Maw of the Damned < onlyinclude > < / onlyinclude > For eons , the demon known as Gorelix the Fleshripper used this massive axe to steal the life force of his enemies and replenish his own . The Maw will bleed dry anything it touches — eating is all it knows . An ancient Legion axe forged from a metal that drains its victims ' vital energies . The soul of its original creator is trapped within and cursed with unending hunger . For more than a thousand years , an old and cunning mo ' arg has used the axe to butcher uprisings and consume the life force of the Legion ' s foes . Over its long and infamous history , the weapon has made its demonic bearer extraordinarily powerful . Blood death knight s wield an axe of great power known as the Maw of the Damned . Forged for rending both soul and flesh , this weapon testifies to the wielder ’ s great power over mortality itself . The artifact weapon was introduced with " " . Lore . In - Game Lorebook Part One . Despite its long history of bloodshed , the Maw of the Damned was not created for genocide . It was forged to take a single life : that of the great demon lord Kil ' jaeden . Kil ' jaeden was one of the eredar race ' s most beloved leaders . With a mere word , he could sway the hearts and minds of his people . When he joined the demonic Burning Legion , many eredar blindly followed his path . One of the first to do so was a gifted smith named Netrius . He adored Kil ' jaeden , and he spent his life seeking the eredar leader ' s approval . Netrius saw pledging himself to the Legion as the ultimate expression of his loyalty . As a reward for his loyalty , Netrius was remade in the Legion ' s all - consuming fel fire . Volatile magics blazed through his soul , warping his mind and body forever . Netrius - now known by the Netrezaar - was never the same again . Even his feelings toward Kil ' jaeden changed . What was once admiration had twisted into a dangerous obsession . It wasn ' t enough to simply win Kil ' jaeden ' s approval . He needed more . An idea took shape in Netrezaar ' s mind . To satisfy his obsession , he would create a weapon to consume Kil ' jaeden ' s life force . That weapon would one day become known as the Maw of the Damned . Part Two . Netrezaar became a smith of much renown in the Burning Legion . His war machines terrorized worlds . his blades brought ruin to entire civilizations . yet in truth , most of these weapons were merely experiments in his quest for the perfect tool with which to consume Kil ' jaeden . Success hinged on finding a material that could draw out and contain the demon lord ' s life force . Netrezaar spent years searching for exotic ores , most of which proved useless . He made a promising discovery on Nihilam , the Doom World . Long ago , a war between the legion ' s ruler , Sargeras , and his fellow titans had shaken the fabric of creation around Nihilam . Their apocalyptic battle had darkened the world and infused its metal ores with otherworldly properties . When Netrezaar mined these metals , he found them nearly indestructible . In just the right light , the materials reflected brief images of the battle fought between Sargeras and the titans . Most important of all , these metals also leeched away the essence of any living thing that touched them . For the first time in years , Netrezaar felt joy . He had finally found what he needed . Part three : Netrezaar shaped the Maw of the Damned on one of the great demon forges of Argus , homeworld of the eredar . When crafting other weapons , he often infused them with cruely and malice . Such was not the case with the Maw . Netrezaar poured all of his admiration and twisted obsession into the blade . He labored day and night , pushing himself to the brink of collapse . Perfection was his goal . He would accept nothing less for the weapon that would kiss Kil ' jaeden ' s flesh . The axe would leech away every ounce of the demon lord ' s life force and channel it directly into Netrezaar . Nothing would go to waste . He also enchanted the weapon ' s haft so that when he wielded the axe , its metals would not drain his essence . When the work was done , Netrezaar has produced one of the greatest weapons in the Legion ' s arsenal . Nothing like it had ever been seen before , and nothing like it would ever be seen again . Part four : The Maw of the damned ' s first victim was not Kil ' jaeden . It was one of Netrezaar ' s servants . Netrezaar commanded dozens of mo ' arg , highly resourceful demons who specialized in engineering and blacksmithing . All of them looked up to eredar smith with awe , but he cared little for his followers . Like hammers and tongs , they were simply tools at his disposal . To test the Maw , Netrezaar subjected a pair of mo ' arg to gruesome experiments . He slowly cut their flesh with the axe , studying how quickly it drained their life force . The Maw worked just as planned . The demons ' vital energies passed through the blade and flooded into Netrezaar . Part five : Of the two mo ' arg experimented on by Netrezaar . one survived . His name was Gorelix . and he was the eredar smith ' s most devoted follower . At least , he had been . The experiments had left Gorelix shriveled and disfigured . His admiration for Netrezaar darkened into a hatred hotter than any demon forge . Gorelix did not have the physical strength to rise against Netrezaar . Even if he could , rebelling would mean a fate worse than death . Netrezaar was one of the eredar - one of Kil ' jaeden ' s chosen . The broken mo ' arg vowed to find another way to exact vengeance on his master . He watched Netrezaar ' s every movement , seeking a weakness . Over time . Gorelix discovered something odd . Netrezaar ' s axe was powerful . and yet he would not use it in battle . He kept it hidden from other demons , save his mo ' arg servants . What was its purpose . if not to strike down the Legion ' s enemies ? It dawned on Gorelix that Netrezaar had no intention of ever using the axe for the Legion . He had crafted it for another purpose . Part six : Netrezaar was pleased with the Maw . and he decided the time had come to use it on Kil ' jaeden . He would present the axe as a gift to his master and then strike at the unsuspecting demon lord . Perhaps it would have worked . if not for Gorelix . When the mo ' arg learned of the meeting with Kil ' jaeden . the last puzzle piece slid into place . He finally realized the true purpose of Netrezaar ' s axe . He warned Kil ' jaeden of the impending betrayal . and the demon lord plotted his own in return . Kil ' jaeden met with Netrezaar just as planned . But before the smith could present his " gift . " the demon lord struck . He used his magics to lock Netrezaar ' s spirit in place . while Gorelix took up the Maw . As Netrezaar ' s screams of torment echoed over Argus . Gorelix slowly cut away his master ' s flesh . He did not stop until only bone remained . Part Seven Netrezaar ' s fate was worse than death . Kil ' jaeden made sure of that . He locked Netrezaar ' s howling spirit within the smith ' s own skull . Then he ordered Gorelix to fuse the bone onto the Maw of the Damned . In this way , Netrezaar would be one with his beloved axe forever . The weapon ' s metals would constantly drain his spirit , leaving him racked with hunger . No amount of life force would ever satisfy him . To the contrary , the more Netrezaar consumed , the worse his pangs of hunger would grow . Kil ' jaeden gifted the axe to Gorelix as a reward for his loyalty . He gave the mo ' arg only one specific order : keep Netrezaar ' s spirit fed to continue his torture . Gorelix experimented with the axe , using it to draw the life essence from the Legion ' s prisoners . The energies drained by the Maw of the Damned were often too much for Netrezaar ' s spirit to consume . What was left over flowed into Gorelix himself , and strength gradually returned to his broken form . As word of the axe and its origins spread , demons referred to its prisoner as Netrezaar the Damned . It was from this moniker that Gorelix renamed the weapon . He called it the Maw of the Damned . Part Eight On a small world under siege by the Legion , Gorelix learned of the Maw ' s true power and potential . He and a team of mo ' arg had been tasked with building a citadel to serve as a base of operations . In one battle , this stronghold came under attack from the world ' s brave defenders . A massive breach opened in the wall . If the mo ' arg could not repair it soon , the entire citadel would fall to the Legion ' s enemies . Gorelix volunteered to defend the breach while the other mo ' arg worked . Hundreds of enemies stormed the opening in the wall , howling battle cries in their alien tongue . Gorelix stood fast , rending any who came within the Maw ' s deadly reach . He never flagged . On the contrary , every kill infused his body with greater strength and vitality . When the last attacker had fallen , the other mo ' arg found that they no longer needed to repair the breach . Gorelix had filled it with corpses . Part Nine The more Gorelix used the Maw , the more it changed him . He grew into a hulking mass of taut muscle , dwarfing every other mo ' arg in size . His monstrous appearance earned him a new name : the Fleshripper . Despite the power the Maw gave him , there were times when Gorelix did not use the axe . Sometimes he would watch from a distance while the Legion besieged new worlds . All the while , Gorelix would taunt Netrezaar ' s spirit , describing the battle and all the lives lost in great detail . When the Maw began to physically tremble in Gorelix ' s hands , he knew that Netrezaar ' s spirit was suffering . The mo ' arg found as much satisfaction from these acts of torture as he did from imbibing the life force of his victims . Part Ten On the world of Centralis , the Maw of the Damned secured its place as a weapon of legend . Centralis was home to a mighty warrior people . They resisted the Legion ' s attempts at conquest for much longer than other races . Yet like all who stood against the demons , they were doomed to fall eventually . Rather than simply destroy Centralis ' s inhabitants , Kil ' jaeden decided they would make fitting victims for the Maw of the Damned . Their potent life essence would engorge Netrezaar ' s spirit and push him to new realms of torment . At Kil ' jaeden ' s command , Gorelix traveled to Centralis . He marched at the head of a vast Legion army , Maw in hand . The blade bit through the armor , flesh , and souls of all who fell under his gaze . No corner of Centralis was safe from Gorelix ' s reach . No creature , not even the smallest wild beast , was shown mercy . When his long march had ended , only a dead world remained at his back . Maw of the Damned , Part Eleven After the massacre of Centralis , Gorelix continued learning how to maximize the Maw ' s destructive power . So effective was he at wielding the axe that he became one of the Legion ' s most invaluable tools . Rather than waste Gorelix ' s talents in minor battles , Kil ' jaeden saved the mo ' arg for special tasks . This also allowed Kil ' jaeden to keep close watch over the Maw and its whereabouts . Though he trusted Gorelix , he could not bear the thought of the axe falling into enemy hands . While in Gorelix ' s care , the Maw claimed countless victims . No matter how much Netrezaar ' s spirit feasted , his wild screams continued echoing through the axe . Even demons began to fear the Maw and its cursed prisoner . They had seen the weapon consume entire races . An entire world . Yet still it wanted more . Whether Netrezaar ' s hunger will ever die is unknown . The New Master Upon arrival of the Legion and the defeat of the heroes and combined mights of the Horde and Alliance , the new Lich King Bolvar Fordragon assists the Knights of the Ebon Blade order of Death Knights by directing their Blood knights toward the Maw of the Damned , which has been called upon by the Legion , along with its wielder Gorelix , to assist in overtaking Azeroth . The champion travels to Darkstone Island from Dalaran in pursuit of Baron Sliver , a Knight already on the weapon ' s trail . After entering the portal , Sliver is seen captured by a jailer demon . The champion and Sliver continue on , now fully under the gaze of Gorelix , and urged to flee by his prisoner , the Death Knight Mahrgrave Dhakar . Investigating further , Sliver leads them to a chained Knight named Minerva Ravensorrow , Dhakar ' s own apprentice . She begs to be released to inflict the same pain on the Legion , and overcoming objections by Sliver to ' leave the weak ' , she is rescued and joins the hero in his quest to retrieve the maw and rescue her mentor . After fighting through the demonic forces , the group reaches Mahrgrave , who is quickly cut down by a massive , empowered Gorelix the Fleshripper . The mighty battle ends in victory for the Death Knights , and the Maw is taken up by the future Deathlord of the Knights of the Ebon Blade Order . Sliver opens a portal to Icecrown Citadel , where the Lich King himself rewards the hero with his sigil . The Maw was present in the cleansing of Xavius from the Emerald Nightmare , the freeing of Odyn and Helya ' s defeat in the Trial of Valor , the prevention of Sargeras taking Illidan ' s body and the death of Gul ' dan in the Siege of the Nighthold , and finally - much to the chagrin of Netrezaar ' s trapped spirit within the Maw itself - the defeat of Kil ' Jaeden aboard his ship , and the discovery of Argus .