????Spoilers for The War Within's opening moments inbound!????
World of Warcraft: The War Within ain't messing around. Directly following on from the pre-expansion event and a dwarven family reunion, our old-before-his-time pal Khadgar assembles the Council of Six and announces that we've got to get ready for a big trip: Dalaran is once again on the move, this time to the skies above Khaz Algar. Chaos quickly ensues. Destruction, death, crumbling towers and nasty spider-people causing a ruckus. Bad, bad times.
It turns out, sneaky Xal'atath, The War Within's Big Bad, has been wearing multiple skin suits. The Archmage Drenden, a former Council member who's been MiA for years, seemed like a random addition to the crew when he briefly reappeared during The Harbinger quest, and again when he doled out a quest to prepare Dalaran for departure at the start of The War Within. He's a minor character who you're unlikely to have heard of if you aren't an avid reader of Warcraft literature or a swot when it comes to the history of the Third War.
The most interesting thing about Drenden is that, well, he's dead. And he's been dead for years. And this deep cut blast from the past who's been getting you to run around Dalaran 'strengthening wards' is in fact Xal'atath, gleefully tricking heroes into signing the floating city's death warrant. Damn, lady. That's cold.
During the city's final moments, after the heroes escape to the Isle of Dorn, Khadgar sticks around to confront Xal'atath. Unfortunately, he's spent the last few expansions relying on 25-person raid groups to kill bosses, so while he's no slouch in the spellcasting department, he's still not quite up to the task. He gets one more heroic deed in the bag, saving Alleria Windrunner from Dalaran's destruction, and then he's seemingly swallowed up by a big void orb. Goodnight, Khadgar.
As one of WoW's most important characters, his apparent death is kinda a big deal. Ever since Warlords of Draenor, he's been one of the driving forces behind every expansion, but his in-game history goes all the way back to Warcraft 2. And his swift execution hasn't been sitting right with some players. The cinematic is fantastic and flashy, but he goes down fast. It just doesn't feel like an appropriate end for such a key hero. It just kinda… happens?
Not to worry! He's absolutely, categorically not dead. For one: we don't see a body. We just see his hand being engulfed by the void, and then Dalaran going kaput. Sure, we're meant to assume he's a former member of the living, but without evidence we shouldn't start planning his funeral just yet.
Time for another spoiler warning! I'm basing some of the speculation ahead on some datamined details that suggest a future story beat. If you want to continue playing The War Within without any idea about what's coming, you might want to bounce here, or at least skip the next paragraph. And with that out of the way, onto more speculation!
Data mining has also coughed up some compelling evidence that he'll be back, but badly injured. This is down to a wheelchair named Khadgar, suggesting that it belongs to the archmage. Either that or some weirdo is going around naming wheelchairs after famous mages.
I've got a sneaking suspicion that we'll actually end up fighting him eventually. Xal'atath is a corrupting influence and it would be very much in keeping with her whole vibe if she made us face a void-tainted former buddy. And it certainly wouldn't be the first time Azeroth's heroes have had to take down a good guy turned evil. It's very much par for the course.
While I'm on this speculation roll, let me drop this one on you and see what you think: I reckon we're going to end up with a sexier Khadgar. OK, here me out.
When Khadgar defeated his master Medivh after he opened the Dark Portal—prior to the Second War and the events of Warcraft 2—Sargeras slurped up some of his life force (it could have been worse, since he was trying to rip out his soul), prematurely ageing him, turning the young lad into a wizened old geezer.
Blizzard has been a bit inconsistent in how his physical age is presented. In Warcraft 2, he's a wrinkly old fella with a beard. By The Burning Crusade, he looks even older, despite his attempts to reclaim his youth with his fancy disco costume and massive popped collar. We'll call this Old Old Khadgar.
10 years ago, for Warlords of Draenor, Blizzard introduced New Old Khadgar. This is the look most players will now be familiar with, which has been maintained through the proceeding expansions. He got a good haircut, got rid of the beard, and—let's face it—became a bit of a daddy. WoW had entered its thirsty era.
By now, Khadgar should be in his 50s, and while Sargeras's attack aged him by at least 50 years, Blizzard's desire to turn everyone into a hottie means that he now actually looks pretty close to his age. I mean, the dude's got fewer wrinkles than most dudes in their 40s. If he really wants to save the world he should share his skincare tips with the rest of us.
That said, I have this weird—entirely unsubstantiated—feeling that Blizz is gonna give him another glow up. He's given everything to the protection of Azeroth, and it's time for Azeroth to give something back. We'll fight him, defeat him, and then after a period of convalescence he will rise like a phoenix, reborn and even more of a smokeshow.
Or maybe I'm just pitching some sexy Khadgar fanfic. Either way: not dead.
