On May 30th Blizzard released the first of three excerpts to promote the new World of Warcraft novel Before the Storm by Christie Golden that is set to come out on June 12th. The book details the events leading up to the release of Battle for Azeroth(BfA), the upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft. The first excerpt contains a letter that now King Anduin Llane Wrynn wrote to the new Warchief of the Horde, Queen Sylvanas Windrunner. The contents of this letter promise some interesting character development.
As the two factions turn their attention to rebuilding and moving forward, the old hostilities between them are lurking just below the surface. These hostilities are brought to the forefront with the discovery of a new and strange substance that seems to have power, called Azerite. This substance appeared after the wounding of Azeroth as the final act of Argus before his death. As both sides discover this resource and start unlocking its power, it becomes apparent that this could shift the balance of power between the two factions and has both sides diverting resources to take part in a kind of arms race.
Anduins letter is a plea for a day of peace between the two factions under close control to unite families that were separated by the atrocities that Arthus enacted on the people of Azeroth with his amassment of undead stooges. In many ways, this letter seems to embody the Anduin we knew in Mists of Pandaria that was all about peace and ending the fighting between the Alliance and Horde. He also pleads that the two factions should combine their efforts in studying Azerite to try to heal Azeroth instead of finding new and more creative ways to wage war against each other. It is obvious that Anduin is worried what Sylvanas will do with this new found power, and he has good reason. While the hostility between the Alliance and Horde has always been fierce and bitter, with the Undead it is also personal. Many of those that make up the ranks of Undead were once part of the Alliance, having been brought back from the grave. That means they have family and friends that are still part of the Alliance. Also, at the birth of the Undead, as they were trying to find their place in the world, they approached the Alliance in the hopes of joining them and finding a safe haven. Sadly, in fear and horror, the Alliance turned them away, not realizing that for all intents and purposes the undead were still the people they had been in life. This sent the Undead to the only other major power on Azeroth: the Horde, a fact I’m sure Sylvanas and the Undead have not forgotten.
If you read the letter through you will find something that might surprise you. Anduin is not quite as happy-go-lucky as he was at one time. It seems that the events leading up to and including the death of his father, as well as becoming king and having to worry about the interests of his people, gave him some backbone. He warns Sylvanas that if anything untoward happens to his people, or if she takes advantage of this opportunity to bring any harm to the Alliance, he will act in kind. He also points out that this is not a plea for lasting peace between the two factions. Anduin is growing in ways that I certainly never expected.
It’s not clear how things will play out leading up to the release of BfA, but what is clear is that Anduin is growing by leaps and bounds as a character, as is appropriate after the death of King Varian Ween making room on the stage for Anduin to shine. I feel like watching Anduin struggle through the early days of his time as king will be rewarding and interesting to say the least.
