Ji and Aysa

[Lisaara]

I know there was much discussion about them. Apparently Ji was there during Garrosh's trial, which would mean Ji and Aysa are still the respective 'leaders'/'liasons' of the Pandaren for Horde and Alliance.

http://wowpedia.org/Ji_Firepaw#War_Crimes
"Ji served as a liaison for the factions and Taran Zhu during the trial of Garrosh Hellscream, such as directing them to their appropriate seats."

http://wowpedia.org/Aysa_Cloudsinger#War_Crimes
"Aysa served as a liaison for the factions and Taran Zhu during the trial of Garrosh Hellscream, such as directing them to their appropriate seats."

Also in the 'Leaders' section in WoWPedia, Ji is listed as is Aysa for Horde and Alliance respectively.

I'd love for this topic to be used for any updates we see in the beta for them!

[Wain]

I'd be interested as well!

From the events in SoO I felt that might be the end of their story as faction leaders. There was definitely some romance there and it would be weird if a couple ended up serving as opposing racial faction leaders. But then, who knows with Pandaren? I'd certainly be interested to see it

[Lisaara]

Definitely. So far, their pages still say they are the leader of the Huojin and Tushui Pandaren.

[Maizou]

I wish I could find the tweets, but they confirmed Ji and Aysa left the factions to return to the Wandering Isle, but would not be replaced in game as it'd take resources that could be spent elsewhere to make characters no one would care about.

[Krysteena]

I wish I could find the tweets, but they confirmed Ji and Aysa left the factions to return to the Wandering Isle, but would not be replaced in game as it'd take resources that could be spent elsewhere to make characters no one would care about.

Wait wait wait. The wandering isles haven't been anywhere near Pandaria in ages. How'd they get back?! We know that the turtle was close to death last time but was healed. But they left before he completely healed. What if the wandering isles have gone so far off course they can't find it? Or the turtle died anyway?

They've got no panda to replace Ji and Aysa, and there's no point in inventing up new pandas if the next expac is a few months away.

[Maizou]

That was literally their answer. They don't want to waste time creating new leaders, but Ji and Aysa are no longer part of the faction in the lore . Though knowing blizz this can always change. They said Lilian Voss was dead like a year ago then like 6 months ago said she was alive.

I think it's more along the lines they're leaving and will be searching for the turtle, more than anything. Or they know a secret to find it or something.

And the turtle didn't die. They healed it, which is why they left.

[Lisaara]

The turtle was healed, so no worries there. I'm not sure how they'd find it. I wish I could get in the beta forums and ask them to bring back Ji and Aysa.

[Wain]

The turtle can always find Pandaria. Maybe other turtles can always find The Turtle? :/

I suspect what they mean about the leaders is that there won't be any new appearances or involvements required for the Panda faction leaders in the near future so they'll worry about it some other time. Maybe not only because they have other pressing matters, but also because then they can leave it open for something useful to the storyline in the future.

[Maizou]

The turtle can always find Pandaria. Maybe other turtles can always find The Turtle? :/

I suspect what they mean about the leaders is that there won't be any new appearances or involvements required for the Panda faction leaders in the near future so they'll worry about it some other time. Maybe not only because they have other pressing matters, but also because then they can leave it open for something useful to the storyline in the future.

It's still annoying that a faction within both factions will be leaderless lore wise until Blizzard deems it necessary to make new leaders. :/

[Krysteena]

I'm thinking Chen will play some role for the horde pandaren and Taran Zhu for the alliance. Chen is already buddies with Vol'Jin, so if he was to ask Vol'Jin would accept. However, I do think both would make it swear they won't be fighting in any wars or something. Dunno. Just gonna make some guesses.

[Lisaara]

Chen is buddies with Vol'jin but Chen is also good buddies with the dwarves too so he'll likely remain neutral and he's got a brewery to fix.

[Krysteena]

Damn...they really have no one. Pandaren lore isn't the clearest compared to others. I'm still confused how, when you leave the wandering isle, you even get to where you're supposed to go. The turtle is I'm the middle of no where, how could they've known what direction to go in?!

Well. This is gonna bug me. The leaders have returned to the wandering isle (and may tell some scary stories about the place) and there's no one in their place. Come on Blizzard! Fill these gaps!

[Doc Privas]

There's also Jojo Ironbrow that played a role in the initial questline and joined Aysa. He also has a very cool weapon, maybe he could be the new alliance leader?