Blood Ties Novel: Character and Context Overview

The Midnight prequel novel, Blood Ties by Christie Golden, comes out tomorrow. Per request of my amazing gm and friend Broccoliz, this blog will give you a quick rundown of the three leading characters in the novel: Arator, Turalyon, and Alleria. We’ll also cover some of the important events to remember when reading the novel and playing Midnight, as there’s some overlap in there.

Without further ado, one of the least functional families in Azeroth: the Windrunners and their trademark paladin Turalyon.

B L U E B E R R Y A T T A C K

What events do I need to remember leading up to Midnight?

There’s still some confusion among the playerbase about what Sin’dorei vs. Quel’dorei means, which war was which, and when the elves of Quel’thalas actually split off. Let’s spell it all out:

Quel’thalas: previously isolated, then allied with Stormwind, then independent, then exterminated, then Horde core race

In case you didn’t know, all elves in Warcraft are related! Every single modern elf race is descended from the Kaldorei, or Night Elves, in some form. To take it one step further, the Kaldorei are a Troll offshoot, so all Elves are descended from Kaldorei who are descended from Trolls. Copy?

A faction of Highborne, the ruling class of Kaldorei, led by Dath’remar Sunstrider split off after the War of the Ancients. Arcane magic was outlawed in Night Elf society but the Kaldorei couldn’t bring themselves to fight, so they exiled Dath’remar and his arcane practitioners. They founded the kingdom of Quel’thalas in its current location. Quel’thalas stayed mostly isolated until it was invaded by the Horde, aided by the Amani, in the Second War. At this time, King Anasterian became a reluctant member of the Alliance, later withdrawing his kingdom from the Alliance after the Second War. He believed that weak Alliance aid was the reason Quel’thalas faced such an attack.

quel’thalas, the first zone many of us experienced in wow!

In the Third War, Arthas famously led the extermination of Quel’thalas, killing around 90% of the elves, corrupting the Sunwell, and tainting the land in the form of the Dead Scar. Prince Kael’thas ventured into Outland seeking salvation for the Sin’dorei (new name, Blood Elves), and allied with Illidan. In TBC, Sylvanas, the now Forsaken former ranger-general, began sending envoys to Silvermoon to bring the Sin’dorei into the Horde.

A faction of Quel’dorei refused to become Sin’dorei (specifically rejecting the Fel and the Arcane) and split off, becoming High Elves. They are considered a splinter faction, with the Silver Covenant being one of few known groups of Quel’dorei. This is where the common divide between High Elf and Blood Elf fans comes from. Lastly, Ren’dorei, the Void Elves, are a group of former Sin’dorei led by Magister Umbric who were exiled from Silvermoon after researching the Void. They’re now led by Umbric and members of the Alliance. To recap:

Sin’dorei/Blood Elves: Horde – descendants of Dath’remar’s original exiles

Quel’dorei/High Elves: Alliance – descendants of Dath’remar’s original exiles who split off from the Sin’dorei and refused Fel/Arcane magic.

Ren’dorei/Void Elves: Alliance – Sin’dorei who began researching the Void and were exiled from Quel’thalas.

naval battle from the second war

Second War/Dark Portal

As a shorter reminder, Alleria and Turalyon joined the first expedition to Draenor after the Second War to close the Dark Portal. They both fought with the Alliance/Sons of Lothar in this war when Quel’thalas was still affiliated with the Alliance, hence Alleria’s strong Alliance loyalty and her statue in Stormwind. She and Turalyon got lost in the nether for A Long Fucking Time and joined up with the Army of the Light to fight the Legion. They hadn’t seen their son Arator since he was born and they left him on Azeroth.

As a reminder:

Second War: Warcraft 2, Doomhammer’s conquest of Azeroth, Turalyon loses Anduin Lothar and assumes command, Alleria fights with him after leaving Quel’thalas.

Third War: Warcraft 3, battle of Mount Hyjal, Arthas falls, invasion of Quel’thalas, etc.

we…are….LEGION!

Status of the Burning Legion

After the events of Antorus, the chain of command of the Legion was broken. Sargeras imprisoned, Aggramar returned to the Pantheon, Archimonde and Kil’jaeden dead, and most other lieutenants dead. Demonic regeneration halted with the disappearance of Argus’ Worldsoul, diminishing their numbers. There are still demonic holdouts: Eredar, Nathrezim, and some of the other highly intelligent demons seek to continue the Crusade (much like how Val’kyr sought a new purpose when Arthas died). They lack numbers to invade Azeroth, but they could certainly pose an isolated threat.

arator’s new model. discuss. chop or slay?

Characters

Arator the Redeemer

The son of Alleria and Turalyon, Arator was born before his parents left for the Draenor Expedition after the Second War (the events of Warcraft II and Beyond the Dark Portal). While his parents were gone, and later lost in the nether, Arator was raised by his aunt Vereesa, the youngest surviving Windrunner sibling. He also spent some time in Quel’thalas with Lor’themar as he wanted to become familiar with Alleria and Vereesa’s original homeland. He’s directly affiliated with the Alliance but is also welcome in Silvermoon in a complicated fashion.

Arator went on to become a Paladin of the Silver Hand, following in his father’s footsteps. He would only get to know his parents through their legend and the tales others told him until the Legion expansion. Arator joined the Paladin class order during Legion, eventually joining the Argus offensive and colliding with his parents. They had a really fun awkward conversation where they realized that, though they are a nuclear family, Arator’s parents know nothing about him. He knows a bit about them, but they have no idea how to talk to each other.

We’ve seen Arator here and there since Legion, but he’ll be taking a starring role starting in the lead up to Midnight in 11.2.7. To remember about him: he’s a Paladin, but understands nuance. He’s Alleria and Turalyon’s son, and therefore a Windrunner, but he kind of doesn’t know how to talk to his parents. Their relationship isn’t super functional. He fights for what’s good and right and has very little faction bias.

it’s no secret i don’t always like turalyon BUT this is a recap not a judgment from me so

High Exarch Turalyon

Turalyon was one of the first five Paladins of the Silver Hand. He was born to nobility in Lordaeron, but his parents died shortly after his birth, so he was raised as an orphan by the Church of the Holy Light. He didn’t particularly feel drawn to the Light when he was young, but he eventually became a Priest under Alonsus Faol’s instruction.

Turalyon is the reason why the Alliance was founded in the first place-he gave a rousing speech in the prelude to the Second War that inspired the human kingdoms to unite against the Horde. During this war, he became good friends with Khadgar and Alleria (wink), as well as his commander, Anduin Lothar. As a quick reminder, during this time, the Orcs were still very much under Demonic control from drinking Mannoroth’s blood. It’s pretty understandable why, at this time, Turalyon would take up arms to defend his home against the Orcish invasion.

Later on, the Dark Portal opened again and the Orcs attacked once more. Khadgar called heroes to the Blasted Lands to defend Azeroth and Turalyon answered. By this point, he and Alleria had a son and left him with Vereesa in case they didn’t return. Turalyon led the Sons of Lothar through the Portal and drove the Horde back, though under great peril. Ner’zhul’s reckless magics were tearing Draenor apart, and unless the Portal was closed, Azeroth would suffer a gigantic eruption of energy from its collapse. Turalyon, along with Khadgar and Alleria, closed the Portal from Draenor and remained on the other side. They managed to survive Draenor’s destruction, but Alleria and Turalyon were separated from Khadgar by the chaotic rifts appearing all over the planet.

i hate blondes with broken swords

As Alleria and Turalyon began wandering, they encountered the Army of the Light. Xe’ra told both of them that they were destined to do battle with the Legion. To make a long story short, this is where Alleria and Turalyon grew apart for a bit. After exposure to the Void, Alleria became curious about the force. She was told to never speak of or consider using it again. Turalyon, a strong believer in the Light, had been Light-infused by Xe’ra at this point, making the Void anathema to his powers. He believed that he would always fight for Alleria, and despite his protests, Xe’ra would later imprison Alleria for her curiosity about the Void.

As the Army continued fighting the Legion, we encountered Turalyon in the flesh as players on Argus in patch 7.3. He arrived as the High Exarch, a big surprise to all of us, and fought with us on Argus. He notably erupted with rage when Illidan struck down Xe’ra as she attempted to force the Light on to the demon hunter. Aside from that moment, we were pretty aligned with Turalyon on Argus.

An aspect of his characterization that has returned are old hatreds from WC2. As soon as he returned from Argus, he immediately rejoined the Alliance, relinquishing the “neutral” tones he took on Argus. Along with him, Lightforged Draenei joined the Alliance, more closely aligning the Army of the Light with the faction and allowing Turalyon to lean in to his old behaviors. Turalyon fought at Stromgarde and across BFA, ultimately joining the fight against N’Zoth and succeeding.

In the lead-up to Shadowlands, when Anduin was kidnapped by the Jailer, Turalyon was supported as the Regent Protector of Stormwind and stand-in commander of Alliance forces. Since the Alliance canonically reclaimed Stromgarde, Turalyon remarked that it was a “good first step,” and mused about other former Alliance holdings to reclaim. This line demonstrates how he further leaned in to his old position as an Alliance warrior, even though Azeroth had changed quite a bit since his departure, with the Horde and Alliance aiming for tenuous armistice. When Shaw was kidnapped by Zandalari, he immediately proposed war, while Jaina proposed utilization of the Fourth War armistice.

Turalyon carried on as Regent Protector since Anduin remained absent from Stormwind. We noticed him beginning to lean even more into being an Alliance commander, bringing the Army of the Light to Khaz Algar but spending time bickering with Gey’arah. However, one trait that has persisted is his unwavering commitment to Alleria. They spent time apart during Dragonflight, with Turalyon in Stormwind and Alleria taking various missions across Azeroth. When she received the mission to investigate the Dark Heart, Turalyon offered to accompany her, which she declined. They reunited on Khaz Algar during 11.0. During the battle for Hallowfall, Alleria detected Xal’atath’s objective before the rest of the army and told Turalyon she had to go chase it, which he trusted her with. Though he still really doesn’t tolerate her use of the Void, he trust Alleria implicitly, a dichotomy I’m always interested in.

Turalyon is positioned in Stormwind heading in to Midnight and Blood Ties. He has maintained his position as an Alliance commander, once more dropping the mantle of neutral commander. He does keep the title of High Exarch, especially when non-faction forces are involved.

rip bandage man

Alleria Windrunner

I already wrote a blog about Alleria’s backstory last year. That’s linked here! You can give it a read to catch up on her pre 11.0 story, but I’ll cover her 11.0-11.2 story here.

Alleria was one of our core heroes during TWW. We saw her take up an immediate vendetta against Xal’atath when she thought Xal killed Khadgar, killing her way across Khaz Algar to reach her. Thankfully, she had a moment of clarity and remembered to lock in for her final confrontation with her, aiming an arrow at the Dark Heart, damaging it and temporarily knocking out its powers.

In 11.1, Alleria accompanied us to Undermine (one of my favorite comedy scenes of the whole expansion is when she gets stopped at Undermine customs and has no idea what to do). She helped us investigate the Ethereal presence and chase the Dark Heart. Her spotlight returned in 11.2, when she, Locus-Walker, and Xal’atath took us around K’aresh. Watching her interactions with Xal’atath was an absolute treat in this patch, with them relentlessly trading barbs while working together as they did understand the imminent threat of Dimensius. I found her really interesting when she learned the truth of K’aresh’s destruction: we rarely have characters who have a “red line” in this game and absolutely cannot accept certain actions (in some spheres, we call characters like this “lawful,” whether that’s an actual law or a strict moral code that they follow). She could not ever understand Locus-Walker’s choice to blow up K’aresh to try and kill Dimensius as it’s an action she would never accept, a principle that I’m certain will come up in 12.0 as we weigh which sacrifices we’re ok with against the Void.

While Alleria never trusted Xal’atath, she understood the imminent threat Dimensius posed and finished the mission. Another really interesting moment for her was when Xal’atath killed Locus-Walker. Instead of showing immediate sadness and tears like when Khadgar briefly died, she was simply shocked and made a vow to take Xal’atath out. It’s clear that Locus-Walker’s choices greatly affected her final perception of him. Alleria could never understand the choice to destroy K’aresh: as we saw in the Second War, she would rather close the Dark Portal from the other side so Azeroth would be unharmed and her son could be safe than risk anyone’s safety. She takes her role as a soldier very seriously, most strongly motivated by protecting Arator, Quel’thalas, Vereesa, and Turalyon.

Heading into Blood Ties, Alleria has been destabilized by the loss of her mentor, Xal’atath’s relentless questioning of her values, Turalyon’s adherence to the Light, and her desire to keep Arator safe. How will she react when her son seeks to join the fight?

Wrap-up

We’ll see this family on screen together for the first time since 2017 in this novel. I’m once again expecting some tension, this time because Alleria has demonstrated she won’t relinquish her Void powers and Turalyon won’t budge on the Light. I foresee this expansion being the moment where Arator becomes the Child of Light and Shadow as prophesied in Legion. Xe’ra thought it was Illidan-I think it’s Arator. Please enjoy Blood Ties, by Christie Golden, out today!