#lady sira'kess

[fromtheempress]

Fish Fridays Feature: Nar'jira and the Naz'jar Battlemaiden Questline

Nar'jira, the Naz'jar battlemaiden. (Source: Wowpedia)

In the quest achievement "Visions of Vashj'ir Past", players complete a series of quests in which a Naz'jar battlemaiden, Nar'jira, fights the invading Kvaldir to free the underwater city of Vashj'ir from their grasp. The player picks up what turns out to be a broken prong from a naga trident, and using it as a focus, is able to see into the past where the Naz'jar battlemaiden's questline takes place.

In the "Reoccupation" quest we are introduced to this battlemaiden, in a conversation: Fathom-Stalker Azjentus says: I could hear the sound of your trident breaking from the gardens! The skulls of these Kvaldir are as hard as rock.

Naz'jar Battlemaiden says: A single prong. Hardly enough to stop me from slaughtering hundreds more.

Fathom-Stalker Azjentus says: Indeed. I doubt much would.

In time, the battlemaiden is introduced to Lady Naz'jar, (later a boss in the "Throne of the Tides" dungeon). It appears that Lady Naz'jar is spearheading the assault to regain control of Vashj'ir and kill the Kvaldir. In Naz'jars' words, "The echoes of this defeat must ring in their minds so that they will not dare return to threaten our purpose here." What that purpose is becomes clear in the quest "Stolen Property", in which the battlemaiden must retrieve a stolen object called "The Crucible of Nazsharin". Lady Sira'kess, a prominent naga priestess, plans to use the Crucible to summon the aid of the Old Gods in the fight against the Kvaldir.

The Crucible of Nazsharin. Source: Wowwiki.

Upon success, the Kvaldir are pushed back and their leader is slain by the battlemaiden, who is then crowned Champion of Azshara for her efforts. The questline offers some insight not only into castes in naga society (Lady Naz'jar mentions the warrior caste whispering of the battlemaiden's prowess), but also a deeper look into how naga fight (the battlemaiden has several spells at her disposal, wields a trident with extreme efficiency, and is able to push herself to tremendous bursts of speed when heading for the site of battle). One is left with the impression that at least some of the naga are truly a force to be reckoned with. Once the Naz'jar battlemaidens questline ends, however, she is not seen anywhere again, either in Throne of the Tides or in any subsequent expansions.

Fun Facts and Speculation:

A little insight is offered into the personality of Lady Vashj herself when Lady Naz'jar says "Lady Vashj is nothing like her mother. It is little wonder she left this city so long ago". Given that the only surviving portrait of Lady Vashj's mother Lestharia is a statue which reads that she was a kind and benevolent ruler, one wonders what sort of person her daughter truly was. Regardless, both women seem to be remarkable characters with their own stories to tell.

Nar'jira, the Naz'jar battlemaiden, is speculated to have been slated to appear in a scrapped instance, the Abyssal Maw. It was meant to be a five man instance, and was to take place in a corrupted shell known as Nespirah. but the storyline and setting was "not convincing and fitting" to the developers (Wowwiki).

It is interesting to note that the Crucible of Nazsharin was said to have been a part of Vashj'ir for a long time, but it is unlikely to have been there before the Sundering, due to the Kaldorei not knowing of the Elder Gods in anything but stories. This is, of course, unless the Vashj family or Vashj'ir itself had pre-sundering connections to the Old Gods, as Vashj's medallion when she tries to kill Tyrande Whisperwind seems to vaguely suggest.

“Fish Fridays” is a look into the various Naga personalities that populate the waters of  Azeroth and Draenor,to give our worthy readers a greater sense of the Naga world and the creatures Vashj often interacts with.

Lore sources and links are all from Wowwiki and Wowpedia.

[fromtheempress]

Fish Fridays feature: The lost Irontide and the Naga of Cataclysm: The Azsh'ir

The Irontide naga, one of whom was the Irontide Engineer, were to be part of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, but were removed from the game after beta.

Speculation: Given the name Irontide, and the fact that one of the Irontide was an engineer, one would assume that this faction of naga would have been mechanically inclined, and able to perform feats of engineering. If that were the case the naga would have likely gained a greater foothold on the surface lands of Azeroth; one can only imagine the destruction that would follow were the naga inclined to create mechanical weapons and other items or buildings.

While it is true that the naga were overseeing operations involving complex mechanics in Outland, (for example Coilfang Reservoir), the plans for them were conceived by gnomes and built by slave labor (the Broken Draenei). It might be argued, however, that the naga were perfectly well able to build mechanics but were likely for the most part uninterested in using anything other than magic and brute force to accomplish their aims.

Vashj'ir. Image source: author's screenshot.

In the deeps surrounding the sunken city of Vashj'ir, the Azsh'ir stand guard in the Shimmering Expanse and the forests of Kelp'thar.

The Azsh'ir stationed in Vashj'ir comprise a large force; some, however, are not from the present, but from a vision of the past that the player experiences in the Shimmering Expanse. All the Az'shir naga are listed here:

Azsh'ir Abductor

 Azsh'ir Archaean

 Azsh'ir Abyss Priestess

Azsh'ir Assailant

Azsh'ir Depthseeker

Azsh'ir Infantry

Azsh'ir Manhunter

Azsh'ir Monitor

Azsh'ir Patroller

Azsh'ir Raider

Azsh'ir Scout

Azsh'ir Sentry

Azsh'ir Soldier

Azsh'ir Warrior

Azsh'ir Wave Screamer

Azsh'ir Wavebreaker

The Azsh'ir naga appear in the Cataclysm expansion, in the Shimmering Expanse of Vashj'ir and in the Abyssal depths, many in the role of abductors and assailants of both the Alliance and Horde. They have seized hold of the ruins of Vash'ir, appearing in the Quel'Dormir gardens, the Nar'shola terrace, and the Biel'Aran Ridge,all of which form a large part of the once-great city ruled by Lestharia Vashj.

Azsh'ir Infantry. (Source: Wowpedia)

Some of the Azsh'ir naga are simple warriors and patrollers, creatures to be slain in quests such as The Looming Threat, and Caught off Guard.

Some of the other naga, however, such as the Raiders, appear in an entertaining quest called "Visions of Vashj'ir Past" in which the player assumes the role of a Naz'jar Battlemaiden in past battles (more on that in another Fish Fridays post). Fun Facts and Speculation:

Some of the Azsh'ir idols of Queen Azshara, ( "Azsh'ir Idols"), are worshipped by the Bloodwash Naga (in a quest in the Blasted Lands, a murloc spirit gives you the task of destroying their idols, stating that "Neptulon is still their god" and not Azshara). This quest offers an insight into the chaotic relationship between Azsharas' forces and the Tide Lord Neptulon.

The Azsh'ir Wave Screamers use an ability called "Hymn of Lady Sira'kess". Lady Sira'kess, a key figure in the Naz'jar battlemaidens' visions, was once thought to be Lady Sira'len, a night elf priestess who was close to Lestharia Vashj, transformed into a Naga. There appears to be no lore supporting this theory now, however. Lady Sira'kess also appears as a card in the Hearthstone Card Game.

Lady Sira'kess, an image used for the Hearthstone game. Image Source: Wowpedia

“Fish Fridays” is a look into the various Naga personalities that populate the waters of  Azeroth and Draenor,to give our worthy readers a greater sense of the Naga world and the creatures Vashj often interacts with.

Lore sources and links are all from Wowwiki and Wowpedia.