Elemental Lord The Elemental Lords , although they may have pre - dated the arrival of the Old Gods , became the most trusted and powerful lieutenants in their elemental armies . Their purpose became to keep the world of Azeroth in a perpetual state of chaos . When the titan s defeated the Old Gods , the Elemental Lords , and all elemental s with them , were banished to a planar prison of their own , now known as the Elemental Plane . The four lieutenants . The names of the four are : The four lieutenants , seemingly no longer under the Old Gods ' control , are finding new ways to wage war against each other , and it ' s possible that one or more of their factions are working for the good of Azeroth . Though they fight each other , they still maintain an Abyssal High Council . " Note : Not all " lords " found among elementals are Elemental Lords ( capital ) . For example , there are many firelord s , but only one fire Elemental Lord , Ragnaros " Elemental powers . Elemental Lords have the power to take control over specific elementals of their own type , but only when those elementals are within the area of its divine presence . This ability does not work on primal or elder elementals . All smaller elementals will obey their Lord unquestioningly . Larger ones usually do also , but should they wish to resist the Lieutenant ' s commands , they may attempt to do so , but it is unlikely for that to happen . The Elemental Lord can also break another being ' s control of a summoned or enchanted elemental ; those who have control over the elemental will have a difficult time maintaining control . Should the controller maintain command of the elemental , the Elemental Lord may not make another attempt to control or command that elemental for one full day . Whenever a spell is cast of the same magic type within the area of the Lord ' s presence , it becomes instantly aware , and can take control of the magic as he wishes . The spell can be countered , transfered to another target or area , or reflected back at the caster . This ability also functions against elemental spell - like abilities employed by other creatures , elementals or otherwise , with the sole exception of those used by creatures more powerful than the Elemental Lord . In much the same vein , the Elemental Lords can exert their control over magical items which employ spell or spell - like abilities , with the sole exception of those imbued within major artifacts . Current activities . Ragnaros the Firelord currently inhabits Azeroth . He was summoned to the Redridge Mountains by the worshipful Dark Iron dwarves . It was their purpose to use him for domination of the other dwarf clans . Ironically , he enslaved " their " society for his own purposes . In Blackrock Mountain , Ragnaros and his fire elemental armies are locked in a war with Nefarian for control . While Ragnaros seeks to make his return to the Elemental Plane , he will destroy Azeroth if he wins at Blackrock . Neptulon , Elemental Lord of Water , is at war with Ragnaros . It is not surprising that many of Neptulon ' s servants are in Azeroth , working against the other three Lords . Neptulon seems to be utilizing the mortal races to weaken the forces of the other three Elemental Lords without risking his own . His agent , Duke Hydraxis , leader of the Hydraxian Waterlords , seeks to bring others to his side . He will at some point send those into the Molten Core to fight against the Firelords . Another agent , Tsunaman at Sun Rock Retreat , also seeks to destroy Ragnaros ' s elementals in the Charred Vale . The other two Lords have not attempted to exert their influence on Azeroth to such an extent . Al ' Akir holds domain over the air elemental s , while Therazane has control over the earth elemental s . It is possible that Therazane is the Earthmother that the tauren worship . While it is likely that the Earthmother is a goddess similar to Elune that arose after the Titans shaped Azeroth , Therazane is well known as the most benevolent of the Elemental Lords ( all things being relative of course ) , unlike the belligerent Ragnaros , the callous Al ' Akir or the enigmatic Neptulon . In Cataclysm . The Elemental Lords returned to prominence after the catastrophic events of the cataclysm . Deathwing tried to enlist the aid of the former Old Gods ' lieutenants . Al ' Akir ( air ) and Ragnaros ( fire ) joined with him in the attempted destruction of the world , encountered as the new rulers of the Firelands and Throne of the Four Winds . Ragnaros reignited the flames of war , burning his wrath through the peak of Mount Hyjal . Meanwhile , Al ' Akir has united with the lost people of Tol ' vir and bring the powers of ancient times to wipe life off the face of Azeroth . The other two lords , Therazane ( earth ) and Neptulon ( water ) choose to side against Deathwing , although it ' s not known if this is benevolent or merely to combat the lords of air and fire . In Vashj ' ir , the Twilight ' s Hammer and naga unite with servants of the Old Gods to destroy Neptulon . And in Deepholm , adventurers fight against Therazane , and then with her , to defeat the Twilight Hammer and restore the World Pillar before Azeroth and the Elemental Plane collapse together in the Maelstrom . . . Some time after the cataclysm , Ragnaros and Al ' Akir were defeated by adventurers , and Neptulon had been kidnapped and taken over by Ozumat . Only Therazane of the Earth remains enthroned , to prepare for the coming madness of the elements . While Deathwing ' s attempts to destroy the world appear to have ended , there can be no doubt that the death or disappearance of three of the elemental lords will have long repercussions for the rest of Azeroth . Speculations . Nature of the elements and the perception of evil . The elemental lords being inherently evil is a fairly common misconception that many hold . Elemental lords naturally progress towards disorder , following the real life laws of spontaneity that say nothing , be it energy matter or otherwise , moves towards what humans ( or in Warcraft ' s case , any sentient being ) would call " ordered " naturally . Elementals , being the most basic form of matter ( elements , as defined in ancient Greece , combinations of storm , earth , fire , and the like ) move very readily toward this state of chaos if left on their own . This quick descent into the warlike factions that make up the elemental planes , and the alignment with the old gods are two major causes for the elemental powers to be viewed as " evil " . The evil of the elementals however is far from absolute . In fact , it would seem that if cultured right , the elementals give great power and healing to those devoted and disciplined enough . In the story " Unbroken " , the elements that contacted Nobundo state that the elements naturally war with each other , and that an arbiter , or second party is needed to bring harmony to the elements . They respond very readily to Nobundo ' s influence upon his arrival at the elemental plateaus ( and vice versa ) . It stands to reason that if order can be brought so readily , then chaos is an even quicker path . The elements and their interactions with the Old Gods can be very easily explained by a rapid response to any outsider willing to deal with the problems between the elements . The fact that the elements are not inherently evil is important . It is what allows for Shaman to commune with the elements and manage to retain a pure identity , it is what makes Therezane a very real possibility for the " Earth Mother " , and it is what explains all of the apparent bipolarism of the various elemental lords . It should be noted that most information seems to suggest that the elemental spirits that bestow powers to the shaman are separate entities from the elemental lords . The spirits have never taken names , simply being refered to as the spirit of their respected elements . More over , the spirit of earth has been described as having male characteristics , where as Therazane is seemingly female ( though being elementals , they likely lack true gender ) . The spirits are described as " cosmic partners " , stretching the universe and existing on all worlds where nature still exists . The elemental lords , however , are bound to definite , physical forms . While the spirits have their own personas , they are far more abstract than the elemental lords are . While a connection between the spirits and the lords surely exists , exactly what that connection is has yet to be established . Lesser Lords . Other elemental lords may exist that were not the lieutenants of the Old Gods . They may be weaker than the lieutenants and for that reason serve them . These include : Amphitheater of Anguish . Possible lesser lords which can be found in the Amphitheater of Anguish in Northrend :