The Betrayal of the Dragonflights

Full History

The dragon Aspects entered the War of the Ancients as defenders, believing their combined power might defeat the Burning Legion. Neltharion presented an artifact capable of concentrating that strength and persuaded the others to contribute. Instead, he turned the Dragon Soul against the very flights that had trusted him. The betrayal divided Azeroth's ancient guardians during one of its most desperate hours.

The Dragon Soul's use devastated the blue dragons and threw the gathered flights into confusion. Neltharion, formerly the Earth-Warder, became remembered as Deathwing, a being whose mastery of the earth now inspired terror rather than protection. His companions could not simply recover their powers and return to the unity they had known. The weapon survived even the destruction of the first invasion's great portal, carrying the danger into later centuries.

Long afterward, mortal warlords found means to exploit that inheritance. The Dragonmaw held Alexstrasza in Grim Batol and compelled her brood to fight for the Horde; the Demon Soul eventually had to be broken to release her. The Aspects' ancient treachery thus reached the Second War and its aftermath. The dragonflights' history is not separate from the mortal world: their own failure of trust made possible crimes committed by far weaker captors.