World of Warcraft
In the World of Warcraft universe, we could say almost every single catastrophic event, invasion, and corrupted souls eventually lead back to the name Sargeras. He is the founder and master of the Burning Legion. But once upon a time, Sargeras was a protector of the universe, not the monster seeking to burn the cosmos.
His life is a tale of duty, madness, and a scorched-earth crusade that threatened the very fabric of reality. This is how one of the universe’s greatest protectors eventually became its terrifying doom.
Champion of the Pantheon and The Descent of Sargeras
Eons ago, Sargeras was a Titan, a colossal, god-like entity of order and creation. Among his brethren in the Pantheon, Sargeras was known as their greatest warrior and champion. His sole duty was to protect the universe from the chaotic demons of the Twisting Nether. For countless millennia, he hunted down demons, locking them away in a prison world called Mardum. He was a noble soul, fearless, and completely dedicated to preserving the order that the Pantheon sought to build across the stars.
Sargeras’s breaking point came when he discovered something much worse than demons. They were called The Void Lords. During his travels, he found a planet housing a slumbering World Soul (a nascent Titan) that had been completely corrupted by the Void Lords’ parasitic agents, the Old Gods.
Realizing that if a dark Titan were to be born, the universe would be consumed by pure agony, Sargeras had to make a horrific choice. With hesitation, he cleaved the infected planet in two with his massive sword, instantly killing the unborn Titan. When he returned to the Pantheon to explain the existential threat of the Void, his brethren condemned his actions. Feeling betrayed and realizing that a flawed, corrupted universe was worse than a lifeless one, Sargeras left the Pantheon. He concluded that the only way to save the universe from the Void was to burn it completely clean.
Master of the Burning Legion and Obsession With Azeroth
To achieve his twisted vision of a purified universe, Sargeras returned to the prison world of Mardum and shattered it. The explosion of fel energy permanently corrupted his physical form, transforming him into the Dark Titan. He offered the freed demonic hordes a choice: serve him in his Burning Crusade to scour the universe of life, or be destroyed. Thus, the Burning Legion was created with Sargeras leading them. Later he recruited brilliant tacticians like Kil’jaeden and Archimonde from the planet Argus to lead his infinite, chaotic armies across the stars.
Sargeras eventually came to know of Azeroth, a planet harboring a World Soul more powerful than any discovered before. Knowing it could be the ultimate weapon against the Void, conquering Azeroth became his absolute obsession. His first major attempt to invade was the War of the Ancients, where he manipulated the arrogant Queen Azshara into opening a portal for his Legion. During this conflict, he also burned out the eyes of Illidan Stormrage, imbuing him with fel magic and transforming him into the very first Demon Hunter. When that portal called the Well of Eternity collapsed, resulting in the Great Sundering, Sargeras was forced out of the planet. He didn’t give up here of course.
Much later, he allowed his Avatar to be defeated by the Guardian Aegwynn, secretly hiding his spirit inside her. This essence then transferred to her unborn son, Medivh. Years later, he possessed Medivh, using him to manipulate the Orcs of Draenor into invading Azeroth through the Dark Portal, starting the first war. Even when his avatar was defeated, his will commanded the Legion’s relentless assaults on the planet. We can say this massive dude is the one pulling the strings behind the major events that have happened to Azeroth.
Fall of Sargeras, The Dark Titan
Sargeras’s crusade finally came to a dramatic and climactic end during the Legion expansion. The adventurers of Azeroth pushed the Burning Legion all the way back to their stronghold on Argus, in the Antorus, the Burning Throne raid. In a desperate final move, Sargeras emerged from the cosmic shadows, attempting to physically claim Azeroth himself.
Before the remaining Titans could pull him back to their stronghold, Sargeras plunged his colossal sword, Goribal, deep into the surface of Azeroth in the zone of Silithus, grievously wounding the planet. Today, Sargeras is imprisoned within the Seat of the Pantheon, constantly guarded by his eternal jailer, Illidan Stormrage. The Dark Titan’s crusade is over, but the scar he left on the world remains a bleeding reminder of his wrath. I’m ninety-nine percent sure we will see him again in the future, hence the forgotten sword in Silithus. Hello, Blizzard game developers?
Personal Thoughts on Sargeras
Progressing through Antorus, the Burning Throne with my Hunter remains one of my absolute favorite memories from the Legion expansion. I even race-changed my character from a Troll to a Blood Elf during that time, solely for transmog purposes. I got bored of waiting for them to add an upright posture to Trolls.
The dark atmosphere of Antorus, combined with that masterpiece of a soundtrack, truly made you feel the massive scale of assaulting the Legion on their home turf. My only regret from that raid was never getting my hands on Taeshalach, the fiery two-handed sword transmog from Aggramar. I spent so much time hoping it would drop for my Hunter, but alas, it never happened.
Looking back, the final cinematic where Sargeras plunges his colossal sword into Azeroth was nothing short of perfection. It was a breathtaking, climactic ending to a phenomenal expansion. The defeat of the Burning Legion felt like a good conclusion to the entire Warcraft storyline I wish we got to fight Sargeras somehow, but I don’t know how that could’ve happened. Instead of dragging the narrative forward into forced conflicts, Blizzard could have easily ended this chapter right there and maybe started the next expansion with completely new characters, like making us discover a new continent without the horde and alliance, plunging us into a new world.
