Nether dragon

:"This unusual brood of dragons was spawned from the eggs of Deathwing's black dragonflight, and infused with raw nether-energies. Now, they seek to find their identity beyond the shadows of their father's destructive heritage."
:— Reputation journal 
Nether dragons are an unorthodox brood of ethereal dragons whose bodies are composed of energies from the Twisting Nether. They all can trace their origins back to eggs of the black dragonflight taken through the Dark Portal by Deathwing, which were accidentally exposed to a great deal of nether energies when Draenor was torn apart. Free of any bonds to their parent dragonflight, the nether dragons now seek a new life in the turbulent, and often hostile, world of Outland. A large portion of these dragonkin are part of the Netherwing dragonflight; which seeks to liberate their kind from enthrallment by the Illidari.
==Life cycle and appearance==
thumb|right|Nether dragons and their various appearances.
Nether dragons are highly unstable. As a result, they age rapidly but soon burn themselves out as their energies fade, giving them considerably shorter lifespans than other dragons.Nexus Point, chapter 1
Nether dragons, as with all other dragons, go through various life stages before they are fully grown. These stages are divided into whelps, drakes and dragons. Whelps are the children of their kind, while drakes are adolescents and young adults. The oldest of their kind become dragons, though they appear to still grow in some capacity as far older dragons are usually larger than their younger kindred. Traditional dragons look largely the same, akin to an immense lizard with four legs and wings sprouting along their spine. In their youthful stages, whelps seem to exclusively travel by way of flight, with older dragons flying or walking depending on their whims.
Nether drakes in particular have an ethereal form that gradually appears to grow more and more translucent as they age; giving them a unique appearance in contrast to their Azerothian brethren. Unlike dragons from Azeroth, whose skin tone is usually a specific color depending on their brood, the nether dragons appear to come in a variety of hues. Their adult form, however, has only appeared thus far as a transparent teal.
==History==
Near the end of the Second War, the black dragon Aspect Deathwing traveled through the Dark Portal to Draenor. Believing Draenor to be a relatively safe haven for his offspring, he secreted away a cache of black dragon eggs before having to suddenly retreat back to Azeroth. Following the Second War, Ner'zhul recklessly opened multiple portals on Draenor, and the magical stress tore the planet apart. The energies released in this catastrophe altered Deathwing’s eggs, resulting in the nether dragons. They are ethereal dragons whose bodies are composed of energies from the Twisting Nether. Without Deathwing's guidance, these otherworldly nether drakes ended up finding their own way among the blasted ruins of Outland.The Burning Crusade Townhall/Flying Mounts: Nether Drakes
One faction of netherwing dragons, named the Netherwing, were attacked by the Dragonmaw orcs of Shadowmoon Valley and many were enslaved by Zuluhed, including Karynaku who was the leader of the brood. Their son Mordenai wanders the Netherwing Fields seeking adventurers to help free his mother and eventually help the Netherwing escape enslavement.
Another brood found at the Celestial Ridge in Netherstorm, is ruled by the corrupted crazed Veraku. Tyrygosa of the Blue dragonflight seeks to defeat Veraku and take control of the brood for their own safety and to study their physiology.
===Nexus Point===
thumb|A :Netherwing Egg
Sometime during the invasion of Outland, Ragnok Bloodreaver sought to overthrow Illidan Stormrage and become the new Lord of Outland and, eventually, Azeroth. To these ends, Ragnok united a band of fel orcs under his strict rule and bargained with Kadavan, an ethereal mercenary, in order to gain his help with enslaving nether drakes and dragons to bolster his forces.The Dragons of Outland
Eventually, he managed to defeat his rivals, the Dragonmaw clan, and took their surviving warriors and nether dragons to strengthen his army. With them, he set out to conquer the Dark Portal. His machinations were foiled by Jorad Mace and a combined Alliance, Horde, Aldor, and Broken army; who defeated his forces at the Stair of Destiny. Ultimately, Jorad Mace destroyed Ragnok's device which controlled his nether dragons and called on the Light to judge Ragnok, blasting apart his chest with a radiant swing of his hammer and sending his disintegrating body tumbling from the back of his nether dragon mount. With their leader dead and losing the nether dragons' support, the Alliance and Horde armies drove off the remains of Ragnok's forces.
Following the battle, Tyrygosa took the enthralled nether dragons to the Nexus in the hopes of freeing them from their enthrallment.
Tyrygosa learned in Outland that nothing could save the nether dragons unless an extremely powerful source of arcane power could revitalize them enough to free themselves. Tyrygosa, Kadavan, and Zzeraku opened a dimensional rift to Azeroth and brought a group of enthralled Netherwing dragons to the Nexus where they absorbed its magical energies. Yet Zzeraku and the nether dragons grew mad with power, and frustrated with everyone they've ever encountered trying to use them, decided to be masters of their own destinies and conquer Azeroth for themselves. Tyrygosa tried to reason with Zzeraku, telling him that by following Deathwing's path, Azeroth would rise up against them leading to their destruction. Though conflicted with Tyrygosa's sincere concern for his kind, Zzeraku believed that only by gaining power could he safeguard his people. The Netherwing dragons attacked the Blue Dragonflight, and in the midst of the chaos, Malygos woke up from his slumber. In his insanity, Malygos misinterpreted the Nether dragons' arrogant proclamations of being the embodiment of the Nexus and absorbed them and their power. The dragons' nether-warped physiology began to affect the Spell-Weaver himself, ultimately helping him regain some of his lost sanity.BlizzCon 2007 Lore Panel With his sanity restored to him, Tyrygosa's patron declared war on mortal spellcasters, sending his flight out to do his bidding. Only Zzeraku managed to escape.
Being unable to guide the nether dragons to a better end weighed heavily on Tyrygosa. She later returns to Outland where she decides to look after a new generation of Netherwing eggs.Nexus Point
===Cataclysm===
One of the nether drakes was captured within the Halls of Awakening of Blackrock Caverns, by the members of Twilight's Hammer.What Is This Place? Corla, Herald of Twilight used his raw energies to transform the "worthy" into drakonid. Ultraxion was also said to spend his life absorbing the essence of captured nether dragons.
The said nether drake and dragons might possibly be a gift from Lady Sintharia, who abducted many of the Netherwing eggs with the help of Overlord Mor'ghor in Outland.
==Culture==
Nether dragons vary from being highly friendly to mortal races to downright hostile towards all beings. Many inherited the temper of their sire, the dark Aspect Deathwing. Many others, specifically those in the twisted lands of the Netherstorm, have fallen prey to a mysterious corruption. The nether dragons often see themselves as orphans, abandoned on Draenor as it began to shatter, uncared for and unwanted by their father. The energies that changed also allow them to hatch and mature at a far more rapid pace than other dragons.Securing the Celestial Ridge 
They are fully sentient intelligent beings and speak Draconic like normal dragons. They also share the ability to learn magic and take humanoid forms.
===Nomenclature===
Nether dragon names tend to have an "-aku" or "-ku" at the end. Others have names similar to those of their predecessors, the Black dragonflight.
==Members==
Name	Role 	Type 	Condition
 	First of the Nether dragons. Nether drake caretaker and mount keeper. Located in the Lower City of Shattrath. 	Dragon	
 	Broodmother located in the Singing Ridge of Blade's Edge Mountains. 	Dragon	
 	Netherwing matriarch. Held prisoner by Zuluhed the Whacked at the Dragonmaw Fortress in Shadowmoon Valley. 	Dragon	
 	Netherwing prince and son of Neltharaku and Karynaku. Located in the Netherwing Fields of Shadowmoon Valley. 	Dragon	
 	Netherwing patriarch. Flies through the skies above the Netherwing Fields of Shadowmoon Valley. 	Dragon	
 	A rogue nether dragon, the first of his kind seen on Azeroth. Located inside Karazhan. 	Dragon	
 	A nether dragon found inside the Netherwing Mines of Shadowmoon Valley. 	Dragon	
 	A nether dragon encountered by Tyrygosa on her journey to Outland. Saves her from Ragnok Bloodreaver. 	Dragon	
 	A corrupted nether dragon who rules the Netherwing at the Celestial Ridge of Netherstorm. 	Dragon	
 	A nether dragon working undercover against the Dragonmaw Clan in Goblin guise. Found in the Dragonmaw Base Camp in Shadowmoon Valley. 	Dragon	
 	A nether dragon captured by Sinestra and brought to Grim Batol to feed the twilight dragon Dargonax. Sacrifices himself to defeat her creation.	Dragon	
 	A cobalt nether drake mount, found in the Lower City of Shattrath. 	Drake 	
 	A purple nether drake mount, found in the Lower City of Shattrath. 	Drake 	
 	Vazruden's mount, found flying above the Ramparts of Hellfire Citadel. 	Drake 	
 	Altruis the Sufferer's mount, found northwest of Sunspring Post in Nagrand. 	Drake 	
 	An onyx nether drake mount, found in the Lower City of Shattrath. 	Drake 	
 	An azure nether drake mount, found in the Lower City of Shattrath. 	Drake 	
 	A violet nether drake mount, found in the Lower City of Shattrath. 	Drake 	
 	A veridian nether drake mount, found in the Lower City of Shattrath. 	Drake 	
==Official info==
From Nether Drake info from official EU Burning Crusade (En) site:
===Beyond the Untamed Horizon===
:Less than twenty years ago, the orcs' former homeworld, Draenor, was ripped apart by the violent energies of several dimensional portals that tore the very fabric of the planet to pieces. This catastrophic event left Draenor a broken, shattered world that the survivors came to call Outland. To this day, some parts of Outland are still unreachable by foot or boat, floating eerily on the horizon as silent reminders of the terrible fate that befell Draenor. Yet, the denizens of Outland have adapted and learned to harness some of the indigenous species as flying mounts, allowing adventurers to reach even the most remote and dangerous regions of this wild, untamed world.
:One of the most exciting new features of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will be the introduction of a new kind of mount that will provide players with unprecedented freedom to explore the world of Outland from an entirely new perspective. After reaching level 70, players will eventually be able to obtain a flying mount for their characters. Outland is home to incredibly varied and exotic fauna, and the sapient inhabitants of this world have trained several unique creatures as flying mounts. Both Horde and Alliance will have their own special type of mount, but there are also mounts that will be extremely rare even among the most powerful characters. The nether drake is one of these.
:With flying mounts, players will be able to take to the skies, to soar among the crimson clouds of Hellfire Peninsula or watch as Nagrand's sea of grass swaying in the breeze far below as they make their way to new lands. Players will have full control over their flying mounts, allowing them to roam the skies and freely explore all regions of Outland. In fact, certain areas of Outland will only be accessible by air, as some parts of the ruined world are floating out in the void, unreachable except by those who command one of Outland's flying creatures.
:A few of these "unlockable" areas are actually located near some of the lower-level regions of Outland; a player's journey will take them through the Dark Portal to the very ends of Outland and finally back to where they started, thus completing the circle – but now they will be able to access regions that were previously only viewable from a distance. Some dungeons also feature wings that can't be reached without a flying mount, and this should provide players with a profound sense of advancement after having gained considerable experience, new abilities, and powerful weapons and armor. In a way, the flying mount represents the most tangible accomplishment of a character's progress up to level 70, but it also serves as a key to the content that awaits players beyond the maximum level.
===Origin of the Nether Drakes===
::Note: The information was changed from partially corporeal and partially ethereal dragons who possess the ability to shift between the astral and physical planes to ethereal dragons whose bodies are composed of energies from the Twisting Nether during an update of the official site.
:Two years after the end of the Second War, the black dragon Deathwing traveled through the Dark Portal to Draenor. Believing the world to be a relatively safe haven for his offspring, he secreted away a number of black dragon eggs before he returned to Azeroth. When Ner'zhul recklessly opened multiple new portals on Draenor, the magical stress tore the planet apart. The energies released in this catastrophe altered Deathwing's eggs, resulting in the nether drakes: ethereal dragons whose bodies are composed of energies from the Twisting Nether. Without Deathwing's guidance, these otherworldly nether drakes are just now finding their own way among the blasted ruins of Outland.
==In Warcraft III==
In Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, nether dragons, nether drakes, and nether dragon hatchlings poured out of the dimensional gateways, and were implied to have demonic origins and are shown to have been brought to Outland by Magtheridon, having come from another world or the Twisting Nether through his gates.Gates of the Abyss
Netherdragon.JPG|A Nether dragon from Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
Netherdragon.gif|Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne unit model.
BTNNetherDragon.png|A Nether dragon in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
BTNBlackDragonRoost.png|Nether Dragon Roost in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne looks the same as a Black Dragon Roost.
In Warcraft III: Reforged, these nether dragons instead look similar to the World of Warcraft version, appearing to have retconned this origin.
BTNNetherDragon-Reforged.png|A Nether dragon in Warcraft III: Reforged.
BTNNetherDrake.png|A nether drake in Warcraft III: Reforged
BTNNetherDragonWhelp.png|A nether dragon hatchling in Warcraft III: Reforged
BTNNetherDragonRoost.png|A Nether Dragon Roost in Warcraft III: Reforged.
==In the RPG==
TFT's explanation was referenced in the RPG and expanded upon;
:Nether dragons, unrelated to real dragons and composed of pure nether energy, feast upon magic and minds.Shadows & Light, pg. 151 Nether dragons' original environment is the Twisting Nether and those worlds open to it, such as Outland.Shadows & Light, pg. 150-151, 153Shadows & Light, pg. 158 The spectral form of this creature vaguely resembles a dragon, with ghostly wings, jaws, and talons. Its shape shifts constantly, however, appearing insubstantial and ephemeral. Vibrant colors shoot through its pale body. Nether dragons are composed of nether energy and are only partially corporeal. Nether dragons are highly resistant to magic. Though nether dragons often resemble true dragons, most scholars believe them to be unrelated. Nether dragons are composed of pure nether energy, and as such are beings of chaos. 
:They feed on mana and magic of all kinds and constantly patrol the Twisting Nether and those worlds open to it, such as Outland, for nourishment. Nether dragons are unallied with the Burning Legion or any other faction, and so pose a threat to any they encounter. Though intelligent, nether dragons do not speak. They can communicate telepathically but rarely choose to do so.
:A nether dragon uses its greater arcane sight to home in on areas of powerful magic. It usually uses ethereal jaunt to approach invisibly, then unleashes its nether disjunction ability, quickened greater dispel magic, and a flurry of attacks against spellcasters. A nether dragon ignores nonspellcasters unless they inflict significant damage. A nether dragon uses its nether disjunction ability as often as it can, and uses quickened greater dispel magic every round on whichever foe has the most active spell effects. If severely injured, a nether dragon attempts to flee via ethereal jaunt. They are cousins of netherwyrms, although some believe that netherwyrms are full-grown nether dragons.Shadows & Light, pg. 6-7Shadows & Light, pg. 159
In a short story in Shadows & Light, the protagonists of the tale had eight nether dragons circling around them, and beyond the nether dragons a full-grown netherwyrm. They killed off half the drakes, but the mother was roaring to call more of her children.
===Age groups===
*Nether Hatchling
*Nether Drake
*Nether Dragon (aka Nether Drake)Shadows & Light, pg. 7
*Netherwyrm - A netherwyrm is also the "mature dragon" form age group after nether dragon.
==As a mount==
*Several nether drake mounts are accessible as part of reaching exalted with the Netherwing faction.
*Several armored variations of nether drakes were available for reaching Gladiator status during arena seasons 1-4.
*Grotto Netherwing Drake was the July 2023 completion award for filling out the Traveler's Log at the Trading Post.
==As a companion==
*Netherwhelp's Collar is available only to people who bought the Collector's Edition of the Burning Crusade expansion pack.
*Moon-Touched Netherwhelp was available for purchase as part of the Celebration Collection.
==Notes and trivia==
*A early description on the official website for The Burning Crusade had them described as "partially corporeal and partially ethereal dragons who possess the ability to shift between the astral and physical planes." The website was however changed instead to described them as "ethereal dragons whose bodies are composed of energies from the Twisting Nether."
*The creation of the nether dragons is similar to what happened to the ethereals, with both races being mutated by the arcane energies of the Twisting Nether during a planet's destruction.
*Arcane wyrms uses a model named "Netherdragon". It resembles a transparent, brightly colored serpentine dragon. There is concept art of this creature which can be seen in a corner of the map of Outland and also in the first official trailer for The Burning Crusade. As of Wrath of the Lich King, this model is used for arcane wyrms, which might possibly be a larger or more evolved form of the mana wyrm. Any apparent connection to the Nether Dragons seems to have been removed.
==Gallery==
File:Nether Dragon.jpg|Nether Dragon
File:Mature Netherwing Drake.jpg|Mature Netherwing Drake
File:Enslaved Netherwing Whelp.jpg|Netherwing Whelp
File:Moon-Touched Netherwhelp.jpg|Moon-Touched Netherwhelp
File:Riding nether drake.jpg|Concept art of a saddled nether drake.
File:Nether dragon Starcraft II editor.jpg|Unique Starcraft II editor remodeled asset from Warcraft III.
File:Survey the Land TCG.jpg|Nethrandamus in the Trading Card Game.
File:Grotto Netherwing Drake.png|Grotto Netherwing Drake
;Hearthstone
File:Nethrandamus HS.jpg|
File:Zzeraku the Warped HS.jpg|
File:Crazed Netherwing HS.jpg|
File:Nether Drake HS.jpg|
File:Dragonmaw Sky Stalker HS.jpg|
File:LightmawNetherdrakeHS.png|
File:Nether Breath HS.jpg|
File:Nether Breath HS Netherspite.jpg| used by Netherspite.
File:Terrifying Roar HS.jpg| used by Netherspite.
File:Nether Drake HS Battlegrounds.jpg| in 
==References==
 
 
Category:Dragons
Category:Lore
Category:Shadows & Light
fr:Dragon du néant
es:Vuelo de Ala Abisal