World of Warcraft: The War Within will see hero Alleria Windrunner stepping into the spotlight once more as one of the expansion’s main characters, and a new animated short from Blizzard highlights just how long she’s been a pivotal character in Warcraft lore.
Titled Alleria: Light and Shadow, the short film is the first fully 2D-animated work created by Blizzard and follows all the major decision points in Alleria’s life over the course of the franchise’s history. It begins with her decision to leave her homeland and family to fight the Horde alongside the Alliance in Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness, depicts her choice to take the fight to enemy as part of the Alliance’s expedition into Outland, and ends with her embrace of the Void as a means to defeat Azeroth’s enemies–even at the cost of her relationship with her romantic partner, Turalyon.
“Alleria: Light and Shadow is a groundbreaking addition to World of Warcraft’s lore, bringing a new level of storytelling to the game’s universe,” Blizzard says. “Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the lore, this short film offers a captivating glimpse into the character that will play a pivotal role in the upcoming expansion, The War Within.”
Blizzard’s focus on Alleria for this expansion, which releases just a few months ahead of WoW’s 20th anniversary, is hardly an accident. She’s been one of the Warcraft franchise’s lead characters almost from the beginning, even if her sister, Sylvanas, became increasingly important over the course of WoW’s history. Alleria made her big comeback as part of 2016’s Legion expansion, where it was revealed she and Turalyon had joined an intergalactic army of holy warriors dedicated to stamping out the Burning Legion. She’s been in the background of WoW ever since, but The War Within will see her once again take the spotlight as she looks to stop the new villain Xal’atath from fulfilling her dark designs.
While this fully animated short focuses on Alleria, Blizzard also recently released an animated motion comic highlighting another important character in The War Within, Anusrek, the ruler of the Nerubian kingdom of Azj-Kahet.
WoW: The War Within releases on August 26, and is slated to be the first expansion in a three-expansion trilogy called The Worldsoul Saga. The expansion’s pre-patch has already introduced a new account-wide progression feature called Warbands to the long-running MMORPG, with other new features, like Delves and Hero Talents, coming in the expansion proper. Those who buy The War Within’s epic or 20th anniversary collector’s edition will be able to play four days early starting on August 22.
