Nexus War

The Nexus War was a conflict between the blue dragonflight and the alliance of the Wyrmrest Accord - a coalition of the four remaining dragonflights - and the Kirin Tor of Dalaran. The war was instigated by Malygos the Spellweaver, the Aspect of the blue dragonflight and Lord of Magic.

The term "Nexus War" first appeared on the official website for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.

Prelude to the Nexus War

Malygos fled to his lair in Northrend after the near-total destruction of his dragonflight at the hands of the Black Aspect Deathwing. The grief of losing his children to the treachery of one who was a friend drove him to madness, and he remained hidden away for ten thousand years, paying little heed to the rest of the world. He left that seclusion only once, shortly after the Second War, when the Aspects united briefly to battle Deathwing and end the corruptive influence of the Demon Soul.

Malygos' madness and seclusion ended when Tyrygosa returned from Outland with the nether drakes she had liberated in Netherstorm. Their nether-warped physiology helped Malygos recover some of his lost sanity. As he recovered, the Spell-weaver saw that magic had run amok throughout the world of Azeroth, and he blamed this on the reckless use of magic by the mortal races that had arisen in his ten millennia of isolation.

Seeking a solution, Malygos turned to the Arcanomicon, the map of all of Azeroth's ley lines granted to him by the Titan Norgannon. Using the map to locate all of the world's ley lines, Malygos began to divert their energies into his domain, the Nexus, on the island of Coldarra in Northrend's Borean Tundra. They were then channeled through the floating rings of the Nexus and blasted into the Twisting Nether.

The Battle Lines Are Drawn

Malygos' actions led to rifts opening in the fabric of magic itself. This siphoning of the world's magic also did not escape the notice of the mortal races - particularly the remnants of the Kirin Tor, the elite magi of Dalaran. Realizing that Malygos had become a very real threat, the Kirin Tor used what remaining powers they had to magically transfer the rebuilt city of Dalaran to the skies of Northrend, right on the front lines of both the war with the Lich King and the coming battle with Malygos.

However, there are some members of the Kirin Tor who believed that allying themselves with Malygos would be far more beneficial. Betraying their own brethren to preserve their own power, these mages have been transformed and bolstered by Malygos to become the dreaded mage hunters. Their duties included killing or capturing those who wield magic without Malygos' consent, destroying magic artifacts and aiding in the redirection of the ley lines using surge needles.

Malygos' genocidal campaign has also incurred the ire of the red dragonflight, charged by the Titans to preserve life. The Dragonqueen Alexstrasza, Aspect of the red dragonflight, has allied her dragonflight with the Kirin Tor in their efforts against Malygos.

With their focus shifting from the conflicts in Outland to the continuing battle against the Scourge, the adventurers and champions of both the Alliance and the Horde will also have a part to play in the war against Malygos...

End of the Nexus War

The final blow against Malygos was struck thanks to the efforts of mortal heroes fresh from their victory over Sapphiron, the frost wyrm guardian of Kel'Thuzad, in the heart of Naxxramas. As a member of the blue dragonflight in life, Sapphiron still carried on his person a key to the focusing iris at the center of the Eye of Eternity, Malygos' inner sanctum.

The heroes delivered the key to Alexstrasza, who enchanted it with her power. The key could then be used to open the focusing iris and lure Malygos into battle. With the key prepared, Korialstrasz made the fateful request: Malygos must be slain, and the Heart of Magic, his most prized possession, taken from him as proof of the deed. With their orders in hand, the heroes entered the Eye of Eternity and confronted Malygos in the final battle, where they were joined by drakes of the red dragonflight. With the combined strength of the heroes and the drakes, Malygos was defeated.

After Malygos' death, Alexstrasza herself arrives to speak to the heroes:

• I did what I had to, brother. You gave me no alternative.
• And so ends the Nexus war.
• This resolution pains me deeply, but the destruction - the monumental loss of life - had to end. Regardless of Malygos's recent transgressions, I will mourn his loss. He was once a guardian, a protector. This day, one of the world's mightiests, has fallen.
• The Red Dragonflight will take on the burden of mending the devastation brought on Azeroth. Return home to your people and rest. Tomorrow will bring you new challenges, and you must be ready to face them. Life, goes on.

Aftermath of the Nexus War

In the wake of Malygos' death in the Eye of Eternity, the future of both the blue dragonflight and of the world itself is uncertain. After the Heart of Magic is taken from the slain Lord of Magic ( [80R] Judgment at the Eye of Eternity/ [80R] Heroic Judgment at the Eye of Eternity), Krasus remarks that "magic is now without its guardian" and that "a storm is still brewing on the horizon and now we are without one of our most powerful defenders".

Since the release of patch 3.3.0, Kalecgos has been stationed at Wyrmrest Temple as the ambassador of the Blue Dragonflight. This may mean that the Blue Dragonflight has been readmitted into the Wyrmrest Alliance, however the leadership of the Blue dragonflight is unclear at this time.

After the Cataclysm, Kalecgos has been named the new Aspect of the Blue Dragonflight, though even this did not proceed as planned : Arygos grew jealous of Kalecgos and defected to the Twilight's Hammer out of spite, desecrating the Chamber of the Aspects and causing the death of Korialstrasz in the process.

External links

GameFront World of Warcraft – The Nexus War by Shawn Sines, May 13, 2008