Literary Influences in Pop Culture:

Literary Inspirations in World of Warcraft 3

Frozen Throne
INTRODUCTION

Online and offline gaming are one of the most popular trends. If a person enters

a computer station, one might hear shouts like “Noob”, “First Blood”, “God-like”, and

even some creative cuss words. Nowadays, many teenagers are engrossed in this type

of gaming which is part of today’s pop culture.

Pop culture is defined as the vernacular or people’s culture that predominates in

a society at a point in time (Delaney, 2007). It also involves the aspects of social life in

which the public is actively involved in. Popular culture is seen through the styles of

dress, the use of slang, greeting rituals and the foods that people eat which are all

distributed via mass media. However, despite the changing of the times, pop culture has

always been laden with literary influences which are evidently seen in the online games

right now such as the Defense of the Ancients.

According to Borkweb (2006), DotA stands for “Defense of the Ancients” which is

a free-mod for Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne. The goal of the game is to defend the

player’s Ancient and destroy the opponent’s Ancient. The game revolves around two

teams which are called Scourge and Sentinels. The player can choose from 70 playable

characters, each with their own unique skills and back stories which may be referred to

mythologies from different countries.

The question on how mythology and literature shaped the online and

offline games that people play nowadays is prevalent in the society. However, Perry

(2004) claims that in order for game developers to enhance the games of the future;

they must analyze the right and wrong of the present, and seek lessons from the past.
 Literary Influences in Pop Culture:
Literary Inspirations in World of Warcraft 3
Frozen Throne
The key to a culture’s past is the mythology of the country. Thus, many mythological

elements were carved in their works from the game play, characters, and to the setting.

Games like Shadow of the Colossus, God of War, Prince of Persia, and The Silk Road

makes use of Japanese literature, Greek mythology, Persian folklore, and Chinese

history. And this pattern is followed by Blizzard in its game franchise, Warcraft 3: Frozen

Throne (Defense of the Ancients, DotA). In this paper, the literary inspiration for Frozen

Throne characters will be analyzed.

About the Developer

According to their Blizzard.com, Blizzard Entertainment is known for being a

premier developer and publisher of software for entertainment. After the company was

established in 1994, Blizzard Entertainment rose up to be one of the most notable

maker of computer games. They live by the eight core values that they use as their

guide in creating their games.

1. Gameplay First.

2. Commit to Quality.

3. Play nice; Play Fair.

4. Embrace your Inner Geek.

5. Every Voice Matters.

6. Think Globally

7. Lead Responsibly

8. Learn and Grow.

 Literary Influences in Pop Culture:
Literary Inspirations in World of Warcraft 3
Frozen Throne
These core values had lead the company to create entertainment hits that had

impact the culture of today. Blizzard Entertainment is the creator of the popular game

franchise – Starcraft, World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, Diablo III and

Hearthstone. These games are all interwoven in terms of characters and setting in one

universe which is Blizzard Entertainment,

World of Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne Storyline

According to WoWwikia, the World of Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne is a

compendium of four campaign stories that established the world it revolves in. In this

research, the focus will fall on the three main campaigns.

The Sentinels Campaign: Terror of the Tides, is the first campaign story. The

story begins with the Warden Maiev Shadowsong in her pursuit to capture the former

prisoner Illidan Stormrage across Azeroth. Illidan managed to gain the allegiance of the

naga (former night elves who adapted to life underwater) in order to reach the tomb of

Sargeras. Maiev sought the assistance of Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande

Whisperwind to hunt her captive. However, Maiev harbors ill feelings towards Tyrande

who freed Illidan thus leading her to conjure a lie that Tyrande died in their quest.

Malfurion and Maieve was able to stop Illidan from using the Eye of Sargeras. But the

two brothers uncovered Maiev’s lie and teamed up to rescue Tyrande. Illidan then was

exiled but Maiev still continued to chase after him.

The Alliance Campaign: Curse of the Blood Elves is the second campaign story.

This campaign features Prince Kaelthas, the leader of the Blood Elves, who was

imprisoned by the racist human knight, Lord Garithos. He was rescued by Lady Vashj
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Literary Inspirations in World of Warcraft 3
Frozen Throne
and her Naga and tried to convince him to follow her to the Outlands to free Illidan.

Prince Kaelthas was able to free Illidan. Illidan however, in the hopes of hiding in the

Outlands was found by the demon lord Kil’jaeden, who forced him to renew his vow of

destroying the Lich King.

The Scourge Campaign: Legacy of the Damned, the third story, is set in

Lordaeron, now known as the Plaguelands. The plot of this story focuses on the civil

war happening within the Scourge. The scourge was divided into three faction – Arthas

and Kel’Thuzad, loyal to the Lich King; Sylvanas Windrunner, the forsaken; and

Nathrezim, the dreadlords of the burning legion. The story highlights the travel of Arthas

to Northrend to protect the Lich King. He eventually had a one-on-one duel with Illidan

ending with the defeat of the latter. Arthas then ascended to the Frozen Throne and

took the place of the Lich King.

Character Analysis

Arthas Menethil

Wachowski (2007) describes Prince Arthas Menethil as “human at first, kinda

undead later”. Arthas Menethil in his days under the light was known as the Crown

Prince of Lordaeron and the Knight of the Silver Hand. He was the son of King Terenas

Menethil, the ruler of Lordaeron. The perfect hero archetype, Arthas trained at a young

age in the art of combat and eventually joined the Silver Hand headed by Uther the

Lightbringer. He was a knight serving good but he was corrupted by his mission. In the

quest to destroy the demon, Mal’Ganis, Arthas pulled out the cursed blade,

Frostmourne from the ice it was buried. The sword was a medium for the Lich King, who
 Literary Influences in Pop Culture:
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Frozen Throne
whispered orders to Arthas. Before becoming an undead, he killed King Terenas and

declared himself as King Arthas.

Prince Arthas is the inversion of King Arthur. The cursed sword, Frostmourne he

pulled from the magical ice block was very powerful, and marked him as destined for

the throne of the Lich King. The cursed sword in turn stole his soul, and the throne of

the undead Lich King rather than the throne of the Kingdom Lordaeron he was born to.

King Arthur on the other hand pulled the sword from the stone and in turn inherited the

kingdom. Prince Arthas was advised by a wizard with an odd life cycle, like Merlin. This

wizard however was a necromancer that Arthas killed but later helped come back to life.

The wizard came back as a lich, Kel’Thuzad. Prince Arthas disbanded the Silver Hand,

an order of paladins, and founded the order of death knights. This is also an inversion

which is more than one level: not only are the death knights ignoble and unholy but it

was not a new idea or original in-world. This became the reverse of the Round Table

and the Silver Hand (TVTrophes.com)

Both Arthas and Arthur played the king. Both of them were devoted to their

mission of protecting their people. However, Arthas was consumed by power and fell to

the dark side. Arthur on the other hand, was also tested in the consummation of power

however, he died being in the side of light.

Sylvanas Windrunner

TVtrophes in their articles states that Sylvanas Windrunner is the warchief of the

horde and the supreme ruler of the undead Forsaken faction. She was given the title of

“the Dark Lady” and “the Banshee Queen”. During her life, she was the ranger general
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Frozen Throne
of the Silvermoon night elves. However, her encounter with the death knight Arthas led

to the corruption of her soul and the birth of her being as a banshee.

The transformation of Sylvanas as a banshee is a character taken from the

Gaelic folklore. A banshee is a female spirit whose loud cries warns the people that

someone is going to die soon. The word banshee came from the Gaelic word bean sith

which means a woman from fairyland. The banshee “is seen by travelers around pools

or fjords washing the shrouds of those who are about to die, singing a dirge or crying.

She will tell for whom she is keening and also the fate of those travelers who would dare

to ask her” (Austin, n.d.)

In the folklore, banshees are ghosts of women who died in childbirth. Sylvanas

however did not die in the campaign, her soul was corrupted by the dark knight Arthas.

She in turn did not just warn people of death, but caused death and chaos due to the

bitterness she felt at the corruption of her soul.

Lady Vashj

Lady Vashj was born as a Quel’Dorei, or a high-borne class of night elves. She

rose to be one of the handmaidens of the Queen Azshara. However, Queen Azshara

gave the title of majordomo to the High Priestess of Elune – Tyrande Whisperwind. Out

of jealousy, Lady Vashj had attempted to kill Tyrande but failed due to Elune’s

blessings. However, at the time of the Burning Legion, Vashj together with Azshara

were banished to the depths of the oceans and cursed to become Nagas. Vashj, the

once beautiful high-borne night elf became a female naga. She was cursed with four
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Frozen Throne
arms, a tail, and snakes instead of hair. Lethal by standards, she was both a hunter and

a sorceress (Wachowski, 2007).

Lady Vashj may be alluded to the gorgons of Greek mythology, specifically

Medusa. Both, were turned into monsters against their will by deities who were furious

of their actions. However, like Arthas and Arthur, Vashj and Medusa may be considered

as character inversions. Vashj harbored jealousy towards Tyrande while in some

accounts Medusa harbored jealousy through pride with the goddess Athena. Both of

these females were scorned by goddesses and both were cursed with snakes on their

heads. In contrast, the beaty of Vashj was through her noble lineage while Medusa was

that of physical beauty. Vashj was scorned due to her loyalty to her mistress while

Medusa was scorned due to the rape of Poseidon. Medusa and Lady Vashj were both

sorceress as both are capable of extra-human prowess.

Illidan Stormrage

Illidan Stormrage is the twin brother of Malfurion Stormrage, both having opposite

characteristics. Illidan during the war against the Burning Legion displayed his true

nature of being a betrayer. He manipulated both sides however, everything was

committed due to an act of good. He betrayed his people in order to save them and the

entire world. However, he would always choose to save himself first. Originally, Illidan

was a druid in training however, his interest fell to the arcane arts. He was keen in

proving himself powerful to both sides that he was given blessing by Sargeras who

burned his eyes and replaced them with a seething magical fire that allowed him to see

all forms of magic. He also had tattoos of arcane sigil that enabled him to channel fel
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energies. In the campaign, it would seem that Illidan often caused his off downfall, but it

was through his efforts that the damage made by the legion and the scourge were to

minimum and manageable – in the end, he had fallen an unsung hero (Rossi, 2011).

Druids are originally referred to as Celtic priests. There sect operates in great

secrecy in the wilderness. In literature however, druids are described as nature-themed

mages. They channel their energies from nature and are considered pure (n.d.)

Illidan on the other hand, refused to learn druid magic and instead focused on the

arcane. He refused the pureness of the powers of nature but instead burned himself in

forbidden magic. In literature, eyes are often symbols for the soul of a character. The

burning of the eyes of Illidan symbolizes his soul burning in exchange for power.

Lina Inverse and Rylai Crestfall

Lina Inverse and Rylai Crestfall are known as the sibling of ice and fire. They are

popularly known as the Lina the Slayer and Rylai the Crystal Maiden. In Dota 1 both

characters where not woven together but instead had separate backstories. Lina was a

traveler who was known for her pyromancery or mastery in the control of fire and

lightning while the Crystal Maiden was a mage known for her ability to manipulate the

power of frost and ice.

“According to their new lore, the two sisters were born in a temperate realm. Lina

the Slayer and her youngest sister, Rylai the Crystal Maiden we’re the stuff of legend. It

was said that the two had a quarrelsome childhood with Lina always having an

advantage with his fiery ardor, and clever attitude. Rylai, on the other hand, was naive
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Frozen Throne
and guileless. It wasn’t long till the two discovered their separate affinities to their

individual elements. Lina was gifted with pyrokinesis while Rylai has an innate affinity to

ice and frost, adding more fuel to their sibling rivalry. To solve their issues, their parents

decided to separate the children. Lina was sent to her aunt living in the blazing Desert

of Misrule to practice her powers. Rylai, on the other hand, was banished to the cold

northern realm of Icewrack where she met a powerful Ice Wizard who built himself a

hermitage at the crown of the Blueheart Glacier. She became his apprentice for years

before the Ice Wizard proclaimed that she was ready to practice the Frozen Arts alone

and left her to take his place. As of this day, the two continues to strike fear to locals

with their inhuman abilities to control the powers of nature in their fingertips.” (Kane,

2016).

The continued rivalry of fire and ice may be a common theme in literature. It is

known to be adapted in many popular literary works. Robert Frost in his poem “Fire and

Ice” discussed the contrast of both elements and the destruction they both bring.

Similarly, both siblings in the lore bring about destruction in their wake. The first

installment of the popular book series “Game of Thrones” had a title of “A Song of Fire

and Ice” which mainly refers to the romance between Lyanna Stark and Rhaeger

Targaryen. Greek mythology would likewise make use of themes of fire and ice

depicting siblings with opposite characteristics.

Conclusion

The gaming aspect in pop culture has been penetrated deeply by literature. The

entertainment franchise World of Warcraft is a perfect example. With a growing number

 Literary Influences in Pop Culture:
Literary Inspirations in World of Warcraft 3
Frozen Throne
of playable characters, the lore in which these characters were based from are also

growing. Indirectly, the characters and their literary counterparts had proved to be either

inversions or direct allusions. These just simply proves how literature had evolved from

being inside the text to characters which are playable and relatable.

The millennials are now able to encounter literature outside the classroom. This

would hopefully fuel their curiosity to search these literary characters. The inclusion of

literature in the pop culture, specifically in the gaming regime would also pave the way

for educators to inculcate in these games in their lessons. The approach in this paper

which is a Comparative study between World of Warcraft characters and Literary

characters is in accordance with the approach recommended by the Department of

Education in the teaching of 21st Century Literature of the Philippines and the World.

The department is encouraging teachers to teach local literature side by side with world

literature – comparing their styles and themes. This paper recommends that aside from

comparing only two aspects of literature, pop culture should also be included as an

object of comparison. This encourages relatability for the students and thus acquiring

their interest to learn the subject.

 Literary Influences in Pop Culture:
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Frozen Throne
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 Literary Influences in Pop Culture:
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