Eranikus

This article is about the character biography. For other uses, see Eranikus (disambiguation).

Eranikus
Title	Tyrant of the Dream (formerly), the Redeemed, the Chained
Gender	Male
Race(s)	Green dragon / Wyrm (Dragonkin)
Affiliation(s)	Green dragonflight
Former affiliation(s)	Emerald Nightmare
Occupation	Prime Consort of Ysera, guardian of the Dream
Location	Emerald Dream (lore)
Status	Deceased
Relative(s)	Itharius (brother), Ysera (consort)

Eranikus was a green dragon, consort to Ysera and was among the greatest of the green dragonflight. As prime consort and shard guardian for the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, Eranikus was considered the strongest of his flight after only the Dragon Aspect herself. After Ysera gave him the task of guarding the Temple of Atal'Hakkar in the Swamp of Sorrows, Eranikus went insane not long after he entered the temple, becoming one of the first dragons to succumb to the Emerald Nightmare's corruption.

The green wyrm eventually sacrificed himself to help Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind in the War Against the Nightmare, redeeming himself in death.

Background

Following the War of the Shifting Sands, Eranikus was entrusted a shard of the Scepter of the Shifting Sands by the dragon Anachronos of the bronze dragonflight.

Having been the dragon tied to the Idol of Remulos, it is said that the dragon roared loudly during the fight of Broll Bearmantle against Azgalor in the Battle for Mount Hyjal.

Temple of Atal'Hakkar

Main article: Shade of Eranikus

Shade of Eranikus in the Temple of Atal'Hakkar.

After Ysera, the Aspect of the Emerald Dream, had learned of the Atal'ai's plans to summon Hakkar the Soulflayer, she smashed the Temple of Atal'Hakkar below the marshes, attempting to destroy the trolls in order to stop their attempt to awaken the Soulflayer. Eranikus was dispatched to deal with the Atal'ai priests, along with his brother Itharius, and four young drakes under his direct command: Dreamscythe, Weaver, Hazzas, and Morphaz. Eranikus and Itharius destroyed Hakkar's physical manifestation and believed they had succeeded. However, they had underestimated Hakkar and Eranikus succumbed to the same corruption which plagued the Emerald Dream. The Atal'ai survived and resumed their efforts to awaken Hakkar.

In World of Warcraft, upon defeating the Shade of Eranikus in the Sunken Temple, an adventurer received the Essence of Eranikus. Eranikus asked them to cleanse his soul in the essence font but instead became trapped within the trinket, the Chained Essence of Eranikus. He begged them to release him by seeking out aid from the green dragonflight and threatened to kill them if they didn't. The trinket could be given to Itharius, who would send it to Umbranse the Spiritspeaker.

The Tyrant of the Dream

Main article: Eranikus, Tyrant of the Dream

When the mortal races wished to open Ahn'Qiraj and put a rest to the qiraji threat once and for all, the Scepter of the Shifting Sands had to be recombined. The mortal champion was sent to the Sunken Temple in order to discover Eranikus' fate. Upon visiting a spectral form of Malfurion Stormrage near Eranikus' shade, the champion was sent to an ally of the Archdruid in Teldrassil, and was then sent to Keeper Remulos in the Moonglade, who instructed the adventurer to gather shards of the Nightmare from each portal to the Emerald Dream.

Keeper Remulos later opened a portal into the heart of the Dream over Lake Elune'ara, from which Eranikus emerged. Still under the control of the Old Gods, he demanded the body of Malfurion. The champion and allies were tasked with defending Remulos from dozens of Nightmare Phantasms, that have accompanied the fallen green to the mortal plane, until the arrival of Tyrande Whisperwind. As the phantasms were defeated, Eranikus landed himself and attacked the son of Cenarius. Eventually, Tyrande arrived with a half-dozen Priestesses of the Moon, and together, they channeled the powers of Elune in a prayer to redeem the cursed dragon. Ceasing to fight, Eranikus changed into his night elf visage — apologizing for all the harm he had wrought — and left to attempt to begin to make amends for his actions. He returned to Malfurion, Cenarius, and Ysera to continue the battle raging within the Emerald Dream.

World of Warcraft: The Comic

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft manga or comics.

Eranikus in The Comic.

As a green dragon tied to the Idol of Remulos, Eranikus made an appearance battling against Broll Bearmantle and Lo'Gosh who were trying to obtain the idol from the Thistlefur furbolgs. During the battle, Lo'Gosh had to distract Eranikus as Broll entered the Dream where he regained his druid's powers and cleansed the idol. When Broll returned, Eranikus disappeared.

Stormrage

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

After being freed of the corruption of the Emerald Nightmare, Eranikus flew back to the Emerald Dream. However, when he felt the Nightmare calling to him again, he fled back to Azeroth for fear that he would again be corrupted. He hid in Ashenvale for many years until he was found by Lucan Foxblood, Tyrande Whisperwind, and Broll Bearmantle, who convinced him to transport them to the Bough Shadow. There, they were attacked by Lethon, Emeriss and shadow satyrs. The two dragons tried to corrupt him once again, but Alexstrasza came and the dragons were forced to leave. Though initially unwilling to help for fear of being corrupted again, he was eventually convinced to return to the Dream when the Dragon Queen informed him that Ysera knew and understood why he turned back, and reassured him that she had not yet been taken by the Nightmare.

During the course of the War Against the Nightmare Ysera was captured, but when Eranikus learned she was still fighting against the corruption he went immediately to rescue her. As Malfurion aided in penetrating the barriers of her prison, Lethon appeared and attempted to corrupt Eranikus once more. As Eranikus's body was warped and twisted by the energies of the Nightmare, Lethon preached about a future where the walls of the Emerald Dream would break down, and the dragons of Nightmare would fly Azeroth's skies unimpeded. Unwilling to let that happen, Eranikus shifted them both into the unstable boundary between the Emerald Dream and Azeroth. Though Lethon tried desperately to draw upon the Nightmare's power, the chaotic energies between the two worlds tore him apart, unleashing the Nightmare's power in a fiery maelstrom. Eranikus made no attempt to avoid it, and was consumed, valiantly sacrificing himself to ensure Ysera's escape.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

Despite Eranikus' death, his shade still remained within the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, where the Atal'ai priests have been further corrupting it with Hakkar's blood. Lord Itharius tasked adventurers to defeat it once more.

Shadowlands

This section concerns content related to Shadowlands.

When Ysera was being reborn inside a wildseed of Ardenweald, she received visions of those close to her. One of those visions was Eranikus, (simply called "Consort" in the quest) who apparently found his way back to the Emerald Dream. He appeared to miss her dearly and looked forward to the day they could be reunited in the dream.

Quotes

Eranikus the Redeemed.

Main article: Chained Essence of Eranikus#Notes

Main article: The Nightmare Manifests#Notes

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Eranikus' title was the Green. As the consort to Ysera, he is among the greatest of the green dragons, and it was Ysera who originally gave him the task of guarding the Temple of Atal'Hakkar in the Swamp of Sorrows. However, Eranikus went insane not long after he entered the temple, and since then the trolls in the temple have dispatched a group to Zul'Gurub, where they have succeeded in summoning Hakkar into the world.

Notes

• The questline to redeem Eranikus' corrupted soul via the trinket ended abruptly, and his story instead continued in the Scepter of the Shifting Sands questline, with no mention of the trapped essence.
• While Itharius refers to him as a brother, Eranikus called him an old friend. Itharius is not listed as part of Ysera's family in the Ultimate Visual Guide. The updated quests in Cataclysm, however, re-affirmed that the two were brothers. Later, The Dragonflight Codex once again referred to Itharius as Eranikus' friend.
  • It is possible Itharius calls him brother because they are green dragons and not literal brothers.

Gallery

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  Eranikus flying over Moonglade.
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  Eranikus attacking Nighthaven.
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  Confronted by Remulos.
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  From The Comic