'Grimoire of the Shadowlands and Beyond' Features a New Cosmology Chart and the Broker Perspective

正式服由 DiscordianKitty 发表于 2021/07/16，09:09

World of Warcraft: Grimoire of the Shadowlands and BeyondAmazon listing@_wolfandwildImportant Note: Before we dig into these images, we want to remind our readers that the Grimoire of the Shadowlands and Beyond has a title that specifically centers the Shadowlands for a reason - it is written from the perspective of a Broker, and will therefore carry the biases and prejudices of a native to the Shadowlands. Shadowlands' Cosmology ChartWorld of Warcraft: Chronicles

Refined Cosmology

In the course of my research on the works of the First Ones, a living soul from Azeroth (who purported to be a scholar of some renown) showed me a tome containing an elaborately painted illustration she claimed to be an accurate representation of how the cosmic powers related to one another. I must say, despite the extensive training I completed in order to interact favorably with the moral races, it was all I could do to muffle my derisive laughter! Instead, I patiently asked questions about the origins of this so-called "cosmology" as if I were hanging on every rambling word from the scholar's lips. When I learned that this woeful miscalculation of a chart had been passed down through the hands of her world's titan-forged races, it told me all I needed to know about the absurdity of the tome to which she clung so zealously. Why, every word wtihin was chosen so as to look favorably upon the titans, as if the Pantheon of Order were the architects of a flawless cosmos! How typical of their kind to claim credit for that which they did not build but inherited. As has been well documented, the language of the titans uses the same word for "created" as it does for "Ordered." Such blatant hubris!

I briefly considered sharing with this self-styled scholar our own cosmology, painstakingly researched by the finest minds of our combined cartels, designed to impartially relate the foundational truths of the cosmos. In the end, I realized the mortal would fail to grasp its subtelties, so rather than waste further effort, I thanked her for sharing her "wisdom" and sent her on her way. In the interest of completeness, I am including our CORRECT cosmology map here for reference.

The Brokers' Views on that Tazavesh Lore BookGrimoire

While the evidence of the First Ones' wisdom is all around us, we know precious few immutable facts about these Progenitors. When they first walked this cosmos, whether they still do, or if the measure of their existence ended in ages long past—are all mysteries to which we have no answers. A fragment of a word here, a bit of geometry there—for all the vast knowledge we brokers possess, compared to the First Ones we ware like gormlings at the feet of the Winter Queen.

I can say with confidence that you, Overseer, must have been as intriduged as I by the promising intial reports delivered by Al'firim on his journey to locate the Sepulcher of the First Ones. The fact that he decoded any of the glyphs at all was more progress than has been made in many ages of study (though whether "zereth" is best translated as "keystone" or "cornerstone" remains a subtle, yet ongoing, debate).

The language of the First Ones seems to shift and grow as I find greater depths within it. I have no doubt that further meanings will reveal themselves as the glyphs and geometry of this fractal tongue become more known to me.

But sadly, as the trek dragged on and their search meandered from afterlife to afterlife and through the remotest byways of the In-Between, each subsequent dispatch from the Al expedition contained alarmingly less coherence. "The Mad Scribe" was how they spoke of him in the trade halls of Tazavesh. We have known others of our kind who have surrounded their intellects to the great mysteries, and as many cycles passed without further contact from the expedition, it grew even more certain that Al'FIRIM was destined to become another casualty of the fractals, a madman lost to a wilderness of inconguities.

The deeper I delve into the mysteries of the Progenitors, the less I believe Al'firim was as mad as his cartel labeled him to be. The Al seem all too eager to discredit the research they have achieved on his behalf and are quick to ascribe his disappearance to a seemingly troubled condition. While the popular opinion that the Al expedition met an unfortunate end is, I admit, the likeliest outcome of the various possible scenarios, I cannot help but wonder if this "mad" individual leveraged his unique perspective and succeeded where all others had failed: locating the Sepulcher of the First Ones. Rather than coming back to us empty-handed, perhaps Al'firim simply cannot yet return for the sheer volume of knowledge that has been revealed to him. The truth of this matter, like so many others, remains to be discovered.

The Brokers Do Not Trust Elune

One unique trait of these night elves is worth particular note: while most of their people's souls are borne across the veil as expected, certain night elves may also linger in the mortal realm in a soulshape they refer to as a WISP. It is this author's opinion that this phenomenon is caused by the soul's intrinsic bond with the magical nature of its home forest, thus creating a tether that allows the wisp to remain among the living. Though, it should be acknowledged, ,I cannot entirely rule out the interference of Elune, their revered deity, in this matter. As we well know, beings of her origin cannot, under any circumstances, be trusted.

In The Shadowlands, Death Isn't DeathSteve Danuser clarified

Of secondary concern is the difference in nomenclature that exists between our kind and the mortals. While we, of course, know Death to be the eternal force of magic woven throughout the very fabric of the Shadowlands and beyond, mortals have an entirely different—and shockingly obtuse—interpretation. They use the word "death" to signify the end of their existence within the mortal plane. My apologies, Overseer, if you find that revelation to be as distasteful as I do. But I fear that to accurately convey information on mortal perceptions, I must, from time to time, include observations from their own flawed perspective.

Mueh'zala and Bwonsamdi

As I researched the funerary rituals of Azeroth's native populations, I learned that the first troll tribes worshiped numerous deities they referred to as loa. While these spirits of nature are, as we know tethered to Ardenweald, one among them possessed a spirit realm of his own, a place perched upon the precipice of the Shadowlands that the trolls referred to as the Other Side. His name was UEETAY NO MUEH'ZALA. According to stories passed down through countless of their mortal generations, he was a fearsome and vindictive god, demanding living sacrifices and brutal displays of reverance. Even after the conclusions of their mortal lives, Mueh'zala feasted unpon their fear and despair, hoarding these souls within his necropolis rather than allowing his supplications to pass on into the infinite realms of the Shadowlands.

As the ages passed, the primitive troll settlements gave way to a thriving civilization—one with little need for a loa whose only interests were cruelty and death. Clever as he was, Mueh'zala must have realized that a loa without worhsippers was doomed to fade into powerless obscurity, so he took measures to ensure his legacy would be preserved.

The loa appeared before one of his high priests, a loyal follower named Bwonsamdi, and offered him a deal. Mueh'zala would make Bwonsamdi his successor, giving him control of the Other Side and elevating him to be the trolls' new loa of death—one better suited for the changing times. In exchange, Bwonsamdi would continue to deliver a regular tribute of power and influence to his benefactor. Where the ambitious priest saw the deal as the fruition of his hard work, the loa saw a puppet unawware of the severity of the bargain he had just accepted from his new "boss".

It appears that this arrangement remained a satisfactory one for both sides until the breaking of the Arbiter caused all souls to plummet into the Maw. Rather than subject his loyal followeers to such an undeserved fate, it seems Bwonsamdi used his power to tether them to his necropolis, keeping them out of the Jailer's clutches—and away from Mueh'zala as well. Outraged at this defiance, Mueh'zala invaded the Other Side and held his former priest captive, until the crafty Bwonsamdi was aided by living mortals and was able to turn the tide and regain his freedom.

It was in the course of the ensuing battle (and by way of long, meandering diatribes spouted by each of the vociferous loa) that it as reveald that Mueh'zala had long been in league with the Jailer. It was he who had brokered the bargain with Odyn in which the titan keeper was allowed to peer into the Shadowlands and observe the kyrian, trading his own eyes to the loa in exchange for the power to make winged soul-bearers called Val'kyr. Why the Jailer desired to possess the titan-forged eye is unclear, and its fate thereafter is unknown.

Mueh'zala is, as of this writing, in Bwonsamdi's custody. Despirte this captivity, so long as Mueh'zala exists, he remains a considerable threat.

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