Highlights

  • The Harbinger of the Void, also known as Xal'atath, is a familiar figure for Shadow Priest players in World of Warcraft.
  • Xal'atath has a rich backstory that goes back to the origins of Azeroth and its connection to the Old Gods.
  • In the upcoming expansion, The War Within, the Harbinger of the Void has imbued Nerubians with Void powers, making them a dangerous threat.

In the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, The War Within, a character known as the Harbinger of the Void will serve as one of the main antagonists. However, players have met this stranger from the dark before. The Harbinger of the Void is none other than Xal'atath, whom Shadow Priest players know quite well from past World of Warcraft expansions.

As a Void-aligned villain, Xal'atath has been anything but idle ever since players first met them in World of Warcraft during the Legion expansion. Though three expansions have since passed after Xal'atath's arrival, the Harbinger made a cameo in Dragonflight, as players who completed the Dawn of the Infinite dungeon saw a faint outline of a figure that looked reminiscent of Xal'atath. The figure was beyond a portal that Iridikron, the Primal Incarnate of Earth, passed through after claiming a "hungering" power from the corpse of Galakrond. Iridikron vowed to return to Azeroth one day to force the Titans to return to the world in the future, which will undoubtedly happen during The Worldsoul Saga.

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The Harbinger Is A Familiar 'Friend' Turned Foe

The story of Xal'atath dates back to the origins of Azeroth itself. As of Dragonflight, it is heavily implied in both the game and supplemental stories for World of Warcraft that Xal'atath was either a minion of the Old Gods, or a fifth Old God that was consumed or partially destroyed by C'Thun, Yogg-Saron, N'Zoth, and Y'Shaarj. This occurred during the age of the Black Empire, millennia before the game's events. Eventually, the Void entity was sealed within a dagger that remained undisturbed and hidden for years. Though the quartet of Old Gods that doomed Xal'atath has since been dealt with in World of Warcraft and subsequent expansions, the Burning Legion's return to Azeroth during the game's sixth expansion was an event the fallen entity waited for.

In the Legion expansion. Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire was one of the artifact weapons that WoW players obtained to fight back against their demonic foes. The Blade was discovered by Shadow Priests, who were not like the usual healer Priests who chose the Holy and Discipline specializations. Instead, Shadow Priests cast damage-over-time spells and overwhelm their foes' minds with dark thoughts. Unlike most artifact weapons, Xal'atath retained its sense of self and was able to whisper to its wielder at random intervals. After Sargeras plunged his dark blade into Silithus, the Blade of the Black Empire was drained of its power to stabilize the wound that the sword left.

The Harbinger Made The Nerubians A Dangerous Threat

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Even though Xal'atath was stripped of its power following attempts to heal the world soul of Azeroth, it was far from dormant. In Battle For Azeroth, the Black Blade was found by adventurers in Stormsong Valley after it left the hands of Shadow Priests. Following a series of events, Xal'atath made a bargain with N'Zoth and was able to find a new host, in the body of a recently deceased void elf woman. The newly freed Xal'atath thanked both the player and N'Zoth for their assistance and traveled through the cosmos for an unknown amount of time. After N'Zoth's demise at the end of Battle for Azeroth, Xal'atath remained missing in action until Dragonflight's Fractures in Time update, where Xal'atath beckoned Iridikron to follow it into the Void, with the "hungering essence" of Galakrond in tow.

However, Xal'atath took up a new mantle in The War Within, as the Harbinger of the Void. During BlizzCon, it was revealed that the Harbinger had imbued the Nerubians of Azj'Kahet with Void powers and made them an even more dangerous threat than they were when they were enslaved to the Scourge. While it remains to be seen what Xal'atath is truly capable of, WoW players will need to be truly prepared for the worst.