Battle for Azeroth introduced us to the Zandalari Empire, bringing new culture, lore, and Loa into the history of Trolls in World of Warcraft. Over the course of the expansion, players were introduced to powerful Loa such as Gonk, Pa'ku, and Bwonsamdi — and one particularly powerful Loa, Rezan, held a prominent place in the story of the expansion as the Loa of Kings. But what does being the Loa of Kings mean, and who currently holds the title? The Troll Heritage Armor questline has shed some light on this situation, but to fully understand the confusion shrouding the Loa, players would need to dig into the Shadows Rising novel.
Unlike most Loa who have specific titles depending on their domain, the title of Loa of Kings can be given to arguably any Loa. In Zandalari culture, families may choose to worship a patron Loa as well as the entire pantheon — so while one family may worship Shadra, their neighbors may choose Jani.
The Loa of Kings is simply a title, albeit a prestigious one. The Zandalari Royal Family, like any other, could choose a patron Loa, and this Loa would become elevated to the Loa of Kings along with other titles they may have held, such as God of the Hunt — or Loa of Death.
During the Battle for Azeroth storyline, King Rastakhan would make a deal with Bwonsamdi, binding his family bloodline to the Loa for eternity, resulting in his daughter Princess Talanji, a former Priestess of Rezan, to find herself in a very different situation than she expected.
Princess Talanji made clear that she did not wish to keep the Loa of Death as her patron, but seemingly had no choice in the matter. The story that came later, however, caused many players to question whether Bwonsamdi would still be the Loa of Kings: from beyond the grave, Rezan still had influence on at least one other soul, and more lore to leave.
The next time we would see Rezan would be in the Shadowlands, during the Night