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Ultra Tinfoil Hat Conspiracy Theory: Baku the Mooneater is a twisted manifestation of Countess Ashmore(!)'s mind under the Witchwood curse (bonus conspiracy theory inside)

Ok, hear me out on this one.

So I was reading through the Mysterious Missives (quick shoutout to u/PushEmma for your post debunking the odd/even Gilneas lore post, and for exhorting everyone to read up on Blizzard's lore for themselves), and I realized there was some small amount of lore, albeit very cryptic lore, on some of the more intriguing Hearthstone-exclusive legendaries--Lady in White, Splintergraft...and Countess Ashmore. Not much is known about this supposed noblewoman. No one can recall her lineage ever having existed before the curse, but when she appeared, so did an official record of her extensive family tree. So, we can already be pretty sure that she's not who she says she is. If she's not a human noblewoman, then who is she? All signs point to her being, well, a dragon in disguise.

Now, this part might not be a shocker to some of you if you've ever played the card--her helmet has horns on it (or, more likely, it's her actual head that has horns), and when you play her, you can see the giant shadow of a dragon slowly touching down on the ground before she appears on the board. That's fairly interesting in itself, but what's really interesting is how this may tie into the phantasmal serpent Baku the Mooneater.

Here's an excerpt from Baku's lore as noted in the Mysterious Missives:

Our arcanists’ initial hypothesis is that Baku may in fact be the tormented psyche of a dragon whose physical form is trapped within the bounds of the Witchwood, but outside of physical reality—some kind of dream-dwelling projection of this dragon’s mind, warped and twisted by Hagatha’s own nightmares.

Let's look back at the limited lore we have on Countess Ashmore:

Rumor has it that she’s researching the curse, and she’s been seen asking questions of those who claim to have witnessed dragons in the wood.

What does this mean? According to this evidence, there's a strong possibility that Countess Ashmore, or whoever she really is, has been affected by the Witchwood curse, causing this dragon to have powerful nightmares when she sleeps. These nightmares are then in turn corrupted by and mixed in with Hagatha's own nightmares (according to the arcanists' theories), creating the frightening dream vision known to those who dream of her as Baku the Mooneater. Though Baku doesn't exist physically, it's noted that:

those who dream of her tend to slowly descend into a fugue state—neither waking nor dreaming—and develop the ability to manifest their will in surprising ways.

So the second part explains Baku's card effect upgrading your hero power--her dream influence is able to make you more than what you were and grant you surprising power, but as mentioned in the first part, this comes at the cost of one's own will. Baku's dream power puts one in a zombielike trance in between waking and dreaming, barely lucid at all, after too much exposure. Now let's go back to the Countess for a moment! What's her entrance quote?

"My power over you grows stronger yet."

That's right, the Countess is aware that her dreams manifest themselves as Baku the Mooneater, and that this nightmare creature saps people's free will and twists the minds of those that resist. She's gloating at her ability to manifest her power this way, and this is reflected in her card's power: All creatures of Gilneas and the Witchwood, once they have succumbed to her influence, are hers to command--whether they've been granted Rush, Deathrattle or Lifesteal powers, eventually they will submit to her as the final price, and so she draws them from your deck to be used at her leisure.

Why is she "researching" the Witchwood curse, questioning people who claim to have knowledge of it and interrogating people who have seen dragons in the woods? Simple: She has full knowledge of the curse already--it's to isolate and then kill off or enslave anyone with the potential knowledge to stop the curse from spreading. But wait! Why would I assert that Countess Ashmore knows everything about the curse? What does she stand to benefit from the curse's continuation? Isn't she being forced into these nightmares from the curse's effect? Who IS she really, anyway?

To answer these questions, let's go back to the assertion that Baku is:

the psyche of a dragon whose physical form is trapped within the bounds of the Witchwood, but outside of physical reality—some kind of dream-dwelling projection of this dragon’s mind.

We mentioned Countess Ashmore previously as being the most likely dragon responsible for the dream manifestation of Baku, but there is one more notable dragon from this expansion, isn't there?

A dragon who once served Ysera in the Emerald *Dream,* but who was twisted and corrupted into a powerful antagonist serving the Emerald *Nightmare?*

A dragon confirmed to have power over nightmares, and whose quote is "Be reborn in the curse!"?

Hagatha is not the source of the curse.

Emeriss is the true source of the Witchwood curse, and Countess Ashmore is her human form.

Wowpedia notes that:

Reports from the few who survived encounters with the dragon told of horrifying tales of putrid mushrooms erupting from the corpses of their dead companions. Emeriss was truly the most gruesome and appalling of Ysera's estranged green dragons.

Emeriss's curse, as noted in her card text, gives her the power to grotesquely warp anything she touches, granting them immense power but turning them into monstrosities in the process. Emeriss's curse is innate, granted to her by the Emerald Nightmare, and it's now her goal to spread madness and destruction to the world by spreading her curse--the Witchwood curse--starting with Gilneas.

However, a gigantic nightmare dragon would raise too many red flags, so Emeriss spends the majority of her time in human form as the mysterious Countess Ashmore, having "...taken up residence in an old manor that’s been abandoned since before the first battle of Gilneas" in order to keep a close eye on things without being too conspicuous. Even in dreams, Emeriss does not truly rest, utilizing her Emerald Nightmare powers to deliberately manifest her will as the phantasmal serpent Baku, and being able to further spread her curse by invading the dreams of anyone within reach and corrupting them from the inside out.

As Ashmore, she is able to get close to the general populace and weed out anyone with the potential knowledge to stop her, but it's likely that she's unable to stop the more powerful heroes like Darius Crowley and Toki without revealing her true draconic form, so in those instances, she prefers letting her most powerful minions do the work for her: Glinda Crowskin, Captain Shivers, and yes, even Hagatha is a pawn under her influence, mistakenly believing that she herself is pulling the strings and that she controls the Witchwood. Hagatha is indeed an extremely powerful shaman, but this is why Emeriss chose her as the face of the Witchwood curse--the nightmare dragon needed both a powerful (if unknowing) servant and a face for the Gilneans to direct their anger towards while Emeriss continued to work in secret. Crowley and the others may believe that they have saved the Witchwood by defeating Hagatha, but Countess Ashmore's--Emeriss'--true plans...are only beginning.

TL;DR Countess Ashmore is actually Emeriss of the Emerald Nightmare in human form, is the true source of the Witchwood curse, and manifests her nightmare power as the dream serpent Baku the Mooneater while she sleeps.

Thanks for joining me on this fun journey, friends. You may now remove your tinfoil hats.

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