Infinite dragonflight
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| Infinite Dragonflight | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Faction/Affiliation | Hostile |
| Character classes | Warrior (presumed), Warlock |
| Racial leader(s) | "The Master" (Unknown) |
| Homeworld | Azeroth |
| Racial capital | Unknown |
| Primary language | Draconic, Common, Orcish |
| Average height | Varies according to specific species and age |
| Alignment | Chaotic evil |
The Infinite Dragonflight is the meddlesome force behind the attempts to alter history within the Caverns of Time.
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Description
All castes of this dragonflight, from whelp to dragonspawn to fully grown dragon, have been encountered. Their color range varies from black to dark gray, with an oddly cracked and deteriorating appearance. They are covered with tiny black residual particles and a strange blue light glows through the cracks.
Appearing in the three of the four Caverns of Time instances, they are attempting to prevent crucial events in Azeroth's history from occurring. In Escape from Durnholde Keep, they interrupt Thrall's escape by kidnapping Taretha. In Opening the Dark Portal, they attempt to prevent Medivh from opening the portal. In the Culling of Stratholme, they try to hide the evidence Arthas uses to rationalize and support his order to purge Stratholme.
The nature and purpose of the Infinite Dragonflight are unknown, but comments made by Epoch Hunter do reveal that they serve a single master.
Notable members
Two of those bosses carry the word "epoch" in their name. Epoch is a Greek word (εποχή, pronounced "eh-poh-HEH"), meaning an era, a season or a significant period of time. Taking into consideration the nature and intentions of the Infinite Dragonflight, such naming seems only natural. For example, "Epoch Hunter" could be interpreted as "Hunter of Eras" or "Hunter of Ages".
Wrath of the Lich King
In Wrath of the Lich King, Chromie sends players to the Bronze Dragonshrine to divine the true identity of the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight. While there, players can see both the Infinite and Bronze dragons fighting "through time" attempting to gain/maintain control of the shrine.
The Infinite Dragonflight also appears during the Culling of Stratholme in an attempt to disrupt the timeline by preventing Arthas Menethil from purging the city.
Speculation
| This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.
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Nozdormu's Involvement
With the addition of the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King expansion, a new quest called Mystery of the Infinite is available in the Dragonblight. On this mission, Chromie sends the player to the Bronze Dragonshrine to divine the identity of the true leader of the Infinite Dragonflight. At the end of the quest, the player sees the long-missing Nozdormu, leader of the Bronze Dragonflight. Chromie states that this makes no sense, then brushes it off and says that she is glad that Nozdormu is alive and well. She adds that he had left without telling the rest of the flight "where or when" he was going.
Considering the fact that Nozdormu seems to have been absent since the trouble with the Infinite Dragonflight began, and also assuming that Chromie's divining process worked, then the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight may in fact be Nozdormu. This is further supported by the statements of regret that Nozdormu makes during the War of the Ancients. He apologizes to Korialstrasz for actions he would commit against him in the future and says that not even he can change his ultimate "fate". At the time, this was assumed to be his death. However, in light of the Mystery of the Infinite quest, it is very likely that the fate he was referring to was his role as the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight.
This broaches the possibility that Infinite Dragons are actually former Bronze dragons, perhaps from the future. This is indicated further, by the fact that upon entering the Mount Hyjal instance, Indormi emotes, "Do you think the rumors about the Infinite Dragonflight are true? I've sensed it...the familiarity." This suspicion is pushed into the realm of fact in that, during the Caverns of Time: Culling of Stratholme instance, players are afforded the chance to see the Infinite Corrupter transform a Bronze dragonspawn into an Infinite one, by failing to meet the time requirement to save him from this fate.
This suggests that the Bronze dragons are actually past versions of their Infinite counterparts. What's more, it seems that the bronze dragons are beginning to suspect this relation. It is possible that the members of this dragonflight are Bronze dragons that decided to improve on the future. But this does not explain why they are black, although magic could have mutated them. Furthermore, it is stated that if the Infinite Dragonflight is successful in altering time, the past, present and future will (would?) collapse. If the Infinite Dragonflight are future versions of the Bronze, they should be aware of this as well.
Additional circumstantial evidence for this theory: For one, there are no other entities known in Azeroth that have such strong and readily used powers over time, apart from the Bronze and Infinite dragonflights, which suggests that they are connected. For another, if the Bronze Dragonflight, at any point in the thousands of years of its existence, were to become corrupted or enslaved, the effects would be seen throughout time. As nearly every other long-lasting entity or organization in Azeroth has at some point been manipulated by the Burning Legion or the Old Gods, it's likely that the Bronze Dragonflight will encounter similar corruption at some point.
The Infinite dragons also seem to have ulterior motives than the initial dangerous disruption of the timestream implied by the Bronze dragons. In the Caverns of Time, the Infinite dragons are involved in three out of four of the instances. In each of the cases of their involvement it can be argued that by changing events that occurred, they are in fact improving the future for the better, such as stopping Medivh from opening the Dark Portal which allowed demons entry to Azeroth, as well as preventing the actions leading up to Prince Arthas becoming the Lich King. Involvement in the case of Thrall's Escape from Durnholde Keep are questionable. Some would argue that preventing Thrall from becoming warchief of the Horde would allow the Horde to continue down it's old and dark ways, however others would argue that by preventing Thrall from changing the then-broken Old Horde into the stronger New Horde, the renewed conflict between the Horde and the Alliance would not have occurred, or would otherwise be less severe. In the case of the Battle for Mount Hyjal, it is noted that there is no involvement by the Infinite Dragonflight at all, which implies either that they have a hidden role in the conflict or that they consider involvement of the players to have the best possible outcome and do not interfere with their actions. It should however be noted that the battle in WoW is different from that of WCIII in many ways.
Miscellaneous theories
Some have speculated Deathwing's involvement in this new flight. Lady Sinesta in Shadowmoon Valley's refers to "The Master" being alive and wanting to continue the experiments of Nefarian. We can infer that The Master is Neltharion and that he wishes to continue Nefarian's experiments where he left off. It should be noted as well that Nefarian was working with the Chromatic Dragonflight, not Infinite. However, Neltharion seemingly abandoned the Chromatic Dragonflight and created the Twilight Dragonflight. He may have created other dragonflights as well... or he will in time.
Others have hypothesized the far-future involvement of the orphan blood elf Salandria and draenei orphan Dornaa. During the first TBC Children's Week event in 2007, players were able to adopt either Salandria or Dornaa (according to their faction) in Shattrath City. One of the places they wished to see was the Caverns of Time, where the guards of the Bronze Dragonflight attempt to attack them. The Bronze dragon in the center of the room stops them, saying she has not "yet" become their enemy. They have you buy her a small toy dragon from the vendor, and upon doing so you receive the text "You can see the wheels in the small girl's head turning, as she says "One day, I'll have a dragon of my very own!" (Time to Visit the Caverns) Salandria is also taken to the captured naaru under Blood Knights' Citadel in Silvermoon City (prior to patch 2.4), and demonstrates an ability to siphon energy from this Naaru better than the master magisters there. You later find out that she is adopted by Lady Liadrin, and begins training as a blood knight. Dornaa summons the elemental spirits in the Exodar and becomes a shaman, with Farseer Nobundo seeing that she has great potential. She also recognizes him as the man from her dreams.
Assuming he is the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight it may be possible that Nozdormu, knowing when he is slated to die, may be attempting to alter history in various ways to prevent his death. As to why these three events in particular may have to do with preventing it is an unknown at this time. An unfortunate but possible result of this meddling could be a commonality in time travel stories where someone trying to prevent an event from happening eventually cause it in the end after all. Another possible theory about the "Master" is that the Infinite Dragonflight served another master that was somehow destroyed and Nozdormu took his place. It is possible that they were once evil but then turned good if Nozdormu really is their master. This would explain why they seem to fight to change events that would benefit Azeroth but seem to do it through forceful and dark ways.
The World of Warcraft history site states that during the titans' creation "...there were many Dragonflights." This makes it a possibility, however faint, that the Infinite Dragonflight was always there.
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