The Arathi Tonal Disconnect

The reason for invading Gilneas was to establish ports on its southern coast. It had nothing to do with eliminating the Alliance presence that was right next to Lordaeron, simply because Gilneas was not part of the Alliance. It was barely a kingdom at that point, remember that the capital and much more had fallen to worgen and, as far as everyone knew, Gilneas was abandoned.

The invasion was planned without Sylvanas, it was going to be launched without Sylvanas. She showed up with the val’kyr and took command of the invasion.

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Garrosh also had some flexing to do.

He was already invading Gilneas his way (by using the Forsaken as arrows in his quiver) when New and Improved Sylvanas arrived with Valkyr in tow. They had an intense stare down at the Greymane wall, which he lost. Prohibiting blight was his way of weakening Sylvanas political position (and also the Cataclysm quest writers often like to portray Garrosh as brutal AND honorable, sometimes contrary to the overarching fascist narrative.) Sylvanas is using blight to minimize forsaken casualties. Garrosh is prohibiting blight to minimize Sylvanas’ effectiveness as a leader.

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I get what you mean, but I was framing it in the context of temperance vs extremes.

A time travel angle would be a twist where they actually arrive from the past/future. Yet, that doesn’t change the amount of time they have experienced individually. 15 years isn’t that much time to distinguish Hollowfall from the Empire. I would imagine there would be some clues if this was the intended direction.

And that is my point here too. We don’t have much to set up how/why they supposedly differ from the Arathi Empire. If anything, they appear as model citizens and embody its values. That is why a “twist” revealing that the empire is evil would be more jarring.
If the Arathi were conscripts or heretics exiled then you would have more room to work with. I think we would need more seeds of discontent planted in the narrative now for there to be more context later (not that I want the Empire to be “evil”).

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I thought the valkyr were just being used to keep sylvannas alive. How were they making more forsaken? (Ie, undead, but with their own minds)

The Cataclysm starting zone revamp has you awakened by the Valkyr. They are waking up new forsaken in Deathknell graves. You are a pretty exceptional one and are asked to go around and help others come to grips with their new unlife. Among those is one Lillian Voss.

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Oh! I had forgotten that! Youre right! Dude, that changes even more things. Especially how devastating it would be to the forsaken for sylvannas to be eating the valkyr every time she doesn’t want to die.

Their purpose was to keep Sylvanas alive and serve her. Her decision to use them to make new forsaken was (while self serving) extra. It’s not like they were a forsaken factory that she was coopting for her own purpose. They were extra lives that she was also able to use for making forsaken and she did so.

Edit: What’s absurd is characters suddenly acting like it’s strange that she’s raising new undead. It’s the WHOLE PREMISE OF THE ARGUMENT THAT LED TO GARROSH USING CURSE WORDS!

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Bro, i forgot. Chill. My recollection was that she was using the blight, he called her a name for going behind his back and using the blight, and that it was connected to the birth of new forsaken, which he found repugnant.

Turns out, he wasn’t all that mad about the blight, but he was mad about Sylvannas making new forsaken. Only slightly different.

All caps was not directed at you.

In the 5th century, Rome was sacked by the Visigoths, and it and it’s Empire became history as the “Dark Ages” began.

The whole works however had been falling apart for at least a century prior to the Fall…a history that would inspire a certain science fiction author fifteen centuries later.

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The fall of the Roman Empire was part of the reason the Dark Ages began (along with a “mini Ice Age”, the famine that caused, The Black Plague and lack of roads after the Roman Empire wasn’t there to maintain them).

Which sci-fi author?

Hint: his most famous book series is what a building rests upon.

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Issac Asimov? If so, what books of his were inspired by the fall of the Roman Empire?

The Foundation series of course.

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