The upcoming expansion World of Warcraft: Shadowlands adds another layer of complexity to the Warcraft multiverse by introducing the Shadowlands, the realms of the dead.
Between different planets, different timelines, different dimensions and a plethora of mysterious planes, many players will be interested to know exactly how many different realities now exist within the Warcraft multiverse, and how they might expect them to interact in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands.
The Material Realm, also known as the Great Dark Beyond, is WoW‘s main reality. It has stars, moons, planets, and is the main plane of reality in which all action on Azeroth and Outland in the main games takes place. However, Warlords of Draenor takes place on the planet of Draenor before it was shattered and became Outland. This shows that the Material Realm is just as prone to shifting realities as the other planes of existence, and can sustain multiple timelines with different outcomes.
The Twisting Nether is the astral plane that lies between the different world of the Great Dark Beyond. It is a permeable space between planets where aspects of both the Light and the Void are able to seep through and influence mortals, and it is dangerous only in the sense that it contains volatile energy from these other realms. When Illidan Stormrage looked into the Twisting Nether, he saw the worlds the Legion had conquered.
The Emerald Dream is the realm of untamed nature that reflects Azeroth itself. It was the Emerald Nightmare for a time when it became corrupted, and was the realm of the green dragon aspect Ysera before her death. It represents what Azeroth would look like if it has been totally unaffected by intelligent beings. Ysera could be one of the dead characters fans see in WoW: Shadowlands, likely in Ardenweald.
The Void is a realm formed by the existence of two fundamental forces in the universe, the Light and the Void. Void Elves traveled to the void and infused themselves with its shadowy powers, while players on Dreanor were able to see into the Void using a Void Lantern. It was the void lords who created the Old Gods, who seek to turn the mortal realm into a place of death and darkness, and these Old Gods now inhabit their own realm, Ny’alotha, which is separated from the physical world by a thin veil.
The Warcraft universe is also full of pocket dimensions created by various powerful beings. During the War of the Ancients, a few blue dragon eggs were hidden by Krasus in a pocket dimension to ensure the future of the species. The gnome Magnus Manastorm, father of Millhouse Manastorm who worked with Kael’thas Sunstrider in Burning Crusade, is imprisoned in a pocket dimension called the Phantasm Zone created by the mages of the Kirin Tor as it was feared that Magnus was ironically more powerful dead than alive.
The town of Ambermill was briefly hidden within a pocket dimension by the same mages, but Horde players broke the spell, bringing the town back into the material realm where it was swiftly conquered by the Forsaken. The Arcane appears to be one way to peer into other realities, as when Garrosh Hellscream destroyed Theramore with a mana bomb, the magic it released briefly allowed onlookers to look into other worlds.
The Elemental Planes are four interconnected domains that exist within a single pocket dimension. This dimension was created by the Titanic watcher Highkeeper Ra and Helya, the ruler of Helheim, the underworld for vrykul who don’t ascend to the Halls of Valor. The Elemental Planes are the Firelands, the Skywall, the Abyssal Maw, and Deepholm, each one representing one of the four major elements. Most of the elementals are trapped there because of the havoc they caused across Azeroth while under the influence of the Old Gods.
The different Elemental Planes used to be engaged in a 5000 year-long battle called the Elemental Sundering, primarily between Ragnaros the Firelord and Prince Thunderaan the elemental prince of wind that the Firelord would eventually win. Thunderaan was eventually resurrected by the Earthen Ring during the events of World of Warcraft: Legion.
The Shadowlands are the realms of death, and appear to exist above all other realms. It is unclear whether or not souls only travel to the Shadowlands if they died in the Great Dark Beyond, but it is the Shadowland realms of Ardenweald, Bastion, Maldraxxus, and Revendreth which will form the main setting of WoW: Shadowlands.
There is also the Maw, where the Jailer keeps the souls of the eternally damned, including Arthas, and Oribos, the city at the center of the Shadowlands where the Arbiter judges moral souls. The Shadowlands have also been seen in previous expansions to have parallels to the mortal plane, with characters travelling through a Shadowlands version of Orgrimmar with the spirit of Vol’Jin in Battle for Azeroth. It is likely, therefore, that the Shadowlands are far larger than will be represented in-game, and are possibly even infinite.
The Warcraft multiverse is getting pretty complicated, and many fans are likely hoping that Blizzard will take some time in Shadowlands to explain how all of these different plans of reality intersect and interact now that Sylvanas has broken the veil between life and death itself. Blizzard should also take the time to investigate some of the questions which will surely arrive as players travel through the Shadowlands.
What happens if an elemental or a creature of the void is summoned into the Shadowlands? Do the Shadowlands really exist above all other realities, and how does this version of the afterlife interact with places like Helheim and other planes of death, especially considering the fact that Warcraft’s humans are descendants of the vrykul? As the Warcraft universe becomes more diverse with each expansion, it will be a tough task for Blizzard to keep everything consistent, let alone players. Warcraft fans will see if the developer is up to the task of taking on their own immense lore in WoW: Shadowlands.
World of Warcraft is available now for PC. At this point, World of Warcraft Shadowlands releases on October 26 or 27 (depending on time zone) for PC.
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