Dragonmaw orc

* Humanoid
* Lawful neutral
* Chaotic neutral
* Twilight Highlands
* Zaela (formerly)
* Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior
* Dragon rider, Enforcer, Grunt, Peon, Raider, Scout
* Draenor
* Orcish

The **Dragonmaw clan** is one of the orcish clans dating back to the time of the *Rise of the Horde*. Unlike the other clans, however, the Dragonmaws relied 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 *Cataclysm*, when Garrosh Hellscream allowed the former (and current) dragon riders to join the Horde.

Members of the clan are known as **Dragonmaw orcs**.

## Background

### Activity on Azeroth

Manipulated by the Black Scourge, Deathwing the Destroyer, the Dragonmaw found an artifact of immense power known as the Demon Soul - created by Deathwing himself ten thousand years earlier, but forever forbidden from his grasp as the result of the spellwork of the other Aspects. Zuluhed entrusted the Demon Soul to a warrior/warlock named Nekros Skullcrusher, who used it to capture the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza - much to his surprise, and certainly to Alexstrasza's. The Dragonmaw used Alexstrasza's young to fight for the Horde - and fight they did, through much of the Second War. Operating out of the abandoned Wildhammer capital of Grim Batol, the Dragonmaw maintained their control over Alexstrasza and her flight after the Horde was defeated, using them to raid Alliance ports in the surrounding Wetlands. Yet the Dragonmaw also had forces away from Grim Batol (notably in the Black Morass defending the Dark Portal) and many were captured by the Alliance at the time of the Horde's defeat.

The Kirin Tor high councillor Krasus - the humanoid form of the red dragon Korialstrasz, one of Alexstrasza's consorts - sent the mage Rhonin to free Alexstrasza from the Dragonmaw in Grim Batol by somehow destroying the Demon Soul - which, using one of Deathwing's scales, he did. In her fury, Alexstrasza then tore Grim Batol apart and ate Nekros whole. However, some elements remained both alive and free, and to this day live in the Wetlands and Twilight Highlands. The Wetlands Dragonmaw are led by Nekros' son, Nek'rosh, who serves the self-styled Warchief of the Dark Horde, Rend Blackhand.

### Activity in Outland

At some point during the Second War, Zuluhed and much of his clan returned to Draenor and survived the destruction that led to the creation of Outland. Now they are in the service of the Lord of Outland, Illidan Stormrage. Their attempts to subjugate dragons have continued — only this time, they are targeting a brood of nether drakes called the Netherwing. In what appears to be a repeat of their capture of Alexstrasza, the Dragonmaws have captured the matriarch of the Netherwing, the nether dragon Karynaku, and hold her prisoner in their fortress. Karynaku is held with a magical ball and chain, and only Zuluhed himself has the key.

## In 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 player has completed the entire questline 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."

### Cataclysm

In *World of Warcraft: 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 will 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 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

#### Escalation

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.

#### Siege of Orgrimmar

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.

### 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

In *World of Warcraft: Cataclysm*, the Dragonmaw orc received a unique model, with gray skin (similar to that of the Blackrock clan), special facial features and their now-distinctive tattoos.

However, after the player character revamp in *Warlords of Draenor*, the Dragonmaw have seemingly lost their dragon tattoos, and their eyes now glow a bright yellow. The reason for this is unknown.

## Trivia/Notes

* There are no dragons on Draenor. However, as it turns out, dragons, or dragon-like creatures were a part of orcish folklore, and popular as a myth. This is where the clan name originated from.
* 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.
* The exact details of the Dragonmaw orc skin color are not known. It's possible their grey skin tone is a full body tattoo, or that (like the Blackrock clan) years of dwelling underground without light has altered them. It could also be natural pallor already present to a degree before the Blood Curse.
	+ The dark skin color of the clan members on Azeroth can be explained by the years they spend in Grim Batol; they might have been "fundamentally altered".
* 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.
* Dragonmaw clan had legends about dragons in Draenor.
* The clan is the only member of the Iron Horde to not have an alternate Draenor equivalent.
	+ As there were no dragons on Draenor, their clan identity could not have existed, causing some issues for the developers.
* It is unknown if Dragonmaw Clan does have Shamans to summon Air Dust Earth Fire Geyser Ice Lava Lightning Mud Primal Pyroclastic Sand Sandstorm Slag Spark Steam Storm Volcanic and Water Dragons and Proto-Dragons with Elemental Powers of Air Earth Fire and Water against the Alliance of Lordaeron in Second War.

## Credits

* The entirety of this article came from Wowpedia. The article can be viewed here.
* The artwork on this article is official and was created by Blizzard Entertainment and/or their affiliates.