He wore the crimson of the Scarlet Crusade, an order sworn to wipe the undead from Lordaeron. Then he was raised as one of the very things he had sworn to destroy.
That’s the man at the heart of “Unbowed,” the newest WoW: Forever short story from Blizzard. It asks one question, and it’s a hard one: can a Forsaken still serve the Light? Here’s what Blizzard has shared about the story, who’s in it, and the long Warcraft history that makes Cormack’s question cut so deep.
What Blizzard Released
Blizzard posted “Unbowed” on October 26 as a “special fireside telling,” with Jesse Burch narrating as Cormack. Alongside the telling, Blizzard published the story as a downloadable PDF, so you can read it at your own pace as well as watch it.
Blizzard calls it the newest short story for WoW: Forever. The announcement itself is brief: a short summary, the credits and the download link.
Who Is Cormack?
In life, Cormack was a Scarlet Crusader. In death, he was raised as one of the Forsaken, and he struggles to accept what he has become.
Blizzard’s summary says the story follows him as he confronts his past and the beliefs that defined him, and then arrives at the question at its center: whether a Forsaken can still serve the Light.
That’s as far as Blizzard’s announcement goes. It doesn’t name the places the story visits or reveal how Cormack answers his own question, and we won’t guess. The PDF and the fireside telling are where the rest of his story lives.
Why His Question Cuts So Deep
Cormack’s struggle makes sense once you remember what each side of him stood for.
- The Scarlet Crusade. After the Third War, survivors of the Order of the Silver Hand regrouped at Hearthglen, and Saidan Dathrohan (later revealed to be possessed by the dreadlord Balnazzar) reshaped them into the Crusade. Its purpose was the eradication of the undead from Lordaeron, and it counted the Forsaken among its greatest enemies. The Crusade used the Light to justify burning villages and torturing Forsaken prisoners.
- The Forsaken. They were humans and high elves killed and raised by the Scourge in the Third War. When the Lich King’s grip weakened, many regained their minds and free will. Sylvanas Windrunner rallied them, named them the Forsaken and claimed the Undercity beneath the ruins of Lordaeron as their home.
- The Light and the undead. Warcraft lore holds that the Holy Light is deeply painful to undead. Using it to heal a Forsaken is described as immensely painful, yet effective. Some Forsaken touched by the Light have regained sharper senses and warmer emotions, at the cost of coming to loathe what they are.
Put those together and Cormack’s position is brutal. The faith he lived by teaches that beings like him should be destroyed, and the power he once called on now hurts the body he wears. For more on the order he served, our Scarlet Crusade lore guide covers its rise and fall.
What It Says About WoW: Forever
Blizzard frames “Unbowed” as part of the WoW: Forever story, and it builds directly on the foundations of the original game: Lordaeron’s fall, the Crusade’s zeal and the Forsaken’s fight for their own minds. The announcement doesn’t tie Cormack to a specific zone, quest or feature, so it’s best read as a character piece set in the world WoW: Forever players are about to enter, rather than a preview of particular content.
Tips & Tricks
If you prefer reading to listening, grab the PDF from Blizzard’s article and read it before or after the fireside telling.
If you plan to roll an undead character in WoW: Forever, this is a fitting story to start with, since it looks at what being Forsaken costs.
Brush up on the Scarlet Crusade before you watch. Knowing what Cormack believed in life makes his doubts land harder.
Related Reading
- Who Is the Scarlet Crusade? — the order Cormack served in life
- What Was the Culling of Stratholme? — the night that set Lordaeron’s fall in motion
- Every New Race and Class Combination in WoW Forever — plan your own Forsaken
- WoW Forever Announcement Roundup — the full reveal
- Scarlet Monastery Guide — the Crusade’s stronghold in Tirisfal