Zaqali tribe
 Zaqali tribe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Main leader | Unknown |
| Formerly |
Zaqali Elders: Igira † Vakan † Gholna † Rashok † |
| Secondary leaders | Unknown |
| Formerly |
Warlord Kagni † |
| Race(s) |
  Djaradin |
| Character classes | Hunter, Shaman (Farseer, Pyromancer, Geomancer), Warrior (Berserker) |
| Capital | Zaqali Caldera |
| Theater of operations | Dragon Isles, Emerald Dream |
| Affiliation | Independent, Primalists |
| Status | Active |
The Zaqali tribe are a djaradin tribe located in Zaralek Cavern. Led by the Zaqali Elders, and presumably Warlord Kagni before the elders' awakening, they are far more magically talented than the Qalashi tribe[1] and also renowned smiths.[2]
History
The Zaqali were one of the djaradin tribes that fought against the dragons and eventually allied with the Primalists during the War of the Scaleborn, though they would eventually be defeated. They later traveled to Zaralek Cavern, where they discovered the djaradin elders: Igira, Vakan, and Gholna slumbering, while Rashok was missing and imprisoned inside Aberrus. Igira presumably having joined, or rejoined, the other two elders after her defeat in the Scaleborn War. The Zaqali were, however, unable to rouse the elders, and would settle around the Zaqali Caldera, praying for them to awaken one day.[2]
When the Great Sundering happened, the primal elements that once shaped the landscape of the Dragon Isles went dormant, and the dragons themselves departed in order to take care of the newly fractured world, closing off the isles to the outside in the process.[3] This event caused the djaradin to also go into a deep slumber underground that would last for millennia.[4]
Dragonflight
When the Dragon Isles were reopened, the Zaqali woke up from their slumber as well.
Embers of Neltharion
When Fyrakk, who had previously been freed from the Vault of the Incarnates alongside Iridikron and Vyranoth, broke into the Zaralek Cavern seeking to absorb the shadowflame found in the Zaqali Caldera, the Primalists reached out to the Zaqali tribe, rekindling their ancient alliance,[2] and helped them to awaken the Elders from their slumber. By the time Ebyssian, Sabellian, and their allies made it to the Caldera, the Primalists had already managed to awaken two of the four Elders, Vakan and Gholna, while Elder Igira was still slumbering and Elder Rashok was nowhere to be found.[5] While the dragons tried to stop the awakening of the last elder,[6] once Fyrakk finished absorbing the shadowflame in the caldera, he emerged from his wellspring and awakened Elder Igira.[7]
Soon after, Igira sent her finest crafters above ground under the aegis of Fyrakk's Primalists. In Suffusion Camps in the Azure Span and Ohn'ahran Plains, the djaradin and Primalists gathered raw materials and infused them with elemental power and shadowflame, while causing chaos and destruction to the land and people living nearby. The camps would come under assault by the dragons and their allies, though the purpose of the materials created in these camps would remain a mystery to them for a while.[8] Meanwhile, the Zaqali djaradin in Zaralek had to deal with attacks by adventurers sent to their territory for various quests. In one such incursion, the Elders Vakan and Gholna were vanquished by a small gathered army of adventurers.[9]
When a group of researchers from the Dragonscale Expedition in the Ruins of Drekazera decided to investigate some nearby Zaqali ruins, the djaradin attacked them for trespassing. The researchers theorized that the ruins were where the Zaqali had used dark rituals to tame the fiery beasts of Zaralek.[10]
When Aberrus was raided by the Sundered Flame, the Zaqali took the opportunity to launch an assault of their own, seeking to free Elder Rashok from his imprisonment. This warband, led by Warlord Kagni, was, however, defeated by allies of the dragons who had come there to stop the Sundered Flame. Soon after, due to the recent chaos, Rashok managed to free himself but was also defeated by the same champions that stopped Warlord Kagni and his warband.[11]
Guardians of the Dream
Seeking to envelop the nascent world tree, Amirdrassil, in flames that would spread around Azeroth when it finally bloomed, Fyrakk's Primalists recruited the Druids of the Flame to their cause and, alongside the Zaqali djaradin led by Igira, formed the Coalition of Flames. The materials gathered from the Suffusion camps by the djaradin and the Primalists turned out to be for the creation of 
[Fyr'alath the Dreamrender]. Igira herself forged the axe, and when it was done, Fyrakk used it to tear a gash into reality, creating an entrance to the Emerald Dream, where Amirdrassil currently resided.[12] From there, they launched their invasion, with the Zaqali taking part in the initial onslaught against the Dream Wardens in the Fields of Reverie.[13] The battle ended when more djaradin reinforcements were summoned, led by Igira herself, forcing the guardians of the Dream to retreat.[14] The djaradin then set up Slagfell Hold across the chasm from the Eye of Ysera, the Green dragonflight's seat of power in the Emerald Dream.
Later, Igira's new general, Galok Wingslicer, led the siege on the Eye of Ysera, seeking to take control of it in order to pervert the nature and stunt the growth of Amirdrassil, which was being nourished by the Eye's power.[15] During this siege, the djaradin summoned a fiery orb of shadowflame, the magic of which threatened to overwhelm the Eye, though the green dragons were able to create a magic barrier to temporarily defend against it.[16] Scouting then revealed that the djaradin force waiting to attack from Slagfell Hold had two more leaders, the Anvil and Moltenbinder,[17] and that Igira had supplied the troops with suffused weapons.[18] Not having the resources to attack the djaradin base, the dragons instead prepared a trap in their own territory for Galok and his forces, and dispelled the magic shield holding them off in order to lure them in.[19] The djaradin fell for the trap and attacked the Eye, leading to many casualties among Galok's army, including the Anvil and Moltenbinder.[20] Weakened from the battle, Galok tried to escape but was chased down and finished off by Merithra, ending the siege.[21]
Eventually, Fyrakk broke through the barrier protecting the Wellspring Temple, seeking to use it to connect the Emerald Dream to the Firelands. Igira and the Zaqali followed him into the temple, though while the Primalists and the Druids of the Flame delved deeper, the djaradin stayed in the Wellspring Atrium, becoming the first line of defense against the Dreamwardens and their allies who came to stop the Shadowflame Incarnate and his followers. The djaradin tormented the ancients in the atrium, burning them alive. Not long after, the Dreamwardens started their attack, clashing with the Zaqali. When most of the djaradin troops were defeated, Igira unleashed Gnarlroot upon them, a powerful ancient who had been twisted by the Elder's shadowflame magic. Gnarlroot was vanquished by the raiding army, however, and so Igira's time had finally come. Despite a fierce battle, Igira eventually succumbed to the champions' onslaught, thus came the end of the last Elder. Fyrakk and the rest of the Coalition of Flame would meet their demise as well, ending the conflict.[22]
Named members
- Notable
- Others
References
- ^
[70] Know Thy Enemy
- ^ a b c [70] Legends of the Zaqali
- ^ Dragonflight Survival Guide - "the Sundering changed everything, and the primal elements that once shaped the landscape went dormant, and the dragons themselves departed"
- ^ World of Warcraft 2022-04-19. Waking Shores and Ohn’ahran Plains Preview. YouTube. Retrieved on 2022-04-20.
- ^ [70] Sight Beyond Sight
- ^ [70] Shut Them Down
- ^ [70] From Hell's Heart
- ^ [70] Suffusion Camp
- ^ [70EEWQ] Zaqali Elders
- ^ Researchers Under Fire#Zaqali Djaradin ruins scenario
- ^ Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible
- ^ [70] Call of the Dream
- ^ [70] Burning Assault
- ^ [70] The Cruel
- ^ [70] Eye of Ysera
- ^ [70] A New Brute
- ^ [70] In and Out Scout
- ^ [70] Disarm Specialist
- ^ [70] Good Counsel
- ^ [70] Triple Threat
- ^ Fight and Flight
- ^ Amirdrassil, the Dream's Hope