Tides of Lore

Lore segment begins at (22:07)

Cormack still wears the Scarlet Crusade’s colors. He can still call upon the Light. He has also become one of the undead his order exists to destroy. This week, we’re following his story through Blizzard’s Unbowed and exploring the place awaiting paladins like him in World of Warcraft Forever.

We’ve followed Lordaeron’s fall and the fight for Undercity. Now we’re spending time with the people trying to live there: the newly risen learning to heal, families struggling to stay together, and neighbors whose bodies need constant repair. Along the way, we meet Aramis Hammerhand and Danitha Morr, revisit Gavinrad the Dire’s legacy, and discover why Tyr’s Watch chooses to remain among people who distrust the Light.

Our return to the Ruins of Lordaeron brings us to a missing child, a father’s search, and the fate of Grand Marshal Garithos. We also reconnect with Leonid Barthalomew and the work Garek Bandarion left for others to continue.

Lore segment begins at (16:45)

Captain Landen wants to retire. His lieutenant wants the glory of battle. Arthas’s homecoming leaves them with civilians to rescue and a kingdom collapsing around them.

We follow Garek Bandarion through the Last Days of Lordaeron and the Forsaken Kingdom campaign. We trace the choices that carry a Lordaeron guardsman into undeath, then into the service of Sylvanas Windrunner.

Beneath the ruined capital, Garek and Dark Ranger Anya help make Undercity a home. Merchants need protection, masons need stone, and newly awakened Forsaken need someone willing to help them. Those ordinary responsibilities become the stakes when the Scarlet Crusade attacks.

We follow the conflict through Tirisfal, an uneasy friendship with Leonid Barthalomew, and the Argent Dawn’s place in the Forsaken’s struggle. Then Naxxramas arrives above the capital, bringing Garek back into the reach of the enemies who destroyed his first life.

Lore segment begins at (10:04)

A prince promises survival at a terrible cost. Rebels escape his city, bargain for sanctuary, and build a new life above the world. Thousands of years later, their descendants must decide how to save the home that bargain gave them.

We begin Tides of Lore: Forever by connecting the Skyborne’s origins to the Shen’dralar of Eldre’Thalas, the ancient city now known as Dire Maul. We follow Tortheldrin’s rule, the rebellion against his plans, and the exiles whose journey leads into Skywall and the Zephras Isle starting storyline.

First, we return to the aftermath of Warcraft III: Arthas’s betrayal, Grom Hellscream’s sacrifice, the stand at Mount Hyjal, and the fragile peace that follows. These events leave Azeroth with the rivalries, displaced peoples, and unfinished conflicts that form the backdrop to World of Warcraft: Forever.

We also discuss the High Order and Windshapers, the Skyborne’s ties to the Kirin Tor and Earthen Ring, and our first impressions of how their story fits into Warcraft’s history.

The trees of Elwynn fall behind you, and Westfall opens beneath a wide sky. A family needs its wedding watch returned. A horse needs feeding. Farmers are trying to hold their ground against thieves and wandering harvest watchers.

In Tides of Lore Classic Episode 2, we follow Westfall’s original questing story through Sentinel Hill, the occupied farms, and the winding coast. Captain Grayson’s lighthouse and Captain Sanders’ treasure offer new discoveries before the Defias investigation carries us through Lakeshire and Stormwind, toward Edwin VanCleef and the Deadmines...

Lore segment begins at (18:46)

Rain falls over Zhu’s Watch, but its people have lost the will to care. Farther south, Anduin Wrynn finds the Red Crane’s refuge overwhelmed by fear and despair. Across the mogu ruins, two expeditions search for the same water: a father hoping to preserve a future with his daughter, and a husband trying to save his family.

This week, Tides of Lore follows the Krasarang Wilds story from Ken Ken’s strange cure to the Temple of the Red Crane, the troubled coast, and the breach at Stoneplow. The Alliance and Horde arrive with old suspicions and fresh losses. The people they helped along the way arrive with a reason to stand together.

Lore segment begins at (12:38)Chen Stormstout reaches the homeland behind his family name, only to be rejected by the Stormstout guarding its brewery.

This week, Tides of Lore follows the complete Valley of the Four Winds storyline through the Thunderfoot farms, Halfhill, Sunsong Ranch, the Tillers, the search for the Hidden Master, Nesingwary’s Safari and the infestation consuming Stormstout Brewery.

Along the way, Farmer Yoon must earn the right to continue his grandfather’s work, Lin Tenderpaw confronts the doubt behind her bruised hands, and Hemet Nesingwary Jr. learns what his father values more than any trophy.

Uncle Gao wants to make the Stormstout name famous. Chen must decide what that name should actually mean.

Lore segment begins at (18:07)

Pandaria survived ten thousand years behind the mists. The Alliance and Horde needed only days to teach its people their war

The Alliance enters the Jade Forest searching for Prince Anduin. The Horde arrives to secure a foothold for Garrosh Hellscream. Both insist their mission is necessary. Both recruit local allies. Both receive the same warning from Taran Zhu, Pandaria lives and breathes, and it will respond to the emotions they bring

The jinyu begin marching beneath Alliance banners. The hozen raise the colours of the Horde. Between them, the people of Dawn’s Blossom continue trading, monks continue teaching and generations of workers prepare an enormous jade vessel for Yu’lon’s rebirth

Then the two armies meet beneath it

Lore segment begins at (16:40)

Beneath Orgrimmar, dark shaman enslave creatures from the Firelands while Horde commanders and SI:7 agents interpret the same threat through opposing fears. In Lordaeron, a mysterious Hooded Crusader dismantles the Scarlet order from within. Her identity is Lilian Voss, the undead daughter rejected by the father who trained her to hate the very thing she became. Her campaign carries us through Houndmaster Braun, Armsmaster Harlan, Flameweaver Koegler, High Inquisitor Whitemane and finally into Scholomance, where Darkmaster Gandling still turns his students into experiments.

Far from that violence, a new pandaren begins training beneath Master Shang Xi. The search for the four elemental spirits introduces Aysa Cloudsinger and the patient Tushui path, Ji Firepaw and the decisive Huojin path, and the balance both philosophies once created together.

When the great turtle Shen-zin Su finally answers his people, they discover an Alliance airship buried in his side. Aysa and Ji work with survivors from both factions to free him. Their cooperation saves every life on the Wandering Isle, but it lasts only until the immediate danger is gone.

The Alliance and Horde demand a choice. Aysa follows the Alliance. Ji follows the Horde. Friends, relatives and former companions are told that the people beneath the other banner are now sworn enemies, just as the mists around Pandaria begin to part.

Lore segment begins at (20:50)

The Pearl of Pandaria has shown Li Li Stormstout something her people stopped believing: Pandaria still exists. Staying safely aboard Shen-zin Su would mean ignoring the lost homeland waiting beyond the mists, so Li Li leaves the Wandering Isle again. This time, Chen Stormstout follows her not to drag her home, but to make sure she does not face the journey alone.

In Tides of Lore Episode 89, we retell Sarah Pine's four-part World of Warcraft novella Quest for Pandaria, the direct continuation of Pearl of Pandaria and a bridge between Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria.

Li Li's decision reopens every wound her family tried to bury. Chon Po has already lost his wife, watched Wanyo vanish and welcomed his daughter home after Strongbo died protecting her. To Li Li, his fear has made home into a cage. To her father, another journey looks like the same grief arriving all over again.

The Pearl leads Li Li and Chen from Ironforge and Booty Bay into the path of Catelyn the Blade, a pirate carrying debt, defiance and an unfinished relationship with her father, Ansirem Runeweaver. In Uldum, the brothers Menrim and Bathet reveal what can happen when pride delays an apology until love can no longer repair the damage.

Their final voyage carries them into a gathering war. An Alliance ship and a Horde warship turn diplomats into hostages near Theramore, while ordinary people risk their lives for friends on the opposite side. By the time Chen and Li Li reunite, both vessels are burning and the conflict that will define Mists of Pandaria is already sailing toward the hidden continent.

The Pearl can point toward Pandaria. It cannot tell Li Li what finding it will cost, who will follow her through the mists or whether a person can choose freedom without abandoning the people who love them.

Lore segment begins at (20:50)

The Pearl of Pandaria has shown Li Li Stormstout something her people stopped believing: Pandaria still exists. Staying safely aboard Shen-zin Su would mean ignoring the lost homeland waiting beyond the mists, so Li Li leaves the Wandering Isle again. This time, Chen Stormstout follows her not to drag her home, but to make sure she does not face the journey alone.

In Tides of Lore Episode 89, we retell Sarah Pine's four-part World of Warcraft novella Quest for Pandaria, the direct continuation of Pearl of Pandaria and a bridge between Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria.

Li Li's decision reopens every wound her family tried to bury. Chon Po has already lost his wife, watched Wanyo vanish and welcomed his daughter home after Strongbo died protecting her. To Li Li, his fear has made home into a cage. To her father, another journey looks like the same grief arriving all over again.

The Pearl leads Li Li and Chen from Ironforge and Booty Bay into the path of Catelyn the Blade, a pirate carrying debt, defiance and an unfinished relationship with her father, Ansirem Runeweaver. In Uldum, the brothers Menrim and Bathet reveal what can happen when pride delays an apology until love can no longer repair the damage.

Their final voyage carries them into a gathering war. An Alliance ship and a Horde warship turn diplomats into hostages near Theramore, while ordinary people risk their lives for friends on the opposite side. By the time Chen and Li Li reunite, both vessels are burning and the conflict that will define Mists of Pandaria is already sailing toward the hidden continent.

The Pearl can point toward Pandaria. It cannot tell Li Li what finding it will cost, who will follow her through the mists or whether a person can choose freedom without abandoning the people who love them.