[IC-Essay] An Essay on the Great Dark Beyond

*Available for reading at any local library or institution of education.* (This was written as a spur of the moment thing, I figured Vezullia needs to start justifying her qualifications she claims and as Minister of Education she should start to distribute educational information! This was inspired by the 'Blue Child'. Once in the sky in vanilla there was a second moon that is returning in MoP, no one knows why it was removed, but its coming back! I doubt this will be a good read, but i'd like to ask people to submit their work that is akin to this, i'd love to put together a lovely educational package!)

Azeroth. A lone world in an ever expanding and universe, for centuries scholars have studied the stars and determined the nature of them and their inhabitants. In my time gazing up at the night sky, I have seen the wonder of its constellations and the thought of new worlds dazzle and baffle my mind.
To understand the stars above us, we must view the universe as two great planes. One is a physical, mortal plane that scholars refer to as the Great Dark Beyond; the other is the spectral and unknown plane that is known by most as the Twisting Nether. The difference between these is not entirely confirmed, nor is it really possible to determine the reasons behind them.

What we do know, is that the Great Dark Beyond contains our world, Azeroth. After the recent excursion into the broken world of Draenor(I), it has been confirmed through studying the dark, starry skies on the other side of the Dark Portal that Azeroth is the neighbour of Draenor as it can be seen in its sky. This begs the question as to why we cannot see Draenor from Azeroth’s sky, the answer is we can! However, the naked eye could never see Draenor; it is a shattered world, miniscule in size when compared with our own world. However with the right apparatus(II) one can observe the twisting lights that surround the increasingly breaking world.

The twisting nether is understood, through the help of demonic incursions to be a magical plane that does not hold its own worlds per say, but connects the worlds of the Great Dark Beyond, allowing travel between them.(III) The Twisting Nether is not intrinsically evil, it is however noted for its use by the Burning Legion to ravage and destroy all life they come across. The Twisting Nether is improvable, cannot be seen and cannot be entered, without demonic magics(IV).

Are there other worlds in the Great Dark Beyond? Evidence and studying of the heavens suggests there are hundreds of unexplored worlds, unreachable through the endless void above us. We are aware however of other worlds; Argus is one of the most widely spoken about worlds in the Dark Beyond, confirmed by the Draenei as their original homeworld, their scholars have told that it now is the capital of our great enemies, the Burning Legion. Beyond Argus, other worlds are whispered of, and are unconfirmed. The addition of the Draenei to the Alliance has greatly expanded our understanding of the Great Dark Beyond as a plane of being through their knowledge and viewing of many worlds on their travels(V).

The sky directly above us however has been gazed upon by the races of Azeroth from the Rise of the Troll Empires to the Fall of the Lich King. It is a beautiful array of stars, planets and moons. A star, is defined by the G.A.S.A(VI) as, “a source of great light that burns in the Great Beyond.” The Sun, as we in the common tongue call it, is a star. A source of light, life and warmth, the Sun has been given many names throughout sentient life on Azeroth, the most common of these is, ‘An’she’(VII). The Sun is accompanied in the sky by two moons.

A moon, is defined by the G.A.S.A as, “a celestial object that moves across the sky in a defined pattern.” Azeroth has two moons, one large ivory coloured object, once thought to be a second star(VIII) that reflects the light of the sun, creating moonlight, and a smaller blue-green object that until recently was visable on most nights. The larger of the moons has become the only moon in the sky and is called also by several names, Mu’sha(VII), the White Lady, which moves across the sky in a slow manner, illuminating in a dim way, through use of the sun’s light which has gone behind the planet, creating night.

The second moon, a blue-green object as stated is called the ‘Blue Child’. Until roughly five years ago the Blue Child was a regular sight in the night sky, unbeknownst to astrologers the world over, it has become invisible to the naked eye. This occurred roughly around the time of the second crossing into Draenor, it is unknown why this has happened. Many people were unaware of the existence of the ‘Blue Child’ as when noticed it was taken to be the White Lady, simply due to the sky colouring it appeared different. The loss of the moon has been a great concern to the Blue Dragonflight, as at the close of the recent Nexus war, Dalarani mages revealed that the moon was required to ‘crown’ a new Aspect(IX) of their flight. As sources reveal this has occurred, it is taken that the Blue Child is still in the sky. With reports of it being seen, but never for long, it may be due a long awaited return as its mossy-blue texture is something that is greatly missed by this star gazer.

The starry sky at night is often taken for granted, yet now when you gaze up you will know what you see, the Great Dark Beyond is a vast space that must be explored and studied or we risk losing the true beauty of this world.


Footnotes:

I. Draenor is now known as Outland, once the home of the Orcish race and surrogate home of the Draenei people, it is a shattered world slowly being torn apart. It is accessible through the Dark Portal, however such is greatly discouraged as the worlds stability is on the verge of total annihilation.

II. Amateur telescopes can be purchased from your local Astrology & Astronomy workshop or via a jewelcrafter.

III. The twisting nether is accepted to be the force that allows the creation of Dimensional Gateways, such as the Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands.

IV. Demons to date have been the only creatures that have travelled within the Twisting Nether, with exception to fascinating rare trips by mortals. Most notable the Draenei exodus.

V. This is known as the ‘Draenei Exodus’.

VI. The Grand Alliance Society of Astrology

VII. An’she and Mu’sha are the left and right eyes of the ‘Earthmother’, the central deity in the Taurahe myth system. The names for the objects have gone beyond their mythical meanings, used by many other races.

VIII. The White Lady is known by the Night Elves as the symbol and embodiment of Elune, therefore it was considered to have the same significance as the sun, however after study the White Lady was revealed to be solid, and did not emit light.

IX. An Aspect is the leader of the Dragonflight they are assigned to, studies on these creatures suggest they hold extraordinary powers.

About the Author:

Professor Vezullia Rosetta Astroloxia studied Astronomy and Astrology at the Dalarani Academy of Science following her education as a magi of the Kirin Tor. she achieved her doctorates in Astronomy, Astrology, Geography and Social Anthropology, with a dissertation entitled, “The Stars and Moons and their effects on the Civilisations of Azeroth.” Continuing on from this she began to lecture in Astrology, educating first in Dalaran, then assisting with Explorer’s League of Ironforge in teaching their archaeologists in the art of using the stars to mark their locations. After this she moved to the Kingdom of Stormwind where she continued her education career as a private tutor. Now as Minister of Education she has returned to teaching and writing. This essay marks her return to form as one of the Alliance’s most dedicated scholars in regards to the celestial plane above us.

(Disclaimer: Most of this stuff is legitimate lore, some however, is little assumptions on the part of the writer in-character and deliberate ignorance to avoid her being 'all-knowing'. Events such as the Blue Dragonflight chosing a new aspect would be rumour, Vezzy isn't some hero our fighting in the Cataclysm, she'd hear it all on the grape vine.)

*A response is sent to Vezullia, written in a thin script*

Professor Vezullia,

While your writing offers a decent introduction to the nature of the Great Dark Beyond, I am afraid it has several errors that should be addressed if you wish it to be taken seriously.

Namely, you should not make claims that the Twisting Nether is inaccessible by mortals, when it readily is. Any sufficiently powerful magic user is capable of traveling into the Twisting Nether. Formalized spells capable of it, such as Gate, Plane Shift, and Spiritual Projection, are available within the libraries of any sufficiently advanced magical society. Therefore, any statement that claims no one but demons has traveled the Nether is inaccurate and weakens the intellectual validity of the piece.

Our Naaru vessels traveled through the Twisting Nether. They did not travel through the Great Dark Beyond, our own knowledge of the area comes from research conducted by our esteemed astromancers on Argus. Our ships shift into the Twisting Nether through a portal, in the same way as a mage enters a ley line through a portal, and reappear at a new planetary location. It is very advanced portal magic. Likewise, the Dark Portal is a conduit through the Twisting Nether, therefore anyone who uses the Dark Portal is entering the Nether. Draenor itself is partially within the Twisting Nether, as is anyone on it, though they are still bound by the weakening laws of reality on the planet. The planet is slowly being torn apart by the chaotic nature of Nether reality, which offers a good case study for any aspiring students of netherology.

The Nether is unknowable not because of being untraveled by mortals, but because of its naturally chaotic state. It is the birthplace of magic. Its state is similar to the ley lines that run through the material plane, but without the boundaries that give them consistent shape. Therefore, its primordial reality does not conform to any stable pattern. It shifts and mutates. Travelers within it may thus exert a degree of control upon it, much in the same way that a mage does in the material plane, but doing so is far, far easier than normal magic. One is not combating or utilizing natural patterns, because such patterns do not exist there. Thus, only will is needed to shape reality. A stray thought will change the world around you. Any stray thought. Imagine you are falling, and you will fall. Imagine a rose, and a rose will appear. Imagine for a moment that you will die, and you will die.

Thus, studying such a realm, let alone traversing it, is difficult. But not impossible. A handful of powerful magi, such as myself, have explored it to a degree. It needs one of two things: a disciplined mind, able to completely and utterly direct its thoughts, or a socially-constructed reality where millions of minds thinking the same thing creates stability. The latter is how demons live within the Nether, though this commentary is an insufficient place to go into details. Suffice to say--in the Nether, your will determines your reality.

I understand that you are student of astronomy, rather than netherology, but I do advise you to do your research before making bold claims as to the nature of that half of the cosmos. There are those of us whom have direct experience in such fields.

Regards,
Archmage Drustai

Archmage Drustai,

Thank you for your charming letter, I thank you as well for challenging my intellectual authority, one does love to be mocked. It rather brightens up the day, my intention in this essay, was not to explore the idea of the twisting nether, I was debating whether to mention it. Nothing written here is false, or a lie. The twisting nether is cannot be entered without considerable magical force, the like of which I will not elude to my students, is possible.

This essay was an attempt to dumb down the language of my field for the most common man to grasp the basics of Astrology, what the world around them is, my intention was to convince those who read, that the twisting nether was almost none of their concern. That they should focus on the beauty of the stars around them, they are subject to much rumour, especially regarding your race who as you say, traveled through that chaotic plane.

My research into netherology has been brief, I used books handy to me written by my colleagues, I will be sure to pass on your letter to them, however I have no concerns about it. My writing although to a 'seasoned star walker' like you, may seem silly, my ignorance was deliberate, my focus was on the sky above Azeroth and what can be seen.

Thank you for your response, hoping your House arrest is not too tedious,

Light's Grace,
-V.R Astroloxia,
Professor of Astrology and Astronomy