You might not know this dragon by his name, but you’ll recognize the name Deathwing the Destroyer. Neltharion used to be one of the five Dragon Aspects but the Old Gods interfered and in an act of separation, the story of Neltharion ended while Deathwing’s started.
Neltharion started as a hero, but as he became a villain, he walked a path of corruption, betrayal, and death until he was Deathwing the Destroyer. A master of manipulation, his plans involved a network of people who didn’t even know were working for him.
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Neltharion before he became the Deathwing
Neltharion the Earth-Warder was once just a dragon from Azeroth, the home of the dragons. However, with the help of the other four dragons—Alexstrasz, Malygos, Nozdormu, and Ysera—they protected their land and were granted power by the Titans.
As a Dragon Aspect and leader of the black dragonflights, Neltharion did his job alongside his fellow Aspects. He received dominion over the earth, the deep places of Azeroth, and the title of Earth-Warder.
Based on the Legacies animated shorts, Neltharion’s corruption was slow and kept hidden from the other Aspects. It was when Raszageth the Storm Eater, one of the Primalist leaders, attacked Neltharion and his dracthyr soldiers that his villain arc started.
Neltharion controlled his army using a gauntlet called the Oathbinder. It was shattered during battle, making him lose control of his soldiers, and as an act of desperation, he sought the power of the Old Gods in order to defeat Raszageth, but fell into madness.
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The burden of being an Aspect and the leader of the black dragonflight started to weigh too much on Neltharion’s shoulders and the corruption from the Old God—insinuated to be N’Zoth—made him paranoid. The Old God promised power if he served them, and for that, he need to build the Dragon Soul.
The other Aspects didn’t know about Neltharion’s corruption. When demons attacked Azeroth during the War of the Ancients, Neltharion defended his home, but when their forces weren’t enough and everyone trusted their powers to him, he betrayed the Aspects.
Neltharion used the Burning Legion’s powers and the Dragon Aspects and their dragonflight’s powers to finish the Dragon Soul. Neltharion was the only one who didn’t give any of his power. With the artifact complete, he demonstrated he could make all races bow to him.
The Aspects fought him back, but since their powers were taken, they weren’t strong enough and Neltharion drove the Aspects to seclusion in fear of being exterminated. No one could detect them anymore.
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Deathwing the Destroyer is born, sealed, delivered
As the corruption grew, Neltharion’s appearance changed. He became more demonic and being close to the Dragon Soul, later named Demon Soul, was making his body open, showing the magma inside him.
It looked like Deathwing won, but the artifact was stolen by Malfurion Stormrage, who was then captured by Illidan and Varo’then. The Demon Soul ended with the Legion’s army and was used as a power source for the portal to Azeroth.
In an attempt to get the Demon Soul back, Deathwing was nearly killed but retreated back to his lair. The Demon Soul eventually reached the Dragon Aspects, who sealed it away from Deathwing. Without the Demon Soul and badly injured, Deathwing recovered in a deep slumber of ten thousand years.
During the Second War, when Medivh and Gul’dan open a portal between Draenor and Azeroth, the sudden emergence of power woke Deathwing from his slumber. Since the Dragon Aspects had sealed and enchanted the Demon Soul, he couldn’t get near the artifact but he saw an opportunity to get it back with the war.
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He created a network of manipulation. He could use the orcs from the Dragonmaw clan to retrieve the Demon Soul in his place. Creating visions, Deathwing led the orc chieftain of the clan, Zuluhed the Whacked, to the Demon Soul, which was then passed to the warlock Nekros Skullcrusher.
The warlock used the power from the artifact to enslave Alexstrasza plus her consorts to breed dragons for the Horde. But Deathwing sent a goblin named Kryllto to serve under Nekros as an advisor, taking his plan even further.
With everything in motion, Deathwing believed it was safe to lay eggs to bring forth the next generation of black dragons. The Alliance Expedition, however, took notice and attacked his lair, destroying most of the eggs, and leaving Deathwong severely injured.
His last battle was with the Archmagi of Dalaran. In order to survive, Deathwing fell into the sea and forged his death, leaving his eggs behind. The eggs would later be altered because of the high number of portals opened on Draenor.
Deathwing’s children were transformed into nether drakes, dragons that are half corporeal and half ethereal, meaning they can travel between the physical and astral planes.
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The dragon in disguise and the end
With everyone assuming Deathwing was dead, he disguised himself as a noble human called Lord Prestor. The plan was to be declared king of Alterac, a human nation sided with the Alliance of Lordaeron, and manipulate the Alliance from the inside.
Manipulating the humans, he managed to become king and created chaos among kingdoms he considered a threat to his disguise. In the meantime, Alexstrasza and her eggs were imprisoned at Grim Batol with the orcs, and Deathwing wanted those eggs.
Deathwing’s plan failed this time and initiated a series of events that led to his downfall. Tyranastrasz, Alexstrasza’s first husband, was sent to kill Deathwing but died instead. This led the remaining Dragon Aspects to leave their seclusion.
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In the end, Malygos, Nozdormu, and Ysera got their full powers back and attacked Deathwing. He was defeated but escaped. No one knows what happened to him, not even his children. The Adventure Guide and the quest Don’t Stop Moving describe Deathwing recovering in Deepholm, the realm of the earth elementals.
As for Lord Prestor, he vanished mysteriously and nobody associated him with Deathwing.
