Dragonmaw orc

**Language(s)** | Orcish

" *Hellscream, I am Zaela of the Dragonmaw. Your people have freed mine from tyranny. We are your instrument. The strength of the Dragonmaw is yours to command. For the Horde!*"
—Zaela, before joining Garrosh's Horde

The **orcs** of the **Dragonmaw clan** rely more on magic and cunning than brute force. This wayward orc clan was once empowered by Deathwing himself to enslave red dragons, including Alexstrasza. 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 as 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. Defeated and pushed back to the Wetlands and Twilight Highlands, the Dragonmaw Clan has been relatively dormant until the events of the Cataclysm, when Garrosh Hellscream allowed the former (and current) dragonriders to join the Horde.

## History

### World of Warcraft

The rest of the Dragonmaw clan on Azeroth have established an encampment in the 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.

When the Dark Portal reopened a numbers of Dragonmaws were forced to serve the death knight Ragnok Bloodreaver.

After the adventurers have completed the entire quest 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."

### The Cataclysm

It is revealed that Mor'ghor was able to survive Illidan's wrath and flee to Azeroth. Mor'ghor now styles himself as the Warchief of the Dragonmaw Clan; using his fel orcs to keep the regular orcs in control. When Horde forces arrived in the Twilight Highlands to negotiate with the clan, Mor'ghor killed the negotiator and decided to keep the player as a bargaining chip. However, thanks to Zaela the player was able to escape and inform Horde command of the tensions between the regular orcs and the fel orcs within the clan. Using this information, the Horde forces lay siege to Dragonmaw Port from the shore and the Dragonmaw themselves take up arms against the fel orcs with supplies sent by the Horde fleet. The fight is eventually taken directly to Mor'ghor, and with the help of the Horde, he is disposed of. Zaela announces that a new Dragonmaw dawns with his death. After the Horde and Dragonmaw route out the remaining fel orcs, Garrosh Hellscream arrives and meets with the new leader of the Dragonmaw Clan: Zaela, and welcomes the clan into the Horde. Following the Cataclysm, Azeroth's situation has become increasingly dire, and the soldiers of the new Horde are now presented with an opportunity to redeem their old allies. Despite their past crimes, it is the will of the warchief that the once-maligned Dragonmaw join the Horde in battle once again.

Those members of the Horde who endorse the Dragonmaw clan will find themselves rewarded with masterfully crafted pieces of armor and mystic trinkets that reflect the clan's history of domination.

The Dragonmaw Clan battle the Wildhammer clan in the Twilight Highlands battleground called the Twin Peaks.

The Dragonmaw with the aid of the Demon Chain (an item that once carried the Demon Soul and still carries a portion of its power) have been able to create powerful Black Dragon air support for the clan and the Horde. Though it seems that the demon chain must be kept close by or the dragon could regain their will as seen with Torth. Following the end of the Cataclysm and Deathwing's death it is revealed that Wrathion is the last known black dragon alive on Azeroth. As such it seems as if the rest of the black dragons under the command of the Dragonmaw perished either in the fighting between the Horde, Alliance, and Twilight Hammer within the Twilight Hammers. Alternatively the rest of the black dragons could have regained their own will like Torth did, which would force the Dragonmaw to put them down. Which ever scenario (perhaps even a combination) occurred it is known by the time of the Darkspear Rebellion that Dragonmaw no longer use or have black dragons under their command.

### Mists of Pandaria

Zaela, the chieftain of the Dragonmaw, was summoned by Garrosh to help put down the burgeoning Darkspear Rebellion. She can be found at the Dranosh'ar Blockade projecting her will via the Demon Chain onto an enslaved proto drake. During The Secrets of Ragefire scenario, the Gob Squad finds a large amount of Proto-drake eggs in the cave, suggesting that the Dragonmaw now use proto-dragons as flying mounts instead of black dragons and that they use their powerful air forces to support Garrosh.

Zaela and some of her finest soldiers were tasked by Garrosh to defend Bladefist Bay against the fleets of both the Alliance and the Rebels during the Siege of Orgrimmar. Zaela leads her forces from the back of her proto-drake, Galakras, into the battle.

Ultimately, Garrosh's forces were defeated by the combined forces of the Darkspear Rebellion and the Alliance with Zaela being able to hide after the battle.

Since their numbers took heavy casualties during the siege, it is unknown if, or how many Dragonmaw orcs remain as part of the Horde.

### War Crimes

Zaela and other Dragonmaw orcs still loyal to Garrosh fled to Grim Batol following the Siege of Orgrimmar, where they successfully hid from scouts sent by Vol'jin to look for them in the Twilight Highlands. Kairozdormu contacted Zaela and tasked her with gathering Shokia, Thalen Songweaver, and Harrowmeiser.

Later, Kairozdormu provided the Dragonmaw with Infinite dragons to attack the Temple of the White Tiger and provide a distraction while he freed Garrosh and escaped to Draenor.

### Warlords of Draenor

Zaela has traveled to Draenor with Garrosh and became a member of the Iron Horde, along with the Dragonmaw who chose to follow her, effectively making her one of the leading warlords of the orcish union. Later, she also led the Ironmarch along with Ironmarch Commander Tharbek to Upper Blackrock Spire, where they have set up a base of operations.

## Appearance

Dragonmaw orcs have dark gray skin and appear physically similar to standard orcs. They have glowing yellow eyes and their bodies are usually covered in tattoos. The explanation for this skin color comes from their time spent in Grim Batol, However, it is also possible that they were "fundamentally altered".

## Trivia

* Dragonmaw orcs had legends about dragons in Draenor.
* The Dragonmaw clan is the only known clan to serve in every incarnation of the Horde: Old Horde, Dark Horde, Fel Horde, and the most recent for them to join, New Horde (aka, Thrall's Horde) as well as True Horde and Iron Horde.
* After Overlord Mor'ghor returned from Outland, he seemed to have brought some other fel orcs with him, reuniting the clan, but after the clan joined the New Horde the fel orcs are nowhere to be seen, presumably all killed by Garrosh's forces.