The Reasons to be Cautious of Calia Menethil (Speculating on Dragonflight Lore)

Calia Menethil: Light-created Undead, sister to Arthas, and one of several leaders of the Forsaken. In recent times, she's acted as something of an ambassador between the Forsaken and the Alliance, even helping to organize the reclamation of Gilneas. But can she be trusted?

Queen Calia?

When it first came out, the Horde's ending quest in the Reclaiming Gilneas storyline included an interesting slip that has caused many a raised eyebrow (that has occasionally immediately fallen off, these are Undead after all) - the quest's instructions told us to report to "Queen Calia".

When Calia was still worried that the Forsaken would ever accept her, she insisted that she had no intentions for the throne of Lordaeron. Now, several years into her leadership position on the Desolate Council, and having achieved her first stated goal of returning Gilneas to the Alliance more successfully than even she could possibly have imagined, could it be that Calia is secure enough in her position with the Forsaken to start eyeing the throne? At the very least, even though it has been changed, this instructional quest text may hint at Blizzard's own intentions for her character.

Obviously, the simple and most likely answer is no, this was a mistake, don't read too much into it. But where's the fun in that?

So for the sake of fun, I would like to propose a theory: Calia has been quietly working to claim the throne of Lordaeron since the start, and it's part of a larger conspiracy to claim the soul of Azeroth - not for the Titans, not for Death, not for the Void, but for the Light.

The Reclamation of Gilneas

On the surface, Calia's involvement in the reclamation of Gilneas is simple, but effective. Back at the end of the Return to Lordaeron storyline, having been appointed a member of the Desolate Council, Calia stated that the first order of business she would bring would be the withdrawal of Forsaken troops from Gilneas.

Calia's efforts have been extremely successful. Not only has she been able to convince the Forsaken to relinquish any claim they had made to Gilneas, she even convinces the Forsaken to help the Gilneans reclaim their city from the Scarlet Crusade. This is, admittedly, in part because the Crusade are a historical threat to the Forsaken - a stronghold so close to Undercity poses a threat, especially as the Scarlet Crusade have in recent times recommitted themselves to their aims of eradicating all Undead from the Kingdom of Lordaeron.

Presumably, an Alliance stronghold wouldn't be a threat due to the peace between the factions - forgive and forget, don't mention the war and all that.

As for Calia, this is just the latest example of her unique position on the Desolate Council. The only Undead to be created by the Light, Calia has strong ties to both living Alliance and Horde Undead. Members of both factions trust her, and so she is the perfect ambassador.

Calia Menethil - Undead Ambassador to the Alliance

This is rather ironic, considering how she died to begin with. While she was still alive, Calia joined Anduin Wrynn in his efforts to try rebuild relationships between living Alliance and their Undead relatives. At the time, Sylvanas Windrunner reluctantly agreed to the Gathering - a meeting between select living and Undead - but when Calia was revealed to be in attendance, Sylvanas, seeing the last Menethil as a threat to her position as leader of the Forsaken, had her killed on the spot, along with the Forsaken attendees, who Sylvanas saw as compromised. Calia's death also marked the death of Anduin's hopes for peace - the Gathering was a complete failure.

Now, however, Calia manages in death what she failed to do in life. Her presence alone seems enough to soothe. When Genn is at first resistant to the Forsaken in Gilneas, all that needs to be said to convince him is this:

Mia Greymane says: Genn... it's Calia. Calia Menethil. Not some mindless Scourge. Let her speak.

Calia Menethil says: The Forsaken know the Scarlet Crusade better than anyone, King Greymane.

Calia Menethil says: You have little reason to trust us. But I give you my word, as a Menethil--we only wish to return what rightfully belongs to you.

A lot can be taken from these lines. First of all, Genn's problem with the Forsaken was not with mindless Scourge. In fact, Sylvanas' intelligence and mind for strategy during the original taking of Gilneas meant a lot more Worgen casualties than there might have been. Second, it's hard to imagine Sylvanas Windrunner standing calmly by while her people are associated with mindless Scourge - when the Tauren argued that the Forsaken should be shown compassion because their plight could teach the living empathy, Sylvanas could barely contain her fury at the suggestion that the Forsaken only existed to make the living feel better about themselves. So the fact that Calia simply accepts this insult to the people she seems to want to represent is a perfect example of why many Forsaken do not trust or even like her.

However, perhaps most important and alarming part of this dialogue is the use of the name 'Menethil'. Specifically, Calia herself openly embracing the name - and everything it implies.

What Happened to "Just Calia"?

When Calia first joined the Forsaken, she was not welcomed with open arms. In the Return to Lordaeron questline, she herself explained why. First, the name "Menethil" is associated with her brother, Arthas Menethill - you know, the Lich King. For a lot of Forsaken, it was Arthas who murdered them and raised them into Undeath in the first place. Second, as the last Menethil, Calia may technically have a claim to the throne of Lordaeron - this threat to her position is the reason why Sylvanas killed Calia to begin with.

Though Sylvanas was long gone by the time Calia arrived in Tirisfal Glades, this didn't mean the Forsaken wanted her to retake the throne of Lordaeron any more than Sylvanas had. Calia did not die with most Forsaken, and was not raised with them. She never lived in Undercity, and doesn't know what it is to fear warmth because it might cause you to rot. Her friends in the Alliance still accept her, and while she may not be universally liked, those friends she has made in the Horde seem to trust her willingly.

In other words, while Calia may be Undead, and while she may have experienced grief, pain, and loss, she has never experienced what it is to be truly Forsaken. It would not be right for her to lead them. (And, it's worth noting, she's unpopular with Forsaken players as well.)

When Calia first joined the Forsaken, she insisted that she had no intentions for the throne of Lordaeron. Now, several years into her leadership position on the Desolate Council, and having achieved her first stated goal of returning Gilneas to the Alliance more successfully than even she could possibly have imagined, could it be that Calia is secure enough in her position with the Forsaken to start eyeing the throne? At the very least, even though it has been changed, this instructional quest text may hint at Blizzard's own intentions for her character.

Calia Lies

When Calia claims that she doesn't see the throne as hers, she is lying. Calia has always seen it as hers by right, and only claims otherwise when she believes it would cause a fight that she cannot win.

The first, and possibly most catastrophic example, can be found in Before the Storm. In this novel, Calia asks Anduin if he would support her claim to the throne of Lordaeron. When she can see the question troubles him, she quickly assures him that she has no interest in the throne.

Later, Calia asks Anduin to allow her to attend the Gathering between Forsaken and their living human relatives. Anduin is concerned that her presence could cause trouble, but Calia assures him that she won't make any attempts to convince the Forsaken to leave Undercity. Anduin agrees, but later we see the condition is that Calia keep her hood up at all times.

However, at the Gathering, Calia suddenly realizes she has an opportunity. In a snap decision, she asks the Forsaken attendees to disobey Sylvanas and follow her, Calia, instead. Calia's choice of words is particularly interesting - she asks for the Forsaken to support her, as one might support a leader.

“You are my people, and I want to help you,” Calia pleaded. “I only came to observe, to begin to get to know the Forsaken of Lordaeron.”

“You didn’t once. You won’t have to live in the shadows anymore. Just—please. Come walk with me. Parqual, the Felstones, all the others—see them? They’re defecting. Anduin will shelter and protect you all; I know he will!”

Calia gets her wish. She does die - Sylvanas has her killed almost immediately. The novel ends with Calia's "resurrection" by the Light, transforming her into the Light-aligned Undead that she is today.

Now, the point here is not whether or not Calia is the rightful heir to Lordaeron, or if she would make a good leader. The point is that she tends towards being deceptive about her own ambitions until she feels that she is in a strong enough position to be more open about them. When she knows it would be a lot to ask Anduin to support her claim, she promises she's not interested in making that claim. But when she thinks everything has fallen into place, suddenly she is Calia Menethil, heir to the throne of Lordaeron.

And even this wouldn't be a problem - sometimes, people change their minds - if we hadn't just seen the same deception play out almost exactly the same way again:

Back during the reclaiming of Lordaeron, Calia insisted that she does not seek to rule. She claims she has no authority, and that she is her own soul - asking not to be defined by the Menethil name that represents her brother. However, even then, it was hinted that Calia does actually want the throne. She lingers in the throne room, expressing regret that her family's name has been shamed - mostly because it means the Forsaken don't trust her. Looking back, I realize it's not really that Calia doesn't seek the throne, it's that she knows she can't make a claim for it at this point.

But, by the time of the reclamation of Gilneas, Calia is giving her word "as a Menethil". Once again, we see that the more confident she feels that she will find support, the more likely it is that she will suddenly go from "just Calia" to "Calia Menethil, heir to the throne of Lordaeron".

The Light Can't Be Trusted

After her death, as Calia's body lay in Netherlight Temple, it was the Naaru Saa’ra who told Anduin and Faol to do something completely unprecedented. Calia would become the first Undead to be created by the Light.

Why did the Light create Calia? Because Calia's unique existence is not a coincidence. She's not the first Priest to die. Why would she, of all characters, matter to the Light so much that it would want to intervene and bring her back? The only thing that really sets Calia apart from any other character is the fact that she is heir to Lordaeron's throne.

And why bring her back this way - as a Light-Undead? While canonically, in-universe resurrection is rare, Anduin has managed it before. Is it that Calia was simply dead too long to be resurrected properly, or could the Light have a use for an Undead heir to Lordaeron that also happens to be pretty strongly bound to the Light?

Because it's worth noting that if Calia does take the throne of Lordaeron, then the leaders of two of the most traditionally powerful kingdoms in Azeroth will not only be Light-aligned, but bound to the Light in a way that goes beyond simple Priesthood. Turalyon is Light-infused. Calia seems like she may be as well - aesthetically, her new form resembles the changes becoming infused with Light made to the Lightforged Draenei. At the least, her existence as an Undead is entirely based on the Light. The Light's influence has always been prominent on Azeroth, but now it's gaining real political power.

And, of course, we know the Light will play a major role in the War Within. The Arathi of Hallowfall are extremely Light-aligned, and we've already been told Anduin will be hanging out with them. And while it's true that Calia helped oust the Scarlet Crusade from Gilneas, it is interesting that this Light-associated organization has been growing significantly lately.

While this might once have not been cause for concern, there has been some reason to question the Light, particularly when it comes to free will getting in the way of its own plans.

These problems with the Light aren't new, but concerns have faded somewhat recently - largely due to the fact that, as a ruler, Turalyon has been quite decent. His reign has turned out to be one of the most peaceful periods Azeroth has had for decades. By all accounts, he's quite popular. He's shown no hints of zealotry - even when he had the dracthyr followed initially, he seems to have decided they don't pose a threat to the Alliance after all, and has accepted their race quite happily.

But threats don't always look like threats on the surface. And the problem with the Light has never been that it wants to cause chaos and horror, the way a force like the Void seems to. The problem is the Light's lack of respect for freedom of will. And if the Light did decide that the only way forward is to activate some sort of chains in Turalyon and Calia's minds, that would cause them to wage wars similar to the one we saw Yrel leading on Draenor, then what would stop it?

For now, Calia is a phenomenal ambassador - accomplishing the sort of things previous leaders couldn't have dreamed of - while Turalyon is an exceptional leader. And, while perhaps I'm just being paranoid, I can't help but think of the last time we saw prominent characters in the kingdoms of Stormwind and Lordaeron, who seemed uniquely gifted at diplomacy, pleasing almost everyone, and who happened to rise to positions of power surprisingly easily:

It was Neltharion and Onyxia.

Interestingly, Genn Greymane, at least, seems that he may not quite trust Turalyon fully. During a recent conversation with Mathias Shaw, Genn asked the Spymaster to keep news of Anduin quiet from Turalyon, at least until they know more.

The Goal Is Always the Same

As we look forward to the Worldsoul Saga, the most obvious threat is the Void. However, there have also been growing questions about the Titans. Many of us are wondering if Azeroth is even inherently a Titan World Soul. We already know she can be claimed by the Void as well as the Titans, and we know even Death tried to come for her soul - is it possible she can be claimed by any Cosmological Force, and is simply so powerful, they all want her?

It's possible that, all this time, Azeroth has not been a Titan World Soul, but simply that she is a World Soul that the Titans have claimed. Why else would they feel the need to imprison our world?

We know the Titans want our world. We know the Void wants our world. We know that the Jailer wanted our world - we stopped his puppet'sattempts in the Sepulcher of the First Ones raid.

We know that the Light wanted very much to protect our world from the Legion's attempts to destroy it - but that the Light also isn't necessarily a moral force, just a force that values faith and obedience to itself. So why does the Light care so much about protecting Azeroth? What motivation does it have if it's not motivated by moral goodness?

Is it really that unreasonable to be suspicious of these Light-infused leaders who just happen to be gaining a great deal of political power, right when the war for our World's Soul has begun?

It's probably nothing. I'm sure it's fine.

Even so, I think I am right to warn: Do not trust Calia Menethil, especially if she suddenly seems ready to take the throne of Lordaeron for herself after all.

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