Ascended nerubian

For the Ascended kyrian, see Kyrian#Ascended.

An Ascended in World of Warcraft.

Ascended nerubians (known in development as evolved nerubians) are an elite type of nerubians found in Azj-Kahet. In return for the nerubians' loyalty, the Harbinger Xal'atath has provided them with knowledge of a dark alchemical process through which they can evolve chosen nerubians into paragons of their race, enhancing their viciousness and turning them into deadly soldiers. Queen Ansurek has eagerly embraced these modifications and offered up her army to achieve Xal'atath's goals, but not all nerubians share Ansurek's enthusiasm for change and have in response begun to plot against her.

Ascended are created through the alchemical machinations of toying with the Black Blood of the Old Gods, a process closely guarded by Izo, the Grand Splicer. Though this process also resulted in other forms, such as the nerubian hulks and skyrazors, the Ascended were presented as the first new nerubian form in millennia. Astonishingly fast, powerful, and cunning, they master many traits unattainable to previous nerubian forms. They're also capable spellcaster and venom wielders.

Their most well-known shortcoming lies in being virtually unable to sense scents, as well as unable to emit pheromones with any consistency or coherency. Since pheromones are a key form of nerubian communication cultivated over eons, the Ascended's inability to use them has caused a divide among the ranks of Azj-Kahet, with many viewing them as aberrations or incomplete. They're considered alien in both physique and scent. Ascended nerubians are also said to act distant and elitist after their evolution, even to their former friends and family, having mutated beyond empathy or community.

As demonstrated by Xal'atath, the Ascended hold another hidden key feature: subservience to the Void. Using her powers, Xal'atath can completely dominate the mind of the Ascended, bending them to her will. Y'tekhi, an infiltrator working on behalf of The Weaver, was unable to resist Xal'atath, turning on her allies and nearly killing the adventurer and Lilian Voss.

Notes

• Despite being referred to as one, the First Ascended is not actually an ascended nerubian. She is a nerubian hulk, which are failed byproducts of the process. This may be an intentional epitaph, however, to mock the person the First Ascended once was.
• Though created through a similar process, the nerubian hulk and skyrazor are specifically not ascended, instead being referred to as their own type.
  • Nerubians such as Rasha'nan and Broodtwister Ovi'nax were also modified in a similar manner, though they too are not referred to as Ascended.
  • Queen Ansurek herself appears to have been modified slightly, being granted additional legs and a humanoid half that is more akin to the Ascended than her original appearance, though she is still referred to as a nerubian queen.

Gallery

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  Artwork of an Ascended from The Art of World of Warcraft: The War Within.
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  Concept art.
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  Concept art.
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  Concept art for the Ascended illustration in The Art of World of Warcraft: The War Within.