Posts with tag leader-short-stories

The last of the leader short stories is now available on the official Warcraft website, and it was worth waiting for. Velen: Prophet's Lesson, written by Marc Hutcheson, focuses on Prophet Velen and Anduin Wyrnn, who began studying with Velen in the novel Wolfheart. Also featured is Vindicator Maraad, who not only made his appearance in game on the Alliance ship on Icecrown but has been featured in many other Warcraft products as well. Maraad isn't just a random draenei -- he's also Garona's uncle and has made an appearance in DC Unlimited's series of action figures.

Prophet's Lesson appears to take place just after the Cataclysm as the mortals of Azeroth struggle to recover from the devastation and put an end to Deathwing. The worgen are officially Alliance and Anduin is studying with Velen, so this definitely puts it after Wolfheart in the time line, but Anduin also mentions the rift between himself and his father, which means the story likely takes place before Varian Wrynn: Blood of our Fathers. In Prophet's Lesson, Anduin is studying with Velen as well as helping the draenei take care of sudden group of guests that grows larger by the day, human refugees from the Cataclysm who seek Velen's guidance.

Velen, however, is seeing no one but Prince Anduin -- and this hasn't gone unnoticed by the draenei who are no longer allowed to seek audience with the Prophet. But Anduin has one very pointed question for Prophet Velen: Why didn't he warn the world about the Cataclysm?

Hutcheson did a masterful job with Velen's character, shedding a little light (no pun intended) on what exactly the draenei have been up to during Cataclysm. You can read the full story on Blizzard's newly revamped Expanded Universe site.

The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Since Rossi is taking a look at the top lore reveals of Cataclysm, I decided to jump in hand-in-hand with that. A little over a year and a half ago, I addressed some of the storytelling methods of Wrath -- what worked, what didn't work. It wasn't a look at specific lore moments as much as a look at how Blizzard was handling lore as a whole. Compared to the early days of WoW, Wrath made some giant strides forward in how we as players interacted and mingled with the various storylines of the expansion.

Much like Wrath, Cataclysm observed all that had come before, took a good look at all of it, and promptly made some giant strides of its own. What we've gotten in the past year has been nothing short of astonishing in terms of creating a meld of gameplay and lore that draws the player in and keeps them there ... to a point. After all, nothing's perfect in this world, and there are always things that could be tweaked and improved upon. Let's take a look at the top 10 lore developments of 2011 -- not the story we've seen in the foreground, but all those wonderful mechanics behind it.

Trade Prince Gallywix represents the worst of the goblin race. Irrepressibly greedy and always scheming, the conniving racial leader of the Bilgewater Cartel is a sore spot for most goblins out there. This could have something to do with the bit where he tried to sell everyone into slavery when the island of Kezan was destroyed. But hey, when the opportunity arises to make a buck, Gallywix is there to take advantage of it.

Live on Blizzard's community site, Gavin Jurgen's Gallywix: Trade Secrets of a Trade Prince is the story of just how Gallywix rose to power, containing a few tips to aspiring Trade Princes out there. Did we say a few? Yeah, right -- as if a Trade Prince is going to give away his secrets that easily.

Gallywix is the third installment of the Leaders of the Horde and Alliance series. Unlike the prior two entries, Gallywix offers a more humorous look at what it takes to become a leader -- and a grim glimpse into the seedy underbelly of Kezan. From the slums to the heights of his own Pleasure Palace, Gallywix's rise to power is something that's often bickered about by those that play Horde who feel that Gallywix's time ought to be coming to an end. Judging from this story, that's only going to happen over Gallywix's dead body -- and the bodies of those he takes down with him.

Check out the whole story on Blizzard's community site (and while you're there, you can take a peek at the other stories currently available).