Hello everyone!
The Burning Legion has invaded azeroth once again and priests are able to pick up 3 different
artifacts to empower them in this war.
For shadow priests, it’s going to be one of my favorite artifacts, Xal’atath, Blade
of the Black Empire.
Alonsus Faol informs us about an ancient dagger of the old gods that has resurfaced in a bid
to restore the twilight’s hammer to power.
They are performing an unholy ritual near Tyr’s tomb that must be stopped.
Interestingly enough, this artifact quest seems to take place after the warriors have
been there together with the spirit of Thoradin.
Now they’re trying to resurrect the beast that warriors have slain and in their possession
is the blade of the black empire, a powerful void-attuned sacrificial dagger that has been
used in horrific rites to the Old Gods since time immemorial.
It enhances its owners with powerful shadow energy so should be perfect for us, but before
we go ahead and meet up with Moira’s double agent in the cult, let’s first talk about
the history of the weapon since it’s quite a good one.
Xal'atath had its dark genesis in an age long before the Horde and the Alliance, an age
when the legendary Old Gods and their Black Empire engulfed the world in shadow.
There are many theories concerning the blade's creation.
The more outlandish claim that it is all that remains of a forgotten Old God who was consumed
by its kin in the early days of the Black Empire.
Other theories state that Xal'atath is the claw of Y'Shaarj, ripped from the Old God's
monstrous form and bestowed upon its servants for use in ritual sacrifices.
As unbelievable as these stories are, perhaps there is truth to them.
Xal'atath pulses with the foul essence of the Old Gods.
It is even said that the blade can grant its owner visions of the Black Empire, but all
who have looked upon such horrors have lost themselves to madness.
Another nice touch to this is that before the chronicles we had 5 evil gods imprisoned
beneath the world.
They’ve retconned this to 4, C’thun, Yogg-saron, Y’shaarj and N’zoth so perhaps the earlier
mentioned fith one is actually this blade.
Either way, mighty beings known as the titan-forged eventually defeated the Black Empire.
They shackled the Old Gods and their minions in prisons beneath the earth.
Harmony descended on Azeroth, but it was not to last.
The blade remained in the world, passing from mortal hand to mortal hand and leaving only
death and chaos in its wake.
One of the unfortunate souls who took up Xal'atath was a troll named Zan'do.
The ambitious witch doctor hailed from the mighty Gurubashi tribe.
His rivals had ousted him from a position of power and prestige, and Zan'do spent his
days nursing dreams of retribution.
It was a simple thing for Xal'atath to latch onto Zan'do's anger and twist him into a pawn.
Guided by Xal'atath's whispers, Zan'do and a handful of loyal witch doctors sought out
a strange mound of blackened stone.
Troll mystics had forbidden their people from disturbing this site, but Zan'do ignored the
taboo.
He believed the mound held great power-power he could use to defeat his rivals.
He and his followers would soon discover what the mound really was: the body of a slumbering
servant of the Old Gods named Kith'ix.
Kith’ix and Zakazj were send out to kill titankeeper Tyr and his companions, but he
heroicly sacrificed himself, expending his life force in a blinding explosion of arcane
energy that shook the bones of the world.
This explosion created a giant crater with the lifeless bodies of Tyr and Zakazj while
Kith’ix had only narrowly escaped Tyr’s vengeful wrath and collapsed into deep hibernation
where now Zan’do under the guidance of Xal’atath has started making blood offering to the creature.
With his mind corrupted by the blade, the witch doctor did not hesitate.
He dismembered some of his companions with the dagger, and then he used their blood and
organs as reagents to awaken the monstrosity.
In a final act, Zan'do buried his gore-stained dagger into Kith'ix's hide... and the giant
rumbled to life.
Zan'do and his followers were never seen again.
Trolls would later visit the site and find only scattered bones picked clean of flesh.
After Kith'ix awakened, it brought the shadow of war upon Azeroth.
The monstrous creature rallied other Old God minions to its side and launched a campaign
to grind troll civilization into dust.
Unlike the trolls who had roused it, Kith'ix knew how to harness Xal'atath's true potential.
Calling on the blade's power, the C'Thrax spread pestilence among the trolls to weaken
their bodies, and it bombarded them with visions of death to weaken their minds.
Though the trolls would eventually destroy Kith'ix and defeat its armies, Xal'atath would
haunt the dreams of the war's survivors until the end of their days.
Many tribes would recount legends about the black blade that had nearly driven them to
extinction.
The next time this dark dagger shows up in history is during the War of Three Hammers.
Dark Iron, Wildhammer and Bronzebeard had a civil war after their leader died and the
clans fractured.
Modgud of the Dark Iron clan embraced her clan's long history of studying arcane magic.
As the wife of Sorcerer-Thane Thaurissan, she had first pick of the Dark Irons' most
powerful enchanted artifacts.
Yet she was never quite satisfied with the offerings on hand.
Modgud would often dispatch her servants to find new relics that she could study and use
as instruments in the creation of spells.
One of these dwarves returned with a blade that thrummed with dark energy.
Modgud was immediately taken by it.
For days, she retreated into her archives to unravel the dagger's mysteries.
At times, she could be seen talking to the weapon.
When she later emerged, Modgud called for the dwarf who had brought the blade in order
to thank him.
No one could find him.
No one could even remember his name or his face.
It was as if he had simply vanished into thin air.""
When Dark Iron and Wildhammer clashed at eachother at Grim Batol, neither side showed the other
mercy.
The Wildhammers' bravery was their greatest weapon, and Modgud sought to take that from
them.
Under the thunderous clash of hammer against axe, she screamed an incantation and wove
her profane spellwork.
She slid her enchanted dagger over her palm and let her blood spill onto the stones.
Modgud's foul ritual brought Grim Batol's shadows to life.
They sprang from the city's dark nooks and crannies, falling upon the Wildhammers with
blades forged of night.
By some feat of courage, Thane Khardros rallied his remaining Wildhammer warriors and launched
a desperate counterattack against the Dark Irons.
Khardros bulled through his enemies with the single-minded focus of a war golem, only coming
to a stop when he found Modgud.
Here, the fate of Wildhammer and Dark Iron would be decided.
The sorceress unleashed her dark power on Khardros, but he pressed his attack.
Then Modgud reached for her black blade-the weapon that had turned Grim Batol into a den
of nightmare.
It was not there.
She had lost her cherished weapon.
Or, as some would claim, the weapon had abandoned her.
With one mighty blow of his hammer, Khardros mortally wounded Modgud and secured victory
for the Wildhammers.
It is said that as the sorceress lay dying, she repeated one phrase over and over again:
'You promised...'"
The shadows unleashed within Grim Batol would haunt the place even after Modgud’s death
and the WIldhammer, after teaming up with the Bronzebeards and defeating the Dark Iron,
they decided to move from Grim Batol to the Hinterlands.
Decades after Modgud lost Xal'atath, the blade was taken up by a human bishop named Natalie
Seline.
She had lived through the First War, when the orcish Horde invaded Azeroth and conquered
Stormwind.
After the war, Seline realized that to defeat the green-skinned orcs, humanity would need
to study the strange powers they wielded.
She closely examined their magics, and she visited battle sites where their dark arts
had befouled the land.
From her investigations, she learned of an otherworldly blade that the orcs had once
used in their bloody rituals-a blade that held sway over the shadows themselves.
Troubled that such a profane weapon could exist, Seline swore to hunt it down and destroy
it in the name of the Light.
As you might know, Seline had quite the change of heart and stepped away from the Light to
embrace the shadows and lead to the formation of the cult of forgotten shadows.
From The Secrets of the Void, by Natalie Seline:
The moment I touched the blade, a name was spoken in my mind: Xal'atath.
I knew then that I could not destroy the dagger.
Not yet.
How can one defeat a power she does not understand?
And I had much to understand.
Very much indeed.
Xal'atath whispered to me in waking and in dreaming.
It taught me that there is more to this world than Light.
There is also Void.
In the ebb and flow between these two forces, one can find power and knowledge beyond anything
the Church of the Holy Light has ever revealed to us.
One can cross the divide between Light and Void.
One can pull strands from each side and weave a tapestry of day and night.
Of course, there are consequences.
There always are when walking in the shadows.
By the time of the Second War, Natalie Seline had learned how to wield shadow magic from
Xal'atath.
She had taught her dangerous arts to other worshipers of the Light and rallied them against
the Horde.
Seline and her followers waged their war in secret, hunting down orcs across the human
kingdoms.
Xal'atath continued whispering in Seline's mind, slowly unraveling her sanity.
Despite her noble intentions, she became more and more obsessed with the blade and the mysteries
of the Void.
And so did Seline's companions.
They were overzealous in their campaign against the orcs, putting innocent lives at risk.
Some strayed too far into shadow, forsaking the Light completely.
Though Seline urged her followers to use caution, her calls were ignored and even treated with
suspicion.
It is unclear exactly what happened to the former bishop, but some sources state that
Xal'atath incited rebellion among her allies.
It convinced them that Seline was holding them back from their true potential--holding
back knowledge and power that they could have if they killed her.
In the dead of night, the conspirators murdered Seline and then took Xal'atath for themselves.
For years, the Kirin Tor magi in Dalaran had watched Natalie Seline, greatly troubled by
her dark teachings.
After her death, they set out to scour her writings from history.
Magi picked through the villages and cities Seline had traveled, gathering up every scroll
and tome that she had penned.
The Kirin Tor hid these writings in Dalaran, hoping that would be the end of Seline's dangerous
brand of magic.
Yet despite their efforts, they could not bury the doctrine of balance she had preached.
In the years to come, others would take up her teachings and devote themselves to the
Light and the Void.
The magi also knew of Xal'atath, but they never found it.
Like Seline's teachings, the blade would not simply fade away.
It had more minds to twist, more pawns to use, and more innocents to terrorize.
The blade has had a hand in a lot of major events of Warcraft history and now it has
resurfaced again in the hands of the Twilight Hammer Cult.
We fly over to their camp to do a bit of investigation and the clues in the camp speak about their
new leader.
Once the hand of the Twilight Father, Archbishop Benedictus which you might remember fighting
during the cataclysm, the Shadow Deacon has decided now is the time to regain their past
glory!
While the Twilight Father left to serve Deathwing, the Shadow Deacon maintained his “role”
as a bishop in Stormwind.
He continued infiltration and recruitment efforts there for some time until the fall
of Deathwing and the Twilight Father.
He then ordered what was left of their organization to go quiet and allow their foes their temporary
victory.
But then he found it, or perhaps it found him.
The Black Blade...Xal’atath has lead them to the spot where Kith’ix’s companion
Zakazj has fallen and they’re working on resurrecting him.
Warriors have gone through a lot of trouble of putting the beast down so lets head into
the tomb and make sure that their plans fail.
Twilight Shadowcaster: “we have an intruder!”
Shadowlord Slaghammer: Excellent!
I was expecting ‘im, but I don’t think you were...”
“What?!
You traitor!”
“Moira said ye’d be comin’.
I’m Slaghammer, payin’ me family’s debt by hangin’ oot wi’ these buggers.
Lemme take down this barrier.”
“The Shadow Deacon is already below starting his ritual.
To get there, we’ll need to do a bit of work.
If you have any questions let me know, but we best hurry!”
The family debt he’s talking about has probably something to do with the quest Seize the Ambassador.
This one is part of a chain in which it seems like the Dark Iron Dwarves are planning a
large-scale attack, but by this time Moira had already joined the council of three hammers
and was leading together with the Wildhammers and the Bronzebeards.
This means that the dark irons were supposed to be allies of Ironforge.
As it turns out, Ambassador Slaghammer was actually working for the twilights hammer
and they quickly tossed him in jail.
This slaghammer is most likely a relative.
“These buggers are surppressing Tyr’s wards so the Deacon can do his work below.
We need to take them down!
Start by dispelling the wards on the ritualists!”
Stop the dampening rituals
“A trap!
Destroy the creature before it kills us!”
Kill Amassing Darkness who’s casting Armageddon
“There we go!
The path to the prison should be ope...Well, if it ain’t me old friend!
We’d be doing the world a favor ridding it of this baddie!”
Kill twilight blademaster and Borgoth the Master Reaver
Go deeper in, kill flesh spawn and twilight bladetwister
“More of the Deacon’s mind games.
We could mass dispel them or just fight through, but I wouldn’t get too close!”
Kill void tendrils
Cinematic: Farthing, The Twilight Deacon: “Yes...the Blade is right!
I am unstoppable!
Once Zakajz lives again, I will hold dominion over this world!
Our old leaders chose to work with pawns.
I choose the REAL power!”
The Twilight Deacon is trying to bring the killer of Tyr back to life!
Stop him!
“This is not good!
I can hear more coming from above.
I’ll handle them.
You take care of the Deacon!”
“Defend me, blade!
You said this would work!”
Take care of faceless guardian, faceless corruptor and the twilight deacon
“You think to stop me?
With this weapon I can do anything!
ANYTHING!”
“You cannot trust your own mind!”
“This...this shouldn’t be happening!
Why aren’t you protecting me?!”
Xalath: “Weak and pitiful!
The twilight father did not dare wield me, for he knew the price of failure.”
“GIve me another chance!
No!
Nooooo!”
“You on the other hand...Yes, I foresee us doing great things together.
Take hold of my haft and I will aid you...for now.”
Flirt...pick up weaon....I have the powerrrrrrrr
“Yes, we are eager to feast on the fallen titan’s minions.
But first...Zakajs.
The cultists may try to stir him again, or he could awaken on his own.
We must consume his essence to ensure he is gone forever.
You know this must be done."
Drain Zakajz into blade
“You did it!
The cultists have rune off!
Ha ha!
You should get back to Faol.
I’ll use this Twilight portal stone for ye!”
“Keep an eye on that blade, though.
No telling what something that old is capable of.”
Xal'atath has a mind of its own.
Ignore its maddening whispers.
Do not trust the lies it spins.
Take from it what you need, but always remember that the dark presence in the blade is not
your ally.
And so shadow priests will as they adventure through the broken isles and take the battle
to the Legion.
The whispering done by the blade is quite interesting though.
We’re uncertain what exactly it is and of course we don’t know when she’s telling
the truth and when she lies, but here are some of more interesting whispers.
We may face some of my brethren in this conflict...
a prospect that delights me.
Their power will be mine!
They will pay for what was done to me long ago.
(in Orgrimmar)
What exactly was done to her?
What was Xalatath before she became this weapon?
The God of the Deep writhes in his prison, breaking free ever so slowly.
You should hurry and defeat the fallen titan...
there are greater battles yet to fight.
Xal'atath whispers: Almost completely gone, as if it never existed.
But the rift is deep and vast, and somewhere down there it stirs.
Something has changed, the last prison weakens.
We must prepare.
(Interacting with Remnant of the Void at the Rift of Aln after defeating Xavius)
Xal'atath whispers: It is ironic that the weakest of us may be the ultimate victor.
C'Thun, Yogg-Saron, Y'Shaarj, and... well.
Only one would remain to consume the world, that was always meant to be.
(in the Hall of Glory in Halls of Valor)
Xavius, running from one master to the next, scrambling for power, yet defeated again and
again.
The God of the Deep picks a poor champion?
Or, is there something else at play?
(when facing Xavius)
Plans upon plans, schemes upon schemes all trying to accomplish the same thing, return
to the glory days of the black empire.
N’zoth apparently the weakest is working his way out of his prison.
It’s uncertain when it’s going to go down, but that’s an expansion just waiting to
happen.
The other side of Azeroth, N’zoth, Naga and perhaps 2 completely different realms:
This city of the elves pales in comparison to the sleeping city... (near Suramar city)
Do not be impressed by tall icons of the titans which stand here.
The towers of sacrifice in Ny'alotha dwarf these pathetic temples.
(in Stormheim)
I long for the day our masters can truly pass into this realm.
You have only seen fragments, shadows; the faintest of echoes.
Ask the Ethereals what one of these manifestations are capable of.
The old gods are minions of the void lords send into our reality to corrupt a titan spirit
while it still slumbers.
The fear of such a thing happening is what caused Sargeras to form his Burning Legion
and eredicate life before it was taken by the Void.
Ny’alotha is a city that has been mentioned a fair few times now, especially with the
puzzlebox of yogg-saron, which could make for one hell of a city to play in.
How far the Manastorms have fallen!
Relying on crude machines and weak arcane wizardry did them no favors.
Still, they had their uses.
(at Millificent Manastorm)
Odyn was a great enemy... until his own arrogance proved his undoing.
You should ask him if he's considered Loken's final words to him.
Go ahead.
(at the Seat of Ascension, note that this triggers a fatal dialogue option with Odyn)
And with that I think it’s about time to stop listening to this blade.
If you want to know more of her whispers, I’ll link a related wowpedia article in
the description.
As always, thank you very much for watching everyone.
I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I have.
Subscribe if you like my videos, leave a like if you enjoyed this one and until next time
guys....see ya!