Hello everyone!
It’s been a while since we had a look or listen to the whispers of Illgynoth, a tiny
growth of the behemoth N’zoth first encountered in the emerald nightmare raid and then made
a return in Nyalotha.
Over the years a lot of cool ideas have been passed around to explain the meaning behind
these whispers, because at the end of the day...they can be applied to many things and
even now remain very fluid.
The Shadow, the Void seeks every possible path and sees them all as truth.
They have inside information to share, hints at things to come.
Keep in mind that there will be spoilers ahead for shadowlands, but first lets go back in
time and listen to the whispers given to us in Legion:
Five keys to open our way.
Five torches to light our path.
The lord of ravens will turn the key.
In Legion we teamed up with Khadgar to gather the five pillars of creation to seal off the
gateway at the tomb of Sargeras.
While succesfull in that mission, ultimately it lead to Illidan opening up a massive rift
between Argus and Azeroth.
This did give us the chance to save the Pantheon and lock Sargeras away, but not before he
took his mighty sword and took a swing at the planet and the titan spirit inside leading
to a whole bunch of Azerite popping up across the surface.
The king of diamonds has been made a pawn.
Its surface blazes bright, masking shadows below.
From the earth, he draws strength.
Our earth.
Our strength.
Her heart is a crater, and we have filled it.
In Battle for Azeroth we teamed up with Magni Bronzebeard, the king of diamonds to save
our world from the damage inflicted by Sargeras.
Magni could also be the one drawing strength from the earth, alternatively it could be
the black prince Wrathion that joined us later.
Azeroth is corrupted by the Old Gods, locked away beneath its surface and in the chamber
of heart we did everything we could to heal her.
Filling up our Heart of Azeroth which did save the world, but was also turned against
us.
Flesh is his gift.
He is your true creator.
To find him, drown yourself in the circle of stars.
At the hour of her third death, she ushers in our coming.
The old gods are responsible for the curse of flesh which was intended to weaken the
titan-forged, make them more volnerable to their corruption and litteraly give them flesh.
It’s how mechagnomes became gnomes or vrykul turned into humans.
Ultimate the circle of stars proved to be a location within the Eternal palace leading
into the final prison of N’zoth.
It was there where queen Azshara turned our heart of azeroth against us and released the
old god from his prison.
The hour of her third death would have been the third time Azeroth ‘died’.
The first time being the sundering at the end of the war of the ancients, the second
time the shattering at the hands of Deathwing.
The third time from the stabbening, us failing to save her and ny’alotha claiming the world.
Their coming was prevented, the world was saved and even cleansed of the foul old gods
infection, atleast according to magni.
Again these whispers can be read in so many different ways, but this is one that i’ve
found fitting meaning that the whispers of Ill’gynoth from Legion talk
about moments that either set up or played out during Battle for Azeroth.
There is however one whisper in this set that I haven’t been able to place in that expansion...
The boy-king serves at the master's table.
Three lies will he offer you.
Pretty safe to say that the boy king is Anduin.
That nickname has been used a fair few times to describe him.
There’s also the novel Shadows Rising where at the end, Anduin confronts Sira Moonwarden.
The little lion has been dealing with the death of his father, ruling Stormwind and
guiding the Alliance, the whispers of N’zoth coursing through Azeroth and now trying to
uphold a tenious peace between the alliance and the horde.
Sylvanas Windrunner must be brought to justice, a quest that pushes people to the extreme.
“Where is she?
Anduin wasted no time.
“Where is sylvanas windrunner?”
Sira moonwarden rolled her eyes and glanced away.
“Nowhere you will find her.
Evne if you did, it is far, far too late.
You have lost.”
“My spies tell me the opposite is true, the king told her.
They say you were not succesfull in destroyign Bwonsamdi, that your dark ranger forces were
annihilated and Nathanos BLightcaller escpaed only because your mistress intervened.’
She said nothing, but her lip curled at the mention of his name.
“Do you know how many deaths you have caused?
How much misery you have brought upon my kingdom?
Anduin crouched, crowding her.
Do you know?
Do you care?
Sira smiled.
“Smile all you like, creature, there is little hope for you now.
Your people will want to speak with you, want to understand how you could serve Sylvanas.
You realize this, yes?”
The dark warden considered that for a moment, Jaina’s magicked flame dancing across her
pale, pale face.
“I know it, yes, and I feel nothing.
Once you more you wasted the little time you have left.”
Anduin made a soft sound of disgust and stood, hovering over her, considering her for a long
and tense spell.
A wisp of purple energy traveled down his arm, gathering in his palm.
It happened in a blink, coming and going, dissipating before Mathias could see for certain
what the king had done.
It startled Anduin enough to make him stumble backward.
SHaw felt Jaina’s eyes upon him, and he glanced her way.
If he was rattled before, the fear etched upon Jaina’s brow shook him to the core.
Anduin winced, breathing hard, shaking out his hands before leaning back against the
wall.
Shaw knew better than to be staring when the king’s eyes began to roam their faces for
a reaction.
Sire threw back her head and laughed herself hoarse.
“Tell me, she mocked in a singsong voice.
How does it feel to know you have lost?
For time will prove it so.
Ah well, take heart, Falling Lion, you will serve well.
You will serve well.”
Again i was
given limited information on this, I was, this was explicitly told I was told to do
this so there were clearly plans there but yeah you know there’s some sort of dark
energy that he’s reaching for in that moment of rage and frustration and sadness.
So uhm, yeah...again I don’t know a ton.
He needs to...during the confrontation there needs to be a surge of dark power that comes
from him and the people around him that care for him need to be taken aback by it.
So definatly a beat.
Thats about all i know about that.
We do have sira that then tells him, you will serve us well.
You will serve us well.
A falling line that was a nice line, have you ever heard of the whispers of illgynoth
by chance?
I have yes.
Is there something there, maybe?
We’re getting into stuff thats dangerous.
Lets not even go there!
I will say, all ill say is that scene specificly everything is extremly intentional.
So with an eye on shadowlands it seems our Anduin is going to serve at the jailers table,
in what ever capacity that might be.
Might be related to passing on leadership of the alliance, his pursuet of sylvanas or
in a more litteral sense, since at this point in time on the beta, Anduin is still trapped
within the tower of Torghast, keeping the jailer company.
Three lies will he offer you, is an interesting one as it might be about Anduin lying or you
can refer it to the Jailer offering lies.
What those lies might be from either of them I have no idea.
Curious to find out though and cool to see that these whispers do eventually find their
spot in the story.
Onwards to the next set of them offered to us when Ill’gynoth returned, this time in
Ny’alotha!
“When their mistress beckons, nine ravens take flight.
Each seeks a prize to earn her favor.”
“The golden one claims a vacant throne.”
With Sylvanas shattering the sky above icecrown and making her way into the shadowlands, her
agents are send out to capture some high profile targets.
It might be related to Helya or some other mistress, but for now nine ravens, nine val’kyr
that entered a bargain with the banshee queen to get her out of hell.
I would right now build a connection between sylvanas, the nine ravens, the nine valkyr
going after these prime targets.
Thrall, Baine, Jaina and Anduin are taken into maw.
They also try to get their hands on Tyrande, but her night warrior powers prove too much
to handle.
With Anduin gone, it’s Turalyon that sits upon the throne of Stormwind.
“In King Anduin's absence, I have been entrusted with the protection of Alliance citizens.
It feels like lifetimes ago that I helped a young Varian Wrynn secure his throne.
Now I am charged with keeping it safe for his son.
The Fourth War took a terrible toll on the Alliance.
Our military might has been depleted.
Stormwind's nobles are keen to see our defenses restored.
Reclaiming Stromgarde was a good first step.
Perhaps there are other holdings of the old Alliance that could be secured.”
What we found out at blizzcon is now also repeated ingame, the alliance won both the
darkshore and the stromgarde warfront and Turalyon thinks it might be a good idea to
keep pushing.
Depending on what target he has in mind, that could work against the tenious peace set up
between the alliance and the Horde, which might relate to:
“The crown of light will bring only darkness.”
At Turalyon’s side there is Alleria Windrunner infused with the void.
She has control over it, for now anyways, but the whispers are always there.
Infact after the defeat of N’zoth, new voices have joined the chorus.
In Shadows Rising these two are on the hunt for Sylvanas and are told to do whatever it
takes to get her.
This includes chaining someone up with the holy light while Alleria penetrates their
mind with the void causing excruciating pain and making Jaina wonder what the heck they’re
up too.
Alternatively it could once again be about Anduin turning to the darkside or Calia Menethil.
Sister to Arthas who died in before the storm, brought back in the Light.
Some are wondering if she’s the one that claims Sylvanas’ throne which would lead
to darkness, but for the moment it’s Lilian Voss that’s leading the Forsaken.
What is interesting to note is the time period in which Calia died because the machine of
death got broken somewhere in the Legion timeperiod, all souls have been going to the maw atleast
somewhere, perhaps even the end of that expansion.
Calia died in Before the Storm which is a novel that bridges the gap between Legion
and Battle for Azeroth so after the expansion Legion which made me wonder why she wasn’t
instantly taken into the Maw.
I took this question to Twitter as well and some really cool suggestions came forward.
Some suggest that the jailer was still building up power so grabbing Calia wouldn’t have
been instantly.
Some suggest that the Light kept her in limbo, away from the clutches of the jailer and some
refered to this whisper dropped by N’zoth in the Crucible of Storms:
“N'Zoth whispers: The Light has struck a bargain with the enemy of all.”
Could it be that the Light struck a bargain for Calia’s soul?
Was her death at the hands of Sylvanas a calculated move and if so, what did the enemy of all
get in return?
There are more whispers N’zoth gave us during that raid that could apply to the Shadowlands
like:
N'Zoth whispers: I alone can save you from what is to come.
N'Zoth whispers: It grows hungrier... bolder.
Alas, your eyes are closed.
N 'Zoth whispers: When the arrow finds its mark, the last fetter will fall away.
N'Zoth whispers: The fall of night reveals her true face.
She will bring only ruin.
N'Zoth whispers: The veil wanes.
His crown will open the way.
And just one more from N’zoth which lines up with what ill’gynoth has to share:
N'Zoth whispers: Six seats at the high table.
Six mouths that hunger.
One will consume all others.
“Five lanterns now darkened.
The flames they seek will light the Masters' way.
The cunning ones kneel before six masters, but serve only one.
The vassal of life disguises treachery.
Beware the eyes of green.”
A little while ago I did a much more detailed
video on the cosmic war that’s taking place in Warcraft.
A shorter version would be the possibility of Sire Denathrius sending out his forces
from the realm of death to infiltrate and manipulate the other realms.
Six masters, but in truth serving only one.
Dreadlords in the domain of disorder, Lothraxion for Light, agents in Shadow that in turn converted
Sargeras from Order to disorder and then one that’s in the Life domain.
All of these cosmic forces are trying to overtake the others like an eternal tug of war, but
balance is important, must be maintained.
The flames they seek would be tipping that scale in their favor.
For example the voidlords sending out their old gods, trying to corrupt a slumbering titan.
Or the Burning Legion having their war with the army of the Light, Sargeras trying to
claim Azeroth.
Those actions they did in order to pursue their goals, to overtake the others, while
a side effect is that they unknowlingly helped out the Jailer with gathering more souls,
gathering more power, helping him break out of the maw.
So while they got weaker, the jailer got stronger.
Then the one about Vassal of life diguises treachery.
Beware the eyes of green.
APLowman commented about this on my cosmo video.
The whisper says "vassal of life" not "vessel", a vassal is feudal title for a land holder
who serves a lord, so basically it means a "high ranking servant of life" in this phrase.
ericturpencalles adds Not only that, but "eyes of green" while everyone seems to focus it
on eye color can also mean "envy", so the phrase could be referring to a high ranking
servant of life with envy over someone or something.
With that in mind, I’m gonna stick with the idea that this is something that comes
into play later.
From the Winterqueen we learn that she has a sister.
“Sister mortal?
Vexing as mine”.
And from the book they observe a connection between Ardenwaeld and the domain of life.
One connection that is clear would be the connection between Ardenwaeld and the emerald
dream.
Spirits from all over the universe end up in the Shadowlands, end up in Ardenwaeld.
If the shadowlands covers all of that, could the same be said for the emerald dream?
The vexing feeling towards her sister might be envy for one another, time will tell.
I’ve also heard the suggestion of Ysera or Freya...
This is all guess work at this point, i’m hoping for many more details and story on
the plane of life.
And then for the final 2 whispers...
The blind queen wields a scepter of bone.
From the deep, she calls forth doom.
Before the last shadow falls, the father of sleep shall savor his feast.
These two are a bit harder to pinpoint.
Blind queens, there’s a helya, a winter queen, a talanji....plenty of queens but the
line about scepter of bone reminds me of the time when Varimathras mocked us about sylvanas
in Antorus
Varimathras: So, she found me at last.
Sent her underlings to finish the job.
Varimathras: Tell me, when she seized your throne of hides and bones, was your allegiance
forced?
No...
I'd wager you surrendered it willingly... or were convinced you did.
Varimathras: It matters not.
You are blind to the darkness in your midst.
Sylvanas potentially thinking that allying with the jailer, setting him free works well
for her plans, what ever they might be, while still blind for the real dangers and schemes
that the jailer is cooking.
3 lies he will offer you...
The father of sleep is a title used for Mueh’zala, someone we’ll spend plenty of time with
in the shadowlands.
Throughout azeroth there are small hints to be found about this loa while he played a
much more prominent rol in the traveler series.
He’s an ally of the jailer, the one who elevated bwonsamdi from troll priest to bwonsamdi
as we know him and we’ll confront him in the dungeon called the other side.
Not vanquished though, he's placed in chains while Bwonsamdi is now the boss so he could
play a part late ron.
Before the last shadow falls, the father of sleep shall savor his feast.
In the traveler series, Mueh’zala confronts or hero and says: “Not yet, Son of Thorne.
Not yet.
This is not the day.
That day comes.
It comes.
But Mueh’zala will not engage you here or now.
Our battle is yet to come, yet to come...
But it will come, child.
It will come.
And if you lose that battle, Mueh’zala feasts on all of Azeroth.
All of Azeroth.
All of Azeroth...”
So he quite likes feasting on things, but how that will play out and how we’re hopefully
going to stop him from doing this...time is going to tell.
That’s my take on the whispers of Ill’gynoth so far as so many of you requested a revisit.
This is just one way of looking at them though so by all means let me know what you think
in the comments down below.
Any awesome connections I totally missed out on?
Let me know!
And with that we’re going to wrap up the video.
Subscribe if you like my videos, leave a like if you enjoyed this one aaand until next time....see
ya!