So where is Sylvanas now?

Lore Story Forum
42

I can’t post links but it was discussed in the Vindication of Sylvanas thread a few months ago, way before your post in june but i’m working and can’t sift through a 1600+ comment thread atm.

43

Link me the thread please @Renautus, I’ll look through it.

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I don’t have enough trust to post links.

45

Then give me the name and I’ll search it up.

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If memory serves me I think it was Mawthorne who said it or infered it originally and it was due to EoN setting up Sylvanas to become a godlike figure.

Either way this has been a popluar theory in Sylvanas fan spheres because of that line in EoN where the Valk’yr tell Sylvanas they need her to be the balance between Life and Death.

Keep in mind what we expected was vastly different than what blizzard delivered and it seems like the story tried too hard to deliver her as a villian instead, making her the Arbiter at this point seems like a consolation prize to fans who expected more to come out of that EoN line and for Sylvanas to likely become a Goddess.

47

I’ve been searching through the threads under “Vindication of Sylvanas” and haven’t found anyone saying “she should - or will - become the Arbiter” that predates my thread yet.

I found the thread " The vindication of Sylvanas by Everien with 1,600+ comments and am currently reading through it (I have the downtime). I’ll let you know the results when I’m done.

I still think Sylvanas becoming the Arbiter is extremely stupid (and a Kerrigan Xel’naga rehash).

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48

I agree that Sylvanas becoming the Arbiter is terrible, I was never a fan of this theory even when it was presented by other fans.

I want Sylvanas ultimately to return to the Horde and any wishful thinking that she will stay behind in the Shadowlands is just wishful thinking by people who want her conveniently removed from the story.

I want her to be welcomed back to the Horde with celebration as our rightful warchief… but alas that’s my gratuitous fancanon fanfiction at this point, I’ll admit that.

49

I am interested in her interactions with Whitemane, Nazgrim, and Koltira.

Whitemane is an inquisitor. A scene with her interrogating Sylvanas sounds fun.

Nazgrim is the example of blind Horde loyalty to the Warchief. He is likely the example she hoped Dourfang would be. I wonder if Nazgrim sees the error in his ways. Or would he support her as the true warchief, since she won the Makgora?

And Koltira. What would they discuss? She held him prisoner. Likely tortured him a little, or experimented on him - he doesn’t like discussing it. She also pulled him in with chains - which seemed odd at the time, but makes more sense.

It would be kind of funny if she brain washed Koltira, and he lets her escape against his will. Maybe she is like:

“I am good now… but these Death Knights are wasting time. The " heroes” will never trust me. I need to get out of here to save the universe. I wonder if that brainwashing I did on Koltira still works…"

Then, she says the trigger word, and Koltira flips, and helps her escape.

I have been wondering when that little story thread would get a pay off. This could be it.

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50

3 days later…100 something Night Fae covenant members all poking Sylvanas with sticks…

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51

Loads of fun since Whitemane ran the Scarlet Crusade. I expect Sylvanas to tear her apart verbally…I’d like that since all we got on that from Whitemane’s side is “I’m over it.” Yeah well, pfft, we’re not. I’m very petty about this.

I’d love to see Whitemane’s admiration for Sylvanas more obvious like it was hinted at in We Ride Forth. These two women are cut from the same cloth. A Sally Whitemane Lich Queen would have been scarier than Sylvanas. I wish they would narratively lean into that more because Sally could be a good example of an Alliance villian but the Alliance doesn’t claim affiliation with the Scarlet Crusade despite many Alliance leaders, lowkey supporting it’s existance.

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52

Update because the thread you named is so long and I’m not yet through it. I’ve read the following threads through;

None of them suggest or theorycraft about Sylvanas becoming Arbiter. I’ve seen comments saying Sylvanas should replace the Jailer in the Maw and one saying they don’t want her to be a “Kerrigan becomes a Xel’naga” rehash.

Maybe you sent me on a wild goose chase with that thread, maybe it was a mistake (we’ve both commented on that thread), but I have yet to find anyone else saying anything about Sylvanas becoming the new Arbiter that predates my thread yet.

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53

Well then claim it, i don’t care. It’s not ground breaking theory crafting. Take credit for it.

I’m just sure I’ve seen that speculated before even if it was just Ethriel being sarcastic…

Just because it’s been hinted at doesn’t mean they will make Sylvanas the new Arbiter. But it’s a theory. We will see if you are right about this. You can bring this up later if you wish to prove you were right.

54

It took me 3 minutes to google and find this Sylvanas becomes the Arbiter theory dated 2019, while I wait for food at a fast food restaurant.

Imagine how much more you were find with let’s say 15min to spare.

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56

Though I doubt you found it as easily as you claimed (given all the threads I trawled through and didn’t find it, check my replies to Renautus) and suspect you said that to try and make me look bad, thank you for proving I wasn’t the first to share that theory.

Doesn’t make that story direction any less stupid.

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57

Thank you and thank the Dark Lady and the Ranger General!

I couldn’t believe someone was trying to claim credit for the “Sylvanas ending up as the Arbiter” theory. That has been a running gag since we learned the Arbiter existed.

Its like trying to take credit for an old joke that everyone already knows.

I didn’t want to even start… it seemed like a silly argument. I am glad you ended the speculation.

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58

It really did take 3 min. Are you familiar with Boolean logic?

Put this in Google

“Sylvanas” AND “new arbiter” in google and look at our site results. The dates of the posts are included in the descriptions. It’s a literally on the first page.

You may find even more, I stopped at the first one I saw in 2019.

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59

I’m pretty sure a lot of Blizzard’s fanbase must have thought of this sort of thing, since Kerrigan’s story made waves when it happened, and even the developers were drawing parallels to her before WoW came out.

If I remember reading correctly, the reason why Sylvanas even exists as a character is because Jaina was originally meant to be the one Arthas banshee’s up, and they rewrote her role in the story to try not to be a Kerrigan expy.

Edit: I know it’s a weird reference to use, but I searched the unofficial story forum discord for the phrase “new arbiter” and the first person to joke about it was November 3rd, 2019, 2 days after Shadowlands was announced at Blizzcon.

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60

I mean, the Primus is the defender of the Shadowlands. It is his job to know these things, to have plans for these things, to be prepared and ready to go when things like this come up.

The fact that the Primus handled this situation so carelessly, says a lot about the Blizzard writing team… they just don’t think.

The leader of the realm, sole purpose in creation, is to defend the shadowlands. He does not know more than Slyvanas, who has been an ally of the Jailer for 3 years?!

Like I said, if you like Slyvanas, are rooting for her, etc, that’s great.

But you have to be able to take a step back from that, look at the story as a whole and just see all these major plot holes that just make this awful…

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61

And since Night Fae are fond of tricks we can all be made to look like Nathanos.

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You’re right but they have been so cryptic with the lore I don’t know who knows what, and is Zovaal at a point that his brothers and sisters know his exact plan.