Who is Devos? How did Uther the Lightbringer corrupt the Paragon of Loyalty?

Shadowlands brings back a lot of previous well-known World of Warcraft characters, but there are newly introduced characters to explore, too. The new Afterlives: Bastion animated short focused on the new character Devos, a Paragon in the Kyrian Covenant.

Who is this angelic-looking person? What is her role? What did Afterlives reveal that we haven’t seen in game? Let’s take a closer look at her, and her fall from grace.

Spoilers for Shadowlands follows.

What are Paragons in Bastion

Bastion and the Kyrians are all about order. Therefore, they have a strict hierarchy, and the higher up someone is, the more respect and authority they have. When someone higher than you in the pecking order gives a command they are not to be questioned. The leader is The Archon, Kyrestia the Firstborne. Under her are the Paragons. These are Kyrians that have passed all the trials completely, and have ascended to a point above the others. Paragon literally means a person that is a perfect example of a particular quality.

In that vein, each Kyrian who reaches that level is a Paragon of a virtue held dear among their ranks — there’s a Paragon of Purity and a Paragon of Courage, for example.

And then there is Devos. When we first meet her in Shadowlands, she is the Paragon of Loyalty. For each Paragon, there appears to be a corresponding temple, and Paragons have Stewards serving to cater to their every whim. That should encourage everyone to want to achieve that status.

While Paragons are what the new souls strive to be, what they aspire to become through their trials, Paragons are not there to train them. There are other Kyrian Ascendants to help the new Aspirants with their trials. It is a hierarchy, and the Paragons are at the top, second only to the Archon. The Archon is considered part of the Pantheon of Death, putting her on the power equivalent of a Titan. Therefore, a Paragon is just below that, someone a Titan-equivalent would interact with. Training Aspirants is beneath beings of their elevated status.

The pairing of the Paragon of Loyalty and the new Aspirant caused others to talk, even when that Aspirant was Uther the Lightbringer.

The Paragon of Loyalty and her obsession with Uther

Uther being placed in the Kyrian Covenant is not unusual. As a devoted protector in life, one who was committed to following order and wielding the Light to do so, there is no better place for him than an afterlife where he would do that for eternity. In the earliest trials, the new Aspirant needs to forget their past — the player experiences this in the opening quests in Bastion. Uther couldn’t.

This held him back. This made other Kyrians think that maybe this wasn’t the right place for him.

Devos saw something in Uther. She worked to shape him up, go forward in his trials. She felt like something was going wrong with this unique Aspirant, and she tried to detect it. Others told her this was beneath her, and she would never live this down. She would not let him get away. Then Uther revealed to her the wound he had, given to him by Arthas when struck the final blow. Touching it, Devos relived the death of Uther but more importantly, she saw the weapon that caused the wound that rent not just Uther’s flesh, but also his soul — Frostmourne.

This weapon was created in the Shadowlands, specifically by the Runecarver who is held in Torghast. Devos was shocked to find out that this weapon was in the mortal world, with runes that were clearly created by the Runecarver, meaning that it at least spent a considerable amount of time in the Shadowlands already. She hurried to tell the Archon. The Archon heard her dire warning, but the Archon didn’t care. Mostly, the problem was Devos was pointing out that there were serious issues in the mortal realm that they should take care of, and if they kept doing what they were doing — like wiping the minds of the new souls that arrived — they would never find a danger like this until it was too late. The Archon didn’t want anyone questioning her wisdom — or her orders.

Devos, whose title of Paragon of Loyalty was now cruelly ironic, went back to Uther and fast tracked his Ascension. He gained his wings even though he hadn’t passed his trials. She helped him deal “justice” against Arthas at the time of Arthas’s death — that is, Arthas didn’t face judgement. He was thrown directly into the Maw by Uther instead of facing the Arbiter as all souls should.

Afterwards, Uther and Devos looked a little darker. The blue and white glow of the Kyrians was tainted by the darker blue and deeper purple in their wings. This was just the start.

Devos and Uther are the beginning of the Forsworn but not the end

Devos no longer believed in the rules laid out by the Archon. Devos went behind the Archon’s back, making Uther an Ascended despite his not having completed his trials. Devos actively encouraged Uther to hurl Arthas into the Maw without his proper judgement. She didn’t stop there — she found other souls that failed the trials, brought them into her fold, and Ascended them too. Her group of followers became known as the Forsworn.

Devos, no longer loyal, became known as the Paragon of Doubt.

That was not enough. As they progressed, they attacked temples in Bastion. One such attack that included Uther, is seen in the Bastion leveling process. Devos and the Forsworn actively try to dissuade others to leave the Kyrians, and to join their cause instead. One way they try to convince the initiates involves is the anima drought in the Shadowlands. Due to the drought, Aspirants are unable to gain wings, even when they’ve earned them — yet the Forsworn are all able to have wings.

Devos has seized the Spires of Ascension in Bastion as a step in a plan to take out the Archon. Players infiltrate the place, and ultimately kill Devos. When a resident of the Shadowlands dies, their soul turns into anima, and they are gone — don’t bet on seeing Devos again.

But the end of Devos is not the end of the Forsworn. In her death, another takes over as the Paragon of Doubt, Lysonia. As it turns out, Lysonia has been in league with Helya, and Helya is in the Maw working with the Jailer.

All of this makes Uther question what he was doing, and if what he did to Arthas was justice or vengeance. Was the Forsworn really the side he wanted to be on? And what will the Kyrians do with him now?

The future of the Forsworn

Devos is dead. Lysonia is as well. But the Forsworn still exist. Helya is out there. She still has her pact with Sylvanas, and ties to the Jailer. Like much of the entire Warcraft canon, this whole story leads straight back to Arthas.

The Forsworn are the main enemy in the Kyrian Campaign, and are shown to keep going as an antagonist faction with a revolving leader. They are created with anima from the Maw, where there is still a surplus right now, likely due to the interference of Sylvanas and The Jailer. If the Covenant campaigns keep evolving, the Forsworn will certainly play a further role, especially in Uther’s story as he distances himself from them. Otherwise, they will at least be used as adds in a Helya raid boss fight.

Devos started the Forsworn. She didn’t live to see what will happen to them but they will go on without her, as will the story that questions how the Archon runs the Kyrians. Devos was a catalyst for the story, but Uther will probably be the one to see it through.