Lalathin's fel corruption would definitely be a "new thing". Remember, Elisande actually was against the Demons and Queen Azshara back before Suramar was shielded off. She only joined the Legion at the beginning of this expansion. So regardless of how long or old her Hippogryph is or how long she's owned it, its very unlikely she would've had a fel-infested pet prior to the Burning Legion's return and her agreement to work with them this time.
Though how "old" her hippogryph is a bit skewed. Keep inmind, Elisande's magic, combined with the Eye of Aman'thul has some serious time-magic strength. So if she really wanted, I'm sure she could keep her pet alive if she really wanted to XD (of course, this is all just speculation. Food for thought/fun to discuss? lol)
Though, I felt if Lalathin is in-game it would definitely be in Suramar or the Broken Shore. While its true, the Nightborne did not want to (nor could) leave the shielded city, the shield is technically "down" by the time of the launching of the expansion as we see in Thalyssra's first cinematic. Plus, it's clear the Nightborne are not afraid to leave the city when necessary; many of the Suramar quests showed citizens knowing old routes under the city, escaping around tunnels. Also, many of the fel-empowered Nightborne/Felborne can be seen clearly outside Suramar city itself and in the Broken Shore.
So I do think the Hippogryph is definitely in Broken Isles somewhere, I feel it's either Suramar or Broken Shore itself.
Alina wrote:
I've heard rumors from players that have encountered a strange cloud in Suramar lately, both from independant sources that didn't know each other. The first was of someone who flew through a cloud hearing the squawk of a hippogryph. The second one went a little further and said it was a thundercloud attacking them, following them down from the air. Both were from 110 hunters. Tokoro (the person I heard second-hand about this rumor from) then questioned them further and said they were outside the Menagerie in Suramar.
I've been keeping an eye out for strange looking clouds since. This may just be a cold trail, leading to nothing but it's better than nothing. I also tend to think where there is smoke, there is fire.
That's really interesting. I searched the Menagerie pretty consistently and never saw anything like that, but that sounds really neat to see (even if it isnt a clue)!