Eranikus Eranikus is a dragon of the green flight who has fought and lost himself to the corrupting Nightmare spreading within the Emerald Dream . Eranikus , consort to Ysera , is among the greatest of the green dragons . Ysera gave him the task of guarding the Temple of Atal ' Hakkar in the Swamp of Sorrows . However , Eranikus went insane not long after he entered the temple . Since then the trolls in the temple have dispatched a group to Zul ' Gurub , and succeeded in summoning Hakkar into the world . Temple of Atal ' Hakkar . After Ysera , the Aspect of the Emerald Dream , had learned of the Atal ' ai ' s plans to summon Hakkar the Soulflayer , she smashed the Temple of Atal ' Hakkar below the marshes , attempting to destroy the troll s in order to stop their attempt to awaken the Soulflayer . The great Emerald Wyrm Eranikus was dispatched to deal with the Atal ' ai priest , along with his brother Itharius , and four young drakes under his direct command : Dreamscythe , Weaver , Hazzas and Morphaz . Eranikus and Itharius destroyed Hakkar ' s physical manifestation and believed they had succeeded . However they had underestimated Hakkar and Eranikus succumbed to the same corruption which currently plagues the Emerald Dream . The Atal ' ai survived , and resumed their efforts to awaken Hakkar . In World of Warcraft , upon defeating the Shade of Eranikus in the Sunken Temple , a player character may receive the Essence of Eranikus . Eranikus asks you to cleanse his soul in the essence font but instead becomes trapped within the trinket , the Chained Essence of Eranikus . He begs you to release him by seeking out his brother ' s aid , and threatens to kill you if you don ' t . If you choose to give up the trinket it may be given to Itharius in the Swamp of Sorrows , who sends the player to Umbranse the Spiritspeaker , where the questline ends abruptly . The Tyrant of the Dream . While the Sunken Temple questline has not been continued , Eranikus features prominently in the Scepter of the Shifting Sands questline . The mortal races wish to open Ahn ' Qiraj and put a rest to the Qiraji threat once and for all . In order to accomplish this the Scepter of the Shifting Sands must be recombined . One shard was entrusted a thousand years ago to Eranikus by the bronze wyrm Anachronos . The mortal champion is sent to the Sunken Temple to discover Eranikus ' fate . Upon visiting a spectral form of Malfurion Stormrage near Eranikus ' shade , the champion is sent to an ally of the Archdruid , and is instructed to gather shards of the nightmare from each portal to the emerald dream . He or she is then sent to Keeper Remulos in the Moonglade . Keeper Remulos opens a portal into the heart of the Dream over Lake Elune ' ara , from which Eranikus emerges . Eranikus , still under the control of the Old Gods , demands the body of Malfurion Stormrage . The champion and allies are asked to defend Keeper Remulos from dozens of Nightmare Phantasms , that have accompanied the fallen green to the mortal plane , until the arrival of High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind . As the phantasms are defeated , Eranikus lands himself and attacks the son of Cenarius . Eventually , Tyrande arrives with a half - dozen Priestesses of the Moon . Together they channel the powers of Elune in a prayer to redeem the cursed dragon . Ceasing to fight , Eranikus changes into the form of a night elf — apologizing for all the harm he had wrought — and leaves to attempt to begin to make amends for his actions . He returns to Malfurion , Cenarius , and Ysera to continue the battle raging within the Emerald Dream . Below is a transcript of Eranikus ' redemption . Stormrage . After being freed of the corruption of the Emerald Nightmare , Eranikus was found by Lucan Foxblood shortly after traveling to Ashenvale with Tyrande Whisperwind and Broll Bearmantle . At various times throughout the story Eranikus assisted the adventurers when they were in dire straits , although he was hesitant to do so due to his fear of becoming corrupted again . During the fight to save Malfurion , Ysera was captured by the Nightmare . As the Nightmare ' s strength increased , Eranikus discovered that Ysera had not yet been corrupted and he arrived to help Lucan Foxblood free her from the prison where the Nightmare Lord had placed her . During the attack on the prison , Eranikus was confronted by Lethon and in his struggle to prevent being corrupted again he pushed himself and Lethon into a void , tearing Lethon apart and dragging Eranikus into the vortex . While several characters , such as Malfurion and Ysera , believes this to be the death of Eranikus , it was not actually confirmed whether if he died or not , as with Lethon .