RED DRAGONFLIGHT

Enter any tavern across Azeroth, and you'll find someone with a rusted blade boasting of an encounter with a dragon. Sharp fangs and devastating claws mark the cornerstone of every tale, and always, it must be one of Deathwing's brood the boaster faced. Yet if you buy an ale for the stranger near the hearth fire paying no mind to the storyteller, you may just hear a true story of the red dragonflight. Chosen by Keeper Freya to serve as the protectors of all life on Azeroth, red dragons are most commonly encountered in their mortal forms, known as visages, which they adopt while among the younger races. To mistake their benevolent charge for weakness is unwise, considering that these fearsome fighters wield a breath attack capable of incinerating entire forests! As members of Alexstrasza's brood, red dragons have a capacity for destruction that is tempered only by the spring of abundant life that emerges in the wake of their cleansing flames. They are considered the most noble and trusting of the five flights, but it is also true that such virtues have led these dragons to suffer some of the deepest losses among their kind. In seeking to end the Burning Legion's first invasion of Azeroth, the Dragon Queen Alexstrasza joined her fellow Aspects as they entrusted a portion of their power into the Dragon Soul, the weapon that Neltharion created and later turned against his allies. Though still weakened after the Legion's defeat, Alexstrasza ensured the protection of the new Well of Eternity by imbuing the World Tree Nordrassil with her power and extending its many blessings to the night elves who pledged to defend it.

Following the release of the Forsaken Blight during the battle for Angrathar the Wrathgate, the Dragon Queen and her brood prevented the contagion's certain spread with their eradicating flames. Not all members of the red dragonflight have managed to forgive their Aspect's mistreatment, but most welcomed the aid of the Horde, the Alliance, and Kirin Tor in the fight to defeat Malygos and end the Nexus War. After so many trials, perhaps the single greatest sacrifice of the red dragonflight was the intentional destruction of the dragon sanctums by Alexstrasza's consort, Korialstrasz, upon learning of their clutch's corruption by the Twilight's Hammer. Knowing then that only Deathwing's annihilation would end his maddened vision, Alexstrasza joined the other Aspects in imbuing the reclaimed Dragon Soul with the remainder of her power. Together with Thrall and the mortal champions of Azeroth, the dragonflights brought an end to the Aspect of Death, even though their victory came at the grave cost of both their titan-given powers and their ability to produce future offspring. Despite their innumerable losses, the red dragonflight continues to stand as the embodiment of all life on Azeroth, in both its sacrifice and its eternal hope for renewal.

ALEXSTRASZA

The Life-Binder Aspect of the Red Dragonflight - Dragon Queen

As the designate of Keeper Freya to wield the titan powers of Eonar, the Dragon Queen Alexstrasza has served as the Aspect of Life since the defeat of Galakrond. Fierce yet compassionate, the red Aspect watched the rise of all races on Azeroth with a genuine fondness and has offered her aid to each in their time of greatest need. Though preferring the guise of a high elf as her visage form, the red Aspect claims to hold all mortals in equal regard, even the orcs who caused her and her flight such suffering during the Second War. As the guardian of life and the leader of the five dragonflights, Alexstrasza has brought the full might of the Aspects against the enemies of Azeroth and helped to heal the deep wounds wrought by those many terrible battles. Despite her moments of deepest loss, the Dragon Queen has always chosen to uphold her noble charge, even when doing so required her to stand against allies who had become irrevocably lost to the depths of their own corruption. Bereft of her titan-gifted powers following the black Aspect's defeat at the Maelstrom, Alexstrasza is left to navigate an uncertain future for herself and her dragonflight. Without the ability to produce eggs, the age of dragons and their guardianship over Azeroth may eventually end. Yet despite this grim reality, the Dragon Queen once again proved the strength of her enduring pledge by lending her strength at the Chamber of Heart to aid in the world-soul's healing. Though the losses of her consort, Korialstrasz, and her clutch-sister, Ysera, have driven the red Aspect to seek what refuge and solace she may within the distant heights of the Vermillion Redoubt, I am told that the rediscovery of the Dragon Isles has given the Dragon Queen a renewed sense of hope for the continued survival of dragonkind.

KORIALSTRASZ

Prime Consort of the Aspect Alexstrasza Krasus - Member of the Council of Six

If Alexstrasza is the guardian of all life, then her consort, Korialstrasz, was the embodiment of his Aspect's love of the younger races. Korialstrasz is known more commonly by his high elven visage name, Krasus. Few of his kind have spent as much time within mortal society or meddled as much within their affairs. Though his esteemed tenure as a member of Dalaran's ruling Council of Six offered Krasus many advancements for the Kirin Tor, I am most reminded of his wise council: It proved instrumental in uncovering Guardian Medivh's corruption and his opening of the Dark Portal. When the Dragonmaw orcs under the guidance of Deathwing managed to capture the Dragon Queen, it was Korialstrasz who served both as the voice of temperance against his flight's desire for vengeance against the mortals and as his Aspect's savior by eliciting the help of the human mage Rhonin and his allies who aided in Alexstrazsa's rescue. After the devastation of Quel'Thalas by Prince Arthas Menethil of Lordaeron, Korialstrasz and the blue dragon Kalecgos managed to safeguard the font of magical energy known as the Sunwell against the Burning Legion and enable its eventual restoration to the sin'dorei. Apart from the Aspects themselves, no dragon's influence is so strongly seen throughout the entirety of Azeroth's existence, nor his loss so keenly felt. As his last act of service, Korialstrasz sacrificed himself to prevent the spread of the Twilight Hammer's chromatic corruption and to spare his beloved Alexstrasza the agony of destroying the dragonflights' final clutch of eggs.

TYRANASTRASZ

First Consort and Majordomo to the Aspect Alexstrasza

Though I never had the honor of meeting the prime consort, it is said that ancient Tyranastrasz was a true leviathan among the red dragonflight and the first among Alexstrasza's mates. Though he was known to follow his queen into every major battle since the War of the Ancients, Tyranastrasz is most honored for giving his life to save Alexstrasza after their capture by the Dragonmaw clan. For five long years, the pair lay chained within the depths of Grim Batol, held captive by the orcish warlock Nekros Skullcrusher. Under such depraved conditions, the mighty Tyranastrasz slowly succumbed to a wasting illness, but not before using the last of his power to valiantly defend his Aspect from Deathwing's attack. In granting Korialstrasz and his allies time in which to free Alexstrasza, the ancient red ensured the future of his dragonflight and his beloved queen. Though Tyranastrasz's sacrifice continues to be honored among his kind, the story of his heroic final battle is also remarkably well known to the mortal races. Unable to make his return to the final resting place of all dragons, known as the Dragonblight, the elder consort drew his last breath in the Wetlands north of Loch Modan, where the dwarven Explorers' League later discovered his remains. Despite my numerous requests to have his skull transported and laid to rest within Northrend, it continues to be on display within the Hall of Explorers in Ironforge with a plaque that reads: "The remains of the gargantuan red dragon were found in the Wetlands shortly after the Battle of Grim Batol. Tyranastrasz was rumored to have been the elder consort of the Dragon Queen Alexstrasza."

CAELESTRASZ

Calen - Veteran of the War of the Shifting Sands - Heir to the Red Dragonflight

Legend states that, as swarms of qiraji surged forth from the boundaries of Silithus to threaten the Caverns of Time, it was Caelestrasz, son of Alexstrasza, who convinced the red dragonflight to enter the war in answer to the bronze's call for aid. Together with the heirs of the green and blue dragonflights, Caelestrasz made the ultimate sacrifice to hold back the endless wave of aqir so that a magical barrier could be erected around the entire city of Ahn'Qiraj. It was believed that Caelestrasz and his allies had perished within the accursed city until the great Scepter of the Shifting Sands was reforged a thousand years later and struck against the Scarab Gong to bring down the Gates can of Ahn'Qiraj. As the combined forces of Azeroth breached the city's defenses to defeat the Old God C'Thun, they discovered the unfathomable truth that Caelestrasz and his allies were alive and had been held as prisoners since the war. do Despite the many horrors he'd endured, Caelestrasz proved his unending valor when he faced off against Deathwing to allow his mother's escape into the mountains around Grim Batol during the Cataclysm. He later infiltrated the nearby Bastion of Twilight and discovered the efforts of Deathwing's consort, Sinestra, to hatch a brood of twilight dragons. As his final heroic act, Caelestrasz expended the last of his strength to empower his mortal allies so they could defeat Sinestra and destroy her corrupted brood.

VAELASTRASZ

Vaelastrasz the Corrupt - Vaelan - Ward of the Red Dragonflight

After the archdruid Fandral Staghelm shattered the Scepter of the Shifting Sands in grief over his son's death, the shards of the relic were entrusted to a member of each ally dragonflight, in case the artifact ever needed to be reforged. Serving as the red dragonflight's ward, Vaelastrasz safeguarded the shard until his final battle against Nefarian nearly a thousand years later. Sworn to end the black dragonflight's evil machinations, Vaelastrasz reportedly aided powerful mortals in forging the Seal of Ascension, an artifact that played an essential role in the defeat of Rend Blackhand, the orc Warchief of the Dark Horde. After locating his true quarry, however, Vaelastrasz tragically fell when Nefarian compelled the red dragon to fight against his mortal allies. Before the corruption could completely consume him, Vaelastrasz imparted a portion of his power to his champions. Through his sacrifice, the group managed to end Vaelastrasz's suffering and continue their pursuit of Nefarian within Blackwing Lair.