User:GoldenYak/Raxx-Vespar

Raxx-Vespar, the Dreamless Kingdom is a raid instance in the Emerald Dream Expansion Concept. It features 9 bosses and is the first raid in the Dream Tier 02 raid tier, having lower difficulty than the Altar of Blood. The ancient city of the Vespari, descendants of the aqir, Raxx-Vespar is a vile cancer on the Dream. Nestled in the desolate Ur'Leng Plateau, the Vespari are plotting dark schemes that will sway the course of the battle with the Nightmare.

Background
Millennia ago when the Old Gods first invaded Azeroth, they spawned the vile insectoid creatures known as the aqir to serve them. Over time, the aqir evolved and metamorphosed in many ways to acclimate themselves to Azeroth and better serve their vile masters. Each aqir breed transform in accordance with the will of the Old God that had spawned them. C'thun was served by the qiraji, Yogg-Saron by the spider-like nerubians, and Y'Sharrj was worshiped by the mantid race. N'Zoth's aqir servants are the wasp-like vespari, a race that has hidden themselves in the shadows of the world for countless centuries. When the Titans waged the Great Cleansing to purge Azeroth of the Old God's influence, N'Zoth foresaw that none of the Old Gods would be able to stand against the celestial intruders, and the wily creature instead set plans into motion that would result in his future victory.

The vespari were commanded to flee from N'Zoth's lands and conceal themselves in the darkness corners of Azeroth, avoiding all contact with the usurping Titans and their servants. Over the millennia, N'Zoth's influence wormed its way into the heart of all the Titans great works, spreading a slow, crawling corruption throughout the world. When N'Zoth's influence bled into the Emerald Dream thanks to the Nightmare, N'Zoth saw the perfect place to move his pawns. The vespari were summoned from their buried nests and warrens throughout eastern regions of Azeroth's underworld, and through the blessings of N'Zoth they carved open the skein between the waking world and the Emerald Dream. The vespari burrowed into the Dream, infesting it like vermin, hiding in the darkest and most Nightmare-shrouded regions. There, they slowly rebuilt their once glorious kingdom, making the Black Empire of N'Zoth anew in the secret places of the Dream.

Now, at last, N'Zoth is ready to unleash his secret weapon, an army of aqir born and bred within the Dream itself. Swarming forth from their hidden city of Raxx-Vespar, the servants of N'Zoth have come.

Geraxxis the Godtamer

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Renowned amongst the vespari as a master trainer of the xenogog war-beasts, Geraxxis earned the title Godtamer when she subdued the God Bug, a colossal xenogog broodform believed to have been blessed with the power of N'Zoth. The God Bug is attuned to Geraxxis' pheromone signature, viciously attacking anything she marks with the war-scent.

Muorm, the Hive That Walks

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Vespari lay their eggs within hives woven of sculpted resin mixed with clay from the Ur'Leng Plateau. Long ago, vespari brood-mothers developed an inspired method for defending their young by sculpting their hives into humanoid form and animating them as golems. One of the oldest of these golem-hives is Muorm, a millennia-old construct. The magic animating it has grown and changed over the eons, instilling Muorm with something like intelligence. It regards the vespari larvae within its hollow interior as its own offspring, and will attack anything that threatens the brood in a terrible rage.

Globbulub, the Great Mind

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A bizarre vespari mutation created through eldritch alchemical experiments. Resembling an overgrown larval vespari, Globbulub has swollen to massive size, and utilizes potent psionic abilities to move and attack.

Kekloxx of the Wing

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Most vespari are winged and flight-capable. As such, for Kekloxx to earn her distinct epithet is a sign of her complete mastery over the vespari art of aerial combat. Kekloxx has pushed her body to obtain the greatest known flight speed among the vespari, and the metallic razor-edges implanted in her limbs and wing-casings allow her to scythe down entire ranks of enemies in a single, near super-sonic flight pass.

Grimjaxx of the Flame

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Mistress of flame magic amongst the vespari sorcerer-castes. Her dancing form wreathed in fire, Grimjaxx can immolate an army of foes without suffering a single blow in return. When pushed to desperate lengths, Grimjaxx calls upon shadow magic to augment her abilities further.

Marxxith of the Blade

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A warrior who has reached the pinnacle of skill using the long-blades of the vespari. Marxxith trained the legendary Sisters of Battle, the elite guard of Cardinal Maculata herself. She has fought the enemies of the vespari and trained ceaselessly against her own sisters for thousands of years, laying them all low. Marxxith has grown weary of the endless fighting, with no enemy having been able to lay the merest scratch upon her carapace in centuries. She longs for a battle that will truly test her limits.

Nagatz'Un, Vessel of N'Zoth

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The vespari Nagatz'Un was chosen amonst her sisters to take upon a fragment of N'Zoth's power. Immersing herself in the dark mists of the Nightmare, she heard the voice of her god. N'Zoth shared with her his vision for the Nightmare's ultimate purpose, and she wept black blood at the glory and horror of that future. Twisted and mutated by N'Zoth's presence in her flesh and shell, she has become a true monstrosity.

Sister of Battle

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The elite of the vespari war-breeds, the Sisters of Battle are Cardinal Maculata's personal guard. The vespari sisters are the finest warriors the race has produced, and have refined their skills in endless duels within Raxx-Vespar. Their needle-like longspears have pierced the carapaces of thousands of aspiring challengers, and the sisters are eager to test themselves against the intruding heroes. While their pride demands that one sister battle at a time, their duty will drive them to fight together against any foe that may actually threaten to breach the inner sanctum.

Cardinal Maculata

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The fanatical Maculata is the absolute leader of the vespari, a true-believer in N'Zoth. For millennia she has guided the faithful in their exile of concealment, waiting for the call of N'Zoth. In the heart of Raxx-Vespar, she oversees the dark alchemical process being carried out to fuse the Nightmare Seeds together into a single artifact, an art of the Black Empire that the vespari have maintained in secret for millennia. Maculata possesses both tremendous physical strength, ferocious psionic abilities, a command of the Nightmare's dark power, and the devotion of legions of vespari warriors. Even as she moves to engage the heroes of the Dream, the eldritch sorcery being worked upon the Nightmare Seeds nears fruition...

Storyline
The insectile vespari have been called by their master N'Zoth to show themselves at last after centuries of concealment within the Emerald Dream. The vespari still wield ancient eldritch sorceries from the age of the Black Empire, powers that have long been lost even to many of the servants of the Old Gods. N'Zoth's forces in the Emerald Dream deliver all of the Nightmare Seeds they have been able to gather into the keeping of the vespari, who secure them deep within their citadel of Raxx-Vespar in the Ur'Leng Plateau. Using the dark alchemy of the Black Empire, the vespari seek to weld the Nightmare Seeds together into a singular whole, creating an artifact of the Nightmare with greater power than any other.

The heroes of the Dream, emboldened by their past victories, launch an assault upon the Ur'Leng Plateau. Delving deep into the citadel of Raxx-Vespar and battling against the vespari forces, the heroes confront the leader of the insect race, the Cardinal Maculata. Maculata calls upon the powers of N'Zoth during the conflict, unleashing horrific incarnations of the Nightmare and empowered vespari warrior-broods upon the Dream's champions. While Maculata ultimately falls, her goal was only to deal the heroes while the dark ritual involving the Nightmare Seeds was carried out.

In a surge of eldritch power, the Nightmare Seeds merge together into a single whole. The power of the Nightmare spills out from the single empowered seed, flooding the depths of Raxx-Vespar. N'Zoth himself manifests from the dark mists of the Nightmare to taunt the heroes, before whisking the Nightmare Seed away to an unknown location. While the vespari have been neutralized, the heroes of the Dream cannot claim to have been truly successful in their goal - the vespari succeeded in their task and N'Zoth now possesses a dark relic of unspeakable power. The heroes of the Dream can now only wait and prepare for the Old God's next move.