World of Warcraft’s final patch for Shadowlands, titled “Eternity’s End,” is in the middle of its PTR season, and a vast array of information has trickled down from the hands of the leakers into the general public. With World of Warcraft’s population being in a bit of a slump, Blizzard Entertainment hopes to reclaim the interest of its customers by wrapping up the Shadowlands with an exciting finale, answering many of the questions that the players had concerning the direction of its story.
Posted on the official World of Warcraft YouTube channel, presumably to stay ahead of datamining, Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled a pre-rendered story cinematic under the name “Shattered Legacies” featuring Sylvanas Windrunner, a character whose fate and overall plotline has been the subject of heated debate ever since the launch of the previous expansion, Battle for Azeroth.
The cutscene focuses on the state of Sylvanas’ recently reunited, yet fragmented soul – a concept introduced in Shadowlands through Warcraft 3 icon Uther Lightbringer – as he informs Highlord Bolvar Fordragon and the former prisoners of Torghast that the Jailer has locked Sylvanas in a state of endlessly reliving her nightmares and trauma, seemingly unable to wake up.
The characters gathered around her unconscious body argue on whether the Banshee Queen even deserves to wake up, claiming that her actions are unforgivable, yet ultimately, a decision is made to attempt to wake the wayward Windrunner sister by Uther reaching out with the scar he and Sylvanas both share through Frostmourne, the blade that felled them.
After conversing with the former paladin mentor of Arthas Menethil, Sylvanas is presented with a choice – to doom the Warcraft universe through inaction or to face her past choices and help free Anduin from the Jailer’s domination magic. As she confronts her monstrous self, the two personalities merge, and in a musical parallel to the Legion scene where she is made Warchief of the Horde, the former Banshee Queen wakes – her eyes now blue.
The recent character arc of Sylvanas Windrunner has left longtime players of the game conflicted, who feel that the redemption story she has been thrust upon is forced, and that the character is undeserving of redemption, especially after the numerous atrocities, war crimes, and acts of genocide she has gleefully committed in Battle for Azeroth.
Coupled with all the other recent leaks regarding “Eternity’s End”, signs seem to point towards Sylvanas reclaiming her persona of Ranger General and embarking on a search for Nathanos, the man she loves, as his soul still remains lost somewhere in the deepest hells of the Maw.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC.