Sylvanas Windrunner is one ofWorld of Warcraft’s most iconic and beloved characters, having made her first appearance inWarcraft 3: Reign of Chaos. Her story is a long and tragic one, and many fans know her origin well given she’s been the center ofWorld of Warcraft’s story for many expansions. What many players don’t know is how the Banshee Queen actually has nine lives.
Some have expressed frustration at the fact thatSylvanas is seemingly immortal, as even before taking center stage in the game’s lore she was pretty much impossible to kill. The idea of having nine lives is not figurative in this case; Sylvanas literally has nine Val’kyr ready to sacrifice themselves to revive her if she sustains lethal damage. This has been a little-known cheat card for years, making her a bigger force to be reckoned with.
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Sylvanas Windrunner Was in League With the Jailer Long Before World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Whenthe Lich King Arthas was finally defeatedat the peak of Icecrown Citadel, Sylvanas felt empty. Her entire existence from the moment she’d died until then had been to kill the monster who damned her to such suffering, so at that moment she had nothing left to achieve. She decided to end her second life, throwing herself from the very top of the Frozen Throne. But as she died, she received a vision that would change her purpose forever; her soul would find no peace in death, instead condemned to suffer within the Maw.
In what was later shown to be part of the Jailer’s grand plan,Sylvanas was approached by nine Val’kyr, winged female warriors who had been enslaved by Arthas. They told Sylvanas that in return for their freedom from the Lich King, they would serve her willingly and take her place in the Shadowlands under the condition that the Banshee Queen would cause as much death as she could, all to feed the Jailer with souls.
Thus, Sylvanas returned with the most powerful Val’kyr, Annhylde, taking her place in the afterlife. Sylvanas now had the means she needed to raise moreundead into the ranks of the Forsakenas well, and she reveled in this new power. Over time, however, some of Sylvanas’ precious Val’kyr were killed before they could sacrifice themselves, usually by Alliance forces who had learned of Sylvanas’ party trick.
InWorld of Warcraft: Shadowlands, Sylvanasreturns to the Maw to serve the Jailer outright once she could no longer fool the Horde into believing she fought for them rather than herself. In the Sanctum of Domination raid, players venture deep within the Jailer’s fortress to confront Sylvanas once and for all, but first they had to defeat the Nine - every Val’kyr who had sworn themselves to Sylvanas prior. Here, all nine of Sylvanas’ lives tried to save her one last time in service of their true master, the Jailer.
One could consider Sylvanas cat-like in more ways than one given her agility, predatory instincts, and frosty, solitary demeanor, but her most feline attribute is certainly her literalized nine lives. What’s more, those nine lives have been spent on many different identities, from Ranger-General of Silvermoon to Banshee Queen and evenWarchief of the Horde. Now she has come to realize that being enslaved to someone else’s will is a fate no one deserves, and that she has a lot of work ahead of her if she wants to make up for her past deeds.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflightis available now for PC.
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