We spent the better part of the leveling experience focusing on the Oathstones because they were apparently “super important”. Now in turns out the Aspects didn’t even need the Oathstones because somehow Palpatine retur….sorry……somehow Amirdrassil gave the Aspects back their power.
I feel like I need to make a copy paste script now.
Amirdrassil did not empower the aspects. Azeroth (the world soul) did it herself.
The Oathstones were the physical embodiment of their oaths to the Titans and the conduits through which their power flowed from the Titans. Restoring them was the first ploy Alexstrasza came up with to restore their powers. It did not work out most likely because Tyr was the one who empowered and activated them originally, so he had to be the one who reactivated the mother oathstone.
Sadly, most the important lore about Oathstones was in the book.
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There is a good chance it will be used in the future. I mean, Blizzard suddenly remembers plot points when its convinient. Like for example the Soul Engine from Wrath suddenlt being used in Shadowlands.
For all we know they might use the Oathstones in say The Last Titan. They are the dragons links to the titans.
Not every plan is going to work out. But important symbolism for restoring the flights and rededicating them to their duties.
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That made absolutely no sense to me. Like how does the Forge of Souls even connect to the heart of Azeroth? And how did Azerite funnel from ICC to the Sepulcher? ICC was connected to Torghast not the Sepulcher
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The implication is that it was built to drain the soul. Big magic engines burrowed into the earth seem as reasonable a way as any.
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Makes you wonder what is the point of the resurrect Tyr questline then. I mean the original purpose of that was so Tyr could empower the Aspects again. Since they no longer need him, the new soulless body can just stay there imo.
Like Elisande in the past, alternative timeline or whatever can keep the disc containing Tyrs memories. We no longer need it.
The problem though is it is very obvious that was not the original intention behind them. I doubt when Blizzard made the Forge of Souls dungeon they were like, “so over a decade we will suddenly make these relevant because this guy who doesn’t exist yet uses it to drain the soul of Azeroth (the character) that also doesn’t exist yet”.
The Forge of Souls were basically where the Scourge ground souls into a nice thin powder that has over a million and one uses. Pretty much the similar purpose the Legions soul engines had.
I feel peoples confusion and hatred towards that cinematic is due to it being another example of how forced Zovaals inclusion into the story was.
The Oathstones were a good representation of the bizarrely impersonal nature of the Titan’s sponsorship of the Aspects. Each aspect was left with a big rock that silently judged whether they were worthy or not based on unknown criteria that the Flights had to figure out by… guessing, basically.
Like seriously, the blue Oathstone rejected Kalecgos for… not believing in the power of family?
The idea of rejecting this nonsense in favor of a more direct link to their new patron is a strong one, though it could stand to have been explained better.
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I’ll say it probably sensed his doubt in being a leader. Remember, after Deathwings defeat, the blue dragonflight disbanded. That was the whole point of both the Azure Spans and the follow up blue dragon quest line. Bringing the flight back together and Kalec overcoming his doubts and fears. With the aid of someone, or something he did not expect.
Likewise the Black Dragons oathstone could not tell who was the leader. Since you had the rivalry between Sabellion, who valued the flight over Azeroth and Wrathion, whom mostly valued Azeroth over the Flight. Which is why they went with the compromise candidate in the end.
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I don’t think it was planned either. But it wasn’t something that jarred me.
It didn’t jar me either, but by that point it was very obvious how forced Zovaal was into the Lich King / scourge plot.
I mean Blizzard said that Ner’zhul and later Arthas did their own things as the Lich King. Yet Arthas constructed the very thing Zovaal needed to drain Azeroths soul so he could power up Zerith Mortis and spread domination to the other cosmetic realms. So how does that work?
I still wish at the end of that raid they had shown the soul engines slow, stop, and then begin running backwards; Zovaal starts being unmade as Azeroth absorbs his power as he weakens too much to keep control. That would of flowed into “azeroth is healing and awakening” really well.
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