(Warning, it's a long article, but it reads pretty fast.)
From here.Varian Wrynn is Right
by Daniel Whitcomb
Among WoW players these days, it seems to be a popular opinion that King Varian Wrynn is a narrow minded short-sighted bigot who will lead the Alliance to ruin. This is an easy opinion to have, since he does show a considerable amount of anger at times when dealing with the Horde, and it's long been the general opinion that "no-one is truly evil" in the Horde and Alliance conflict. This is even the opinion of some of my fellow writers.
Here's my problem with this: The underlying causes of Varian Wrynn's anger are all unconditionally justified. Varian Wrynn is not angry at the Horde because of a series of misunderstandings and misinterpretations. He's been witness to or victim of multiple wrongdoings and atrocities perpetuated by the Horde time and time again, both the new Horde and the Old. Most, if not all of these times, the wrongdoings have been the result of outright maliciousness on the part of the Horde or its members, and in the case the so-called "peaceful" New Horde, there's been no sign whatsoever that Thrall is punishing or disciplining the perpetrators of these acts, and at the least, it is clear that he is not properly dealing with the consequences.
Regarding the First Fall of Stormwind
The first fall of Stormwind occurred when Varian Wrynn was a young man. So this was Varian's first encounter with the Orcs. Now mind you, this Orcish Horde had no justification for the war. They were not being driven from land, they were not starving or lost, nor were they addressing some ancient affront by the Human race. No, these Orcs were foreign invaders from another dimension
Consider, also, how they eventually razed Stormwind. They were able to do so by way of Garona, a Half-Orc assassin acting on behalf of the Horde. So Varian not only saw that the Orcish Army was a mindlessly violent army bent on the destruction of the human race, but that the one Orc who might have been different, the one Orc who appeared to have befriended humanity and proven that not how all Orcs were mindless beasts, betrayed them and proved herself an enemy to humanity by murdering Varian's beloved Father.
Horde apologists will tell you that Garona was acting under mind control. There's two problems with this. First, Varian has no real way of knowing Garona was mind-controlled at the time. All he knows is that an Orc gained the trust and friendship of his father, then used it to betray and murder him, causing the downfall of his kingdom and very nearly the downfall of all humanity. Secondly, Garona was still under the control of the Shadow Council, which was at the time solely an Orcish organization and the de facto leadership of the Horde. Either way, it was the Horde who killed his father and nearly wiped out his people.
On Varian's loss of his second father and Humanity's loss of their greatest Hero
Now, consider the aftermath of this incident. It was Anduin Lothar who saved what remained of Stormwind's people after the razing. He spirited Varian away to Lordaeron along with the rest of the survivors. Once in Stormwind, he replaced Llane as Varian's father figure and mentor, and worked with King Tereneas to establish the Alliance, the force that became the only hope of humans, dwarves, and elves against the Orcish Horde.
And yet, Anduin Lothar was killed in cold blood by the Orcs during their attempt to finish what they had started at Stormwind, killed by Orgrim Doomhammer himself.
Horde Apologists will argue that Orgrim Doomhammer was not under the influence of the Burning Legion, and that he was doing it in self-defense, but again, there's problems with those who insist on this. First, while Orgrim was a friend of Durotan and supposedly had heeded his warning that Blackhand and Gul'dan did not have the Horde's best interests in mind, he still allowed Gul'dan to live, employed his necromancers and the Death Knights in battle, and continued the Horde's genocidal campaign against the the Humans. This all strongly implies that Orgrim was more interested in his own personal power, or at least the dominance of the Orcs, rather than doing what was right.
Regardless, whether Orgrim was under the control of the Burning Legion or not, he was still acting as an enemy of the Alliance. In addition, while the forces of the Alliance did have the Horde pinned down at Blackrock Spire, there was no attempt by Doomhammer to parlay. Instead, he went out to kill.
A Note should be made here that in the original events of Warcraft II, Lothar came to Blackrock under a flag of truce to offer terms of surrender to Orgrim, but was ambushed and killed in Cold Blood by Orgrim's order. A retcon changed this to put Lothar and Orgrim in single combat, but the basic crimes of Orgrim remain, and later depictions of the battle (for example, in the d20 Warcraft games player's guides) have left the circumstances of the single combat murky enough that an ambush or deliberate drawing out of Lothar on the part of Orgrim may have still happened.
Regardless of the exact cause of Lothar's death, the point remains that Orgrim, no matter what his ultimate loyalties, continued the genocidal campaign of the Horde upon the Humans, Dwarves, and High Elves, and killed Anduin Lothar in the process. The Horde killed Humanity's greatest hero and Varian's mentor and second father during an unjust war of genocide against Varian's people, the people he was sworn to protect as King. Thus, the injustices perpetrated against Varian by the Horde continue to stack to unbelievable, unwieldy heights.
On the formation of the New Horde and their attitude toward the Alliance
Horde apologists will argue that all of these problems are the Old Horde, and that the New Horde should be treated as a new, separate entity. Once again, there are very definite problems with this view. Not only are most of the Orcs that make up the current Horde the same Orcs who were the rank and file and leaders of the Old Horde, the fact remains that the New Horde is still using many of the trappings and philosophies of the Old Horde, and is more and more committing new violent acts of their own.
To start with, on the most basic of levels, Thrall continues to use symbology and symbols for the Horde that are, in Human experience, most clearly and basically connected with the Old Horde that was attempting to wipe out the free peoples of Azeroth.
The very title "Warchief" is said to be an ancient title of the Orcs. However, current lore suggests that the title had fallen out of use, and was only taken up again by Rend Blackhand as a tool by Gul'dan to unite the clans as an army of darkness and death. Orgrim Doomhammer took over the title, but continued to use it as the head of a genocidal army. Thrall now claims the title, but the fact remains that, ancestral ties or not, it has been most recently used as a tool of the Burning Legion, only very vaguely tied in to the heritage of an old line of Warchiefs that may or may not have existed, a history that Thrall, as of yet, shows few signs of trying to uncover. When Thrall uses the title Warchief, it is most clearly being used to evoke the power and authority of Orgrim Doomhammer.
Yes, Thrall and the Horde still revere Orgrim Doomhammer, the bloody Warchief who killed Anduin Lothar, the savior of humanity. He is considered a Hero, so much that Thrall wears his armor and carries his hammer - the same Hammer that killed Lothar, or one very similar to it. Thrall calls for peace while wearing the armor and weapon of an Orc who very nearly destroyed Humanity, ostensibly to honor him. In addition, he calls his capital, the symbol of the power and might of the new Horde, Orgrimmar. It's not very hard to see why a human, dwarf, or High Elf might find this symbology a bit insulting, and wonder why the "New" Horde is so eager to honor the Orc who committed some of the worst atrocities of the "Old" Horde. It's even worse for Varian, considering how close he was to Lothar, who was murdered by Orgrim.
Orgrim certainly isn't the only one to be honored like this either. Many of the main generals and architects of the Human, Dwarven, and High Elven genocide are now revered and honored by the Horde, with little to no attempts made to acknowledge their faults and the very real war crimes they committed against the Alliance. Grom Hellscream was one of the first to drink the Demon's blood offered by Gul'dan and commited many atrocities against the Draenei, against humans in the second war, and against Night Elves later.. Kargath Bladefist likewise has had multiple landmarks and fortresses named in his honor, and when he was killed in Outland after revealing himself to be a continued servant of demonic powers, Nazgrel (Another war criminal of the "Old" Horde) spoke of him with respect and honor.
If you are trying to break away from the example of the Old Horde, embracing so much of it seems like a very counter-intuitive way of doing it, and Varian, having at least seen the way Orgrim himself is honored, has a right to at least be made uncomfortable by this.
On the continuing activity of the New Horde: The Warsong
Now some would argue that the Horde needs their symbols, and as long as they are peaceful, they should be allowed to use them, But even if you buy that argument (and I don't), the Horde has hardly been peaceful. In fact, they have very clearly been instigators in multiple conflicts. One of the prime hot spots is in Ashenvale.
The main argument for the Warsong Clan's presence there is that the Horde legitimately needs the Lumber. There's two problems with this argument. Firstly, the actions of the Warsong Clan in Ashenvale really can't be justified even if they "need" something there, and secondly, no-one involved even pretends this is about the lumber anymore.
The Warsong Clan first got entangled in Ashenvale by marching into it armed for war, with no idea of who was there or whether anyone else had prior claim to the lumber or the land. Horde apologists will argue that they didn't know it was taken, but this is hardly a legitimate claim. European settlers came to the Americas centuries ago, ostensibly to settle, and for that they needed resources. However, it is very nearly universally agreed that the resulting genocide against the native tribes is one of the darkest chapters of human history. In this case, the natives, the Night Elves, had the ability to fight back with much higher effectiveness than the Native Americans did against the Europeans. This in no way justifies Grom's response. Instead of falling back and waiting for further instructions from Thrall, he attacked the Night Elves with gusto, taking demonic blood to do so.
As soon as the Warsong knew the lumber and land was spoken for, they should have properly withdrawn, or sent emissaries. Since they did not, they very clearly became the unlawful aggressors. To compound this trouble, they no longer even pretend this is about Lumber. Warsong Generals and Tauren Hunters alike call Ashenvale, the ancestral land of the Night Elves, an "untamed wilderness" that rightfully belongs to the Horde invaders, and they now openly leave the lumber they cut out to rot, the very act of cutting down the trees now a sign of dominance and insult to nature and the Night Elves. This is eerily like the "manifest destiny" philosophy the US Army and west-bound settlers used to wipe out or displace the Native tribes they encountered.
In addition, Varian has seen this first hand. After he escaped from slavery, he came to Ashenvale and joined the Night Elves in fighting against the Horde, and saw them summon a massive Fire Elemental to burn the forest. In other words, he was witness to another act of malicious aggression by the supposed peaceful "new" Horde, and had one more reason to suspect that the Orcs were hardly being peaceable, but were clashing with the Alliance at every opportunity.
On the continuing activity of the New Horde: The RAS, the Wrathgate, and the Battle for Undercity
The RAS is one of the other major problem spots in the Horde. At the Wrathgate, their lethality and intent was unleashed, killing many Alliance soldiers, and once again, one of the greatest Generals of the Alliance. This time, it was Bolvar Fordragon, a general as close to Varian as a brother, and acting father figure to Anduin Wrynn in Varian's absence. This is the third time that the Horde has directly and maliciously taken a person close to Varian.
Horde Apologists will argue that the RAS at the Wrathgate were a rebellious splinter faction that should not be lumped in with the rest of the Horde, or even the rest of the Forsaken. Again, there is a problem with that. The RAS was doing exactly what they were founded to do at Wrathgate. Putress' mistake was not destroying the living. It was doing it for the wrong master.
The RAS, from the beginning, has planned to kill humanity. From the first moment that a newly minted Forsaken comes to Brill, he is put to work, not poisoning Scourge, but rather poisoning the living. At one point, Apothecary Johann has you concoct a disease to kill an Alliance citizen, a Dwarf. When he gives you the instructions, he tells you that "this is a subtle hint of what The Dark Lady has planned for the rest of Azeroth." Not "The Scourge." All of Azeroth. And note that he does not say "the RAS," he says "The Dark Lady." From the beginning levels, it is made very clear that Sylvanas is completely on board with the "Death to the Living" part of the RAS' philosophy.
Compounding this is the Forsaken's actions against the legitimate Alliance communities of Southshore and Hillsbrad fields. The army of the Undercity shows themselves dedicated to completely wiping out an innocent farming community in the most bloody way possible, and releases a vengeful Lich on Southshore itself. Mind you, there is every indication that the Forsaken started these engagements. At the very least, Hillsbrad is clearly a peaceful farming community.
Apothecary Lydon makes it very clear that the RAS wants to see everyone dead, and has you use his poisons on innocent Alliance farmers. When you report his findings to Faranell, Faranell is completely delighted in the work and sends you out to gather more reagents for Lydon. It is made abundantly clear that Lydon is not an aberration or part of a splinter group. The entirety of the RAS is as dedicated to killing the living as they are the dead.
If all of this was not enough to incriminate the RAS, the new Arthas novel quite definitely confirms that the RAS is looking to kill the living, and that Sylvanas is in on the deal. A scene set just before the start of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion places Sylvanas in the RAS's chambers, watching as Faranell administers a new plague strain to a young human girl and a stoic Forsaken man (Faranell insists the man is a criminal, but Sylvanas' internal dialogue implies that she doubts he really is but does not care either way). When both die retch and die horribly, she commends Faranell for his work and returns to her chambers, exulting that she may finally be able to kill both the Scourge and the Living with this new strain.
That's right, The Dark Lady is most definitely 100% on board with the killing.
With this in mind, it becomes clear that Putress' crime in the eyes of the Undercity and of Sylvanas was not aiming his Plague Barrels at the living, but doing it at an inopportune moment and for Varimathras rather than Sylvanas. Sylvanas herself is a Banshee, an undead being known for using deceit and charm, and was able to use her refugee caravan to move Thrall's sympathy to her. By all indications, neither Sylvanas nor Thrall has launched an investigation into the RAS' aims and how much Putress got away with and why.
Again, Varian himself has a front row seat to these atrocities. Leading the charge into Undercity, he sees the RAS' inner laboratories, and the horrendous machinery and experiments going on there, experiments that Putress carried out openly, and would have been seen as part of the RAS' stated mission apart from his secret allegiance to Varimathras. Thus, Varian sees that the treachery and maliciousness of the Horde extends not only to the Orcs, but possibly to the other member nations. And either way, he sees the Alliance suffering and dying. Whether this is ultimately because of Horde maliciousness or incompetence doesn't really matter. Either way, it has to be stopped.
On Varian's temper and restraint
Varian is often said to be "emo," or to have a lack of restraint or a violent temper. First of all, given all of the events outlined in the previous parts of this article, it's hard to call him unjustified. Secondly, he has in actuality, shown a great amount of restraint, civility, and wisdom in his dealings with the Horde until recently.
Varian has actually tried, in good faith, to participate in Peace talks with the Horde. When he was first captured and enslaved by Rethgar Earthfury, one of Thrall's most trusted advisers, he was on his way to a peace conference. When he regained his throne, he agreed to attend that same peace conference (This is depicted in the Warcraft comic series).
Thrall walked into that Peace conference wielding the symbols of Office of Orgrim Doomhammer, the man who killed Anduin Lothar, and Varian abode. Thrall walked into that Peace conference alongside Rethgar Earthfury, an Orc who participated in a massive slave ring that enslaved Alliance citizens and forced them to fight to the Death, an Orc who had enslaved Varian himself in this manner, and Varian abode. Despite the injustices heaped on him, Varian was willing to talk peace after all.
What broke the camel's back was a scenario that was tailor made to evoke his first encounter with the Horde. Garona, the same assassin who killed his father under the auspices of the Horde, came to finish the job. Given the setup, it was hardly a massive leap of logic for Varian to assume the Horde was behind it again. He may have been wrong in this case, but the circumstantial evidence for it was not insignificant. If the Horde used Garona to kill his father, it's not much of a leap to think the same Horde might be looking to kill him as well.
Again during the Ulduar Cinematic, while Varian did not appreciate Thrall's presence, he did not immediately teleport away. It was Garrosh who escalated, insulting Varian and his people to his face. Even then, when Varian challenged him, he did not take the first strike. That was Garrosh. Varian, despite all the injustices heaped upon him and his people, did not completely rule out dealing with the Horde until Garrosh attacked him viciously while Thrall stood by impotently.
Far from having an uncontrollable temper, Varian Wrynn has acted with relative restraint and calm. He has simply finally been pushed too far by a Horde that has rebuffed his every attempt to understand them.
On the "Yes, But..." Arguments
There are many Horde Apologists who will, upon hearing some of the above arguments, admit that the Horde may not be the best of neighbors to the Alliance at times. However, many of them then follow this admittance up with a "But."
There are two major "Buts." The first is that Thrall is working for peace even if the Horde is sometimes rowdy. The second is that the Horde and the Alliance must unite to face larger enemies, or everyone will die, and any Horde or Alliance wars should be put off until then.
Again, events suggest that neither excuse really stands up. Thrall has talked, but has taken very little legitimate action to stop the onslaught of the Horde. He has not attempted to withdraw the Warsong Clan from Ashenvale, nor did he monitor his allies, not balking at the torture and imprisonment of Mu'ru (whether that was destined or not, it was still morally reprehensible for the Blood Elves to have done it) or the actions of the Forsaken in Northern Lordaeron and Ashenvale, where they killed and enslaved the spirits of innocent sleeping Druids.
He has also apparently not done anything significant to stop the spread of Slavery in the Horde, and the organization that enslaved Varian has a base in Orgrimmar where they even keep stolen Alliance artifacts such as the belt of Lothar. In fact, one of the greatest patrons of the organization, Rethgar Earthfury, is now one of Thrall's most trusted advisers. Contrast this to the Alliance's now-defunct gladiator system as depicted in Arthas: Blackmoore was kept under careful watch and was not trusted by Tereneas or Arthas, and Thrall was revealed to be the only slave gladiator, the others all voluntarily fighting for fame and glory, and only rarely to the death if at all.
Thrall is ostensibly trying to teach his people to have pride in themselves and their heritage, but the heritage he is offering is still stained in the trappings of the old genocidal Horde, such as their honoring of bloodlust and war criminals such as Grom and Orgrim (Whom Thrall even evokes at the end of the Battle of the Undercity. When Thrall asks how Grom and Orgrim would react at these events, all I can think is that they'd join Garrosh in calling for all out battle on the Alliance, if their past actions are any indication).
When his people take these ideals too far, which is very easy to do and happens very often, Thrall is silent. For example, He has done nothing to reign in Garrosh aside from one aborted duel that Garrosh was close to winning. Garrosh has sabotaged peace with the Alliance at every possible opportunity, even before the events of the Wrathgate, and afterwards, has continued to prod and provoke. Saurfang is forced to counter what he can of Garrosh's recklessness in secret. In short, Thrall is silent on the crimes of his people. The Alliance and Varian have every right to see him as a Hypocrite.
"Yes, But" and Putting Aside Differences
The other "Yes, But" argument is that the Horde and the Alliance should put aside their differences to fight the larger challenges. The problem with that is that asking the Alliance to ally with the Horde is, at the moment, essentially identical to asking them to ally with the Twilight's Hammer, the Scarlet Crusade, or the Blackrock Orcs. The Horde has dedicated themselves to fighting and wiping out the Alliance in nearly every corner of Azeroth once again. Even when the Alliance tries to focus their attacks on the "real" threats, the Horde stabs them in the back, such as at the Broken Front, where the Horde Warriors proudly boast of ambushing and killing the Alliance as they fought the Scourge.
In Northern Lordaeron, in Northrend, and in Ashenvale, the RAS is clearly dedicated to destroying the Alliance, killing them by poisoning. Their stated intent is the wiping out of all life. The Warsong clan is dedicated to "taming" Ashenvale, and will kill as many Night Elves as they need to to do it. These are no longer minor skirmishes or disagreements, if they ever were. The Alliance body count in skirmishes with the Horde rises by the day, and most of these skirmishes are Horde-instigated, and happened before the Wrathgate.
To say the Alliance should simply let bygones be bygones does not work, especially after the Broken Front. The Horde have proven that they will strike at any time, and will do their best to destroy the Alliance. The Scourge or the Burning Legion or Malygos may destroy Azeroth, but the Horde will destroy the Alliance. Either way the end result for the members of the Alliance is the same - they have died painfully and gone extinct as a race. There is very little incentive for the Alliance to declare peace anymore, and I have yet to hear Rhonin, Jaina, or anyone else in favor of "peace" give a solid enough answer that Varian should be expected to listen to.
On the Future
In short, painting Varian as an "emo" or an irrational grudge holder is a very simplistic view that ignores the repeated and unwarranted aggression the Horde, both the "Old" and "New" versions, have shown to the Alliance. At this point, it is obvious to me that Varian is not declaring a new war against the Horde as much as he is finally committing the Alliance to the one that is already there, fighting back against the Horde in a way no other Alliance leader has so far.
I do not believe that Blizzard's Lore team is ignorant of the things I have outlined above, nor do I believe Varian is headed to a career as an unforgivable Villain, at least not because of the current Horde-Alliance conflict. This one is actually pretty well justified.
But here is what I believe needs to happen:
Thrall either needs to find his backbone, or step aside. Garrosh will continue to flex his power, and he will continue to attract followers who believe in the Bloody, Proud, arrogant Horde that Thrall has inadvertently fostered through misplaced hero worship of the War criminals and symbols of the Old Horde. Saurfang, who speaks out against arrogance and has repeatedly expressed his regret for the crimes his people committed in the first and second wars, but still carries an air of nobility and fierceness, should be the true new model for the Horde.
In fact, Saurfang should be the leader of the New Horde if Thrall doesn't clean up his act, and fast. If Thrall does clean up his act and depose Garrosh, insist Sylvanas disband the RAS and stop any biological warfare programs, and pull out of Ashenvale, he should still use Saurfang's attitude as the new target for the Orcish outlook on life.
Varian himself will continue to lead the Alliance successfully, and will gain some solid victories against the Horde. He will perhaps see some examples of noble Horde who properly understand the tragic history of the Orcs, and learn to respect them. Perhaps the Orc will be Saurfang himself.
At this point, Thrall should hopefully be ready to repent. If Thrall genuinely comes in peace and offers legitimate concessions to the Alliance, I believe Varian will be able to talk peace legitimately. But at this point, the Horde has committed far too many crimes for them to demand anything approaching equal terms or status quo antebellum. If nothing else, it will teach the Horde a valuable lesson in humility.
Of course, Blizzard's Lore Team generally manages to surprise, sometimes pleasantly, sometimes not so pleasantly. But at this point, I do think the Horde and Alliance conflict is playing out this way for a reason, and in the end, I believe Varian will be a legitimate hero of the Alliance, and a legitimate "Good Guy." His reputation in the current conflict among much of the player base is far from deserved, and I encourage everyone to think about it and understand that he has a very solid outlay of reasons to be fed up with the Horde, and he's given them more than a fair shake all told.
Varian Wrynn is right, and unless Thrall grows a backbone soon, the Horde is headed right back into their old ways.
Personally, I come down firmly on the side of Varian and and the author of the article. I've been debating some of the folks following the article and it can be rather frustrating as many people either address the article's points improperly, spend all their time slamming Varian's character, or just scream blindly into the wind. I've enjoyed Varian's development characterwise and I sympathize with his view of the Horde quite a bit. It seems like since we got to Northrend, a lot of the Horde npc's have been acting like giant dicks (one particularly memorable questgiver threatens to axe you just for walking up to her) whereas the Alliance has managed to retain much of its positive attitude and a great deal more enjoyable interaction.
As for Varian himself, yeah, he's a bit cliched and yeah, his attitude can be grating at times, but I'm still liking him more than Thrall these days, who's been acting like a colossal moron ever since Wrath and the comic came out.
Anyway, thought from the other WoW-players?
