Xavius Lord Xavius was a powerful user of magic , and the high councilor to Queen Azshara . Biography . Early life and the War of the Ancients . Lord Xavius High counselor to Queen Azshara over 10 , 000 years ago known for his lack of eyes which he replaced with ebony orbs streaked with ruby . With these magical eyes he saw far more than that of normal eyes . He is perhaps the night elf responsible for the Burning Legion ' s interest in Azeroth . Xavius being the highest of the Highborne , who were tapped into the power of the well of eternity for some time , drew the attention of the burning legion . Being the first to make contact with Sargeras It was Lord Xavius who first became convinced that Sargeras , ruler of the Burning Legion , was a god sent to deliver Azeroth . having witnessed this God like being Lord Xavius , Queen Azshara and the Highborne wanted to have the power to cleanse the land of imperfections and create a perfect paradise . Lord Xavius convinced the night elven queen Azshara of the necessity of turning the will of her mages , the so - called " Highborne " , towards creating a portal into the Twisting Nether through which Sargeras and the Legion could enter the world . Lord Xavius was successful enough in his endeavors to welcome several ranking members of the Legion into Azeroth , including several felguard , Hakkar the Houndmaster , and Mannoroth , before the intervention of the young druid Malfurion Stormrage . As suggested by Azshara , Lord Xavius executed a plot to block any non - Highborne magic user from accessing the Well of Eternity . This allowed the Highborne to channel the extra energy gained into making the portal to the Twisting Nether strong enough for Sargeras to cross through . Lord Xavius ' plot was ruined by Malfurion , who , after entering the Emerald Dream , destroyed the spell array holding the block and the portal , and in the battle that ensued , Malfurion destroyed Xavius completely . Lord Xavius ’ master , Sargeras , was unhappy with him , and he faced punishment for his failures . Sargeras tortured Xavius ’ disembodied spirit for a time , but eventually he showed a form of " mercy " . He decided that Lord Xavius could be of further use after all . He returned Xavius to life , but not as he once was . To mark the traits Sargeras valued in him , and to brand him forever as an ally and servant of the Legion , Sargeras transformed and disfigured Lord Xavius ' body . He created a new body for Xavius : a body with cloven hooves , shaggy goat legs , goatlike horns , razor - sharp claws , and a long , leonine tail : a satyr . As the first of these beings ever to inhabit Azeroth , Lord Xavius is considered the progenitor of the entire satyr race . As such , variations of his name are found frequently in satyr settlements ( i . e . Xavian in Ashenvale ) . As a satyr , Lord Xavius retained some resemblance to his former self along with the typical characteristics of all satyrs . Lord Xavius was unique , however , in that he retained the black and ruby eyes he had possessed as a night elf . Lord Xavius had a two - pronged mission when he returned . First , he was to begin converting as many Highborne as possible into satyrs ( the first was a personal friend of Lord Xavius , a dedicated Highborne named Peroth ' arn ) , a task he accomplished with zeal by promising the unfortunate elves power and a place at the right hand of Sargeras . The second objective Lord Xavius was to complete upon his return was to bring back to Sargeras the one who had destroyed the portal , Malfurion Stormrage . This second objective proved to be far more difficult and , in a confrontation during one of the most intense battles of the War of the Ancients , Malfurion , with help from a young night elf named Shandris Feathermoon , was able to completely defeat Xavius . Using an arrow shot by Shandris , Malfurion was able to kill Lord Xavius by growing a tree which absorbed his energy and body , which was subsequently sent to the bottom of the sea in the Great Sundering ( the exact description of Xavius ' fate in the novel " The Demon Soul " says , " Xavius was not so much becoming a tree — rather , his body was providing Malfurion ' s creation with the nutrients and building blocks to make itself . " ) . This was the second time Lord Xavius died at the hands of Malfurion . The victory came at a great cost , however , as during this confrontation , Malfurion ' s love Tyrande Whisperwind ( High Priestess of Elune ) was captured by Lord Xavius ' remaining satyrs . In a furious rage , Malfurion almost drowned the entire night elven army in a torrential storm caused by his own sadness over the loss of Tyrande . Luckily Krasus intervened and stopped Malfurion . However , it is unlikely for an eternal to be completely destroyed ; they may regenerate or continue on in non - corporeal form . After the sundering of the world , the eternal satyr Lord Xavius sought to build his dark army without attracting Elune ' s attention . Night elves still fear that he may yet be waiting to take his final revenge upon the Kaldorei . The satyr s of Kalimdor ' s perverted forests worship Lord Xavius . He sows discord and mistrust , and his satyr children take their trickster natures from his guidance . It is uncertain whether the satyrs still found in Ashenvale Forest and elsewhere are still directly following the will of the Satyr Lord , or merely following his path . Satyr trickster s , in particular , revere and mimic Lord Xavius ' manipulations of his enemies . Most satyr know he fell during the War of the Ancients , but continue to honor Xavius as their creator . There still remain those of nearly every race hungry for power at any cost who worship Lord Xavius quietly but fervently , hoping that one day he will step out of the shadows to make them one of his minions . The Nightmare Lord . The tree containing the remains of Xavius ' soul survived the Sundering through unrevealed means , though given his later state and presumed allegiance to the Old Gods , it is likely they intervened , much the same way they did for Queen Azshara . Ten thousand years later , Xavius came to lead the Emerald Nightmare as the Nightmare Lord . In this form , Xavius orchestrated the corruption of the Emerald Dream by manipulating Fandral Staghelm into planting a branch of Xavius ' own tree into Teldrassil , ensuring that the new world tree would be corrupted from the start . His plans culminated in a daring attempt to bind Azeroth and the Emerald Dream into one plane , seizing control of Azeroth ' s residents while they slept and giving shape to their nightmares . He nearly succeeded , but ultimately was defeated by the re - awakened Malfurion Stormrage , who was assisted by Tyrande Whisperwind , Broll Bearmantle , Ysera , Eranikus , and a host of others . Malfurion sensed however , that while Xavius was strong , he was merely the servant of something even more powerful . The true master of the Emerald Nightmare has thus yet to be revealed . When in the form of the Nightmare Lord , Xavius is described as being a massive , gnarled tree , greatly obscured by the dark fog of the Nightmare . He delights in torturing Malfurion in various ways , both psychologically ( such as showing him Tyrande , as the lover of Illidan , being turned into a demon ) and physically ( slowly turning him into a tree , for example ) . Appearance . " The beast - like creature carries himself with an elven grace , but hoofed goat ’ s legs and a long , serpentine tail hunch him forward . Red eyes peer out from the face of a handsome night elf noble , as his long , clawed fingers gather the ragged remains of a sorcerer ’ s silk robes around his shoulders . Though he is a monstrous creature , he is also strangely alluring , moving with a grace that seems almost supernatural … " Dirk of the Beast . This blade is a large , golden dagger magically crafted by Sargeras and granted to Lord Xavius to help him spread the curse of the satyr . A critical hit from the Dirk of the Beast can transform others into satyr , regardless of race . In World of Warcraft . In Legion . Xavius and his satyr forces are found within Val ' sharah on the Broken Isles , seeking to bring the Emerald Nightmare into the world . Xavius once terrorized Azeroth with an affliction that almost obliterated the walls between reality and dream . His machinations ended in defeat , but he has been given another chance at vengeance . Now , Xavius leads the conquest of Val ' sharah , where the tainted World Tree , Shala ' drassil , spreads the Emerald Nightmare ' s corruption . With an army of vile satyrs at his command , Xavius will stop at nothing to vanquish all who oppose the Burning Legion . Adventurers fighting the Nightmare in Val ' sharah shall eventually take the fight to Xavius , venturing deep into Darkheart Thicket to vanquish Xavius ' shade from the material realm . While Xavius appears as a typical satyr in the real world , he is large and misshapen in the Nightmare , for it is his domain , and he can appear however he chooses . Xavius resides in and / or near the presumed source of the Nightmare , the Rift of Aln . Media . Images . https : / / www . youtube . com / watch ? v = wlYT0IRZgBc