Strong work on Act 3 Shar and Kas, I'm looking forward to Act 4. I'm happy to see a lot of the setup for the original 2nd books get put in properly to build that foundation.
We've learned a lot of little tidbits, some of which when contextualized around what we knew from the original campaigns, gives us a lot to speculate on. I'm not sure if there's a better place to centralize a lot of the existing loose plot threads, but I'd like to list some along with my thoughts to open up the discussion. Let me know other speculatory info and I can add it to the list.
Who is the chieftain of the Goldaxe Clan? - This is clearly meant to be a mysterious setup for some reveal later. I don't think there's anything definitive at this point, but the info we do have is that this chieftain has been in place chronologically before the start of the True Story's first mission. My only shot in the dark guess is the monocle Dreadlord, Maronogin. I only have four really flimsy reasons - first, he seems classy because of the monocle, his team color appears to be yellow in the single time we see his portrait, his only line is "It is about time we met in person" right before we are introduced to the Goldaxe clan in the first mission, and the idea of the series narrator acting faux-omniscient seems like something a person only caring about money throughout the whole conflict would do. which places them above it all in a way by extension.
What's up with Aridon? (you know, just in general) - We get two different stories from Aridon and Tregakh about what happened when they confronted each other. Aridon claims Tregakh was planning to betray the other three so he rounded them up to strike first, followed by him killing the rest and himself. Tregakh claims Aridon actually tricked him into seeming like he would become aggressive, thus setting the stage for Aridon being the actual mastermind behind destroying all 4. At this point, while the Dark One is literally named the DARK One and seems like the typical edgelord baddie, I'm inclined to think Aridon is actually the plain as day main antagonist of the series. LoA has never been about black and white morality of the characters and I think Aridon being a main viewpoint character is meant to sort of Trojan Horse him into the players mind as someone who should be sided with a la Daenerys Targaryen. Yet, nearly everything he does results in terrible misery and the signs are plain as day that this character basically only acts in the way a villain would. It's even more compelling because he seems to believe he is working towards some self-created goal that sounds grandiose, but actually shows that maybe he’s less an omniscient guardian and more a destructive control freak.
The Destroyer and the Bloodhand Clan - Originally a throwaway faction for one mission then basically disappears in the 2nd Orc Book, The Destroyer and his clan has gotten some extra screentime and survival past his expected expiration date, making him weirdly compelling to me as a character. With it nearly outright said that Okri has rightful claim to rule, it's pretty clear that she will inherit the clan as the Orcs transition into the Dominion, but what will happen to our newly famed guy with no real name? His talk with the Preacher where he admits he only wants to go out in a blaze of glory because he is afraid of being forgotten seems like an excellent setup for a cool payoff later. I'm hopeful he isn't done away too predictably because a lot can be done with this guy where he confronts his fears rather than going down the stereotypical path of getting roasted in the frontline like he wants. Considering the reforms of the Dominion being the most inclusive faction in Arkain, it seems like it could be a great setting for that type of subplot. Probably way too wholesome for LoA hahaha and honestly, it's not like that much time can be spent on this one small subplot.
Will Sir Bubblerino Return? TIME WILL TELL
I've got more, but I need to go eat dinner. Edit: ok, here’s some more.
Why are the demons so hostile? - We think Demons and immediately assume mean bad guys, but I don’t see why they have to be that way - I guess it’s more that we define demon and demonic as simply evil. I think this one is made clear by Brian’s line in the epilogue of the Second Orc Book where he says the demons are the way they are because Aridon yeeted the Demon God way back when. Purple tentacle man also says something to Kersidar talking about Kersidar’s predecessor. The implication here is that Kersidar is the prodigy of the now dead Demon God, or maybe even a reincarnation of him similar to how Brian and Largoth are also vessels/fragments of one of the four. Anywho, I think the demons have been pumped into a constant rage due to their creator being destroyed, while Kersidar works behind the scenes to aim the Blooddrinker Legion and his race in general’s bloodlust towards the real goal left to him by Demon Papa: get to Aridon. It’s not simple conquest, it’s seeking revenge, even if most of them may not understand that. Kersidar is also looking for Largoth, so basically at this point the Demons are pissed and out to get everyone, but they have a reason for it that is not necessarily because they are inherently evil.
All these new Generals - There are a billion new Human factions and generals. Some have little subplots, but I wonder if we can expect many of them to get roasted in Act 4 to thin out the bulky character roster and to add some consequences to the Orc invasion and renewed demon attack from Souleater. Elvir is certainly related to Gardon and therefore also the Emperor. Wolf lady also has some weird Orc gladiatorial combat experiment going on along with an old romantic relationship with Blen, so these two have some future likely in store for them, but all the rest strike me as disposable, else perhaps we can expect them to be heavily involved in the Ironfist/Golden Guard conflict.