon master a lot of soul fragments. It makes sense that he also holds Sylvanas’ second soul shard. This is how he was capable of sneaking Sylvanas past a judge at WotLK and dragging her straight into the maw. Zovaal laced Sylvanas with all manner of lies about a world where noble souls are punished, and villains are saved. This world order is what the jailer sees as his own victim. It doesn't matter that he conceals or glosses over the reasons for his punishment. Sylvanas, without her second (good) soul fragment is ineligible, which means she cannot question the jailer’s goals. Frostmourne was Zovaal's attempt to take Sylvanas's personality and make her a puppet.
We must remember that the Banshee queen is part of the same generation of puppets that caused the Jailer so much trouble. He has not missed Sylvana's doubting looks. Anduin also saw the doubts of the Banshee Queen and held a mirror to her in Torghast. Sylvanas has in essence accomplished her mission and Zovaal now has a servant in Anduin that can't doubt his goals. She will have accomplished her mission once the Dark Princess opens Oribos' gates for the dungeon master. He doesn't care what price Sylvanas must bear to be free.
We know that Sylvanas will be our final boss enemy in Sanctum of Domination raid. We don't know if we will kill the Banshee queen or if she will be able escape. There is still hope for Dark Princess even in her death. It is possible that we will team up with Veresa, her sister, to retrieve Sylvanas' missing soul fragment from The Maw. We can save at least the part of Sylvanas tied to the good memories and brave Ranger General by doing so.
Redemption stories - yay, nay?
Is Sylvanas really following the prisoner's free will? Or is the villain planning to control Sylvanas' fate? Source: Blizzard While this Redemption story isn't for everyone, many Lore fans find the Soul Fragment resolution confusing. Sylvanas fans love her because she has always been a mysterious character. This story raises the question of whether we are dealing with the real Sylvanas or just her evil image. The authors discredit all Sylvanas' character traits and deeds that were admired and liked by her fans.
We can see how Uther's story in Shadowlands shows that the idea of a torn spirit causes more confusion than understanding. Most players can't connect Uther’s spirit in WotLK and Uther’s likeness in Shadowlands. The second important question is: What value do these shady characters, which we love so much, still have after they're washed with Retcons or Redemption stories? It sounds like a happy ending when Sylvanas is reunited with her soul fragments, and then her redeemed spirit blissfully wanders off. This storyline makes Sylvanas seem like a forced plot and makes her a trivial character who fell in love with a villain.
What do you think about Veresa's short story, guys? Is the ending with the soul fragments, and Sylvanas' redemption a good one? Would you prefer a different ending to her story?