WARNING: Midnight spoilers in this post!
Touring Silvermoon
Picking up after the introduction scenario for Midnight with the defense of the Sunwell, the story of Midnight brings us directly to the revamped city of Silvermoon. Immediately, we start with a clear difference between Horde and Alliance, and it's very clear that our experiences in Silvermoon will be quite different.
It would be an understatement to say things between Silvermoon and the Alliance are often tense and uneasy. I thank you for setting aside any prejudices you might have had and leant your strength to the defense of Silvermoon and the Sunwell.
So many have come to the defense of Silvermoon and the Sunwell. Names and faces I did not entirely expect... And some some familiar faces I am glad to see.
You have my thanks for your part, champion.
Upon meeting with the leaders of Silvermoon within the newly constructed Sanctum of Light at the center of the city, we are thrown into the new problem now faced: the Voidstorm is only temporarily halted, and in addition to any potential side effects the Sunwell's eruption might be causing in Eversong Woods, the sudden appearance of the Vanguard of the Light may become a more long-term stay.
High Exarch Turalyon says: The Vanguard of the Light will need quarters and supplies.
Lor'themar Theron says: I will consider it, after I have consulted with the others.
Grand Magister Rommath says: You are not needed!
Magister Umbric says: That isn't your decision to make!
Lor'themar Theron says: The Sunwell holds the Voidstorm at bay for now. But its current state cannot be sustained forever.
Halduron Brightwing says: And there's no telling how it could be affecting the rest of Eversong, especially the Lightbloom. We need an alternative course of action.
Magister Umbric says: We ren'dorei can aid you in finding one. Grant us entry into Silvermoon--
Grand Magister Rommath says: Absolutely not! Your mere presence would risk defiling the Sunwell with Void magic.
Magister Umbric says: Then it seems we have nothing more to discuss. I'll continue my research in Tranquillien, should you choose to see reason.
High Exarch Turalyon says: The Grand Magister is right about one thing--protecting the Sunwell is our top priority. The Vanguard of the Light will see to its defense.
Lor'themar Theron says: Your aid was timely and welcome, Turalyon. But remember that Silvermoon and the Sunwell belong to the sin'dorei. You are guests in our fair city.
High Exarch Turalyon says: Guests, allies, and saviors, Lor'themar. Rest assured that we will guard your city and your people with the full strength of the Light.
While Lor'themar and Turalyon stay to handle the matter of safeguarding the city, he sends the player out to explore the new hub, with different dialogue for Alliance and Horde players based on their familiarity with Silvermoon's previous incarnation.
Now that the matter is settled, you should acquaint yourself with Silvermoon. There are a few key civilians I'd like informed about your presence here--you should check in with them.
Show them my signet ring, they'll know you've my permission to be here. But please take care where you go, and stay in the outer city to avoid any issues.
I've more to review with Turalyon, but in the meantime, the rest of the city should be informed that we will have some temporary guests in the outer perimeter. I'd like you to check in with a few key civilians and deliver the news.
While you're out there, take the chance to familiarize yourself with Silvermoon. We've made impressive strides rebuilding it since you've last visited.
Our quest to explore the city brings us to all the major amenities, including the main inn Wayfarer's Rest, the new portal room, the flight master, and the bank containing our new great vault.
Lor'themar Theron says: I'll speak to the Vanguard while you get the other matters settled.
Innkeeper Jovia says: With all that has happened, that... utterly mad vortex of shadow in the sky, guests are leaving in droves. If I weren't overseeing this place, I'm not so certain I'd still be here myself. If you wish a room, it is yours.
Magistrix Narinth says: That burst of energy from the Sunwell... it was more powerful than any magic I've ever encountered, and I am well practiced. They say that army protects us, but I heard the surge was their doing! Do they even understand what they meddle with?
Skymaster Skyles says: That surge from the Sunwell set off the dragonhawks--they know when there's danger. I've never seen them this unnerved. If the animals are this affected, what about the rest of Eversong?
Ceera says: The last I saw shadows descend on Quel'Danas, Arthas marched on our kingdom with his army of Scourge. Now another army marches in our streets, saying they're here for our protection... are you certain of that?
We also visit a few other locations, including our new Delver's Headquarters with Valeera Sanguinar and the Reliquart, as well as the entrance to the Horde-exclusive section of the city, with yet more faction-specific reactions. While the Alliance is only greeted (harshly) at the gate, the Horde player enters the areas from the old version of Silvermoon to speak with the quartermaster.
Valeera Sanguinar says: Of course--the Reliquary will lend aid wherever it's needed. Let me know if you're interested as well.
Guard Captain Goldblade says: The gates behind me are restricted to members of the Horde only. Avoid the red banners and trees, or there will be consequences.
Magistrix Nizara says: Ah. Well, if you ever need a reprieve from the bustle of our visiting... friends, seek the red banners around the city. We'll keep the Alliance out of those areas.
We then return to Lor'themar and Turalyon outside of the Sanctum of Light, where the blood elves are in the midst of organizing how to maintain their city with the sudden paladin army in need of food and rest.
Lor'themar Theron says: You have already taken so many of my Blood Knights to empower the Sunwell! Quel'thalas is largely undefended!
General Amias Bellamy says: And I am telling you it is still not enough. Only by the faith of our forces is the Sunwell holding back the Void.
Lor'themar Theron says: The Sunwell must not fall.
General Amias Bellamy says: Then make sure we have everything we need and keep enemies off our backs.
High Exarch Turalyon says: General, perhaps you could see to our forces at the Sunwell. I will discuss matters with the Regent Lord.
General Amias Bellamy says: As you will it, High Exarch.
General Amias Bellamy says: Vanguard, collect every weapon not nailed to a wall and let's move out!
When we return to Lor'themar, we get one last reminder of our faction differences before heading into Eversong Woods properly, with our first threat rearing its head.
Remember, you are a guest here. Your aid is appreciated, but our rules must be followed while you are within these walls.
While the Alliance and the Vanguard may become an additional stress for some, their presence is to be tolerated... for now.
Defending Fairbreeze Village
We have little time to linger in Silvermoon, with the problems resulting from the Sunwell's explosion of Light already manifesting. Lor'themar beseeches us to travel to Fairbreeze Village to determine the severity of the damage, joined by Arator.
Before we leave, however, there is a small conversation that occurs between Lor'themar, Liadrin, and Turalyon as they contemplate -- and argue over -- the unexpected power of the Sunwell.
Lor'themar Theron says: You're needed in Fairbreeze, champion. A problem with the Lightbloom.
High Exarch Turalyon says: Arator, you may be needed at the Sunwell.
Arator says: This Lightbloom might actually be of use to the Vanguard. At the very least, I need to find out.
Lor'themar Theron says: Is everything all right, Lady Liadrin? You've said little since we arrived.
Lady Liadrin says: My apologies, my thoughts are with the Sunwell. I did not expect it to react with such... force.
High Exarch Turalyon says: You ask, and the Light provides. Need it be more complicated than that?
Lor'themar Theron says: She speaks of the Sunwell, not the Light.
High Exarch Turalyon says: Your fount was blessed by the heart of a naaru. It is one and the same.
Lor'themar Theron says: I suggest you hold your tongue, High Exarch. That 'fount' you so blithely pretend to understand predates the existence of human civilization.
Lor'themar Theron says: And in all that time, I have never heard of the Sunwell reacting with that kind of... aggression. Liadrin, what was that beam of light?
Lady Liadrin says: I wish I knew. It holds back the void, yet I still wonder... if the Sunwell is capable of such power, what else will it do?
Lor'themar Theron says: That question worries me, Liadrin. Is it wrong for it to do so?
Lady Liadrin says: The effects of the Sunwell have never been malicious. It has blessed Eversong's forests with small groves of Lightbloom for years.
Lor'themar Theron says: Small at first--but Fairbreeze now reports a problem. If the Sunwell is aggressive, what of the Lightbloom?
High Exarch Turalyon says: These worries will lead you nowhere, Regent Lord. As long as the Vanguard maintains the connection to the Sunwell, the Light will see us through.
High Exarch Turalyon says: Have faith. That is all that is needed from you.
Lor'themar Theron says: Perhaps you should save your words for when they are asked for, High Exarch. I suspect they would be better received.
When we head to Fairbreeze Village (now significantly expanded from its size in The Burning Crusade), we're met with animals gone awry throughout the town and sporting an odd Light infection, as well as Orweyna, the young Haranir we met during our time in Khaz Algar in The War Within. Her connection to her mysterious goddess has now brought her to Eversong Woods to investigate the same strange circumstances.
Alongside Arator, we investigate the town, calming the animals, surveying the strange plant growth, and taking down a particularly hostile infected animal.
Arator says: You're Orweyna, aren't you? My mother Alleria told me about you.
Orweyna says: Magistrix, when did you first begin seeing these disturbances with this Lightbloom?
Magistrix Landra Dawnstrider says: Hmm, perhaps when the Sunwell blew sky high into that swirling vortex? ...sorry. I'm a bit overwhelmed.
Arator says: The Lightbloom first appeared when the Sunwell was restored, many years ago. But it never grew near civilization like this.
Arator says: The nearest Lightbloom is nowhere near the village. How did the growth get all the way out here?
Arator says: Perhaps this sudden growth is tied to the empowerment of the Sunwell. I think I was right--this could be used to help the Vanguard.
Arator says: This bush was trampled--the poor wildlife here must be terrified.
Arator says: This nest... it's being choked by the Lightbloom growth. Let's fix this.
Arator says: Ugh! It looks--and smells--like the local pets were marking their territory. They're obviously distressed.
Aleeta Dawnstone says: Please save my kitty, mister paladin!
Aleeta Dawnstone says: Come down kitty!
Arator says: There we are--keep him close now!
Arator says: Light soothe those wounds, little friend.
Darion Swiftdawn says: My poor kitten was savaged! Thank you.
Arator says: It was no trouble at all.
Arator says: What happened here?
Melida Sunward says: Hawkstriders... running amok...
Melida Sunward says: Thank you. Those hawkstriders are a terror!
Arator says: They shouldn't be a problem much longer.
Arator says: She's been slain? But how--look out!
Arator says: That creature must have come from the Lightbloom! We should let the Magistrix know.
After our investigation, Orweyna comes to the same conclusion we do: the Lightbloom is the source of the problem. Following the trail of magic Orweyna lays out, we journey with her and Arator to follow the ongoing infestation to its source.
As we venture away from Fairbreeze, we find the mysterious plants growing much more aggressively, held back only by the magic of the elven runestones. The nearby plantlife and even the corpses in the viscinity are all infected by the Lightbloom.
Orweyna says: This Lightbloom you describe is clearly out of control. We must find what has disturbed it so.
Orweyna says: Follow the trail. It should lead to the answers we seek.
Arator says: Mother said you're familiar with the wilds. What do you make of all this?
Orweyna says: The creatures... they remind me of home, yet they live on the surface. It should not be this way.
Eversong Defender says: You'll encroach no further!
Arator says: Another of those beasts! Quickly!
Eversong Defender says: My thanks.
Orweyna says: We must be on the right track.
Arator says: These creatures seem Light-blessed, but they're so... vicious.
Orweyna says: They claimed this as their territory. We are now encroaching.
Arator says: Trouble ahead! On your guard!
Larianna Riverwind says: The runestone... we were able to hold back the growth, but not those... things!
As we help defend the nearby magisters from an attacking plant monstrosity, we come upon the true infection and learn just how widespread the growth has become.
The Lightbloom
We journey with Orweyna into the fully infected Lightbloom grove, while Arator splits up to find more clues as to its appearance elsewhere. In comparison to the sparse appearances elsewhere, the Lightbloom in this area is overwhelming, emitting a constant haze of Light that changes the skybox and infests all creatures in the area -- living or dead.
Orweyna says: Champion, we must discover what caused these creatures to flourish so suddenly.
Arator says: Let's split up. We can cover more ground. I'll meet up with the two of you later.
Orweyna says: The Lightbloom kills, then grows anew. A vicious cycle that cannot be allowed to continue.
Orweyna says: The growth of these plants has been forced. By what, I do not know.
Orweyna says: It seems even your runestones cannot stop the Lightbloom surge, if there are none left to defend them.
As we continue to explore, we eventually come across Arator being attacked by a strange humanoid Lightbloom creature. Orweyna identifies it as a 'rutaani', and after we kill it and recover the odd seed it carries, regroup at one of the intact runestones nearby.
Rutaani Fighter says: Feed the bloom!
Orweyna says: A rutaani, here? What is that it holds?
Arator says: Quickly, there's a runestone nearby. Let's get to safety and take a look.
The rutaani are as they appear--humanoid, but made entirely of plant life. They are native to my home. As far as I know, they have never visited the surface... until now.
And these rutaani seem different than the ones I know. Changed. Altered. It worries me.
Using the seed, Orweyna channels her connection to the magic within, even as the rutaani try to attack her further. It seems the rutaani are not the cause of the Lightbloom, but yet another symptom -- a symptom of what our paladin friends did to the Sunwell, potentially.
Orweyna says: The rutaani... they are being driven to grow. This Light you speak of may be the cause.
Arator says: I thought the Lightbloom could aid the Vanguard... but were they the ones to cause this?
Orweyna says: This is wrong. All wrong.
Arator says: We need to report back to Silvermoon. They need to know about this.
Retreating to a safe area beyond the Lightbloom, we use the crystal gifted to us by Rommath to contact Lor'themar. In a partially implemented conversation, he urges us to continue towards our main goal: to find a way to stop the Voidstorm, and in that pursuit, sends us to Tranquillien with Arator to meet up with the void elf leader, Magister Umbric.
Before we leave for Tranquillien, however, Orweyna has some final words with us. She reminds us of the sacrilege she commits by even conversing with us, and the threats she may face if she returns home.
Lor'themar Theron says: If Fairbreeze is safe--the Voidstorm still looms.
Lor'themar Theron says: Seek out Umbric in Tranquillien. Reach out when you have more to share.
Orweyna says: We have solved nothing. These rutaani have been changed. I must return to Harandar and investigate.
Arator says: I'll go on ahead--catch up when you can.
Orweyna says: There is tension between Arator and his elders. I understand this well.
Orweyna says: I may not be welcome, where I hail from. To leave, to work with outsiders... the idea did not sit well with my elders.
Orweyna says: But we cannot hope to save our world by hiding from it. My goddess called. I had to answer.
Orweyna says: Arator--I did not expect to find such similarities with those of the surface world.
Orweyna says: Perhaps... of all things, truth is the hardest to see.
Orweyna says: I know nothing of what threatens from the sky. But I know much of what threatens from below.
Orweyna says: I will continue to explore this. When you are ready to examine the root of the issue, return to me.
Continuing on her way, Orweyna awaits nearby to continue the ongoing investigation into the Lightbloom in the Harandar zone. Our journey in Eversong Woods, meanwhile, has reached the end of its first chapter, to be continued in Tranquillien. Let us know what you think of the story so far!
