Cataclysm Lore: Deathwing

The main horror awaiting players in the new expansion is a demon-dragon of incredible power that has shown up time and time again and appears to be almost unstoppable. Deathwing the Destroyer, formerly known as Neltharion the Earth-Warder, is one of five dragon aspects created by the titans thousands of years ago and sent to protect Azeroth. He is also the head of the black dragonflight.

The other dragon aspects are:

Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, who was made guardian of all life in Azeroth and made queen of the dragons.
Ysera the Dreamer, the Green aspect and guardian of the Emerald Dream as well as Alexstrasza’s younger sister.
Nozdormu the Timeless, aspect of the Bronze Dragonflight, given his power by Aman’Thul in order to preserve the flow of time.
Malygos the Spellweaver, aspect of the Blue Dragonflight. Given his power by the Titan Norgannon, is protector of all magic and arcane knowledge.

As one of the oldest living creatures in Azeroth, Neltharion has had quite a history. Originally working with the other four aspects to protect the world, he turned to the dark side when he discovered a prison holding some of the Old Gods. Over time they managed to convince him to turn on the other aspects and in fact all other races and to try and destroy them all. In order to accomplish this task, Neltharion forged a golden disc that came to be known as the Demon Soul. He used some of his own blood and the essence of a demon to create the weapon which he then magically shielded to conceal what he had done.

After convincing the other dragon aspects to place some of their power into the disc by telling them it would be a great weapon against the Burning Legion, Neltharion turned on the other aspects and revealed that he was now the strongest aspect since he hadn’t placed any of his power in the Demon Soul. When attacked, he proceeded to annihilate most of the Blue Dragonflight and paralyze the rest. It was at this point that Neltharion became the demon dragon Deathwing. The only one left alone at this point was Alexstrasza, who it seems Deathwing wanted for his consort, possibly along with her sister Ysera.

After this tragic turn of events, the other four dragon aspects and their flights went into hiding. Deathwing would probably have gone on then to destroy the world had it not been for Malfurion Stormrage, who managed to steal the disc away and use it to further the Burning Legion’s goals. Once the Legion was defeated, the four aspects sealed the Demon Soul away to prevent its further use, and it remained hidden for thousands of years.

When Deathwing finally managed to discover the location of the Demon Soul once more, he maneuvered it into the hands of the orcs at Grim Batol who used it to enslave Alexstrasza. Whatever his ultimate plan may have been, it failed when a human mage known as Rhonin destroyed the Demon Soul and restored the four aspects to their former power. Since then Deathwing has been hiding, plotting his revenge against the world.

References to Deathwing in WoW

So far, players have not had a chance to meet Deathwing himself in game, but it looks like it will happen soon in the Cataclysm expansion pack. However, there are lots of events and particularly dragons that are tied to Deathwing in some way already in the game.

Netherwing Drakes

Many players in the Burning Crusade expansion made it their mission to acquire a Netherwing Drake mount from the Netherwing faction in Shadowmoon Valley. What many failed to realize is that Netherwing drakes are actually created from black dragon eggs infused with the energy present in Outland, and that these are actually black dragon spawn.

Blackrock Mountain, Onyxia’s Lair and Obsidian Sanctum

There are three instances related to Deathwing in game already. Two of them have been around since the days of classic WoW: Blackrock Mountain which contains Deathwing’s son Nefarion, and Onyxia’s Lair, home to his daughter. In the latest patch of Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard have just bumped up Onyxia’s level in order to offer a real challenge for players at the current level cap of 80. Another place you will find reference to Deathwing is in Obsidian Sanctum underneath Wymrest Temple. Sartharion and his Twilight Drakes are actually the result of Deathwing’s experiments to fuse black dragon eggs with the essence of Nether Dragons.

If you play the Horde, be ready for the new expansion and check out Joana's Guide. It will be updated and ready for Cataclysm.