We Have Bigger Problems Than Deathwing

I've been thinking about Deathwing. Certainly, he is a fearsome enemy. I can feel that he's coming, the Kirin Tor agree with me. But something else is happening. Allow me to meander a bit. For some reason, I found myself thinking of Velen. It's hard to know how to feel about him. He redeemed us at the Sunwell, but...let's just say Sin'dorei and Dranei have not gotten along so well. Knowing his history, leading the draenei from world to world fleeing the Legion, and how they ended up here. But, together we defeated Ki'jaeden. So, why are the draenei still here? Especially if they serve the Alliance.

Then I heard of Velen's prophecy. That Azeroth would be the stage for the coming battle of Light vs. the Darkness. And I wondered what is so special about Azeroth.


(Similarly to how Ilidan was the poster child of Burning Crusade and Outland was the new continent, but really the story was ultimately about the Legion trying to make a third invasion of Azeroth. The creative development team is a notorious bunch of foreshadowers. Lots of questlines and dialogue bits that don't make sense or go anywhere until 2 years later.)

Deathwing is a problem, but then I think of the problems we've already overcome. We defeated the Burning Legion yet again at the Sunwell, and now we've all but bested the Scourge, the runaway zeppelin of the Legion. Those were the major threats to Azeroth as a whole. Then whats the only thing left now: The Old Gods.

The Titans see something in us. They know that Azeroth will be the stage for the final war against Sargeras and the Legion. That's why Algalon was so astounded at our defeat of him. There is something uniquely resilient about Azeroth. Draenor was all but shattered by the forces that settled there. Other worlds Algalon himself has snuffed out without batting an eyelash, and that's probably nothing compared those the Legion has conquered and annihilated. Defeating Loken in the Halls of Lightning was what called Algalon to the planet. This was considered to be the sign that Azeroth wasn't working, and it was time to turn Azeroth off and turn it back on again. But we managed to stop this unfathomably powerful being. So Algalon was surprised. Something about this world was outside of their calculations, claims Algalon, something makes Azeroth special, and the Titans aren't sure what it is.

Think about the Legion and the Scourge, both of which were checked by us mere mortal Azerothians, the Legion, led by the great enemy of the Titans, Sargeras. We know (from Know Your Lore) that the Old Gods viewed the Old Gods as a problem, but they were unsure of whether they should destroy the life Azeroth to kill them. That says something is special about Azeroth, and the people here. There was a baby in that bathwater. And now, that's why Algalon returns to consult with his masters. He's told them that they've created something worth keeping here, and that's why the war is coming here.

That's where Deathwing and the Old Gods come in. Deathwing, terrible and awesome as his power might be, is really just their servant. All of his evil is due to their corruption, and they've been scheming to get out of their prisons for unfathomably many centuries now. We have bigger problems than Deathwing. The Old Gods are just using him as a pawn (more on this later). I can't see how it would be otherwise.

The Titans are interested in us now- they saw what we did with the previous evils, and they want to know how we'll handle this one that has been a conundrum for them thus far. They want to see how things play out on this little planet that could. So many worlds have been destroyed or corrupted- maybe here they finally got their experiment right. We, the denizens of this planet, just won't seem to die, even after we fell victim to the Curse of Flesh. And if we Azerothians prove our mettle yet again against this enemy that the Titans didn't quite know what do with, the great battle will begin. That's what Velen's prophecy meant- the Titans are coming back to make war with Sargeras and the Legion. Let's hope we're all alive to see it.