Be sure to check out part one of this theory if you haven’t yet.

WARNING: Massive spoilers and fan speculation.

In the first installment of “Time is a Flat Circle”, a theory was hatched via a mysterious new achievement datamined from the Warlords of Draenor beta. The achievement goes as follows:

Time is a Flat Circle: Everything we have ever done or will do, we are going to do over and over and over again.

Before I continue, there’s something I’d like to cover first:

To those of you who adore True Detective as much as I do, this quote will sound very familiar, and to those who read my first article and made a statement about this, I apologize for not commenting on it within the first piece. The second it was published, I remembered where I had the quote from, and despite the qualms with it possibly being a reference to True Detective, it doesn’t deter this theory in the slightest. In fact, if such a reference exists, then it means Blizzard may in fact be tapping into this theory and idea of “time is a flat circle” for the story itself; in other words, then it is a reference to True Detective AND the inner machinations of Warlords of Draenor’s plot, too.

Back on topic:

This achievement, despite, again, being a direct reference to True Detective, is placed coincidentally in an expansion where time travel is the basis for its existence. The achievement itself goes much deeper than a reference, and implies something much bigger and darker: history, time itself, no matter what is done is always on a set course; the fates of those involve cannot be completely altered, but the history and events of their lives can.

That’s where the phrase “time is a flat circle” comes in. This whole theory revolves around the idea that people can’t escape their fates; they can run away, hide, be in total isolation, but their fate will eventually creep up and usurp them. Time will always correct itself and retain this “flat circle” shape and retain the planned fate(s) for all. That’s why in BOTH timelines:



Ner’zhul becomes master of the undead in both timelines; is his role as the Lich King unavoidable as well?

Ner’zhul becomes a master of the undead

Kargath is slain and when slain has his bladefist snapped off

Orgrim Doomhammer is killed fighting for liberation and realizing what’s the right thing to do

Grom is SUPPOSED to be engulfed in the flames of Mannoroth/a demon and die (this was prevented/”delayed” in the Warlords timeline by an anomaly, aka one who is outside the current time way)

Gul’dan falls to the sway of the Legion and becomes their “herald”

Blackhand is the “warfront leader” and master tactician for the force(s) he commands, and is slain by the opposing force(s)

I sincerely hope I’m not the only one who finds it odd that in this ALTERNATE timeline all of these character in the end have matched the EXACT fate they had in our ORIGINAL timeline. The similarities are too uncanny to dismiss; unless it’s some ironic justice in the writing for these characters (which is in fact plausible, and I may in fact be a raving madman!), there is a specific reason that each of these characters retains the exact same fate they hate in the original timeline.

What’s that reason? Simple: time is a flat circle that must always correct itself. Anomalies such as Garrosh, since he doesn’t exist in this timeline, and Kairoz, since he doesn’t either, AND is a member of the Bronze Dragonflight, can alter and postpone the road to one’s fate, but in the end the fate is the same. That’s why in the Warlords cinematic Grommash was able to be saved from the flames of Mannoroth’s body exploding after slaying him. If you notice in the cinematic, Grommash was about to meet the SAME exact fate in the SAME exact manner it had been in our original timeline.

Now that we’re all caught up, it’s time for this theory to come full circle.

Consider this: if Kairoz is a Bronze Dragon, he should be aware of the consequences of tampering with the time ways, no?

Another curious thought: why would Kairoz, who seemed so much more benevolent, caring, and even genuinely good during 5.4’s events, suddenly be an arrogant, twisted, and selfish being as of the short story “Hellscream”?

On top of this, there are a few loose threads in this upcoming expansion that come to be even after the initial Warlords of Draenor questing experience to max level ends. These threads include:

Extraneous Infinite Dragonflight activity in the “War Crimes” novel

Infinite Dragonflight incursion forces mysteriously appearing in Tanaris around and above the Caverns of Time (this occurred in one build of the Beta, then mysteriously disappeared. Here’s the thread on MMO-Champion with further information)

The Bronze Dragonflight taking personal involvement with this expansion (implying Nozdormu may, as well)

Possible impending Burning Legion invasion due to the death of Mannoroth and Gul’dan’s screw up/machinations

Sethekk Arakkoa worshiping a deity named “Sethe”: Sethe is revealed to be named “The Dead One”. In the Spires of Arak storyline, you slay Sethe, who had already been slain before, with Anzu. Anzu confides in you he believes Sethe will simply keep returning. Think about this: what other beings do we know that are “undying”?

The appearance of the mystery Old God of Draenor the Dark Conclave worship from The Burning Crusade apparently hasn’t happened yet. Sethe is confirmed NOT to be the “Summoned Old God” we encountered in The Burning Crusade.

Everything in this timeline seems to correct itself (“Time is a flat circle”).

And, here’s my absolute favorite, and the biggest doozy of them all:

Wrathion is apparently on Draenor



The hell is Wraithion doing on Draenor?

According to an item (Admiral Taylor’s Garrison Log) found in Admiral Taylor’s Garrison, the same that was obliterated by a mysterious necromancer, Wrathion arrived at Taylor’s Garrison seeking refuge from some supposed ogres he had angered. Considering Wrathion was wanted due to suspicions of freeing Garrosh (his minions Left and Right were implied to have freed Garrosh), Taylor put him under house arrest and kept him at the Garrison.

Long story short: for some reason, Wrathion warned Taylor about Ephial. Taylor shrugged it off, left to participate in the Ring of Blood nearby, came back, Wrathion was gone (and took Taylor’s best followers with him), and Ephial descended upon everyone.

So what do all of these threads have to do with one another? Where do they all connect?

I warn you now: the theory from part one is about to come full circle, and the end result is a bit…crazy for what it implies. This is what I foresee to happen with Warlords of Draenor, and it may have an enormous effect on Warcraft’s story from here on out.

Let’s begin:

Wrathion, our favorite Black Dragon, saw a problem as the Pandaria campaign ended: he didn’t have the massive army he had wanted. Wrathion had been expecting Varian and the Alliance to obliterate the Horde and unite all people under one banner, preparing them thoroughly for the oncoming storm that is the Burning Legion.

Obviously, this failed, and Wrathion was angered immensely. Still, with every defeat comes perspective, and that’s exactly what Wrathion gained.

Wrathion still needed an army. The Horde and Alliance continue to bicker and not be true allies, and this is problematic for Wrathion’s vision of a world not destroyed by the Burning Legion.

Now, here’s where it gets crazy:

Wrathion, from his point, negotiated with a certain member of the Bronze Dragonflight named Kairoz. Through unknown means, Wrathion was able to recruit Kairoz onto his side.

With Kairoz on his side, Wrathion, I’d imagine, knew what the Vision of Time is (the device Kairoz uses to go back with Garrosh). That’s where his full fledged machinations come to light.

At this point, I think Nozdormu knew and was even involved. Wrathion devised a plan with the leader of the Bronze Dragonflight and Kairoz. Nozdormu, being one who’s always concerned with the future of life and time itself, knew of two problems: one, the Burning Legion would inevitably return, and two, he will eventually become Murozond and the Infinite Dragonflight will be born.



Could Nozdormu be in on the plan that ended up freeing Garrosh?

Both these events have to happen; the foreshadowing of the Legion’s arrival means it is inevitable, and Nozdormu knows better than anyone the future can’t be altered extensively. Because of this knowledge, Nozdormu, I think, somehow came into contact with the Infinite Dragonflight and, with Wrathion and Kairoz, set in motion a plan to free Garrosh.

The plan was set in motion to do the following: send Garrosh back to an alternative timeline where he can prevent the Orcs from aiding the Legion and falling under their grasp, while also building an army to rival it. In doing so, since Wrathion and Nozdormu are both known for being extremely intelligent and crafty, the Burning Legion would be angered by the resistance of the Orcs, and Medivh specifically (since at the time of Warlords of Draenor, he is technically possessed by Sargeras and alive on Azeroth) would most likely instruct the Legion to invade Draenor and subjugate the Orcs by force.

Why all of this, though? Simple!

Wrathion and Nozdormu knew that by sending Garrosh back, the Alliance and Horde would send their mightiest heroes to either capture Garrosh or kill him. Upon finding out Garrosh was literally in an alternate timeline, especially after he invades the Blasted Lands and reconfigures our Dark Portal to link to his timeline, Wrathion and Nozdormu knew both factions would construct the strongest army they could.

That united army, that army that Wrathion had wanted since the Pandaria campaign, was now coming to fruition.

The whole point of Wrathion and Nozdormu coming up with this plan was so that no matter what, an army was prepared to fight the Burning Legion, and eventually go up against them in a sort of “test run.” If our side, for instance, somehow lost against the Iron Horde, it’d simply prove that army was better, and Wrathion would, through some means, continue to travel through time way after time way, building up Iron Horde after Iron Horde to eventually fight against the Legion and beat them.

Nozdormu allowed this plan, but knew it was going to go awry. At this point, I don’t know if Nozdormu may have manipulated Kairoz AND Wrathion. Though this plan was a group effort, Nozdormu knows what he will become the Infinite Dragonflight’s leader Murozond; no one else knows when or how this will occur.



“Wrathion and Nozdormu knew that by sending Garrosh back, the Alliance and Horde would send their mightiest heroes to either capture Garrosh or kill him.”

Furthermore, Nozdormu knew the plan would fail, but what could cause it to fail? By having the former Aspect of Time on your side, who would understand the timelines much better than anyone else, surely you’d trust everything would go perfectly.

Lastly, Sethe and the mystery Draenor Old God come into play. It’s said that the Infinite Dragonflight began because of the twisted words of the Old Gods. Well, as we know, somewhere on Draenor an Old God exists; just because the Arakkoa haven’t started worshipping it yet, doesn’t mean it’s not there in waiting and slumbering.

And this is where everything comes full circle:

Wrathion, Kairoz, and Nozdormu came into collusion to forge an army to combat the Burning Legion, unite the heroes of our timeline, have both armies test their might against one another AND an alternative version of the Legion. In doing so, it would allow everyone to see whether or not we could truly defeat the Legion in our timeline, and even if our army failed before it even faced the Legion, Wrathion would have a backup: the Iron Horde.

Nozdormu, however, knew that this plan would end with him becoming Murozond. Knowing certain events in time cannot be avoided or altered, Nozdormu contacted the Infinite Dragonflight somehow and started his descent. Kairoz at this point I think had an idea of what was going to happen, especially considering his remarks in the short story as “I will become infinite” and how he would rule over a thousand Iron Hordes.



Are we, the heroes of Azeroth, merely guinea pig/test subjects in Wrathion’s grand scheme?

However, Kairoz is dead by Garrosh’s hand, and Wrathion came to Draenor because I believe he found out Kairoz died, and wishes to oversee the plan himself.

At some point during this expansion, if Nozdormu for some reason makes an appearance on Draenor (or if he doesn’t, that’s fine too), this theory will come full circle. The Old God of Draenor would no doubt reach out to the Aspect, thinking it could free him and twisting his mind. Genuinely, the second Nozdormu sets foot on alternative Draenor, I believe the Infinite Dragonflight will be born.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my zany theory on the true purpose of Warlords of Draenor. If this expansion is in fact the jumping off point for the Infinite Dragonflight’s existence, we will be seeing much more of them as the story progresses through the next few expansions.

If our army can in fact beat the Iron Horde AND the Burning Legion’s full might, we will have proven that we can handle anything the Legion throws at us in our timeline.

But, to me, that simply means something even worse will be waiting for us when the inevitable day of war with the Legion comes.

Cheers, folks.