Zuluhed the Whacked

For tactics on defeating Zuluhed, see Quest:Zuluhed the Whacked.

Zuluhed the Whacked
Gender	Male
Race	Orc
Class	Shaman (all), Warlock (presumed)
Affiliation(s)	Dragonmaw Clan, Illidari (formerly Horde)
Occupation	Chieftain of the Dragonmaw Clan
Location	Dragonmaw Fortress, Shadowmoon Valley
Status	Killable

Zuluhed the Whacked was one of the few remaining orc Shamans within the Old Horde in Azeroth, but, due to his consumption of the blood of Mannoroth, he did not embrace his true heritage, and still practiced the dark magics prescribed by Gul'dan and the Shadow Council. Unlike his other Dragonmaw orcs he did not become a fel orc.

Biography

Zuluhed was apparently the last, and only shaman to accompany the Horde.Template:Cite He was eternally loyal to Blackhand during his reign as Warchief, and wished to remain so even after his death, so he pledged the allegiance of the small but powerful Dragonmaw Clan to Rend and Maim, the Sons of Blackhand: an alliance assumed to be broken when Rend pledged the Black Tooth Grin clan to Nefarian's Black Dragonflight, most feared enemy of the Dragonmaw.

During the Second War, Zuluhed received a vision of a powerful artifact hidden within the Redridge Mountains, and requested permission from Orgrim Doomhammer to locate it. Despite Zuluhed's apparent loyalty to the sons of Blackhand - his chief rivals - Doomhammer believed that the elder shaman acted in the Horde's best interests, and agreed to allow Zuluhed and his clan to find the artifact in question. Following the source of his visions, Zuluhed came into possession of what he called the Demon Soul.Template:Cite He assured Doomhammer that he would be able to unlock its powers, but this proved difficult even with the still-formidable powers of the elder shaman. Zuluhed decided to give the artifact to his Second, Nekros Skullcrusher, a former warlock, and with its power managed to capture the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza and subjugate her Red Dragonflight. Alexstrasza, threatened with the death of her children, unwillingly gave the Horde an endless supply of her deadly progeny.Template:Cite Template:Cite

When the war turned for the worse, all of Dragonmaw collected at Grim Batol, making sure that no human force could touch their precious Dragonqueen. However, when Deathwing, Alextrasza’s hated enemy, made a daring attempt to assassinate her, he unwittingly freed the Dragonqueen. However, Zuluhed himself was not present when Alexstrasza attacked.

It was then that the human forces captured the remnants of Zuluhed's clan, and ushered them into internment camps.

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.

Zuluhed was said to be far from Grim Batol (when Nekros informed Alexstrasza that he only obeyed Zuluhed) at the time that the Dragonqueen was freed. This leads to a bit of a paradox: at the time of the attack on Grim Batol by the dragons, the Dark Portal was closed. Therefore, Zuluhed would not have been able to retreat after that attack. However, since Nekros was the one in charge, it is plausible that Zuluhed had returned to Draenor before the Dark Portal had closed, leaving Nekros in charge - since his command over the Demon Soul was needed in the campaign against the Alliance, but Zuluhed's presence was not. Therefore, if we assume that Zuluhed had left Nekros in charge of the Dragonmaw on Azeroth before the end of the Second War while returning to Draenor to organize the drake-riders needed there, the paradox is rectified.

It's unclear how shamanistic spirits continued to answer him, despite having forsaken most of the orcs. Because of the helpless, desperate and powerless nature that he had found himself in, it was easy for Illidan to take control over him: turning him to warlock magics (and perhaps the empowering of the Dragonmaw remaining in Outland as seen by their red color) in exchange for the dragon-taming services that the Dragonmaw Clan specializes in. Illidan wanted to make use of the Netherwing drakes of Outland and in striking this deal with Zuluhed, he was not only able to control the power of the Netherwing, but he gained the allegiance of the elite Dragonmaw Clan as well.

The Burning Crusade

Zuluhed resides at Dragonmaw Fortress, east of the Netherwing Fields in Shadowmoon Valley, and is involved in the Netherwing quest chain.

See Netherwing for Zuluhed's involvement in acquiring a Nether drake, and Quest:Zuluhed the Whacked for details on the quest to kill him.