Waist of Time Anagram Chain

By #Arcone4206
I was awake and in voice chat for the majority of this secret, having had Baa'l before the time that the Lit Orb was discovered. I came in while the Sky, Stone, and Seed riddle was being discovered and remained awake and active helping out all the way till the end. This is my recollection of the events and the connections that I see now that I've had time to look through Chronicle and look at the anagrams. I've seen some people ask for a complete compilation of the anagrams, too, so here we are.

Anagram 1: SEDK KNOWLEGEE from Baa'ls first summon text.
The arrakoa are a race known for seeking knowledge. As such, the Lit Orb is found right beside the Skyreach entrance. The first picture in Chronicle Volume II is of Skyreach or another arrakoa city.
Anagram 2: Passive Icy Veins =  Invasive Species
This points us towards the portal leading from the Everbloom to Stormwind - a prominent species of Draenor that attacks Stormwind, and is mentioned early in the Chronicles 2 book. The secrets seemed to vaguely follow the story of the chronicles. I'm not sure if it references only the pictures, or the chapters themselves. The second picture in the book seems to be a genesaur.

Anagram 3: Sadness, Keynoted = Sky, Stone and Seed
This one is a little loose, but it seemed to work in other localizations with things like 'magic stone in the sky'. It points us to Spires of Arak for a tiny frog again. I find this most interesting looking at it from a viewpoint where the Arrakoa represent the sky, of course. The botani represent seeds, and the ogres - referred to in their first Chronicle chapter as the Children of Stone - represent stone. As for how this adds up to a tiny frog in a river, I don't know, but we cached it there.

Anagram 4: Dog Wig Moss = Gog's Wisdom
Gog was the previous name of one of the first ogre magi to rise up and kill a gronn/ogron, earning him the title Gog the Gronnslayer. This points us to Ogri'la, a community in Blade's Edge Mountains consisting of only ogre mages.

Anagram 5: Rage, Shank, Sever = Karash's Revenge
Karash, or Pridelord Karash was a Saberon slain by Terokk. Karash had declared war against the Arrakoa in confidence of his tribe's abilities. After Terokk defeats him, Chronicles describes Terokk being kidnapped by High Arrakoan priests known as the Ahari and tossed into Sethekk Hollow to succumb to the Curse of Sethe - which is where we find our Misplaced Candle.

Anagram 6: Rankest Goldfish = Light of Darkness / Darkness of Light
This one doesn't really need a Chronicles reference to explain. The Shadowmoon clan create the Dark Star, a corrupted Naaru. This Shadowmoon Valley camp was home to them and the exiles that didn't agree with these practices in Alternate Draenor, hence Darkness of Light. It's where we find our Odd Cup. Gul'dan and Ner'zhul were also from the clan and could be argued to be Darkness of Light.

Anagram 7: Ease off fruit.... = Fate of Furies
Furies are the names of all elementals on Outland/Draenor. In a long quest chain, ending with the quest The Cipher of Damnation, we fight Cyrukh the Firelord, who seems to be akin in power and title to Ragnaros. In Chronicle, Gul'dan is also described as having attacked the Throne of the Elements and fighting all of the major Furies that we see there. They're forced to flee from him and are later described as fel-twisted and no longer answering the call of Shamans. So, we find our next clue at the Hand of Gul'dan.

Anagram 8: The BIG Bull = Blue Blight
This leads us to Swamp of Sorrows, where we find a camp of Draenei lost ones with a Blooming Flower. These Lost Ones, as described in Chronicle, are the 'unluckiest of the Broken' which were already a race that were shunned - or at least not openly welcomed - by the remaining Draenei. The Broken were those Draenei afflicted with the Red Pox. They were viewed as a blight by the orcs at the time, and the Red Pox was a blight that afflicted the Broken, who were blue, etc.

Anagram 9: Jaws open nooks = Jok Son's Weapon
Jok'non was a Gurubashi troll leader who practiced blood magic. After he was killed by Medivh, his son Zan'non also used blood magic to create some hulking dire trolls(of which the origins aren't exactly clear, but Chronicle is nice enough to paint it out for us: "He'd(Zan'non) used them(his father's forbidden tricks) to transform a few Gurubashi into hulking berserkers possessed of otherworldly strength.") He uses these dire trolls to attack Stormwind. I don't know if there's other canon ways dire trolls are created. I also don't know how this connects to a Mossflayer Dire Troll named Zaeldarr the Outcast, but next to him in the Undercroft is where we find our Pretty Flower.

Anagram 10: Dead Rune Thug = The Unguarded
I think that this implies Karazhan since there's no Guardian anymore. This is a bit odd to take place after the context of the Gurubashi war, since Medivh had already gone through and awoken from his coma prior to the Gurubashi War. But, it is still technically now unguarded. Or could have been considered unguarded when Medivh went all Sargeras. Either way, we find an Old Book.

Anagram 11: A Stage Deception = Space Negotiated
I find this one to be one of the loosest connections. Chronicle describes Cho'gall mediating peace between the Shadow Council and Ragnaros(who served the old gods). The Old Gods didn't want to give power to the orcs since they were puppets of the burning legion, but they did allow the orcs to stay in Blackrock Spire. Cho'gall is noted as an effective diplomat and this is one of very few negotiations/peaces made in Chronicle Volume 2. I don't think anybody made this connection at the time, and this is only my interpretation after the fact. Regardless, we find our dead fish next to the LBRS instance.

Anagram 12: Necropolis Expos! = Corpse Explosion
Nowhere does Chronicle seem to reference a corpse explosion. But, it does include the first creation of Death Knights, who have the Corpse Explosion spell. The Death Knights of then didn't really have anything to do with Duskwood, but the Dark Riders involved in a few classes' artifact weapon acquisition quests do. This anagram was solved almost immediately after finding the fish, and the following item right after, but I also find this to be a loose relation. I've got a personal theory that it points to Duskwood because Chronicles describes an explosion of fel energies after Medivh dies at the hands of Garona, Lothar, and Khadgar. When this occurs, it turns Duskwood - previously named Brightwood - unto the shadow that it is today. Again, none of this was really explored before the item was cached, which was the Scratched Board.

Anagram 13: The Net Saves = Seventh Seat
Assuming that my previous theory is correct in the Corpse Explosion being a reference to Medivh's death, that still keeps all of the clues so far in chronological Chronicle order, amazingly enough. Blackrock Spire is mentioned on page 132, while Duskwood is on 134. On 142, we find the Council of 7 Nations - the first Alliance of human kingdoms. When it lists the 7 kings, Aiden Perenolde of Alterac is listed last. He is also the first to betray the other kingdoms, thus being the first to leave. This denotes Alterac as the seventh seat, and Alterac is where we find our old ring.

Anagram 14: Terrible Grunt = Turtle Bringer
I cannot find how this relates to Chronicle. Gul'dan in Warcraft 2 twisted some turtles to be really big and there was even a map in WC2 about this, but there's no mention of something like that in Chronicle. Chronicle also doesn't mention Badlands, Uldaman, or Fuselight, and only once mentions Goblins. These goblins ARE from the Steamwheedle Cartel, which is the faction that Doomhammer trades and allies with, and are the Goblins who inhabit Fuselight. The Giant Turtle units of Warcraft II were piloted by these same goblins. However, Fuselight and Fuselight by the Sea did not exist until Cataclysm and only existed in Booty Bay. Regardless, this is the only connection I can make. The Goblins mentioned in Chronicle are only mentioned on page 151, and this still fits chronologically. We find our Spoiled Apple at Fuselight by the Sea. For some reason.

Anagram 15: Leave Nets, Often = Elven Fate Stone / Elven Stone Fate
Elven Fate Stone seems to elude to the elven runestones used to protect Quel'Thalas from magic. Gul'dan hatches a plan to dismantle these runestones, and does so. He and his followers use the pieces of said runestones to create the Altars of Storms - one beside Blackrock Mountain, one in Twilight Highlands, and the last in Blasted Lands. This all takes place on Chronicle page 163, but without mentioning specific locations. We find our Broken Tooth at the Altar of Storms in Blasted Lands.

Anagram 16: Brash Remains = Brain Smasher
Chronicle page 173 describes a battle between Anduin Lothar and Doomhammer. The Horde had been pushed back to Blackrock Mountain, and they charged out for one final battle against the Alliance. Doomhammer charged straight towards Lothar in hopes of crushing the Alliance's resolve. He breaks Lothar's sword, knocks him to his knees, and "crushed Lothar's skull". Hence, brain smasher. We find our worn helm right in the shadow of Blackrock mountain, near where Lothar is immortalized with a statue.

Anagram 17: Sensed the fig = Sight Defense
This is in reference to the orcs stealing the Eye of Dalaran on page 188 after the reopening of the dark portal. They're collecting artifacts for a ritual, and the Eye of Dalaran is one such powerful item. Deathwing assaulted Dalaran with dragons while Gorefiend and a few other death knights snuck in and stole the artifact. Antonidas senses the wards around the Eye shattering, and rushes to stop the orcs, but cannot give chase. The chapter also includes, "As magi rushed to defend their home from the dragons". The symbol of the Kirin Tor is also an eye, so that helps with the connection. We find our Leafy Leaf right beside Antonidas's statue in Dalaran.

Anagram 18: Phantasmal Hosts - Lost Shamans Path
I'm not 100% that this anagram fits in all languages, but it works. Ner'zhul and the rest of his orcish companions go through Auchindoun to reach the Black Temple to escape the attacks of Kurdran Wildhammer. This goes on in page 192, in the chapter called Battle of Auchindoun. It directly references the word path in saying "There was one such path nearby" in Chronicle. Gorefiend knew about the paths to travel through Auchindoun. Either he or Ner'zhul could be described as Lost Shamans, or the group as a whole could be described as lost. Kilrogg, who was also a shaman, died in this battle. Regardless, Auchindoun fits perfectly and it still aligns with Chronicle. This is where we find our Musty Cloth.


Anagram 19: Scarce Odds, still. = Castle Disc Lord
This one might reach beyond Chronicle 2, as the last mention of Grim Batol in Chronicle 2 was on page 197 and is just a single paragraph about the Dragonmaw remaining in Grim Batol with Alexstrasza captive. So, we go to Chronicle 3. On page 19, we've got the chapter "The Fragmented Horde" where we learn that the Dragonmaw Clan are still definitely residing in Grim Batol, and they've got the Demon Soul - the disc-shaped object that the dragon aspects poured their energy into, also known as the Dragon Soul. In a chapter after this, called "Legacy of Deathwing" we see that Deathwing sets his sights on Grim Batol once more. He takes the guise of Lord Prestor to distract the Alliance and ensure that the orcs of Grim Batol are not wiped out by them. There was stipulation that Deathwing resided deep under Deepholm after a battle of Grim Batol where the dragons aspects fight Deathwing and ruin his plans - temporarily - for the brood. Nekros Skullcrusher was also the orcish leader of the Dragonmaw at the time who was using the Demon Soul. But, "Lord" would point to Lord Prestor, Disc points to the Demon Soul, and Castle points to Grim Batol. So, we find the Broken Tablet and the clues begin to dip into Chronicle 3. The Battle of Grim Batol is on page 23 in Chronicle 3.

Anagram 20: Starfish Droplets! = Herald's First Stop
"Cho'gall and the Twilight's Hammer could help restore the Old Gods. They could break their shackles and build the Black Empire again. Its rise would herald the Hour of Twilight." - Chronicle 3, pg 26. This is the first mention of a herald in the books, and Cho'gall is the primary person mentioned here. Cho'gall and the rest of the Twilight's Hammer were still outside of the Tomb of Sargeras after Gul'dan had died, so Cho'gall decided to go ahead and give up on the Horde and lead his followers to Kalimdor instead. They first stop at Tanaris, where they establish a cave system that they live in. But this isn't where we find our clue. They leave Tanaris after Garona kills a bunch of Cho'gall's lieutenants. Cho'gall's not really mentioned again until page 104, in a chapter called Heralds of Shadow. In Feralas, Cho'gall lures Garona out into combat. He gets gravely wounded, but he bests her. He doesn't stop by Dire Maul or anything, since he goes to Silithus to meet C'thun right after. But, this is a mention of him in Feralas, and still in line with Chronicle, mostly. There's some mentions of Thrall going to Feralas, and a few other mentions of Dire Maul, but this works. We find our Ashed Torch in southern Feralas with a bunch of other ogres. If you can find some better connection that still fits the anagram in Chronicle, lemme know.

Anagram 21: a daft tormentor's fog = Forgotten Farmstead
This is the clue that leads us directly to Grimmy. There's no chronicle correlation that I know of. The farm in which Grimmy resides is not on the map, and is thusly forgotten.