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Yogg-Saron, one of the believed five Old Gods.

"In the time before time, when the world was still in its infancy, a battle between a Titan and a being of unimaginable evil and power raged on this very soil. The prophecy is unclear about whether or not the Titan was vanquished ... but it illustrates that a Titan fell."

—Geologist Larksbane

The Old Gods (a.k.a. Old Whisperings, Elder Gods, or Old Lords) are mysterious, godlike and greatly malefic entities which ruled in tyranny over the infant Universe before they were sequestered within the primordial world of Azeroth by the Titanic Pantheon.

History

Ordering of Azeroth

Before the titans came to Azeroth, the malign Old Gods - colossal beings of elemental fury - ruled the world and the savage elementals that dwelt upon it, a bloody chaos of which even the demon Lords of the Burning Legion could not imagine.

Along the journey of the Titans they came upon Azeroth. As the Titans made their way across the primordial landscape, they encountered a number of the hostile elemental beings. These elementals vowed to drive the Titans in the name of their masters back and keep their world inviolate from the invaders' metallic touch. The Pantheon, disturbed by the Old Gods' penchant for evil, waged war upon the elementals and their dark masters. The Old Gods' armies were led by the most powerful elemental lieutenants: Ragnaros the Firelord, Therazane the Stonemother, Al'Akir the Windlord, and Neptulon the Tidehunter. Their chaotic forces raged across the face of the world and clashed with the colossal Titans. Though the elementals were powerful beyond mortal comprehension, their combined forces could not stop the mighty Titans. One by one, the elemental lords fell, and their forces dispersed. A battle between a titan and the Old God C'Thun raged in Silithus. The titan fell and it was thought that C'Thun had also fallen - but he survived unnoticed by the titans. For millennia this being lay dormant beneath the world - biding its time. From its prison it waited for the exact moment at which to strike back at those that would see it harmed.

The Pantheon shattered the Old Gods' citadels and casted the remaining ones down into eternal imprisonment deep beneath the earth, the place of their confinement hidden from all and their powers bound until the end of time. Yogg-Saron was sealed away within the depths of Ulduar in the far northern reaches of the infant world, and had six watchers assigned to it which served as wardens for its near eternal imprisonment. Without the Old Gods' power to keep their raging spirits bound to the physical world, the elementals were banished to an abyssal plane, where they would contend with one another for all eternity. With the elementals' departure, nature calmed, and the world settled into a peaceful harmony. The Titans saw that the threat was contained and set to work.

During that time the Curse of Flesh has been created by the Old Gods to "facilitate assimilation". The Curse of Flesh affected many titanic creations, notably the dwarves. The curse changed the structure and appearance of these races from their original stony/metallic forms into the fleshy forms we know of today. The titans attempted to remove the curse (and the Old Gods), but found that the Old God infestation had grown too severe to remove without completely destroying Azeroth. Instead they bound the Old Gods within Azeroth.

Whispers

Since the dawn of life on Azeroth, the imprisoned and sleeping Old Gods have been whispering to the subconsciousness of mortal and eternal beings alike, subverting their thoughts and feelings, and sometimes driving them to great malice, complete insanity, or both.

The night elves Malfurion Stormrage and Varo'then momentarily heard the Whisperings when they held the Demon Soul in their grasp. Malfurion has since stated that "Ysera's noble brood has fallen victim to the Old Whisperings", as well. The Highborne Queen Azshara is said to have heard the Whisperings moments before what would have been her death, causing her and her Highborne people to transform into the monstrous Naga-- an offer they either accepted willingly to avoid their fate or which has been coerced on them. The remainder of the surviving Highborne who made landfall in the Tirisfal Glades are rumored to have succumbed to insanity after hearing these same Whisperings.

The most striking historic account of the Old Whisperings however is found within the ancient scrolls of lore of the Tauren tribes, kept at Elder Rise in their capital city of Thunder Bluff. The legend of creation of the formerly nomadic Tauren makes direct reference to the Whisperings, stating that the first incidents of Tauren having committed acts of deceit, murder or warfare were because some among their early brethren "harkened to the dark whispers from deep beneath the world."

Recent history

The Blackfathom Deeps in Ashenvale was once, long ago, a temple to Elune. The Great Sundering ruined the temple and left it submerged in water and buried under rock. Corruption from the Old Gods seeped up and tainted the sacred moonwell. One may be in the Blackfathom Deeps. Hints that old gods lie in or under the Blackfathom Deeps. Not to be confused with Aku'mai who was only influenced by the powers of the Old Gods.

According to Malfurion Stormrage, one of the Old Gods is behind the Nightmare corrupting the Emerald Dream. Although the Nightmare Lord in the dream turned out to be the Satyr Lord Xavius, it is suspected that he was working for higher powers. This seems to be confirmed in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

The Master's Glaive contains the remains of a forgotten one.

Number

Depending on the source, three, four, or five Old Gods lie imprisoned. Some of these sources seem to imply that these numbers were the limit to the number of Old Gods. The roleplaying game seems to imply that there were more than five Old Gods, including those imprisoned or killed.

• The Warcraft III manual states that five Old Gods were chained beneath the world.
• The Pantheon shattered the Old Gods' citadels and chained the five evil gods far beneath the surface of the world.
• According to the War of the Ancients Trilogy, there are three Old Gods still living, imprisoned and chained by the Titans deep beneath the surface of Azeroth. There may be more however, these three are indicated to have formed some sort of alliance in order to escape their imprisonment.
• According to "The Old Gods and the Ordering of Azeroth", four Old Gods were imprisoned beneath the world. This could perhaps be reconciled with the War of the Ancients trilogy if it were taken to include the fallen C'Thun in the count of the imprisoned Gods. This is however unlikely as C'thun was believed dead and not imprisoned. Note that the version of this chapter presented in the story section of the official site does not reference the number of Old Gods.
• "There are more Old Gods than just the ones trapped on Azeroth. It takes a lot for them to become manifested on a physical plane, however."

In the Burning Crusade expansion, a group of Arakkoa known as the Dark Conclave attempted to summon an entity described as an "ancient and powerful evil" into Outland. It is nearly identical in appearance to the first named Old God, C'Thun.

Named

C'Thun

Main article: C'Thun

C'Thun, the first named Old God.

C'Thun was the first of the three Old Gods to be named, having received this name from its creations; the Qiraji. C'Thun was struck down in the region known as Silithus during the dawning of the world, in a battle which is said to also have resulted in the "falling" of a Titan. C'Thun was believed to have been slain permanently by the Titans, but the Old God resurfaced over the course of history as the driving force behind the Qiraji. It is trapped deep beneath the ruined temples of Ahn'Qiraj, where it has exerted its will for thousands of years over its Qiraji avatars, who in turn command the Silithid swarm.

C'Thun is the final boss in the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj.

Yogg-Saron

Main article: Yogg-Saron

Yogg-Saron, "the lucid dream".

Described by the demigod Ursoc as "the beast with a thousand maws", Yogg-Saron was the second Old God to be explicitly named such. The dire entity refers to itself in ways as "the lucid dream", "the god of death" or "the true face of death", and appears to secrete a substance named Saronite across Northrend which is capable of driving any that have been exposed to it to murderous insanity. Slinkin the Demo-gnome discovered shortly before his demise that a mysterious connection seemed to exist between the Old God Yogg-Saron and the undead Scourge. In his final note, he claimed to have overheard some of the undead uttering the name "Yogg-Saron" with a tone of tremendous hatred and contempt, which was usually followed by outbursts of rage from other undead. Yet, the Scourge appeared to be mining for Saronite on an industrial scale.

Yogg-Saron's underground prison extends through much of east-central Northrend; his influence has been felt directly in the Grizzly Hills (Vordrassil, the Grizzlemaw Furbolgs and Ursoc), Dragonblight (Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom, with faceless ones and a sect of the Twilight's Hammer dedicated to Yogg-Saron) and the Storm Peaks (Ulduar, and the corrupted Titanic guardian Loken). The Old God is located within his prison deep inside Ulduar, and is the final boss of the raid instance, much as C'Thun was the final boss in Ahn'Qiraj.

N'Zoth

Main article: N'Zoth

The third Old God to be named, N'Zoth, was confirmed during Blizzcon 2010 to be the source of the Emerald Nightmare, which has twisted large segments of the Emerald Dream along with its corresponding regions in the waking world. N'Zoth makes several indirect appearances in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm during quest chains in the Vashj'ir zone, and the story implies it to be the driving force behind the naga and the faceless ones. During Blizzcon 2010's Quests and Lore panel, Chris Metzen also mentioned that N'Zoth may be the one "signing Deathwing's checks", adding the remark that this Old God is "a real problem".

Mortal worship

Main article: Old Gods' forces‎

Large groups of the Twilight's Hammer have been observed to settle at or near sites where they believe the Old Gods or their minions are sealed away; many await C'Thun's awakening in Silithus, while others appear to serve Ragnaros in the Blackrock Depths alongside the Dark Iron dwarves. The largest concentrations of the Twilight's Hammer however are located at Grim Batol and within the Bastion of Twilight, in a region of the Eastern Kingdoms that is now referred to as the Twilight Highlands.

Quotes

See also: The Whispers of C'Thun and The Whispers of Yogg-Saron

Whispers to Neltharion

Main article: Deathwing

• "The night elves will destroy the world..."
• "The Well is out of control..."
• "No one can be trusted... they want your secrets, your power..."
• "Malygos would take what is yours..."
• "Alexstrasza seeks dominion over you..."
• "They are no better than the demons..."
• "They must be dealt with like the demons..."

Whispers to Azshara

Main article: Queen Azshara

• "There is a way... there is a way..."
• "You will become more than you ever were... more than you ever were..."
• "We can help... we can help..."
• "You will be more than you have ever been... and when the time comes, for what we grant you... you will serve us well..."

Inspiration

The names and overall nature of the Old Gods are an homage to the various group of deities from the Cthulhu Mythos in the works of H.P. Lovecraft (first stage), Brian Lumley (third stage), and the Call of Cthulhu RPG. C'Thun appears to be based on Cthulhu and Yogg-Saron appears to be based on the Outer God Yog-Sothoth. Furthermore, the story which concerns the Titans' imprisoning of the Old Gods is an inspiration from the story August Derleth proposed as the ancient outcome of the war between the Elder Gods (represented in the Titans) and the Outer Gods (represented in the Old Gods). Interestingly, the origin of the Titans is alien to Azeroth, while the Old Gods are native to it, swapping the names and some facts. An alternative name of the Old Gods is the Elder Gods.

Fan art

• 

  Fan art - Full body of C'thun.

• 

  Fan art - Full body of C'thun.

• 

  Fan art of Yogg-Saron.

See also

• The Old Gods and the Ordering of Azeroth
• Tribunal of Ages
• Prophecy of C'Thun
• Lorgalis Manuscript
• Aqir
• Naga
• Twilight's Hammer
• Elemental Lieutenants