I didn’t know about this one, it seems that it was removed at Cataclysm.
My best guess is that it was removed to fit the new origin of the worgens.
But was its content retconned? I don’t know.
You can see this Vanilla model in Northrend so yes.
But they are still “wolfmen”, not an indescribable distorted creature.
Your take on the Emerald nightmare could be an explanation: A potential opening spreading its dark magic like a disease.
Even if there is no recording of a resurgence of the Emerald Nightmare between - 4500 and WoW, i bet that it’s far easier for the Emerald Nightmare to have a rift opened than summoning the worgens.
It was a quest item that Horde had for vanilla SFK. It got removed due to SFK being updated to act as the true finale for Cata Silverpine Forest questing.
I doubt it was because the Worgen origins got changed. Given that it is still canon that Arugal based his research into the Worgen from Ur’s research. And even then, the changes are minimal. The “world” Ur said the Worgen came from is never given a name. Only that it was a place of nightmares. The Emerald Dream, and thus the Emerald Nightmare could have easily filled in that vague description. Plus the woods in Gilneas are kinda nightmarey imo.
Keep in mind that this is a story passed down generations. Who knows how many changes, alternations etc were done. I mean how long was it before the legend was even written down?
I would say the description of the creatures being “contorted” when they breached Thoradins wall could have been one of these descriptions that was added in for dramatic flavour by the in universe author. Or when it was written down, the visual description of the creatures got changed over time. I mean I don’t think anyone expected Thoradins wall to be breached. The Trolls couldn’t do it. So surely these “vicious beasts” couldn’t as well. To maybe the in-universe author referred to them as contorted because it felt impossible to do and the only reason why it happened is because they are “not of this world” so to speak.
This is the thing about legends, in real life and in in-universe fiction, got to take things with a grain of salt. Never know what is true and what is actual fiction, aka “fluffing up the myth”.
If people were being infected, than technically they would be Distorted. As their original human forms were being twisted into an apparently monstrous new form.
To be fair we don’t know how many feral worgen are left, I mean when you think about it in Cata the Gilneans go to Duskwood to help the feral worgen there, that was Year 28 in lore, and then in BfA for the Worgen Heritage Questline, which takes place in Year 34 so 6 years later, they are still trying to help the feral worgen there. And that’s not accounting for however many feral worgen are in Gilneas/Hillsbrad/Silverpine forest who stayed behind and didn’t flee to Teldrassil to do the ritual there.
So with feral worgen around it’s always possible that the worgen curse can continue to spread as they bite people.
But overall, I agree that in theory in about 50-60 years all worgen will be dead and gone, which sucks. Unless Blizzard comes out and says worgen age slower, or are immortal they are gonna die out.
Well, considering the writers behaviour regarding the worgen community, they will be more than happy to tell you that your race will be extinct at the next generation if they can, just for the sake to anger us.
The won’t remove the curse, because the Worgen are. playable race. Doesn’t matter anyway because the curse has been nerfed to just being a shapechange ability.
I’m pretty sure any worgen that has not undergone the ritual is considered a feral worgen. Not all feral worgen are mindless beasts, like the player in the starting zone before being captured, the worgen we see in Northrend, or the Bloodfang pack, or the Talonbranch ones in Felwood. None of them did the ritual and thus would be considered feral.
That I’ll blame on the fact it was presented like a transmittable disease instead of a turn-the-Chimer-into-Dunmer curse. Of course, going that route means you have to ignore real-world werewolf lore, which was used as the foundation for playable worgen.