WARNING: Patch 12.1.7 Spoilers in this post!
The Titans Throughout World of Warcraft
To start off this lorewalking journey, Li Li first discusses the information we have already learned about the Titans and their creations throughout the game's history. When WoW first launched, the relationship that Azeroth had to the Titans was shrouded in mystery, with the player races not even knowing about their origins as Titanforged.
Li Li Stormstout says: It is people's nature to wonder where we came from. Who or what made us? Why are we here?
Li Li Stormstout says: For ages, the titans, also called the creators or the makers, were shrouded in mystery. Yet they seemed to hold the answers to these questions.
Li Li Stormstout says: Clues lay in the ruins of titan facilities filled with strange, advanced technology. As we've explored, more and more debate has sparked among Azeroth's greatest scholars.
Li Li Stormstout says: What are the titans? Are their intentions selfish or benign? And do we owe them our very existence?
That mystery began to be uncovered when we first entered Uldaman back in Vanilla WoW, and encountered Titanforged such as Archaedas and Ironaya. At the end of that dungeon, we found the Discs of Norgannon and learned that races like the dwarves and troggs were actually descended from the robotic Earthen, and had later transformed from their stone skin into the modern fleshy forms.
Li Li Stormstout says: Let's begin many years ago with a journey into Uldaman, one of the many titan facilities found across Azeroth.
Li Li Stormstout says: A hero ventured into Uldaman, where the Keeper Archaedas guarded a vault of secret titan knowledge.
Li Li Stormstout says: Within the vault lay the Discs of Norgannon, said to hold secrets about the origins of the dwarves.
Li Li Stormstout says: From the Lore Keeper of Norgannon, we learned about the earthen, a race forged of stone by the titans to shape Azeroth itself.
Li Li Stormstout says: Over time, an anomaly caused some of these titanforged to be made of flesh and become mortal. These were the dwarves.
The information gleaned in Uldaman was revolutionary for the dwarves, particularly for Brann Bronzebeard. When the factions eventually gained footholds on Northrend during Wrath of the Lich King, Brann led expeditions with the Explorers' League into the frozen north to glean information from any titan facilities they could find there.
In Northrend, Brann found the titan city of Ulduar in the depths of the Storm Peaks, and in the midst of the world-ending battles against Yogg-Saron, was able to glean more information about the origins of the dwarves thanks to the Tribunal of Ages. In particular, he learned that the anomaly responsible for turning the Titanforged into mortal races like dwarves, gnomes, and humans was known as the Curse of Flesh, and originated from the very Old Gods that facilities like Ulduar were designed to imprison.
Li Li Stormstout says: Imagine learning for the first time you were descended from machines! Curious, we dug deeper, this time into the titan facility Ulduar.
Li Li Stormstout says: Brann began in the Halls of Stone, where a titan repository held more knowledge about the anomaly that turned the titanforged mortal.
Abedneum yells: System online. Life form pattern recognized. Welcome, Branbronzan. Query?
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Query? What do you think I'm here for, tea and biscuits? Spill the beans already!
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Tell me how the dwarves came to be, and start at the beginning!
Abedneum yells: Accessing prehistoric data... retrieved. In the beginning the earthen were created to--
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Right, right... I know the earthen were made from stone to shape the deep regions o' the world. But what about the anomalies? Matrix non-stabilizin' and what-not?
Abedneum yells: Accessing... In the early stages of it's development cycle, Azeroth suffered infection by parasitic necrophotic symbiotes.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Necrowhatinthe-- Speak bloody Common, will ye?
Abedneum yells: Designation: Old Gods. Old Gods rendered all systems, including earthen, defenseless in order to facilitate assimilation. This matrix destabilization has been termed "the Curse of Flesh". Effects of destabilization increased over time.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Old Gods, huh? So they zapped the earthen with this Curse of Flesh... and then what?
Kaddrak yells: Accessing... Creators arrived to extirpate symbiotic infection. Assessment revealed that Old God infestation had grown malignant. Excising parasites would result in loss of host--
Brann Bronzebeard yells: If they killed the Old Gods, Azeroth would've been destroyed...
Kaddrak yells: Correct. Creators neutralized parasitic threat and contained it within the host. Forge of Wills and other systems were instituted to create new earthen. Safeguards were implemented, and protectors were appointed.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: So... if I'm understandin' ye right, the original earthen eventually woke up from this stasis, and by that time the destabili-whatever had turned 'em into proper dwarves. Or at least... dwarf ancestors.
Marnak yells: Essentially that is correct.
Interestingly, Li Li remarks that the Titans only believed that the Old Gods were responsible for the Curse of Flesh, and that Azeroth and her Worldsoul may have also played a part in the conversion from robotic Titanforged to diverse mortal cultures. She draws parallels to the thraegar, who were Earthen of Khaz Algar that gained a similar kind of free will to mortal races after exposure not to the Old Gods, but to the Worldsoul directly.
Li Li Stormstout says: The titans believed it was the Old Gods, powerful Void monstrosities, that turned their titanforged mortal. They called it the Curse of Flesh.
Li Li Stormstout says: The Curse of Flesh. The titanforged believed it weakened them, but it also resulted in flourishing communities and unique cultures.
Li Li Stormstout says: Earthen became dwarves. Mecha-gnomes became gnomes. Iron vrykul became vrykul, and eventually, humans!
Li Li Stormstout says: But there are many mysterious influences on Azeroth. What is it that draws beings like the Old Gods and the titans here?
Li Li Stormstout says: The archives of Archaedas explained that our world itself is an entity that could become something uniquely powerful!
Li Li Stormstout says: This essence of Azeroth is called her Worldsoul. Let's hear some of Archaedas's message, accessed from within the Tribunal of Ages.
Archaedas says: To aid the titans, we keepers were tasked with engineering the Manifold--a vast, world-spanning complex of machines, forges, and installations.
Archaedas says: The great Khaz'goroth revealed to me that the corrupting influence of the imprisoned Old Gods was affecting the Worldsoul.
Archaedas says: To protect it, we had the earthen construct the Worldcore--a vast chamber at the heart of the world. There, the Worldsoul will slumber, with only the titans to influence it.
Archaedas says: I must note a disturbing development. As they worked to greater depths, some earthen began to behave erratically. This could not be countenanced.
Archaedas says: Most units were repaired, and continued their work. But some began to physically change, and crystallize. They named themselves "thraegar."
Archaedas says: These faulty units were so greatly affected that they rebelled against us, attacking and damaging the Worldcore.
Archaedas says: In the course of studying them, it was determined that long exposure to the Worldsoul's energies led to the changes exhibited in their core directives.
Li Li Stormstout says: Another change! Some earthen became thraegar, deviating without any Old God influence. What could this all mean?
The titan archives tell us that the Curse of Flesh, a poison of the Old Gods of the Void, is to blame for the titanforged races becoming soft and rebellious.
But look at how these cultures have flourished since breaking from the titans' influence. Could the Curse of Flesh truly be something of the dark and hopeless Void? And what does it mean that the thraegar deviated after being exposed to the Worldsoul, not the Old Gods?
To round out our journey of information previously shown in the game, Li Li explains our encounter with Algalon the Observer during the Ulduar raid. Following the death of Loken, a signal was sent out to warn the Titans and their allies that Azeroth may be at risk. In response, a member of the mysterious constellar race named Algalon arrived and began to assess the planet's corruption levels. If found to be critical, Algalon would send a signal to re-originate the planet in order to prevent the Worldsoul from being corrupted by the Old Gods.
Li Li Stormstout says: Since creating their facilities, the titans have been long absent. This all seemed like ancient history--that their influence had waned. How wrong we were...
Li Li Stormstout says: In Ulduar's primary facilities, Brann Bronzebeard found an alarming signal within a chamber guarded by the Assembly of Iron.
Brann Bronzebeard says: Looks just like all the other titan archives me lads have found... only older... and bigger.
Brann Bronzebeard says: Wait a second: this doesn't look right! Next to this blinking light... what's this Algalon signal?
Archivum System says: Initiating query. The Algalon Failsafe is an automated emergency signal following a Prime Designate's demise.
Brann Bronzebeard says: Prime Designate? Where have I 'eard that before? By my grandfather's beard, Loken is Azeroth's Prime Designate. Loken's death triggered this!
Archivum System says: Affirmative. Timestamp of Prime Designate Loken's destruction coincides with signal activation.
Brann Bronzebeard says: Well? Who's on the listening side of the signal? What's going to happen?
Archivum System says: Searching... Destruction of Prime Designate is considered the first warning sign of systemic planetary failure. Algalon observer entity's arrival is followed by planetary diagnostics resulting in one of two possible reply signals. Reply-Code Alpha, signaling "All is well" and Reply-Code Omega, signaling planetary re-origination.
Brann Bronzebeard says: Planetary re-origination? Speak plainly, ye blasted machine!
Archivum System says: The decomposition of the planet and its living organisms into base elements: metals, rocks, gases. This is followed by a period of reconstitution of each element into the original planetary blueprint.
Brann Bronzebeard says: Hear that, lads? It's only the end of the world! Well, what are ye waiting for, ye rusty machine? Initiate Reply-Code Alpha. All is well! Pints are on me!
Archivum System says: Request denied. Reply-codes built into Algalon observer entity. He is both messenger and message.
Brann Bronzebeard says: Well, what's this Algalon going to be looking for with his diagnostics? What are our chances?
Archivum System says: Algalon diagnostics assess danger of systemic Old God corruption in planetary vital functions. Calculating chance of Omega Reply-Code...
Archivum System says: Ninety-nine point nine nine percent.
Archivum System says: That's repeating, of course.
Brann Bronzebeard says: Blast it, lads. Looks like we've got a fight ahead of us.
In order to stop the destruction of all live on Azeroth's surface, we faced off against Algalon in Ulduar, and caused him to undergo a revelation that mortals like us had a strength and will to live that he had never considered in all his eradications of infected worlds in the past. While that revelation left him in a stupor, he chose to give us the reply code to neutralize the re-origination of Azeroth, leading to Rhonin's iconic speech in Dalaran.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: We did it, lads! We got here before Algalon's arrival. Maybe we can rig the systems to interfere with his analysis--
Algalon the Observer says: Translocation complete. Commencing planetary analysis of Azeroth.
Algalon the Observer says: Stand back, mortals. I'm not here to fight you.
Algalon the Observer says: It is in the universe's best interest to re-originate this planet should my analysis find systemic corruption. Do not interfere.
Algalon the Observer yells: Your actions are illogical. All possible results for this encounter have been calculated. The Pantheon will receive the Observer's message regardless of outcome.
Algalon the Observer yells: See your world through my eyes: A universe so vast as to be immeasurable - incomprehensible even to your greatest minds.
Algalon the Observer yells: I have seen worlds bathed in the Makers' flames, their denizens fading without so much as a whimper. Entire planetary systems born and razed in the time that it takes your mortal hearts to beat once. Yet all throughout, my own heart devoid of emotion... of empathy. I. Have. Felt. Nothing. A million-million lives wasted. Had they all held within them your tenacity? Had they all loved life as you do?
Algalon the Observer yells: Perhaps it is your imperfections... that which grants you free will... that allows you to persevere against all cosmically calculated odds. You prevail where the Titan's own perfect creations have failed.
Algalon the Observer yells: I've rearranged the reply code - your planet will be spared. I cannot be certain of my own calculations anymore.
Algalon the Observer yells: I lack the strength to transmit the signal. You must... hurry... find a place of power... close to the skies.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: I know just the place. Will you be all right?
Algalon the Observer yells: Do not worry about my fate, Bronzen. If the signal is not transmitted in time, re-origination will proceed regardless. Save... your world...
Rhonin yells: Citizens of Dalaran! Raise your eyes to the skies and observe!
Rhonin yells: Today our world's destruction has been averted in defiance of our very makers!
Rhonin yells: Algalon the Observer, herald of the titans, has been defeated by our brave comrades in the depths of the titan city of Ulduar.
Rhonin yells: Algalon was sent here to judge the fate of our world.
Rhonin yells: He found a planet whose races had deviated from the titans' blueprints. A planet where not everything had gone according to plan.
Rhonin yells: Cold logic deemed our world not worth saving. Cold logic, however, does not account for the power of free will. It's up to each of us to prove this is a world worth saving.
Rhonin yells: That our lives... our lives are worth living.
Li Li Stormstout says: We proved our indomitable spirits to Algalon and prevented the titans' re-origination, which would have wiped out all life on Azeroth!
A New Look at the Pantheon's Past
With the information we already knew about their influence on Azeroth covered, Li Li moves on to a more enticing topic: the Titans themselves. We've seen almost nothing of the Titan Pantheon within World of Warcraft, in part due to their absence from Azerothian affairs. However, wee have learned some information about them previously in the Chronicle book series, and Li Li recounts some of that information.
Li Li Stormstout says: We learned much about the titans' influence on Azeroth, but what about the titans themselves?
Li Li Stormstout says: We know their names: Aman'Thul, Eonar, Khaz'goroth, Golganneth, Norgannon, Sargeras, and Aggramar. They are called the Pantheon.
Li Li Stormstout says: Their records state they traverse the stars in search of Worldsouls to nurture into new young titans.
Li Li Stormstout says: Worldsouls are often beset by demons, Void, and more. Two of the Pantheon were charged with eradicating these threats by force.
In addition to information we've known about previously from Chronicle, this lorewalking journey also shows us a brand new moment between Aggramar and Sargeras, where they discuss the threat that the Void poses to burgeoning Worldsouls in the midst of a grand battle. Here we play as a constellar, and aid the two towering Titans as they debate Sargeras' actions and ideals.
Li Li Stormstout says: Algalon has shared a tale of a battle that would change the cosmos forever...
Li Li Stormstout says: Upon a distant world, before the titans even found Azeroth, Sargeras and Aggramar called upon the aid of the constellars, Algalon's kin, in battle.
Olviron the Sentinel says: Take up arms, constellars! The battle grows dire.
Aggramar says: Do not lose hope, brother! We may yet save this world!
Sargeras says: For so many ages upon so many worlds we have fought this same battle. What if there is no end?
Aggramar says: What do you mean, Sargeras? Each world saved could be another sister or brother to welcome!
Sargeras says: You do not know what I have seen, Aggramar. When the Void swallows a Worldsoul entirely... there is no more hope.
Aggramar says: There is always hope, brother! The Void will never prevail against our united strength!
Sargeras says: It has already happened. I have seen it. The creature that emerged from the Void-touched Worldsoul... the horror was unspeakable.
Aggramar says: You saw a Worldsoul fall to the Void? Why did you not call upon me sooner? The Pantheon must gather. We shall cleanse it--
Sargeras says: No! It was too late. I decimated that corrupted world entirely--leaving nothing for the Void to claim!
Aggramar says: You destroyed a nascent Worldsoul? What of its native life forms? What if it was the Prime!
Sargeras says: I did what I had to.
Aggramar says: Sargeras, we--we must speak to the Pantheon of this.
Li Li Stormstout says: Sargeras would rather have purged all life from the cosmos than let the Void win. The Pantheon condemned him for his deed and he disappeared.
As Li Li explains, the Titans found Azeroth in the time after Sargeras departed from their ranks. While he was off pondering a solution to the threat posed by the Void, the Titans initiated the Ordering of Azeroth, which culminated in the imprisonment of the Old Gods, the creation of Titan facilities across the planet to maintain its health, and the space to allow the mortal cultures we know today to thrive.
Li Li Stormstout says: It was lucky that Aggramar discovered Azeroth then, in Sargeras's absence. He would have destroyed our world immediately!
Li Li Stormstout says: At the time, the Old Gods had already invaded. To save our world from their Black Empire, the Pantheon created the titanforged.
Li Li Stormstout says: Life flourished. The titans departed, entrusting Azeroth to its new defenders: the keepers, earthen, and Dragon Aspects, to name a few.
In time, Sargeras found his solution: to enact a Burning Crusade that would cleanse all life from the universe in order to ensure the Void's eradication, so that new life might flourish free of corruption. He broke out all the demons he had once imprisoned, and united them under his command as the Burning Legion.
Aggramar would eventually find the results of the Legion's actions on a decimated world, and confronted Sargeras about his misdeeds. Their conflict ended in a stalemate that shattered both of their blades, and Aggramar fled to inform the Pantheon. While the Titans gathered for war against Sargeras, they still believed they could sway him through words one last time.
In a perhaps foolish move, Aman'thul informed Sargeras of Azeroth and the potential of her Worldsoul, alerting him to its existence and setting the stage for the Legion's interest in Azeroth that has spanned the entire franchise.
Li Li Stormstout says: However, Sargeras had not given up his crusade. At long last, he had found his solution against the Void...
Li Li Stormstout says: The constellars were once more called upon to defend the titans as they confronted Sargeras near the world of Nihilam.
Aman'thul says: Demons! So it is true! Stand before us and answer for your crimes, Sargeras!
Sargeras says: Crimes? I have only done what is necessary to defeat our enemy.
Aggramar says: To me, constellar. Buy us time and we can sway Sargeras from this dark path, I am certain of it.
Aman'thul says: An army of demons will not avail you, Sargeras! You seek to fight madness with cruelty!
Sargeras says: My Burning Legion will crusade across the cosmos, undying, unflagging, unafraid. Can you say the same?
Aman'thul says: Listen to me, Sargeras. We have found a new Worldsoul, Azeroth. It could be the Prime, brimming with enough power to defeat the Void Lords.
Legion Impmother says: Your victory... meaningless.
Sargeras says: Then it is a risk. If the Void seizes such power, it will become something even greater than a Void Lord. Tell me where it is so I may destroy it.
In one final attempt to resolve things peacefully, Aggramar beseeched Sargeras as his brother and fellow warrior -- a move that only serves to inflame Sargeras and bring the full might of his newfound fel power down on the Pantheon, resulting in their deaths.
Aggramar says: My captain, my brother... I beg of you. All our battles to save Worldsouls... what was it all for if not fellowship?
Sargeras says: Fellowship? You seek to sway me with platitudes when the weight of all worlds sits upon our shoulders!
Sargeras yells: You do not know what I have faced! What I have shielded you from! There is no place in the cosmos for cowards!
Aman'thul yells: No!
Li Li Stormstout says: The battle between Sargeras and the Pantheon destroyed the nearby world. But in the end, Sargeras was victorious.
Li Li Stormstout says: The fate of the Pantheon was a mystery to their servants, like Algalon, who believed the absence was merely another long journey.
However, while the physical bodies of the Titans perished, their souls lived on thanks to the actions of Norgannon. After a brief visit through the minds of their Keepers to warn them of the threat, the spirits of the Pantheon fled throughout the cosmos to hide from Sargeras.
As we would later learn on Argus during Legion, Sargeras searched for their spirits for millennia, and rounded them all up to corrupt into a new Dark Pantheon -- all except Eonar. While Aggramar had been successfully corrupted into the Legion's servant, and the other Pantheon members were in the midst of being turned, we ended up saving Eonar's spirit, and freed the rest of the Pantheon from the grip of the Legion during our assault on Antorus.
Li Li Stormstout says: When Sargeras found Azeroth, we faced assault after assault. Our latest conflict crossed the cosmos, to the world of Argus.
Li Li Stormstout says: Here, we learned Sargeras had found and tortured the Pantheon's dying spirits. Consumed by sorrow, Aggramar was the first to succumb.
Li Li Stormstout says: Within Antorus, Sargeras sought to rebirth his brethren titans as the Dark Pantheon, forced to serve him. But one, Eonar the Life-Binder, escaped.
Li Li Stormstout says: We gathered our forces. Alongside such renowned heroes as Illidan Stormrage, Magni Bronzebeard, and the Prophet Velen, we raided Antorus.
Li Li Stormstout says: We found Eonar and freed the other titans. Only Aggramar's broken spirit remained, guarding the corrupted Worldsoul of Argus.
Li Li Stormstout says: As our allies held off demons the size of mountains, a hero of Azeroth faced Aggramar.
At the culmination of our fight against the Legion, we faced off against Sargeras himself in the midst of his attempt to convert Azeroth's worldsoul. While he did nearly succeed in killing her outright thanks to the massive sword he plunged into Silithus, he was successfully imprisoned by the Titans within the Seat of the Pantheon. Since then, they have remained sealed behind the red star in the sky, marking Legion as the last time we saw the Titans in the current story.
While the lorewalking journey ends with the Pantheon's last appearance, Li Li leaves us with one final reflection about their impact on Azeroth and its cultures... and perhaps sets up many of the questions we will be asking in the next expansion.
Li Li Stormstout says: Sargeras landed a devastating blow to Azeroth, but the titans were restored. They pulled Sargeras away to continue their battle among the stars.
Li Li Stormstout says: It is because of the titans' aid that the Old Gods and the Legion were defeated, the Dragon Aspects empowered, and why many of the mortal races on Azeroth exist.
Li Li Stormstout says: And yet, it's clear the titans care about Azeroth's Worldsoul above all else. We must not forget the re-origination we narrowly escaped.
Li Li Stormstout says: Despite all the good they have done for us, we must ask ourselves: is the Pantheon's vision for our future all that different from what Sargeras desires?
