What Are The Shadowlands? - WoW Lore EXPLAINED

Hello guys this is Doronsmovies and today I will be talking about the Shadowlands and what exactly is this newly introduced mysterious realm. Covering the information that we have and clearing up misconceptions, however do keep in mind that there is still limited information and a lot of this is subject to change.

So without further ado, let's get into the lore. It isn't exactly known when the Shadowlands were created but it is said that ever since first mortal life arose in the physical universe this mysterious realm came into existence. It seems to span the entire universe and is the afterlife for other planets as well.

The shadowlands is a realm of decay which is referred to as the sixth element and is the opposite to the spirit. What this means in simple terms is that while the spirit can be used to heal and cooperate decay forces and binds ones will. If you remember previously this is how dark shamans enslaved the elementals back during the Siege of Orgrimmar.

Now how do the Shadowlands work? There is this thing called anima which is soul essence of a mortal. How much essence someone has depends on the actions in life and accomplishments. So for example someone like Varian would have a ton of anima while a simple farmer would have very little.

Regardless of morality it seems that anima depends on the accomplishments so even someone like Garrosh would have a ton of it. After a mortal dies he is judged by a spirit healer and if he is set to die he is transported by kyrian which i will explain in a bit into an eternal city known as Oribos, located at the center of the Shadowlands.

Here there is a mysterious entity known as the Arbiter that in an instant lays down every single decision the mortal had in life, weighing it and then transporting it to the appropriate realm. Now the Shadowlands consists of 5 different domains. To really simplify it there are 2 that are really good, 2 that are not so much and are even used to atone the souls while there is the 5th one known as the Maw.

The Maw is the absolute worst of them all and this is where unredeemable souls are sent to as they pose a threat to the Shadowlands. We will get into more information in a bit. Now for the 'good' ones. The bastion is the kingdom of pristine spires and crystalline skies as well as home to order, essentially heaven.

Noble souls are sent here to examine their lives, clean themselves of their past burdens and to work toward an afterlife of virtue becoming the purest souls in the shadowlands. People like Uther the Lightbringer are here and we will actually see him.

Fresh arrivals become Kyrian aspirants and are wingless beings training to one day earn wings and to ascend. It is also worth mentioning that as the Shadowlands are for all worlds the beings are seemingly transformed into these creatures although this isn't 100% confirmed.

The second noble realm is Ardenweald, an enchanted mystical forest that is similar to a dark version of the Emerald Dream. Imagine the Dream being spring and summer while Ardenweald being autumn and winter. This is where spirits of nature arrive and they use anima to infuse souls and resurrect these beings back into the living world.

This explains how Cenarius managed to return to Azeroth as he spent some time here. Now the third realm is sort of a grey zone, neither evil nor good - it is known as Maldraxxus. This is where warlike, relentless souls arrive and where they fight each other.

It is a pretty chaotic realm and is the heart of the Shadowlands military might - the sources of magic for necromancers as well as home to abominations. This is the realm that the Lich King used to raise his Scourge and to wreak havoc upon Azeroth. Maldraxxus is best explained as the survival of the fittest where the strongest rise into positions of power while the less-promising become fuel for the weapons.

The 4th realm is sort of a purgatory known as Revendreth. It is dark land of gothic spires and secrets. Generally, souls that are sent here are those that were overly prideful or had some other flaw that blocked them from serving in other realms.

They come here to atone for their sins and to hopefully be redeemed and then sent into another one of the domains. Vampire beings torture the souls there to either break them or to help them redeem themselves. We will see Kael'Thas Sunstrider within this realm.

Lastly, as I mentioned at the start is the Maw, the 5th realm, the most chaotic and the evilest. This is essentially the centre of the expansion and will be the key to the story progression. It is the vilest, horrific place where irredeemable souls are sent and no one has ever escaped this place.

The Maw is ruled by a mysterious figure known as the Jailer that keeps these dark souls in check. Should they ever escape all of reality is said to be consumed and this will 100% be the focus of the expansion. In fact, it starts happening already, it is said that the machine of death has been broken.

Here is a very quick explanation. The anima is the lifeblood to the Shadowlands, the Arbiter sends the souls to their realm and they subsequently use the anima to power themselves and to make everything work with these domains. However recently something happened and every single soul that died has not been sent to the Arbiter but instead was sent directly to the Maw.

Because of this the maw has grown increasingly powerful and the other realms have started becoming depleted, seriously threatening the balance and this will be the focus of the expansion. Sylvanas allied with the Jailer at some unknown point in the past, possibly after the defeat of the Lich King and her goal was to cause as much chaos as possible and to get as many deaths as she can in order to feed the Maw and the Jailer.

This explains the atrocities she had committed such as the Burning of Teldrassil and the recent war. No one knows what exactly will happen but this power seems to be incredibly potent seeing that Sylvanas so easily defeated the Lich King. The lands of the dead need to be kept in check and if this continues all of reality will be consumed.

The afterlife will cease to exist and there would essentially be a cataclysm in my opinion similar to the creation of the universe. This is why we must venture into the Shadowlands and to bring back balance. Thank you for watching. Do check out what would happen if bolvar never became the lich king by clicking on the screen and also check out the second channel Doron's Academy for videos on real world history and science.