The Primal Incarnates in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight are beasts of raw elemental power, and their plans to remake Azeroth in their image are in full swing. What players have begun to notice, however, is that their claim to saving Azeroth from the Titan’s influence sounds eerily familiar. Their obsession with trading order for chaos is a scheme that World of Warcraft has seen numerous times before.
In the wider universe surrounding Azeroth, there are two main forces at play. They are Order and Chaos, often represented by the dichotomy of Void and Light. World of Warcraft's Old Gods are powerful agents of the void whose only goal is reaping chaos, corrupting all that they touch, and striving for endless conflict. But how exactly they intertwine with the elements is a story that stretches back to Azeroth’s very beginning.
World of Warcraft's Elements Have Served the Void For Eons
Millennia ago, when the Old Gods first landed on Azeroth, they spread their tendrils deep into the planet’s crust, hoping to reach the sleeping Titan infant within its core. These eldritch kings fought against the violent elements that already called Azeroth home, sending their minions to battle the endless forces of water, earth, storm, and fire. In time, the Old Gods conquered these elements, enslaving the Elemental Lords to carry out their bidding.
The Elements served the Black Empire well, as their natural state was one of chaos. Unlike other planets, Azeroth lacked enough of the fifth element, Spirit, which calmed the others and brought balance to natural forces. The elements on Azeroth were full of rage, waging war on one another both before and after their enslavement. In truth, the lore surrounding WoW's Old Gods implies that they did little more than give this destruction a direction, as the Elemental Lords were, by their very nature, primed to bring about chaos wherever they went.
Once the Titans arrived and imprisoned both the Old Gods and the Elemental Lords, the tumultuous planet finally calmed, allowing the mortal races to evolve. Although neither the Old Gods nor the Elements particularly liked each other, the Void is nothing if not cunning, and at every turn, the enemies of Order have made use of the elements. The dragon Deathwing, formerly Neltharion, used both earth and fire to bring about the rebirth of the Black Empire. He even combined fire and shadow to create a useful new element, Shadowflame, which both burned and corrupted everything in its wake.
The Primal Incarnates, living bastions of elemental power, want nothing more than to scour Order from every corner of Azeroth, a goal that perfectly aligns with that of the Old Gods. Whether they have been ignorant all along or simply don’t care, the Primal Incarnates serve the Void. Recent events in the newest raid, Aberrus, have shown that they have no qualms about giving in to void corruption to attain more power. Fyrakk, the Flame Incarnate, imbued his own body with Shadowflame, unconcerned by how twisted and impure he has become as a result. As long as he can set fire to Azeroth's skies as he pleases, he doesn't care if the planet itself falls to corruption.
The Titan Keeper Tyr made the dragons to be Azeroth’s protectors, to stand vigilant in his absence. They are the final line of defense in protecting their home from corruption, as the stakes are far higher than one might imagine. The Primal Incarnates seek to drive dragons to extinction, an act that would leave the planet vulnerable to every kind of corruption. If Azeroth were ever fully claimed by the Void, it would spell doom for the entire universe, not just the world so many playable races call home. In truth, there is no victory for the Incarnates that does not seal Azeroth’s fate, which is why World of Warcraft’s heroes must band together to stop them.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is available now for PC.