Jarod Shadowsong, the biggest hero you've never heard of
by Mike Schramm 
May 7th 2009 at 9:00AM
Call me a lore noob (and that's fine, Alex will heartily agree with you), but like Loregy.com suspected, I had never before heard of Jarod Shadowsong. We pretty much all know about his sister Maeiv, thanks to her little tirade against Illidan and the big part that played in the last expansion. But Jarod might be Azeroth's biggest unsung hero. And considering that all of the rumors point to the next expansion diving into the Maelstrom and/or the Emerald Dream, not to mention an eventual showdown with Sargeras, he could also play a very important part in Azeroth's future.Jarod led the charge in the War of the Ancients, a huge battle thousands of years ago in Azeroth's past that culminated in Jarod's taking full command of the Kaldorei Resistance, a one-on-one battle with Archimonde (players have faced him, too), and eventually the collapse of the Well of Eternity. An event that led directly to, you guessed it, the creation of the Maelstrom. See how it's all coming together?
Loregy has more speculation: just like during Jarod's time, the Horde and Alliance are growing apart, and if Sargeras decides to bite back after what happened in the Burning Crusade, we'll need a leader to combine the troops. Thrall and Wrynn are each powerful leaders in their own right, but Jarod is the big daddy of generals. And if big trouble goes down in the next expansion, he could be the key to saving the world again. And the guy doesn't even have a picture on WoWWiki!
Filed under: Warrior, Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Blizzard, The Burning Crusade, NPCs
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Drahliana May 7th 2009 9:08AM
To be fair, if you've never read the War of the Ancient's Trilogy, you'd never have heard of the man.
styopa May 7th 2009 9:12AM
Jarod?
LOL. We've got the Subway spokesman as a badass general, lol. "He was fat, but now he's lost 140 lbs and is READY to destroy evil!"
One of the least-immersive parts of WoW, the horrific (lack of) naming conventions, based on modern popular names. In opposition stands (of course) Tolkien who actually put some thought into the linguistics of his various factions/races, which deeply enhanced the verisimilitude of LoTR.
Instead, we have NPCs that sound like they just hopped out of their Mom's SUV after coming home from Soccer practice. What's next, Mandy the Magnificent, Tyler Dragonslayer, or Brandon Uberpwnz?
/facepalm at anyone who calls this silly, inconsistent, constantly-retconned goulash "lore"
Alizar May 7th 2009 10:20AM
What do you mean "Jarod?"...everyone knows who Jarod is, he is the guy on the Subway commercials!!!
Batleth May 7th 2009 9:13AM
Jarod was definitely one of the "cooler" figures in the War of the Ancients trilogy...mainly because he was always the reluctant leader/general. He found himself constantly in his big sister's shadow and thankfully when greatness was thrust upon him, he seized it. And while no one can be deemed more brave or courageous than Jarod, Archimonde was merely toying with him in their fight. The destruction of the Well diverted Archimonde and saved Shadowsong in the process.
But anyway, after those events, Jarod just up and disappears. When and if he makes an appearance in WoW, will he even be open to the idea of leading again? When he disappeared, he was looked upon (and rightfully so) as a savior. All that was going on was the rebuilding. So why would he want to come back out of the blue to take the reins again after 10,000+ years?
Lycanthro May 7th 2009 9:43AM
Savior? Disappears? Jarod... Jesus....
I LOOOOVE the originality, because to make a compelling character he has to be a Jesus figure.
Friday_Knight May 7th 2009 10:50AM
Think you're reading into this a bit too much Lycanthro...
edward May 9th 2009 4:35AM
Jesus wasn't a reluctant leader
skreeran May 7th 2009 9:15AM
I don't care how awesome he is, I will never, ever, ever, EVER, fight under a Night Elf. I would join the Burning Legion before that.
Although admittedly, he would make a good leader.
danny.stout723 May 7th 2009 9:19AM
What if he danced naked on a mailbox?
Drahliana May 7th 2009 9:21AM
To be fair, anyone who expects Tolkien or even Tracy and Hickman, out of WOW is really not only making an unfair comparion, but is entirely off base. J.R.R. Tolkien was an Oxford Fellow, one of the pillars of his profession of culture and linguistics. And his writings were literally the product of decades of work. Warcraft on the other hand is descended from what is basically a Command and Conquer game which originally only had a crude map and some text with the names like "Black Morass" and "Stormwind Keep" to dress it up. Considering that the Lore is an afterthought, it's actually not that bad.
Jarod's not that bad a name after all there were Jarods long before there were Subways. Although to tell the truth, it would have been better used as a Human name, but the same could be said for Maiev as well. Warcraft fiction has always had a heavy camp element mixed in with the drama, in some ways it's kind of how Batman has swung between heavy drama and heavy camp in his developmental history.
BulletzBill May 7th 2009 9:35AM
Yeah, the thing that alot of people knock Warcraft lore for, is exactly one of the reasons why I like it; it doesn't take itself too seriously. Its a refreshing change of pace from all that super-serious fantasy out there, and I personally think the Blizzard creative team did a fantastic job of going back and creating a universe around the games, after they realized the potential of the IP.
Yeah they've made some changes and "retcons" here and there as its progressed, but so what, this is fiction people, not like they are going back and changing the outcome of The War of 1812 or something.
Todd May 7th 2009 9:22AM
He's not so tough!
Knob May 7th 2009 9:24AM
Broxigar > Jarod Shadowsong.
But then again, Broxigar is at least mentioned in WoW with Saurfang going "I am Saurfang, brother of Broxigar."
Kassu May 7th 2009 1:07PM
^This.
rai May 7th 2009 5:33PM
he is dead.
next?
snowleopard233 May 7th 2009 9:30AM
This post is basically a whole lot of wishful speculation. People don’t so much know that the next expansion is going to be in the emerald dream as much as they want it to take place in the emerald dream.
Also, I thought this guy was dead. Heck, he was one-shotted by a pre-demonic Illidan, a guy we killed back when we were level 70. What makes you think the horde and the alliance are going to get behind some dead guy who was taken out by a raid boss twenty levels lower than what we’ll be by that point? This guy is weak sauce.
BulletzBill May 7th 2009 9:38AM
No, he's not dead, his current location is just "unknown". And he was actually in the game during beta, but was removed for one reason or another.
soatari May 7th 2009 9:45AM
Keep in mind that Illidan spent the better part of 10,000 years rotting in a prison before being broken out in the events of Warcraft 3. I think its reasonable for his abilities to have waned over those years.
rai May 7th 2009 5:36PM
also, levels don't really mean anything in the lore. They don't exist. it is just a game mechanic. If Kil'jaeden returned, he wouldn't be level 73.
perderedeus May 7th 2009 9:36AM
If Tirion Fordring cannot unite the Horde and Alliance... Jarod Shadowsong might be able to. I would follow him, even if he is a night elf. ;)