Nefarian Nefarian ( also known as Blackwing ) is a black dragon and the eldest son of Deathwing . He appears in his human guise as Lord Victor Nefarius , the Lord of Blackrock . Holding the Blackrock clan and various clans of ogres under his control , Nefarian rules from his lair at the top of Blackrock Spire . Nefarian speaks Common , Darnassian , Draconic , Dwarven , Goblin , Gnomish , Low Common , Orcish , Thalassian and Zandali . Chris Metzen is believed to be the voice of Nefarian ( though there is no definite proof that this is true ) . Background . The black dragonflight was among the greatest threats to mortal life the world has ever known . Led by the fallen Aspect , Deathwing , the black dragons ravaged and subverted the kingdoms of humanity and elves for generations . Yet , during the Battle of Grim Batol ( nearly fifteen years ago ) , Deathwing was defeated by his fellow Aspect s — though he managed to escape complete destruction at their hands . While he was regaining his strength in Deepholm , the random destruction indicates no direct control over his diabolical flight . Since Deathwing ' s departure , his eldest children have arisen to lead their brethren and recoup their failing numbers . Deathwing ' s eldest son , the malicious and cunning Nefarian , has claimed the burning fortress of Blackrock Spire and Blackwing Lair as his aerie . Nefarian has been experimenting with the blood of all of the various dragonflights to create a chromatic dragonflight of unstoppable warriors . In this task , he has succeeded his father and , aided by his sister , he plans to use them to rally the Black Dragonflight to his command . In Blackrock , aided by his loyal dragonspawn , he fights a constant battle with Ragnaros and his forces for control of the mountain and , ultimately , control of the entire region . To this end , he made efforts to bolster his forces like his father Deathwing in ages past . Nefarian delights in capturing Ragnaros ' elemental minions and using them for his own insidious purposes . He has struck up an alliance with Rend Blackhand , though he only uses him and his Dark Horde to further his own goals . Nefarian ' s mad bid for dominance has even attracted the ire of the red dragonflight — in the form of the red dragon Vaelastrasz — which has always been the Black flight ' s greatest foe . Though Nefarian ' s intentions are known , the methods he is using to achieve them remain a mystery . With the black dragonflight once again under solid leadership and with the support of these new chromatic dragons , he plans to strike back against the other dragonflights , as well as the mortal nations of the world . World of Warcraft . Nefarian appeared in " World of Warcraft " as the final encounter in Blackwing Lair , implemented in patch 1 . 6 . The Head of Nefarian begins the quest for the Horde and the Alliance . It drops from Nefarian in Blackwing Lair . Like the Head of Onyxia , Nefarian ' s head may be delivered either to King Varian Wrynn in Stormwind for the Alliance or Thrall in Orgrimmar for the Horde . Wrynn will send you to Field Marshal Afrasiabi in the Valley of Heroes , while Thrall will send you to Overlord Runthak near the gates of Orgrimmar . Turning in the head grants everyone in the city the Rallying Cry of the Dragonslayer . Provided they are level 60 or lower . Burning Crusade . With the coming of Patch 2 . 1 . 0 , it seems that Nefarian had died in - universe . Lady Sinestra , added in the patch , says during an event involving her and a Dragonmaw fel orc named Overlord Mor ' ghor : This seems to imply that Nefarian is dead , or at least presumed dead by the black dragonflight . Wrath of the Lich King . Varok Saurfang mentions that he put the head of Nefarian on a pike , implying that the adventurers of the Horde defeated Nefarian , as opposed to the Alliance defeating Onyxia . Cataclysm . Nefarian appears to have been ressurected into some degree of undeath , and is featured in " " . He ' s located in Blackwing Descent . Indeed , Nefarian continues his experiments to create the most powerful dragon ( as shown in various battles ) with the help of Maloriak . There are some theories about who resurrected Nefarian : the first idea is his father , but the Head of Nefarian was on a pike in Orgrimmar and there is no trace of Deathwing in the orc ' s capital city ( unlike Stormwind ) . Currently , no sources point to a reliable theory . However , since he refers to years of work on his recent projects , it would appear that he was raised in undeath somewhere shortly after his death , and therefore not by his father , who recently returned from Deepholm . It is however possible that these experiments ( mainly Chimaeron and Atramedes ) were begun before his death . This is most likely since he has his living look in the flashback before the fight against Atramedes . Also , his three brides Desperiona , Sethria , and Valiona appear to be leading assaults against Nefarian ' s adversaries , possibly to avenge their fallen mate . Night of the Dragon . During the book Night of the Dragon , Kalecgos and Krasus reveal that Nefarian , the eldest and most powerful of Deathwing ' s children , had been slain by brave fighters . Kalec later mentions to Dargonax that Nefarian ' s mother , Sintharia , abandoned him to his enemies after he failed her ( though considering the circumstances , it ' s possible that Kalec twisted the truth to try and turn Dargonax against Sintharia ) . Sintharia , Nefarian ' s Mother and creator of Dargonax and the Twilight Dragonflight , referred to Dargonax as Nefarian on a few different occasions . While never really explained a few different opinions could be speculated . One that Nefarian ' s body or essence was used to create Dargonax or that Dargonax is Nefarian resurrected . Sinestra shows spite towards both Onyxia and Nefarian throughout the novel and so one could infer that she is not referring to Dargonax with motherly love of Nefarian . At the end of the book it is assumed that Dargonax and Sinestra are both killed , however the Twilight Dragonflight continues to exist either through Deathwing ' s doing or through Sintharia ' s false demise as well as both Sinestra and Nefarian being present in World of Warcraft : Cataclysm . In combat . Nefarian usually enters combat in human form at first , summoning his many minions and allies while he wears down his enemies with powerful spells . If seriously threatened , he takes on his true form , using his shadow flame breath to incinerate anyone who is not properly protected . He uses his corrupted power ability to incapacitate whatever characters he feels are the greatest threat . If badly wounded , Nefarian uses his powerful magic to retreat . If prevented from retreating , he uses his most powerful spells and abilities to turn his enemies against each other , and to drain their health and spells while restoring his own . Nefarian ’ s breath , known as shadow flame , is among the deadliest of any dragon ’ s attacks . Any living target affected by Nefarian ’ s breath is set afire with shadow flame , taking terrible damage . The only protection from this attack is the scales of another powerful black dragon . Names . Over the years , Nefarian has been given a few names , including : Following the dragon naming conventions , his proper name should be Nefarion ( as males of the Black Dragonflight use the - ion suffix ) but it ' s unknown if that really is his name and he chooses to spell it differently to differentiate himself ( similar to how Sintharia renamed herself Sinestra even though " Sinestra " doesn ' t follow the Twilight Dragonflight naming conventions ) Quotes . Quotes within Blackwing Lair . Corrupting Vaelastrasz : Stealing the Red Scepter Shard :