What do you think Sylvanas Windrunner’s fate will be after she’s defeated in the Sanctum of Domination raid?

We should find out in *checks clock* a few hours. But while the raid is not out, and that juicy cinematic isn’t released, we can still place our bets.

Sylvanas Windrunner has had a long, storied run in World of Warcraft. He trajectory has been nothing if not controversial, polarizing, full of twists and turns. Many love her, many hate her. And finally, today, the Sanctum of Domination raid will open. She’ll be defeated by guilds around the world, and something major is very likely going to happen to her.

Will she survive, or will she die?

Her survival could mean that she continues to act in the Shadowlands — which would simply postpone a problem that we’ll still have to deal with at some point. Perhaps the writers have more in store for her, until the Shadowlands expansion is over — or beyond. We know that there’s still an upcoming novel titled after her, after all!

Alternatively, she could survive, but find herself removed from the story — much like what happened to Illidan, after the events of Legion. Illidan survived, sure, but he’s in no position to act in the story anymore — until the writers decide that he’s fit to come back, that is. What if a similar fate befell Sylvanas? What if she’s placed “on cooldown,” firmly away from the current events of WoW, but with the definitive possibility of returning one day?

She could also die, of course. Who would kill her? Would it be us, the heroes, or one of the many, many other major characters who have plenty of reasons to want vengeance against her? Will Tyrande finally be able to avenge her people? Could the Jailer himself destroy her? Or, perhaps, an unexpected figure, such as Anduin?

And if she does die, does that even spell the end to her story, or not? We’re in the Shadowlands, after all — we’ve been interacting with characters such as Draka, or Kael’thas Sunstrider, who have died, but are still active — this is the afterlife, after all. Sylvanas could die, but that doesn’t mean that her soul would be “gone.” We are in a unique position at the moment, with the machinery of Death broken, the Arbiter out of commission, and more. Who can tell what even happens to her soul if she is to die in the raid?

If she remains active in the story — whether alive, or just as a soul — does she change sides? Will she remain on the Jailer’s side, or will she begin working against him? Will she ally herself with us, or will she remain our enemy?

Or do you think that she will no longer be active in the story? In that case: what is the final fate of her soul? Does she find immediate redemption, or will she undergo eons of atonement? Or will she be sent straight to the Maw, for eternal penance for her numerous crimes? Or will it be a different solution entirely: we already have the precedent of Uther, whose soul was split into two parts — one absorbed by Frostmourne, another sent to the Shadowlands. Was the story of Uther a way that the writers found to plant the idea into our minds, so that they could use it for Sylvanas as well?

There are a lot of questions here — which is to say that, despite what you may think of the character, or of the current story involving her, this is still a very ripe environment for discussion. So let us know your thoughts.