Anne Stickney’s October 2012 column answered five recurring questions about the story of Mists of Pandaria—but it did not solve every mystery. It left the reason the mists lifted unresolved, explained the Zandalari and Klaxxi through their immediate goals, and connected the Heart of Fear to the Terrace of Endless Spring. These are the column’s answers as published in 2012, not a claim about later Warcraft canon.
Why did the mists around Pandaria go away?
Stickney’s answer was that no one had directly explained why Pandaria became visible when it did. She rejected the Cataclysm as the cause: Matt Burns’s short story “Charge of the Aspects” still describes a mist-shrouded island shortly before patch 4.3, after the Cataclysm. The column’s conclusion was pointedly uncertain: “Oddly enough, we still don’t have the answer to that question.”
The story of Emperor Shaohao offered a possible account of how Pandaria was hidden. Advised by the Jade Serpent to release his burdens and become one with the land, Shaohao does so; Pandaria separates from the rest of the world, and the mists conceal it. Stickney cautioned that the tale could contain embellishments and that its full truth was uncertain. In the column’s 2012 telling, the island’s concealment had lasted ten thousand years, but the timing of the mists’ disappearance remained an open plot point.
Why are there Zandalari trolls in Pandaria?
The trolls invading Pandaria’s northern coast are Zandalari. Stickney describes an older alliance between the Zandalari and the mogu. The pandaren rebellion displaced the Zandalari, who remained on a remote island after the Sundering. When Pandaria was revealed, they saw an opportunity to restore their relationship with the mogu, who were trying to reclaim their empire, in return for power. That is the motive the column gives for their presence in Pandaria.
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Why work with the mantid?
The distinction is between the mantid as a people and the Klaxxi, the particular group of mantid elders and record-keepers who cooperate with players. The Klaxxi oppose Empress Shek’zeer because, in Stickney’s account, the Sha of Fear has corrupted her and disrupted the mantid life cycle. Their alliance with outsiders is tactical: a shared enemy does not mean shared long-term goals.
The column warns that the Klaxxi’s interests need not align with those of Pandaria or the Titans. Cooperation with them is therefore not a declaration that the mantid as a whole are allies, nor a guarantee that the Klaxxi will remain on the same side.
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What is the expedition doing in Mogu’shan Vaults?
The expedition enters the ancient mogu ruins to investigate them and find out what the resurgent mogu are doing. The raid’s story also brings in a Zandalari expedition led by Gara’jal, which seeks artifacts to increase its power. Stickney connects that search to the Zandalari effort to revive the Thunder King.
What Feng and the vault reveal
Feng is described as a former caretaker of the vault whose spirit was cursed after an alleged theft. The column also notes an alternate account in which he was framed. Deeper inside, the place initially treated as ancient ruins turns out to be a Titan facility. The vaults thus reveal that the mogu used Titan technology, but Stickney leaves their larger purpose there unclear.
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Are the raid stories connected?
Stickney’s answer is “yes and no.” Mogu’shan Vaults is comparatively self-contained, while Heart of Fear and Terrace of Endless Spring form a more direct narrative thread.
Heart of Fear and the Terrace
In the column’s account, the Klaxxi seek to depose Empress Shek’zeer after the Sha of Fear corrupts her. The Sha’s threat extends beyond that conflict and leads into the Terrace of Endless Spring, a sacred refuge whose waters and life-giving power have been corrupted. The article leaves open whether the raid kills the Sha or returns it to its prison.
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For players following the story, Stickney points to quests, cutscenes, dialogue, and item text as useful context alongside the raids themselves. This overview reflects the connections presented in her 2012 column.
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This retrospective follows Anne Stickney’s “Know Your Lore: 5 frequently asked Mists lore questions,” published by Engadget on October 21, 2012: read the original column.
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