Path of the Titans

[Beltharean]

The Path of the Titans is something that's really interested me, especially since it takes up such a -vast- amount of the Dragonblight, but I've never gotten any solid lore on what it was actually -for-. That being said, I did some exploring today, and found bits and pieces of road all across the Storm Peaks... Namely, aligned with the Path. Wowwiki has the path's length as such:

However, it is really something more along the lines of this:

And it's rather difficult to see there, so I highlighted the path in red:
(And yes, that -is- Ulduar that it leads to up at the top)

That being said, do any of you have any ideas what it may be for? How about some of the interesting things that go along the Path... Such as Uldis, the clockwork innards of the Temple of Storms, or maybe (As we were discussion in Argent guild chat) what that skeleton down at the bottom might be. It's several times larger than Galakrond, has no wings, and only one leg. I'm of the belief that it's some sort of sea creature, perhaps having destroyed the part of the path that extended out into the ocean, and the leg at the end is actually a tail.

Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?

[Harmonic]

Old Gods.

It all ties to the old Gods. I bet that was a creature of the sea, but I bet it's name sounded like a cat coughing up a furball. "Kshykphyle Meklubibal" or something, the old god of fetid disease and drowning.

The path? deep under it is part of that same creature that lives to this day, and the soil is unstable as the creature still shifts... waiting for the day it's rotten tentacle can surface, and start pulling wayward explorers into it's suction-cup like maw that's akin to a black hole.




But also, I love H.P. Lovecraft and anything that sickeningly dark.

[Beltharean]

If you love Lovecraft go read his commonplace book! I have a link to it in my other thread, For Musicians and Art Historians. :P

But yeah, the fact that

A) It's next to the Emerald Dragonshire

B) N'zoth is an Old God that lives in the sea

C) The creature appears to be marine in nature

And D) That N'zoth is Lord of the Nightmare. And the creature is, like I said, nex to the -Emerald- Dragonshire.

It all seems pretty Old God-y to me...

[Zhaei]

Kshykphyle Meklubibal

[CappnRob]

There is so much cool Titan stuff that has NO BACKSTORY. The Engine of the Makers, which your path covers, comes to mind.

SERIOUSLY WHAT IS THAT COOL THING.

[BountyHunter]

Blizzard - Leaving cool stuff with no back-story, explanation or ending.

Seriously, I wanted N'Zoth to be a boss in Cataclysm.

Edit: Oh, the path was likely there for the sole purpose of easy travel via the Earthen.

[Zarquon]

And so whose up for Explorer's League Indiana Jones-style storyline involving the Titans, the Silithids, the Old Gods and gnome-machines aplenty?

I have always found the story of the Titans, Ulduar and the likes to be extremely interesting, considering the potential for exploration and discovery RP. The kind of traps, dungeons and dark, buried horrors...

[Zhaei]

And so whose up for Explorer's League Indiana Jones-style storyline involving the Titans, the Silithids, the Old Gods and gnome-machines aplenty?

I have always found the story of the Titans, Ulduar and the likes to be extremely interesting, considering the potential for exploration and discovery RP. The kind of traps, dungeons and dark, buried horrors...

Me, pick me! I would so be up for it, it's time for the return of Grumnir, the dwarven explorer and master cook who's so up his own rear-end he can't smell how much of a A*se hole he is.

[Beltharean]

I have something in the works at the moment, centering around Bael Modan in the Barrens, and what it is that may be hidden there. It's kind of spiraled down to the bottom of the Private Discussions list I think... Been a few weeks since there's been a response. Looks like there could be a fair amount of interest in it though, from the player base. ^.^

[c0rzilla]

Well, the Maw of Destruction bursts out from underneath the Path during the Hour of Twilight. The Maw looks a lot like something called Iso'rath.

Iso'rath is a massive servant of the Old Gods living in the Maw of Madness in the Twilight Highlands. Iso'rath is said to have been raised up from the depths of the earth by the Twilight's Hammer cult, but has not fully emerged from the earth - it is alluded to that Iso'rath may not yet be at full strength.[1]

Adventurers are tasked by the Earthen Ring to destroy several of Iso'rath's tentacles, which then allows the Earthen Ring and adventurers to to enter Iso'rath's body and help to slay its brain in an attempt to kill Iso'rath[2].

Iso'rath is shown to have the ability to induce visions and nightmares,[3] although it is not known if Iso'rath is sentient or possesses any intelligence. Iso'rath's body does defend itself by attempting to kill off and digest the Earthen Ring members and adventurers who enter it,[4] although this might be purely instinctive.

The Path was likely broken as Northrend broke off from Kalimdor during the Sundering. Which gives the leviathan at the bottom some sense, and makes one wonder where the Path lead into Kalimdor when the structure was whole. Perhaps the the living thing that possessed these bones rose during this time, or it was already dead from something long past, its bones brought up as the earth shifted. If you swim down and get a closer look, graphics-wise, it's just raised earth. Bones can petrify over time, so these must be unbelieveably ancient.

Perhaps the path was a patrol route for keeping check on other Old God nasties? Makes sense, with Ulduar at the top. Perhaps the Path is a prison itself, if these Maws lie beneath it.

Also, the bones terrify me. Not joking. I hate the thought of gigantic things just out of sight in the depthless ocean where even the light dies.

The eeeyyyeees. They stare, even now.

[Aphetoros]

Well, if you look at the path it extends a bit into the sea, I think it may've been a bridge of old connecting parts of the continent. An... ancient highway, if that makes sense. To quote wowpedia, "Portions of the Path can be found on the western side of the Strand of the Ancients battleground and appear to continue on past it, heading further south." The ruined path extends far into the ocean.

So just having explored the giant skeleton, my first thought was that it could be one of the Kraken of old.
(In known history, the giant squid-like type has appeared three times:
Once to destroy the Gurubashi Empire, as is told in The Fall of Gurubashi book.
A second sighting came in the time anomaly, when one tried to grab Rhonin. This kraken was fifty feet in length.[3].
The third one was when small group of naga tried to kill, or at least slow down Korialstrasz in his flight to Grim Batol.[4]
The giant squid-like type of kraken are older than mortal races, huge towers of power, so huge that "jungles of kelp swayed through their limbs, and leviathans swam through bodies". It is also told that "They remembered when the Old Ones ruled and when the Travelers came and cast them down. They remembered when magic was new." However, they still can be hurt by powerful magic.)

But looking at it now... it really -really-- looks like an ancient dragon. Perhaps he was the father of Galakrond? I know there are no wings-- but there isn't a tail either. If he isn't either of those, then the only remaining option would be some other sea creature that died long ago-- most likely in service of the old gods. Perhaps it was responsible for the Path of the Titans' destruction?

[CappnRob]

And so whose up for Explorer's League Indiana Jones-style storyline involving the Titans, the Silithids, the Old Gods and gnome-machines aplenty?

I have always found the story of the Titans, Ulduar and the likes to be extremely interesting, considering the potential for exploration and discovery RP. The kind of traps, dungeons and dark, buried horrors...

Me and Zenethen have already started work on something like this! His dwarf guild Coldwind Expeditions is based entirely on fighting Ironrune dwarfs and discovering Titan artifacts!

We've only had one event in the storyline so far, and its currently on pause due to Grenalin being kind of dead atm (but he should be res'd sometime this week), but it's there!

... me and Zen should really get to working on a damn storyline thread for Coldwind, really.

[Sersay]

Well, of course there's going to be something tied to old gods with this. Azeroth as a whole is a prison for them as well as a cradle for the Titan's work of creating life. It's never made clear on the purpose of all the Titanic ruins about Azeroth though. It IS mentioned somewhere that they where nice enough to give their workers (The earthen and such) citys to reside in. So the path is likely just that, a path to connect citys. Or perhaps 'facilities' is a better word than city. Those earthen where ment to create for the titans, so i'm thinking every single ruin of the titans had a purpose in creating the Azeroth out characters live on. Kinda like a whole lotta cogs in a massive engine.

*Que Azeroth turning out to be a giant transformer.* I kid I kid.

But on the old gods... i'll post the locations of known and rumored old gods real quick, just because the locations really make me think about the areas with more consideration... Yes, I know its commonly been stated that there are only 4-5. But from what i'v seen in Cata, adding on to the old gods we've already seen...I think it's easily more than 5.

Ulduar (Obviously)
Ahn'Qiraj (Obviously)
The Malestrom (Possibly N'zoth) or The Emerald Dream (Also possibly N'zoth)
Twilight Highlands (Assuming Iso'rath is an old god. I'd say yes.)
Tirisfal Glades (Possibly due to some Hightborne who escaped the sundering going insane from 'whispers' after making landfall there.)
Stonetalon Mountains (Due to a suspiciously large amount of old god related mobs that show up there in Cata.)
Darkshore (Possibly a dead one. Though it could just be a servant of the old gods. It's never stated.)
Desolace (Possibly several dead old gods, though more likely just ancient remains of giant creatures.)
Blackfathom Deeps (Only based on its possible relation to old gods.)
Uldaman (Based on quest info.)

Also, I have not been on retail wow for awhile now, but I am aware of a new zone for the Darkmoon Fair, called Darkmoon Island. Just reading about it, and seeing screenshots gives me the creeps. Maybe it's that eyeball they have on an arch at the fair grounds entrance...but something about that makes me consider the Darkmoon fair somehow being involved with the Old gods.

[Aphetoros]

Well, of course there's going to be something tied to old gods with this. Azeroth as a whole is a prison for them as well as a cradle for the Titan's work of creating life. It's never made clear on the purpose of all the Titanic ruins about Azeroth though. It IS mentioned somewhere that they where nice enough to give their workers (The earthen and such) citys to reside in. So the path is likely just that, a path to connect citys. Or perhaps 'facilities' is a better word than city. Those earthen where ment to create for the titans, so i'm thinking every single ruin of the titans had a purpose in creating the Azeroth out characters live on. Kinda like a whole lotta cogs in a massive engine.

*Que Azeroth turning out to be a giant transformer.* I kid I kid.

But on the old gods... i'll post the locations of known and rumored old gods real quick, just because the locations really make me think about the areas with more consideration... Yes, I know its commonly been stated that there are only 4-5. But from what i'v seen in Cata, adding on to the old gods we've already seen...I think it's easily more than 5.

Ulduar (Obviously)
Ahn'Qiraj (Obviously)
The Malestrom (Possibly N'zoth) or The Emerald Dream (Also possibly N'zoth)
Twilight Highlands (Assuming Iso'rath is an old god. I'd say yes.)
Tirisfal Glades (Possibly due to some Hightborne who escaped the sundering going insane from 'whispers' after making landfall there.)
Stonetalon Mountains (Due to a suspiciously large amount of old god related mobs that show up there in Cata.)
Darkshore (Possibly a dead one. Though it could just be a servant of the old gods. It's never stated.)
Desolace (Possibly several dead old gods, though more likely just ancient remains of giant creatures.)
Blackfathom Deeps (Only based on its possible relation to old gods.)
Uldaman (Based on quest info.)

Also, I have no been on retail wow for awhile now, but I am aware of a new zone for the Darkmoon Fair, called Darkmoon Island. Just reading about it, and seeing screenshots gives me the creeps. Maybe it's that eyeball they have on an arch at the fair grounds entrance...but something about that makes me consider the Darkmoon fair somehow being involved with the Old gods.

Iso'rath isn't an old god; he's a servant of them. Probably some kind of forgotten one. If he were an old god he'd be a much bigger deal.

I've been to Darkmoon Fair Island; not related to the old gods. The Master's Glaive in Darkshore is also revealed to be a servant, not an old god. We know for a fact N'zoth caused Deathwing's Madness and is behind the emerald nightmare. He is presumably in the Rift of Aln, which is the sole place in the Dream that Malfurion could not cleanse the Nightmare from.

[Krilari]

Both Iso'rath and that monstrosity in Darkshire are confirmed as servants and lieutenants of the Old Gods, not actual old gods themselves.

Overall, I believe the path of the titans is most likely used as some others have suggested; a highway between Titanic points of interest.

My 2 cents.

EDIT: Fffff- Apet beat me to it.

(Posted from the phone)