Primus

The Primus is the founder and ruler of Maldraxxus and the five houses of the Necrolord Covenant, whose charge is to defend the Shadowlands and the force of Death from external influences. The most tactical and long-thinking of the Eternal Ones, he is a master strategist who is nearly unbeatable on the field of battle and is notorious for always thinking far ahead of everyone else.The Path to Glory The Primus embodies the five traits of the ideal Maldraxxi soldier, virtues he also instilled into the five houses: ambition, might, insight, guile, and relentlessness.Meet the MargraveWelcome To Our House: In addition to his military might, he is also known as a legendary weaponsmithThe Seat of the Primus and the best armor crafter in the Shadowlands. He is the creator of Maldraxxi rune magic, which serves to manipulate necromantic energy, and its more powerful counterpart, Domination, which he made for the purpose of imprisoning his traitorous brother, Zovaal the Jailer. All necrolords receive a portion of the Primus' power in order to carry out their duty of defending the Shadowlands.Power of the Primus
At some point, the Primus left his sanctum to investigate the schemes of the captive Zovaal. The Jailer defeated the Primus, took his memories from him, and confined him to the tower of Torghast as a prisoner called the Runecarver.Untangling the Sigil In this form, the Primus was forced to create countless armaments for the Jailer—including Frostmourne and the Helm of Domination, which were later used by the succession of Lich Kings on Azeroth. The necrolords were unaware of their leader's fate, and in his absence, Maldraxxus fell into chaos: two of the houses were nearly destroyed, and the leaders of the remaining three ruthlessly fought to claim the Seat of the Primus and the position of commanding the realm's armies.
Before his disappearance, the Primus left behind cryptic messages and prophecies concerning the coming of one who would embody the might of Maldraxxus and save the realm from itself, prophecies that were fulfilled by mortal Maw Walkers. During the four covenants' campaign to waylay the Jailer's efforts in the city of Korthia, these same heroes recovered the Primus' sigil, which he had concealed before his journey to the Maw. When brought to Torghast, the sigil restored the Primus' memories and freed him from his existence as the Runecarver, allowing him to lend his tactical genius to the covenants as they fought to prevent the Jailer from achieving his goals. The Primus ultimately ensured his brother's defeat by reforging the shards of the Helm of Domination into the Crown of Wills, which granted the Maw Walkers the resistance they needed to counter the Jailer's Domination magic and save the Shadowlands.
==Biography==
===Ruler of Maldraxxus===
Like his fellow Eternal Ones, the Primus was forged by the First Ones in their realm of Zereth Mortis.Oracle, Heal Thyself The Prototype of War is an incomplete prototype of him.Prototype Pantheon#Adventure Guide The First Ones entrusted the Primus with the duty of defending the Shadowlands from outside influences. They granted him the power of shaping the very flesh and bone of Maldraxxus into the ideal training ground for the necrolords, the army that would be responsible for protecting the realms of Death. The Primus understood that victory would not be achieved through physical might alone and divided his necrolords into five houses embodying what he saw as the five traits of the ideal champion of Death. He devised a system of eternal war games and conflict between the houses that would weed out weakness and allow the army of the necrolords to continually improve—all while impressing on them the vital rule that their internal rivalry must never overshadow their duty to defend the Shadowlands. One such war game was the Contest of Conquest, which he founded as a way of showcasing the might of Maldraxxus.Land of Opportunity
The Primus himself used his time to hone his tactical and strategic skills beyond mortal constraints. It is said that he once sought out an unknown ally who could show him the infinite timeways and allow him to observe the same battle over and over again to see how slight differences in strategy and troop deployment could change the outcome of a conflict. After eons of such study, the Primus can instantly assess any situation and devise the likeliest path to victory. To further bolster the Maldraxxi, the Primus created a unique language of runes which individually represent a specific word tied to the foundations of Maldraxxus and the power of the five houses. Eons later, this same language would come to be used in the world of the living by Azerothian death knights to empower their runeblades with :runeforging.
The Primus was the victor of countless hard-won battles. In one battle in the Iron Trench, he destroyed a group of ambitious necrolords who thought to usurp him.Battles Won Long Ago (Iron Trench) In another battle, he destroyed a group of invaders so utterly that it left fires that still burn to this day in the Burning Thicket.Battles Won Long Ago (Burning Thicket) His tactics and weapons were infallible against his every foe; in fact, according to one account, the only losses the Primus suffered were intentional, as he felt that there was more to be learned from defeat than from endless victories. He repeatedly allowed a venthyr historian to accompany him to battles, and she wrote down her own (unfavorable) perspective on the Maldraxxi.The Two Sides of History The Primus had several apprentices, but the only one now remaining is Bonesmith Heirmir.Forging a Champion At his stronghold, the Seat of the Primus, he maintained a network of portals that linked the necropoli of each of the five houses.Powering the Portals He was personally involved in the design of at least one necropolis, Zerekriss, which he shaped with his bare hands.Search the Place In order to protect the Sepulcher of Knowledge, a tower storing the writings of the greatest military minds among the necrolords, the Primus placed several guardians in the area around the structure and filled the Sepulcher itself with various traps.Read Between the LinesSecrets Among the Shelves
In the ancient past, the Primus detected treachery from his brother Zovaal, the Arbiter, who defied the will of the First Ones and tried to forcibly lay claim to the sigils possessed by the other Eternal Ones in the belief that they were keys to forbidden knowledge locked within the Sepulcher of the First Ones.Voices of the EternalCovenants Renewed The Primus led his siblings to victory, and they proceeded to punish Zovaal by stripping him of his sigil and his anima to create a new Arbiter to judge souls in his place. They then bound him within the inescapable Maw to make him its Jailer.The Door to the Unknown In order to lock Zovaal away within his prison, the Primus created Domination—an entirely new system of magic and the most powerful runic language he'd ever made—and used its runes to brand the sentence of the Eternal Ones onto his brother's flesh. The Primus hoped that the ages spent in the Maw would cause Zovaal to change his ways and repent for his sins, but they instead only caused him to grow more malevolent. Ages later, the Primus would come to regret the invention of Domination, reflecting that his anger at Zovaal had informed the creation of the magic and that, in his hubris, he had not foreseen how much damage it would cause to both the Shadowlands and the mortal realm.Hello, DarknessThe Crown of Wills
===Disappearance and imprisonment===
Ages later, the Primus noticed that the Jailer's influence was seeping outside of the Maw. Suspecting that Zovaal had worked with ancient allies during his original betrayal, the Primus left Maldraxxus to investigate the matter, leaving the margraves and barons of the realm to their own devices. However, due to his tactical genius, he had foreseen a time when the Shadowlands would face grave peril and could only be saved by someone from outside the realm. For this reason, he left behind a trail of messages and boons in Maldraxxus to help mortal outsiders set things right. He placed a standing stone at the center of a lava pool in the House of the Chosen as a challenge of endurance and fortitude. In truth, this stone concealed an unfinished blade with no hilt, forged by the Primus himselfThrough the Fire and Flames and enchanted with five runes representing the five ideal Maldraxxi traits. Once fully empowered, this Blade of the Primus would act as a key allowing a worthy champion to access the Seat of the Primus and discover its master's final message: a warning stating that the only hope for the Shadowlands was for all of the Eternal Ones to stand united once more, protect the Arbiter, and prevent Zovaal from reaching the Sepulcher of the First Ones.
The Primus knew that if his suspicions about Zovaal were correct, his own sigil would be at risk. He therefore traveled to the city of Korthia and entrusted the sigil to the attendants there.Secrets of the Vault He believed that even locking it away in the Vault of Secrets might not be enough to keep it safe, however,Lost Records so he created an additional safeguard by binding it with the magic of memory, which he believed that not even Zovaal could untangle.Into the Vault
The Eternal One then traveled to the Maw, where his suspicions indeed proved true and the Jailer brought about his defeat. In a reversal of how his brother had once imprisoned him, the Jailer stripped the Primus of his memories and turned him into a broken prisoner called the Runecarver, who was subsequently trapped in chains and Domination runes in an oubliette deep within Torghast, Tower of the Damned. Zovaal extracted countless designs from the Runecarver's mind to forge into weapons for his Mawsworn armies, the grandest of which were the "vessels of Domination": the mourneblade Frostmourne and the Helm of Domination, which he intended to use to claim "the secret that the First Ones sought to hide".Clearing the Fog (achievement) The Shards of Domination used to augment the Jailer's armaments are remnants of the Runecarver's work.Sanctum of Domination preview: Spoils of the Sanctum
===Chains of Domination===
Mortal Maw Walkers eventually arrived in the Shadowlands, finished the Blade of the Primus, and uncovered the Eternal One's warning. In Torghast, Maw Walkers uncovered a key leading to the oubliette of the Runecarver, who by then had become largely forgotten.Prison of the Forgotten With some help from the broker Ve'nari, the heroes allied with the Runecarver, helping recover some of his memories and allowing him to forge them into weapons and armor.
After obtaining three of the five sigils required for his plan, the Jailer pulled Korthia into the Maw and sent his Mawsworn to attack the Vault of Secrets in order to lay claim to the Primus' sigil as well. However, a group consisting of the attendant leader Tal-Galan, the Primus' old apprentice Bonesmith Heirmir, and a Maw Walker retrieved the sigil before the Mawsworn had a chance to do so and brought it to Bolvar Fordragon at Keeper's Respite. Since Bolvar had watched through the Maw Walkers' eyes during their ventures into Torghast, the magic on the sigil reminded him of the Runecarver and he suggested that the prisoner was their best chance of untangling it.
Heirmir and the Maw Walker traveled to Torghast and gave the sigil to the Runecarver. This caused its magic binds to disappear and the sigil itself to enter the Runecarver's body, instantly restoring all of his memories and causing a burst of energy that allowed him to destroy his shackles and regain his true form as the Primus. Heirmir was astonished that her master had been trapped in Torghast the whole time, while the Primus was furious that she and the hero had brought his sigil right to Zovaal's lair. Before they could argue further, the Jailer arrived with an army of Mawsworn. The Primus empowered the Maw Walker with the anima surging through the tower, and while they and Heirmir battled the lesser Mawsworn, the Primus and Zovaal fought by launching beams of energy at each other. As the battle progressed, the Jailer stunned Heirmir and the Maw Walker and summoned his vessel, Anduin Wrynn. The Primus reminded his brother that his sigil would be lost forever if he was struck down, but he wasn't expecting Anduin to be carrying a mourneblade, Kingsmourne. The Jailer and his champion launched a simultaneous attack to stun the Primus, allowing Anduin to use Kingsmourne to sever the sigil from the Primus' body and launch it into the Jailer's hand. Zovaal then teleported himself and his minions away, allowing the Primus and his allies to leave the tower alive.
Since there were still heroes who needed the skills of the Runecarver, the Primus left an echo of his former state in the oubliette before traveling to Korthia with Heirmir and the hero to inform the covenants of his return. In a conference with Bolvar and Tal-Galan at Keeper's Respite, he declared that the mortals had to face the Jailer in his seat of power, the Sanctum of Domination. As a contingency, each of the covenants also had to "remember its purpose" and "find its future" in order to forge new sigils, so that they could pursue Zovaal in case the assault failed. The Eternal One told the Maw Walker that they could dwell on past mistakes when the current events were over, and gave them a token of gratitude for the help they'd given him while he was imprisoned.
In order to continue holding their position in Korthia, the covenants had to deal with the threat posed by two of the Jailer's minions in nearby Desmotaeron: Helya and the Maldraxxi traitor Vyraz. The Primus sent the Chosen baroness Draka (who had led the necrolords in his absence) with a Maw Walker and the orc hero Thrall to carry out a surprise attack and "cut the heads off these snakes".The Chains of Command The trio summoned the Zerekriss and began a united covenant attack on Desmotaeron, with the Primus seemingly leading the assault from the necropolisA Job Done Right while Draka, Thrall, and the Maw Walker confronted Helya and Vyraz in Helgarde Keep. Helya empowered Vyraz with her magic, but the Primus teleported in and gave Draka his own blessing to match. While their champions fought, the Eternal One and the sea witch threw magic and insults at each other. Vyraz was killed, and the Primus proceeded to banish HelyaA Traitor's Due back to Helheim.Lore Book: An Army of Bone and Steel After the battle, the Primus stated that he would reforge his sigil and entrust it to Draka until he had need of it.Victory in Our Name He subsequently returned to his old Seat in Maldraxxus to reward Draka for her loyalty to the necrolords. He invited necrolord Maw Walkers to witness the ceremony in recognition of all that they, too, had done for the covenant.Filling an Empty Throne In the Seat, he named Draka the new margrave of the House of the Chosen, signifying a first step toward rebuilding Maldraxxus' armies after the betrayals they'd suffered.The Roads We Walk
Back in Korthia, the covenant forces started facing problems with nathrezim infiltrators—servants of Denathrius who had long been exiled from the Shadowlands. Baroness Vashj of the House of Eyes reported this threat to the Primus, who commented that he should've suspected that the nathrezim would return but also that he was pleased that the House of Eyes had not "lost their sight" in his absence.Dreadlords! The Primus asked a Maw Walker to travel to Revendreth and deliver a missive to Prince Renathal informing him of the nathrezim's return and telling him that it was time to recruit the Stonewright—the last of the still-neutral venthyr Harvesters and a major enemy of the nathrezim—so that her medallion could be used in the creation of a new venthyr sigil. He sent along a similar missive addressed directly to the Stonewright, curtly telling her that they needed her medallion and that the time for neutrality was over. The Primus sent Vashj to accompany the Maw Walker due to her experience with the nathrezim.Dread TidingsThe Unseen Guests Among Us After a few twists and turns, the mission resulted in the creation of a new sigil and the Stonewright pledging her forces to the cause against the Jailer.The Meaning of Wrath
Maw Walkers later helped both the night fae and the kyrian create new sigils by mending the relationship between the Winter Queen and her sister EluneWinter's Sigil and creating a new path for the kyrian where the virtue of Loyalty was replaced with Devotion, respectively.The New Path They informed the Primus of both of these successes, and he in turn called on the covenants to deliver their sigils to Korthia.New Sigil of the Kyrian
The Maw Walkers and their allies attacked the Sanctum of Domination but failed to stop Zovaal: he enveloped Oribos in the Maw, claimed the final sigil from the Arbiter, and escaped through a portal to Zereth Mortis. Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore returned to Keeper's Respite to tell the Primus what happened.Doorway in the Dark He stated that while the Jailer had won the battle, he would not win the war. Covenant representatives arrived to Korthia and handed over their reforged sigils, which the Primus could use to create a key to follow Zovaal to his destination. First, though, he had to find something to replace the Arbiter's sigil. He commended Maw Walkers for their efforts but said that it was now time for his own work to begin and left through a death gate, telling the heroes that he'd call on them when the key was ready.
===Eternity's End===
When the time came to pursue Zovaal, the Primus summoned a Maw Walker and several covenant representatives to the Crucible atop Oribos. He worked with Tal-Inara and some of the other attendants to recreate the Arbiter's sigil and used it along with the covenant sigils to open a new gateway to Zereth Mortis.Call of the Primus Since the Primus and the other Eternal Ones were forbidden from returning to Zereth Mortis, the place of their creation, the Maw Walker would have to go alone and find a foothold so the covenants could follow them. Pelagos of the kyrian asked to accompany the Maw Walker, which the Primus allowed. As the two prepared to take off, a nathrezim infiltrator revealed herself and summoned Mawsworn forces to attack the Crucible. The Primus lent his necrotic power to the Maw Walker so they could fight off the invaders, but in the end they and Pelagos only just managed to fly through the gate moments before the Mawsworn disabled it.A Hasty Voyage After defeating the nathrezim and cleansing the Maw magic from the gateway, the Primus moved it to the Ring of Transference. He trusted that the Maw Walker would find an anchor on the other side to reactivate it, which is also what later happened.This Old Waystone
In the Sepulcher of the First Ones, Maw Walkers and their allies helped free Anduin Wrynn from the Jailer's control, but before confronting Zovaal himself they needed to find a way to resist his Domination magic. The Primus kept his earlier statement about not going to Zereth Mortis in person but sent a projection to the Geometric Cavern. He pointed out that Zereth Mortis' automa seemed to be resistant to Domination and that using the remnants of the Helm of Domination could help them uncover the reason.Our Last Option He had a Maw Walker test the Helm's power first on a volunteering Darion Mograine and then on Zereth Mortis' wildlifeTesting One Two before they sought out the Enlightened Elder Eru, who explained that the automa were granted resistance to Domination by the language of the First Ones, indecipherable phrases of which lay buried in the Endless Sands. The Primus knew this language wouldn't be enough, however, and prepared to gather something moreTwo Paths to Tread while the Maw Walker, Darion, Bolvar Fordragon, and Taelia Fordragon headed to the Endless SandsOne Half of the Equation to infuse the phrases into the intact half of the Helm. Shortly after, the Primus sent word telling the heroes to go to Bastion for a ritualAggressive Excavation, Oppress and Destroy to extract the memories of what had helped them resist Domination in the past and infuse those memories into the Helm shards.Where the Memory ResidesWhat We Wish to Forget After this was done, the group brought the Helm pieces to the Primus back in the Runecarver's Oubliette,Forge of Domination (quest) where he used the First One phrases and the memories to reforge the Helm into something greater, an instrument of free will that would bring about Zovaal's defeat: the Crown of Wills. The Maw Walker used the Crown to make themselves and their allies resistant to Domination, after which the Primus took the Crown away for safekeeping until it was needed.
As hoped, the resistance granted by the Crown allowed the Maw Walkers to defeat Zovaal at last. Afterward, the Crown ended up with Bolvar, who in turn delivered it to Pelagos, the new Arbiter, in Oribos.Prisoner of Interest Through projections, the Primus and the other covenant leaders attended the trial of the Jailer's former ally Sylvanas Windrunner in the Crucible.A Long Walk
==Regalia==
The Primus owns a set of powerful armor. It is said that when he disappeared, the armor pieces were scattered.Bindings of Fleshcrafting (quest) Over the course of the :Necrolords Campaign, necrolord adventurers gradually obtain the different pieces and place them on the statue of the Primus within his Seat.
*The Bindings of Fleshcrafting, which gave the Primus the power to shape the flesh and bone of Maldraxxus. Stored in a chest aboard the Construct necropolis Zerekriss and recovered by the necrolords after their capture of the fortress.
*The Mantle of Eternal Victory, which has great power. Stored in Margrave Gharmal's private tower and recovered by the necrolords after Gharmal's death.The Mantle Returned
*The Pauldrons of Imperium. Used as a power source by Lady Ouix'Ara of the House of Rituals and recovered by the necrolords after her defeat.Pauldrons of Imperium (quest)
*The Staff of the Primus, the Eternal One's weapon. Wielded by Margrave Sin'dane and willingly given to the necrolords after they defeated her usurper, Baron Kel'Thuzad.The Third Fall of Kel'Thuzad
The statue disappears during the Primus' return to the Seat in Filling an Empty Throne and The Roads We Walk, but it reappears after the quests.
Primus statue - stage 1.jpg|Initial appearance.
Primus statue - stage 2.jpg|With the :Bindings of Fleshcrafting.
Primus statue - stage 3.jpg|With the :Mantle of Eternal Victory.
Primus statue - stage 4.png|With the :Pauldrons of Imperium.
Primus statue - stage 5.png|With the :Staff of the Primus.
==Quests==
===Chains of Domination campaign===
;The Last Sigil
#Untangling the Sigil 
#The Primus Returns 
;An Army of Bone and Steel
Introductory portion:
#The Chains of Command 
Ending portion:
#Victory in Our Name 
#Filling an Empty Throne 
#The Roads We Walk 
;The Unseen Guests
Introductory portion:
#Dreadlords! 
#Dread Tidings 
Ending portion:
#The Meaning of Wrath 
;The Power of Night
#Inform the Primus 
;A New Path
#New Sigil of the Kyrian 
;What Lies Ahead
#Doorway in the Dark 
#A Symbol of Hope
#Covenants Renewed 
===Zereth Mortis campaign===
;Into the Unknown
#Call of the Primus 
#A Hasty Voyage 
;Crown of Wills
#Hello, Darkness 
#Testing One Two 
Later:
#Two Paths to Tread 
Later still:
#Forge of Domination (quest) 
#The Crown of Wills 
==Quotes==
===Dialogue===
;Maldraxxus storyline
;Necrolords Campaign
;Chains of Domination campaign
;Zereth Mortis campaign
===On-click===
;Greeting
*The hour of battle is upon us.
*War is at hand.
*Our enemy is relentless.
*Ah, the Maw Walker.
*Fate has drawn you here.
*Speak, mortal.
;Farewell
*You must not falter.
*The covenants must stand as one.
*If we fail, all will be undone.
*Do not forsake your duty.
*Together we will claim victory.
*We fight to save the Shadowlands.
===Gossip===
;Keeper's Respite
:Only united can the covenants stand against Zovaal.
;Seat of the Primus after The Roads We Walk
:It has been long since I've seen the living expanse of Maldraxxus. While the denizens are prone to chaos, the land has stayed the same.
;The Crucible during A Hasty Voyage
:We must stop Zovaal's madness. Everything depends upon it.
;Geometric Cavern during The Crown of Wills
:Domination was never meant to cause the devastation that Zovaal has wrought. We suffer the price of my hubris.
:
:
:
:
==Notes and trivia==
*The Primus is voiced by Abraham Benrubi.
*The Stonewright calls the Primus an "old tyrant".Convoy of the Covenants
*The Primus' statue and the Runecarver's concept art only show four fingers on each hand, but both the Runecarver and the Primus' in-game models have five fingers on each hand.
*The Primus' appearance resembles the necromancer unit in Warcraft III, only instead of wearing a horned skull on his head, the horns are sprouting from his own skull. His plating was designed to look like a predecessor to the aesthetic of Domination magic.
*Some aspects of the Primus' character has similarities to imperial Roman, Catholic, and Norse myth themes:
**The Primus' visage is depicted on the Antiquated Verdigris Coin, a practice used since antiquity in s to depict the rulers of the moment they were minted.
**Primus is Latin for "first". As a designation, (first amongst equals), was an honorary title that was acknowledged to those whose positions hold no increased power over their peers, though were given acknowledgement of notoriety or leadership typically based on their actions or seniority. This can be partially observed by the Primus effectively leading the charge of the Eternal Ones, whose powers would be equal to him, though he is given foremost leadership due to his strategic mind.
**In Spanish, he is referred to as El Prelado ("The Prelate"), and the Seat of the Primus is translated as Trono del Prelado ("Throne of the Prelate").
**The armor worn on his right arm resembles a , an armguard used by Roman gladiators, and his mantle resembles a .
**As the inventor of both Maldraxxi necromantic runes and Domination runes, this may be borrowing from how invented and . One of is "Lord of the undead", and Maldraxxus is the birthplace of necromancy.
**While more elements of Warhammer Tomb Kings can be seen in the Maldraxxi forces and Maldraxxus at large, some superficial similarities exist between Nagash and the Primus.
*The Primus appears as in the expansion. His flavor text reads: "As there is a Pantheon of titans, so is there also a Pantheon of Death, comprised of powerful rulers in the Shadowlands."
==Gallery==
File:The Primus HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:The Primus Runes of the Unholy HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:The Primus Runes of Blood HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:The Primus Runes of Frost HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:Staff of the Primus HS.jpg|The in Hearthstone.
==Patch changes==
*
==References==
==External links==
Category:Eternal Ones
Category:Necrolords
Category:Blacksmiths
Category:Runecasters
Category:Quest givers
Category:Torghast, Tower of the Damned NPCs
Category:Korthia NPCs
Category:Maw NPCs
Category:Seat of the Primus NPCs
Category:Oribos NPCs
Category:Zereth Mortis NPCs
Category:Unique models
Category:Unique voices
Category:Hearthstone legendary cards