This How can we remedy this, together? - #191 by Droité-tanaris got me thinking.
So, I have an idea that may I don’t see talked about when it comes to how this war is resolved. I don’t think it hits every point, more the points of:
-Horde leadership
-Horde and alliance relations
What I would like to see, in a likely unpopular nutshell, is Sylvanas remains alive and warchief and the war hits a stalemate. That’s the TL;DR. I’ve always felt that the game world was more interesting when the factions were at odds, if not at full war.
Let’s go into detail. First, Sylvanas staying alive and how is that going to go over well with the horde, especially the leadership? I’ve always thought Sylvanas’ problem is what motivates her, as in her fear of death and going back to hell; as well as how secretive she is about it (though understandably). So (1) that which drives her is her fear of going back to hell, but also WHY she is going when she dies. Up to this point from what I can discern she believes she is going there because she was made undead and irredeemable. It is never overtly stated (that I know of) but that just feels to me like how she sees it. So, what if she gets a different idea? Maybe a racial leader comes to her, let’s let Ji Firepaw do it in this example because he never gets to do anything that I’ve seen (I’m on the Alliance side, so that could be why). He comes before her and questions her actions, and offers some of the Pandarian seeing water or whatever it is called, so that she can reflect on what drives her. She does, either before or after throwing him out. The end result is she realizes that MAYBE she’s not going to hell for being undead, MAYBE she’s going to hell for all of the wicked things she has done since she has been a free willed undead. She doesn’t have to fully buy into it, just let the idea get some solid traction. This also plays into the idea of free will from Before the Storm. But now there is a chance that it is not beyond the realm of possibility that she can redeem herself; not in the eyes of the Alliance, that’s not going to happen, but on a cosmic scale maybe she can tip the scales over time. The important thing is that realization, however she comes to it.
This realization will maybe realign her ever so slightly. She’ll still do bad things, but now the weight of those things is something she feels. She burned Teldrasil, she now feels regret. Maybe for the people who died, maybe that it didn’t fully work the way she had hoped and so the Horde is embroiled in a war that is not going so well now. But, this realization will change how she perceives the other horde leaders. Baine, and more importantly, Saurfang. She goes to wherever she has Baine locked up and has a good long talk with him, especially about what had driven her to this point. Baine is enough of a “turn the other cheek” guy that this brings him new understanding. She, and this is important, refuse to say that using Derek would have been a mistake, but will admit that it was a burden for her to bear. She will still do whatever it takes to protect the horde, because now the horde is her chance at redemption. Leading and protecting its people, as she protected the people of Silvermoon before death, is how she plans to tip those cosmic scales.
And keep in mind, this does not have to be a correct belief, she just has to believe it. She brings Baine on as an advisor, a way to balance the horror she is willing to bring with what the horde will take. Nathanos on one side supporting her, Baine on the other restraining her. Baine’s backing, free of threat, helps bring the other leaders back in, and eventually the people. Maybe some version of what she saw when she died is shared to make it more understandable, and make what she risks for the Horde more clear. Other leaders would say “My life for the horde!” She offers her soul.
So, all this is great, but we still have Saurfang out there looking to off her, and a royally pissed Alliance that will not settle for anything short of her removed from power and from the land of the living. Now what?
Saurfang organizes a resistance, like in MoP. Hear me out. But he tells Anduin in no uncertain terms that this is a Horde matter, and the Alliance is not to interfere. He then leads his rebels against Sylvanas. In Orgrimar if we must, or somewhere else, not terribly important. The Alliance, Anduin included, does not belive that Saurfang can displace her with his small force, and it would be militarily stupid not to take advantage of this attack. So, they attack at the same time, with Anduin’s blessing. Maybe with him leading.
This is seen as a betrayal by the rebel forces who now have to fight (in their mind) Horde brothers who have been lead astray and treacherous Alliance forces that seek to destroy the horde. And they very well might, Jaina’s advise of “dismantle the Horde” being remembered by both sides (you know someone on the horde side heard her).
The confrontation could go like this. After some fighting, Saurfang faces Sylvanas and is defeated. She does not kill him. Maybe she gives an abridged version of her personal revelation, but at the end, she points out that the Horde will not survive another Alliance intervention like the one that led to Garrosh’s fall. Saurfang is convinced, his honor compelling him to fight “For the Horde!” and he stands against the Alliance incursion. He buys the time for the other Horde leaders to escape, and earns his “honorable death.” Yep, in this scenario Saurfang dies. Maybe he decries Anduin for his treachery. Anduin feels really bad about killing him, but knows that this was a shot that had to be taken for the Alliance.
Now the horde is reunited under a less crazy Sylvanas, and the Alliance will not make peace with Sylvanas in power. Enter Old Gods, Void Lords, and all the other stuff that shunts the conflict to the side. They can’t work together, but they both shift focus.