Dragonmaw clan The Dragonmaw clan is one of the orc ish clans dating back to the time of the " Rise of the Horde " . Under the command of the shaman Zuluhed the Whacked , the Dragonmaws swore fealty to Blackhand the Destroyer with the other clans of the Horde upon Blackhand ' s ascension to Warchief . When Blackhand was assassinated by Orgrim Doomhammer , Zuluhed and the Dragonmaws maintained their fealty to Blackhand by pledging their loyalty to his sons , Rend and Maim , Chieftains of the Black Tooth Grin clan . Activity on Azeroth . Manipulated by the Black Scourge , Deathwing the Destroyer , the Dragonmaws found an artifact of immense power known as the Demon Soul - created by Deathwing himself ten thousand years earlier , but forever forbidden from his grasp as the result of the spellwork of the other Aspects . Zuluhed entrusted the Demon Soul to a warrior / warlock named Nekros Skullcrusher , who used it to capture the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza - much to his surprise , and certainly to Alexstrasza ' s . The Dragonmaws used Alexstrasza ' s young to fight for the Horde - and fight they did , through much of the Second War . Operating out of the abandoned Wildhammer capital of Grim Batol , the Dragonmaws maintained their control over Alexstrasza and her flight after the Horde was defeated , using them to raid Alliance ports in the surrounding Wetlands . The Kirin Tor high councillor Krasus - the humanoid form of the red dragon Korialstrasz , one of Alexstrasza ' s consorts - sent the mage Rhonin to free Alexstrasza from the Dragonmaws by somehow destroying the Demon Soul - which , using one of Deathwing ' s scales , he did . In their fury , Alexstrasza and her dragons tore Grim Batol apart and incinerated much of the Dragonmaw Clan , including Nekros , who was eaten . But some elements remain to this day in the Wetlands outside of Grim Batol . These forces are led by Nekros ' son , Nek ' rosh , who serves the self - styled Warchief of the Dark Horde , Rend Blackhand . Yet the question remained : What became of Zuluhed and the remainder of the Dragonmaw ? That question would not be answered until almost two decades later , with the reopening of the Dark Portal . . . Activity in Outland . At some point during the Second War , Zuluhed and much of his clan returned to Draenor and survived the destruction that led to the creation of Outland . Now they are in the service of the Lord of Outland , Illidan Stormrage . Their attempts to subjugate dragons have continued — only this time , they are targeting a brood of nether drakes called the Netherwing . In what appears to be a repeat of their capture of Alexstrasza , the Dragonmaws have captured the matriarch of the Netherwing , the nether dragon Karynaku , and hold her prisoner in their fortress . Karynaku is held with a magical ball and chain , and only Zuluhed himself has the key . In World of Warcraft . The rest of the Dragonmaw clan on Azeroth have established an encampment in Wetlands , led by Chieftain Nek ' rosh Skullcrusher . The Burning Crusade . Dragonmaw Fortress , where Zuluhed and much of the Dragonmaw clan resides , is located south of the Black Temple and east of the Netherwing Fields in Shadowmoon Valley . For some reason , certain members of the clan in this area can turn into Drakonids , this includes Zuluhed . After the player has completed the entire questline associated with the Netherwing , their current situation is as follows : The leader of the Dragonmaw ( Zuluhed ) lies dead , along with masses of peons and other soldiers . Illidan is outraged because the Dragonmaw revered a person that was attempting to destroy the entire clan from within and failed to seize this betrayer despite the fact that he was at their very doorstep , chained in a powerful spell . Thus far we can only assume that Illidan has attempted to fully destroy the clan . As stated by the Netherwing " The Dragonmaw empire has come to an end . " Cataclysm . In " " the Dragonmaw clan rejoined the Horde after a brief civil conflict . Upon the Horde ' s arrival , envoys were sent to the Dragonmaw clan but were never heard from again . The Horde sent a second envoy consisting of a negotiator and a veteran of the Northrend Expedition . The Warchief of Dragonmaw , a Fel Orc previously known as Overlord Mor ' ghor , promptly rejected and then killed the negotiator . Mor ' ghol held the veteran hostage as a bargaining chip . A pure - blooded orc named Zaela finds and sets the veteran free , saying that not all Dragonmaw are like Mor ' ghor . She claims that the pure blooded Orcs will side with the Horde against Mor ' ghor and his fel orc followers , whom she believes is leading her people to ruin . The Horde decides that Mor ' ghor ' s time has come and begins preparations for inciting a rebellion between the pure blooded orcs and the fel orcs . After arming the citizenry of Dragonmaw , Zaela and the Horde corner Mor ' ghor . Mor ' ghor is slain and Zaela takes up the mantle of Warchief . She swears fealty to the Horde and is welcomed by Garrosh Hellscream . Shortly thereafter , the small Dragonmaw village is turned into Dragonmaw Fortress , the main port and base of operations for the Horde in Twilight Highlands . The Dragonmaw Clan battles their rivals , the Wildhammer clan , both all throughout the Highlands as well as in the Twilight Highlands battleground called the Twin Peaks . The Dragonmaw also actively engages in the retaking of Grim Batol from the Twilight ' s Hammer and in aiding the Red Dragonflight in their struggle against Deathwing and his brood of black dragons . While relations between the Red Dragons and the Dragonmaw are not fully restored , they work together throughout much of the Highlands . Mists of Pandaria . In " " , Zaela led the Dragonmaw orcs to aid Garrosh Hellscream in exterminating Vol ' jin and his tribe that have formed a rebellion to stand against the Warchief . However , not all of them were very supportive to Hellscream . Stationed at Dranosh ' ar Blockade , the Dragonmaw orcs now use Proto - Dragon s as their flying mounts in order to engage the rebels . When both fleets of the Alliance and the Horde arrived to put an end to Garrosh ' s rule , Zaela led some of her soldiers to defend Bladefist Bay . During the siege on the capital city of Orgrimmar , Zaela leads her followers from the back of her proto - drake , Galakras , to engage both factions . Origin of the name . It is unknown exactly what prompted the orcs to name their clan " Dragonmaw " . It is apparent from " Rise of the Horde " that their name had been such for many years — long before the orcs encountered anything resembling dragons , the dragons being native to Azeroth . It is possible the Dragonmaw changed their name after they took command of the Red Dragonflight , or after Deathwing flew into the Dark Portal and secreted a clutch of eggs in Outland which , subsequently , hatched . However , this would nullify " Rise of the Horde " , in which the name of the clan is Dragonmaw — years before the idea of the Dark Portal was even devised . This may mean that there are or were dragons native to Draenor , or at the very least they existed in the form of mythological creatures in orcish culture — which would indicate that the Titans came to Draenor as well , which in turn indicates that the " reborn " Azeroth , freed from the Old Gods , predates Draenor . It is also possible that something similar to a Protodrake existed on Draenor at some point .