Shadow Council Presence A. C.

I'm sure that most WoW players who ever rolled an orc character and played through the quests in Durotar to their fulfillment remembers the quests given by Thrall to act as a double agent against guys like Neeru Fireblade, pictured right. Thrall knows that Neeru is a traitor, loyal to the hated Shadow Council and the Burning Blade Clan, but he stays his hand from giving him what he deserves because he seeks to learn more about his enemy before killing off his best source of information. A wise move.

But as far as I know, Neeru Fireblade is still there, sitting in his little glowing hut at the bottom of Orgrimmar's Cleft of Shadows district, and the time of the Cataclysm is drawing near. If rumors about Thrall leaving the Horde turn out to be true, I hope he doesn't overlook this guy. It's possible, considering Thrall has a shitload of important things on his plate already: King Douche and the Alliance, the war against the Lich King, and dealing with buttholes like Garrosh Hellscream.

And there lies the big risk. Suppose it is true that Garrosh takes over the Horde. What happens then with the Burning Blade Clan and their Shadow Council masters?

I can think of a couple possibilities. I believe that Garrosh does have some redeaming factors. He knows his father was the hero who freed the Horde from demonic taint so I can't really see him willingly joinging up with the servants of the Burning Legion right off the bat. If he learns that Neeru Fireblade is a Shadow Council puppet, then Garrosh's temper being what it is, that will be one less orc without a head. He'll likely then mock Thrall for being a coward or a fool for not disposing of him to begin with, yada, yada, yada. The other likely outcome is that Garrosh ends up not knowing about Neeru and the Shadow Council presence within the Horde, which, in turn, will mean he is going to be fresh meat for them.

Almost certainly Garrosh is going to take the war to the Alliance with earnest and butt heads with Varian directly if he takes control of the Horde. The guy wants nothing more than to fill his dad's shoes and become a hero of the Horde, and he's doing that the best way that most orcs know: war. Varian isn't going to be an easy nut to crack though, far from it in fact. You got to admit, the guy might be an asshole, but he is tough, and he is a good leader. I foresee a stalemate between these two. That said, Garrosh is likely going to get frustrated and want to seek new weapons for an easy win, perhaps even desperate enough to start courting demonic energies.

Who then do you think is going to rear up their ugly heads and say "Hey, we're still here!" when that time comes? Right. Neeru Fireblade and his masters. There begins the downword spiral of the Horde back to what it was during the days of Blackhand.

Of course, this is all just speculation. I haven't read any lore on what the fate is of Neeru Fireblade after that beginning questline, but he is involved in at least one quest later on down the road and I haven't seen anything on what happens to him during Burning Crusade or Wrath of the Lich King. I can only assume then that he's still there, plotting in the shadows and waiting for the right moment, which is likely coming very, very soon.