The issue here is that you’re trying to make sense of something that is completely nonsensical.
The sentence below this is true. The sentence above this is false.
When you have a blatant inconsistency it doesn’t matter how much you try to rationalize it, it’s still a blatant inconsistency. The best way to get around it is to throw something like “There’s a reason for this but the writers and game developers chose to not include it because of reasons they also chose to not share with us” which is the same as saying “because… and let’s just not think about it”
End of the day the reason their there is because they needed things you could kill for skinning and meat. Anything beyond that is trying to rationalize Danuser’s writing, and that proves impossible to do over and over again.
I mean…is anyone who ‘travelled’ from Azeroth to the Shadowlands without actually dying considered to be dead simply by being there or are they still living? Like our characters for example. If we’re still considered to be ‘alive’ while in the Shadowlands (and I know it gets weird for gameplay purposes, but our characters actually do exist as lore figures as well), I don’t see why the various flora and fauna couldn’t be alive in the same way as us.
What’s worse is that in the shadowlands exist creatures labeled as “undead”. did they die, get chosen by a covenant, die again and get raised?
Controversial opinion, but the more i think about it the more i realize the writers didn’t think any of this through.
It could just require altering your perspective a bit as well. Like I said, I don’t think everything in the Shadowlands is necessarily ‘dead’ or had to ‘die’ to get there. After all, again, there’re characters there who’re obviously not dead (like our own characters), so that means it’s possible to just get there via magical means without having to die first. Just like it’s possible to travel through time or even to alternate universes, the same could apply to the Shadowlands. Just think of it as another world/plane of existence rather than ‘if you’re here that means you’re dead’!
Honestly it was so stupid to essentially make souls ‘mortal’ in the Shadowlands.
They should have had it that they can be bound, or if ‘slain’ they’d take years, sometimes eons to reform - Sort of like the beings of Tartarus in the Percy Jackson books.
I was hoping they’d reveal Shadowlands is the ‘Inbetween’ realm that each of the zones protects and plays a major role in preventing the physical realm from interfering or harnessing the powers of death - or playing a role that dabbles in the cycle of the physical realm. It’d be much more cleaner storytelling that way too / more potential to expand.
Venthyr (Revendreth) helps those finds there way or penance, so they may go to where they truly belong – beyond the Shadowlands.
Night Fae (Ardenweald) play the role in rebirth to the physical plane.
Kyrian (Bastion) help guide & collect noble souls so they may not be twisted into undeath, and they may play a part that resonates with their persona.
Necrolords (Maldraxxus) helps protect the Shadowlands, the inbetween realm - So order can be maintained, and prevent those who seek to abuse its power.
Upon that – Add a conspiracy guarded by the Eternals within the Shadowlands — That the souls that ‘perished’ in the Shadowlands, or ones that went missing after masterful servitude whom desired to retire - were passed on beyond the Shadowlands. To the afterlife of which one cannot return to the Shadowlands but only glimpse, or simply be reincarnated as a humble being back into the physical plane — Depending on the soul. Then also state some souls do not require to be brought into the Shadowlands for a stay - but go right through the doors of said-afterlife (Explaining why we didn’t see a few notable characters we desired to see).
As for the further potential I spoke of - Using this we could bring Ursoc back with a questline
The stated above would provide an incentive to those who preach of the ‘True cycle’ – and also add in lore opportunities - For instance: Finding out Ursoc was reincarnated back into Azeroth; but without the powers of a wild god or most of his memory (merely flashes and strange dreams) – but still retaining his great persona & heroism.
Imagine getting a quest from Ursol who discovered this truth kept from all by the Eternals, and went on a quest to find his lost brother, wherever he came to be in Azeroth.
Would be a very warm touch of bringing a questline of brother-hood to World of Warcraft. I remember heartfelt quests & stories were talked about and discussed back in Vanilla to Wrath, and honestly I really miss those times …
The Mawsworn Shades(used to create Mawsworn) as shown with Yero the Skittish are fragments of Souls after they have been killed.
Killing anything that is Native or Dead in the Shadowlands kills the original Soul for good but an identical Soul can be created just by shoving Anima into the dead Soul’s Corpse.
If you split the original person into two people is he not dead?
The more I try to think about the Shadowlands and how it’s set up, the more angry I get. So, I try to not think about it as much as I can. As they say “ignorance is bliss” or at least in this case “ignorance is anger management.”
Yes, what’s so complicated about transubstantiation across material planes of existence as represented by multiple faiths, that simultaneously conflict with each other?
No… I have no idea. The story in SL is so crazy and convoluted. We probably got an answer and I probably missed it, but, nothing makes sense to me.
Honestly I also really liked roleplaying my druid invoking Ursoc & Ursol’s power, but now it feels rather depressing … It’d be cool to have the given questline I mentioned – and restoring a well-loved character back into the WoW universe.
Actually, in regards to Warlock soulstones, it’s much worse than that.
When a Warlock creates and uses a soulstone, it actually uses the soul as fuel, condemning the soul inside to oblivion. No Oribos, no judgement, do not pass go, go directly to oblivion.
And this isn’t new Shadowlands lore, this is always how soul shards and warlocks have worked.
I’m sure there are dead animals who had been living once upon a time in another reality that’re in the Shadowlands now, but I’d wager in your example, the answer is no. The reason is because we also know wildlife is native to the Shadowlands and that there’s a need for their resources much like there’s a need for animal resources in life. See the Bastion quest where you have to harvest their feathers and antlers and all that.
The animals and non-converted denizens are all alive; only some Ven’thyr, most Kyrians, and the Maldraxxians are dead… everything in Ardenweald barring the soulshapes and all the animals in the other zones except the ghosts are alive.
Or at least our planar eguivalent of being “alive”.
I remember heartfelt quests & stories were talked about and discussed back in Vanilla to Wrath, and honestly I really miss those times …
