by Magistrate - 5 years ago     show comments

(SPOILERS) TL;DR: We don’t know yet, but she’s weird, and she’s the first “Dark Warden.”

Anyone that’s completed the Darkshore opening quests for Alliance or Horde probably cast a curious eye on the development of Sira Moonwarden. More is shown of the events surrounding the Warden in the Horde version, where players must confront her by happenstance.

Of note, I don’t claim to be a lore expert, but I tried to put together a clear picture based on current information.

First, the little background that we have on the Warden. She was originally a randomly named Warden unit in Warcraft 3. After that, nothing was made of her until Cataclysm, where she becomes an NPC players work with to secure a foothold in the Firelands daily zone, the Molten Front. She shows up in a couple random places in Warlords of Draenor as a kind of stock NPC again, but in Legion that changes. When Cordana turns traitor and betrays Illidan’s preserved body to Gul’dan, Sira takes over authority of the Wardens, and she’s actually the NPC that announces targets to players hunting Warden world quests in the Broken Isles. Nothing really happens with her after that, from what I can see.

Fast forward to patch 8.1.

Basically, Nathanos Blightcaller has players interrogate a captured Wisp restrained by dark magic. The Wisp, it seems (although as of this post the quest chain is missing some cutscenes), witnessed Tyrande undergoing the Night Warrior ritual. Based on context and what Nathanos says, it appears that this process has also affected a larger group of Night Elves besides just Tyrande, and Nathanos wants to cut down any possible threat to Sylvanas. However, before Nathanos makes any strategic decisions with how to deal with the new Night Warrior(s), he decides he needs more intel.

Credit: Wowhead, 2017.

For some easy recon, Nathanos has players return to an iconic place shown in early Battle for Azeroth art and the Warbringers: Sylvanas animated short. Early on, there was a lot of speculation on the context of this art: was Sylvanas directly responsible for the burning Teldrassil? was there key context we were missing? who was the fallen elf to her side? In the animated short, it’s revealed to be Delaryn Summermoon, a Darnassian Guard Captain of little relevance before any of these events transpired.

Although Delaryn refused to indulge her hatred and fear in spite of Sylvanas, the Dark Lady has ordered Nathanos to attempt to resurrect the Night Elf that she murdered, anyway.  “Attempt” is pivotal here as the earlier quests in this chain show that victims have to be “willing” to accept “the dark gift” of Forsaken resurrection. “Accepting the gift” is a key term a little later. So, hoping for some intel on the new Night Warrior, Tyrande, and her followers, Nathanos sends Horde players to resurrect Delaryn with two val’kyr.

Enter Sira Moonwarden. As the val’kyr attempt to resurrect not only Sira, but her surrounding compatriots, the Warden emerges from the bushes up the coast. But it is to no avail: players beat her senseless, and either the player or Nathanos deal the killing blow. Tyrande and Malfurion eventually show up, taking down a val’kyr, but Sira Moonwarden, Delaryn Summermoon, and all of the Darnassian archers are resurrected for the Horde.

Upon returning to the Horde’s Darkshore camp, players notice that Sira has had a dark change of garb and title. Now deemed the “Dark Warden,” she seems to serve at Nathanos’ behest, but her wording is strange:

We all have our reasons for accepting the val’kyr’s gift. But now is not the time for those discussions.

Sylvanas has dealt a heavy blow today with the loss of Brynja. We will have no time to rest before the Alliance descends on this place.

Nathanos has summoned you. There is something you must see.

This in mind, some interesting questions arise:

• Is Sira actually loyal to Sylvanas or the Horde?
  She obviously accepted the Dark Gift (it was by choice, not forced), where many other Night Elves deny it in death as per the earlier quest in this same chain. But her reasons remain a mystery. It seems implied that any who accept the gift do so out of some emotion related to hate.
• Does she have some fantastic new powers or skills as the first Dark Warden?
  We may see more of her and her abilities later, but the idea of a “Dark Warden” seems to be in parallel to the Alliance getting “Night Warriors” in this same content.
• Does she actually have some secret motive, and does Sylvanas know?
  Sira’s ambiguity seems to indicate that although those raised with her are all motivated by hatred or fear, their specific motivations, say, Sylvanas destroying their ancestral home and murdering innocents, remain unspoken. Sylvanas herself clearly says that she remembers the specifics of her mortal life and her death, and both of these things have manifested in the hatred and goals she has today. What does the Dark Lady expect Sira will do, let alone Delaryn?
• Why did Delaryn have a sudden change of heart?
  In the Warbringers short, Delaryn refuses to give in to the dark emotions Sylvanas encourages, but for some reason in death she has turned into a creature of miseries and now possibly turned loyalties.

Don’t miss the rest of our patch 8.1: Tides of Vengeance coverage! The next patch lands December 11 in the US, 12 in EU, and 13 in Asia.