Who IS Xal’atath anyway?
Remember last week when I had my Tuesday blog post all ready to go and then Blizzard released an animated short? I do.
Threads of Destiny was a lovely intro to Azj-Kahet and Queen Ansurek, and while I think it does a great job setting up the events of the level-up campaign, a few friends messaged me a very relevant question:
“I didn’t play shadow priest in Legion. What does Xal’atath….do?”
That’s a great question, friends and readers! While there was a short questline involving Xal in 8.1.5, it didn’t display nearly as much character for her as the ever-famous Legion expansion and its talking weapons. The links in today’s post will be her various voice lines over the Legion expansion, showcasing tons of character, hinting at backstory, and being a General Good Time.
This post is primarily aimed at people who did not play a Shadow Priest during Legion and have no idea why this dagger is here in the first place. I hope I can help you learn a bit more about Xal and why we’re excited about her over here in Lore Nerd World.
visual aid: timeline of Xal’atath!
We’re also deploying one of my new tactics for helping to make lore more accessible: visual timelines! A common piece of feedback I’ve heard from folks over the years is that community site lore write ups are entirely paragraph text, such as on the various wikis we’ve had over the years. For some events and characters, a nice little visual timeline with the highlights would go a long way toward making things more accessible. Let me know what you think of the timeline for Xal and if this helps you understand stuff more easily! Without further ado, meet Xal’atath, Warcraft’s opportunist, long-con antagonist, and *actual* master manipulator.
Please note: the timeline uses Warcraft year abbreviations: BDP meaning Before the opening of the Dark Portal, ADP meaning After the opening of the Dark Portal. Think of it as B.C. and A.D. 😊
Xal’atath comes into existence
At some point prior to the fall of the Black Empire, the entity known as Xal’atath comes into existence. It is still unclear if she existed prior to the Blade and was sealed in it, or was created from the Blade’s many sacrifices (next event). Regardless, she exists before the first fall of the Black Empire.
Xal’atath feeds in ritual sacrifice
The Blade, Xal’atath, was used for many ritual sacrifices to the Old Gods during the Empire’s first reign. Many souls whet her appetite and power up the unbound Old Gods. At some point, something is done to her by her “brethren,” the other Old Gods. She’s still mad about it.
Xal’atath is hidden as the Empire falls
The Black Empire is defeated by the Titans. Various remnant cultists of the Empire hide Xal’atath away so she survives the Titans’ onslaught.
Xal’atath is wielded by Zan’do
Xal’atath manipulates Zan’do of the Gurubashi into resurrecting Kith’ix, a C’thraxxi who would partner with Xal’atath for some time. Kith’ix’s far-reaching actions led to the Aqir Empire resurfacing to fight the Trolls before being defeated by the Amani (fun fact: the Trolls are famed Aqir killers! They are some of the best in the business of anti-Old God fights). Zul’aman was built atop Kith’ix’s resting place.
Kith’ix knew how to wield the Blade much more effectively than Zan’do, leading to many victories before his eventual defeat. The Blade would be pilfered again, but the Trolls still spoke of the dagger that almost wiped them out.
Grim Batol, still cursed by Modgud
Xal’atath is held by the Naga for millennia
After her attempt to reawaken forces of the Void via Zan’do and Kith’ix, Xal’atath would rest with the Naga for quite some time. Per her own words, “the Naga can be so possessive of artifacts.” We don’t have a lot of current knowledge about the next 10,000 years or so before her next re-appearance, but I’d assume some of it will be revealed during TWW. Resting with the Naga, who indirectly serve the Void, is still a logical place for the Blade to wait for its next chance.
Xal’atath is delivered to Modgud
Sorcerer Thane Thaurissan was married to Modgud Thaurissan, a Dark Iron sorceress who loved shiny artifacts. Not happy with the offerings of the Dark Iron’s vault, she sent many underlings to find additional artifacts for her, until one Dwarf returned with Xal’atath. Eventually, she’d try to ask the Dwarf who delivered the Blade more questions, but nobody could find him or remembered what he looked like (spooky). Modgud studied the Blade and performed many heinous acts with it, notably a blood ritual that animated shadows from Grim Batol and cursed the city.
Xal’atath abandons Modgud
…unfortunately for Modgug, Xal’atath is sentient. As the Wildhammer renewed their attack on Grim Batol, Modgud reached for Xal, only to see she had been abandoned. Modgud’s curse remained over the city. For fun themeing purposes, and because it’s a fun little easter egg, the achievement for General Umbriss, first boss in Grim Batol, involves the aptly-named Modgud’s Malice buff. This is one of those little details that makes me really happy about Xal and 11.0: not an asspull! Pre-established!
Xal’atath’s partnership with Modgud would prove to be highly consequential, as the desperate Thaurissan would summon Ragnaros, paving the way for the servitude of the Dark Iron for decades. The curse on Grim Batol also resulted in the first Skardyn, shadow-twisted Dwarves who haven’t been seen in game…yet…
Natalie Seline finds Xal’atath
Between the First and Second War, a Human named Natalie Seline began studying the Orcs’ magics. Eventually leading to the formation of a cult, this partnership would begin exposing Azerothian mortals to the Void. There are many rumors as to how Natalie died, some say Xal’atath turned the cult against her, but nobody really knows. The Blade would once again disappear for some time until another shadow-inclined Human found it.
Archbishop Benedictus, the Twilight Father, finds Xal’atath
Remember this fucker? Not only did Benedictus prank us all in Cata, HE ALSO HAD THE BLADE! Benedictus is the first wielder who was smart enough to not buy into the whispers. He did not wield the Blade but still led the Twilight’s Hammer during the Cataclysm. The Blade watched, and listened, as mortals staved off the Hour of Twilight and the cult collapsed.
Twilight Deacon Farthing comes into possession of Xal’atath
A subordinate of Benedictus, Deacon Farthing, would come into possession of the Blade next. He obviously fell for the whispers, leading him to another entombed C’Thraxxi. Xal’atath loves doing greatest hits albums but with her evil schemes. She’s like “oh that was fun, let’s do it again,” but with huge scary tentacle monsters, Void Dwarves, or even the player character. And good for her.
this is fine…right?
Priest Adventurer comes into possession of Xal’atath
Speaking of repeating her previous activities, when Xal sensed that Deacon Farthing was gonna die, she swapped sides, dooming another wielder of the Blade. The player character, desperate to combat the dire threat posed by the Legion’s largest invasion of Azeroth, picked up the Blade, said fuck it, and went back to the Priest order hall to start farming artifact power.
Xal’atath feeds on thousands of souls during the Third Invasion of the Burning Legion
As we know, the player character in WoW has killed literally millions of beings, whether they be mortals, eternal beings, demons, you name it. Legion is one of the expansions where our kill count was highest, as the player character carved through seemingly endless numbers of demons multiple times. Xal’atath, inside the sword, was served a thousand course meal of energy. She would also talk to the Priest often, making typical villainous statements, half-truths, and unintentionally getting you killed a few times, but she would also speak of past events. What did happen to hear in ancient times? Is she a fifth Old God? The Priest learned more than most people ever would about the Void and its many truths.
Xal’atath is drained of all power to resist Gorribal, Sargeras’ sword
Unfortunately, artifact weapons were only temporary, and, having dubbed their partnership finished, the Priest allowed Magni to siphon Xal’atath’s stored power into Gorribal, stopping the corrupting energy Sargeras left in the sword. The dagger went silent, nearly completely drained of energy, and the Priest went about their victory lap. We aren’t sure where the Blade ended up after the Priest was finished with it, but it was either abandoned or disposed of somewhere. I like to imagine the Priest character threw it away in a secret place like a kid throwing away their vegetables that they didn’t wanna eat.
WHY DID WE LET HER GET A BODY AGAIN-
Collector Kojo finds Xal’atath
Enter BFA. Between Legion and 8.1.5, the Naga got a hold of Xal’atath again. Unlike 10,000 years ago, there was an actual plan in place this time. A Horde Player character, unclear if it was the same Priest or not, would pick up Xal’atath (canonized by Chronicle, it was the Horde adventurer). She would do her usual stuff, except she was actually starving this time instead of just faking it. I have a separate headcanon here that the Priest was a Horde character who saw the blade again and, knowing their faction was at a stalemate in the war, sought to use it to gain an advantage. Otherwise, that Horde adventurer was dumb as shit.
Horde adventurer feeds and frees Xal’atath
After finding the Blade, the Horde adventurer walked Xal around a bit. First, giving her a body again by killing Inaris, a Void Elf, hence her elf appearance (currently). They were then conned into recovering the artifacts from Crucible of Storms for her, bringing them to the piece of N’Zoth under the Crucible, and then freeing her. We are still waiting to learn the exact details of Xal’s bargain with Zothie. The exact text is: “honor our bargain. Free my to find my own fate.” This text means they had a deal involving Xal bringing N’Zoth the hero and that the terms included Xal being freed from the dagger by N’Zoth. Those being the only details we know for sure about their deal, this means that N’Zoth was considered superior to Xal in rank during BFA. Notably, the knife remained with him, making this event the first time the Blade and the Entity are separated.
Xal’atath becomes the Harbinger and lays plans across the cosmos
In Ny’alotha in 8.3, Wrathion uses Xal’atath (knife) to break in to the carapace of N’Zoth, eventually helping us kill N’Zoth “permanently.” We haven’t seen the Blade since 8.3. I would obviously wager that the Blade will reappear during the Worldsoul Saga as it still possesses pretty significant power for a weapon.
After N’Zoth died, Xal’atath darted around the Great Dark Beyond setting plans. We have yet to see the full extent of these plans, but obviously several of them occurred directly on Azeroth. I like to picture her and Azshara hanging out in space playing Jackbox while they wait for their win conditions to happen.
During this time, Xal picked up the mantle of “Harbinger,” or at least began parading it more loudly. We’re not sure if she’s always had the title or if it’s a recent addition.
WHO IS THAT ON THE RIGHT? NO NO NO GOD NO
Iridikron gives Xal’atath the Dark Heart with Galakrond’s essence
One of the aforementioned plans laid on Azeroth involved the Primal Incarnate Iridikron. It’s known that Iridikron made deals with Void-aligned entities, similar to Neltharion, as we heard from Nozdormu and Alexstrasza. That alignment seemed to survive his imprisonment, as he popped out, snatched the Dark Heart from one of Neltharion’s caches, got it empowered, and handed it off to Xal. A few points of clarification:
· The Dark Heart seems like a slightly older Dragon Soul. Its current capabilities are TBD, but we can assume it is at least somewhere similar to the original Dragon Soul’s destructive capabilities.
· It was buffed in the Dawn of the Infinite dungeon: Iridikron agreed to help out the Infinites as long as he could get sent back to Galakrond’s Fall. When the heroes of Azeroth had to choose between him or Deios, they chose Deios, leaving Iridikron to complete his task of siphoning Galakrond’s essence into the Heart. Galakrond was extremely powerful and ate so many other dragons. I would imagine this is at least a 3x buff to the power of the Heart.
· Iridikron is not driven to madness by the Void-a significant difference between him and Neltharion. I’ve got a theory about why, but Iridikron is clearly much more in control of his mind than Deathwing was. He is entering into work with the Void as a willing partner, not a vehicle driven insane by 10,000 years of whispers. I would imagine this makes him even more potent as a potential player during the Saga (I should add, the antagonist slate of Xal’atath, Iridikron, Azshara, and Dimensius+other void lords is just too exciting for me).
This event means Xal has a buffed Dragon Soul-like artifact on her hands. We’re not sure of its current usage. Is she using the Heart to forge her next army? Is it her death laser being saved for a crucial moment?
Xal’atath attacks Telogrus Rift
With Amirdrassil blooming, Azeroth was seemingly drifting back toward an equilibrium of sorts. Classic, am I right? Various people started hearing the Radiant Song (that we are now hearing during prepatch), heralding the next Issue for us to tackle. This time, Xal was involved. The Harbinger questline from 10.2.7 features her attack on Telogrus Rift, the Void Elf home. You may recall from Legion that she took an immediate interest in Alleria Windrunner after Allera absorbed a fallen Naaru as a Void buff. Logically, her first strike after revealing herself is on Alleria to assess her capabilities. Xal makes it personal as always by conjuring a Turalyon simulacrum to beat Alleria up, showing off her nasty side a bit too.
WHO IS THAT? (thanks wowhead)
But wait, there’s more…
In Season of Discovery, a Shadowy Figure has been sighted multiple times, offering players an exchange for powerful Void gear. Many folks, myself included, hunch that this figure is Xal. Given Blizzard’s “found photograph” approach to SoD, I love that they’re canonizing some early Xal appearances in a loose way-nothing annoying and universe breaking, like “The Jailer made Sargeras create the Legion,” which was deeply stupid, but small stuff, indicating an early presence. It makes it feel like she has really been waiting the whole time, without it feeling un-earned or forced to make her seem cooler. No massive impact on the Classic story, but definitely becoming acquainted with the strengths of the Heroes.
What’s Next? And why do I care?
That’s our current situation with Xal’atath and the entire known history of both Blade and Entity. To recap, we have no idea where the Blade is now, the Entity is preparing for 11.0, and none of her plans are good for the heroes of Azeroth.
So, why do we care about her other than the requisite “she wants to destroy our world champion”? If you’ve listened to her voice lines linked above, I hope you’ll have an interest in her past. What did the 4 Old Gods to do Xal eons ago that pissed her off? What was she sent to Azeroth for? What was her original role in the Black Empire? How did she get put in that knife?
i’ve been thinking about this image for a week straight
Xal is really scary because of her intimate knowledge of recent capabilities of the heroes of Azeroth. With that Priest in Legion, she listened in on your raid coms between pulls, paid repair bills, saw what you saw on Argus, and had time to think about it. Many of her Legion quotes are specifically her taking notes in the grand PowerPoint of WoW and learning from how other people failed (for my fellow FF14 people, think Emet taking notes after Lahabrea’s decisions). She has her own 100,000 years of information as well as the information of the recent victories of the heroes. In my view, this is the most an antagonist has ever known about us and our capabilities. I personally hope she will “win” multiple times throughout the story before we eventually prevail against the Void Lords-she has the capabilities to do so.
My first bet? Re-enacting our great defeat on the Broken Shore. She discusses the Battle of Broken Shore with the Priest multiple times, even referencing how the mortals call it their “greatest failure.” Where might she be able to kick our asses to start off the story?
Lastly, she’s hilarious. I never get sick of the interaction in Tomb of Sargeras where she asks you to try to siphon some Elune magic that ends up getting you killed. Her response? “Oh oops!” She also makes a scathing indictment of Pit Lords, stating that they are “born oversized and stupid.” And she’s right!
In both Legion and BFA, Xal was the perfect mix of definitely evil, funny, charming, and extremely intelligent, making it super believable that she has survived for so long and conned multiple mortals into working with her. One of the scariest ways she builds ethos is by reminding heroes and villains of her firsthand knowledge of the old world. When approaching Odyn in Legion, she asks if he’s “considered Loken’s final words to him.” Who the hell else was around for that conversation?
Xal has so much personality to her in her Legion voice lines. I hope TWW will let her have just as much fun, she’ll be a treat to watch if so. That’s all for today. I hope you’ve enjoyed this *long* deep dive on Knaifu/Baeblade/Mother. Please do leave me feedback about the visual timeline-it’ll help me write my future posts!
If you’d like a text version of the Blade quotes from Legion, here it is.
Shadows guide you,
-Ily
