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The Mysterious Silhouette Resurfaces in Season of Discovery Phase 3 - What Secrets Does She Hold?
The Shadowy Figure is back, yet again, in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery. Once again, our interactions with her are rewarding but concerning, especially after we find out something shocking about our old friend Ziri Littlesprocket...Warning: Questline Spoilers for Phase 3's Epic Crafting Quest Ahead
The Shadowy Figure Returns
Once again, the Shadowy Figure plays a role in the questline for powerful crafted gear. During this questline, players need to defeat an amalgamation of pure nightmare, but the creature is emitting a dread aura that is near all-encompassing, making it impossible to deal with. As it happens, the Shadowy Figure shows up just in time to help us.
"Well hello
A Troubling Exchange
The Shadowy Figure tells us about a pair of vambraces constructed by the gnomish mechanic, Ziri "The Wrench" Littlesprocket, from Phase 2's crafting quest - the quest that the Shadowy Figure turned up in before. In fact, she was the one who helped us get the Void-related materials we needed to repair the Pristine G-7 C.O.R.E. Processor that we later brought to Ziri.
"You likely know of the gnomish mechanic, Ziri Littlesprocket? Well, she's quite the genius, and was kind enough to lend me her talents to help me create something that I think you'll find incredibly useful in your current predicament... A set of void-powered vambraces, constructed utilizing a particularly impressive piece of gnomish technology that 'someone' was kind enough to find and repair for her."
"How astute! l'm glad you are able to keep up. At any rate, Ziri was feeling inexplicably inspired when she created this item and it has some truly astonishing properties. Not the least of which being able to impart a portion of my willpower upon the bearer, and shield them from, let's say, external mental interference. Such as, for example, an aura of all-encompassing dread."
But players who complete the Phase 3 quest A Troubling Exchange will already know, "Ziri" wasn't quite herself when we gave her the G-7 core. She has no memory of even asking for something that powerful and makes it very clear it would have been too dangerous for her to use.
"Wait, what? Did you hit your head? Why would I ask you to bring one of these things to help fix that bucket of bolts? All that the Salvagematic needed was a few cartridge fuses, some mithril struts, and bits of enchanting essence. If I were to put a full-power G-7 Unit into that thing... well I don't know what would happen. Nothing good, that's for sure. Explosions, fire, interdimensional monsters. A real horror show, most likely."
What's more, if we go back and re-examine the quest where we originally brought "Ziri" the G-7 core, there was always evidence that something suspicious was going on.
"One Salvagematic 9000 ready to rock, as promised. If you happen to get anything good out of there, come see me. I might be able to teach you a thing or two, for a price of course!"
The Shadowy Figure's Willpower
This is, of course, all very suspicious. Since Ziri has no memory of us bringing her a G-7 core, that suggests that either she was being influenced by an external force that later wiped her memories - such as the Shadowy Figure - or that someone impersonated her. Either way, this "Ziri" was both able and willing to create a set of Void-Powered Vambraces that are able to impart a portion of the Shadowy Figure's willpower on the bearer... something that we can only imagine the Shadowy Figure would be able to use for more than just shielding the bearer from some nightmare aura.
As it turns out, the vambraces have been lost by their previous owner, and we need to retrieve them. Interestingly, this part of the questline seems to hint at the Shadowy Figure's limitations. It does not appear she used the vambraces to force the previous wearer to do her bidding - since he didn't fight the nightmare creature after all, and she is also clearly not omnipresent - since she lost track of him after he unequipped the vambraces.
"Unfortunately, I recently lent the vambraces to someone who has proven to be, regrettably, quite the disappointment. You see, you aren't the only adventurer with whom I've treated with. There was another adventurer of some apparent renown whom I recently recruited and equipped with this item, in hopes that he would venture into the dream and dispose of this nightmare beast for the good of Azeroth. It seems, however, that he's in dereliction of his duty. He's also dropped from my sight, so if I had to guess, I'd bet on him lying dead in a ditch somewhere."
"Very well, what must I do?"
"Unfortunately, that is going to be the tricky part. Since he is no longer wearing the bracers, I've completely lost track of him."
We track the other adventurer down ourselves, and he tells us a story about losing the vambraces to an impossibly powerful and vile foe... who turns out to be... less than impressive.
"When I found the vile creature, a truly epic battle was met. We must have fought for hours until at last I sent the beast into full retreat. no doubt run to succumb to its wounds. I was barely able to make it back to town myself before I collapsed in exhaustion."
Of course, it's always possible that the Shadowy Figure used her influence against the previous owner to make him think his foe was more deadly a threat than it was, as a punishment for him not tackling the nightmare on her behalf. Who knows at this stage?
Just One More Thing...
Either way, before we set out to face the Nightmare, the Shadowy Figure mentions - almost offhandedly, as if she almost forgot - that she would quite like us to bring an item that drops from the beast after we kill it... a Mantle of Nightmares.
"Oh, and one more thing... the beast is in possession of a specific item that is of great interest to me. Bring me whatever you find on its corpse and you'll be well rewarded."
As it turns out, all the Shadowy Figure really wanted was a small "fragment of a dream" hiding within the mantle. She gives us the rest of the mantle to use in crafting, which is so exciting you might even forget to wonder why the Shadowy Figure wanted a dream fragment in the first place.
"You see, all I wanted is a little teeny fragment of a dream hiding within this mantle, but the husk is a treasure all on its own, and that part is yours. I think you'll find that it has certain unique properties, and if you have the proper skills for it, speak with me again and I'm sure I can help you figure out just the right way to use it."
So... What's Going On?
We have now met the Shadowy Figure in every phase of Season of Discovery. As she pointed our herself, she has a tendency to show up with something we need, just when we need it. And, every time, it seems she has gained just a little more influence over us - and involves us just a little bit more with the Void.
When we first met her, the Shadowy Figure convinced us to accept knowledge from her - the ability to use a Shard of the Void to create powerful Void-Touched Armaments from Phase One. Her method of sharing this knowledge with us was interesting all on its own, as she seemed to place one of her own memories directly in our minds. She herself calls this leaving her "mark" on us.
"
By the time of the second meeting in Phase Two, the Shadowy Figure showed up to provide us with a Mote of Darkness that we needed for a Charged Voidcore, a requirement for the Pristine G-7 C.O.R.E. Processor that "Ziri" had asked for. This time, the Shadowy Figure also made it clear that we now owe her a favor - one she might call in some time in the future.
"The benefits of altruism are not lost on me, and I very much enjoy cultivating mutually beneficial relationships. Who knows... there may come a time when you are in a position to help me and may find yourself feeling similarly altruistic."
Now, in Phase 3, we have learned that the real Ziri never wanted - or needed - the G-7 core, but that the one we obtained was used to create the Void-Powered Vambraces - which the Shadowy Figure has told us can be used to impart a portion of her own willpower on the bearer... before convincing us to become that bearer. What's more, we wind up bringing her a "fragment of a dream" hiding within a nightmare.
Since her introduction, a common belief is that the Shadowy Figure is Xal'atath - the two characters share a great many similarities from their connection to the Void to their personalities and tendency to make deals with mortals. But now that we know that Ziri - or at least, someone that looks like Ziri - is also working with the Shadowy Figure, who could she be?
As we already said, Ziri's apparent loss of memory when it comes to the subject of the G-7 core could be a sign of mind control. Perhaps the reason why she felt so "inspired" to begin with was a result of the Shadowy Figure's influence. Alternatively, the Shadowy Figure herself or an accomplice of hers could have disguised themselves as Ziri.
Of course, it would have to be quite a remarkable disguise, and if impersonation is the subject, we can't let it go by without mention of the Dreadlords, who are infamous for their tendency to disguise themselves and pose as other people. Over on Retail, the Dreadlord's Regalia is a recent shop item, and the Dreadlord Lord Banehollow also played a major role in the Warlock questline from Patch 10.1.5. In fact, in that questline Lord Banehollow masquerades as a female Undead named Madam Shadow - Could the Shadowy Figure and Madam Shadow be in any way related?
While we send Banehollow back to the Twisting Nether in retail, he is alive and well at the time of Classic - where he plays a major role in the Warlock mount acquisition questlines. He a leader of the Shadow Council, a group of warlocks who serve the demons of the Burning Legion - which would at least explain Banehollow choosing the name "Madam Shadow" in the modern, retail questline. Still, it's an interesting coincidence.
What's Her Plan?
Musings that can only ever end in the question "am I a Dreadlord?" aside, things have certainly been escalating with the Shadowy Figure. We bear her mark, we owe her a favor, we've provided her with several items she's wanted - including this latest bit of dream from a nightmare, and we've cheerfully equipped ourselves with armor that contains the ability for her to bestow a portion of her willpower on us.
One question that's worth asking is why the Shadowy Figure might want that "fragment of a dream" from the nightmare creature in the first place. The Emerald Nightmare is a result of Old God influence on the Emerald Dream. The corruption began with Yogg-Saron, when the roots of a World Tree reached his prison. Since then, N'Zoth has also played an active role in spreading the corruption. Recently, we have learned that there are some claims that the Emerald Dream is not, as we previously thought, simply a blueprint of Azeroth - but is a realm of Life that stretches far beyond just our own world.
If the Shadowy Figure is Xal'atath, as we suspect, then there is plenty of reason why she might be interested in all of this. For one thing, there are rumors that Xal'atath is an Old God who was betrayed and imprisoned by her fellow Old Gods. Possibly, the "fragment of a dream" could be a dream of Yogg-Saron's - one that would help Xal'atath eventually get her revenge on him. Alternatively, the fragment might contain something Xal'atath wants to know about the Emerald Dream itself, or it might contain some corrupting power from the Nightmare that she intends to use in future plans.
Whatever the situation, she has shown she definitely has some sort of plan - one that involves us. Phase 3 ends with a level cap of 50 - just ten levels below Classic's original level cap. Whatever the Shadowy Figure has in store, we suspect we will find out (and possibly even come to regret our involvement) very soon.