Where? Drak’Tharon Keep, Grizzly Hills
I know probably the most futile thing I keep hoping for in World of Warcraft is continuity. I can get behind lore that changes as time moves on (What do you mean the World isn’t flat? Retcon, I say! RETCON!), I can understand discovering something that vastly changes how we previously understood things (Vrykul is human! Human is vrykul!) and I will even support a radical change in character if it seems legitimately within reason (Screw you, my people. With the demons now. Luvz, Kael’Thas). What I can’t understand is when something pops up for no reason and with no explanation, and we’re all supposed to run with it simply because it is a neat idea. Case in point? King Dred.
Most people I’ve pointed this out simply respond with “So? There’s raptors everywhere.” True. There are raptors everywhere. Stranglethorn, Durotar, Blade’s Edge, Zul’Drak. There isn’t a piece of land that we’ve visited that doesn’t have raptors. But what about Pterrodaxes? Where are they found? What about the Stegodons? Hmmm? That’s right. Only in the Un’Goro Crater. What else is in the Un’Goro Crater? Devilsaurs. Do they have any business being somewhere else? Well, that depends actually.
We know that there is a direct connection between Sholazar and Un’Goro, we’ve all been through the Waygate (totally different than a Stargate or Fargate) and I don’t find it that unreasonable that the occasional devilsaur could wander through and end up in Sholazar. However, Zul’Drak is on the opposite side of Northrend. How did a bunch of trolls drag one all the way there? Why are they keeping it in a not-really-fenced off area of Drak’Tharon Keep? There is no Devilsaur in ANY incarnation of the Troll pantheon that we’ve seen thus far. Maybe they think it’s just a big raptor and wanted to ride it.
However, devilsaurs seem to have a weird way of showing up in places that they have no place being – like in Netherstorm – but I’m still able to concoct a better B.S. reasoning for it than King Drek. Why? Because I can blame the whole thing on the Twisting Nether! It has the power to instantly fill plot holes! There’s tons of stuff in those domes that have no business being there. Like lynxes, moths, or crocolisks (there’s also more raptors, but they are the Outland species of Raptor). Actually my assumption was that they were brought there by either the Blood Elves, or the Ethereals for some unknown purpose (Zoo? But there’s only one devilsaur in Outland, how is it going to breed?) but even if that’s still stretching it… Twisting! Nether! (Blizz gets to do it, so do I)
The amazingly simplistic reason that Blizz themselves have given for King Drek being stuck in a place that has no explanation for it: “T-Rex’s are Cool” Yes, sure, whatever, wonderful. Meanwhile, you explain the origin of the gnomes, the secret revelation that humans are descended from vrykul, and overwhelming amounts of history about another world tree, bear gods, furbolgs, the Titans, and the Old Gods, but you drop a dinosaur in the middle of a dungeon for no other reason than you wanted to put a dinosaur in a dungeon. YEEEEEAAAARRRGGGHHHHWAAAWAWAAAAAAYYYAAYAA (<– This is the sound of a man tearing his own hair out at the sheer WTF-ness of this situation. Thank you.)
Give me SOMETHING to work with here, Blizz. The infinite dragonflight messing with the time stream drops a devilsaur in Northrend, Goblin scientists from Venture Bay have successfully cloned an ancient devilsaur but it got loose and trapped in Drak’Tharon Keep, you are working within the fantasy/sci-fi genres! You can just say whatever and we will find a way to work it in the continuity! Hell, Star Wars has been filling in plot holes for years with the thick paste that is the Expanded Universe and the fans buy it. Don’t just tell us it was NEAT. That’s Michael Bay territory.
Man, now I’m all depressed. I need to go write some fan fiction exploring the burning man-crush hidden behind the hate between Garrosh and Varian.
OddCraft 