N'raqi

The n'raqi, commonly known as the faceless ones or the faceless, are a monstrous race that arose from the organic matter that seeped from the Old Gods' blighted forms during the primordial era of Azeroth. Cunning and intelligent, they serve their eldritch masters with fanatical loyalty and are known to be virtually unstoppable juggernauts.Whispers During times of war, the n'raqi serve as the commanders and taskmasters of the Old Gods' forces, turning the insane worshipers and chaotic forces into a capable military force.Marshals of Madness 
The faceless ones were first seen serving a forgotten one in the depths of Azjol-Nerub during the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. They made their first appearance in World of Warcraft with the second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, and have since become one of the most common sightings in areas influenced by the Old Gods.
==History==
When the Old Gods first embedded themselves into Azeroth, they spread their corruptive influence across the landscape. Two distinct races arose from the organic matter seeping from the Old Gods' blighted forms: the n'raqi and the aqir. As the physical manifestations of the Old Gods' will, both served their masters with fanatical loyalty. The n'raqi acted as ruthless taskmasters, employing the aqir as laborers to erect towering citadels and temple cities around their masters' colossal bulks. The greatest of these bastions were built around the Old God Y'Shaarj. This burgeoning civilization was located near the center of Azeroth's largest continent. As the holdings of Y'Shaarj and the other Old Gods spread across the world, it became known as the Black Empire. Countless eons ago, the n'raqi waged endless wars against each other as part of the forces of N'Zoth, C'Thun and Yogg-Saron.Adventure Guide entry for Warlord Zon'ozz
When the Old Gods were sealed below the earth by the titan-forged, many of the n'raqi were imprisoned alongside them.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 62
===Reawakening in Northrend===
Amid the Scourge's invasion of Azjol-Nerub, many of the kingdom's denizens tunneled underground to escape the Lich King's minions. Yet some of them dug too deep, exposing the tendrils of Yogg-Saron.Adventure Guide entry for Herald Volazj Rousing its awareness, the Old God sent his n'raqi under the leadership of Herald Volazj against them, and the nerubians were caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.Proof of Demise: Herald Volazj The nerubians' misfortune costed them the war against the undead, and ultimately, their home.
===The Frozen Throne===
thumb|A faceless one from Warcraft III.
During the desperate flight of Arthas Menethil and the crypt lord Anub'arak to defend the Lich King from Illidan Stormrage and his armies, the Scourge were forced to make their way through the ancient, underground nerubian kingdom of Azjol-Nerub. At first, the invading undead army preyed only on the pockets of still living Nerubian resistance fighters and dwarves that were left over from Arthas' last journey to Northrend.Into the Shadow Web Caverns Yet, as Anub'arak and Arthas journeyed ever deeper into these ruins, they found that the lower regions of the kingdom had become infested by "ancient, horrid things", as the dwarf leader Baelgun had described them, released from the dark below by the earthquakes that were being caused by Illidan's sorcery. These beings appeared as strange, vaguely humanoid creatures, and were accompanied by massive tentacles that seemed to be a part of a single, monstrous entity which Anub'arak referred to as a "forgotten one". The crypt lord seemed to know of these creatures, but was startled to discover they truly existed and warned Arthas to "Look to your defenses, death knight! Fight as you've never fought before!". The two champions of the Lich King and their Scourge forces managed to barely defeat the forgotten one, but as ever more n'raqi emerged from the deeps to stalk the undead army and the caverns began collapsing under the flailing of the massive tentacles, Arthas and Anub'arak were forced to flee from Azjol-Nerub.The Forgotten Ones Eventually, Arthas made it out of fallen kingdom and was able to confront Illidan, but not until making it through the greatest peril he had yet faced.Ascent to the Upper Kingdom
===War against the Lich King===
Theramore came under attack from a n'raqi that had been awakened by Cho'gall to take Med'an with him. During the battle, Med'an intuitively wove together arcane and shamanic magic to defeat the ancient creature.
In Northrend, multiple faceless ones appear, including Herald Volazj, the leader of the Old Gods' forces, and Darkspeaker R'khem, a captive of the vrykul in the Saronite Mines. N'raqi are also encountered underneath Icecrown Citadel in a place called Naz'anak: The Forgotten Depths. Killing the Faceless Lurkers there is required for the quest Time to Hide. In Ulduar, the n'raqi are led by General Vezax, a massive faceless general guarding the twisted passages leading to the Prison of Yogg-Saron.Underdev/Ulduar Bosstiary
===Cataclysm===
New faceless can be found throughout the Abyssal Depths region of Vashj'ir, as well as inside the Throne of the Tides, where they were sent by the Old Gods in order to aid the naga in capturing Neptulon. N'raqi can also be found in others region of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, such as Darkshore, Ashenvale, the Stonetalon Mountains, Swamp of Sorrows and Twilight Highlands. Erudax serves as boss in Grim Batol and is involved in producing Twilight Hatchlings.
The Faceless of the Deep appears in the Lost Isles commanding the naga there against the shipwrecked goblins from Kezan. The goblins, however, believe him to be a deformed naga.
Since the fall of the Bastion of Twilight, Yor'sahj the Unsleeping has eagerly assisted Deathwing, providing the Destroyer with the means to release more faceless ones from their prisons deep beneath the earth. Their numbers were endless and their power was beyond reckoning.
During the assault on Wyrmrest Temple, Warlord Zon'ozz and Yor'sahj appeared in the maws of Go'rath and Shu'ma, respectively. They were ultimately killed by adventurers.
===Legion===
The Kirin Tor and the Wardens have kept faceless ones imprisoned in the Violet Hold and the Vault of the Wardens, respectively. During the Burning Legion's third invasion of Azeroth, these n'raqi were set free as a result of the Legion's attacks on these areas.
More notably, however, the faceless appear within the Emerald Nightmare under the command of the Nightmare Lord Xavius, providing one of the many indications as to whom the Emerald Nightmare truly belongs. These n'raqi assist Xavius in his battle against the invading adventurers, both assaulting them ahead of his emergence, and keeping his enemies on their toes with their massive, Nightmare-enhanced size. However, even with the aid of these horrors, Xavius is unable to best the adventurers who assault him and is killed. Upon his death, the Nightmare dissipates, seemingly forever ending the Old Gods' grip on the realm.
===Battle for Azeroth===
Faceless ones are present in both Kul Tiras and Zandalar, especially in Stormsong Valley. When N'Zoth assaulted the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and Uldum, faceless ones could be found overseeing the operations or acting as enforcers. In the Visions of N'Zoth there were many faceless ones in both Stormwind City and Orgrimmar.
==Appearance==
===Standard faceless===
N'raqi are vaguely humanoid creatures who, as the name implies, have no discernible faces insofar as other races recognize them. One arm is much larger than the other, grotesque and misshapen, while the other is little more than a prehensile tentacle.
===Aquatic faceless===
A type of underwater n'raqi that, unlike their brethren, have much bigger eyes and nautilus-like heads.
===Faceless spellcaster===
A type of n'raqi caster that wears masks and has thinner tentacle arms than other types of n'raqi.
===C'Thraxxi===
C'Thraxxi, or "faceless generals", are massive n'raqi warbringers, larger and more resilient than their lesser brethren.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1, pg. 37
===K'thir===
K'thir are smaller faceless ones able to infiltrate mortal societies. They have hands with opposable thumbs instead of tentacles.
VolazjHS.jpg|Herald Volazj, a standard n'raqi.
Shadow Strike.jpg|An aquatic n'raqi assassin.
Demented Frostcaller.jpg|A Demented Frostcaller, a n'raqi spellcaster.
Eldritch Horror.jpg|An Eldritch Horror, a C'Thrax.
K'thir Ritualist HS.jpg|A K'thir.
==Communication==
The n'raqi speak the Shath'Yar, the language of the Old Gods. Their communications are somehow translated directly into the minds of nearby players through telepathic whispers, as evidenced by several powerful n'raqi that were faced by adventurers. Darkspeaker R'khem also communicates with other beings by projecting telepathic thoughts into their mind, together with a wave of soothing, euphoric feelings that are mixed with a sense of pain. After completing Mind Tricks, he disappears with a noise that is translated as laughter in the player's mind. Faceless Lurkers sometimes utter "Shur'nab... shur'nab... Yogg-Saron!" when assaulting their victims, which never appears to be accompanied by telepathic whispers, so it seems only powerful n'raqi can express themselves in this manner.
==Notable==
Name	Role 	Status	Location
 	Avatar of Soggoth the Slitherer 	 	Master's Glaive, Darkshore
 	Corrupted version of Samuel Williams 	 	Shrine of the Storm, Stormsong Valley
 	Sent by his Old God masters to aid Lady Naz'jar in capturing the Throne of the Tides 	 	Neptulon's Rise, Throne of the Tides
 	Prisoner of the Ymirjar vrykul in the Saronite Mines 	 	Saronite Mines, Icecrown
 	Sent by N'zoth to the Crucible of Storms to retrieve three relics of power 	 	Crucible of Storms
 	Leader of the Vashj'elan naga at the Ruins of Vashj'elan 	 	Ruins of Vashj'elan, Lost Isles
 	Leader of the invasion at Stonetalon Peak 	 	Stonetalon Peak, Stonetalon Mountains
 	Leader of the invasion at Lake Falathim 	 	Lake Falathim, Ashenvale
 	Herald of Yogg-Saron 	 	Fallen Temple of Ahn'kahet, Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom
 	Luring sea creatures into Stagalbog Cave 	 	Stagalbog Cave, Swamp of Sorrows
 	Leader of the Corrupting Faceless in the Scalding Chasm 	 	Scalding Chasm, Abyssal Depths
 	Prisoner of the Violet Hold 	 	Violet Hold
 	Herald of Uul'gyneth 	 	Thunder Bluff
 	Disguised as Major Samuelson 	 	Throne room, Stormwind City
 	Unknown 	 	Scalding Chasm, Abyssal Depths
 	Herald of the Old Gods, wiped out nineteen stone giants before being slain by Kronn. Later resurrected by the Twilight's Hammer in a weakened state.	 	Master's Glaive, Darkshore
 	Corrupted version of Grundy MacGraff 	 	Kirthaven, Twilight Highlands
 	Lieutenant of Deathwing 	 	Maw of Shu'ma, Dragon Soul
 	Devourer of Darkshore, keeper of the Devouring Artifact 	 	Darkshore
 	 	 	Eternal Palace
 	Mouth of N'Zoth 	 	Karazhan Catacombs
==Types==
==As a companion pet==
*K'uddly drops from The Forgotten in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
*Puddle of Black Liquid has a chance to drop from Yor'sahj the Unsleeping in Dragon Soul.
*Twilight Summoning Portal has a chance to drop from Cho'gall in the Bastion of Twilight.
*Zur'aj the Depleted is a rare drop from Twilight Prophet Graeme in Darkshore.
==In the RPG==
Tales say they lived in Azjol-Nerub long before the Scourge came, dwelling too deep for the nerubians to hunt them. The strange faceless ones are ancient monsters long imprisoned beneath the ice and recently loosed again.Lands of Mystery, pg. 90 Faceless ones have a long magical heritage. They draw upon their race's legacy of arcane spellcasting traditions to increase their power. Although faceless ones have a racially low intellect, they have a strong heritage of necromantic magic.Dark Factions, pg. 53 A second passage into the Old Kingdom has been discovered by the Scourge, and Baelgun knows the faceless ones will overpower even the undead and then be free to escape into Northrend proper, and so he vows to stop them.Lands of Mystery, pg. 91
==Notes and trivia==
*Even after the death of a n'raqi, its brain keeps pulsing.Faceless One's Withered BrainThe Brain of the Unfathomable
*During the quest Surrender or Else!, the Faceless of the Deep claims to remember when the goblin race was created, indicating that they have very long a life span.
*While some sources state that the faceless originate from organic matter that seeps from the Old Gods themselves, Not Fit for This Plane says that they are from the Void and are drawn to Old God corruption.
*Much like gnolls or ogres, faceless ones have a "battlecry": "Shur'nab... shur'nab... Yogg-Saron!". 
*Faceless ones are inconsistently classified, with some being considered humanoids and others being aberrations or uncategorized.
*N'raqi seem to use a jellyfish-like creature as a mount. A concept art image of a faceless one riding a jellyfish can be seen in The Art of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm,The Art of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, pg. 125 as well as on one of the maps of the Throne of the Tides dungeon.Throne of the Tides map Models of these creatures were added during the early Cataclysm beta,Faceless mount but were not actually used until Legion, when they were used for both the helsquids and the Fathom Dweller mount.
*In The Frozen Throne two subgroups of faceless ones were used: the Faceless Ones and the Unbroken.
*The name "n'raqi" was first introduced in World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 in 2016, thirteen years after the faceless ones were first introduced in The Frozen Throne. However, "n'raqi" was not used in-game until Battle for Azeroth introduced mobs such as the N'raqi Eradicators.
*The updated n'raqi model added in Battle for Azeroth more closely resembles their appearance in Warcraft III than the Wrath of the Lich King model did.
*It is implied that trolls at some point fought several, giant faceless creatures that may have been n'raqi.Time-Corroded Breastplate
==Inspiration==
The faceless ones may be loosely based on the s, or "mind flayers", from . Both illithids and n'raqi are evil races with an affinity for magic and telepathy, and they have both been described as slimy humanoids with "almost octopus-like heads". Both races also traditionally live underground and are mostly feared by land-dwellers. It is likely that both creatures are based on 's shared (which the Old Gods and their minions draw heavy inspiration from), or perhaps more accurately, the Cthulhi, the "Star-Spawn" of Cthulhu.
==Speculation==
The faceless one mobs in the Old Kingdom are actually called Forgotten Ones, which may suggest a relation to the term forgotten one.
==Gallery==
;World of Warcraft
File:Harbinger Aphotic.jpg|The original Wrath of the Lich King n'raqi model prior to Battle for Azeroth.
File:Azshj'thul the Drowned.jpg|The updated n'raqi model introduced in Battle for Azeroth.
File:Avatar of Soggoth.jpg|The n'raqi spellcaster model from Cataclysm
File:Black Warden Rhothkozz.jpg|The updated spellcaster model from patch 8.3.0
File:Faceless Watcher.jpg|An aquatic n'raqi.
File:General Vezax.jpg|A C'Thrax
File:Creature in the Shadows.jpg|An Emerald Nightmare n'raqi.
File:Abyssal Corruptor.jpg|A K'thir
File:Warbringer Yenajz.jpg|A C'Thrax
File:Jungo.jpg|A n'raqi minion of G'huun.
File:Fury of N'Zoth.jpg|Fury of N'Zoth
;Art
File:Commander Ulthok TCG.jpg|Commander Ulthok, the Festering Prince, in the Trading Card Game.
File:Faceless Behemoth.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:Battleworn Faceless HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:Soggoth the Slitherer HS.jpg|Soggoth the Slitherer in Hearthstone.
File:Darkspeaker.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:Spawn of N'Zoth.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:Flamewreathed Faceless.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:Mortal Eradication HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
File:Abyssal Jailor HS.jpg| in Hearthstone .
File:Abyssal Envoy HS.jpg| in Hearthstone .
File:Faceless One Caster concept.jpg|Cataclysm concept art of a faceless caster riding a jellyfish mount.
File:Faceless concept 2.jpg|Battle for Azeroth concept art.
File:N'raqi artbook 2.jpg
File:N'raqi artbook 1.jpg
==Patch changes==
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==References==
 
es:Ignoto
fr:Sans-Visages