There are many peculiar things happening within the timelines during Fractures in Time, so we don’t actually know where these NPCs are featured just yet. It seems likely that they could be part of the Time-Lost Battlefield encounter between the alternate universe forces within the Dawn of the Infinite mega-dungeon, although the wide breadth of NPCs, as well as the presence of Prisoners of War, suggests they might be part of a larger quest-driven narrative instead.
Whether or not it is part of that mega-dungeon battle, the dungeon journal does tell us how it is just one of many battles between the Alliance and the Horde bleeding over into the Timeways, so there could very well be several different variations present at once. These particular NPCS of the characters seen here are also… different than we might expect. The Great Glorious Alliance forces are made up of Inquisitors, Interrogators, and a Sky-Commander, while the Blood Horde NPCs feature gas masks, with names like Smoker, Bomber, and ominous title Warlord of the Toxic Wastes. This suggests that rather than seeing a past battle from Warcraft history, we are experiencing a different timeline altogether – one in which the Alliance and the Horde have taken on entirely different, much darker and more desperate, forms.
The Great Glorious Alliance
This version of the Alliance seems to have embraced themes previously seen within the Scarlet Crusade – implying their fanaticism against the undead, and by extension the Horde, flourished rather than being supplanted by the more tempered Silver Hand and Argent Crusade. Given the themes expressed by the Blood Horde titles, it’s easy to imagine how use of the undead blight could lead to a resurgence in these beliefs.
High Interrogator Kilandrelle, Sky-Commander Gadrius Orcbane
Great Glorious Alliance Paladin/High Inquisitor of the Grand Glorious Alliance, Great Glorious Alliance Cannonneer/Great Glorious Alliance Musketeer, Great Glorious Alliance Footman
Great Glorious Alliance Lieutenant, Prisoner of War
The Blood Horde
The Blood Horde seems to have embraced the chemical warfare entirely, although none of these particular units are undead. Having seen what these weapons can do, it’s easy to imagine where the “Toxic Wastes” come in. As a whole, the group looks far more tribal in appearance as well, with many of them featuring scars and eyepatches, suggesting a history of deadly conflict. Interestingly, they still have Shaman, which would seem to be at odds with their use of chemical weapons… although there’s nothing to say these might be dark shaman more akin to those utilized by Garrosh than those aligned with Thrall’s Horde.
Ankura Bloodhewer, Eviscerator Kintara, and Margosh the Smoker
Blood Horde Bomber/Blood Horde Engineer, Blood Horde Grunt, Blood Horde Reaver
