PRIMAL DRAGONS

A primal dragon's nature is most often described as willful and fierce, qualities that stand in clear reflection of the chaotic elementals from which they originated. As the progeny of Azeroth's first chaotic form of life, most primal dragons retained their connection to the elemental forces throughout their evolution from primal spirits into flesh and blood creatures. Endemic mainly to the Dragon Isles and the icy wastes of Northrend, the broods boast a variety of breath attacks-from electric discharges to blasts of flame, ice, sand, or noxious fumes. Yet despite their reputation as fearsome predators, a deep generational bond exists between primal dragons and the vrykul tribes of the Howling Fjord, who first trained them to augment the weaknesses suffered from the curse of flesh. As a result, members of the Dragonflayers are often encountered when hunting wild game in the evergreen forests of Northrend, with primal dragons serving as both mounts and hunting companions.

Though primal dragons were long believed to lack the ascended intelligence of the Aspects and their dragonflights, due to the more bestial broods encountered in Northrend, those found on the Dragon Isles, such as the Incarnate Raszageth, are capable of speech, complex reasoning, and enduring social structures. Legend has it that although many ancient primal dragons were eager to accept the titan's gift and ascend into ordered dragons, many others bristled at the idea of abandoning their primordial roots in service to the Pantheon's vision. These divisive dragons came to be known as the Primalists. They increasingly saw their ascended brethren as aberrations unworthy of inhabiting the Dragon Isles. Though the ordered dragons and the Primalists once treated each other with the closeness of clutch-mates, the simmering hatreds that led them to war have only grown stronger during the dragonflights' long absence.

PRIMALISTS

What follows is a humble attempt to provide a balanced account of the Primalists while also acknowledging the danger and shortcomings of presenting their cause through the view and historic record of their ancient adversaries. Of all the varied reasons one could choose to raise blade or claw against an enemy, none is more noble than the protection of free will. The ability to choose the shape of one's own destiny is the greatest gift of life and should never be taken for granted. Yet as the titans set to ordering Azeroth in many vast and wonderous ways, their vision for how our world should exist was not shared by all.

After the empowerment of the Aspects, all dragons were offered the opportunity to be infused with Order magic, yet many were mistrustful or unwilling to abandon their pure and untamed existence in exchange for the titan's gift. These dragons came to be known as the Primalists. They eventually claimed that they alone represented the true evolutionary path of dragonkind and that the keepers had subverted their elemental birthright. When looking upon the ordered dragons, however, many still saw their original clutch-mates and believed that their concerns could be met-that was, until it was discovered that primal eggs had been taken and infused with Order magic against the will of their brood. Unwilling to negotiate with the Aspects and the dragonflights after such a terrible betrayal, the Primalists declared war. Though it has been thousands of years since the four Incarnates were imprisoned and their forces scattered, most Primalists have never forgotten what they fought for or the age-old judgments that made peace an impossibility on the Dragon Isles.

IRIDIKRON THE STONESCALED

Asserting himself as the leader of the Primalists due to his strategic guidance and incredible power, Iridikron was also the last Incarnate to be locked away within the titan-forged prison after the Battle of Harrowsdeep. Due to their shared connection to the earth, as well as their meticulous long-term planning, Iridikron was said to be the equal of his former friend and ally, the black Aspect Neltharion. Iridikron once revered the Aspects for ending the threat of Galakrond, but he quickly grew discontented by the dragonflights' reverence to the titans and claimed them to be little more than the tamed pets of the keepers. Once it was discovered that Order magic had been used on primal eggs, it was easy to convince the others to adopt his views and wage war. In seeking any possible advantage after the fall of the other Incarnates, Iridikron forged desperate pact with an unlikely ally: the dragon- hunting djaradin. Though for centuries these fire giants were viewed as bitter adversaries by both broods, their mutual hatred for the Aspects made it possible to find common ground. The unexpected appearance of Igira the Cruel and her djaradin nearly broke the lines of the dragonflights' army, but the unity of the Aspects prevailed, leading to Iridikron's capture and Igira's forced retreat underground.

FYRAKK THE BLAZING ONE

Though Fyrakk was a cousin of the Dragon Queen, his fiery temperament was said to be the utter antithesis of Alexstrasza. Like most primal dragons, he was known to be a fierce and capable hunter, yet honor in battle was not an ideal he sought. Instead, Fyrakk built a reputation as being especially cruel to his foes and was viciously driven to inflict pain and carnage upon his enemies. Fyrakk's volatile temper and unwavering dissent also drew the unordered dragons together to form the Primalists. Having discovered the secrets to unlocking greater sources of elemental power, Fyrakk claimed that he and his fellow Incarnates were the true future of dragon evolution on Azeroth and that peace with the dragonflights was not only impossible, but intolerable. Although the Aspects were most concerned with Iridkron's scheming, Fyrakk's aggression made him the most widely feared, even among his own Primalist forces. According to the archives, Fyrakk was the second Incarnate to be defeated and imprisoned, following the Battle of Flamesfall.

VYRANOTH THE FROZENHEART

Any hope for peace between the dragonflight and Primalist forces resided in the friendship between Alexstrasza and the primal dragon Vyranoth. Opposite of her close friend Raszageth, Vyranoth exhibited both a keen wisdom and a methodical intelligence that she applied to the deepening problems facing both broods. Though she initially rebuffed Fyrakk and Iridikron's invitation to join the Primalists, Vyranoth could no longer ignore the threat she saw from the titan's magic when she discovered that not only had Neltharion imprisoned Raszageth, but also that Alexstrasza had allowed a number of primal eggs to be infused with Order magic. Accepting then the Primalist conviction that dragonkind was meant to draw its strength from the elements, Vyranoth allowed herself to be imbued with the elements to become the Incarnate of Ice. The addition of her measured and strategic thinking proved a vast boon to their cause over the many years of war until her final defeat and imprisonment following the Battle of the Icebound Eye.

RASZAGETH THE STORM-EATER

As with most primal dragons who refused to be ordered, Raszageth argued that dragonkind was meant to be wild and untamed, much in reflection of the chaotic storms themselves. As such, she viewed the titans as intruders and subjugators whose "gift" of Order magic would instead chain her kind to their will. It was not difficult to find others who felt as Raszageth did. Soon, she joined with Fyrakk and Iridikron to become the Incarnate of Storms. Together, they set out to recruit an army of tarasek with which to wage war upon the Aspects and their dragonflights. Raszageth was the first Incarnate to be imprisoned after she led the Primalist forces against Neltharion and his dracthyr in a cunning sneak attack on what is now known as the Forbidden Reach. Though her gambit nearly overwhelmed the black Aspect and his forces, Neltharion called upon the powers of the Void to subdue and imprison Raszageth, thus breaking her offensive. Once word of the brazen assault reached the Dragon Queen, Alexstrasza made a final plea to the Incarnates for peace. Their response was an all-out attack upon Wyrmrest Temple led by Iridikron. Thus, the War of the Scaleborn began in earnest.