There was a time when Xal’atath was just a voice. A silken whisper curling through the minds of mortals, promising power that came at a price.
In The War Within, she steps out of the shadows, no longer content to manipulate from the sidelines. She’s corporeal now, ambitious, hungry. And in the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion Midnight, that hunger has devastating consequences for Azeroth.
A Whisper in the Void
Xal’atath predates even the majestic Titans, the architects of creation. She embodies the destructive power of the Void, a realm of madness and oblivion that hungers to consume all existence. The Titans imprisoned Xal’atath and her monstrous kin, the Old Gods, deep within the world of Azeroth. But even from their confinement, the Old Gods continued to spread their influence, corrupting hearts and minds with promises of power.
Fast-forward countless millennia after the Titans’ intervention. Xal’atath, though imprisoned, never stopped scheming. During the Legion expansion, her influence slithered back into the world by manifesting within the Blade of the Black Empire. The potent artifact is coveted by Shadow Priests, heroes who teeter on the knife’s edge between light and shadow.
Escaping Her Prison
N’Zoth, desperate for a weapon capable of harming his own kind, coveted the Blade. He severed Xal’atath’s essence from the dagger, freeing her to possess a High Elf form, while claiming the weapon for himself. Did Xal’atath serve N’Zoth willingly, or was she simply a pawn for his own gain? Ultimately, N’Zoth met his demise in the Battle of Azeroth, leaving Xal’atath free.
Her first move? Amassing a shadowy legion. Across Azeroth, her whispers, infect vulnerable like a plague. Corrupted creatures and those teetering on the edge of darkness flock to her call. Their growing numbers are a chilling testament to her manipulative power. Her objective? To shatter the fragile peace and usher in an age of darkness.
But Xal’atath, a being of pure Void energy, needs a physical form to wreak havoc. She resolves this little issue by targeting a High Elf named Inanis. During the Battle for Azeroth expansion, Inanis fell victim to the corrupting touch of a Void Stone, a fragment of the Void’s essence. Weakened and vulnerable, Inanis became the perfect vessel for Xal’atath.
Seizing this opportunity, Xal’atath possesses Inanis’ body after she dies, gaining a foothold in the physical world and a terrifying new weapon in her war against Azeroth.
The Dark Heart and the Old Gods’ Legacy
The Dark Heart is not an ordinary artifact. It’s a piece of the darkness that once defined Azeroth’s earliest nightmare, a relic of the Black Empire tied to Iridikron himself. We’ve seen what happens when mortals channel even a fraction of Void energy, the results usually involve madness or mushroom clouds. Xal’atath embraces that chaotic energy.
Her theft, or more accurately betrayal, of Iridikron solidifies something the Void had been lacking since N’Zoth fell: leadership. She’s not a pawn of another Old God’s ambition anymore. She’s the architect of her own apocalypse.
The Invasion of Silvermoon City
Midnight opens with Xal’atath’s soldiers invading Silvermoon City.
The target: the Sunwell, a swirling font of Light and arcane energy that’s powered elven civilization for millennia. Xal’atath plans to transform the Sunwell into a gateway that allows the Void to seep into every realm, even the Shadowlands.
Silvermoon has straddled the line between brilliance and decay. Its people channel the Light through a source tainted by darkness. Now, the contrast that’s defined the Blood Elfs since The Burning Crusade explodes into literal war.
Lor’themar Theron and the Blood Elves must defend the Sunwell as it’s the last barrier keeping existence itself from collapsing inward.
Alleria Windrunner is Xal’atath’s Rival and Mirror
There’s one person who understands Xal’atath’s temptations better than anyone. Alleria Windrunner, a seasoned ranger who’s been touched by the Void.
Their confrontation in The War Within was more of a psychological battle than a physical duel. Xal’atath tempted her with promises of “understanding” the Void fully. To gain the power to bend it to her will rather than being consumed by it. Alleria resisted.
The two are mirror images of each other. One embraces the Void while the other one thinks she can master it. Can she continue to resist both the Void or will she succumb to the darkness and become an unwitting ally to Xal’atath?
A War of Realms
The Worldsoul Saga promised a unifying narrative for World of Warcraft. Xal’atath delivers on that promise by threatening to unify everything, into nothingness. Her reach now extends beyond Azeroth, her gaze fixed on the veil itself.
During The War Within, she proved that whispers can shape civilizations. For Midnight, she aims to use that power to burn them down til there’s nothing but ash.
