New Quest in 3.2:

- Started by an item dropped by the Kvaldir on Hrothgar's Landing (north of the tournament)
- Describes "[Kvaldir] plans for a series of devastating raids...of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor"
- We slow down the planning stage by stealing an item, and then deliver it to the Argent Crusade
- We're told that the faction leaders will be informed about the new developments, and that our actions probably did not significantly delay the attack

Assuming it's not just something that was left out of 3.2, it could be related to either 3.3, or Cataclysm.

Hmm, interesting. I doubt it's a leftover, or someone would have data mined it by now. But even if it isn't a tie in for upcoming content, it would still be a nice touch. Basically, it's another hint that we are heroes and probably the only real driving force behind of our factions' military achievements, but we can't really be everywhere at once.

Sometimes, I wonder just how close an eye does the design team keep on this thread, because I get the feeling this comes at exactly the right time, given our last debates about how much did we really hinder the Lich King's plans.

It did make me wonder (and check) about the exact link between the Kvaldir and Arthas. I didn't remember one (aside from the general one to all Vrykul), and I wasn't able to find one either.

I think the Kvaldir are a different... tribe of Vrykul, so to speak. The Kvaldir have never been shown to be working with the Scourge and always appear doing the usual viking gig (looting and pillaging the shore-side) without much else for motivation. They seem to subscribe to a similar yet different train of thought than the Vrykul.

The Kvaldir are much more likely to be aligned with Nazjatar than Arthas given their sea-faring nature. It would be interesting to see if they'll play a role in the Sunken City of Vashj'ir storyline in Cataclysm.

I don't think so. Because there is a group of Kvaldir in Borean Tundra who pretty much massacred a Naga outpost. In the Spitelash ruins or whatever it was called again...

The lack of Kvaldir-Scourge connections is, I believe, just that. A lack of mentions. My view is they're as Scourge-bound as the land Vrykul.

But could they pose any significant threat against Eastern Kingdoms' and Kalimdor' bases? They seem like a rather small group of raiders. Then again, Horde and Alliance forces are stretched pretty thin...

Could Arthas be "circling" us, attacking our lands while he takes to himself and his "captains" to face us or, at the very least hold us long enough for his forces to do their job on mainland?

It would be a nice plan, and one more reason why those "less able" shouldn't have been sacrificed in Tirion's tournament. They might actually come in handy against vrykul.

I didn't think they were anything to do with the scourge really.

The vibe I got was more like Davy Jones ship in Pirates of the Caribbean or the other ship with the skeleton crew. Some sort of ancient curse on them, and the pirates ransacking Shield Hill awakened this curse again causing them to attack.

There is a new night elf quest giver in the silver had inn in dalaran, he states he is a high born and that they are coming out of hiding. His quest leads you to darnasses but ends there. I didn't think of it at the time but there might be something new in dire maul (The elf in dalaran uses the Elven name for dire maul).

Well, they sure come in handy to the Lich King.

Well, then, unless Blizzard can really tie them to Neptulon and make the current Kvaldir invaders a simple chip of, say, a large underwater empire (Pirates of the Caribbean much?), I still can't see them posing a threat to anything larger than Ratchet. What, Sen'jin? Saves us the work of tearing it down to give the trolls a proper home. Westfall? Oh...ouch...Perhaps Menethil, but's well defended.

And they'll bang their heads against Theramore, a fortress city. And if for any drug-consumption reason, they attempt to invade a capital city like Stormwind or Theramore...well..

So they should definitely be supported by some higher power. Either Arthas or Neptulon. Unless we want to make them Cataclysm's Defias or Theramore marines.

It's not really certain wether these quests will have any development in Cataclysm, but their function is known: to introduce the new race-class changes in the coming expansion. For now, we have the Tauren hinting at paladins and a Night Elf Highborne (read: mage). These, to my memory, are the only race-class changes that truly impact a race's history. Gnome priests aren't that shocking in an evolving society subject to so many influences (they don't even have a home city). Blood Elf Warriors have been more-than-known to exist, etc.

Tauren Paladins are a major clash with their nature-bound society - although I don't think they'll be shuned - and Night Elf mages...well, let's say the Nigh Elves have few reasons to keep their photo albums from 10000 years ago. It just went wrong the first time.

Isn't the reason for the Kvaldir's presence because their artifcats in Howling Fjord were stolen by pirates (and not returned in time)? They seem to worship Leviroth aswell from the text that you come across from the Kavaldir on the boat's between Icecrown and Hrothgarr, if Leviroth is the creation of a greater being (Neptulon? etc), they may extend themselve to being servants of whoever it is.

Is there any existing lore behind why the kvaldir...um...die the way they do? The first time I saw this effect, I thought it was very chilling, like they are really insubstantial. It definitely is evidence that these aren't scourge armies -- there's nothing to reanimate.

Perhaps it is a side effect of corruption of titan creations from a another old god, in the same way Yogg's curse of flesh took earthen and vykrul and made them well fleshy.

Well, Scourge wraiths and ghost can't really be reanimated either...there's the energy ball, but...I'd say it's for loot reasons.

The Kvaldir are cleary based on Pirates of the Caribbean, namely Davy Jones, with their "elemental" sea nature. Either they're "poltergeists" of vrykul raiders who died in the sea, or the change from Me-so-Muscly to Me-so-Algae was a gift of some patron. Say, a sea patron. Say...Neptu-lon?

Priests are perhaps the least lorish class of all. Forsaken, if I remember what wowwiki said (derived from the RPG books, if I'm not mistaken), Forsaken are incapable of acting as "conduits" for the Light. Period. It's not exactly a question of psiche, there are good Forsaken, but even those, I believe, cannot act through the Holy Light. Hence, holy Forsaken priests should be a nono. On to tauren priests and them speccing Shadow. This, now, is a matter of nature (taurean nature, that is), so nothing "biomagical" in the Tauren's nature exists to stop them from going Shadow. Still, I highly doubt these individuals would be well accepted within a tribe. I can see the spirits starting to buzz on the other tauren's ears and the shadow priest getting a roundhouse hoof off the Great Lift.

Then again, we do have warlocks.

The Kvaldir appears from game purposes to be Vrykul - they do drop the Vrykul JC daily quest item. When first I saw the death animation I thought they were undead too, but perhaps they are just Sea Vrykul having been changed over the long years at sea - Flying Dutchman style changes.

I look at it this way, if you accept that the that the naru are the source of "the light" or so in tune with it that they have become physical manifestations of it then shadow priest are the equivalent of naru like m'uru a dark naru. Shadow priests don't get their power from a demonic source like warlocks but rather then the other side of the coin (light/dark).

This may be going too .. religious, (lack of a better word), but if Light and Dark are the opposites, what would the opposite of Demonic be then? Angelic?

If so, maybe the opposite of a Warlock would then be a Priest, and the opposite of a Shadow Priest, a Paladin? I guess I base this on a Priest turning all uber Angel when they die. (The first time.) If not, perhaps an indicator of a new class? Demon Hunter, would kind of be the idea, but with less face stabby, more healing or light pwnage? (Light based Damage class? We do have Holy Resistance, don't we? Or is it called something else?)

Also, I think the feeling I get from the Borean Tundra Kvaldir stuff, is that it is kinda like entering/leaving a time loop. (Hence the Mist or whatever), and that they are forever repeating what they did, and can't really escape it. And not just as a game mechanic either.

Demonic forces are inherently forces of chaos and destruction. Their polar opposites would therefore be forces of order and creation, attributes which clearly describe the Titans. So in this case "Angelic" is inapplicable, because WoW Lore has no angels. Rather, "Titanic" would be the proper term.

I take the Mist as an obfuscator and a tool of the Kvaldir's. For example, Hrothgar's Landing has been present as long as Northrend, but we didn't see it until 3.2 because it was too heavily shrouded in Mist.

The Kvaldir could have a huge civilization out in the waves somewhere, you just cannot see it until you're almost atop it (within the Mist itself).

This is why in Borean Tundra you see an empty beach, move a bit forward, enter the Mist, and can see the Kvaldir. They're literally hidden in the Mist. It's something like that Titan cloaking field around the new Uldum zone.

How they're able to move/expand the Mist is an excellent question (they're not using it to assault the Tuskar in Dragonblight) which could lead to neat future plotlines. Or (sadly more likely) they can be entirely abandoned once we leave Northend at the end of Wrath.

This also plays well with the Titans creating worlds of order for themselves (eg, Azeroth) out of the home of the demons/Buring Legion's world of chaos (Twisting Nether). And of course priests, like the Naaru, having two sides to the same power.

On a side note, comparisons like this can be easily carried too far. This brings up the interesting problem though that those that draw their power directly from demons/chaos should oppose those created directly by the Titans; meaning Gnome Warlocks are a mixed up bunch indeed and should have no place in lore.

We have no idea how big the Kvaldir forces are. What we do know is that in all cases where they appear, so does The Mist, and that they sack their target, no questions asked. So far there hasn't been a single instance of any settlement under attack by the Kvaldir surviving.

Their awakening was completely unrelated to the Lich King, as well (also, none of them are undead mobs other than the skeletons and ghosts at Shield Hill). Northsea Freebooters looted Kvaldir graves and evoked their curse, setting them loose.

The new quest definitely seems to hint that we'll be dealing with them in Cataclysm, which also lends to them not being affiliated with the Lich King.