Dragonmaw enslave Alexstrasza

Full History

The Horde's ambitions during the Second War extended beyond the forces of orcish warriors and warlocks. Its leaders sought advantages that could overcome the strength of the Alliance of Lordaeron, and the dragonflights offered a terrifying possibility. Alexstrasza, the red dragon Aspect entrusted with the preservation of life, was captured and held under the control of the Dragonmaw clan. Her imprisonment placed one of Azeroth's oldest guardians in the service of conquerors.

The means of control was the Demon Soul, the artifact whose earlier history reached back to Neltharion's betrayal during the War of the Ancients. The weapon's power allowed the Dragonmaw to force Alexstrasza's obedience and exploit her descendants in war. Dragons who should have acted according to their own ancient charge instead became tools of the Horde's military campaigns. The violation was therefore more than the seizure of a powerful creature; it was the subordination of the dragonqueen's duty to a mortal army.

Grim Batol became the center of the captivity. The fortress had already carried the memory of the dwarven War of the Three Hammers and Modgud's curse, and now it held a new horror. The Dragonmaw's control survived the defeat of the main Horde, leaving the dragonqueen and her flight in peril despite the Alliance's victory. The war's formal end had not resolved every crime committed during it.

Rhonin and his companions eventually exposed and challenged the captivity. The destruction of the Demon Soul freed Alexstrasza and turned the dragons against their jailers. The episode linked the ancient betrayal of the dragonflights with the modern wars of orcs and humans. Alexstrasza's liberation showed both the durability of old evils and the ability of those divided by war to confront them.