Xal'atath

Xal'atath is the sentient entity once bound within a dagger of the same name. Originally an artifact in World of Warcraft: Legion, the weapon was used by a shadow priest during the third invasion of the Burning Legion before being abandoned. Xal'atath later freed herself from the blade in a pact with N'Zoth by possessing a deceased elven body.

Xal'atath has been announced as the main antagonist of World of Warcraft: The War Within, where she has journeyed to the underground Nerubian kingdom of Azj-Kahet, below Khaz Algar, to create an unstoppable army.

Xal'atath is truly ancient, dating back to the time of the Old Gods' Black Empire. Theories abound as to the nature of its creation: the more outlandish claim that the blade is the remains of a forgotten Old God who was consumed by its kin, while other theories state it is the claw of Y'Shaarj itself. Whatever the truth of its origin, the blade is infused with the Old Gods' power. Legends state that it can even grant its wielder visions of the Black Empire, though doing so inevitably drives the viewer mad.

Xal'atath passed through many hands over the millennia, sowing chaos as it went. It was used by the jungle troll Zan'do to resurrect the C'Thrax general, Kith'ix; by Sorcerer-Thane Thaurissan's wife, Modgud, to curse Grim Batol; and by the human priestess Natalie Seline to study the dark secrets of the Void.

Eventually the knife found its way into the hands of the Twilight's Hammer, who attempted to use it to reanimate Kith'ix's fellow general Zakajz the Corruptor. They were stopped by the High Priest of Netherlight Temple, who claimed the blade for themselves. The High Priest wielded Xal'atath against the Burning Legion for a time, ultimately draining much of its power to purge the sword of Sargeras of its corrupting power in Silithus.

Xal'atath was either lost or abandoned by the High Priest, and fell into the hands of the naga. When they began attacking Kul Tiras and Zandalar, they brought the blade with them; Collector Kojo came across it by accident near a makeshift altar in Stormsong Valley, and adventurers sought to use it to gain insight into the naga's plans. Xal'atath explained that the naga sought to conjure a storm powerful enough to scour all Azeroth using three relics: the Void Stone, the Trident of Deep Ocean, and the Tempest Caller. Xal'atath guided the adventurer to Drustvar, where they found the high elf Inanis attempting to wield the Void Stone's power. After killing her, Xal'atath drew upon the Void Stone's power and possessed Inanis's corpse. Now in a mortal form, she helped the adventurer find the other two relics and brought them to the Crucible of Storms beneath the Precipice of Oblivion.

Rather than stopping the naga, however, Xal'atath offered the relics and the adventurer to N'Zoth in exchange for her freedom. N'Zoth severed her from the dagger, keeping it for himself in the bargain; Xal'atath departed through a portal, confident she would see the adventurer once more.

After the defeat of Chrono-Lord Deios in the Dawn of the Infinite, the Primal Incarnate Iridikron recovered a locket with Galakrond's essence and entered a Void portal, intending to deliver it to the Harbinger of the Void.

Since the Black Empire failed, Xal'atath seeks to set in motion the rise of a new dark legacy—one that knows her enemies' strengths and will seek to test them against a terrible power, the nerubians of Azj-Kahet. Xal'atath has conscripted the nerubian queen, Ansurek, and offered her people a new future in which they would rise from their isolation and become a mighty kingdom once again. In return for their loyalty, Xal'atath has granted the nerubians the means of a dark evolution that turned the nerubians into a new kind of ferocious and terrifying soldiers. She is also seen holding the artifact which Iridikron used to drain essence from Galakrond.

Alleria Windrunner, now styled a void hunter, seeks to hunt down Xal'atath.

• The Pirate's Treasure
• The Tempest Crown
• Twist the Knife
• Unintended Consequences / Unintended Consequences (priest)

• Twist the Knife
• The Pirate's Treasure
• Orders from Azshara / Orders from Azshara (priest)
• Every Little Death Helps / Every Little Death Helps (priest)

• Greeting
• What do you seek?
• So many possibilities...
• Tell me what you want.

• Farewell
• Such magnificence awaits us.
• Open your mind to the whispers.
• The time comes... soon.

Let us hurry. The whispers grow more insistent.

• Drustvar

Are you ready for what comes next?

• Freehold

• Its name is very similar to Xal'atoh, Desecrated Image of Gorehowl. Both also whisper to the wielder.
• The 'outlandish' theory of its origin could be a reference to a comment once made on the number of Old Gods on Azeroth changing from five to four.
• The dagger has a mind of its own, a weakness that can be exploited against its wielder, an aspect shared with other artifact weapons, the Skull of the Man'ari and Aluneth.
• Xal'atath may be the dagger mentioned in Ogmot's Dream Journal.
• Xal'atath's status as an item associated with the Old Gods, along with the copious amounts of sinister lore its whispers hint at, has led to the item becoming immensely popular and thus being dubbed "Knaifu" (a play on the word "") by many affectionate players.
• In the Patch 8.6.7.5309 joke patch notes, Blizzard declared that Knaifu has been renamed "Bae ." Blizzard has also used the term "knife friend".
• Her Legion voice uses the model of Ysera and of a human female that can only be seen in the model viewer.
• Xal'atath is voiced by Claudia Christian.
• The name of this dagger is similar, and may be a reference, to that of Xel'lotath, one of the Ancients in Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, whose main power is in driving her enemies mad by whispering to them.