Naga anomaly



Naga are testament to the power of arcane energy gone awry. Once beautiful kaldorei, a curse warped them into the naga. As they were permanently altered, so was the world — the Well of Eternity imploded and brought the surrounding land crashing to the seafloor. While the Well was destroyed, its power was not — it left behind residual energies that wrought changes on the newly-born naga. The mutations these energies bring do not manifest the same way in all naga; while they share many characteristics, each naga develops different mutations. Often these mutations are cosmetic: A naga might have soft spines sprouting from his shoulders or swirls of indigo in his skin. In some naga, the mutations prove useful: Some grow to monstrous size, while others are infused with spellcasting power. These mutations are fairly common among naga — indeed, many naga women are born with four arms.

In some naga, the residual power wreaks even greater changes. Some naga are barely recognizable as related to their cousins. They may grow enormous, unable to enter normal naga buildings. Often their powers are reminiscent of the sea creatures with which they dwell: Some sprout squidlike tentacles and can foil their enemies with clouds of ink; others develop urchinlike spines tipped with deadly poison. These are naga anomalies, and are some of the strangest creatures in a strange race.

Few anomalies are alike; and as they grow and develop their powers, they diverge even more. Occasionally, their mutations prove fatal for them, but more often they prove fatal for their enemies. The arcane energy in the Rift magnifies existing traits and grants additional powers that play to a creature’s strengths or minimize its weaknesses; it doesn’t often kill those close to it.

Naga anomalies in the world
Obviously, all naga anomalies are naga. Most feel a closer tie to naga culture and their queen Azshara than other naga, seeing their mutations as proof that the naga are indeed destined to be the dominant race on Azeroth. They serve willingly and well, and often their mutations provide unpredictable abilities that prove useful for far-flung missions or surprising the enemy on the battlefield.

A naga anomaly’s exact role varies by his mutations. Some excel at soaking up damage in the front lines, absorbing the enemy’s attention to protect their more fragile compatriots. Others crush opponents with brute strength or a variety of natural weaponry. Some move with surpassing speed, striking and darting like piranhas that tear out throats and eviscerate torsos.

The naga’s enemies fear naga anomalies, for they are wild cards — their allies know their capabilities, but their enemies rarely do. An enterprising member of the Explorers’ League — Hugh Deepstone — specializes in strange and exotic creatures. The naga intrigue him especially, as they are all mutants, and naga anomalies hold great interest for him. Hugh started a catalogue of known naga anomalies, in order to keep track of their capabilities and share this information with the rest of the Explorers' League. No one has seen Hugh for several months, however, and the last anyone heard, his catalogue was up to three listings.

Other naga feel positively toward anomalies. They also see them as signs of the naga's destiny — as the great mutations continue, perhaps one day all naga will be excellent at everything, becoming the perfect species. Naga anomalies are also useful allies, no matter what their abilities.