Abyss and ancient gods. Why did the ancient gods really want Sargeras to come to Azeroth What magic do the ancient gods use in wow

Continuation of the translation of the "Chronicle of Warcraft". The following passages below show how the Titans defeated the Old Gods and created Ulduar with Uldum.

Wrath of the Titanborn

Led by the Guardians, the Titanborn invaded the northern reaches of the Black Empire. The army of the Pantheon marched with irrepressible force, crushing everything in its path. They unleashed the wrath of the gods on their enemies, crushing the legions of N'kari and Akir and destroying their temples.

The invasion took the Old Gods by surprise. They had to fight back these stone and metal-skinned invaders without losing their grip on Azeroth. In order to do this, they called for the help of their loyal vassals - the Lords of Elements.

The enraged Elemental Lords with their forces besieged the Titanborn from all sides. Carefully preparing for battle with the united army of the elements, the Guardians decided to split up and defeat their enemies separately. To do this, they distributed their forces for battle with the chosen Overlord. Tyr and Odin volunteered to fight the devastating Firelord Ragnaros. Their fierce battle lasted for several weeks and the lands were flooded with magma and all-consuming fire. Through their strength and will, Tyr and Odin forced Ragnaros to retreat to his volcanic lair to the east. In an ocean of seething acid seas and skies covered with ash, the two Guardians defeated Ragnaros.

At the same time, Archedas and Freya directed their forces towards Terazan. In order to protect herself and her vassals, the Mother of the Stone retreated to the tower she called home. Archedas used his dominion over the land to weaken the foundations of the citadel and shatter the giants who guarded it. Freya created colossal roots that rose from the ground and wrapped around the tower. They penetrated stone and glass, twisting the walls of the fortress and bringing them down on Terazan's head.

Ra, Thorim, and Hodir went against Al'akir, Lord of the Wind. Using the magic of the skies and storms, they forced Al'Akir to flee to the highest peak of Azeroth. Lightning flashed in the sky as Al'akir tried to contain his enemies. In the end, the three Guardians turned the power of the elemental lord against himself and overthrew him.

Neptulon, the Lord of the Tides, and his troops rushed to the rescue, but were stopped by Loken and Mimiron. Two Guardians outwitted Neptulon, outstripping his forces at every turn. In the end, Loken used arcane magic to freeze and shatter the water elementals, while Mimiron set up a trap with which they captured Neptulon himself.

Although the Guardians defeated the Elemental Lords, they knew they could not completely destroy these creatures. The Spirits of the Lords were inextricably linked to the matter of Azeroth. Even if they are destroyed, after some time they will still be reborn.

Ra quickly found a solution. He did to the lords of the elements what Sargeras did to the demons in his day. Ra summoned the skilled Titan-born sorceress Helia to help. Together, they created four interconnected realms within a small space known as the Elemental Plane. Ra and Helia locked up the elemental masters and almost all of their servants there.

Ragnaros and his retainers were banished to the ever-smoking, mountainous plains known as Tierra del Fuego. Terazan and her stone giants are trapped in Dipholm. Al'akir and his loyal winds were trapped in the midst of the peaks of the Heavenly Wall. Neptulon and the water elementals were sucked into the phantom depths of the Abyssal Deeps. Few elemental spirits were left free. And without their overlords, they ended the war.

Having ended the war with the elements, the Guardians once again turned their gaze to the legions of the Black Empire. Many insect-like creatures lived in giant catacombs that hid under the disfigured surface of the earth. Using his power over stone and earth, Archedas brought down the catacombs, forcing these creatures to come out into the light. Coming out of the ground, the creatures found themselves surrounded by the Titanborn troops.

The Tyanoborn and the Akir clashed in fierce battles. Over time, the Guardians destroyed almost the entire Akir race. Very few swarms have managed to hide in the underground tunnels, escaping the wrath of the Titanborn. And they were too exhausted to strike back.

Old Gods Dark Empire Map of Azeroth

Fall of the Dark Empire

The victories over the akirs and the elements strengthened the Guardians' self-confidence, but they knew that their most difficult battles were yet to come. They turned their burning eyes to the heart of the Dark Empire: a sprawling city of temples built around the Ancient God Y'Shaarj. After destroying the most fortified stronghold in Azeroth, the Guardians were counting on a swift victory over their enemies.

The Guardians and their troops went on the attack towards the towering I'Sharaj, extinguishing one wave of n'raki after another. The hacked and shattered bodies of the Titanborn and the n'raks strewn everything around as the attackers fought their way to the city to attack the Ancient God himself. But E'Shaarj turned out to be a more powerful foe than the Guardians had expected. It poisoned the Titanborn's minds with fear and clouded their thoughts.

Seeing this, the Titans of the Pantheon realized that the Old God could defeat their creatures. Despite the risk of causing irreparable damage to the world, they decided to intervene. Aman'Tul descended into the world from the thundering heavens and grabbed E'Shaarj. With all his might, he pulled the Old God out of the planet's crust. The gigantic body of the Old God was torn apart. The death of the Old God shook everything around so that hundreds of Titanborn died on the spot.

E'Shaarj was dead, but his tentacles gnawed deeper into the planet than Aman'Tul could have imagined. Now there was an unhealed wound on the planet's face. Mystical energies - the blood of a sleeping titan - pulsed from the scar, filling the world around.

Horrified by what had happened, the Titans realized that they could no longer risk killing the other Old Gods in this way. Monstrous creatures are too deeply rooted in the planet and by ripping them out of Azeroth, you can destroy this world.

The Pantheon realized that the only way was to imprison the Old Gods in the places where they took root. It was a difficult task, but it can be done with the help of the Guardians. Under orders from the Pantheon, the Titanborn came up with a plan to destroy the remnants of the Black Empire forever. They were going to fight each of the Ancients separately and, when they were weakened to the limit, imprison them in underground prisons that Archedas would create. When this is done, Loken will seal them with arcane magic to neutralize the evil forever.

After agreeing on the plan, the Titanborne took action. Great battles took place in the southeast, where N'Zoth ruled. Taking up over the Old God, the Titanborn imprisoned him in an underground prison. After that, they headed southwest, where K'Tun lived in the great city of temples. The Guardians and their troops had to fight the hordes of n'raki before engaging in combat with the Old God himself. Just like with N'Zoth, the Guardians imprisoned K'Tun in an underground prison.

Only one Ancient God remained free - the cunning and insidious Yogg-Saron. He was not going to give up so easily. As soon as the Titanborn army approached the cliffs of the northern stronghold of the Old God, he threw into battle his most powerful general - K'Traxi.

C'Traxi was a mighty warrior, stronger and tougher than any n'raki. He possessed great strength and a cruel mind, his dark powers and curses could drive anyone crazy, even the Titan-born.

Giant, with tentacles growing out of his head, C'Traxi gathered the remnants of the forces of the Dark Empire and, setting them into a frenzy, led into battle. They attacked the Titanborn from all sides, thinning their ranks. By the time the Titanborn reached Yogg-Saron, their strength was at an end. They realized that they would not have enough of them in order to defeat the Ancient God. Yogg-Saron could destroy the army completely, if not for the feat of Odin.

Scarred Odin shook off fatigue and inspired the army to attack again. He ordered Loken to create an illusion that would make C'Traxi - and even Yogg-Saron - see himself as an enemy. As the forces of the Black Empire turned their weapons against each other, Odin burst into their ranks and attacked the confused enemies. The other Titanborn followed him and eventually succeeded in forcing Yogg-Saron into surrender. Just like N'Zoth and K'Tun, Yogg-Saron was locked in a monolithic and enchantable prison.

Well of Eternity and Forge of Peace

For the first time in the history of Azeroth, peace came to him. The Titanborn trapped the elemental spirits in another plane of being. They destroyed the Dark Empire and captured the terrible Old Gods. Despite all the losses, Azeroth was saved.

There was still a lot of work to be done. Most of all, the Guardians were worried about the wound that remained after Aman'Tul tore I'Sharaj from the earth's crust. A constant stream of mystical energy emanated from a giant rift, spreading throughout the world. The Guardians knew that if they had left it that way, these energies would have consumed Azeroth completely.

The Guardians worked day and night to create protection around the open wound and stop the bleeding. Finally, the raging energies calmed down and the balance was restored. All that remains of the wound is a huge lake, which the Guardians called the "Well of Eternity". Subsequently, the power of this miraculous source helped the planet recover from the consequences of the chaotic wars of the elements and the dominion of the Dark Empire.

After the wound was healed, the Guardians decided to strengthen the soul world and its vitality. To this end, Archedas and Mimiron joined forces and created the Forge of Will and the Forge of Creation. These two amazing mechanisms worked in conjunction, filling the spirit of the sleeping titan with cosmic energies. The Forge of Will was built far to the north and it was supposed to enhance the ability of the world-soul to feel. The Forge of Creation was located in the south and controlled the deep rhythms of the earth, fortifying the form of the soul-world.

Once these two machines were built, the Guardians got to work. One oversaw the construction of the Forge of Souls on the massive slopes of the northern mountains, which were later called the Storm Peaks. The Pantheon made Odin the Chief Steward for his exploits in the war against the Old Gods. He was to oversee Yogg-Saron's prison and maintain the Forge of Will. One and the other Guardians immediately set about building a huge fortress, Ulduar, which became the main stronghold of the Titanborn on Azeroth. The fortress not only contained the prison of Yogg-Saron, but also the Forge of Will and other Guardian machines.

The Forge of Will had another purpose. She could draw life force from Azeroth itself and give shape and the ability to feel to creatures of living stone and metal - not only giants, but other Titanborn as well. The new generation of Titanborn were supposed to help the Guardians organize the world.

While the Forge of Will was creating a new generation of Titanborn, High Guardian Ra led a southern expedition to build the Forge of Creation. He was accompanied by the helpers created by the Forge of Will - stone-skinned Anubisats, lion-people tol'vir and stubborn mogu.

Along the way, Ra discovered that E'Shaarj's remains were scattered across the southern reaches of the world. When Aman 'Thul plucked the Old God from the planet, parts of the creature fell back to the surface and plagued the earth with evil. The largest intact part was a frozen heart, diseased flesh oozing with the power of the Abyss.

Instead of destroying the heart, Ra built an underground vault in order to leave it there and neutralize the evil that it radiated. He, along with the other Guardians, knew that by studying the heart, they would understand more about the nature of the Old Gods. Ra assigned the mogu who followed him to guard the E'Shaarj Hall. They also remained to guard the lands around him.

Ra continued on his way and moved west. Here, he and his followers built the Forge of Creation. The ground rumbled under Ra's feet as giant machines rose from the ground. Soon, the Supreme Guardian felt that the twin machines were working together to heal the soul of the world. Ra and his assistants built a fortress, which became the southern outpost of the Guardians - Uldum.

Like the Forge of Will, the Forge of Creation served two purposes. In the event that plants and animals were subject to damage, the forces contained in the machine would be released and cleanse the planet of all living things in order to start evolution again.

High Guardian Ra has ordered the tol'vir and anubisats to guard Uldum forever. He and his remaining assistants fled south to the lifeless lands known as Silithus, where the prison of another Ancient God, K'Tun, was located. Ra and his forces made the prison bigger and built a fortress - An'Qiraj. Upon completion of construction, the remaining Titanborn became the prison's guards.

Convinced that the work was done, Ra remained in the south, and spent the next centuries wandering and observing from afar how the Titan-born did their duty.

BlizzardWatch's Ann Stickney wondered why the naaru are so indifferent to the ancient gods, and what both are in fact. Today we will be discussing the history of WoW in a foil hat. The material contains guesses based on known facts. A guess is nothing more than a hypothesis, which should not be perceived by you as fact or official lore.

Naaru and the Light

First, we need to go back and look at the artifact of the Priests of Light - specifically the text that reads, "Creatures of pure Light, the benevolent naaru rescued the draenei from their homeworld." This is the first part of the first sentence, which I cannot forget for a long time, because its essence lies in the fact that the naaru are composed of the light of the heavens. This is not immediately obvious, but it makes sense, especially given the previously known material (of which there is not much) about these mysterious creatures.

Lady Liadrin and the Blood Knights were able to pump light directly from the M "uuru to the Bruning Crusade - then the naaru literally played the role of a battery. And let's face it - the naaru really does not have any similar material body. a soothing, soothing aura, as if shining from an inner light, it is difficult to look at them without covering your eyes, as if you are looking at the Sun.

And if we really touch on this subject, maybe An "she was a naaru? Then it turns out that the naaru taught the tauren how to use the light before everyone else learned to do it. These abilities were lost by the tauren at some point, and were later picked up by humans. Eastern Kingdoms, but hey, in a society where information could only be transmitted verbally, it would be very plausible to assume that the tauren looked at the naaru and called it the sun, because there was no other way to identify it and had no idea what kind of creature it was.

The Naaru and the Abyss

From now on, things get a little more complicated. The naaru have a natural cycle of life, and they follow it, thereby regenerating each time. The abandoned naaru will eventually go through the cycle of "death" and return to the light. The cycle of "death", or the dark cycle of the Void, is a rare occurrence, but many claim to have witnessed it and is said to be a natural part of being a naaru. The Naaru are not afraid when this happens, because it is just part of their life cycle.

The naaru who entered the Void are not necessarily bad. In fact, we've met dark naaru enough to see that they aren't always bad - K "ure regretted that his Void state was consuming the souls of orcs and tried to fix it with the players. D" ore was upset that his Void state did to Auchindoun, but noted that nothing could be done to stop the cycle - it was just part of the naaru.

In reality, the dark naaru only became completely bad when others intervened - M "uuru was used and forced to guard the Sunwell, and it was during this time that he turned into the god of the Abyss. In Warlords, K" ur was a prisoner of Cho Gall and was It seems that this state of the naaru is literally like a state of light - during it you can even draw energy from the naaru, but unlike the energy of light that you normally receive, in a state of emptiness you get darkness and emptiness.

The Abyss and the Old Gods

Now things will get even more complicated, because as we were told in the preview of the priests of Darkness, the magic of the Abyss is mainly the domain of the ancient gods. And as it turned out earlier, she makes Cho "Gall's actions in Azeroth and Draenor mirrored. In Azeroth, Cho" Gall eventually began to serve K "Tun. In Draenor, Cho" Gall deliberately uses the magic of the void from K "ure. So here's the question: is this magic the same?

It seems to me that this is the whole point of the matter. But if so, then what are the ancient gods really?

Here's what we know: the ancient gods are obsessed with the ideas of chaos and darkness. When they came to Azeroth, they infected all creatures with the curse of flesh - to make them easier to influence. The old gods speak in the whisper of a madman, and they have no clear purpose before them. They are strongly opposed to any creation of the titans, or in other words: they are for chaos, which is completely opposite to the order of the titans.

They are also smart. Very smart. They are not just faceless creatures, they have plans for the world, and they are willing to go for a long time for their purposes: slowly corrupting the dragons from within, or do the same with the watchers of Ulduar. It was even once stated that the titans did not dare to re-design Azeroth, only because the traces of the ancient gods have penetrated into too many places - if you destroy the ancient gods, you will destroy Azeroth itself.

Curse of the flesh

Let's talk about the curse of the flesh, because there are things that are not fully understood right now. Here we have the naaru, who have a natural state of emptiness, and here we have the ancient gods who are the masters of the magic of the void. Do the ancient gods have their naaru hidden somewhere? And how were they able to create the genetic corruption that turned metal into flesh?

What if the curse of the flesh isn't even genetic engineering? What if they didn't actually create it, but were just the bearers of it? What if, as speculation, the Old Gods are not actually even “gods”, but just naaru in a state of void who have become infected with the curse of the flesh?

Look at this: the naaru were never bothered by the actions of the ancient gods. They are obsessed with the desire to stop the Burning Legion, but have not said anything at all about the ancient gods, despite the fact that the goals of the Burning Legion and the "gods" coincide.

In fact, they show the same indifference to the ancient gods as to the dark naaru, perhaps because they are one and the same. If this is indeed the case, and the Old Gods are dark naaru twisted by the curse of flesh, what would a normal naaru look like if they were also afflicted?

Yeah. We go in their direction.

There are many pointers around the world that people learned about the light from the titans, or their guardians, or rather Tyr. But again, it is strange enough that the naaru do not say anything about the titans, and in the places where titan technology is developed, there is no mention of the naaru. This is where I get lost, because if it's logical to look at it, it's the same magic.

The draenei paladins use the same light as the human paladins, and the same light that the tauren sun worshipers have now mastered. One would think that somewhere a long time ago, these two kinds of strange cosmic creatures met, and yet, both are silent.

I assumed that once upon a time there were titan paladins who perfected the skill of mastering the light, and so much so that they rose above the material form and became the light itself, at the same time beginning to call themselves naaru.

But before, I had never considered the opposite: the titans are the naaru (the very beings made of light) who were struck by the curse of the flesh. This would explain why the titans and the naaru never discuss each other - because they are of the same species, technically speaking. And that would explain why the naaru are so strongly opposed to the Burning Legion and at the same time indifferent to the actions of the ancient gods.

Because Sargeras is unknown. He is not a dark naaru afflicted with the curse of flesh. He is a light naaru, struck by the curse of flesh, who suddenly decides to turn dark. He is an anomaly, and for some reason he poses a greater threat to the universe than the ancient gods. Why?

Because the ancient gods and titans worked in the same cycle as the regular naaru. The Titans were for order, the ancient gods for chaos, which is quite similar to the life cycle of the naaru. Where there is one, the second will always appear and will "pull the rope" in its direction, forcing the universe to live on. Sargeras, in turn, wants to end this cycle forever, and ... the naaru simply cannot afford it.

Whether this is true or not, we will most likely never know. But if this hypothesis is correct, we leave open another huge and disturbing question: where did the curse of the flesh come from, and what is its true purpose? We may not find out soon enough, but the Legion and the elusive Pillars of Creation we must hunt down may answer some similar questions.

The most powerful of the Old Gods, was killed by the Titans, and only his heart survived to be awakened thousands of years later. The Pantheon was unable to defeat H "Zoth, whose exact location remains unknown.

Although the Old Gods are captured or destroyed, their influence still corrupts mortal peoples (and immortal beings too). The Old Gods are considered one of the most dangerous and constant threats facing heroes. While the ones that made it to Azeroth remain the most famous, there are other Old Gods in the universe.

History

Creation and purpose

Arriving on Azeroth

The Four Old Gods have arrived on another planet containing the soul of a titan and located in a remote corner of the Great Beyond Darkness. This titan was to be named Azeroth in the future. The Old Gods, who bore the names K "Tun, Yogg-Saron, N" Zot and I "Sharaj, collapsed to the surface of the world in various places, introducing their vast bodies into the earth's crust.

Black Empire and K "Tun

They towered like mountains of flesh, adorned with hundreds of fanged mouths and black eyes. Around the bodies of the Old Gods, miasms of despair spread, and their desecrating effects, like cancerous tumors, spread across the planet, turning the lands into a black and lifeless wasteland. Along with this, the tentacles of the Gods burst deeper and deeper into the core of Azeroth, trying to get to his defenseless heart - the future titan.

Living matter seeped from the bodies of the Old Gods, from which two races of creatures originated: the insidious and intelligent n "crayfish, which would later become known as the Faceless, and the Akiri - strong insect-like creatures with strong bodies. The two peoples were the physical embodiment of the Old Gods and fanatically served to their creators.

With new minions, the Old Gods' influence expanded. The Faceless became ruthless overlords, forcing the Akiri to build tall citadels and cities around the huge bodies of the Gods. The largest city was built around Yi Sharaj - the most powerful Ancient God, which was located in the central part of the largest continent on Azeroth. A growing civilization, which included n "Raki and Akiri, continued to grow and became known as the Black Empire.

The development of the Black Empire drew attention to the elementals who ruled Azeroth before the arrival of the Old Gods. Although the four elemental lords known as Ragnaros, Al 'akir, Neptulon and Terazan fought each other for millennia, they joined forces against the Old Gods to regain control of the planet. The elemental power was enough to destroy many of the Black Empire's strongholds. , but in the end they lost the war and became servants of the Old Gods.

Titan intervention

Finally Azeroth was discovered by the titans of the Pantheon, who recognized their future brother on the planet and gave him this name. They realized that someday Azeroth would become such a powerful titan that it could defeat the Lords of the Abyss. To fight the Old Gods and their Black Empire, the Titans created a huge army of forged creatures, led by guardians endowed with the powers of the Pantheon. The army included anubisats, tol "viras, earthen, mogu, mechagnomes and various giants.

Heart And "Sharajah is all that remains of him

The Guardians, using the powers bestowed upon them, were able to destroy the most powerful Ancient God - And "Sharaj. The murder left a gaping wound on the body of Azeroth, from which blood rose, and this wound became. The Guardians realized that the titan in the depths of Azeroth would die from loss of blood if they would try to kill the rest of the Old Gods. Then it was decided that K "Tun, Yogg-Saron and N" Zoth would be defeated and imprisoned in the depths of the earth. A massive complex called Ulduar was built over Yogg-Saron, the last defeated god. "Tuna became a place known in the future as An" Qiraj and located near Uldum. The Heart of Y Sharaj — the only thing left of it — was housed in a crypt in the future Pandaria. H "Zoth was sealed somewhere in the depths of the Great Sea. For the four elemental lords and their servants, who were also defeated by the army of titans, a separate closed dimension was created - the Abode of the Elements. All the elementals were there and continued their endless war with each other.

To provide the world with protection from the influence of the Old Gods, who, despite being captured, could influence those around them, the titans, through the guardians, decided to empower the five dragons who became Aspects and were obliged to protect Azeroth. Nozdormu became the Bronze Aspect and gained power over time to keep history right and oversee the fate of mortals. Alexstrasza, the red dragon, became the keeper of all life and played a key role in protecting the world from desecration. The green Ysera was tasked with protecting the Emerald Dream, a special dimension of Azeroth through which life spreads. Blue Malygos became the guardian of arcane magic, which was an incredibly dangerous weapon if it fell into the wrong hands. The Guardians made a fatal mistake, which still played a role in the future: the black Neltharion, the fifth Aspect, they gave power over the lands, although it was there that the Old Gods were imprisoned.

Meanwhile, Sargeras, who left the Pantheon for good, completed the creation of the Burning Legion. The Pantheon tried to meet with Sargeras, knowing about the threat of the Lords of the Abyss, and told about Azeroth, which in the future can deal with them. Sargeras destroyed the rest of the Titans with fel magic and began a quest for Azeroth to prevent absolute evil from incarnating in this world due to the actions of the Old Gods. The souls of the Titans of the Pantheon, protected by the spell, survived and tried to migrate to the keepers of Azeroth, but died during the migration. The Guardians received only flashes of emotions and memories of their creators and, not understanding anything, turned to the Pantheon, from which they never received an answer. Only Ra understood what exactly happened and was able to save a particle of the soul of Aman "Tula, after which he hid it in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.

Curse of the Flesh

Yogg-Saron, trapped deep beneath Ulduar, created the Curse of Flesh, which made the titan creatures weak and easily destroyed, turning their stone or iron bodies into living flesh. The Old God began to influence the guardian of Loken and over time was able to drive him crazy. Under the influence of Yogg-Saron, Loken intervened in the work of the Forge of Will, through which the creatures of the titans appeared.

All new creatures created with the Forge of Will received this curse, which eventually turned their bodies into flesh. Later, the Curse of the Flesh was made a disease that was transmitted from one creature to another. Loken reprogrammed Ulduar as Chief Curator and set out with his armies to retrieve the Guardian Ra, whom he could not find. However, his armies passed on the Curse of Flesh to the not yet infected tol "viras, anubisats and mogu.

Although the curse was created by the Old Gods to serve their dark purposes, it was through it that many peoples of modern Azeroth emerged, including dwarves, gnomes, and humans.

War of the Ancients

Ten thousand years before the beginning of the First War, Queen Azshara, who ruled the night elves, and her Highborne, desired to open a portal for Sargeras, who finally discovered Azeroth. Alexstrasza turned to the rest of the Aspects, and Neltharion, the most respected of them, proposed a plan to protect the planet - to invest the powers of each of the Aspects in a simple golden disk that would become such a powerful artifact that it could protect Azeroth from any outside threats. Neltharion succeeded in convincing the other Aspects of the need for this plan, and thus the Dragon Soul was created.

Unbeknownst to the Aspects, Neltharion heard the whispers of the Old Gods imprisoned in the very land he was supposed to watch over. The gods knew who Sargeras was and what his appearance meant for Azeroth. They decided to use the energy of the portal created for him to free themselves from captivity. However, Illidan Stormrage took possession of the Dragon Soul and used it to close the portal, thereby preventing the release of the Old Gods and causing a massive disaster that would forever change the world.

Ten thousand years later, the Old Gods invaded Nozdormu's domain and created a rift in time to send several creatures into the War of the Ancients. It could change the course of history and give them another chance to free themselves. But this plan did not materialize due to the intervention of Nozdormu, sending Krasus, Rhonin and Broxigar back in time.

War of the Shifting Sands

Over time, K "Tun began to gain strength and, using the Qiraji army that emerged from the Akiri, conquered the ancient Titan research complex built above his dungeon in Silithus. K" Tun waited until his insect army was powerful enough and began to conquer nearby territories night elves, intending to rule all of Kalimdor. Thus began the War of the Shifting Sands, in which damned creatures of the titans like the tol "viras fought on the side of the qiraji.

In the early battles, the night elves acted quickly and efficiently, winning victories thanks to the brilliant command of Fandral Staghelm. However, after the death of his son, the Qiraji were able to drive the night elves out of Silithus. The war seemed nearly won by K "Tong and his army, but the combined forces of the night elves and dragons were able to push the insects back to the Ahn Qiraj. They did not even hope to defeat the Old God and decided to seal the Qiraji troops inside their own fortress. Fandral Staghelm, entrusted with the Scepter of Shifting Sands, closed the Ahn Qiraj behind the Scarab Wall and shattered the scepter to pieces, grieving for the death of his son.

New era

• K "Tun awoke in the ruins of An" Qiraj, and the Scarab Wall was opened to defeat him. A squad of heroes of Azeroth descended into the dark depths and dealt with the Old God. The remains of K "Tun, which still had power, were later used by Cho Gall and the Twilight's Hammer cult until the Ahn Qiraj was finally brought down.
• During the war against the Scourge in Northrend, it was revealed that Loken, seated in the Halls of Lightning, plans to finally free Yogg-Saron. Soon, the League of Explorers reached Ulduar and, discovering the activity of the Old God, reported this to the Alliance, the Horde and the Kirin Tor. A squad of heroes once again descended into the depths of the titan complex and destroyed the Old God.
• Zoth created the Emerald Nightmare, which corrupted the Emerald Dream and turned the satyr Xavius \u200b\u200binto the Nightmare Lord. He was also behind Deathwing's plans to return to Azeroth and cause the Cataclysm.
• The Heart of Y Sharaj was found in Pandaria, and Garrosh Hellscream awakened him by nourishing him with the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Garrosh took his heart to Orgrimmar and used its power to strengthen himself and his companions. However, during the siege of Orgrimmar, he was defeated and his heart lost the last remnants of energy.

Quantity and Description

Although early sources indicated the existence of three, and four, and five Old Gods, according to the latest information, exactly four arrived on Azeroth - K "Tun, Yogg-Saron, N" zot and I "Sharaj.

To "Tun

Whispers are mentioned in ancient tauren legends:

“Wandering through the fields of dawn, the children of the earth heard a gloomy whisper from the bowels of the earth. This whisper told them about war and deception. Many Shu halo fell under his spell and let evil into their souls. They turned away from their good brothers and lost their primordial purity.

Seeing the fall of her children, Mother Earth could not stand such grief. She tore out her eyes and threw them into the endless firmament. Since then, An "she and Mu" sha, as if wishing to console each other, have been chasing each other across the sky. Therefore, the day is followed by the night. "

Sorrow of Mother Earth

“When the dawn mists cleared away, the days that we remember came. Cenarius has gone on his own inescapable ways. Because of his departure, the Shu "halo, called the tauren, fell into despair and forgot much of what he taught. A generation changed and they forgot how to speak with trees and herbs. And then dark voices from the bowels of the earth began to reach their ears again. the earth did not listen to dark voices, but a terrible curse befell them. "

Hatred of the Centaur

Whispers in World of Warcraft

Heroes of Azeroth hear the whispering voices of the Old Gods as they visit certain locations, engage in certain battles, or touch certain items.

Only insane creatures roam the sleeping city of Ni "alote.

Look around. They will all betray you. Run into the black forest, howling in terror.

The cold light of the stars makes people tremble in the darkness.

Every place, every object has a soul. Any soul can be absorbed.

Did you have this dream again? About the black seven-eyed goat watching you?

Silent, quiet, watching houses always dream. To take them down means to get rid of suffering.

A huge rook is watching everyone from the top of a dead tree. No one dares even breathe under his shadow.

Y "knat k" t "rigg k" yi mrr "ungha gr" mule.

Do you dream when you sleep? Or are you just walking away from the nightmare of reality?

It stands behind you. Do not move. Don't breathe.

Open me! Open me! Open me! Only then will you find peace.

What can change human nature?

He sleeps in the flooded city.

The emptiness consumes your soul. And it will do it slowly.

Pisces knows all the secrets. They know what cold is. They know what darkness is.

Even the light dies at the bottom of the ocean.

A lamb is lost in a dark forest.

The tortured souls of the ancestors cling to you, going into a silent scream. There seem to be quite a few of them.

Yogg-Saron's puzzle

• You will never leave this place. There is no way home.
• You will die if you leave this place. There is nothing left of your world.
• You are already lost.
• All your friends are dead.
• No one will come to save you.
• Your allies will leave you behind.
• You cannot win. Your case is hopeless.
• Your allies see you as weak.
• You don't have the strength to defeat him. You're too weak to handle.

And "Sharaj during the Siege of Orgrimmar

• With each undisclosed threat, you are one step closer to my world.
• Another flaw in your soul.
• You will rest in Ni "alot.
• You must kill them all. You must kill them all.
• The eyes are the windows of the soul. Break them down forever.
• Rip out their wings. Leave them broken.
• Pay the price of greatness.
• Everyone should bow before you. Make them!
• You've done so many things. You have won so many victories. But you still lick the shoes of kings.
• Cut slower so I can enjoy.
• Embrace your anger.
• Caress your fear.
• Consume your hate.
• Voice your doubts.
• When you walk through the black forest, you will see.
• I can taste your soul ... It's sweet ...

And "Sharaj through Xal" ato, the defiled image of the Bloody Howl

Twilight time

Source of information in this section - add-on Cataclysm to World of Warcraft.

There is an old prophecy that tells of the Time of Twilight - the last moments of Azeroth's existence. At the end of time, the Old Gods, sealed long ago in the depths of the planet, will break free from captivity and consume all living things. The Aspects were created to prevent the coming of the Time of Twilight, and they had to sacrifice their powers to do so. The Old Gods, knowing this, drove Neltharion into madness in order to weaken the Aspects and use one of them.

A carefully crafted chain of events was to lead to the Time of Twilight, and in the end the Old Gods will rise up, receiving a reward for manipulating other beings for thousands of years. Deathwing has become their strongest pawn in the struggle for power over Azeroth, although he believes that he acts for his own purposes. However, the final contribution that Deathwing had to make for the coming of the Time of Twilight never materialized - the Aspects, Thrall and the mortal heroes of the Alliance and Horde united to defeat him at the Maelstrom. This resulted in the Aspects losing most of their power and immortality as they fulfilled their destiny. Alexstrasza announced that the age of mortals has arrived, who will now take care of Azeroth themselves.

In Ysera's vision of the Time of Twilight, all five Aspects, including Deathwing himself, were dead. Their bodies, destroyed by their own forces, lay in the ruins of Wyrmrest Temple. All life on Azeroth was destroyed, except for the twilight dragons. If Thrall had not made Garrosh the leader of the Horde and temporarily taken the place of the Aspect of the Earth, this future could have become reality.

The heroes of Azeroth also traveled to a variant of the future called the End Times. They saw the remains of Deathwing impaled on the spire of Wyrmrest Temple, and fought the echoes of the former leaders, including Bane. These sectarians have finally lost any signs of sanity and have become completely unpredictable and vicious. With the onset of the Cataclysm, they even began to distort their bodies with impure energies, reborn in the elements. At the head of the cult is the ogre mage Cho "Gall, who became the avatar of K" Tun, and this is one of the reasons why the orc Clan of the Twilight's Hammer has become the central organization of Azeroth, ready to serve and fight for the Old Gods. After the fall of Deathwing and the prevention of the Time of Twilight, the cult still exists and tries to implement new plans.

we compare real versions of events from the history of Azeroth with the legends about them that have become part of the folklore of the peoples of Azeroth. We also compare material from canonical and outdated sources. Today we take a look at how the Old Gods have evolved over the course of Warcraft history.

It is easier to split this topic into two parts. In the first, we will take a look at how the number of Old Gods has changed in Azeroth, and in the second, at their numbers throughout the universe.

Of course, now we already know that in the Dark Empire, which fought against the Guardians, there were four Old Gods. And it is possible that in the early days of this empire there were five of them. As a result, the keepers imprisoned K'Tun, N'Zot and Yogg-Saron in dungeons, and also created a repository for the heart of E'Sharaj, whom Aman'Tul personally killed. And all in the Great Darkness there is an unknown number of Old Gods who were thrown there by the Lords of the Abyss. But this time we will try to understand exactly how this story took its current form.

Ancient Gods of Azeroth

The Old Gods were first mentioned inwarcraft 3: Reign of Chaos manual(2002):

"The Elementals, who worshiped a race of unfathomable evil creatures known only as the Old Gods, vowed to drive out the Titans and keep their world untouched by the touch of these metal invaders."

This guide described an early story of the Ordering of Azeroth: the war of the titans against the elementals and the Old Gods; the conclusion of the Old Gods; Ordering Azeroth with Titan-Formed Races and Blessing the Aspects. And it also mentioned the number of imprisoned deities:

"The Pantheon destroyed the citadels of the Old Gods and imprisoned these five evil entities deep below the surface of the world."

Then in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne (2003) were first shown creatures associated with the Old Gods: Forgotten and Faceless. In the game itself, no one called them servants of the Old Gods, but the connection was still obvious.

“I won't let you walk through this door, traitor. Recent earthquakes have awakened dark things under the ice ... ancient, terrible things. ” - Beilgun Firebeard

“These are the horrors the dwarves talked about. I thought they were just a legend. "- Anub'arak

In one of the books on board RPG,Lands of Conflict (“Lands of Conflict”; July 2004), the first hints emerged as to what kind of beings might be the Old Gods.

As a reminder, a series of RPG books (also known as WoW RPGs or "rulbooks") has been announceduncanonical ... And also remind you not to confuse the WoW RPG with the rest of the Warcraft literature.

So that's it. In most of these "rollbooks" information was presented on behalf of the famous researcher Brann Bronzebeard, so it was sometimes worth taking it as material written by an experienced traveler, but still not an omniscient super being.

This is how Brann called Hakkar the ancient god, but for some reason not with a capital letter:

"Long ago, local trolls tried to summon and subdue Hakkar, their ancient god."

Brann also wondered if a creature named Ula-Tek, the Snake Goddess, was an Old God:

“Zul'Aman is a temperate forest of towering trees. There are dark shadows everywhere, and with them ancient ruins and ziggurats. I thought these ruins and strange stepped pyramids were here from the Zul'Aman Empire, but they may be much older. Perhaps something left over from the Titans or the Old Gods? "

"They worship ancient deities, but I don't know if they are mythical Old Gods or some strange creation of their voodoo medicine men."

“ Ula-Tek shrine (city, 7000): Ula-Tek Shrine is a giant ziggurat. The trolls have gathered around this structure, and their capital lies right among the local ruins. Unpretentious huts here side by side with collapsed stone walls. This area is very well guarded - too well for me to go any further. I ambushed a lone forest troll miles from the sanctuary and got the information I needed. It turned out that Ula-Tek is a snake goddess. Perhaps one of the Old Gods? Trolls revere Ula-Tek and consider the ziggurat to be their shrine. Among the ruins there they perform their dark rites and voodoo rituals. Also, the trolls keep their treasures accumulated over many centuries inside the ziggurat - this is another reason why they guard it so vigilantly. "

“The great witch doctor Ral'jin is becoming an increasingly influential figure in Zul'Aman. Ral'jin has ordered the hunters to capture hundreds of prisoners, whom he intends to use for a huge sacrifice. With this ritual, he is going to summon Ula-Tek, the Snake Goddess. Obviously, this information does not bode well, but the dwarves of Ironforge are especially worried about it: they have seen the destruction that leads to the rebirth of the elemental lord, and the real Old God must be even more powerful. However, the Dark Iron dwarves are simply jubilant. Ula-Tek, perhaps the Old God, could serve as an ally and ally of Ragnaros. They sent a contingent of their forces to Zul'Aman to show their goodwill and protect Ral'jin while he completes his lengthy ritual. ”

of. art for Lands of Conflict

Comparison with canon: This whole story about Zul'Aman fell out of the canon. Ula-Tek simply does not exist in the current canon, because apart from the WoW RPG it was not mentioned anywhere else. And most likely, it was conceived not by the Old God, but by another loa of winged serpents like the same Hakkar - but this is certainly not known.

True, we still have a chance to see the giant ziggurat of Zul'Aman one day. After all, in WoW, this kingdom of forest trolls was presented as just a small raid, and on the maps of the Eastern Kingdoms from Warcraft 3 and the original WoW manual, the ziggurat of Zul'Aman was still marked.

map fragment from the original WoW guide

And what is more interesting - the story of Ula-Tek inspired one of the storylines of the first volume of "Chronicles". It's about a c'traxie named Kit'ix. It was a faceless general, thanks to whom the Az'Akir empire was founded and the war of trolls and aqirs began. In the end, the trolls emerged victorious from this war, and the trolls tracked down the badly wounded after the battle with the loa of Kit'ix. In the same place where they killed this c'trax, the trolls founded the temple city of Zul'Aman.

It is quite possible that the hypothetical return to the land of the forest trolls will be connected precisely with the history of this monster - just in the manner of the history of Ula-Tek. This is supported by the fact that Zakazha (similar to c'thrax) was able to resurrect the Twilight's Hammer. And even after he, being in a weakened state, was killed by a nameless warrior, the same Twilight's Hammer cult tried to resurrect him again. The Zakazh was finally destroyed only when his power was consumed by Xal'atath and the High Priest of the Conclave.

Curse Lord Malacrass is also known to have tied the essence of his tribe's darkest loa beast to him. The developers know what the loa is, but they still don't want to reveal who it was. Is it possible that it was not a loa at all, but just Kit'ix?

Returning to the "Lands of Conflict". There, for some reason, they pointed out the Old God and Ragnaros. Perhaps this error was caused by the fact that it was in this book that the Lord of Fire was first mentioned. Or it was a deliberate mistake that would show that Brann's or the people of Shadowforge were wrong. But it looks more like the first option.

"However, he inadvertently summoned Ragnaros, the blazing Old God whose birth tore the earth to pieces."

"Their eyes glow with an orange flame - one of the many gifts of their Ancient God master."

In November 2004 atthe official WoW website the page appeared “History of Warcraft " ... In particular, there was an updated version of the Ordering of Azeroth text from the WC3 manual. The new version of the text differed in some details, for example: the titans created not dwarves from stone, but earthen; The elementals did not disappear by themselves after the imprisonment of the Old Gods, but were imprisoned in the Plane of Elements. And they also changed the number of Old Gods from five to four:

"The Pantheon destroyed the citadels of the Old Gods and imprisoned these four evil deities deep below the surface of the world."

In November 2004, the release of the mostWorld of warcraft ... And then already in the game itself it was possible to read an in-game book, repeating the text of the paragraph of the same name from the page with the office. site -.

The next source that mentioned the number of the Old Gods was the final novelwar of the Ancients trilogy by Richard Knaack -War of the Ancients: The Sundering (July 2005). In this novel (as in the second part of the trilogy), the worldview and thinking of the Old Gods were more fully revealed, describing how they themselves see what is happening in the world and plan to escape from their prisons. We are talking about the trinity of the Old Gods, who communicated telepathically with each other. But that's not all, Krasus argued that there were not four or five of the Old Gods, but only three in general:

“The Old Gods seemed like nothing more than a legend, even to most dragons who were born at the dawn of this world. But thanks to his irrepressible curiosity, or as Rhonin put it “an irrepressible desire to poke his nose everywhere,” Krasus knew that the Old Gods were something much more.

According to legend, three dark entities once ruled a bloody chaos that even the demon lords of the Burning Legion could not have imagined. They ruled the original plan until the coming of the creators of the world. This was followed by a war of cosmic proportions, and in the end, the Old Gods fell.

The Trinity was cast down into eternal confinement. The place of their imprisonment was hidden from everyone, and their forces were broken to the end of time. That was how this saga should have ended, but Krasus now began to suspect that the Old Gods had somehow found a way to reach out to the mortal plane and search for something that could free them. ”

Now we know that this trinity included K'Tun, Yogg-Saron and N'Zot. And it turns out that Krasus was simply mistaken, trusting the legend, and believing that the representatives of the current trinity were the only Old Gods.

In the update 1.8: Dragons of Nightmare (October 2005) the name of the first Ancient God finally became known -K'Tun ... In that update, many new quests were added to Silithus, and one of them revealed"Prophecy of K'Tun"... This was the first mention of K'Tun and the Qiraji - before that no one knew what exactly was hidden behind the Scarab Wall in the destroyed kingdom called An'Qirazh.

This prophecy was written by the prophet Skeram and is the folklore of the Qiraji. The prophecy says that the qiraji were created by K'Tun from silithids born from the ether of the Source of Eternity. In fact, the qiraji are the akirs who conquered the An'Qirazh prison complex. The presence of the Old God nearby slowly changed their appearance until they became the race now known as the Qiraji. However, the question remains of how the silithids came to be. Perhaps they were part of the original aqirs, or they only appeared with the Qiraji civilization.

The prophecy also omits the fact that the modern kingdom of the Qiraji was built on the ruins of a Titan-forged prison complex.

And the most important thing in this story:

“Before the beginning of time, when this world had just been born, a fierce battle took place on this very earth between the Titan and the essence of unimaginable power and evil. The prophecy does not say if the Titan was slain in this battle, but it says that the Titan fell. The Old God also fell — or so they thought. ” - geologist Echidnaya

We now know that the only direct intervention of the real titans in the war against the Dark Empire was the assassination of Y'Sharaj by Aman'Tul.

“Aman'Tul, the leader of the Pantheon, literally ripped Y'Shaarj from the ground and crushed him in the grip of his fist. And Y'Shaarj was the strongest of the Old Gods of Azeroth, and then there were no prisons that could contain his power or capture his body the size of a mountain. E'Shaarj was so strong that he was one step away from driving the whole army of titan-forged, including the Guardians (who were also terribly powerful in those days), mad with his whispers and visions. The situation was so deplorable that Aman'Tul personally intervened in the case. And he handled it just playfully. " - fromspoiler Alert part 2 of Patch 7.3

And if the strongest Ancient God could not oppose anything to the titan, then what can we say about K'Tun?

In general, until this moment, the Pantheon did not intervene in the war personally, because it was afraid to hurt the world-soul. And after that, the titans became even more cautious, because the death of E'Shaarj left a terrible wound on Azeroth's body. Another such wound threatened to kill the soul world, so it was decided to imprison the Old Gods. But in general, suffice it to say that it could not be a titan, because we know the names of all the titans of the Pantheon, and they all successfully survived the conflict with the Old Gods.

However, it is possible that some unnamed titan-forged played a role in the victory over K'Tun. Or it was one of the Guardians. After all, the peoples of Azeroth very often mistakenly call the Guardians titans and attribute their deeds to the Pantheon. But this is still just speculation.

“The Titan-Forged then traveled southwest to the chaotic temple city that grew around the third Ancient God, K'Thun. The Guardians and their allies cleared the area of \u200b\u200bthe swarms of n'raki before laying siege to the Ancient God himself and subduing him. As with N'Zoth, the guardians buried this entity alive underground and built a prison around his body. ” - the first volume of "Chronicle"

And already in the update1.9: Gate of Ahn'Qiraj(January 2006) K'Tun became the final boss of the An'Qiraj raid.

In another nownon-canon Lands of Mystery (“Lands of Mysteries”; April 2006), there are new reflections from Brann about the personalities and location of the Old Gods:

“Sword of the Overlord: This unusual monument is a large statue (or corpse?) Surrounded by a small lake. Once a sacred land of the night elves, the area is now under the control of the Twilight's Hammer. After I dragged one of these robed psychos around a corner, I came to the conclusion that the statue was something like a divine corpse, the remains of an Old God. The term “Sword of the Overlord” refers to one of the parts of the monument: if you examine everything carefully, it turns out that the strange statue or mound in the center is a shell-like skull pierced by a huge blade. I guess it is possible that the Titan killed one of the Old Gods or their servants here. "

Comparison with canon: During the Cataclysm, the Twilight's Hammer cult was able to unearth the remains of this creature, at the same time it became known who it really was:

“The Overlord's Sword is an ancient battlefield. The Titans sent twenty stone giants against the Soggoth. Of the twenty, only one survived.

The tablets say that Cronn, the largest of the giants, allowed the Soggoth to bind him with his tentacles - so that the monster would lift him closer to his head ... just within reach for his mighty sword to strike. It's good that he's dead ... we don't have twenty stone giants around right now to stop him again. " - archaeologist Groff

"Valley of Bones: Valley of Bones is considered by many to be cursed, which is why most centaur clans avoid it. It is believed that the surface of this valley is dotted with the bones of the Old Gods. This area is occupied by necromancer centaurs from Magram and skeletons.”

Comparison with canon:It is still unknown to whom these two skeletons, now known as Dead Goliaths, belong. But it is clear that they were not Old Gods.

It is not known when exactly this happened, but byupdate 1.11: Shadow of the Necropolis (June 2006) number of Old Gods from the in-game bookThe Old Gods and the Ordering of Azeroth changed from four to five. Onofficial website this change happened later - in August 2006:

"The Pantheon destroyed the citadels of the Old Gods and imprisoned these five evil deities deep below the surface of the world."

The in-game book still talks about the five Old Gods. From a plot point of view, this can be attributed to the fact that this book was written by someone from Azeroth, which means it may contain errors. And this particular error could have been caused by the same legends about the former existence of Ksal'atat to the Old Gods.

Then the personalities of the Old Gods were remembered in the next nowuncanonical a book on board role-playing game,Horde Player's Guide (Horde Player's Handbook, November 2006):

“Perhaps Hakkar is a child of the Ancient God? It's hard to say: I'm not even sure they can have children. And I don't really want to know the answer to this question. "

Comparison with canon:The personality of Hakkar is a mystery that deserves a separate discussion. In WoW itself, there were also hints of its possible connection with the Old Gods, but things never went beyond these hints. At the moment, it is known that Hakkar is a loa. True, very specific.

In November 2008, an add-on was releasedWorld of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King... It revealed the name of the second Ancient God -Yogg-Saron ... The influence of this monstrosity was felt in various places in Northrend, and as a result, he became the penultimate boss of the Ulduar raid introduced inpatch 3.1: Secrets of Ulduar (April 2009).

In April 2009 atofficial website once again they conjured over the number of the Old Gods - this time it was decided to completely remove it:

"The Pantheon destroyed the citadels of the Old Gods and imprisoned these evil deities deep beneath the surface of the world."

At Blizzcon 2010 (October 2010) Chris Metzen revealed the name of the third Ancient God -N'Zot ... But in the game itself, N'Zota was first mentioned only in the update4.3: Time of Twilight (November 2011). Although it hasn't been shown in WoW yet, it was still done in the expansion."Whispers of the Old Gods" for Hearthstone (April 2016).

In February 2012Nyorloth , who was then the community manager of the official history forum, gave a rather lengthy answer to the question about the confusion with the number of Old Gods in Azeroth:

““ They don't live; they don't die. They are out of the loop. ”

Perhaps, in order to truly kill something that lives outside space and time, life and death, it needs to be completely erased from being? Perhaps this will explain why the records of the Old Gods seem so ... contradictory?

Only those on the other side can know for sure ...

Just empty thoughts, never mind. "

By the way, about the death of the Old Gods. In March 2017, Game Master Kelethross answered a question about their deathsthe following:

“We discussed this today with a team of historians, and according to them, both options are not really suitable here. Yes, they are clearly defeated, but technically not dead in the sense that we usually put into this word.

E'Shaarj was ripped out of the planet by Aman'Tool, and his remains eventually became sha after they rained down on Pandaria. K'Thun and Yogg-Saron were not defeated in this way, but even if they did, the sha only refer to E'Shaarj. Each of the Old Gods is quite unique in their ways of achieving goals, in what form they take and in what they are capable of.

The Sha would not have appeared if K'Thun or Yogg-Saron were also plucked from the planet. But you can safely bet that there would be much more madness and saronite in the world! "

September 9, 2012 add-on was releasedWorld of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria... In it, the fourth Ancient God of Azeroth was introduced into the plot, who, moreover, was already dead -E'Shaarj ... This deity is mentioned in mogu legends and Klaxxi legends. In "Whisper of the Old Gods" from Hearthstone, E'Shaarj, like N'Zoth, also received the first official image of his person.

In March 2016 came outthe first volume of "Chronicle", in which revealed many previously unknown facts about the Old Gods. It became known that the Old Gods were created by the Lords of the Abyss in order to desecrate one of the soul worlds and thus create a dark titan. And if we talk about the primordial power to which their abilities go back, then the Old Gods are the physical manifestations of the Abyss.

The first volume does not mention a specific number of Old Gods who fell on Azeroth:

“The elemental lords revel in the primordial bedlam until a group of Old Gods collapsed onto the world from the Great Dark. They crashed into Azeroth's surface, attaching themselves to various locations around the world. These Old Gods towered above the earth, mountains of flesh adorned with hundreds of gnashing mouths and black, unfeeling eyes. A miasma of despair soon enveloped everything that lay beneath their writhing shadows. "

Dark empire

However, it is known that at the time of the victory of the Dark Empire over the Elemental Lords of the Old Gods, there were four.

A map of Azeroth ruled by the Black Empire

from the first volume of "Chronicle"

In August 2016, an add-on was releasedWorld of warcraft: legion , in which a new character appeared -Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire... In the history of this artifact described in the in-game book"About Light and Abyss", it is mentioned that in time immemorial he could be the Old God:

“There are many theories about the origin of the blade. The most outlandish of them claim that the dagger is all that remains of the forgotten Ancient God, who was devoured by his own kind in the early days of the Dark Empire. Other theories say that Xal'atat is Y'Shaarj's claw, torn from his monstrous body and gifted to his servants for use in ritual sacrifices.

As incredible as these theories are, there may be some truth in them. Xal'atath pulses with the hideous essence of the Old Gods. Moreover, it is said that the blade is capable of bestowing visions of the Dark Empire upon its wearer, but everyone who looked at these horrors fell prey to madness. "

“Xal'atat has a mind of its own. Ignore his maddening whisper. Do not trust the lies that he entangles you with. Take what you need from him, but always remember that the dark presence in the blade is not your ally. "

At the same time, the essence of the dagger often whispered various advice to the high priest, which, for the most part, turned out to be relatively practical. And that is not all. Someher quotes add tangible weight to the theory that she was once an Old God:

“We may face some of my kin in this conflict. This perspective - I like it. Their strength will be mine. They will pay for what was done to me a long time ago. ”

“It's ironic that the weakest of us can be the ultimate winner. K'Tun, Yogg-Saron, E'Sharaj and ... well ... only one could stay to consume the world. It should have been. "

By the weakest deity, the dagger means N'Zoth - in general, she often notices his successes and the gradual weakening of his dungeon. But in our case, something else is important - that Ksal'atat puts himself on a par with the Old Gods and, in fact, reckons himself with them.

“I look forward to the day when our hosts can truly move into this dimension. You saw only fragments, shadows, the dimmest echoes. Ask the Ethereals about what one of its manifestations is capable of. ”

And this quote is notable for the fact that the dagger calls its masters the Lords of the Abyss. Coupled with the fact that she considers the Old Gods to be equal to herself, this is another coin in the piggy bank of the theory that she was once an Old God herself.

Indeed, the Chronicle does not mention a specific number of the Old Gods at the time of their coming to Azeroth. So Xal'atath could well have been swallowed up in the early days of the Dark Empire, as some of the theories of Azeroth's historians describe. However, so far they still remain only theories.

The Old Gods Beyond Azeroth

IN World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (January 2007) The first evidence emerges that the Old Gods of Azeroth are not the only ones of their kind. The first evidence is historyharbinger of Skyriss, the prophet of the qiraji, captured in the Arcatraz. He was somehow imprisoned in the space prison of the naaru, from which he was freed thanks to telepathy: he simply drove the head jailer of the blood elves who occupied the satellites of Tempest Keep. Fortunately, the heroes managed to kill him immediately. And judging by the fact that enough of Azeroth's inhabitants, such as Nefarian's dragonfly, were captured in the Arcatraz, Skyriss was probably also from Azeroth. If he were just akir, it would be a different question.

However, Skyriss has made it clear that the powers he serves extend far beyond Azeroth: “<В голосе А’дала слышится негармоничная нота.>

Prince Kael'thas made a mistake in choosing a jailer, and now the entities we have trapped in the Arcatraz are beginning to break free. Among them is a servant of the Old Gods known as the Harbinger of Skyriss, who wishes to fulfill the vision of his masters to conquer all worlds in the universe. You must stop him from escaping. Return to Tempest Keep, infiltrate the Arcatraz and slay Harbinger Skyriss before it's too late! ”

And his quote after killing the qiraji:

“<Кристаллический тембр голоса А’дала начинает звучать в твоем разуме более гармоничной мелодией, нежели в последний раз, когда вы говорили> The Harbinger Skyriss is said to be a servant of the Old Gods. They also say that he has a large scroll with him containing instructions on how he should command life in the universe on their behalf.

My current customer wants to get his hands on this scroll, even though he is not even able to read the language in which it is written. Go to the Arcatraz of Tempest Keep and get it for me, okay? "

And his quote when handing over the scroll:

“I dare not touch the scroll, otherwise I would also risk attracting the attention of the Old Gods. I will assign the delivery of this package to one of my assistants. You more than deserve your reward and I wish you the best of luck in all known worlds. "

And here is the second evidence - in fact, an unknown Ancient God from some other world. He is known to us only as"Called Old God" and "ancient and powerful evil." Arakkoa ghosts from the Dark Conclave tried to summon him.

“The spirits of the dark conclave are attempting to invoke an ancient and powerful evil through a ritual they are currently performing at the lava pits south of Camp Sket'lon. Gul'dan's magic merged with their own, and she gave them the strength to help this creature appear in our world! We have to stop them. It is impossible to imagine how much death and destruction this creature will bring with it! ”- Parshah

A former member of the Dark Conclave named Parshah and an unnamed hero were able to stop the ritual of summoning this monster.

And in the first volume of "Chronicles" it already became known that the Lords of the Abyss threw into reality an unknown number of these wicked creatures in order to desecrate the sleeping souls of the titans. In the course of his travels, Sargeras discovered a soul-world corrupted by the Old Gods and split it in two. The explosion that followed consumed the Old Gods and their energies, but also killed the newborn titan.

All Ancients (demo)

The ancients (English Ancients) - the very first and most powerful inhabitants of Azeroth, deities, demigods or those who became demigods, having received their power as a gift, like Aviana from Elune.

After the Sundering, the Ancients re-incarnated on Azeroth to protect Mount Hyjal from the invasion of the Twilight's Hammer and Ragnaros.

Known Ancients

• Agamaggan - huge boar
• Essina - nature spirit, light
• Aviana the Raven Messenger
• Goldrinn - the white wolf
• Tortolla - turtle
• Omen - a two-headed demonic dog
• Ursol and Ursoc - bear brothers
• Malorne - white deer
• Cenarius - demigod of forests and groves
• Elune - Moon Goddess
• Queen Azshara - naga
• Xavius \u200b\u200b- Satyr

Return

Source of information in this section - add-on Cataclysm to World of Warcraft.

The Ancients who defended the world during the first invasion of the Burning Legion ten millennia ago return to Azeroth. The keepers of Hyjal need to return the sanctuaries of the Ancients, taken by both cultists and elementals and other creatures.

The Worgen of Gilneas, new allies of the night elves, are helping to retake the Sanctuary of Goldrinn, the ancient wolf god. However, the sanctuary was desecrated by the maddened Worgen, who came with the Twilight's Hammer cult and worship a false deity - Licanthoth, summoned by the cultists to prevent Goldrinn's return. The Guardians of Hyjal fight the Worgen and Lycanthoth, then incinerate the body of the false deity and help Goldrinn return to Azeroth. After that, the sanctuary of the wolf god was cleared, and a tribe of ogres led by Gar "gol, who made their lair here, were expelled from the sacred lands.

At the apex of Lightning Ledge, the cultists create a fiery gateway into which Goldrinn, through a vision of one of his minions, directs the adventurers to destroy what lies in the world beyond the gates of which the wolf god knows nothing. Dark Iron dwarves are found behind the gate in the realm of fire, creating weapons for the Twilight's Hammer cultists. To close the passage, the Guardians of Hyjal destroy the Ashhammer Portal Masters and remove the Tome of Opening from his body, used to open the gates between the worlds through which the cultists deliver supplies from the Elemental Abode to Azeroth. The tome helps in the battle against the head of the forge Plamy, who personally created the strongest weapon for the cultists - the Guardians of Hyjal open short-term passages to the Abyssal Abyss, the water world of the Abode of the Elements, whose presence is weakened by Plamia. With all of Ragnaros' minions destroyed, the Guardians of Hyjal sealed the path to Firelands with the power of the tome of opening.

Fire elemental armies attack Aessina's Grove and attempt to incinerate it. The defenders seek help from the satyr Tyrius Chernorog, who is imprisoned in a tower nearby. With Tyrius' help, Tol 'embaar, one of Ragnaros' strongest minions, was summoned and destroyed, and Tyrius took possession of his black heart.

Meanwhile, Hamuul Runetotem protects the Sanctuary of Malorne and the surrounding mountains, all living on which the fire elementals are about to destroy. The Guardians of Hyjal learn that the Turtle-god Tortolla, one of the Ancients, has been captured by the Twilight's Hammer cultists, and he languishes in captivity in the dark waters of Ash Lake. The cultists succeeded in creating Nemesis, a fallen likeness of Tortulla. From the stolen scale of Nemesis, the Guardians of Hyjal prepare a potion that allows them to speak with Tortolla, and after being freed, the turtle god agrees to fight for Hyjal along with his descendants.

Ysera senses that the shrine of Aviana, patroness of all feathered creatures, is in danger. Choluna, one of the wisest representatives of the raven druids, learns that a winged spirit was seen during the ritual of offering to Aviana, and is about to summon the deity to Azeroth. To do this, you have to kill Blate, an ancient feathered predator who was co-ruler of Aviana in the distant past and ten thousand years revel in grief after her death.

At this time, the harpies of the Wormwing flock begin attacks on the sanctuary of the one whom they once revered, and steal the eggs of all the feathered inhabitants of Hyjal. It becomes known that their actions are directed by the black dragon Setria, which the harpies believe to be the lord of the skies. Setria gets a special egg at its disposal.

A codex of shadows found among Setria's minions suggests that the dragons are trying to hide something through this book. Choluna suspects that the mysterious item is Aviana's egg, and turns out to be right when it was found after disabling the cloaking devices. Druids-crows attack Setria and destroy it, and in the sanctuary after the ritual, Aviana herself appears over the egg, who really returned to Azeroth.

Despite the awakening of the other Ancients, the spirit of Aessina that dwells in her face remains silent, although her help could turn the tide of the battle and correct the consequences of the Twilight's Hammer. The Guardians of Hyjal decide to turn to Nord, the eldest of the trees, who for thousands of years has been in the center of what is now known as the Enduring Fire. The Loremaster remembers everything that happened to this world since its inception, and perhaps knows how to summon Essina. However, found Nordu was already charred and almost destroyed by the fire elementals, but a short delay in death allowed him to give the druids the seed of life - the Forest Heart. Hamuul Runetotem uses it in the grove, and Essina returns to Azeroth, granting new life to the scorched lands of Hyjal - a young forest grows in the places of conflagration.

Tortolla, knowing that Nemesis is still alive, heads for the Blasted Plains, which were the first to fall before the cultists, and the Guardians of Hyjal follow, confident that they can reclaim these lands now. The ogre warlords have a symbol of Discovery, which is used to invade the Firelands through the third portal while the battle for the Blasted Plains continues. In the cave behind the third portal, Nemesis is hidden, and the descendant of Tortulla partially acquires his power in order to turn it against himself and protect himself from the most powerful blows of the perverted deity. Nemesis is destroyed, and a pleased Tortolla informs Ysera that he is ready to join the final battle against the Twilight's Hammer and the fire elementals.

Ysera opens a passage to the Emerald Dream through the Gate of Sozanne, through which Cenarius returns to Azeroth. The Ancients and the Guardians of Hyjal begin their final battles against the Twilight's Hammer and battle the cultists in the Circle of the Ascended and the Diviner's Sanctuary. Under the protection of Tortolla, Moltron, lord of the magmatic elementals serving Ragnaros, was destroyed.

To banish Ragnaros, the defenders of nature break through to the Spire of Sulfuron, which links Hyjal and the Firelands. From records found among the cultists of the Circle of the Ascended, it is known that the gate of the spire is guarded by Azralon the Gatekeeper, one of the most powerful servants of Ragnaros. After Azralon's defeat, Cenarius, Malfurion, and Hamuul travel through the fourth portal from the Sanctuary of the Diviners and fight Ragnaros in the Spire of Sulfuron. The Firelord retreats to his realm, promising to return, and the Guardians of Hyjal, along with the Ancients, win this war.

• Evolution theory on Blizzgame