User:Vertex705/N'zoth Speculation

Prophet Zul
The Prophet Zul has mysteriously rallied the troll nations to come together as a third world power against the Horde and Alliance. However, as shown by the 2 troll NPCs in the Zul'Gurub questline (Ghaliri & Surkhan, who have the title  affiliated with the Zandalar tribe) who are working to stop the Gurubashi from remaking the Zul'Gurub Empire, I believe a political split has occured on Zandalar. Due to their title, it would appear King Rastakhan does not share Zul's sentiments. After Deathwing's emergence it would be easy for Zul to manipulate them with promises of a great future, think that Prophet Zul is a powerful servant of the Old Gods, possibly N'Zoth.

Lord Xavius / The Emerald Nightmare
When in the form of the Nightmare Lord, Xavius is described as being a massive, gnarled tree, greatly obscured by the dark fog of the Nightmare

The druids believe that the Rift of Aln bleeds into the Twisting Nether and the Great Dark Beyond. Malfurion sensed that an ancient evil kept its grip from somewhere deep in the depths of Azeroth's seas. According to the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron, ''In the land of Ny'alotha there is only sleep. In the sleeping city of Ny'alotha walk only mad things Ny'alotha is a city of old, terrible, unnumbered criminals. Also, it is referenced in In the sunken city, he lays dreaming... & The drowned god's heart is black as ice''. This would mean that N'Zoth resides in Ny'alotha, an interdimensional city connected both to the Rift of Aln in the Emerald Dream and to the Great Sea. During the War of the Ancients, Malfurion defeated Xavius be growing a tree which absorbed his energy and body, subsequently sent to the bottom of the sea during the Sundering. N'Zoth is likely who granted him greather power to rule the Emerald Dream with. The Emerald Dream resembles one of Lovecraft's fictional areas, the Dreamlands, and the way it can be entered.

''Have you had that dream again? A black goat with seven eyes that watches from the outside.'' - Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron

This may be referring to Nightmare Lord Xavius, as he was a satyr before Malfurion trapped his soul. Lovecraft's Shub-Niggurath is often associated with the phrase The black goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young. In Out of the Aeons, the Black Goat is the figurehead through which Shub-Niggurath is worshipped. In The Whispers in the Darkness, the Black Goat is called the "Lord of the Woods", and is represented in The Dunwich Horror in the form of a satyr, half-man and half-goat, all three of these would point at Nightmare Lord Xavius being likely topic of this whisper.

"There is no sharp distinction between the real and the unreal" - Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron

As Old Gods are interdimensional beings, this could refer to Ny'alotha as being "between realms" of Azeroth and the Emerald Dream, where things come and go as they please.

Corruption of Lordaeron
N'Zoth may also have a presence in Lordaeron. In the Whispering Forest, you can hear soft whispers and strange activity. This may be the part of Tirisfal Glades where Dath'Remar and the highborne fleet first landed, as after a few years several of them began to go mad. It was theorized that something evil slept beneath, before they travelled northward to Quel'Thalas. On Tol Barad Peninsula, there are some signs of Old God interference as well. The soldiers within Farson Hold have gone insane for unknown reasons, and the inhabitants of the fishing Rustberg Village have become very suspicious and paranoid. In one of the quests, they are referred to as 'bandits' and 'wackos'. The Scarlet Crusade has crumbled to darkness and is now only a shadow of their former power. Perhaps N'Zoth will take over where the dreadlords Mal'Ganis and Balnazzar left off? From the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron, Beneath the shadow of the darkened spire, there is no light, no mercy, only void, and the chaos within. A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. -Wikipedia The Scarlet Crusaders show no mercy, and did not use the light correctly in their quest for extermination of the undead, and they became what they hated most. The darkened spire may be a reference to the Scarlet Monastery. It is not clear if they are still sane, or have fallen into chaos, since the crusaders in Stratholme and Tyr's Hand do not seem to notice that they are undead.

Queen Azshara
As the Well of Eternity was destroyed during the Sundering, a voice heard in Queen Azshara's head whispered to her "There is a way... there is a way... you will become more than you ever were... more than you ever were... we can help... we can help... You will be more than you ever have been... and when the time comes, for what we grant you... you will serve us well..." As the Well filled her lungs she did not drown. She instead expanded with hate and rage, becoming a massive monstrosity, reflecting the wickedness and malice that had always hidden within her core. As Ny'alotha is under the Great Sea, it is likely that N'Zoth is responsible for the whisper she heard and her subsequent transformation. In Vashj'ir, the Naga and faceless ones work side by side.

Location
According to the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron, it would seem that Ny'alotha is a sunken city. To be able to influence activities both in western Lordaeron and the Well of Eternity, N'Zoth could be placed north of Vashj'ir. He may have a strong presence in Tol Barad as well. In Vashj'ir, the Faceless Ones have a master below, possibly reference to N'Zoth. In Vashj'ir, the Twilight's Hammer is killing the ancient L'ghorek draining his energy and using it to ascend. Below him, in the Undershell, three ogre magi are performing a ritual to connect L'ghorek with a powerful creature below. They are shown channeling into tentacles reaching up from underground. These tentacles could be part of either N'Zoth, or they also could be part of another Forgotten One such as Iso'rath instead.

Kul Tiras Appearance
Blizzard hinted that Kul Tiras may come into play later on in Cataclysm during Round 1 of Ask CDevs:

''Q: Will we be hearing from any of the old or neglected human nations in Cata, specifically Stromgarde, Kul'tiras, and the remnants of Alterac (hey, Deathwing paraded around as an Alterac noble before)? A: With the revamp of the classic World of Warcraft zones, players will get a chance to see how the fallen nations of Stromgarde and Alterac have fared over the last few years. Kul Tiras, the island nation, will not be visible at the start of Cataclysm - something about tectonic plates shifting it out to sea....''

The reappearance of Kul Tiras would be an excellent time to expand on N'Zoth.