On the surface level, it seems like alliances and partnerships are not a strong point for Zovaal.
Originally, I thought that Zovaal only needed Anduin to infiltrate Elysium Hall to take out the Archon and grab her sigil as Anduin would be able to pass the purity tests…but Zovaal takes him with when they leave through the portal.
Zovaal cared little about Denathrius being captured and Sylvanas’ beytrayal as they both fulfilled their respective use.
I wonder why he would hold onto Anduin, a being with an affinity for the light?
If I was to guess? He has a warrior at his side who is entirely bound to his will, with no chance of treachery. Denathrius and Sylvanas both had their own agendas. Anduin is just “The Vessel”. He’s 100% enslaved to the Jailer’s will, and yet has ENOUGH agency to act alone with great competence, as seen in Ardenweald for instance.
So I’d say it’s less another big mysterious reveal and more that Anduin is now simply a more reliable tool than Sylvanas or Denathrius ever were.
There are some theories. There’s a quote from Illgnoth that says the light made a bargain with the enemy of all of us. It was once thought to be related to Calia Menethil when the Naaru Sa’ra resurrected her after being murdered by Sylvanas. But by all appearances, it is Anduin himself. Zovaal took an interest in him when Anduin manifested the light on the maw to give us a chance to escape, and he says he has exactly what he needs. I believe the light lets Anduin be dominated once it has itself delivered its champion to death. Why? still not known
I agree. Anduin is currently holding the unenviable job position of being a Very Useful Weapon in Zovaal’s arsenal, and Zovaal has no particular reason to discard him at the moment.
Wild speculation time! In addition to the weirdness that is whatever type of undead Calia is and Anduin’s current predicament, Darion Mograine has an…interesting history with both the Light and Death, going back to when he was born. According to Alexandros, Darion was stillborn…as in not moving, not breathing, seemingly did not survive birth. It wasn’t until Alexandros ran outside and plunged his seemingly-dead infant into an icy stream while pleading to the Light that the baby stirred and cried out, and then when Alexandros went back inside he discovered to his horror that his wife Elena, who had been alive when he went outside, was now dead. Seriously, Darion’s birth reads like some sort of deal or pact was made, even though it isn’t stated as such. Alexandros even has a nightmarish vision of it while being tortured by the Scourge after he becomes a death knight, featuring a skeletal Elena rejecting him and saying “I harbor only resentment for you and for your precious Darion, the cursed filth who stole my life!” Several years later, Darion was seriously wounded in battle by a Scourge caster, to the point that he fell into a coma and was beyond the ability of the Silver Hand to fully heal. When he eventually awoke, he claimed that he had almost lost himself in darkness, but the Light came to him and led him to safety. After Alexandros’ death he had a crisis of faith and asked the Light why it had saved him from his coma, wanting to know what greater purpose both his continuing to live and Alexandros’ death were supposed to serve. What immediately followed was a series of events influenced by the Light through visions and dreams presented to Darion and others that led directly Darion’s undeath, as he came to the conclusion that his greater purpose was to sacrifice himself in a bargain with the Light in exchange for the safety of his father’s soul and the annihilation of the Scourge on the battlefield. Even in undeath, the Light has continued to impact Darion, first by freeing him from the Scourge at Light’s Hope, and again by killing him in his return to Light’s Hope in Legion, which set him up to lead the Four Horsemen and become arguably the most powerful death knight left on Azeroth. As Darion himself notes after he becomes the Fourth Horseman, “I see now what I did not see before. My destiny was written long ago. This burden has always been mine to bear.” Taking all of that together, combined with Calia and now Anduin, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to guess that the Light might be trying to influence things relating to Death by positioning certain people to become undead, sometimes through more subtle means and sometimes through outright bargains. It’s worth noting that several of the most powerful death knights were once paladins, and the Light did not save them from that fate.
Edited to add: further wild speculation, it occurs to me that there are people with significant connections to the Light in positions of influence in all four major Shadowlands covenants. Uther’s first words after arriving in Bastion and learning where he is are “I serve the Light. And my work is not done,” and he just influenced the creation of a new temple in Bastion through the tenets of the Light he learned as a paladin. Maldraxxus has the Ashbringer as part of the current leadership. Alexandros wonders why he wasn’t sent to Bastion after his life of devotion to the Light, but what if the Light wants him to serve by being a Baron in Maldraxxus? Ardenweald is less concrete, but we now know that the Winter Queen is sister to Elune, and Elune has previously been speculated by some characters to be strongly connected to the Light in some way. Lastly, Revendreth has Z’rali and the Ember Ward, obviously, but Revendreth is also home to the Stonewright, one of the Harvesters and who we now know was a Night Warrior and can still call on abilities associated with Elune. In short, the Light has multiple potential avenues for influence in the leadership of the covenants right now.
Hmm hadn’t thought about Darion. It really is an option and it really seems like the Modus Operandi of light and Naarus in general. Before Calia died, Sa’ra said she had to go through some things before she became what her people needed her to be, that this path could even be pain.
And going further, more to the part of how the light acts rather than why Zovaal wants Anduin.
I strongly believe that the light has been paving its way for a long time when it led the draenei and the velen to make the choices they made, probably they themselves knew or ‘‘expected’’ what would happen in Draenor, so they omitted some visions of the Velen and induced him not to fraternize with the natives of Draenor.
Same thing with Blood Elves. A Naaru let himself be captured because he knew that one day those people would hold the light as sacred and when the time came, the light could count on the Blood Elves.
For me it makes a lot of sense for the light to make bargains and let its faithful go through incomprehensible paths.
Yeah, Darion’s backstory is really weird, though it’s not very obvious since most of it is referenced in the Ashbringer comic and not in game. When he was alive he had both dreams that he attributed as the Light granting him guidance as well as vague prophetic dreams, including nightmares that foreshadowed his own death. Didn’t Calia also suffer from significant and semi-prophetic nightmares before she died?
Plus Ner’zhul says that the Jailer was angry at him for being usurped. Meaning that Zovaal did not expect, nor like that Arthas took over as the Lich King.
One reason is for the story. Saving Anduin creates some drama.
Another could be the connection with Azeroth. During the intro the waystone reacted to us and we know that jailer wants to kill/use Azeroth. Azeroth will be the power source and Anduyn will be the operator of the machine that will reshape reality.
Zovaal has kind of trashed all the other characters he has to serve as primary distractions besides Anduin just to get all the Sigils and Anduin’s so far lack of ability to stop Zovaal from dominating him makes him rather the best option to be with him during the stage somebody could try and steal the prize from him.
How did Zovaal through Ner’zhul choose Arthas when he didn’t choose Ner’zhul? There’s nothing to say that Arthas wasn’t Ner’zhul’s choice instead of Zovaal’s. Lich Kings do have a degree of autonomy.
Vaguely recall Danuser stated in an interview that they want us to ask why did Zovaal choose these Light users in an interview but I just don’t care anymore lol
