Dragonflights

The dragonflights are the five great families of dragons in Warcraft, each led by an Aspect who was given a share of the Titans' power to guard part of the world. Red, green, blue, bronze and black dragons appear all over Classic, as quest givers, world bosses and some of the game's best-known raid encounters. Several of Classic's biggest storylines, from Onyxia's deception in Stormwind to the opening of Ahn'Qiraj, run through the dragonflights.

The Aspects

Before mortal history, the titans chose five dragons and gave each a domain:

Neltharion was corrupted by the whispers of the Old Gods. During the War of the Ancients, he tricked the other Aspects into putting part of their power into an artifact called the Dragon Soul, then turned it on them. His body tore itself apart from the strain and had to be held together with metal plates, and he became known as Deathwing. His betrayal nearly wiped out the blue flight, and the black flight has served evil ever since.

During the Second War, the Dragonmaw orcs used the Dragon Soul to enslave Alexstrasza at Grim Batol and turn her children into war mounts. She was freed shortly after the war.

Black dragonflight

The black flight is the main dragon enemy in Classic, led by Deathwing's children.

• Onyxia lives in Onyxia's Lair (Onyxia's Lair) in the Wyrmbog of Dustwallow Marsh. She also poses as Lady Katrana Prestor, an adviser at the court of Stormwind City. Alliance players expose her in a long chain that includes The Great Masquerade; Horde players learn about her through Rexxar in The Champion of the Horde. Her brood attacks the ogres of Dustwallow in The Brood of Onyxia.
• Nefarian rules Blackwing Lair (Blackwing Lair) at the top of Blackrock Spire, and appears in human form as Lord Victor Nefarius. He experiments on dragons of every flight to create chromatic dragons. His lieutenant, General Drakkisath, guards the entrance to the lair. Horde and Alliance players bring Nefarian's head home in The Lord of Blackrock and The Lord of Blackrock.
• In the Badlands, two of Deathwing's lieutenants are imprisoned in Lethlor Ravine (Broken Alliances). Black dragonkin also infest the Burning Steppes (Dragonkin Menace).

Red dragonflight

The red flight is the black flight's closest enemy in Classic. Vaelastrasz (Vaelastrasz the Corrupt), a red dragon captured and corrupted by Nefarian, is the second boss of Blackwing Lair. Before the fight, he uses the last of his strength to empower the raid against his captor. In patch 1.9, he also gives [[forever:quest:8730]], starting the red shard of [[forever:item:21175]].

Red whelps and dragons appear in the Wetlands near Grim Batol, where the Dragonmaw clan once held them (War Banners).

Green dragonflight

The green flight guards the Emerald Dream. In Classic, part of it has fallen to a growing corruption called the Nightmare.

• The Emerald Dragons. Added in patch 1.8, Ysondre, Lethon, Emeriss and Taerar are corrupted green dragons who appear at four portals to the Dream: Bough Shadow in Ashenvale, Dream Bough in Feralas, Twilight Grove in Duskwood and Seradane in the Hinterlands. They drop the [Nightmare Engulfed Object], which leads to Keeper Remulos in Moonglade.
• The Sunken Temple. In the Sunken Temple, green dragons led by Shade of Eranikus guard the temple to keep Hakkar the Soulflayer from returning. The green dragon Itharius in the Swamp of Sorrows wants Eranikus redeemed (The Essence of Eranikus).
• Eranikus in Moonglade. In patch 1.9, the green shard of the Scepter ends with [[forever:quest:8736]], in which the corrupted [[forever:npc:15491]] attacks Nighthaven and is redeemed with help from Tyrande Whisperwind.

Blue dragonflight

• Azuregos (Azuregos) is a blue dragon world boss in Azshara, fought by open-world raids. He drops the [Typhoon] and the [Fang of the Mystics]. In patch 1.9, he also starts the blue shard of the Scepter with [[forever:quest:8575]].
• Haleh, in the cave of Mazthoril in Winterspring, gives Wrath of the Blue Flight, offering the blue flight's help against Nefarian.

Bronze dragonflight

The bronze flight watches over time from the Caverns of Time (Caverns of Time) in Tanaris. In Classic the Caverns are closed, but Anachronos, a bronze dragon, waits at the entrance. He is the center of the Scepter of the Shifting Sands storyline, in which players relive the War of the Shifting Sands in [[forever:quest:8519]] and gather shards from each flight.

When the gates of Ahn'Qiraj opened in patch 1.9, the Brood of Nozdormu became a reputation earned in the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj and the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj. Dragons of the blue, red and green flights, [[forever:npc:15380]], [[forever:npc:15379]] and [[forever:npc:15378]], appear in the temple to help against C'Thun.

Later history and retcons

• Day of the Dragon (2001), by Richard A. Knaak, told Alexstrasza's captivity at Grim Batol and introduced the Prestor disguise later used by Onyxia.
• Wrath of the Lich King (2008) made Malygos a raid boss after he turned against mortal magic users.
• Cataclysm (2010) brought Deathwing back and ended with the Aspects giving up their titan-given powers.
• Dragonflight (2022) took players to the Dragon Isles and expanded the story of how the titan-keepers turned proto-dragons into the first dragonflights.

Sources

• Dragonflight - Warcraft Wiki
• Dragon Aspects - Warcraft Wiki
• Emerald Dragons - Warcraft Wiki
• Scepter of the Shifting Sands - Warcraft Wiki