WARNING: Blood Ties novel spoilers in this post!
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Interesting Tidbits
Worldbuilding Tidbits and Updates
In the wake of the Legion's defeat, many of the surviving demons have fled to Outland to find refuge.
Despite Silvermoon's shift away from fel magic, the warlock-run Sanctum is still operational within the city.
Since Legion, the druids of the Cenarion Circle have begun to heal the fel-scarred areas of the Broken Isles, including Felsoul Hold in Suramar.
The manasabers used by the nightborne as mounts have an innate connection to Azeroth's leylines, and a nose that allows them to sniff out arcane energy.
High elf eyes like Alleria's allow them to see better in the dark compared to the average human.
Allerian Stronghold in Outland is still manned by veterans of the Second War like Auric Sunchaser, who chose to stay there instead of joining the blood elves in Quel'thalas.
Auchindoun is slowly being rebuilt by the Auchenai, continuing from their story in the Draenei heritage questline.
Auchindoun is lined with Arkonite, the crystals first seen in Warlords of Draenor that were used to hide draenei structures from the orcs.
The Sons of Lothar invented names for the constellations of Draenor, such as 'Turalyon's Hammer'.
Thalassian tradition dictates that a bride's hair is styled by her female family members.
A small number of demons have been trained in the ways of the Dreadlord to change shape and infiltrate mortal civilizations, similar to the eredar Eradication from A Thousand Years of War.
The blood of Lightforged like Turalyon can be sensed by demons.
Order Hall Lore
The Silver Hand has two main ranks of paladins: knights and lords, who earn the title through heroic deeds recognized by the Order.
Upon being knighted, paladins of the Silver Hand can also be blessed with a unique title, like Uther the Lightbringer or Arator the Redeemer.
The player paladin is still Highlord of the Silver Hand, and is involved in deciding who is given knighthoods and lordships.
In the wake of the Fourth War, the Order of the Silver Hand has begun awarding emblems to its knights that symbolize deeds of exceptional heroism, named after herbs such as the Bloom of Peace, the Silver Leaf, and the Golden Thorn.
Kayn Sunfury is the canon choice for the Illidari's second-in-command.
Arator and Kayn Sunfury are close friends, after fighting together at the Battle for the Exodar during Legion.
The dead body of Brood Queen Tyranna from the Demon Hunter starting zone is still hanging as a trophy in the Fel Hammer.
The player warlock still leads the Council of the Black Harvest as Netherlord, and is in possession of the Bloodstone from their campaign.
Kira Iresoul is the canon choice for the Sixth member of the Council of the Black Harvest.
Arator, Alleria, and Turalyon
Despite their 1,000 year relationship, Alleria and Turalyon have never formally wed to become husband and wife.
Arator was squire to Grayson Shadowbreaker, the paladin trainer in Stormwind City.
Arator was raised by his aunt Vereesa until the Fall of Quel'thalas at the hands of Arthas, where he was raised by Lor'themar and Liadrin and trained in the ways of the Farstriders.
Turalyon and Alleria hate their statues in Stormwind. Turalyon especially hates the nose.
Alleria has conquered the whispers from the Void inside her head, only hearing them on rare occasions now.
The Windrunner sisters were notorious pranksters in their youth -- especially Sylvanas.
Turalyon was orphaned from his noble parents at a young age, and raised by Alonsus Foal and the Church of the Holy Light in Lordaeron.
Alleria is unable to properly understand naaru chimes in her head thanks to her void connection.
Character Facts
Anduin Wrynn has returned to Stormwind, but has not retaken his place as King.
Genn Greymane is the current ruler of Stormwind while Turalyon is away on important matters.
Thalyssra has moved into the Nighthold, and her old estate is now her and Lor'themar's guest house.
Giramar and Galadin, the twin sons of Vereesa and Rhonin, are now grown young adults.
Eitrigg has joined the Sons of Lothar.
Story Summary
The story of Blood Ties begins in Suramar, where a prank in the now-abandoned Felsoul Hold reveals that the demonic stronghold might not be as empty as the Nightborne think. After being denied a lordship in the Order of the Silver Hand for a lack of exceptionally heroic deeds, the half-elf paladin Arator is told of this disturbance by his longtime friend Lady Liadrin, who sends him to Suramar to investigate and prove his worth. Little does he know that his parents, the legendary Alleria Windrunner and Turalyon are also in Suramar on a diplomatic visit to First Arcanist Thalyssra and Regent-Lord Lor'themar Theron.
Eager to aid their son in proving his worth, Alleria and Turalyon join Arator on his scouting mission, where they begin to bond as a family amidst their ongoing mission. When their scouting uncovers a re-ignited soul engine at the heart of Felsoul Hold, however, things turn serious. A nearby nightborne encampment had been raided by felbats, abducting all but one survivor and using their souls as fuel for the engine. The family trio rescue the Nightborne woman Mauvara and bring her safely back to Suramar.
At the Nighthold, Thalyssra and Lor'themar agree that if another Legion invasion is brewing, they have a responsibility to prevent it. While Mauvara is placed in the care of Thalyssra's guard captain Niandar, Arator proposes working with the Illidari, and the trio (begrudgingly) journey to the Fel Hammer to meet Kayn Sunfury. There, they receive information about a demonic artifact that can track a singular demon, but only one time. That artifact is not on the Fel Hammer either, but in the hands of the demon hunter Lyana Darksorrow in the midst of being used on Outland -- the very place for which Alleria and Turalyon left Arator behind on Azeroth to pursue the orcs and eventually join their thousand-year fight against the Legion.
On Outland, the trio are pointed in the direction of Allerian Stronghold, where Alleria is given many uncomfortable reminders of her past, before heading towards Auchindoun to find Lyana. There, she agrees to give the artifact to the trio in exchange for aid in hunting down her target, a shivarra named Varaskar the Flayer. In the tombs of Auchindoun, they all fight they way towards her, rescuing scouts along the way and slaying their target -- but not before she blusters to them about the growing strength of the Legion on worlds beyond Azeroth.
Amidst their journey, the family dynamic between Alleria, Turalyon, and Arator is tested. Turalyon has a strict adherence to protocol and reverence under the Light, while Arator has a habit for flexible rule-breaking akin to his mother. Likewise, Alleria's usual honed focus wavers over her concerns for Arator's safety. Nevertheless, the three bond in the one place they all feel at home: the heat of battle.
Before they return to Felsoul Hold to track down their mysterious target, the trio head to Honor Hold and reminisce on their past. For Arator, it was the place he journeyed to find his parents, but for Alleria and Turalyon, it was one place among many that the two fell deeper in love for each other, and for just one night they allow themselves to linger on that connection.
Unfortunately, the trio return to Felsoul Hold to find that the soul engine had only gotten stronger in their absence. Many nightborne have been slain in their absence, including the guard captain Niandar. Utilizing the artifact to track down their prey, they are led to another Nightborne encampment, this one still occupied by civilians. The trio are able to rescue them before they can be abducted this time, but they are also led to their target -- an eredar lord named Sarothar with the ability to transform into the shape of any mortal form.
Sarothar decides to warn them not to interfere with his plans rather than kill them, so as to not rally Azeroth's armies against him immediately, and swiftly departs, rending the artifact now useless for tracking him. Just like many times before, Alleria chooses to leave Turalyon and Arator behind, using her connection to the Void to track the lingering demonic leads in the Broken Isles.
Arator, meanwhile, has a different idea -- to bring Sarothar directly to them. To do this, he brings Turalyon to Dreadscar Rift, headquarters of the Council of the Black Harvest. There, he allies with Jubeka Shadowbreaker and the other council members to summon Sarothar to the rift to interrogate him. The plan is that Arator and Turalyon would protect the warlocks as they harvested the power needed to summon and subjugate the eredar lord. Their plan ultimately works too well, with Sarothar summoning a horde of demons alongside himself.
In the process, Arator is put at risk by Sarothar, and Turalyon makes a desperate plea to the Light: he will let it use him however it saw fit in order to annihilate Sarothar. Turalyon is enveloped by his own wrath, the Light using him to utterly annihilate Sarothar -- but it does not fade once the task is done. He lingers in this wrathful state, face twisted by rage and words echoing not his voice, but that of the Light's. He begins to turn upon the warlocks, seeing them as a dark force antithetical to the Light's will.
Far away, Alleria senses this surge of Light, and journeys to Dreadscar Rift to find the aftermath of their encounter with Sarothar. Only through her voice is Turalyon able to calm himself from his light-blinded fury, barely remembering what he had done. By all accounts, however, their task is completed; Sarothar is dead, and when they return to the Nighthold, they receive news that Thalyssra's forces have cleared Felsoul Hold of any demonic presence and shut down the soul engine.
With time to finally relax, the trio join Thalyssra and Lor'themar for a proper meal, where Arator brings up the question of why his parents had never wed in their thousand years of marriage. While the two brush it off in public, Turalyon later finds Alleria in private and proposes. He asks not just for her hand in marriage, but to plan their future beyond the next fight ahead with their son, and Alleria accepts.
Thalyssra quickly begins to prepare for their wedding in Suramar, a small gathering of friends and family including Alleria's sister Vereesa and her twin sons, the Sons of Lothar, and various heads of state with close ties to the couple like Anduin Wrynn, Halduron Brightwing, and others. Arator serves as officiant, and Turalyon prepares a ring for Alleria as representation of their love: a black spinel surrounded by diamonds, to signify the protection and harmony they give each other.
Unfortunately for the couple, the ceremony is interrupted when Arator spots the face of Niandar, who they saw dead at Felsoul Hold. It is then that they realize that Sarothar had been playing them the whole time, guiding them to kill his rival Varaskar and drawing attention to his soul engine so he could harvest more power. He opens portals into the wedding, attacking the unsuspecting and unarmed guests.
Arator follows Sarothar through one of his fel portals back to Felsoul Hold, and Alleria and Turalyon follow closely behind, They do not find his exact location, however, and Alleria once again leaves Turalyon behind to search for her son. Now separated, the almost-married couple search frantically for their son, and converge upon Sarothar in a move that forces their powers of Light and Void to clash, weakening the other.
Arator, meanwhile, realizes the true target: the soul engine. The whole assault from the Nightborne had been a ruse, and it had never truly been disabled. While his parents desperately assault Sarothar and nullify each others' powers, he pours Light into the soul engine, overloading it to the point of explosion and using his powers to shield his mother from the blast that obliterates Sarothar entirely.
Before the two can slink away to avoid the clash between them that had occurred, Arator forces his parents to sit down and decide if they can coexist together beyond the battlefield. While Turalyon professes his love for Alleria despite the Lightblinded outburst he had suffered in Dreadscar Rift, Alleria believes that the cosmic forces between both of them have built a rift that cannot truly be mended. She returns her ring to Turalyon and, despite Arator's heartfelt protests, chooses to once again leave behind her loved ones.
Some time later, at Light's Hope Chapel, Arator is awarded a medal for his acts of heroism. Once the ceremony is concluded, Turalyon arrives to congratulate his son, and give him an official acknowledgement for his actions. While Arator is still torn up over his mothers' departure, Turalyon has endured Alleria leaving him and returning to him behind time and again over thousands of years... but only now does he finally begin to doubt if his love will return to him as she has before.
Our Review
Blood Ties is the ultimate examination of the relationship between Alleria and Turalyon, punctuated by the presence of their son Arator. These two characters have been a strong presence in the narrative since their reappearance in Legion with the audio drama A Thousand Years of War, and this book picks up on many of the themes of that story and continues them after nearly a decade.
Despite the looming threat of a Legion invasion, this story is a character piece at its heart -- an examination of how the love between two fundamentally different people can endure beyond the pretenses of world-ending disaster. We saw in The War Within that Turalyon has grown comfortable in the cycle of Alleria leaving him behind for her own single-minded pursuit of Azeroth's salvation, because he knows in his heart that she will always return to her. Likewise, Alleria had grown to see the certainty of love that Turalyon and Arator held for her as a grounding feature in her struggle to control the Void within her, and had used it to pull back from the edge of temptation and blind vengeance.
In this novel, however, we see the rot of that flawed dynamic begin to form. In times of quiet, Alleria finds herself unable to pursue the simple pleasures alongside her loved ones, always looking for the next hunt she must embark on. Likewise, Turalyon finds his strictly adherent relationship to the Light at odds with the elven rebellion present in his lover and son, and when that adherence overtakes him in a moment of desperate fear, it paints his connection to the Light in a way that Alleria can no longer overlook.
In the past, the Warcraft franchise has struggled to tell compelling romance stories. Often times, we see couples come together out of obligation more than passion, and hold incredibly loving but ultimately unengaging dynamics between their two characters. In this novel, that could not be more opposite. The romance between Alleria and Turalyon is put on full display: their passion for each other, their unbreakable connection through their son Arator, but also the differences that cannot seem to be bridged.
In the events of this novel, Alleria sees things in her almost-husband that she has not seen before, and they push her away from fully committing to an everlasting bond with Turalyon. This ultimately leaves Turalyon distraught and Arator in an uncomfortable nexus between both of his parents that segues perfectly into the upcoming story in Midnight. Seeing Turalyon struggle against both his son's rebelliousness and his increasingly complicated adherence to the Light will play a major role in his upcoming story, and likewise Alleria's continued isolation from her family as she delves deeper into the Void will send both sides of this couple on a collision course towards disaster in Midnight.
At the center of it is Arator, who expresses thoughts throughout this book of feeling trapped between two worlds: the adherence to Light and tradition of his human father, and the rebellious flexibility and acceptance of darker virtues of his elven mother. These traits are on display throughout his story in Midnight, where he will struggle with his connection to the Light and his mothers' homeland of Quel'thalas throughout the entire expansion.
Ultimately, this book strikes a decent balance of what any Warcraft novel should be: it is not mandatory to understand the characterization of these three characters heading into Midnight, but it offers in-depth insight into their flaws and virtues alike as they move into the spotlight for the upcoming expansion. This article only summarizes the complicated arcs of these characters, so for those particularly interested in this trio as our incoming main story cast, we would highly recommend giving Blood Ties a read.
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