During Gamescom 2018, World of Warcraft revealed its third and final Battle for Azeroth Warbringers short. It stars one of World of Warcraft’s eldest and most vicious villains Azshara and unlike the last two shorts, it takes us all the way back into the popular MMO’s history.
As it stands, Azshara rules an underwater city called Nazjatar that’s home to a race called the Naga — formidable enemies that players have battled against since the early days of WoW. It wasn’t always like this though, and with the latest short, we get a little context to her backstory and a clue of what to expect farther down the line in the Battle for Azeroth expansion. The description of the video reads, “What would you do to save a people?” foreshadowing that the story we’re about to witness is a heavy one. Warcraft lore has it that once upon a time, Azshara was a revered monarch who ruled a kingdom of night elves before they were struck down by a catastrophic event called The Sundering.
We get to see this take place in the short, as she uses her powers to momentarily stop her kingdom from being destroyed by massive waves. In those moments, her strength and morality are both tested. N’Zoth, an Old God from Azeroth, attempts to strike an agreement with her — in return for saving her kingdom, she must serve him and help him rebuild his own. If Azshara turns his offer down, she and her entire kingdom will be left to ruin.
If you’re a fan of Warcraft lore then you may have an idea about what happens next, but if this all new to you, we’ll promise we won’t spoil it all here. Watch the Warbringers: Azshara short below.
The Warbringers short series up to this point has spotlighted characters Jaina and Sylvanas, with Azshara being the last one. There was speculation that this would be the case, especially since Blizzard unveiled new key art for Gamescom 2018 that featured Azshara (along with D.Va who subsequently got a new short herself) and now we know with certainty what they were alluding to.
