Nerubian

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Nerubians
The War Within Nerubians02.jpg
Faction/Affiliation Kingdom of Azjol-Nerub, Azj-Kahet, Scourge
Character classes Living:
Worker, Warrior, Seer, Sorcerer, Venomancer, Webspinner, Vizier
Undead:
Crypt lord, Crypt fiend, Necromancer
Racial capital Azjol-Nerub (Northrend)
City of Threads (Khaz Algar)
Racial leader(s) IconSmall NerubianVizier.gif Seer Ixit (Northrend)[1]
IconSmall Unknown.gif Ansurek (Khaz Algar)
Homeworld Azeroth
Language(s) Nerubian, Common

“Unhhh-tikk-a-shisss. Kka shir. Na-l bkah a-shisss. Kreesh kik ik ta. Sohk-a tik hiss a-k-k-k.”

— Writing on a nerubian scroll[2]

Nerubians are an ancient race of evil and highly intelligent humanoid spiders[3][4] that inhabit the subterranean kingdoms of Azjol-Nerub in Northrend and Azj-Kahet in Khaz Algar. Like the qiraji of Kalimdor and the mantid of Pandaria, they are descendants of the aqir race. Unlike their relatives, the nerubians rejected their former Old God masters.[5]

The nerubians' dark empire of Azjol-Nerub once stretched like a great web[6] beneath half the breadth of Northrend.[3][4] During the War of the Spider, the Undead Scourge destroyed Azjol-Nerub and converted many of its inhabitants into undeath (mainly as crypt fiends and crypt lords), leaving only a few pockets of living nerubians who sought to gain vengeance on the Lich King and reclaim their kingdom[6] from both the undead and the minions of the Old God Yogg-Saron.

On the other side of the world, Azj-Kahet—the last nerubian kingdom—remained in isolation deep within Khaz Algar until recent times, when they and their queen, Ansurek, were conscripted by Xal'atath to serve the Void once more and rise to pose a threat to all of Azeroth.[5]

History

Origin

Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom.

During the war between Azj'Aqir and the Empire of Zul, circa 16,000 BDP, a colony of aqir traveled to Kalimdor's northern wastes (modern-day Northrend), where they discovered a small society of titan-forged tol'vir dwelling outside Ulduar. The aqir overthrew the tol'vir, enslaved them and turned them into obsidian destroyers, and adopted their architecture for their own purposes. Shortly after, the Drakkari troll tribe traveled north to hunt the aqir. The Drakkari were nearly overpowered by the obsidian destroyers, before devising ways to topple and destroy them.[7][8]

The Empire of Zul eventually destroyed Azj'Aqir and contained the aqir in separate colonies in the far north and far south of Kalimdor.[8][9][10] The ones in the north gathered near the underground prison of the Old God Yogg-Saron. Their proximity to the Old God caused them to gradually evolve into a new race, the nerubians, and their kingdom became known as Azjol-Nerub.[8] The heart of the old nerubian empire is Ahn'kahet, the Old Kingdom,[11] which Kilix the Unraveler calls "Ahn'kahet, from whence we came"[12] and "the city of our ancestors".[13]

For some length of time, the nerubians were servants of Yogg-Saron. The Archives of Eternity in Uldir can replicate the minions of individual Old Gods; Yogg-Saron's take the form of voidweavers from Azjol-Nerub.[14] However, at an unknown point in time, the nerubians rejected their Old God masters.[5] By the time of the Third War, the nerubians had come to believe that the faceless ones—another race of Old God servants—were only legends.[15]

Early history

Nerubians in Azj-Kahet.

The vrykul Magnar Icebreaker earned his surname from his battles against nerubians in Northrend. While hunting nests of the insectoids, Magnar discovered that cracks in glacier walls could be turned into tunnels that allowed him to dig deep into enemy strongholds and launch surprise assaults on them from within. Years later, remnants of the nerubian armies once again began emerging from their caves, seeking to seize Ulduar and the titan machinery within it. Magnar, now a king wielding the Scale of the Earth-Warder, led his people against the insectoids, pushed them back to the entrance of Azjol-Nerub itself, and defeated them so thoroughly that they ceased all aggression for millennia.[16]

When Northrend split off from Kalimdor during the Great Sundering, the nerubian empire became isolated from the rest of Azeroth but continued to thrive.[17] The nerubians kept to themselves in the darkness of their homeland, being mostly uninterested in the affairs of surface dwellers.[18] Their hidden empire[19][20] stretched nearly half the breadth of Northrend,[3][4] at least as far southwest as the Borean Tundra[21] and as far northeast as the Icy Depths in Icecrown.[22] The seat of the kingdom was located beneath the Dragonblight.[23][24]

At an unknown point in time, another nerubian empire was established in Azj-Kahet at the bottom of Khaz Algar, far to the south of Northrend. Isolated in the deep darkness, these nerubians developed their own culture and to this day represent the race as it originally was—deadly survivors of the mythic wars that have played out time and again over millennia.[5]

War of the Spider

Main article: War of the Spider

“Then the master came. As his influence spread, we made war upon him, foolishly believing we stood a chance. Many of us were slain and raised into undeath. In life I was a king. Today I am a crypt lord.”

— Anub'arak[25]
Anub'arak, the Traitor King.

Thousands of years later, the Lich King arrived in Northrend and began enslaving its inhabitants to create his army, the Undead Scourge. The nerubians, who were immune to both the plague of undeath and the Lich King's telepathic Domination, fought back and used their vast forces and underground network to launch hit-and-run attacks on his strongholds, igniting the War of the Spider. After a years-long war of attrition, the Scourge invaded Azjol-Nerub, slaughtered the nerubians, raised them as undead (mainly as crypt fiends and crypt lords), and forced them to serve the Lich King.[3][4][18][26] The Lich King raised Anub'arak, the last king of Azjol-Nerub, as a crypt lord and forced him to help kill his own people and conquer their strongholds (such as Naxxramas) for the Scourge. For this, the living nerubians began to refer to Anub'arak as the "Traitor King" and blame him for the destruction of their kingdom.[27][28]

Many nerubians tried to escape the Scourge's invasion by tunneling underground, but some of them dug too deep and inadvertently exposed tendrils of Yogg-Saron. The Old God sent its faceless ones against the spider-men, who were unable to fight on two fronts and consequently lost both the war and their home.[13][29][30]

As a testament to their resistance, the Lich King adopted the nerubian architectural style as his own and repurposed their ziggurats as flying necropoli.[3][4][26] Most nerubians were killed in the War of the Spider, but small groups of survivors managed to flee deep underground[18] or into the wastes of Northrend.[6] Only the exposed Upper Kingdom of Azjol-Nerub fell to the Scourge; most of the empire remained closed off and has stayed that way ever since. It's possible that surviving nerubians have since secured the depths and merely await release. Alternatively, the closed parts may be infested by faceless ones.[19]

Third War

WC3RoC-logo.png This section concerns content related to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos or its expansion The Frozen Throne.

The 1st Legion and Dwarven Expedition encountered outposts of living nerubians during their expedition in Northrend shortly before the Third War.[31][32]

The Lich King sent Nerubis[33] crypt fiends to aid Arthas Menethil in the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas.[34] They used their webs to pull the high elf dragonhawk riders to the ground[35] and burrowed under the walls of Silvermoon City after the fall of Ban'dinoriel.[36] The Nerubis subsequently stayed in Quel'Thalas to occupy Suncrown Village.[37]

When the Frozen Throne was threatened by Illidan Stormrage, the Lich King sent Anub'arak and his undead nerubian subjects to escort Arthas Menethil to Icecrown. In order to reach Icecrown before Illidan did, Arthas and Anub'arak took a shortcut through the ruins of Azjol-Nerub.[38] Along the way, they encountered and killed several pockets of living nerubian rebels who were still fighting to liberate their kingdom from the Scourge.[11][39]

In the aftermath of the Third War, Scourge crypt fiends continued to haunt several areas in the Plaguelands, notably the Plaguewood, Terrorweb Tunnel, Stratholme,[40] and the Arachnid Quarter of Naxxramas.

Wrath of the Lich King

Wrath-Logo-Small.png This section concerns content related to Wrath of the Lich King.

“We are in the midst of a civil war. At the heart of this world the last living members of my species defend themselves against total annihilation. [...] In Arthas we both have an enemy...”

— Kilix the Unraveler[41]
Scourged nerubians guarding the Gilded Gate of Azjol-Nerub.

During the war against the Lich King, the Scourged nerubians posed a frequent threat to ground forces in Northrend. Whenever soldiers traveled by land, it was with the thought that the spider-men could burrow up from Azjol-Nerub and attack.[42] The nerubians traveled deep underground using a system of tunnels possibly connecting all the way to Icecrown and linked to the surface through sinkholes,[43][44] allowing them to "spill out from every dark crevice in Northrend".[41]

Meanwhile, a civil war raged in Azjol-Nerub itself, as the Lich King, through his servant Anub'arak, sought to rule the kingdom while its last living inhabitants, the Azjol-anak, tried to defend themselves from annihilation.[41] In the Upper Kingdom, Anub'arak's Scourged nerubians guarded clutches of tainted eggs that would provide them with young that they could kill and raise.[18][45] At the same time, Prince Taldaram led a Scourge army[20] into the Old Kingdom, Ahn'kahet, in search of nerubian relics.[46]

Scourged nerubians and one of their signature sinkholes in Mightstone Quarry.

In the Borean Tundra, the Scourged nerubians laid siege to the Valiance Expedition at Valiance Keep until Alliance adventurers collapsed their sinkholes.[43] The Warsong Offensive inadvertently built their base of Warsong Hold atop a well-traversed portion of Azjol-Nerub,[21] allowing the Nerub'ar to overrun the hold's Mightstone Quarry. Horde adventurers fought them back[47] and collapsed their tunnels.[48] Adventurers also worked with the taunka at Taunka'le Village[49] and the gnomes at Fizzcrank Airstrip to halt a Nerub'ar offensive sent to the Geyser Fields[50][51] from the Temple City of En'kilah.[52]

Kilix the Unraveler in the Trading Card Game.

In the Dragonblight, the Anub'ar emerged from the Pit of Narjun and razed the taunka capital, Icemist Village. They acted as one of the Warsong Offensive's main obstacles on their way to the Wrathgate.[53][54] In exchange for assistance against the Scourge, the Azjol-anak (represented by Kilix the Unraveler) provided the Horde with information about the Anub'ar,[55] allowing the Horde to help the taunka retake Icemist from the nerubians.[56][57] Dranosh Saurfang led his forces into Azjol-Nerub and blocked off the nerubians' tunnels into the Dragonblight, preventing them from reinforcing the Scourge at the subsequent Battle of the Wrathgate.[58]

In Zul'Drak, the Argent Crusade were harried by the Hath'ar nerubians and their necromancers.[59][60] In Icecrown, the Argent Crusade attacked Scourgeholme through the Breach, but the Scourge retaliated:[61] large numbers of Scourged nerubians poured out to assault the Argent Vanguard[62] and re-seal the Breach with their webs until the Argents went back on the offensive with the help of adventurers.[63]

Adventurers also entered Azjol-Nerub to deal a blow to the Scourge and help the living nerubians set about restoring their empire.[18] In the Upper Kingdom, they helped Reclaimer A'zak destroy the Scourge's tainted eggs[45] and killed Anub'arak himself.[64] In Ahn'kahet, they helped Seer Ixit's forces reclaim the area from both the invading Scourge[20] and the faceless one servants of Yogg-Saron.[65] These efforts signaled the beginning of the rebirth of the Empire of Azjol-Nerub.[66][67] The eggs the Scourge had found were only a fraction of the living nerubians' hidden stores, which would allow them to repopulate their race.[45] The Kirin Tor acquired Anub'arak's crown and set it aside for whenever the nerubians decided to coronate a new king.[42] The Lich King later raised Anub'arak back into undeath to attack the Argent Tournament, but he was killed again by adventurers.

Battle for Azeroth

Battle for Azeroth This section concerns content related to Battle for Azeroth.

During the Fourth War, Alliance and Horde adventurers encountered the Voru'kar, a brood of hostile, living nerubians who had escaped from Azjol-Nerub during the War of the Spider and settled on the Skittering Hollow, an island in the Great Sea. The adventurers killed the Voru'kar's leader, Vorus'arak, and brought his carapace back to Kilix the Unraveler in Northrend.[68]

The War Within

The War Within This section concerns content related to The War Within.

“Even now, the Harbinger gathers the children of the first flesh to reclaim what was lost. They must remember their vows and serve those to whom they owe fealty.”

— A Song of the Depths
Alleria Windrunner, Anduin Wrynn, and Thrall battling nerubians in Azj-Kahet.

With the Black Empire destroyed and the Old Gods dead, Xal'atath, the Harbinger of the Void, traveled to Khaz Algar and Azj-Kahet, the last kingdom of living nerubians,[5] to conscript its inhabitants into a new army to bring Azeroth to its knees.[69] She entered a bargain with the nerubian queen, Ansurek, offering her people the opportunity to rise from their isolation and become a powerful kingdom once again. In return for their loyalty, Xal'atath provided a way to evolve chosen nerubians into a new kind of powerful soldiers using dark alchemy. The nerubians began to harvest the blood of the Old Gods within Nerub-ar Palace and have begun a continuous assault against the Arathi humans of neighboring Hallowfall, threatening to overrun their borders. However, not all nerubians agree with Ansurek's alliance with Xal'atath, and they have begun to maneuver against her and Xal'atath's plans.[5]

Biology

Nerubian types of Azjol-Nerub.
Nerubian types of Azj-Kahet.

Nerubians are sometimes classed as arachnoids[70][71] and other times as insectoids.[16][26] Their young are called spiderlings, and hatch from eggs incubated within breeding pods[39] or the bodies of captured creatures (the host's body bursts apart in the process).[11] Adult nerubians sometimes carry their young with them into battle.[72][73]

Living nerubians are immune to both the plague of undeath and the Lich King's Domination, but their bodies can still be reanimated and controlled through necromancy.[3][4][71]

Undead nerubians are known to eat other humanoids.[74][75]

Types

Nerubians come in several different types, each of which has unique physical traits and a different place in nerubian society.[70]

  • IconSmall Nerubian.gif Nerubians — Standard nerubians resemble a genetic cross between humans and spiders. They have lower bodies supported by six arachnid limbs, and vaguely humanoid torsos equipped with two arms.[25][76] They can move with unsettling speed by quickly scurrying across the ground,[34][77] including across sleek ice that would cause other creatures' feet to slip.[36] They possess venom glands that produce a lethal and incurable toxin.[78] They can project powerful webbing to immobilize creatures[79] or encase them completely them inside cocoons,[61][80][81] holding them helpless until the attacking nerubian can lop off their head with snapping mandibles or impale and eviscerate them with their stiletto-sharp legs.[82] The webbing can be dissolved with the nerubians' own stomach acid.[83] Nerubians raised into undeath by the Scourge are called crypt fiends.
  • IconSmall NerubianFlyer.gif Flyers — A small type that can fly using wing-like membranes between their legs.
  • BTNNerubianQueen-Reforged.png Queens — A type that serves as both leaders and mothers to their subjects, and are rumored to be able to genetically pass knowledge from mother to daughter.[84]
  • IconSmall NerubianSpiderling.gif Spiders — A small, six-legged type.
  • IconSmall CryptLord.gif Spiderlords — Colossal behemoths that resemble a mixture between beetles and the other, more spidery nerubians.[25][77] They ruled as the kings of Azjol-Nerub prior to the War of the Spider.[85] Spiderlords raised into undeath by the Scourge are called crypt lords.
  • IconSmall NerubianVizier.gif Viziers — Highly intelligent spellcasters who served as advisors and sorcerers to the spiderlords prior to the War of the Spider.[86]

The following types are only found in Azj-Kahet:

Some bone spiders are considered nerubians.[87] Many scholars believe that all Azerothian spiders trace their roots back to Azjol-Nerub,[88] and the (unreliable)[89] Tribunal of Ages claims that spiders are descended from nerubians.[90] However, it should be noted that spiders unrelated to nerubians are also found natively on many other worlds and planes besides Azeroth.

Groups

Nerubian racial icon, as depicted in the archaeology interface.
Living
Scourged

Culture

The City of Threads in Azj-Kahet.

Nerubians are consistently characterized as "sinister", "evil",[3][4][70] and "wicked".[91] They are monstrously fierce in battle.[26] By nature, they are cruel,[70] fiercely intelligent, and deeply xenophobic, their will dedicated to wiping out any who are not like themselves.[34] Normally highly reclusive and suspicious of outsiders,[71] they usually attack other races on sight, unless they see an advantage in working with them.[70] On the other hand, Brann Bronzebeard claims that the few living nerubians he's met have all been "of a good sort".[28]

Before its fall, Azjol-Nerub was a center of knowledge, art, and learning.[28] The pre-Scourge nerubian culture remains preserved in Azj-Kahet.[5] Only the most powerful nerubian leaders have the capacity for magic, though many Scourged nerubians have become necromancers.[92] Nerubian treasures include items that can seem gruesome or disturbing to other beings, such as a ruby containing tiny imprisoned arthropods struggling to break free[93] or an ornate box containing a living, beating heart.[94] According to Brann Bronzebeard, there is a big difference between living and Scourged nerubian artifacts, with the latter being more unsettling.[95]

Nerubians mummify their dead with burial wrappings,[96] as demonstrated by the mummified and bandaged crypt fiends and crypt lords.[25][76]

Architecture

Nerubian architecture in the Upper Kingdom of Azjol-Nerub.

Nerubian architecture is adapted from that of Northrend's tol'vir.[7] It has been suggested that it may also have been inspired by the necrolords of Maldraxxus, one of the realms of the Shadowlands.[97]

The distinctive nerubian style is elegant, angular,[28] and beautiful, characterized by haunting, vivid colors of blue, purple,[82] green, and gold, some of which fluoresce in low light.[98] They make prominent use of spider motifs and curved stone pillars resembling insect legs,[77] and different rooms and corridors are denoted with intricate geometric shapes.[82] Nerubian towers are called ziggurats.[99] The sacrificial pits of Azjol-Nerub were used long ago to sacrifice enemy forces in exchange for success in battle.[100] Nerubians are crafty engineers: Azjol-Nerub's labyrinthine tunnels are filled with hidden passages,[11] mechanisms, aqueducts, and deadly and sometimes magical traps.[39][101] The denizens stored most of their treasures in hidden hoarding cells.[11] They kept their empire hidden using special ward devices.[20] Azj-Kahet, meanwhile, is dominated by the City of Threads, a sprawling, decaying city which has been built on the ruins of itself many times over, where the wealthiest citizens and those favored by Queen Ansurek inhabit hanging nests and huge palaces above the swarming masses of the many other districts.[5]

After the War of the Spider, the Lich King was so impressed by Azjol-Nerub's tenacious and fearless resistance that he adopted the nerubians' architectural style for his own structures,[3][4][26] in line with the Scourge's philosophy of taking architecture and technology from assimilated cultures rather than generating a culture of their own.[102] The ziggurats of Azjol-Nerub were repurposed as Scourge energy sources and defensive structures,[99] and the Lich King infused some of them with magic to transform them into airborne necropoli,[26] with the most infamous example being Naxxramas.[25] The celebrated Scourge architect Obrahiim took much of his early inspiration from nerubian architecture.[103]

Slavery and pets

The nerubians of Azjol-Nerub kept enslaved tol'vir known as obsidian destroyers. The Scourge claimed the nerubian empire's few remaining tol'vir slaves during the War of the Spider and threw them into the front lines of the Third War, but it's possible that more tol'vir still exist deep within Azjol-Nerub.[7]

According to legend, the nerubians used the giant jormungar worms as creatures of labor and forced them to carve passages through Northrend's subterranean ice to lay the groundwork for Azjol-Nerub's great cities. After the War of the Spider, swarms of the nerubians' jormungar went rogue.[104][105] Scourged nerubians use giant undead worms called Scourged burrowers to create their tunnels.[43]

The nerubians of Azjol-Nerub used arachnathid and spider crabs in some of their traps in order to guard against intruders.[39] Undead crypt fiends command normal spiders and can summon swarms of insects,[76][79] while crypt lords can summon carrion beetles and swarms of locusts.[106][107]

The nerubians of Azj-Kahet domesticate insects as beasts of burden and pets.[5]

Notable

Living
Name Type Role Status Location
 Reclaimer A'zak Nerubian Leader of the Azjol-anak reclamation of the Upper Kingdom Alive Azjol-Nerub
 Seer Ixit Vizier Leader of the Azjol-anak reclamation of the Old Kingdom Alive Ahn'kahet
 Kilix the Unraveler Nerubian Azjol-anak leader in the Pit of Narjun Alive Pit of Narjun, Dragonblight
BTNNerubianQueen-Reforged.png Nezar'Azret Queen Queen slain by Arthas Menethil and Anub'arak Deceased Azjol-Nerub
 Vorus'arak Spiderlord Swarm Lord of the Voru'kar Killable Skittering Hollow
Scourge
Name Type Role Status Location
 Anub'arak Crypt lord Traitor King of Azjol-Nerub, majordomo of the Lich King Deceased Various
 Anub'esset Crypt lord Prisoner of the Violet Hold Killable Assault on Violet Hold
 Under-King Anub'et'kan Crypt lord Leader of the Anub'ar in Icemist Village Killable Icemist Village, Dragonblight
 Anub'Rekhan Crypt lord Guardian of Naxxramas Killable Arachnid Quarter, Naxxramas
 Ix'lar the Underlord Crypt lord Would-be new leader of the Scourge Killable Ix'lar's Domain, Eastern Plaguelands
 Krik'thir the Gatewatcher Vizier Guardian of the entrance to Azjol-Nerub Killable Gilded Gate, Azjol-Nerub
 Elder Nadox Vizier Leader and tutor turned servant of the Scourge Killable Hall of the Conquered Kings, Ahn'kahet
 Nerub'enkan Crypt fiend Ziggurat guardian in Stratholme Killable The Gauntlet, Stratholme
 Tuten'kash Crypt fiend One of the Scourge's deadliest crypt fiend commanders Killable The Caller's Chamber, Razorfen Downs

As a companion pet

In the RPG

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

History

Nerubian artwork by Chris Metzen.

Long before the Sundering, the Gurubashi and Amani empires defeated the empire of Azj'Aqir and split them into two factions, the nerubians in the north and the qiraji in the south.[108] The nerubians arrived in what is now Northrend after the furbolgs and titans did and carved out the vast empire of Azjol-Nerub in the caves beneath the surface[109] after clashing with and claiming many bloody victories against the continent's other natives, especially the Drakkari ice trolls.[110] The furbolgs were apparently aware of Azjol-Nerub, as their songs mention "the many-legged dark", but since the furbolgs didn't go into the caves and the nerubians didn't go above ground, the two races never interacted.[109] Azjol-Nerub extended over much of Northrend. Occasionally, the kingdom kidnapped humans or elves for experimentation, but for the most part the nerubians remained isolated from surface affairs.[108][111] The Icecrown Glacier was their capital.[112]

When the Lich King arrived in Northrend, he immediately saw that the nerubians posed a major threat, as they were the most numerous, organized, and disciplined race in Northrend.[113] The nerubians were unconcerned about the fate of other races but knew that the Lich King's plans threatened their own existence, and hatched elite warriors to attack the Scourge.[108][111] The War of the Spider was long and hard and the nerubians almost won, with ten undead falling for every dead nerubian, but ultimately the endlessly replenished Scourge prevailed. Ner'zhul released the undead plague, destroying Azjol-Nerub in a matter of days. The libraries burned and the surviving nerubians fled. The Scourge raised the dead nerubians as crypt fiends to rebuild their cities and stole their architecture and arcane arts.[108][111][114]

The living nerubians that remain are scattered. Some groups, particularly those in Northrend, seek to rebuild their civilization, while others simply try to get by.[111] A few surviving nerubians are still scattered throughout Azjol-Nerub, with some hiding alone or in small groups, scavenging and killing Scourge whenever possible, while others form larger bands and plot rebellion against the undead. They have cordial relations with the Bronzebeard Expedition in Doorward, mostly leaving them alone and occasionally exchanging information and trading items for food.[114] Small packs of nerubians roam the Borean Tundra[115] and the Dragonblight, where they use dragon bones to take cover from Scourge patrols and make futile plans to reclaim their kingdom.[116] A major nerubian enclave is the Sundered Monolith, buried under the ice of southeast Northrend.[108] There are also scattered nerubian families in northern Kalimdor and a few nerubian settlements throughout Ashenvale.[111]

Appearance

Nerubians have the lower bodies of spiders and smaller upper bodies resembling dark-skinned humans covered in chitin. They have pincerlike claws instead of hands, but have no trouble handling complex tools. Their size depends on the diet assigned to their caste, with workers averaging 10 feet tall and the most ancient queens being able to reach 40 feet.[108] They tend to avoid combat when possible, but are disciplined if forced to fight, preferring quick charges and using simple weapons like spears and javelins. They can deliver a poisonous bite at close range, but prefer the distance that weapons offer. They can emit webs, both as an attack to entangle enemies and for traversal.[108][111] Nerubians often wear a special kind of chitin armor formed from their own molted exoskeletons. The discarded chitin is combined with wood pulp, lacquer, and various alchemical preparations.[111][117] Nerubians can see in the dark up to 60 feet.[108][110]

Society

Castes

Nerubians in their halls.

Nerubian society is meritocratic and divided into castes, somewhat similar to an insect hive, but without the sense of status or stigma that usually comes with the term. A nerubian's caste is determined in their youth; a worker who shows talent in a given area can join the appropriate caste, though social mobility decreases with age as diet and training will quickly lock them into a specific caste. A nerubian community has a single leader (usually the oldest female), a few advisors, a small guard of warriors, and a large body of workers. Smaller communities are ruled by councils of spiderlords, while larger settlements are ruled by queens. In Azjol-Nerub, there was also a king, Anub'arak. Groups formed for a specific purpose (such as a warband, a trade guild, or a group of decimated families) choose leaders with proven ability.[108][111] Nerubians hatch as spiderlings—small and voracious creatures that can gather in deadly swarms—and become adult at 3 years of age. Adults carry their spiderlings with them on their body while in their lairs.[118]

  • IconSmall Nerubian.gif Workers are the smallest type and endlessly labor to provide for the needs of the other castes.
  • IconSmall Nerubian.gif Seers are counselors and mages who preserve lore and serve as the community's intellectual backbone. The boldest of them are also explorers, and they understand the outside world better than other nerubians.
  • IconSmall Nerubian.gif Warriors usually serve as hunters, and are also organized into small bands to patrol a community's defenses.
  • IconSmall Nerubian.gif Webspinners serve as the engines of industry, and are skilled at creating webs which are used for many purposes.
  • IconSmall CryptLord.gif Spiderlords are holders of law who made up the majority of Azjol-Nerub's leadership. They still serve as leaders in smaller communities, and as advisors to queens in larger communities. Prominent warriors and seers can be elevated to spiderlords as a community grows.
  • IconSmall CryptLord.gif Queens are the mothers and rulers of the cities, usually advised by spiderlords.[108][111]

Daily life

At its height, the nerubian civilization was beautiful and cultured, but, by some accounts, cruel. Underground terraced pits and occasional aboveground ziggurats housed countless nerubians living, working, and contemplating the universe. Azjol-Nerub contained huge libraries of literature, music, philosophy, and arcane lore.[108][111] Nerubian architecture resembles a mix of human and insect influences. All surfaces in a nerubian community (including walls and ceilings) are meant to be traversed, and many surfaces are decorated with gemstone-adorned webs. Entrances are covered in thick gossamer barriers that are enchanted to alert the community when breached.[108] The nerubians were thorough artisans and left barely a corner of Azjol-Nerub's tunnels untouched. They polished every edge smooth and widened tunnels into corridors and ceilings while preserving the odd angles created by nature. They nurtured certain phosphorescent lichen and fungi to provide light. They set many deadly traps throughout their home, like hidden pits, trap doors, and statues that shoot frost at intruders.[114] Magic plays an important role in day-to-day life and helps to quicken breeding, heal injuries, watch for threats and game, and protect against Northrend's cold climate (many gems produced by seers are enchanted to provide heat). One of the most distinctive elements of nerubian society is obelisks. In Azjol-Nerub, the nerubians built many enormous obelisks crowned by huge gemstones that served as magical conduits. However, any modern enclave that built one would be effectively inviting an invasion by the Scourge.[108]

A nerubian fighting murlocs.

One nerubian community, the Sundered Monolith, is divided into several levels reserved for the different castes. The topmost level is reserved for warriors guarding against the surface and the middle ones for workers and food storage, followed by a library for seers and spiderlords, and finally at the bottom a huge cavern housing the queen and other egg-laying females. The architecture is most insectlike in the workers' quarters and most humanlike in the seers'. Nerubian communities spend much effort on producing food, with workers living on a diet of live maggots and termites while higher castes eat live birds, fish, and small mammals. Whenever possible, game animals are penned in underground enclosures. The closest thing to a nerubian delicacy is an eating practice among the warriors, who produce a sticky but edible line of web, spit venom onto it, and dip it into insect nests before consuming it. Larger nerubian communities also domesticate bane spiders and many other spider types as pets.[108]

Mentality

By the standards of other races, nerubians are a cold, callous people. Though keenly intelligent, they rarely see beyond their caste role, have little imagination, and rarely feel passion or express affection. They often find other races' ideas concerning emotions and culture to be strange and confusing. Their few emotions cause them to tend toward sadism and exercising power for its own sake, and they take satisfaction in paralyzing, torturing, and killing creatures for sport and meat. However, they are not impossible to understand. They do feel attachment and hatred, have a simple understanding of honor, and honor agreements with others. They do not worship logic; their emotions are simply not fettered by "warm-blooded ornamentation".[108][111]

Nerubian minds are different from most races, and their emotionless nature allows them to resist spells that affect the mind. Those who have attempted to telepathically communicate with them have described nerubian minds as "frozen", "like trying to drill through layers of solid ice". This quality also makes them immune to the Lich King's undead plague.[108][111]

Once a race of vigorous philosophers, the fall of Azjol-Nerub has reduced the nerubians to a passionless existence.[108] Where once they were proud, polished scholars and artisans who rarely expressed anger, they are now largely a nervous and almost paranoid people inclined to grief and rage.[114] A typical nerubian now lives out his life, performs his duties, and then dies (often violently), without advancement or hope. That said, they are still driven by the knowledge that the Scourge has wronged them.[108] In their quiet and passionless manner, nerubians despise the Scourge and will take any opportunity to do it harm,[111] even as they realize that they are too weak to overthrow the Lich King and must content themselves with their guerilla war. Nerubians trust and get along with no one. They shun contact with outsiders and tend to kill on first sight, viewing all non-nerubians with suspicion. This makes it difficult for other races to prove that they are also an enemy of the Scourge. It may be possible to convince them to parley if one presents suitable gifts and defers to their military might, but they are nonetheless very dangerous to approach.[108][110] The undead plague is a constant fear for nerubian enclaves, and they kill and burn anyone believed to be infected.[108]

That said, not all nerubians fall into dark ways. Some may join groups of adventurers in the hopes of striking against the Scourge, while other (often young) individuals) may leave their homes because they don't want any part of their people's hopeless conflict and want to become more than survivors. The remote possibility exists that a handful of nerubians are not evil and could get along better with other races than with their own kind.[110] Despite their apparent isolation, there is some evidence that the surviving nerubians maintain a network of magically disguised spies among other races. There are also rumors of wandering nerubian necromancers in Kalimdor (e.g. Mael Shelub), and Brann Bronzebeard believes that some seers may be dabbling in necromancy in the hopes of "beating the Lich King at his own game".[108]

Nerubians may place great store in longevity; nerubians encountered at the Sundered Monolith told Brann Bronzebeard their ages, and they seemed impressed by his.[108] Brann feels that nerubians and dwarves have much in common, as they are both attuned to living underground (although nerubians focus more on the intellectual than the physical), and he believes that the two races could have become strong allies had it not been for the War of the Spider.[114] Nerubians speak their own language, Nerubian, and many are also fluent in Common.[108] They can also learn the languages of creatures they occasionally interact with, such as Draconic, Dwarven, Low Common, Thalassian, and Zandali.[110]

Faith

In ancient Azjol-Nerub, there were five or six schools of religious thought, and theological debates were common. Eventually, however, most nerubians came to the conclusion that worshipping creatures from beyond the world is insane, and, in the words of the seer Ul'Tomon, "Given the intentions of most such entities toward the world, [...] makes as much sense as a fly caught in a web worshipping the spider who is about to devour him". To modern nerubians, even the concept of "worship" itself is alien and confusing. They may revere their queens and their ancestors, but they do not understand the concept of holiness.[108]

Notable

Notes and trivia

Gallery

  • Heroes of the Storm
  • Anub'arak hero artwork.

    Anub'arak hero artwork.

  • "Crypt Queen" skin for Zagara, a character from StarCraft.

    "Crypt Queen" skin for Zagara, a character from StarCraft.

  • Concept art of Crypt Queen Zagara.

    Concept art of Crypt Queen Zagara.

  • Concept art of Crypt Queen Zagara's nerubian-themed zerg minions.

    Concept art of Crypt Queen Zagara's nerubian-themed zerg minions.

See also

References

 
  1. ^ N [15-30D] Pupil No More
  2. ^  [Vizier's Scrawled Streamer]
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual, Undead History, War of the Spider
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h  [War of the Spider]
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j World of Warcraft 2023-11-03. BlizzCon | The War Within: What's Next Panel | World of Warcraft. YouTube. Retrieved on 2024-03-11.
  6. ^ a b c Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual, Creatures of Lordaeron & Northrend, Nerubians
  7. ^ a b c Ask CDev Answers - Round 1
  8. ^ a b c World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 73 - 74
  9. ^  [The Twin Empires]
  10. ^ The Troll Compendium: Early Troll Civilization - The Rise of Troll Civilization
  11. ^ a b c d e Into the Shadow Web Caverns
  12. ^ N [80H] All Things in Good Time
  13. ^ a b N [76D] The Faceless Ones
  14. ^ Zek'voz - Stage Two: Deception
  15. ^ The Forgotten Ones
  16. ^ a b Saga of the Valarjar: Scale of the Earth-Warder
  17. ^ Wrath of the Lich King: The Story So Far
  18. ^ a b c d e Wrath of the Lich King World Dungeons - Azjol-Nerub
  19. ^ a b N [15-30D] The Gatewatcher's Talisman
  20. ^ a b c d N [15-30D] Reclaiming Ahn'Kahet
  21. ^ a b Heart of War
  22. ^ Anub'arak (Trial of the Crusader tactics)#Quotes
  23. ^ The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, pg. 82: "Within the Dragonblight, the one-time seat of the nerubian empire, dense forests surround an arctic wasteland ..."
  24. ^ Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 70: "The seat of the old nerubian kingdom of Azjol-Nerub, long since fallen, sits in the roots of the land [Dragonblight]."
  25. ^ a b c d e Road to Damnation
  26. ^ a b c d e f World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, pg. 29
  27. ^ Vaeflare 2014-09-30. Anub'arak Hero Week - Heroes of the Storm. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24.
  28. ^ a b c d Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 75
  29. ^ N [80H] Proof of Demise: Herald Volazj
  30. ^ Herald Volazj#Adventure Guide
  31. ^ Dissension
  32. ^ Frostmourne (WC3 Human)
  33. ^ a b Nerubis Vanguards in H IconSmall BloodElf Male.gifIconSmall BloodElf Female.gif [50-70] The Fall of the Sunwell
  34. ^ a b c d Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, chapter 18
  35. ^ Key of the Three Moons
  36. ^ a b c Blood of the Highborne, chapter 2
  37. ^ H [1-30] Suncrown Village
  38. ^ The Return to Northrend
  39. ^ a b c d The Forgotten Ones
  40. ^ a b Huntsman Leopold#Quotes
  41. ^ a b c H [15-30] An Enemy in Arthas
  42. ^ a b N [80H] Proof of Demise: Anub'arak
  43. ^ a b c A [10-30] Plug the Sinkholes
  44. ^ B [10-30] Scouting the Sinkholes
  45. ^ a b c N [15-30D] Don't Forget the Eggs!
  46. ^ Prince Taldaram#Adventue Guide
  47. ^ H [10-30] Taking Back Mightstone Quarry
  48. ^ H [10-30] Bury Those Cockroaches!
  49. ^ The Collapse
  50. ^ A [10-30] Fueling the Project
  51. ^ A [10-30] Deploy the Shake-n-Quake!
  52. ^ H [10-30] Shrouds of the Scourge
  53. ^ H [15-30] Agmar's Hammer
  54. ^ H [15-30] Victory Nears...
  55. ^ H [15-30] The Lost Empire
  56. ^ H [15-30] The Might of the Horde
  57. ^ H [15-30] Return of the High Chief
  58. ^ Glory
  59. ^ N [20-30] Throwing Down
  60. ^ N [20-30] Death to the Necromagi
  61. ^ a b N [25-30] Scourge Tactics
  62. ^ N [25-30] Defending The Vanguard
  63. ^ N [25-30] Once More Unto The Breach, Hero
  64. ^ N [15-30D] Death to the Traitor King
  65. ^ N [15-30D] The Faceless Ones
  66. ^ Reclaimer A'zak quotes
  67. ^ Seer Ixit quotes
  68. ^ N [10-50] Vorus'arak's Carapace
  69. ^ World of Warcraft®: The War Within™. Archived from the original on 2023-11-17.​ “Journey through never-before-seen subterranean worlds filled with hidden wonders and lurking perils, down to the dark depths of the nerubian empire, where the malicious Harbinger of the Void is gathering arachnid forces to bring Azeroth to its knees. / Azj-Kahet: The pinnacle of nerubian society where Xal'atath, Harbinger of the Void, has been gathering and mutating nerubian forces to create an unstoppable army.”
  70. ^ a b c d e Ultimate Visual Guide, pg. 181
  71. ^ a b c WoW Classic: Naxxramas is Now Live!
  72. ^ Nerubian Warrior unit and World Editor tooltip: "Light melee unit that carries its young into battle."
  73. ^ Nerubian Spider Lord unit and World Editor tooltip: "Heavy melee unit that carries its young into battle."
  74. ^ Anub'Rekhan quotes
  75. ^ H [10-30] Untold Truths
  76. ^ a b c Warcraft III - Undead -> Units -> Crypt Fiend. Archived from the original on 2009-03-25.
  77. ^ a b c Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, chapter 23
  78. ^ N [25-30] Curing The Incurable
  79. ^ a b Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual, Undead Units, Crypt Fiend
  80. ^ Nerub'ar Victim
  81. ^ N [20-30] Cocooned!
  82. ^ a b c Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, chapter 24
  83. ^ N [15-30] Just Encased
  84. ^  [Scepter of Nezar'Azret]
  85. ^ Warcraft III - Undead -> Units > Crypt Lord. Archived from the original on 2009-03-24.
  86. ^ a b The Wrath of the Lich King Bestiary: Nerubian Vizier
  87. ^ Carrion Fleshstrippers count toward the objective of N [25-30] Defending The Vanguard
  88. ^ Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual, The Creatures of Kalimdor, Spiders
  89. ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 65
  90. ^ World of Warcraft: The Magazine Volume II Issue I, Ancient offshoot lineage chart
  91. ^ Archaeology interface description
  92. ^ The Old Wizard's Almanac
  93. ^  [Infested Ruby Ring]
  94. ^  [Gruesome Heart Box]
  95. ^ Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 47
  96. ^ Blizzard Entertainment 2020-01-15. Tales from the Smithy: Reforging the Undead. Archived from the original on 2020-03-12.​ “The reforged Crypt Fiend regains its missing legs, along with burial wrappings to represent its mummified origins, and a truly terrifying visage.”
  97. ^ JudgeHype 2020-11-19. Interview de Steve Danuser sur l'histoire de Shadowlands. Archived from the original on 2022-02-14.
  98. ^  [Six-Clawed Cornice]
  99. ^ a b Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual, Undead Structures, Ziggurat
  100. ^ Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual, Undead Structures, Sacrificial Pit
  101. ^ Ascent to the Upper Kingdom
  102. ^ The Decree of the Scourge
  103. ^ Compendium of Fallen Heroes
  104. ^ The Wrath of the Lich King Bestiary: Jormungar
  105. ^  [Ewer of Jormungar Blood]
  106. ^ Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne game manual, New Undead Hero, Crypt Lord
  107. ^ Warcraft III - Undead -> Units > Crypt Lord. Archived from the original on 2009-03-24.
  108. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Lands of Mystery, pg. 141 - 149
  109. ^ a b Lands of Mystery, pg. 85
  110. ^ a b c d e Dark Factions, pg. 43 - 45
  111. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Manual of Monsters, pg. 69 - 71
  112. ^ Lands of Mystery, pg. 108
  113. ^ Lands of Mystery, pg. 86
  114. ^ a b c d e Lands of Mystery, pg. 88 - 91
  115. ^ Lands of Mystery, pg. 93
  116. ^ Lands of Mystery, pg. 99
  117. ^ Lands of Mystery, pg. 207
  118. ^ Dark Factions, pg. 206
  119. ^ N Hunter [60R] Cryptstalker Boots
  120. ^ Exploring Azeroth: Northrend, pg. 14
  121. ^ Ahn'Kahar Blood Hunter's Battlegear concept art by Redknuckle
  122. ^ Sean Molloy 2007-09-24. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King PC Preview. 1UP. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11.
  123. ^ Blizzard Entertainment Salthem. WoW BlueTracker: 08/08 Information on Northrend. Archived from the original on 2007-11-03.​ “The Nerubian spiderlords are related to the silithid of Silithus and are followers of the Old Gods in Northrend.”
  124. ^ Robin Torres 2007-08-04. BlizzCon Day 2 WoW Lore and Quests panel liveblog. Archived from the original on 2008-05-03.
  125. ^ Choose the Next Shadowlands Mount#Poll announcement
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