Iridikron the Stonescaled is one of the four Primal Incarnates. Along with his brethren, he rejected the gift of the titans and turned to the elements instead, becoming an incarnation of the earth itself.
While the proto-dragons who would become known as the Dragon Aspects accepted the gift of the titans, the proto-dragons who would become the Primal Incarnates rejected it. Tensions rose between the Primalists who wished to cleanse the world of the titans' "stain" and the dragonflights.[3]
Iridikron was a reclusive and withdrawn proto-dragon who usually kept to himself at Harrowsdeep, a cavern in northern Kalimdor that he made his home. He was longtime rivals with Neltharion despite being close as clutch-mates before the titans uplifted Neltharion, the two being nearly equal in strategy, cunning, and strength.[4] Iridikron was the one who discovered the method by which the proto-dragons could imbue themselves with elemental energies to become the Primal Incarnates, but he was not the first to undergo the transformation. He attempted it on many other proto-dragons, and only after Fyrakk survived the process did he undertake it himself. He later turned Raszageth into the third Incarnate, which angered Fyrakk as he had not been consulted on the matter. When Fyrakk confronted Iridikron over this, Iridikron overpowered him and usurped control of the Primalists.[5] Iridikron's sister, Ikronia, became an ordered dragon of the black dragonflight but came to regret it. When she came to her brother for help, Iridikron used her as a tool to propagandize against the dragonflights, having her openly destroy mortal settlements, while Raszageth aided her unseen, so that they would think that the dragonflights were responsible.[1]
Tensions between the Primalists and the Dragonflights turned to war approximately 20,000 years ago[6] when Raszageth struck the first blow in what would become known as the War of the Scaleborn by leading an assault on Neltharion and his dracthyr army in the Reach only to be imprisoned within Froststone Vault.[7] Iridikron and Fyrakk demanded Raszageth's release, and when the Aspects refused, they declared open war on the dragonflights. Raszageth's capture, along with the discovery that the dragonflights had been taking proto-dragon eggs from the wild, allowed Iridikron to finally convince Vyranoth to become an Incarnate as well.
For the majority of the war, Iridikron plotted from his lair in Harrowsdeep while Fyrakk and Vyranoth commanded the Primalists' forces afield. Fyrakk would eventually be captured, and then Vyranoth as well several decades after him. With Iridikron the only Incarnate left and the Primalists losing ground, he became increasingly desperate and sought out new allies. Though he tried making new Incarnates to replace his imprisoned comrades, none survived the process. Over the next few decades, the Primalists continued to lose territory until the Aspects' forces were converging on Harrowsdeep.[8] Confident that he could still win with the right allies, Iridikron sought out Igira and formed an uneasy alliance with the djaradin tribes.[9]
As the dragonflights and Primalists fought each other outside Harrowsdeep, Iridikron triggered volcanic eruptions across the valley, raining magma and stone down on the draconic armies. His assaults were countered by Neltharion, who used his own power over the earth to calm the eruptions.[10] Though all five Dragon Aspects entered Harrowsdeep together, the shifting stone passages separated them and led to Neltharion confronting Iridikron alone in the deepest cavern of Harrowsdeep, where Iridikron used the power of the earth to overwhelm Neltharion. Pushed to the brink of defeat, Neltharion gave in to the powers of the Old Gods to defeat the Incarnate. Overwhelmed by the power of the Void, but realizing that this was how Neltharion defeated Raszageth, Iridikron taunted him with the promise that one day Alexstrasza would realize that Neltharion was the greatest threat to dragonkind. Neltharion angrily sent the Void surging through Iridikron's body, knocking him unconscious to be imprisoned in the Vault of the Incarnates.[11]
Dragonflight
This section concerns content related to Dragonflight.
20,000 years later, Raszageth the Storm-Eater was freed by Kurog Grimtotem, and schemed to release her kin from the Vault. The Aspects were fearful of "Iridikron's hunger" being unleashed.[3] Though Raszageth died, she succeeded in her endeavor, and Iridikron, Fyrakk, and Vyranoth were released. Seeing how Raszageth's haste led to her downfall, Alexstrasza speculated that the Incarnates would take their time to gather their strengths first, and that Iridikron's mastery of the earth would harbor them in the meantime.[12]
Fyrakk was eager to take revenge for their sister, but Iridikron did not want to rush in and believed they needed to even the scales with the Aspects first. The Incarnates ventured to the Forbidden Reach as the last echoes of Raszageth's storm faded, where they breached an ancient vault belonging to Neltharion and found a device that would give them the location of Zaralek Cavern, the Earth-Warder's secret underground domain. The Incarnates had no interest in the laboratory of Aberrus itself, but Iridikron believed they could find a use in the molten fire located within. Scalecommander Sarkareth and the Sundered Flame secretly followed after the Incarnates to claim Neltharion's legacy.[13]
By decoding the device Vyranoth found one of the hidden entry points to Zaralek right below Valdrakken, where the Incarnates then broke through the ground and sent Fyrakk below, blazing through the earth, to claim the power beneath and wake the djaradin's Elders at the Zaqali Caldera.[14]
Iridikron soon struck a dark bargain with the infinite dragonflight, traveling back to the past to acquire the essence of Galakrond. During the encounter, adventurers and Chromie ventured to the upper impact area of Galakrond's corpse, where they engaged in battle against the Incarnate. While the adventurers provided an opening for Chromie to destroy the artifact called "the Dark Heart" Iridikron was using to drain Galakrond's essence, Chrono-Lord Deios managed to turn the young Nozdormu into Murozond. Consequently, Chromie was forced to undo their victory over Iridikron by traveling back in time to stop Deios instead of the Incarnate, allowing Iridikron to complete his mission and depart through a void portal with his prize.[15]
Some time after the death of Fyrakk and the blooming of Amirdrassil, Iridikron sent a message to Vyranoth, requesting a parlay alone with her. She agreed and met within the snowy mountains of Valdrakken, where he condemned her for abandoning the Primalists' war. However, Vyranoth countered that it was Iridikron who abandoned the war and Fyrakk to his death for some "trinket" that Neltharion left behind. The Stonescaled countered that the Dark Heart was no trinket and that it was now in the hands of the Harbinger, justifying his bargain in that he trusts the Void's hunger to remove the titan's stain from their world. Vyranoth, however, refused to be a part of his war any longer, leaving Iridikron disappointed and angered, stating that the Incarnates' bond was at an end. Before departing, Iridikron told Vyranoth that she would not see him again until the titans face their reckoning but warned her to stay out of his way.[16]
The War Within
This section concerns content related to The War Within.
Iridikron is missing his arms in his dragon form, and his exposed chest is an open core full of elemental earth energy.[11] In his visage, he possesses arms.
Iridikron's chest wound was caused by Neltharion.[11]
Vyranoth speculated that Nalikrona may be related to Iridikron, as the two possessed similar scents.[1]
^Scalecommander Azurathel#Quotes: Dervishian says: Did... did you ask Nozdormu how long we slept? Scalecommander Emberthal says: Nearly twenty thousand years.
^Taliesin & Evitel Interview with Steve Danuser & Morgan Day - "[Neltharion was experimenting on dracthyr] until they were ready, until the time was right. Unfortunately, the time never ended up being right because of Raszageth's sneak attack on the Reach and all the events that followed and the war that broke out as a result of that."
^Imari Williams on Twitter (2024-03-21). “mossysnail27: @ImariSpeaks
Did you Voice the Primal Incarnate Iridikron from dragonflight? / ImariSpeaks: Yes I did!”
Iridikron
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[60-62] Whispers on the Winds
[70R] Together We Are Unstoppable