| abstract
| - There are two different kinds of Worgen on Azeroth. The first, and most common kind have been summoned. They are found both on Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. In the past, most worgen were summoned by wizards, for it seems that there are links between our world and theirs, and powerful magic can open those links and allow them through. Most folklore, myths and village tales stem from these worgen of old, summoned by wizards whose names have been lost to time. Today, there are two prominent summoners of worgen. Both did it with good intentions, but the same, destructive results have occurred in both cases. I speak of Velinde Starsong and Archmage Arugal. Not much is know about Velinde's early life, but we do know that she was a Sentinel and well liked (or at least trusted) amongst her fellows. She was tasked with the cleansing of Felwood, and prayed to Elune - the patron Moon goddess of the Kal'dorei, or Night Elves- for aid. Velinde was granted an item called 'The Scythe of Elune', though her journal entries states that it was in fact a twisted piece of gnarled wood rather than a scythe. She presumed that it could be older then the Kal'dorei, though this is a fact up to much debate. A few theories on the origin of the scythe have been discussed. Hador Seaspray, a night elven scholar from Auberdine, states that “Elune would not grant a device of such ruination to the Sentinel [Starsong]. I suspect that outside forces had a hand in this. Perhaps these Lords of [the] Emerald Flame gave her the scythe in order to thin the forces of the Worgen on their home plane. Vindicator Hennea, a Draenei paladin and up and coming researcher in the field of Worgen study says that, "... The Worgen were not always evil or corrupt. Like the owl beasts on Azuremyst Isle, they could have been servants of the Goddess-- much like the Light exists in many forms across worlds, it is not the improbable to imagine that Elune is unconfined to Azeroth. The giving of the Scythe could have been an act of goodwill, but the worgen had become corrupted.” Whatever the case, the Scythe has been lost from mortal hands for a while now. Roughly two years ago Velinde book passage to the Eastern Kingdoms, to where she traveled through Stranglethorn Veil to Duskwood. What happened exactly after that is unknown. What we do know is that Velinde is dead, and for a while the Scythe was left in a mine called Roland's Doom. It was named after a man named Roland, who'd been a wealthy miner with some rather large debts, and he suspected that the mine would have had some value. He invested all of his rapidly shrinking funds into it. However, there was absolutely nothing of value in the mine. Grief and disappointment got the better of him, and he hung himself at the entrance to it. What Velinde was doing in such a remote, dark place is unclear, and I'm afraid that we may never know. While Velinde said that the Scythe had been lost to unknown hands, this conflicts with the journal of a man known as “Jitters”, who pulled the Scythe out of the ground in Roland's Doom. Worgen then appeared from underground and overhead, and slaughtered all of the men accompanying Jitters. He dropped the Scythe as he fled the mine, and what happened to it after is unknown. Hopefully, it is lost where no mortal (or otherwise) can use it. Archmage Arugal was once a member of the Kirin Tor of Dalaran. Despite this high ranking title, Arugal's magical abilities (or lack thereof) were often questioned. It was this, perhaps, that drove him to declare that he would bolster the faltering ranks of Dalaran with creatures from another dimension to defeat the Scourge after they had destroyed Dalaran. He summoned the worgen, and like the worgen Velinde summoned, they obeyed him at first. But soon they were not only slaughtering the Scourge, but the wizards as well. They took over the keep of the noble Baron Silverlaine and Arugal followed soon after, driven mad with guilt. We can only assume that it was this madness that led him to curse the villagers of Pyrewood Village into worgens, to adopt them as his supposed "children." Unable to outright transform the villagers, Arugal affixed them with shackles that amplified his dark magics. Even then only when furtherer aided by moonlight does the transformation occur. Thus, the villagers change every night, save for when the new moon arrives, and they spend the night locked in a deep sleep. Although I had not seen Pyrewood Worgen transform, a gnome mage of Dalaran stationed in Silverpine, Wence Silverbolt, told me that, “... The transformation is usually preceded by extreme restlessness and anxiety. As the transformation takes place, the victim is struck by convulsions and contractions before finally turning into a worgen.” After returning to their human forms in the morning, Worgen are usually documented undergoing painful nervous depression. It's said that their skin is rendered extremely sensitive for a few minutes after they regain their human form, a feeling supposedly akin to sunburn. Some have supposed that Arugal turned the citizens of Pyrewood into Worgen to protect them, due to the worgen's effectiveness against the Scourge. However, to keep the Pyrewood villagers from rebelling against him, Arugal has manipulated the Pyrewood Council into keeping the villagers docile. One seriously has to question if Arugal cursed them into Worgen because he wanted to protect them.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)