The King Who Would Wear No Crown
The Idea behind this character would be rather simple and just a neat idea for fun. We have our dark ranger skins in game now and more undead seem to be accepted into the forsaken and horde even if their origins are of the light or other natures. I think it would be good to add the San'layn to the horde simply because at the end of the day. The horde would get vampires and the alliance would have werewolves (Worgen). But I would just like to take a moment to write out how I think these San'layn would work and act. But also discuss an idea for a leader for them that could be interesting if used the right
**Leader and Backstory**
So first who would lead them? For myself I find the answer would be a sanâlayn elf that was raised the years the lich king was still active and someone whose appearance can allow characters that are already in game to have interesting reactions to the fact that they are undead and darkfallen. My idea for this leader would be who I believe based on how they died and how they would return would lead to interesting and even dramatic moments. That character is Lirath Windrunner Youngest of the Windrunner siblings.
Now I know what youâre thinking. Another windrunner? why? didnât we just go through this with Sylvanas? Which is fair. To be honest It could be any Quelâdorei that was of importance that was raise but for this idea it would be interesting to see how the brother of the windrunner sisters who never held a position of military power or experience, handle being the leader of a group of cursed life essence addicted undead that were more hated than even the forsaken. But how would Lirath be raised and why? What kinda leader would he be? How would he react and act towards members of the horde and alliance? Well thatâs what I want to Share with you in this thread. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing it out.
In wrath of the lich king we learned when questing in grizzly hills that the scourge had raised Archmage Arugal as a shade to have him make worgen for the scourge. We see a flashback of Sanâlayn Blood Princes Keleseth, Valanar, Theraldis, and Atherann raising the fallen archmage. So I ask you this: why would they stop with just one archmage? This is the scourge and even though all members of the scourge are dominated by the lich king they wish to serve and please him. They also were clearly elves and must be aware of the lich kingâs hatred for the Banshee Queen that defied him. At this time period in the lore the horde and alliance didnât have as strong of a grip over their lands. Would be easy for four blood princes to go into the ghostlands and start digging up the undead to make new sanâlayn. Then they would come to the windrunner spire. The bodies werenât in the best condition but for the sake of this idea. Only Lirathâs would be in good enough condition to be raised and be worth the effort. With their prizes in hand they would return to the Lich King Who would be pleased with his newest assets to the scourge war effort but have special plays for the brother of Sylvanas.
As we know the Lich King delighted in the torture and torment of his enemies as well as using the deaths and dead of loved once against them for cruel irony and pain it will inflict on them. Also the Lich King is smart and sees that dalaran is now in the skies of northrend. With the archmage Ronin the head of the council of six standing beside him his beloved wife Veressa Windrunner. Seeking to make an even more powerful Sanâlayn the lich king would begin his cruel work. Turning the risen Lirath into a Sanâlayn and then infusing him with the essence of other sanâlayn and strong champions the scourge captured. The Lich King would attend to this matter himself when time allowed. Turning and bending the magics and essence that he forced lirath to take for the captives and sacrifices. Trying to forge an even stronger undead than the Blood Queen but that of a sovereign that would allow for greater control and more power magic. The plan being to forge an assassin that would infiltrate dalaran Slay Veressa Windrunner and Archmage Ronin and turn them into undead as well. Use them against the alliance and horde causing chaos and devastation within to the fools that dared oppose the lich king. However Lirath would be defiant. He simply wasnât right. While his body bent to the lich kingâs power he would spit insults at him and not fully break. This angered the lich King who would only make Lirathâs torment worse. So what happened then? Why did this asset of the lich king never see play? Simple The WrathGate Incident.
"Death to the Scourge! And death to the living!ââ The blight unleashed on the alliance horde and scourge caused massive death and destruction. The lich king was forced to retreat coughing from the forsaken worst weapon yet. But this had other effects. IN the past whenever the lich king would suffer great harm or a disruption in power those with a strong enough will could break free from his vile domination and reclaim their autonomy. One of the only good things to come from this moment is that many undead did find this day to be the moment of their freedom and so would the Young Windrunner. He felt the chains in his mind that bound him to the lich kingâs command. They loosened and the Rancor of torment he had suffered with the essence of all those he was forced to consume allowed him a chance to break free. Destroying the chains in both his mind and on his body he would fall to the ground running on only instinct he would be ravenous for life essence and it just so happened that the cult of the damn was left in charge of this prison. There were no survivors and he would be left alone in the frozen heart of Icecrown. What choice did he have? He would run as simply as that and venture into the cursed frost of northrend all alone.
He gripped the awful rancor within himself. The torment of the devoured, the pain of his torture, the Unending thirst for the living. He was lost and nearly broken. One undead wasnât worth looking for, not when the lightâs vaunted Justice was on the lich kingâs door step. Lirath would simply wander for months on end. Slaying the scourge and even the living if they tried to kill him. But he wasnât himself. not truely how could he be? Last time he was alive and himself it was when he was killed by orcs and trolls during the second war trying to be like his sisters. Now he was this monster. Wrong. Cold. Alone. Till he would see something familiar in the distance. Someone he knew. It was his sister sylvanas?! Yes it was her, surely she would know what to do. She would have answers. He would run to her and then stop dead in his tracks. Oh it was sylvanas alright but she wasnât moving nor breathing. A spike of saronite sticking out of her body. Fate was truly cruel to young Lirath. Found his sister twisted in undeath as she was only to have met her final death after jumping off of icecrown Citadel. He would just stare at the lifeless body of the sister he knew. He would finally break in this moment and let out a bloody sorrowful dirge of pain. That would echo across the frozen wastes of northrend. Unleashing all the pain he had suffered up to this point. Lirath was truly alone. Or so he thought.
After his dirge was finished he would notice eyes upon him. Looking upward he would see them. Eyes of blood starved beasts looking down on him. Was the torment going to finally be over? But no itâs not that simple. They just stared at him. Waiting. But for what? One would begin to move forward and towards Lirath. A sanâlayn though not like him. None of them were like him. She would look at him and till her head. As if waiting for something. Lirath would snarl âWhat! Why are you here! Come to feast on me! Wound me! Kill me! Well what are you waiting for! Say Something!â the sanâlayn would keep a composed and collected expression but her eyes did betray her. She was scared and confused as well in a haze of sorts. Then she spoke âYouâŚyou calledâŚand weâŚhave answeredâ
Things would start to slowly come into place at this point. They would explain to him that the lich king was indeed defeated and dead but now another has taken the crown and they fear being jailed by him like the lesser scourge that stalks northrend. But his âCallâ as they called it was enough for them to keep free. They flocked to the sound avoiding the armies of the alliance, horde, and argent crusade. They needed a leader, or more likely they were still under the impression they needed a leader. It isnât easy to break free from the bondage of the lich kingâs domination and some parts of it always linger. But Lirath had no desire to lead or rather he wasnât a leader. Compared to the rest of his family all he ever did was play music in the upper courts of silvermoon. He wasnât like his sisters Rangers who were strong and able to lead. His death was proof enough. But even his constant protests fell on deaf ears and he would soften. First thing was first they needed to get out of northrend. Or at least out of the view of the armies of the living.
The sanâlayn would speak with each other and share information they had been given or gathered while under the lich kingâs command. The options were few and far between but it was better than nothing. The first idea was to simply join up with the alliance or horde. This idea was more said to just get it out of the way. Death Knights and the forsaken were pushing it clearly and the rest of the undead werenât welcome in the alliance. The horde was beginning to look very resentful at the forsaken. They spied on them and it was easy to figure that out after the wrath gate. So next was to find land somewhere far away from the living. This was also shot down simply because the scourge knew of no land masses other than the eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Both were under the eyes of the alliance and horde. Finding a new home on the seas randomly while possible was going to take time and risk more chances for discovery. The final idea and the one that the sanâlayn under Lirath would consider and then proceed with would be to simply go to the dark below.
âThe Nerubians built an empire beneath the frozen wastes of Northrend. An empire that you so foolishly built your structures upon. MY EMPIRE.â Well it was now it was filled with the remnants of the Nerubian empire and a lot of dead scourge. However the important part was that it could lead them away from northrend and the living. It would take time but with the Nerubians now rebuilding thanks to the aid of adventurers they werenât really in a position to do anything about the sanâlayn moving through their fallen kingdom. They wouldnât stay or lay claim to it. The point was to get away from icecrown and northrend. Going under the land itself would allow them time to regroup, settle, and then figure things out.
So now we come to the last bits of this idea. Less about Lirath being the leader now and more about the Sanâlayn themselves and what they were up to. However one last note from Lirath as âkingâ would be this. Once the sanâlayn did settle somewhere in the Dark Below. They would proclaim Lirath their king. He responded with protests again but it was becoming more clear to him that he was inspiring something within them all. Hope. So he sighed and proclaimed the following. He would be King but in name only for he would wear no Crown. A crown is a gauding vile thing that only the oppressive were to show their domination over their people. Clearly this line of thinking is a result of the lich king. Instead his crown would be the people. All of them were ordered by Lirath to make themselves the finest kingdom to live in. The best clothing, jewels, adornments, houses, and whatever else they wanted. To an outsider looking in Lirath would honestly look like some lower class bum. Only wearing a bunch of tattered robes that were sown one together and of low quality. Whereas the people from simple merchants, to tavern keepers, and even knights would be decadently dressed in the finests of clothing embroidered with gold and silver. This was the intention on Lirathâs part. The people were his crown and if they ever believed he was no longer worthy to rule them then they would simply stop being his crown.
Player Race
So now the sanâlayn have returned and joined the horde. Cool but what do they look like? Are they just more dark ranger skin elves? Well I think now would be a good time to make the Sanâlayn look distinct from the elves and death knight elves we already have.
The idea at this point would be to have more and yet less. Allow me to explain, thanks to the introduction of Revendreth in shadowlands we now have even more explanations in game of what vampiric beings can look like. I think counting with the stone gargoyle idea but on elves would be a good idea going forward. Allied races arenât really the most different form the base player races after all so letâs talk about skin tones for our vampire elves.
The skin tones of the sanâlayn should be very clearly different from the blood elves/void elves of the base game. A color tone of stone should be the key part of the desire. Ebony to ivory Stonelike color should be used for the Sanâlayn. With gray in the middle. Have the color variations be a clear distortion of what the original non undead elf would have had.
Next we have the eyes. No real surprise here they will be red but the idea is maybe have different eye effects on them. Some glowing but also a wispy trail leaving the eyes and disappearing in front of them like the death knights. But maybe also the eyes have a drawing in effect that looks like the red of the eyes is being pulled in from the world around them and pooling into the eyes themselves. Also maybe some eyes are simple and normal but others have burst and cracked the area around the eyes with glowing red streaks.
Face wise we can have the old elf faces again but first a pronounced view of the fangs of the sanâlayn. I mean whatâs a vampire without the fangs am I right? But also allow for not only scaring but also markings as well. Blood runes carved into the skin. Sowing marks as if the body had to be put back together before it was raised then turned. Have some fun with it, donât got to be 100% just elf with fangs and red eyes make it look more than just that. Maybe even have some scars on the body and the hands that have red mist seeping from the body as well
Oh and speaking of hands. The sanâlayn should have claws like hands now. More bat like for slashing and getting essence but also for the gargol look as well. Can even have the Nightborne Luminous Hand glow effect but naturally it would be blood red instead of arcane purple. Also the racials should have something to do with Life Drain actively granting leech to allies and just other fun vampire stuff.
The Undercroft
So the Sanâlayn made a home for themselves in the Dark Below and built a massive stone city they call the Undercroft. So the undercroft is like if draculaâs castle was built underground in the middle of a carven that had no way to get to it save for the stone pillars that are connecting the top and body to the city. The sanâlayn have flying mounts and maybe have a bat transformation racial. Point is they donât need a normal way to get into the city. They have a drawbridge but thatâs for it they trade with the locals or bring in a haul of resources that flying beasts alone canât carry. The castle itself is like the main city in revendrath. A big castle for the king in the center surrounded by other smaller and various castles and structions for the rest of the Sanâlayn living there. Iâm personally not someone thatâs good with making building in games or stories so this is a basic idea if you got better ideas Iâd love to hear them
Why Now?
Well the reason this idea works the way it does in my humble opinion is for a few reasons. First the war within is coming soon and that is a very underground focused expansion with a lot of old god and nerubian stuff. Putting the sanâlayn down there gives them a great excuse. âWell we canât stay hidden on our own anymore. Time to try and join a factionâ and the horde would bring them in with some convincing of course and proving they arenât going to be like those that joined before and were jerks. Second sylvanus being pretty much out of the story and in a way that letâs be honest was well liked by anybody we can get another kinda character like that and more like the Forsaken and have those themes and ideas continued to be explored. Plus if you use the idea of Lirath Windrunner as the leader you can have the question of âOh is this another sylvanus. How will Alleria and Verssera React to him being undead this whole time and in hiding? How does Silvermoon feel about the sanâlayn and would they allow them to come home?â fun ideas to be had and yeah itâs kinda wishy washy I would think this is cool if this happens. But I mean thatâs kinda what the whole thread is. So thatâs my idea. I figured Iâd put it out into the either and see if anyone likes it. I hope you enjoyed listening to my rambling on why I think this idea would be an interesting addition to the game. I know I had fun writing it. Have a good good one.