Maiev's return
Good news: Next month the newest Warcraft novel will be released: Wolfheart. (Details here.)
Bad news: It's written by Richard Knaak. (KNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!)
Good news: It's going to explore the changes to Kaldorei society now that the Highborne are back in the fold.
Bad news: It's also going to involve some crap with Varian that doesn't sound like it's going to make me more fond of King Chynn.
Good news: Maiev Shadowsong is back!!!
Bad news: She's working for Malfurion and Tyrande to help solve a murder in Darnassus. You know, the guy who banished her and the lady she loathes for killing a bunch of her personnel and freeing her most important prisoner. Yeeeeeah, Knaak is going to have to pull one hell of an explanation out of his ass for that to make sense.
Not to mention the fact that the man couldn't write a strong female character if his life depended on it. Tyrande in Warcraft III was a badass warrior and a strong leader. As much as she loved Malfurion she didn't take any crap from him, and when he tried to tell her not to free Illidan her answer was, "Only the Goddess can forbid me anything." However, Tyrande in Knaak novels is a sweet, mostly passive damsel whose entire existence revolves around her precious Malfy-poo. Gag me with a warglaive.
As much as I love the idea of Maiev getting a further role in the greater Warcraft story, I cringe at the thought of Knaak handling her characterization. :P
Maiev has no reason to work for, trust, or forgive Tyrande Whisperwind. Even without the Knaak pre-Sundering backstory of their rivalry as priestesses, Tyrande barged into the barrow dens that Maiev had been dutifully guarding for 10,000 years, killed the Watchers who were just doing their jobs by trying to stop her, killed Califax (a Keeper of the Grove, a.k.a. family to Cenarius...I wonder if Malfurion knows about that?), and freed the most dangerous prisoner in the complex against the wishes of, well, everyone...including Malfurion, who had sentenced his brother to life imprisonment in the first place. Maiev had every right to be livid at Tyrande. Tyrande never admitted any wrongdoing, never apologized for killing Maiev's personnel, never took any responsibility for the damage done by Illidan and his new naga buddies... Maiev left her for dead without a backward glance, and I don't blame her. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike Tyrande, but Maiev has every reason in the world to loathe her.
(I'm not even going to mention the fact that, in my view, Maiev was jealous of Tyrande because of Illidan's fixation with her...except I totally did just mention it. Heh. Oh well, that's my shippervision getting in the way of canon.)
As for Malfurion, all through WC3 Maiev seemed to treat him with great respect--except, y'know, lying about his mate's convenient death. Still, all that went out the window in the end when Furion was willing to let Illidan peacefully go into exile. Maiev was fed up with both Malfurion and Tyrande by that point and wanted nothing more to do with either of them.
So why in the world (of Warcraft) would Maiev ever willingly associate with these two again?
Perhaps she has no where else to turn now that her great mission of bringing Illidan to justice is completed, and she'd rather hang out with fellow Night Elves, even ones she hates, than be surrounded by other races. Night Elves are isolationists at heart, after all, and Maiev would be even less accustomed to the other races than most, having been shut up in a barrow prison for all those centuries. Still, there are plenty of other Night Elven settlements besides Darnassus. She was in Outland, she could live in Sylvanar in Blade's Edge, or the Cenarion outpost in Terrokar (after that nastiness with the mana bomb and the mutant giant moths was cleared up, that is.) She could work out her pent-up aggression working with the Silverwing Sentinels in Warsong Gulch. She could help out Shandris in Feralas. She could squash leftover Silithid with the Cenarion Circle down in Silithus. She could help the war effort in Stonetalon, or the new settlement in Desolace. Moonglade is probably too quiet and druid-y for her tastes, but there's Winterspring, Darkshore, Ashenvale... Oh, and I almost forgot, her brother's helping out at the Molten Front now, so she could go get reacquainted with her only (known, canon) living relative.
Of course in my personal fanon she and Illidan were hanging out on an island in the Bay of Storms in Azshara, but then Deathwing had to go and mess things up. ;) I figure the Shattering sank their island and after they washed up on the Azshara mainland they headed inland to find somewhere else to stay, maybe near the old Shadowsong shrine at the border with Ashenvale. Of course then there's that pesky war with the Horde to deal with, and the encroaching goblins, and...yeah, there's a fanfic floating around in my brain regarding all that. ;)
Anyway, fangirly crack theories aside, there are plenty of places for Maiev to settle where she can be a part of Kaldorei society without having Malfurion and Tyrande underfoot. :p
Of course, the way WoW lore seems to go, she's just biding her time until she can launch her master plan for revenge, when there will be an amazing battle that we'll never see a hint of in-game, and she'll barely escape with her life, only to go completely crazy and hole up somewhere until 10 or 20 "heroes" come to hit her until epics fall out.
Why, yes, I am rather bitter about how Fandral Staghelm's plot was handled. Why do you ask?
It's getting old, Blizzard. Get a new plot device. I mean, really...
Illidan: Well-intentioned but misguided anti-hero has all his plans go awry, is rejected by everyone he cares about, is blackmailed into trying to kill the Lich King, loses the battle...and goes raving mad and must be killed for loot.
Kael'thas: Desperate but noble prince strives to save his people at any cost until, oh wait, demons are tasty, nom nom nom, now he's totally crazy and must be killed for loot.
Arthas: Brash young prince/paladin tries to save his kingdom from unimaginable atrocities, compromising his morals out of sheer desperation, until a magic sword steals his soul and he goes crazy, but maybe, just maaaaaaaybe there's a shred of goodness still buried deep inside him if only--no, lulz, just kidding, we have to kill him for loot.
Malygos: Once-jolly dragon aspect suffers staggering personal losses, retreats into self-imposed exile while nearly catatonic with grief, then finally regains his senses...only to be so sane that he's actually crazy and must be killed for loot.
Deathwing: Noble dragon aspect carries out the duties given him by the Titans which unfortunately necessitates proximity to the prison of the Old Gods, and eventually he loses his mind and must (in a future patch) be killed for loot.
Fandral Staghelm: Relatively well-developed character who evokes strong emotional reactions (both good and ill) from the player base, with a long history in the game and in the lore, known for being surly and sharp-tongued but still on "our side," who is sympathetic because of the horrific murder of his son despite his abrasive personality, who shows interesting moral gray areas due to--oh, never mind, he's actually been brainwashed by the Old Gods (y'know, the same ones who were responsible for Falstann's brutal death) and now...you'll never guess...are you ready? Prepare to have your mind blown... He's totally insane and must be killed for loot!
/facepalm
So, yeah, maybe it was actually better when Maiev was M.I.A....
Bad news: It's written by Richard Knaak. (KNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!)
Good news: It's going to explore the changes to Kaldorei society now that the Highborne are back in the fold.
Bad news: It's also going to involve some crap with Varian that doesn't sound like it's going to make me more fond of King Chynn.
Good news: Maiev Shadowsong is back!!!
Bad news: She's working for Malfurion and Tyrande to help solve a murder in Darnassus. You know, the guy who banished her and the lady she loathes for killing a bunch of her personnel and freeing her most important prisoner. Yeeeeeah, Knaak is going to have to pull one hell of an explanation out of his ass for that to make sense.
Not to mention the fact that the man couldn't write a strong female character if his life depended on it. Tyrande in Warcraft III was a badass warrior and a strong leader. As much as she loved Malfurion she didn't take any crap from him, and when he tried to tell her not to free Illidan her answer was, "Only the Goddess can forbid me anything." However, Tyrande in Knaak novels is a sweet, mostly passive damsel whose entire existence revolves around her precious Malfy-poo. Gag me with a warglaive.
As much as I love the idea of Maiev getting a further role in the greater Warcraft story, I cringe at the thought of Knaak handling her characterization. :P
Maiev has no reason to work for, trust, or forgive Tyrande Whisperwind. Even without the Knaak pre-Sundering backstory of their rivalry as priestesses, Tyrande barged into the barrow dens that Maiev had been dutifully guarding for 10,000 years, killed the Watchers who were just doing their jobs by trying to stop her, killed Califax (a Keeper of the Grove, a.k.a. family to Cenarius...I wonder if Malfurion knows about that?), and freed the most dangerous prisoner in the complex against the wishes of, well, everyone...including Malfurion, who had sentenced his brother to life imprisonment in the first place. Maiev had every right to be livid at Tyrande. Tyrande never admitted any wrongdoing, never apologized for killing Maiev's personnel, never took any responsibility for the damage done by Illidan and his new naga buddies... Maiev left her for dead without a backward glance, and I don't blame her. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike Tyrande, but Maiev has every reason in the world to loathe her.
(I'm not even going to mention the fact that, in my view, Maiev was jealous of Tyrande because of Illidan's fixation with her...except I totally did just mention it. Heh. Oh well, that's my shippervision getting in the way of canon.)
As for Malfurion, all through WC3 Maiev seemed to treat him with great respect--except, y'know, lying about his mate's convenient death. Still, all that went out the window in the end when Furion was willing to let Illidan peacefully go into exile. Maiev was fed up with both Malfurion and Tyrande by that point and wanted nothing more to do with either of them.
So why in the world (of Warcraft) would Maiev ever willingly associate with these two again?
Perhaps she has no where else to turn now that her great mission of bringing Illidan to justice is completed, and she'd rather hang out with fellow Night Elves, even ones she hates, than be surrounded by other races. Night Elves are isolationists at heart, after all, and Maiev would be even less accustomed to the other races than most, having been shut up in a barrow prison for all those centuries. Still, there are plenty of other Night Elven settlements besides Darnassus. She was in Outland, she could live in Sylvanar in Blade's Edge, or the Cenarion outpost in Terrokar (after that nastiness with the mana bomb and the mutant giant moths was cleared up, that is.) She could work out her pent-up aggression working with the Silverwing Sentinels in Warsong Gulch. She could help out Shandris in Feralas. She could squash leftover Silithid with the Cenarion Circle down in Silithus. She could help the war effort in Stonetalon, or the new settlement in Desolace. Moonglade is probably too quiet and druid-y for her tastes, but there's Winterspring, Darkshore, Ashenvale... Oh, and I almost forgot, her brother's helping out at the Molten Front now, so she could go get reacquainted with her only (known, canon) living relative.
Of course in my personal fanon she and Illidan were hanging out on an island in the Bay of Storms in Azshara, but then Deathwing had to go and mess things up. ;) I figure the Shattering sank their island and after they washed up on the Azshara mainland they headed inland to find somewhere else to stay, maybe near the old Shadowsong shrine at the border with Ashenvale. Of course then there's that pesky war with the Horde to deal with, and the encroaching goblins, and...yeah, there's a fanfic floating around in my brain regarding all that. ;)
Anyway, fangirly crack theories aside, there are plenty of places for Maiev to settle where she can be a part of Kaldorei society without having Malfurion and Tyrande underfoot. :p
Of course, the way WoW lore seems to go, she's just biding her time until she can launch her master plan for revenge, when there will be an amazing battle that we'll never see a hint of in-game, and she'll barely escape with her life, only to go completely crazy and hole up somewhere until 10 or 20 "heroes" come to hit her until epics fall out.
Why, yes, I am rather bitter about how Fandral Staghelm's plot was handled. Why do you ask?
It's getting old, Blizzard. Get a new plot device. I mean, really...
Illidan: Well-intentioned but misguided anti-hero has all his plans go awry, is rejected by everyone he cares about, is blackmailed into trying to kill the Lich King, loses the battle...and goes raving mad and must be killed for loot.
Kael'thas: Desperate but noble prince strives to save his people at any cost until, oh wait, demons are tasty, nom nom nom, now he's totally crazy and must be killed for loot.
Arthas: Brash young prince/paladin tries to save his kingdom from unimaginable atrocities, compromising his morals out of sheer desperation, until a magic sword steals his soul and he goes crazy, but maybe, just maaaaaaaybe there's a shred of goodness still buried deep inside him if only--no, lulz, just kidding, we have to kill him for loot.
Malygos: Once-jolly dragon aspect suffers staggering personal losses, retreats into self-imposed exile while nearly catatonic with grief, then finally regains his senses...only to be so sane that he's actually crazy and must be killed for loot.
Deathwing: Noble dragon aspect carries out the duties given him by the Titans which unfortunately necessitates proximity to the prison of the Old Gods, and eventually he loses his mind and must (in a future patch) be killed for loot.
Fandral Staghelm: Relatively well-developed character who evokes strong emotional reactions (both good and ill) from the player base, with a long history in the game and in the lore, known for being surly and sharp-tongued but still on "our side," who is sympathetic because of the horrific murder of his son despite his abrasive personality, who shows interesting moral gray areas due to--oh, never mind, he's actually been brainwashed by the Old Gods (y'know, the same ones who were responsible for Falstann's brutal death) and now...you'll never guess...are you ready? Prepare to have your mind blown... He's totally insane and must be killed for loot!
/facepalm
So, yeah, maybe it was actually better when Maiev was M.I.A....