World of Warcraft: Dragonflight lore, explained

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is the next expansion for the popular MMO, and the new cinematic gives us a look at where we’re heading, and who we’ll be dealing with. It begins 10,000 years back and is told by Alexstrasza, the red Dragonflight. After the Sundering’s global disaster, the Dragon Aspects had sealed the Dragon Isles and promised to return once the healing was complete.

Who are these Dragon Aspects and how do they relate to the stone-man who activated the tower, calling the dragons their home? The answers are right here.

Dragonflight(s)

Each Aspect is responsible for one of the five main Dragonflights. The trailer’s narrator Alexstrasza is the Aspect for the Red Dragonflight. Their fire also has restorative properties. Meanwhile, there’s the arcane-inclined Blue Dragonflight, the dreamy Green Dragonflight who are linked with the Emerald Dream, the time-manipulating Bronze Dragonflight, and the Black Dragonflight, led by fan favorite Wrathion.

After a huge battle against Galakrond, the creator of Dragonkind and protector of Order, the Titans gave the Dragon Aspects their powers. The Aspects would remain stewards of Azeroth for the next 10,000 years — mostly, as players did have to fight Aspects Malygos and Deathwing as raid bosses in the Wrath of the LichkingAnd Cataclysm expansions. The end of CataclysmThe four Dragonflight Aspects, who were attempting to end the mad brother Deathwing, gave up their enormous powers.

Titanic Watchers were still on the Dragon Isles for the watch of the beacon tower. After a few more expansions and unmitigated destruction it seems like the world has finally healed and that the dragons have returned home.

Homecoming

The Dragon Isles have been mentioned in lore for some time now; they’re an ancient place full of mysterious powers. Wrathion, the leader of the Black Dragonflight and Wrathion’s son, has been searching for the Isles for a few years now.

As it turns out, one of the reasons the Aspects are so eager to return home is that they’ve been in a bad place since giving up their power. Dragons were unable to reproduce, and they’ve taken several hits over the last few expansions, like the corruption of Green Dragonflight Aspect Ysera, the death of a bunch of red dragons at the hands of Death Knights, and the Black Dragonflight remaining nearly extinct.

A key goal Dragonflight will be to help the Dragon Aspects take their power back to protect the four new zones on the Dragon Isles: the Waking Shores, Ohn’ahran Plains, Azure Span, and Thaldraszus. We’ll find out more about the plot as Blizzard adds the final story content to the current expansion, Shadowlands. There is currently no date of release. Dragonflight.