So here’s some rampant speculation:
Vol’jin is dying and says that the loa granted him clarity, a vision, they whisper a name. He then tells Sylvanas that she must step out of the shadows and be Warchief. Never does he actually say that the name that they whispered was Sylvanas Windrunner or that he had to make her Warchief, we assume this, Baine assumes this, Baine tells the ghost of Vol’jin this….and Vol’jin doesn’t remember.
- I was just listening to Lore Watch Episode 98: Are we living in the End Time? and something struck me. They made the argument that Sylvanas is neither alive nor dead, that she is outside that cycle. Is it possible that the name that they whispered was not Sylvanas? But Vol’jin knows that Sylvanas’ unique state will give her an advantage in the battle to come and so he makes her Warchief. He doesn’t remember who told him to make her Warchief because it didn’t happen. A few lines strike me:
- “you must come out of the shadows and lead.”
- “Da memory be denied me by da Shadows, da Shadows dat be coming for ya”
- “I was expecting to see (…) any of the loa, dere was a presence, something moving in the Shadows”
- So Vol’jin dies, goes to the land of the dead, the Shadowlands, but is then returned in spirit. Someone or something kicked him back to us.
- When we go with Vol’jin on that lovely quest to try to figure out who told him (allegedly) to make Sylvanas Warchief, we talk to Bwonsamdi, The Lich King (version Bolvar.2) , and Eyir.
- Both Bwonsamdi and the Lich King mention that Sylvanas upsets the balance of life and death.
- The Lich King tells Vol’jin that he has been altered, that he is neither undead nor damned – a bit like Sylvanas, no?
- Vol’jin is a Shadow Hunter, a fact mentioned by Eyir who implies that the whisperer and the force that booted Vol’jin from the Shadowlands might not be the same, but will say no more.
- Vol’jin plans to keep searching for answers and says, “If dere be new enemies gatherin’ in da shadows den I best be hunting dem…before dey be hunting us.”
- When we return Voljin’s ashes to Bwonsamdi he says a couple of super interesting things. He indicates that Vol’jin’s spirit is missing. He states:
- “The boss ain’t gonna like dis…”
- “Ol’ Bwonsamdi not be losing a spirit since…”
- So, who is Bwonsamdi’s boss? Who rules the loa of death?
- Whose spirit did Bwonsamdi lose before? Sylvanas?
- If the loa did whisper the name “Windrunner,” what if Vol’jin assumed it was Sylvanas because she was there. What if they meant…another? <Emperor voice>There is another Windrunner…
TL;DR: Don’t take everything at face value. The truth lies in the shadows.
Resources:
Lore Watch Episode 98: Are we living in the End Time?