5 Characters in “World of Warcraft: Legion” with awesome lore

With the World of Warcraft: Legion expansion soon to release, there are many characters that players will encounter that will each reveal new storylines and content as time goes on. With that in mind, here are five of characters in World of Warcraft that make an appearance in "Legion" and have the most some of the best lore. 

Illidan Stormrage 

Here is the most prominent character in Legion and one of the most popular within the World of Warcraft fandom. Illidan Stormrage embodies the concept of the "broken anti-hero" whose good intentions twisted him into the half-demon he is today.

Once a powerful mage among the Night Elves, he slipped among the Legion's ranks as a double agent and ended up becoming corrupted just like them. After having his eyes seared out by Fel magic and eventually consuming the Skull of Gul'dan, Illidan took on the features of a hellish looking demon and was reviled by his people. 

Illidan was always known in the Warcraft universe for his ambition which extended to creating an entirely new Well of Eternity after the first was destroyed. This act is what earned him the title of "Betrayer" as in the process of defending himself, he killed several of his own people. For his crimes he was sentenced to imprisonment beneath Mount Hyjal, where he waited for 10,000 years... until he was released once more to fight the Burning Legion's hordes. 

Over time he became Lord of Outland, usurping the demon lord that previously lived there and taking over the Black Temple, where players can battle him in World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade. Illidan acts as master of the Illidari, the elven demon hunters that players can now create. 

Vol'jin 

Vol'jin is the enigmatic leader of the Darkspear Trolls and Warchief of the Horde. Or rather he was, before getting backstabbed by a demon. Among the characters in World of Warcraft, Vol'jin has long been a brave and stalwart hero among the leaders. He gets away with essentially flipping off Garrosh Hellscream, the Warchief at the time prior to him, and tells Garrosh that he will, "Be the one that puts an arrow through ya dark heart." 

Unfortunately despite his boasts, Vol'jin does not deliver the killing blow to Garrosh. However he does pick up where Garrosh left off and prior to Legion serves as Warchief for the Horde for a year.

After the War in the Broken Isles, Vol'jin is on his death bed, having become wounded by a demonic blade. If you are a Horde Demon Hunter, you are treated to a cutscene soon after finishing the initial starting quests that reveals Vol'jin dying and telling Sylvanas that the Loa spirits told him that she would be the next Warchief. Despite the fact that Vol'jin never trusted her, he relents to the spirits and names Sylvanus his successor. 

It makes one wonder if Vol'jin's last words will have any impact on what will come in the expansion... 

Sylvanas Windrunner

Known for being one of the most popular ladies in the World of Warcraft fandom (at least, if the sheer amount of sexy artwork is any indication), Sylvanas Windrunner was once a member of the High Elf race, until she was killed and brought back into undeath by the Lich King to serve as his Banshee Queen.

She broke free of his command along with many of the undead and eventually became their ruler, retreating to Undercity. There  she dwelled for a time to command the Forsaken, other undead who were freed of the Lich King's influence. The Undercity is located in the ruins of what once was Lordaeron, an area familiar to players of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. 

In Legion, Sylvanas gets a promotion from Queen of the Forsaken to Warchief of the Horde. She ends up succeeding Vol'jin, and upon his death promises vengeance. To many of her fans however, she is often still referred to as "Dark Lady". 

There are many out there who believe the newly appointed Warchief isn't quite all there, and some of her lore actually suggests that she is slowly going mad. Her sister abandoning her plans in favor of Anduin Wrynn and the Alliance has recently broken Sylvanus' trust in the living, and the repercussions may be quite serious. 

Moroes 

Moroes may not be as infamous as the prior three entries, but he earns a place here since he will be a very prominent character in the next content patch. He was formerly the steward of Kharazan, and is one of the bosses of that particular raid. 

When living, Moroes acted as steward for the powerful Archmage and Guardian of Tirisfal, Medivh. Since his death at Medivh's hands, he has become a twisted undead reflection of his former self, either by Medivh/Sargeras' influence or the dark magic polluting the tower of Kharazan. He continues to act as steward of the shattered tower, heralding the arrival of his master. Whether he refers to Medivh, or Sargeras himself remains to be seen.

Xavius

While this big guy does look sort of like Illidan, Xavius is a very different animal. He is the progenitor of the Satyr race and was once a Night Elf. Similarly to Ilidan, he was transformed into a twisted mockery of the Night Elven race. Before he became a Satyr, Xavius was a powerful mage who was known for two things; his skills with political manipulation and his rather creepy lack of eyes, replaced with two black and crimson crystals. 

When he was brought back as a Satyr, his eyes were left red and black as a reminder of his appearance he had in his previous life. Needless to say he lost whatever good looks he once had as a Night Elf, in favor of the twisted appearance of a Satyr. 

In Legion, Xavius currently dwells upon the Broken Isles, with rest of his Satyr kind deep within the Emerald Nightmare which he hopes to bring to Azeroth. The battle against Xavius will be one of the first large-scale raids available in Legion when the expansion releases. 

These are just a few of the prominent characters who will make appearances in the "Legion" expansion. Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!