Sylvanas Windrunner

Lore Story Forum
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Here I want to share my personal view of Sylvanas’ fate.

Windrunner

  1. The Maw

“Odd”. That single word described well the last three days. Standing beside the portal she could have a clear view of the surroundings. There wasn’t a single soul for miles. At first she had the impression that her task would take forever to be accomplished, but now it seemed that it was almost done.

The assaults carried out by the Covenants had done a huge clean up in the maw, eliminating most of the jailor’s troops, which had helped to make her job that much easier. Without the presence of hostile forces, locating and freeing the captive souls turned out to be a simple gathering task. Despite the Maw’s dimensions, she had been able to sweep the entire region in a dozen days.

After that, came the much more complex and time-consuming task of walking through the endless corridors of Torghast, where countless Zovaal’s minions still roamed. Without their leader, they roamed the corridors aimlessly, sometimes fighting with each other, sometimes amusing themselves by torturing the many souls trapped there.

With each floor released, her resolve grew stronger. More and more powerful creatures came her way, only to be eliminated without remorse. And since the jailor no longer existed, there was no risk that the released areas could be infested by new waves of his creations.

Every day, after hours of endless struggles, she retreated to the cave located next to the portal. The place that had once served as the broker’s refuge was now her new home. There she cleaned herself, sharpened the blades of her swords and daggers, replenished her quiver with magic arrows, checked the status of the various traps she had set up around the camp, and prepared a light meal before retiring to sleep.

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Nice little story there, I don’t have much to add on it. I know Sylvanas’ fate is controversial to say the least, but I think it’s basically the best ending we were gonna get.

I didn’t want to see Arthas get to become her jailer, because that’s iffy to say the least given the abuser/victim dynamic there

I didn’t want to see her go free (unless the whole mess was due to the jailer dominating her unknowingly, which was not the case), because that’s just outright bad.

I think giving her a near Sisyphean task that does tangible good by fixing the damage she, and the Jailer did is the best call. Especially now that she’s got the missing part of her soul back, it works because it’s a punishment, and also something that Ranger General Sylvanas would have willingly done.

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Just remove this character for the game’s sake. I’m still have nightmares about her being shocked by jailer decisions.

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I’m am still annoyed we are waiting for her to simply save the souls. Like why are we/the Covenants not all going there to save these souls quicker? Why are we letting these souls suffer as much as Sylvanas?

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Nice story! But did you perhaps mean to post it to the World’s End Tavern?

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Thanks for the tip, Pellex. I really think I posted in the wrong section. I’ll repost there. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a way to close this thread.

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You can follow this story at the new thread

Sylvanas Windrunner

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we don’t know that the Covenants aren’t still sending their soldiers down there to collect leftover souls, just that the PCs are back on Azeroth flying dragons into trees at 70 mph. Sylvanas just gets all the screen time 'cause she’s a ‘main character’.

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I don’t think Blizzard not animating in more souls was intended to mean she was almost done. The scene was presented to focus on the interaction of Sylvan and Anduin

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> In fact, I will continue to publish on both pages, as long as I am allowed, because I saw that there is more interaction here than on the other. This as long as there are people interested in my vision of the story.

How much time had passed? She wasn’t sure anymore. From the moment she entered the Shadowlands, she realized that time passed there in an entirely different way than on Azeroth. Of one thing she was sure. The cleaning of the tower had taken months, maybe even a year. The first few times she had entered Torghast, she had returned to camp at the end of the day to rest. So, the next day, she was forced to retrace the path already covered in order to continue with her task. This meant that with each level she spent more and more time just walking. At one point, she decided to sleep inside the tower, leaving only occasionally in search of more supplies, which were regularly supplied to her by a troop of elves under Tyrande’s orders.

So that day hadn’t been any different from the previous ones with the exception that she had finally reached the highest level of the tower and eliminated the last of Zovaal’s minions.

For a normal person that would be something to celebrate. For her, a former Ranger General of Silvermoon, it felt like a void that would never be filled. She had no friends left, her family was far away, her soldiers had returned to Silvermoon. Well, those few who had survived the carnage wrought by Arthas.

Sylvanas paused for a few minutes to survey the view from the top of the tower, but there was nothing to enjoy. Just a desolate landscape. All that remained was the eastern side of the Maw, where no souls had been imprisoned and where the most powerful creatures ever created by the jailor resided. Not even the forces of the Covenants had managed to tame that region, limiting themselves to contain the continuous assaults promoted by the hordes commanded mainly by Vasanok and Sanngror. Only a handful of Azeroth’s heroes had ventured into those parts on surgical operations to eliminate these bosses, only to have them resurrected by Zovaal.

That night she returned to camp early, under Dori’thur’s watchful eye. Standing by the pile of supplies that had been deposited there a few hours earlier, she removed her hood, letting her long golden hair fall over her shoulders and back. Once again, she regretted not having a brush or comb with which to give her hair a little more dignity. In that hot and arid place where there was no source of natural water, all she could do was wash her hair every now and then with some of the water that was also used for drinking and cooking. As for her personal hygiene, she was obliged to resort to wet clothes that she wiped over her skin to remove the dirt and blood spilled by the creatures she had executed. Yet she never once complained about her fate. She saw it all as penance for all the pain and suffering she had caused the people of Azeroth, particularly the Night Elves.

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In my story my Death knight took a few of his brothers down into the Maw found Sylvanas and put her to an end there and then. Only after letting her experience the tortures she had subjected millions of innocent souls too. Only after she was a mess and babbling like an insane maniac pleading for an end. Ushering the same line she whispered to Arthas, “let you be forgotten.”

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I would say the title of the thread is what gets replies, more than your vision. She is a big topic in the story.

Your fantasy details aside… her goings on in the Maw are a tale to be told. We have guesses and questions.

There are also people who hope to never hear about her again - but that seems unlikely. She seems to be working a Herculean penance for the sake of some return.

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I never want to see her ever again.

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Sylvanas poured some water onto a piece of cloth and wiped her face, after which she splashed some more water on her face and sat down on the floor, her back against the supply crates, enjoying the coolness of the water. Lips cracked and parched, she sipped some water and closed her eyes, imagining, not for the first time, sitting by the sea on one of Sunstrider Isle’s many beaches, the cool breeze blowing across her face.

She remained like that for a few minutes, until fatigue and hunger brought her back to the harsh reality of the Maw. With a sigh of resignation, she rose and, with slow, weary movements, removed her chainmail armor. Wearing only light leather pants and a thin cloth shirt, she looked absently at the meager food options in front of her, her mind wandering. As much as she tried to concentrate, her attention kept returning to the question of the Eastern Maw. No one had imposed on her the obligation to hunt down and eliminate the jailor’s minions, but every fiber in her was crying out for action. After all, the mission to rescue souls had been herculean, but finite, as Pelagos apparently resisted the idea of sending any new souls to the Maw. And since she didn’t see any prospect that she could ever leave that place again, it would be better to find an honorable task that would occupy her, even if it cost her life.

Still undecided on what to eat, she picked up her cloak and absentmindedly draped it over her shoulders. Not that she was feeling cold, something practically impossible to happen in that place, but the cave was considerably cooler than the environment outside and without the armor covering her body, she felt almost naked. Besides, there was always the possibility that some creature would manage to overtake the Covenant troops in the narrow passage that connected both sides of the Maw and find the camp while she slept. Despite all the protections she’d been careful to put in place, she’d rather be wearing something more than a shirt if she had to go into combat. Also, the enchantment applied to the cape would grant her a little bit more agility. It wasn’t ideal, but experience had taught her that it was very uncomfortable to sleep in full armor.

A moment later, crouched by a small pile of firewood, Sylvannas was about to light the fire to prepare a meal when she sensed that something was different. After living in that cave for so long, she knew every stone and every smell of that place. She couldn’t pinpoint what it was or where it came from, but there was a faint smell that wasn’t familiar to her. Something had been in the cave during her absence. “Was here or is it still here?”

Rising to her feet with slow movements, she bent backwards, as if straightening her back. She discreetly took a step to the side, approaching her bow. A suspicion crossed her mind, and she stood there staring at the wall in front of her. Turning her head slightly to the right, she thought she heard a faint whisper, like a very faint breathing, inaudible to most creatures, but at the edge of perception for a trained elf. “So, you are a living creature and not a ghoul.” Living beings could be as or more dangerous than ghosts and demons, but she had never felt comfortable in the presence of non-living beings. It had served as extra torture during her time as a banshee and Arthas had certainly been amused by it.

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I’m pretty sure you can hit the edit button at the top of your thread, and move it to another section that way.

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Minor nit her hair was golden when she was alive.

As an undead elf her hair is more of an ash silver color now.

Uther would possibly be a better choice overseeing and assisting her with this task as part of HIS penance.

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I love sylvanas

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the queen of wow will return

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I see what you’re trying to do.

It’s a bold move Cotton, let’s see how it plays out.

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