World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is the upcoming expansion to WoW, and Blizzard has been releasing animated shorts covering each of the four covenants which will be present in the upcoming game. The latest release is Afterlives: Revendreth, which is narrated by Sire Denathrius, ruler of the realm of Revendreth as he addresses his citizens regarding the anima drought.
Sire Denathrius is one of the most interesting and charismatic figures introduced in the shorts so far, and his narration is packed full of comical snobbery and ironic references to his own benevolence. Many players will be interested to learn who Sire Denathrius really is, and what sort of role he is likely to play in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands.
Sire Denathrius is the leader of the vampiric Venthyr covenant. He is incalculably old and one of the most powerful beings in the Shadowlands. He rules the Venthyr people from Castle Nathria, and the new Afterlives short shows that his realm operates far more like a real-world kingdom than some fans might expect.
In Revendreth, prideful souls like Kael’thas Sunstrider and Garrosh Hellscream are tortured, their anima extracted in a process that in theory saves them from eternal damnation in the Maw, while also happening to feed the Venthyr’s vampiric tendencies. It appears that while Ardenweald, Bastion, and to an extent Maldraxxus are forms of benevolent afterlives in the Shadowlands, Revendreth is far more punishing and is designed to redeem evil souls rather than reward good ones.
Denathrius is far from a kind and benevolent ruler. The animated short makes clear that he is forcing the workers of his people to work themselves to death, and the short shows him having a Venthyr executed for trying to escape with a small amount of rationed anima. Though the anima drought hit Ardenweald worse, it is clear that Revendreth is one of the worst places to live during the drought, as unlike the Winter Queen, Sire Denathrius puts himself first above all else.
Denathrius created the Venthyr in his own likeness, included Prince Renathal, who refers to Denathrius as father despite being part of the opposition against his rule of Revendreth. It is clear that Denathrius is one of the more evil leaders in the Shadowlands, which could pose interesting moral quandaries for players who join the Venthyr covenant.
In-game text and the torture of Garrosh Hellscream’s soul for anima as seen in the animated short hints that Denathrius has been secretly shirking his duty. Instead of torturing souls to redeem them in Shadowlands, it seems that the anima drought has led the leader of the Venthyr to torture some souls to amplify their sins and harvest more anima from them, with Denathrius referring to the soul of Garrosh Hellscream as “old reliable.” It is unclear if this is worse than the Winter Queen sacrificing anima to save her realm.
He also carries a sword, Remornia, which is sentient and able to speak. The preface to the in-game book “Enemy Infiltration” hints that the Nathrezim – the Dreadlords – may originally have been at the service of Denathrius. Denathrius is also said to have once been “the lord of the dread,” implying that Denathrius was not always his current vampiric form but was once some kind of Dreadlord. The name of Castle Nathria, with its similarity to Nathrezim, seems to hint at this possibility as well.
The character’s easy charm and snobbish outlook will remind many World of Warcraft players of Kael’thas Sunstrider, the Prince of the Blood Elves. Indeed, it seems there are a lot of parallels between Denathrius and Kael’thas. Just as Denathrius turns to more extreme measures during the anima drought, Kael’thas turned to the help of Illidan Stormrage and later the Burning Legion after his people began suffering mana withdrawal after the corruption of the Sunwell.
The fact that Kael’thas also features heavily in the Revendreth main questline as his soul is on its mission for redemption could even hint at how Blizzard plans to deal with the moral ambiguity of the Venthyr under Sire Denathrius. It is possible that at some point, Kael’thas himself will become the new leader of the Venthyr, and the similarities between their characters would make it a fitting conclusion for Kael’thas after his long journey through WoW‘s history that also wouldn’t seem to cheapen his death while also allowing him to have a new people to serve in the afterlife as he did in life.
The main threat that Sire Denathrius is concerned with, however, is a rebellion led by Prince Renathal. It is this rebellion which he the champions of Azeroth to put down, and it is likely that the questline will expose Denathrius and his kingdom for what it really is.
Sire Denathrius is one of the most interesting new characters introduced in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. He is an ally, but cruel to his own people, and there is a lot of ambiguity regarding the righteousness of his mission to redeem souls. Despite being charming and likable, he is also responsible for the most harrowing torture seen in the new lore so far outside of the Maw. Whether his potential replacements will change the Shadowlands for better or worse, however, remains to be seen.
With many old characters from Kel’Thuzad to Draka and even Arthas, the former Lich King likely making a return in the afterlife, Blizzard will need to introduce interesting and morally complicated new stories in order to keep the game feeling fresh and not like it’s retreading old ground. Characters like Sire Denathrius could do just that, and Afterlives: Revendreth is sure to have many World of Warcraft players excited for 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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