So over the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about 12.1 and what the story could be. I’ve posted some of my thoughts on places like Twitter and even here across various threads but I wanted to combine them all here in a singular thread.
It is most likely that 12.1 will take us to Atal’Utek, the island east of Zul’Aman. After all, there was a warlock tier set that was datamined during the beta with the file name, ‘RaidWarlockUlatek’. During early TWW a similar situation occurred where an offhand from a future raid was datamined. In that case, it foreshadowed the release of Liberation of Undermine, as the file name included ‘goblin raid’. Therefore there is history to assume that the datamined warlock set from Midnight’s beta is hinting towards what 12.1 will be.
https://www.icy-veins.com/wow/news/war-withins-next-big-update-leaked-details-on-rootlands-and-goblin-ethereal-raids/
https://www.wowhead.com/news/patch-12-1-raid-teased-new-tier-set-icons-on-midnight-alpha-379055
I don’t really need to state the following but I am doing to do it anyway. With the island called ‘Atal’Utek’ and the datamined warlock set, it appears that Blizzard is going to be introducing Ula’tek back into the lore. For those who don’t know. Ula’tek was a snake Loa of the Amani from the old RPG books. These books were considered part of the canon until 2011. Where in the second round of Cdev Q&A, Blizzard said the following,
Q: Are the Warcraft and World of Warcraft RPG books considered canon?
A: No. The RPG books were created to provide an engaging table-top role-playing experience, which sometimes required diverging from the established video game canon. Blizzard helped generate a great deal of the content within the RPG books, so there will be times when ideas from the RPG will make their way into the game and official lore, but you are much better off considering the RPG books non-canonical unless otherwise stated.
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Warcraft_RPG
And Blizzard has since began reintroducing characters from the RPG books back into canon. Probably the most well known example was Tandred Proudmoore in BFA. They even made a little reference to that fact, at the expense of the Red Shirt Guy :P. Given the snake theming seen on the island from those who have managed to gain access to it, such as Rextroy via the Windrunner Spire dungeon, it seems that Ula’tek is going to be made canon once again.
So what does this mean? From the reintroduced “The Rulers of Zul’Aman” lore tablet, it states that Kith’ix, the C’thraxxi that began the war between the Trolls and the Aqir was killed in what would become Zul’Aman (we actually knew this from Chronicles vol 1), more specifically, the island that is now known as Atal’Utek.
Even so, their armies dispatched Kith’ix. The Amani cleansed the aqir from the land and created the vast Atal’Utek as a monument to their great battle but forbade entrance to its temple.
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/The_Rulers_of_Zul%27Aman
In Zandali, the language of the Trolls, Atal seems to mean ‘devoted to’. As seen in other locations, such as the Temple of Atal’hakkar (aka The Sunken Temple) Given that Kith’ix was buried where the temple of Atal’Utek now stands, it implies that Ula’tek had a hand in Kith’ixs’ demise. Much like how Sethraliss (another snake loa btw) defeated Mythrax in Vol’dun. However Ula’tek has been forgotten to time. Most likely stayed behind to ensure Kith’ix never rose from the dead, as we have seen with other C’thraxxi. Such as the aforementioned Mythrax. I say this because of the debuff you get if you try and get to Atal’utek currently in the ‘open world’. Clearly the powers that be do no want anyone going to the island.
It has long been speculated that Kith’ix is going to be a chekhov’s gun of sorts and with a trail of ‘void activity’ ending near Zul’Aman that was reported back in the Dark Heart quest line at the end of Dragonflight, it seemed like Blizzard was going to be firing that gun sometime soon. And with the Twilights Blade invading Zul’Aman in Midnight, we might be getting close to that.
Riftwalker Orlis says: Not much to report, I’m afraid.
Riftwalker Orlis says: I sensed activity to the north of the continent, but the trail went cold near Zul’Aman.
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Riftwalker_Reports
It is my belief that the Twilight’s Blade will seek to resurrect Kith’ix as a means to keep us occupied while Xal’atath does her thing that involves the ley lines. However there is another enemy faction to factor in and this one… might be worse than some cultists seeking to resurrect some C’thraxxi. I speak of the Vilebranch. Which I feel will be the main threat of the patch.
The Vilebranch have always been an antagonistic faction to both the Alliance and the Horde as far back as Vanilla. Back then they were shown to have worshiped Shadra and worse, Hakkar the Soulflayer. Then in patch 2.3, Malacraas, who has been retroactively made a member of the Vilebranch, convinced Zul’jin to chain up the Amani’s four main Loa and infuse their power into the Amani’s champions, one of which was Zul’jins own son. Both Malacrass and Zul’jin were defeated, but as stated by the Rulers of Zul’aman tablet, Malacrass’ body was never recovered. There is no mention of his appearance in Cataclysm, so we can assume that Blizzard does not consider that to be canon, although Dakaara is.
Furious at the Horde for allowing his hated enemies, the blood elves, to join its ranks, he eagerly embraced a scheme that the witch doctor Malacrass recently proposed: to seal the power of the animal gods within the bodies of the Amani’s strongest warriors.
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Patch_2.3.0
Our warlord has died. Malacrass’s body has not been recovered, and his only heir, Man’ye, the Aspect of Akil’zon, has died as well.
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/The_Rulers_of_Zul%27Aman
Now let us fast forward to Midnight. The actions of Zul’jin and Malacrass left the four main Loa of the Amani rightously angry with the Amani. To the point that they cut themselves off from their subjects. Did not help that Jan’aii, the Dragonhawk Loa was killed because of the schemes of the former Warlord and his Hex Priest.
Unlike the other tribes of the Amani, the Vilebranch refused to unite into the one people again, under Zul’jarra. Instead they began kidnapping Witherbark trolls and sacificing them to fuel some undead monster. And just as foul, they even stole one of the relics that are key to resurrecting Shadra (fun fact, these are the same relics we used back in vanilla to summon the spider loa). But they did not do this for the glory of their spider god, no no no. They did it to ensure her resurrection happened under their watch so they could subjugate her.
And this is not the only case. In the twilight crypt delve, we see the Vilebranch use their vile “hex magic” to try and subjugate the Loa of Pestilence. Likewise in an Atal’Aman delve story with the Eagle Loa. And a different Atal’Aman story variant has them murdering Furbolg to try and empower one of their own into an Avatar of Nalarrok.
But why are the Vilebranch doing this? This is my theory. Following in Malacrass’ footsteps, either metaphorically or maybe… literally (no body = no death remember :P), the Vilebranch seek to claim their Loa’s powers through force instead of worship. This would explain their efforts in the delves, but what about the Miasara Caverns dungeon? In the dungeon we see what appears to be an ancient set of ruins with a mural of what appears to be Mueh’zala (or maybe Bwonsamdi, but I am leaning towards the Father of Sleep) and within that mural is a portal of some kind. I believe that portal is an ancient gateway to De Other Side, one that Bwonsamdi might not know about. Remember, De Other Side used to be Mueh’zala’s realm until Bwonsamdi swindled him out of a job. So who knows how many secret gateways there are.
But where am I going with this? It is my theory that the final boss in the dungeon was not going to be unleashed on Zul’Aman, but on Bwonsamdi. In an effort to free Mueh’zala. The hex magic and the undead constructs they use are very Mueh’zala coded in my opinion. Right down to using hex powered totems to bind or even subjugate Loa. Just like Mueh’zala did during the, De Other Side dungeon to Bwonsamdi. And Mueh’zala does have a history of swaying Loa to his side, as seen in the Night Fae covenant campaign.
With these efforts stopped by the players, I suspect that the Vilebranch will try and subjugate Ula’tek and maybe even partner up with the Twilights Blade in an alliance of convenience. Much like how Iridikron and the Infinite Dragonflight did back in Dragonflight. If Ula’tek is guarding Kith’ixs’ corpse, then the Twilight Blade would have a vested interest in seeing her disposed of. Either dead or otherwise. And with how much Malacrass has been mentioned, let alone having his fate being up in the air, I suspect he will return in 12.1 as the patches main antagonist. I suspect that Ula’tek will be a raid boss due to the Vilebranchs schemes, not because she is inherently evil and that is why she was ‘locked away’ on Atal’utek. It should be noted that in some of the videos exploring Atal’Utek, there does appear to be an area with some undead theming going on. Just keep that in mind.
If my theory about Bwonsamdi and Mueh’zala does end up being true, it would be a way to bring in Queen Talanji into the story. As she is Bwonsamdi’s high priestess and he is the Loa of Kings. So any threat to him is a threat to her. They are still bonded after all. However the Amani and the Zandalari have bad blood in their history. As such some may not feel okay with the Zandalari sovereign coming to their lands. However, I feel this could be a way to begin the process of mending those wounds. Even more so with Liadrin being on good terms with Zul’jarra. She can act as a character witness to both Talanji and Zul’jarra.
But there is one more person I have yet to talk about. The brother elephant in the room, Zul’jan. Zul’jan is a character that does not fully trust the Loa. Even after the events of the leveling MSQ, he still has a fear that they would abandon them again. It is not a matter of if, only when. As such he feels lost and confused. For now he will follow his sisters lead, as she is Hash’ey but with him looking out to Atal’utek at the end of the leveling MSQ, one has to wonder what is next for his story. Will be betray his sister or will he stay by her side? And this is where I hope Blizzard takes his story. Have him become the speaker, and champion of Ula’tek. The Amani who feels like he has been forgotten by the Loa and the Loa that seems to have been forgotten by the Amani.
In conclusion, the Twilights Blade will try and resurrect Kith’ix, most likely succeeding. The Vilebranch will seek to use their Hex Magic to try and subjugate Ula’tek in their schemes to free Mueh’zala from Bwonsamdi. Ula’tek will become canon once again and is guarding Kith’ix’s corpse. She knows about the Twilights Blades plans and as such placed a ward around the island, preventing anyone from getting access. Oh and… somehow Malacrass returned.