The Cult of the Forgotten Shadow is a really well fleshed out Forsaken institution. Has an interesting philosophy known as Divine Humanism which is basically ‘the Lord helps those who help themselves’ taken to it’s logical conclusion with it’s tenants of Respect, Tenacity and Power. They even have their own mirror version of the Scarlets called Lightslayers who have askewed the balance preached in favor of Shadow zealotry.
It’s all really compelling stuff. Unfortunately, it’s all from the RPG. And thusly non canon.
The CotFS in WoW. Well it’s certainly there. I’ve played a Forsaken Priest both in Classic and Live, and the CotFS boils down to a SPriest essentially saying;
“Yeah I know Shadow is pretty on brand for us but you did role a Priest so learn to heal”.
Then that’s about it. Theres Dark Clerics and Shadow Priests scattered around the expansions. Healing and occasionally leading.
Anyway then it falls apart in Legion. Off screen for unexplained reasons. Then it’s restored when it’s founder Natalie Seline returns her soul to her body and triumphantly rises from her grave in Raven’s Hill Cemetery… as a completely normal human. Despite by definition being undead.
And that’s the last we’ve heard of it since then.
Well with Sylvanas’s Cult of Personality being defunct this would be an absolutely perfect time to strengthen the CotFS. It’d be pretty easy to.
First off, make Natalie Seline undead. She already is. Just give her glowing violet eyes and a more ghostly outfit and we’re golden.
Secondly build them some actual churches. None of this has to be new assets. I really wouldn’t mind if they just took the existing human models and recolored them to be spooky.
Thirdly - just use what’s already in the tabletop RPG. It’s already way more fleshed out than most faiths in WoW and it doesn’t contradict anything. Shadow Ascendants are just Void Form and Voss is already a Lightslayer in everyway but title.
This is like the easiest thing they could do. It would flesh out a faction they needlessly took a sledgehammer too. And it’d just make the game world a bit more interesting.
Also let me wear one of those Sith Pope hats while we’re at it.