Here’s the deal with Xal’atath, a.k.a. The Harbinger, and the story we’re about to experience in the Worldsoul Saga.
THE ANCIENT BATTLE
Before life, the universe, and even time existed, there was only Light. From it, Shadow grew (the Void). The two forces were locked in an eternal battle for dominance, and the clash resulted in enormous cosmic explosions giving rise to the physical universe (the Great Dark Beyond) as well as an astral dimension we know as the Twisting Nether. But the two forces were unable to enter the universe in their true forms.
However, shards of Light were flung across the physical universe in this great conflict, seeding worlds with life. The noblest expression of this were the worldsouls, slumbering deep within the cores of a few worlds. More common were the Elementals, who existed in harmony on many worlds. Where Life goes, Death follows, and the forces of Spirit and Decay also came to be.
Spirit is what bind the elements. As worldsouls grew, they consumed vast amounts of it, which caused the elements unrest. War soon erupted on worlds with worldsouls within them.
Order and Disorder became the two most influential forces within the physical universe, shaping existence in their image. One seeking creation and control, the other destruction and chaos.
Sometimes, the shards of Light would coalesce into great clouds of energy, from which other beings sprung. The naaru being among them, beings of Light that eventually succumb to the Void.
Great pantheons of godlike figures eventually saw the light of day, serving as champions for the different forces of the cosmos. We don’t know yet why they exist, or how they were created.
We do know, however, that the Light and the Void are both seeking entry into the physical universe. We also know that Light naturally causes Void, shifting in a seemingly oscillating cycle between light and darkness. In short, the eternal battle rages on outside and within the physical universe. Xal’atath says this:
- “Do the naaru speak of the eternal conflict? That the entire history of your world is but a fraction of the time that has passed? Of those that came before the draenei? No?”
- “Oh! You’ve gathered quote the group of followers. It is fortunate they are focused on this incursion, and not the true war. The scope of it might destroy your minds.”
- “I long for the day our masters can truly pass into this realm. You have only seen fragments, shadows; the faintest of echoes. Ask the Ethereals what one of these manifestations are capable of.”
- (About Star Augur Etraeus, who has observed the Void consuming plantets) “Here is one who has caught the merest glimpse of your grim reality. It warped his mind forever.”
- (About Gul’dan) “Long has this one’s time been coming. A true servant of the fallen titan, he seeks the doom of all things. As if that would really save them from the Void.”
XAL’ATATH, THE OLD GOD
Xal’atath is ancient. She will be a very important character in the years ahead, so it’s vital that we know who she is. Here’s some of what she has to say.
She has a long history, perhaps as a 5th Old God of Life and Death depicted in Chronicles Vol. 1.
- “We may face some of my brethren in this conflict… a prospect that delights me. Their power will be mine! They will pay for what was done to me long ago.”
- “It took ages to make my return to the surface after the Sundering. The naga can be so possessive of artifacts.”
She know’s Queen Azshara lusts for even more power.
- “At times it seems the naga beg from scraps from the Legion’s table. But the queen they serve wants far more than that.”
She considers Elune an enemy.
- “I do so enjoy seeing the shrine of a great enemy profaned by the spirits of its own worshippers.”
- “My mistake. It seems the upstart “goddess” still holds sway here. Oh well…”
She considers the naaru to be ancient brethren of hers that lost their way.
- “I know the naaru consider us horrors to be resisted. We do not share this view. They are merely beloved brethren that lost the true path. They will return to their masters… in time.”
She considers the Old Gods to be her brethren, but not her allies.
- (About Harbaron the Constellar) “It was thought his kind was incorruptible. A lesson for my brothers I suppose.”
- “It is ironic that the weakest of us may be the ultimate victor. C’Thun, Yogg-Saron, Y’Shaarj, and… well. Only one would remain to consume the world, that was always meant to be.”
- “To see Yogg-Saron’s nightmare in full bloom fills me with jealousy… and some pride.”
- “A servant of the Old Gods. Let us consume it.”
- “There! A spy for N’Zoth. We should kill it.”
She has a connection with Azeroth.
- “I can feel the pulse of your world quickening. Soon, all will be drenched in its life blood.”
- “This land has seen so much upheaval. The Cataclysm, the Sundering, the Scouring. You really have no idea.”
She believes Alleria Windrunner will join the Void.
- “This one shows promise. The whispers lure her toward her fate.”
- “The caterpillar has become the butterfly. She is all but ours now.”
She benefits from death and the consumption of souls.
- (Player killing a target) “Every little death helps.”
- (About Ursoc) “Another defender of the Titans brought low. Every death makes it easier. Perhaps now his misery will end, though I doubt it.”
- “Disaster abounds here. Elf ruins filled with unquiet souls ripe for harvest.”
It is possible Xal’atath was an Old God wielding the power of Spirit and Decay, or even Life and Death. But ages ago, the other Old Gods killed her and stole her powers. That’s perhaps how Yogg-Saron came to be associated with Death.
Somehow, her essence became preserved within the Black Blade of the Empire. Perhaps it was the claw of Y’Shaarj, dealing its final blow against the dying Old God. Maybe her final act was to preserve the tiniest fragment of herself within his claw in this moment.
Either way, the Scouring took place aeons later, in which the Titan Keepers waged war against the Old Gods, locked them inside giant prisons, and cleaned the world’s surface from any remaining fragments of their once mighty empire.
Xal’atath, however, remained free. Locked inside the blade, but not in chains. By influencing the minds of different people throughout Azeroth’s history, she was able to travel, to achieve her goals, and to prepare for her future.
She was key in allowing the Aqir to wage war against the ancient Troll empire, but when the Sundering occured she was lost beneath the sea. For thousands of years, she moved between Naga hands all the way to the surface, where she carried on her mission. Only this time, she had made an unlikely ally in Queen Azshara.
When she at last found a new unsuspecting lackey in the Legion expansion (the priest player character), she helped defeat the Burning Legion. Another step closer to her end goal. Sargeras, in a desperate last-ditch attempt to free the worldsoul, plunged his sword into the world from the heavens, before being taken away by the Titans.
Soon thereafter, as the heroes of Azeroth used their artifact weapons to purge Sargeras’ sword from evil over Silithus, Xal’atath made her way to the sandy dunes below, and into the hands of one Ogmot. She remained at his side for a while, granting him visions of the future. He saw Sylvanas leading people to their deaths in the Fourth War, and of the Void’s coming attack on the worldsoul.
Later, she turned up in the hands of the naga once more (probably by her own request) and we find her in Stormsong Valley. Aided by a high elf called Inanis, we find relics the naga had sought to use to conjure a great storm. As Inanis dies, Xal’atath claims her body as her new physical form. Soon thereafter, N’Zoth is given the relics in exchange for severing the ties between Xal’atath and the Black Blade of the Empire.
(The blade ends up in the hands of the Horde, who returned it to Queen Azshara, intending to use it on N’Zoth. She was captured and imprisoned in Ny’alotha however, so the blade instead came to Wrathion who did use it in the fight where N’Zoth was defeated. Presumably instead storing N’Zoth’s essence within the blade.)
Xal’atath, though, was now free to move about as she pleased. She soon recruited the Nerubians of Azj-Kahet to harvest the blood of an Old God underneath Khaz Algar.
She conspired with the recently freed Iridikron so that he would claim the essence of Galakrond, by travelling back in time. Indirectly, this is the essence of Yogg-Saron since he was the one to empower Galakrond. Perhaps it is even Xal’atath’s own essence that he once stole from her.
In an upcoming patch, she will journey to Pandaria to (presumably) lay claim to the remnants of Y’Shaarj’s heart, before making her way to Khaz Algar in the War Within.
If the blood being harvested by the nerubians is that of C’Thun, and if Xal’atath is somehow able to lay claim to the Black Blade of the Empire (now containing the essence of N’Zoth), then it might be the case that she’s collecting all of them before she carries out an “awakening” according to A Song of the Depths.
THE FUTURE OF AZEROTH
Taking us back to the beginning, I would like to focus on the crystal in Hallowfall, one of the new zones in War Within.
This huge crystal of pure Light is lodged within the roof of this vast underground cave, as if it had fallen from high above. We know it’s been there for at least 800 years, because that’s when the Arathi arrived there.
But I believe this is one of the shards of Light which were flung into the universe in the dawn of history, as the Light and the Void waged war against each other.
This is what seeded life on Azeroth, and created its worldsoul.
Now, lately it has gone dark for brief moments all of a sudden, causing the minions of the Void to crawl out from below within Hallowfall. The Arathi fear it’ll darken forever at some point, which would prove disastrous.
We know beings of pure Light oscillate between Light and Shadow. The Naaru do it. There’s symbolism in Azeroth’s lunar cycles about it. The Night Warrior, and so on. I believe this transformation is entirely natural for this shard. But we’re not prepared for it, because it hasn’t happened before.
So, 800 years ago, it called out to the Arathi (then living in Avaloren west of Kalimdor) by giving them a vision of it falling to Azeroth aeons ago. So some of them travelled to find it, and settled around it in Hallowfall. Ever since, they’ve defended it against an increasing numbers of nerubians. Right now, it’s a losing battle as they also have Xal’atath to empower them. They’re evolving, and rapidly.
Xal’atath wants the shard to fully transform into its shadowy state. This is when she’ll be able to carry out the awakening, and cause Midnight on Azeroth (presumably it entails using the essence of the Old Gods to resurrect herself and usher in a Void Lord, perhaps by tapping into the power of the worldsoul).
I think the worldsoul will be fully corrupted as a result, causing darkness across the world. We’ll travel to Quel’Thalas in the next expansion after War Within, seeking to protect the Sunwell and use its potent energies of the Light to empower ourselves against the Void.
Like Chris Metzen has suggested, things won’t go according to plan. We might put an end to the darkness, but we may find out that Azeroth’s worldsoul is in fact imprisoned by the Titans, put in stasis for her protection. As we untangle the web of lies and deception dating back thousands of years, we inadvertedly launch a civil war between the Titans, and unleash zealous forces of the Light on Azeroth.
I feel like Sargeras will be The Last Titan, and the one to ultimately free our worldsoul.
See you in the Worldsoul Saga!