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I have not had time for the weekly podcasts but they will return as soon as I have time again and I am not addicted to Baldur's Gate 3 anymore, in the meantime, here is the script for the next video I am working on. I will upload the unedited version as soon as I record it, just need to go through it some more and make sure everything is perfect.

The Treacherous Dragon Queen

Introduction:

What’s good gamers, it is commonly accepted that the Dragon Aspects are agents of Azeroth, created by the Titan Keepers to guard and keep Azeroth safe against the many threats of this universe. Really up until Dragonflight the Aspects, apart from Malygos and Neltharion, were considered lawful good by most if not all. They are wise, ancient, and seemingly always on the side of good. Dragonflight changed many of these outlooks, we learnt of their ancient dealings and suddenly everything, from their creation to their seemingly always good alignment, has been pulled into question. Let’s examine the Dragon Mother Alexstrasza and her past so we can see where her future may lead.

The Aspects

I won’t be going into the creation of the Aspects in too much detail, since that would be a whole other video on Its own, perhaps one I will make some day, for now, I will cover the bullet points.

After the Primal Drakes defeated Galakrond in what can only be described as an epic battle, some of the Keepers believed that they could forge an alliance with these Primal Drakes. The Keepers had many tasks and would not always be available to come to the aid of Azeroth, a group of Dragons seemed like a good defence mechanism against most threats and these specific Primal Drakes had proven to be very capable and highly intelligent. There were those among the Keepers who did not agree with this move, Odin being one such Keeper, it should be mentioned here that for Odin the choice of leaving any mortal life alive, was not of forgone conclusion, he in fact, on many occasions pondered the idea of simply eradicating life, since life is often chaotic and runs counter to the designs of the Titans.

Despite Odin’s misgivings, the other Keepers, led by Tyr, forged ahead. The Primal Drakes were infused with Order magic, granting them far greater power than they had ever wielded before. At the helm of this new Dragon Army, Alexstrasza was chosen as their Queen. She was given dominion over all Life on Azeroth and tasked with safeguarding it. Similarly, each of the Dragon Aspects were granted dominion over a separate part of creation, to ensure that creation would play out along the design of the Titans but also to ensure balance, so no one Aspect could ever become more powerful than any other. This would also ensure no infighting, at least this was the hope, because the Aspects needed each other.

Thus started the age of Dragons… Or so we were told!

War of the Scaleborn

In Dragonflight we learnt that this was only half the tale, not all Drakes were as receptive to the gifts of the Titans, some wanted to retain their freedom and believed Dragons are more powerful when left to pursue their own paths, rather than be slaves to the Whims of the Keepers and their Order Magic. The Greatest among these would be the Incarnates. Raszageth, Vyranoth, Fyrakk and Iridikron.

In the early days of Dragonflight we were led to believe, these Incarnates felt betrayed and would not accept the Order of the Titans, which would eventually end in a war known as the War of the Scaleborn.

We now know that this too was not the whole truth, in fact, originally the Incarnates were very happy to respect the choice of the Aspects as well as any other Primal Drake that would choose to join up with the Titan Keepers, all they asked was that all Primal Drakes be given a choice and that the will of the Titans never be forced upon any of them. A stipulation, Alexstrasza agreed to.

For the Titan Keeper Tyr, this agreement was not one that would be allowed. So, the Keepers devised a plan, one that would take the choice away from the Incarnates and eventually force all Drakes to accept the Gifts of the Titans. We now know, thanks to the Progress Report: Uldorus document, that Tyr and the Keepers had come up with a new plan to bring the Proto Drakes to heel. One that involved releasing order magic into the Wellspring flowing from Tyrhold to the Ruby Life Shrine, this order magic would constantly infuse all Drakes in its vicinity with Order Magic and infuse the eggs of their unborn to ensure complete compliance. While this is not stated anywhere in the books or the game, I imagine the thinking went something like this, once the Drakes realise their children have taken to Order magic this would then also force them to accept Order so as to not be removed from their Children. A brilliant yet ultimately flawed plan. During a conversation between Alexstrasza and Vyranoth we would learn that this was the catalyst that started the War of the Scaleborn. For the Incarnates, this was a betrayal. They were promised free will, they were expressly promised that all Proto Drakes would be given a choice, yet an unborn Dragon has no choice.

The Big Question

Vyranoth accused Alexstrasza of standing by and simply watching it happen. The big question however is, did Alexstrasza and the other Aspects know that this was happening? Were they in on it and simply playing along or was this plan hatched in secret? This isn’t stated anywhere so we can only speculate, to my own mind, and observing how the Titans operate I would say I do not think the Keepers would have told the Aspects anything, the Aspects were a tool created for a specific purpose and you do not discuss the plans you have for a piece of wood with your saw. Further evidence for this can be found again within the Uldorus Report where Tyr states

Once purification is complete, an additional benefit will be found in offering the infused water to dragonkind.

By ingesting the water (or causing their eggs to absorb its effects), it should be possible to keep even the most wilful dragons aligned with the titans' philosophies.

Our efforts to bring the proto-dragons in line have faced resistance, but I am formulating a strategy to speed the process along.

It is in this we find the biggest secret. The real question should be, are the Aspects acting out of their own free will or have they too been “brought in line” with the Titans vision, read mind control. My theory here is that the Aspects, once infused with Order magic would still have their own thoughts and actions but each thought and action would be driven by the design of the Titans and Order. In essence, they are mind controlled, but they would not even know that they are, they simply act as Order compels them to.

This then leads to the very question and reason I made this video, there are many in the community who now believe that Blizzard is turning Alexstrasza evil, but I would contend that Alexstrasza isn’t evil, she did not act out of malice or hatred for her friends and former dragon companions. She, much like the Incarnates have been misled.

Which brings us to the vision of Tyr. During this vision, Zakajz shows Tyr how all Aspects will, in time betray him. It’s important to remember that the Void deals in Half-truths, when Zakajz shows Tyr that the Aspects will betray him by turning to the Void, I believe the Truth is they will turn on him, the lie is that they will turn to the Void. Meaning the Half Truth nature of the Void remains intact.

We also have the conversation between Iridikron and Chromie, where Iridikron challenges Chromie, he tells her that the Titans do not care about them, he makes a prophecy, and he gives her a very clear and rational point of reference. They will not come to aid you, they will only come once their control of Azeroth is threatened, because according to him, this is the only thing they have ever cared about. I would argue that the Edicts of the Prime Designate, Volume 742 backs up what Iridikron is saying

Keepers,

It has been brought to my attention that, as of late, many of you have become fascinated by the emergence of mortal beings. That is, creatures born of flash rather than crafted of stone and steel like our loyal titan-forged.

While my initial impulse was to eradicate these aberrations before they evolved further, I now believe they may prove useful if properly controlled.

Yet even as we guide their development according to the edicts of the titans, we must always remember that mortal minds are destined to be small and incapable of complex understanding.

In conclusion I believe that once the Titans return, when they see the chaos borne from mortals, they will have no choice, as per their own restrictions, to enact a full re-origination of Azeroth. This will put the Aspects for the first time ever in a direct conflict with their own creation, do they stand by idly and await their own destruction along with the destruction of every mortal life on Azeroth or do they side with the Mortals and the Incarnates against the Titans? Of course, only time will truly tell but it is my believe that should that time come, the Aspects will rise up against the Titans and take up arms alongside the mortals of Azeroth.

None of this is to say that Iridikron will not learn the true folly of making deals with the Void, he will but that is a topic for another video. For now, I believe that we are beginning on a new path for World of Warcraft, one that will see the mortals of Azeroth and every being that calls it home, fight for our right to exist against a Cosmic universe that would just as soon see us eradicated. There are many things I have not covered in this video, like the powers of the Incarnates and the true intentions of the Titans, however I believe those are all topics that would be best left explored on their own and in much greater detail.

Thank you so much for watching, to all my Patrons, YouTube Members and Twitch Subs, thank you for the support, it helps keep this channel free from sponsors that want to sell you stuff you do not need.

Have a wonderful day and as always, be kind to each other, be good to each other and I will see all of you, in the next one.