World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is preparing for a new raid tier, and that includes progressing the game’s story. So far, the main antagonists of the expansion are the Primal Incarnates, massive proto-drakes imbued with Azeroth’s elemental powers. Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible will be the setting for the next raid in World of Warcraft, but interestingly enough, none of the Incarnates themselves feature as bosses within. Instead, it sets the stage for their ultimate weapon - Shadowflame.
Although the Storm Incarnate, Raszageth, was killed in the Vault of the Incarnates raid, her siblings were released and are in the process of enacting their plans. Players don’t know exactly what those goals are, the molten fires that power Aberrus, which used to be World of Warcraft's ancient laboratory for Deathwing, are said to contain incredible power. A likely source of this power is the former Black Aspect’s most potent creation, Shadowflame, an element like no other.
Aberrus Was the Birthplace of Deathwing’s Creation, Shadowflame
Shadowflame is an element invented by World of Warcraft's black dragon, Deathwing, long ago. It combines the power of fire with shadow magic, compounding their effects and making for an incredibly potent weapon. In order to merge the two elements, however, Deathwing needed a powerful source of shadow magic with which he could experiment. Analyzing Aberrus, it becomes obvious that the laboratory is saturated with void magic, and the roaring forges within combine this power with the molten lava beneath Azeroth’s surface.
Deathwing, formerly Neltharion, was obsessed with creating the ultimate weapon to protect Azeroth. It is strongly hinted that messing with void magic in an attempt to make this weapon was what ultimately exposed the Black Aspect to corruption, causing him to descend into madness. In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Deathwing and his children can be witnessed using Shadowflame breath to terrible effect.
The flames not only melt flesh from bone, but corrupt any living thing they touch as well. It even has the capability to resurrect the deceased into undead monstrosities, as was apparent in both Nefarian and Onyxia, two black dragons who were slain by players more than once. If the remaining three Dragonflight's Primal Incarnates manage to get hold of the source of Shadowflame, there is no end to the havoc they could cause for all life on Azeroth.
As players traverse the halls of Aberrus, they can witness Fyrakk, the Fire Incarnate, immerse himself in the magma surrounding the laboratory. He doesn’t seem interested in stopping players, content to absorb as much power as possible. He could merely be soaking up more fire, his own element, but any old volcano could do that. It is more likely that Fyrakk is growing stronger by saturating his body with Shadowflame, something that could make him nearly unstoppable.
If Fyrakk is indeed imbuing himself with the corrupted and unnatural element of Shadowflame, it shows that the Incarnates are no longer concerned with actually saving Azeroth, as Raszageth seemingly believed before she died. Using Shadowflame, which is essentially a form of Old God magic, would imply that the Incarnates don't intend to save Azeroth, but essentially destroy it, trading order for chaos by any means necessary. Void magic is notoriously unpredictable and can easily get out of control, causing catastrophic disaster.
The creation of Shadowflame led to insanity and tragedy not only for Neltharion but World of Warcraft's Black Dragonflight. Azeroth was almost completely annihilated by Deathwing’s fury, and messing around with those same forces could bring about another cataclysm, one from which Azeroth might not recover. It will doubtless be up to the players to stop the Primal Incarnates before they destroy not just the dragons, but all of Azeroth as well.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is available now for PC.