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Demon Soul

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For the former warlock ability, see [Demon Soul]. For the raid instance, see Dragon Soul. For the book, see The Demon Soul.
The Dragon Soul in Hearthstone.

The Demon Soul, also known as the Demon Stone[1] and formerly as the Dragon Soul, was an artifact of great power created by Deathwing prior to the War of the Ancients. Though it appeared to be a featureless golden disk, it was, in fact, a talisman of immense power that could be used to destroy or enslave other dragons. The artifact was forged by the Black Aspect's goblin slaves, fused with the taint of the Old Gods[2] and finally mixed with the blood of Deathwing himself. The essences of all dragons who had contributed to its creation, willingly or not, were tied to the disk, and they represented together a power that dwarfed even that of an Aspect such as Neltharion.[3]

The Demon Soul was once fastened to the Demon Chain, a seemingly ordinary loop of ornamental elementium chain that fills one's mind with dread as it touches one's flesh.[4] The Soul has long since been destroyed, but the Chain, which may hold some residual power, was last seen in the possession of Warlord Zaela.[1]

History

War of the Ancients

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The Dragon Soul as seen in Legacies.

Prior to the War of the Ancients in 10,000 BDP, Neltharion used the skills of Meklo and his goblin artificer-servants to create a powerful artifact fastened to a chain forged of elementium. The golden, perfect disk was infused with the power of his Old God masters, along with both the essence of dragons and demons. Neltharion sought to use it to control the other dragonflights and make himself a god to be worshiped by the mortal races. During an accidental cave-in that tore a scale from his body, Neltharion found that his matter - even as small as a scale - could damage the Soul.[3] At the beginning of the invasion, Neltharion captured a man'ari eredar warlock and tested his weapon on him, inflicting him great pain before killing him.[5]

Dragonqueen Alexstrasza and the dragonflights empowering the artifact in Wyrmrest Temple.

During a gathering at Wyrmrest Temple, Neltharion convinced his fellow Aspects to sacrifice a portion of their power and infuse it into the Dragon Soul, which would focus their powers and defeat the Burning Legion. Only Neltharion did not infuse the artifact with his power,[6] as unbeknownst to all, he had fallen prey to the whispers of the Old Gods. Since Nozdormu was absent at the time, his Prime Consort, Soridormi, used an hourglass holding a portion of the Lord of Time's essence to infuse the artifact.[7]

Amid a furious battle between the Legion and the Kaldorei Resistance, Neltharion unleashed the full might of the empowered Soul and decimated the demons, then turned the weapon against his own allies, killing hundreds of night elves and dragons alike,[8] brutally murdering nearly all of the blue dragonflight who tried to stop him.[9] As the Dragon Soul's energies flooded through him, the Black Aspect's body began tearing apart, thus Deathwing the Destroyer was born.[9] The other dragons were locked under the traitor's control until the unexpected intervention of Korialstrasz broke his concentration and allowed them to counter-attack. This proved a failure, however, and Neltharion retreated from the field of battle, taking the artifact with him to his lair in Highmountain.[10]

The Demon Soul being used to stabilize the Well of Eternity's portal in Zin-Azshari.

During an audience with Sargeras, Illidan Stormrage's plan to steal the potent Dragon Soul intrigued the fallen titan, who granted the night elf exceptional power and immediately sent him to steal the artifact. Once secured and delivered to the Highborne, they immediately used it to create a massive gateway within the Well of Eternity, in order for Sargeras to enter Azeroth.[11] As the invasion continued, Malfurion Stormrage, Tyrande Whisperwind and their companions eventually reclaimed the artifact and infiltrated Queen Azshara's palace, where they found Highborne weaving a spell to strengthen the portal. In a desperate attempt to throw their magic out of alignment, Malfurion drew on the potent energies of the Dragon Soul, conjuring a colossal thunderstorm that decimated the demons and Highborne within Zin-Azshari. Their spellwork unraveled, and an unstable vortex of arcane energies ignited within the Well of Eternity, banishing Sargeras back into the Twisting Nether.[12]

Following the Great Sundering, the Dragon Aspects recovered the artifact and were troubled to find that they could not destroy the weapon, neither reclaim the power they had infused into. Instead, they hid it in a remote corner of the world that would become known as the Redridge Mountains. Enchantments were also placed upon the artifact to prevent Deathwing or any other dragon from ever touching it. Meanwhile, the corrupted Earth-Warder had disappeared and settled into a deep slumber, as the Dragon Soul's power had nearly destroyed him in battle.[6]

Second War

The Demon Soul as seen in Yogg-Saron's mind chamber.

At some point, Deathwing managed to find the location of his weapon. Prior to the Second War in 4 ADP,[13] he planned to manipulate the Orcish Horde to recover and use the Dragon Soul for his own benefit. He sent visions to Zuluhed the Whacked, leader of the Dragonmaw clan, which took him toward a hidden place deep beneath the Redridge Mountains, protected by wards and the red dragon Orastrasz. Dozens of Dragonmaw orcs died against the guardian, but they succeeded, and Zuluhed ordered his clan's greatest warlock, Nekros Skullcrusher, to retrieve the Dragon Soul. Sensing the faint fel energies on it, Nekros renamed it the Demon Soul. When Alexstrasza felt the breaking of the artifact's wards, she believed that mortals had somehow stolen the artifact, and took several of her red dragons to retrieve it.[14]

Shortly after the Horde assaulted Khaz Modan in 5 ADP, when Alexstrasza and her children found Nekros and the Dragonmaws experimenting with the artifact and abusing its power, they expected little resistance, as primitive creatures could never unlock the artifact's secrets. However, the warlock had learned much about the artifact from dreams and visions sent by Deathwing, who instructed him in how to wield it. With this power, Nekros enslaved the Life-Binder, and though the Demon Soul could also be wielded against other dragons, he knew he would never enslave Alexstrasza and her followers at once. By enslaving the dragonqueen, the warlock effectively bound the red dragons to his will, as the latter feared he would torture or even kill her if they did not obey the Dragonmaw.[15] From afar, Deathwing rejoiced in Alexstrasza's enslavement and continued subtly advising Nekros on how best to use the Demon Soul to control the red dragons, as it would serve his plans to restore his black dragonflight.[16]

Following the war, the red dragonflight remained under the Dragonmaw clan's control, as most of the dragons and their Aspects feared falling prey to the Demon Soul and suffering Alexstrasza's fate.[17]

Day of the Dragon

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In Year 10 ADP, Korialstrasz - in his guise as Krasus, a member of the Council of Six in Dalaran - eventually discovered Deathwing's identity as Lord Prestor, and his revealing the location of the Demon Soul to the orcs. Sending his student, Rhonin, on a mission to free the dragonqueen, Krasus attempted to obtain the aid of the other three Aspects - Malygos, Nozdormu, and Ysera - to free Alexstrasza from the Dragonmaws, and subsequently from Deathwing himself. However, they were wary of intervening, fearing that the orcs would use the Demon Soul to destroy them or their enslaved sister.[18]

During the Battle of Grim Batol, Alexstrasza broke free of her chains and devoured Nekros before he could kill her with the Demon Soul, then she turned her wrath upon her mad brother. While the Destroyer held the upper hand in a battle with the other weakened Aspects, Rhonin was able to use the scale Deathwing had given him to destroy the disk. Cutting the scale across the surface, Rhonin unleashed the power trapped within, and with a quick spell, returned to the Aspects their essence given at the creation of the Dragon Soul, who proceeded to defeat and hunt their treacherous brother.[19][18]

Night of the Dragon

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Though the Demon Soul's power was lost with its destruction, it still had enough power within it to be of some use.[20] Sintharia, Prime Consort of the Destroyer, collected the fragments of the Demon Soul and found power within them still.[21] Using their power combined with Balacgos's Bane, a stolen staff of the naaru and the essence of the nether dragon Zzeraku, Sintharia (or Sinestra, as she preferred to be called) experimented with the eggs of various dragonflights. The end result was the twilight dragonflight, a sinister creation that could absorb magical energy from any living thing - particularly enemy dragons. One such monstrosity, Dargonax, was a cunning and ambitious creature who sought to overthrow his "mother" and take the world for himself.[22]

Zendarin Windrunner, a cousin of the Windrunner sisters, had allied himself with Sintharia in order to gain access to a vast fount of energy and steal the partially restored Demon Soul. Ultimately, this brought him into conflict with his cousin Vereesa, who sought revenge for Zendarin's attempted kidnapping of her twin sons. The battle resulted in the death of Zendarin and the final destruction of the Demon Soul, when the naaru staff he carried touched the foul artifact as he released all of its energy.[23] This was possible because Sintharia had shielded the artifact from all Azerothian magic, and the staff had been from Outland. Sintharia attempted to reconstruct it - having fallen to the same protective madness over the artifact as Deathwing had - but it was once again destroyed, this time for good, when it impacted with the unstable Balacgos's Bane thrown by Korialstrasz, obliterating both artifacts.[24]

Wrath of the Lich King

Wrath of the Lich King This section concerns content related to Wrath of the Lich King.

The Dragon Aspects creating the Dragon Soul, as seen in Yogg-Saron's mind chamber.

During the battle against Yogg-Saron in 27 ADP, when the adventurers entered his mind, the Old God showed a vision of the Dragon Aspects creating the Dragon Soul ten thousand years earlier.

Cataclysm

Twilight Highlands

Cataclysm This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

By the time of the Cataclysm in 28 ADP, the Demon Chain, which was attached to the Dragon Soul, somehow came into the hands of the Dragonmaw orc Narkrall Rakeclaw, who used the residual power lingering in it to enslave black dragons in the Twilight Highlands. He was eventually killed by dwarves of the Wildhammer clan, but Warlord Zaela had the chain retrieved from his corpse.[1] With Narkall's death, his mount Torth was freed from the Demon Chain's control, and when Zaela attempted to dominate him with it again he resisted, resulting in his death instead.[25]

The Demon Chain has not been seen since, but presumably Zaela held onto it until her death in Upper Blackrock Spire several years later.

Charge of the Aspects

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After the defeat of Ragnaros, the Dragon Aspects gathered to discuss how to end Deathwing once and for all, and after listening to the research gathered by Kalecgos and his blue dragonflight, it had become clear to them that they needed a weapon like none that had ever come before it. A short while later, Ysera realized that the Demon Soul was, in fact, that weapon and proposed using it to her fellow Aspects. While it had been enchanted to prevent dragons from using it, it was not the case for the orc shaman Thrall, who could infuse the element of earth into the artifact, which would make Deathwing especially vulnerable to its power. However, the Dragon Soul had been destroyed for years, and the only way to use it would be to recover it from the past.[26]

While initially doubtful, Dragonqueen Alexstrasza was convinced by Ysera and Kalec of the need to use the artifact and was given the task of convincing Nozdormu of this need as well. The Lord of Time hesitated to do so; retrieving the Dragon Soul went against the very purpose of his existence, and he believed that doing so would make him no different than Murozond. It was only after much soul-searching that Nozdormu realized that venturing into the past was the world's sole hope of averting the Hour of Twilight, while Alexstrasza made him see that the intention was noble, ultimately convincing him that they needed the artifact to save Azeroth.[27][26]

Hour of Twilight

Cataclysm This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

Thrall fighting Deathwing with the Dragon Soul.

After the Horde adventurers broke the infinite dragonflight's control of the timeways, killing Murozond in the End Time,[28] Nozdormu opened a pathway to the War of the Ancients, as the Dragon Aspects needed the Dragon Soul in its purest form, not long after Neltharion had crafted it and convinced his former friends to infuse it with their energies. This time, it was heroes from the Alliance who rose to the challenge, venturing into the broken battlefields of the past to fight demons and take the artifact back to the present.[29] During their quest, the Old gods protected the Dragon Soul with a shield strengthened by the swirling, arcane energies that emanated from the Well of Eternity, which were being focused by Mannoroth.[30] After they distracted the demon Mannoroth and recovered the artifact, the Aspects soon began to charge the Dragon Soul with their Aspectral and elemental energy at the Wyrmrest Temple.[31][32]

During the siege of Wyrmrest Temple, the dragonflights and their allies fought against the Old Gods' forces across the Dragonblight, buying enough time for Thrall to charge the Dragon Soul. After the heroes defeated Ultraxion, Thrall unleashed the power of the Dragon Soul, injuring the corrupted Aspect who fled to recover in Deepholm. He was later badly injured by another shot from the artifact and fell into the Maelstrom. Empowered by the Old God N'Zoth, the Destroyer rose up without his armor and deformed, having lost what little remained of his sanity. While the heroes delayed him, the Dragon Aspects sacrificed all their remaining power to the artifact, ensuring that it would destroy Deathwing and prevent the Hour of Twilight. Their essences, combined with the element of earth that Thrall had woven into the weapon, seared through Deathwing, and the explosive power annihilated his tormented mind and body.[33]

Using all his powers, Nozdormu also bound the moment in time itself around the Dragon Soul, preventing the killing blow from ever being undone by the Old Gods.[34] With the loss of the Bronze Aspect's powers, the Dragon Soul was then returned back in time to the point where it was taken, at the end of the War of the Ancients.[35]

Time travel

During the War of the Ancients Trilogy, after he time traveled to the past, Korialstrasz accidentally referred to the artifact as the "Demon Soul" while talking with his past-self. He had not meant to say the name by which the disk would become known later in time, but it was too late, even thinking perhaps this had even been the way the name had changed. The red dragon no longer knew what was a part of the original history and what had been altered by his interference.[36]

In Hearthstone

Hearthstone This section contains information exclusive to Hearthstone and is considered non-canon.

The Dragon Soul appears as a legendary card for the priest class in the Kobolds & Catacombs expansion for Hearthstone. Its flavor text reads: "Crafted by Deathwing's goblin horde, but the dragon added the rainbow sparkles himself."

Notes and trivia

Gallery

Patch changes

See also

References

 
  1. ^ a b c H [30-35] The Demon Chain
  2. ^ The Sundering, chapter 16
  3. ^ a b The Demon Soul, chapter 9
  4. ^  [The Demon Chain]
  5. ^ The Demon Soul, chapter 1
  6. ^ a b World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 139 - 140
  7. ^ The Demon Soul, chapter 7
  8. ^ World of Warcraft: The Dragonflight Codex, pg. 100
  9. ^ a b World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 101
  10. ^ The Demon Soul, chapter 21
  11. ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 102 - 103
  12. ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 104 - 105
  13. ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 138
  14. ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 139 - 141
  15. ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 155
  16. ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 156
  17. ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 185
  18. ^ a b World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 23
  19. ^ Day of the Dragon, chapter 21
  20. ^ Night of the Dragon, chapter 11
  21. ^ Night of the Dragon, chapter 13
  22. ^ Night of the Dragon, chapter 20
  23. ^ Night of the Dragon, chapter 21
  24. ^ Night of the Dragon, chapter 22
  25. ^ H [30-35] Fury Unbound
  26. ^ a b World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 218
  27. ^ Charge of the Aspects
  28. ^ N [35D] Murozond
  29. ^ N [35D] The Well of Eternity
  30. ^ N [35D] The Path to the Dragon Soul
  31. ^ World of Warcraft: The Dragonflight Codex, pg. 103
  32. ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 218 - 219
  33. ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 220
  34. ^ Madness of Deathwing
  35. ^ Madness of Deathwing#Aftermath - Nozdormu says: With my powers gone, the Dragon Soul has returned to its place in time.
  36. ^ The Demon Soul, chapter 21
  37. ^ Day of the Dragon, pg. 55-59
  38. ^ Heart of the Aspects - Exclusive Mount Now Available
  39. ^ Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 136
  40. ^ Tides of Darkness, chapter 9
  41. ^ Dawn of the Infinite, Iridikron dialogue
  42. ^ N [70] The Harbinger
  43. ^ First Half of Noggenfogger's Journal

External links

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