TWILIGHT DRAGONFLIGHT

Most incorrectly assume that the twilight dragonflight was so named due to its affiliation with the Twilight's Hammer clan and the doomsday prophecy called the Hour of Twilight. Thanks to the detailed account of Archmage Rhonin, we know that the true origin lies with the draenei priestess Iridi, who first described the nether-infused dragons encountered within Grim Batol as bearing a striking resemblance to the twilight sky of Azeroth. Existing as an ascendant merge of netherwing essence and native dragon physiology, the twilight brood is as beautiful as it is deadly. Though the dragons were created only after the opening of the Dark Portal, the story of the twilight dragonflight begins much earlier, with Deathwing's ancient betrayal at the Well of Eternity.

Desperate to halt the volatile energies tearing his body apart after wielding the Dragon Soul, Neltharion retreated to his lair in Highmountain and all but abandoned his flight to the vengeance of the other Aspects. While most of Deathwing's consorts survived until his eventual return, nearly all perished during their Aspect's attempt to repopulate their devastated flight. Foreseeing her own inevitable demise and the certain end of the black dragonflight, Sinestra turned her attention toward creating a new type of dragon that would rule all others. Claiming the Dragonmaw's former stronghold of Grim Batol after the Dragon Queen's escape, Sinestra succeeded in channeling the siphoned energy of the nether dragon Zzeraku into the various eggs she had stolen from the other flights. Though Sinestra's results were unstable and ultimately led to the prime consort's death when Dargonax exploded, Deathwing continued her work to rebuild their flight before the Hour of Twilight.

HALION

The Twilight Destroyer

With the focus of the Wyrmrest Accord turned toward the offensive against the Lich King, a warband of black and twilight dragons took advantage of their distraction to storm the Ruby Sanctum beneath Wyrmrest Temple. Their primary intent was to steal the red dragonflight's clutch to create more corrupted dragons, but many also considered the brutal attack an act of retribution for the death of the Onyx Guardian Sartharion and the twilight dragon eggs he guarded. Together with the black dragon lieutenants Saviana Ragefire, Baltharus the Warborn, and General Zarithrian, Halion led a merciless raid on the Dragon Queen's sanctum. With its guardians slaughtered, the difficult task of reclaiming the fallen Ruby Sanctum fell to the same mortal champions who had led the assault on the Obsidian Sanctum.

Yet rather than face towering waves of lava and the blaze of fire elementals, the heroes encountered the full fury of a twilight dragon capable of inhabiting multiple planes of reality. Thanks to the mortal commander's brilliant tactics, the heroes divided their numbers between both the physical and the twilight realms to bring Halion to a swift end. Relieved to find its eggs safe, the red dragonflight never suspected that Halion's attack was a mere precursor to the enemy's true efforts. With the defenses of the sanctums weakened by the death of its defenders, it proved an easy task for the Twilight's Hammer to infiltrate and corrupt the eggs of each dragonflight. By the time Korialstrasz discovered their malicious deed, it was already too late to purify the clutches. To save his beloved Alexstrasza and the other Aspects the pain of destroying their own eggs, the red consort sacrificed himself to raze the sanctums and eradicate the dragonflights' tainted offspring.

GORIONA

Battle Mount of Warmaster Blackhorn

Witnesses from the upper balcony of the Wyrmrest Temple speak of the incredible blast of draconic and elemental energy that surged forth from the Dragon Soul, dealing a catastrophic blow to the Aspect of Death. Where only moments earlier Deathwing gloated of his certain victory, he now recognized that another hit from the accursed weapon would mean his certain downfall. Seeing no other choice but to flee toward the Maelstrom and the safety of Deepholm once more, the black Aspect did not anticipate his enemy's dogged pursuit. As Deathwing fled to the south, warriors of the Horde and the Alliance quickly assembled aboard the Skyfire, one of the few airships capable of matching speeds with the wounded black Aspect.

Yet as Sky Captain Swayze leveled his ship above Deathwing in preparation of attack, the pursuers came under an impressive volley by the twilight drake Goriona. She continued to assail the ship after delivering Warmaster Blackhorn to its decks, but she later abandoned her tauren master once it was clear that he had failed in his efforts to take the vessel. Though there have been no recent sightings, most believe that Goriona survived the siege of Wyrmrest and remains one of the few twilight dragons still in existence.

ABYSSION

Guardian of the World Pillar Fragment

After Deathwing shattered the World Pillar to usher in the Cataclysm, the mortal races struggled merely to survive the earthquakes, tidal waves, and devastating flames that consumed many of their cities and homelands. Under such dire conditions, they knew nothing of the many active plots initiated by the Twilight's Hammer to bring about the Hour of Twilight. They also were unaware that the cultists had already infiltrated the Stonemother's elemental realm of Deepholm. Their presence was uncovered only thanks to the shamans of the Earthen Ring, who sought to restore the World Pillar and prevent the Elemental Plane from crumbling into Azeroth.

Yet as they attempted to piece the titan artifact back together, the shamans discovered that an essential fragment was being guarded by a twilight dragon named Abyssion. Believing that all mortals were weak, Abyssion recklessly attacked the group, only to be captured by their superior elemental power and easily defeated. Upon inspecting the twilight dragon's lair, the Earthen Ring found a large cache of twilight eggs and exposed the fact that Deathwing had been using Deepholm as a replacement for the Obsidian Sanctum.

THERALION & VALIONA

Paragons of the Twilight Dragonflight

Even from within their eggs, whelps have the uncanny ability to sense the world around them and the essence of other living creatures. As a result, dragons often speak of forming deep bonds with their clutch-brothers and -sisters, even across various dragonflights. Whether a result of the Old God's corruption or their accelerated maturity, the twilight dragons Theralion and Valiona proved quite the exception. Raised within the Bastion of Twilight to represent the apex of the flight's capability and cunning, the siblings seemed to present almost as much danger to each other as they did to the mortal fighters who bravely sieged the Void-cursed tower. Much like the twilight dragon Halion, who assailed the Ruby Sanctum, Theralion and Valiona exhibited an affinity for shifting effortlessly between both the physical and twilight realms, yet they also wielded a terrifying array of shadow-casting abilities. One of the humbler members of the raiding party involved in the defeat of Theralion and Valiona admitted that, had the pair of dragons coordinated their attacks, history would have recorded a different victor in the battle.