Gorelix the Fleshripper

Gorelix the Fleshripper is an old and cunning mo'arg who has used the massive axe known as the Maw of the Damned to butcher uprisings and steal the life force of his enemies and replenish his own in the name of the Burning Legion for more than a thousand years. Over its long and infamous history, the weapon has made its demonic bearer extraordinarily powerful.

During the events of Legion, Gorelix is confronted and slain on Niskara by a blood death knight seeking to claim the axe for themselves.

Apprentice to Netrezaar
Gorelix was once the most devoted follower of an eredar smith named Netrezaar, who had created the Maw of the Damned with the intention of using it to drain the life essence of the demon lord Kil'jaeden. Netrezaar cared little for the dozens of mo'arg he commanded, and one day he began using a pair of them — Gorelix being one of the two — in gruesome experiments, slowly cutting their flesh with the axe to observe its life-draining properties. Gorelix was the only one to survive, but the experiments had left him shriveled and disfigured and the admiration he had once held for Netrezaar twisted into hatred. The mo'arg did not have the physical strength to rebel against his master, and even if he succeeded he would surely be punished with a fate worse than death for defying an eredar — one of Kil'jaeden's chosen. Thus, Gorelix vowed to find another way to exact vengeance, carefully observing Netrezaar's every action in search of a weakness. Over time, he discovered that Netrezaar refused to use his weapon in battle and kept it hidden from other demons, save his mo'arg servants, and it dawned on Gorelix that his master had no intention of ever using the axe for the Legion.

When the mo'arg heard of a planned meeting between Netrezaar and Kil'jaeden, the last puzzle piece slid into place and he realized the true purpose of the axe. Gorelix warned Kil'jaeden of the impending betrayal, and on the fateful day, the demon lord used his magics to lock the traitorous smith's spirit in place before he had a chance to strike. Gorelix took up the Maw of the Damned and finally exacted his vengeance against Netrezaar, cutting away at the eredar's flesh until only bone remained. Kil'jaeden then punished Netrezaar with a fate worse than death, sealing the smith's spirit inside his own skull before ordering Gorelix to fuse the bone onto the axe. The weapon's metals would constantly drain Netrezaar's spirit — in this way, the more life energy he consumed, the worse his hunger would grow. Kil'jaeden gifted the Maw of the Damned to Gorelix as a reward for his loyalty and gave him only one specific order: keep Netrezaar's spirit fed to continue his torture.

Champion of the Legion
Gorelix learned of the Maw's true power and potential on a small world besieged by the Legion. He and a team of mo'arg had been order to construct a citadel to serve as a base of operations, but during one battle, the world's defenders tore open a massive breach in the wall, and if it was not repaired soon, the entire citadel would fall. Gorelix volunteered to defend the breach while his fellow mo'arg worked. Alone, he defended the breach against hundreds of enemies, gaining greater strength and vitality for every kill. When the last enemy had fallen, the mo'arg found that they no longer needed to repair the breach. Gorelix had filled it with corpses.

The more Gorelix used the Maw, the more it changed him. He grew into a hulking mass of taut muscle, dwarfing every other mo'arg in size. His monstrous appearance earned him a new name: the Fleshripper. There were times when Gorelix did not use the axe, despite the power it gave him. Sometimes, he would observe from a distance while the Legion besieged a world, describing the battle and the lives lost in great detail to Netrezaar's spirit to taunt him. When the Maw began to physically tremble in Gorelix's hands, he knew that his former master's spirit was suffering, and he found as much satisfaction from these acts of torture as he did from consuming his enemies' life force.

The massacre of Centralis
One day, the Legion set its sights on the world of Centralis, which was home to a mighty warrior people that resisted the Legion's attempts at conquest much longer than other races. Kil'jaeden ordered Gorelix to travel to Centralis and march at the head of the Legion's army with the Maw in hand and consume every creature in his path. Not even the smallest wild beast was shown mercy, and when Gorelix's long march ended, only a dead world remained at his back. After this massacre, Gorelix continued learning how to make the most use of the Maw until he became one of the Legion's most invaluable tools, causing Kil'jaeden to save the mo'arg for special tasks rather than waste his talents in minor battles. This also allowed the demon lord to keep a close watch over the Maw of the Damned: though he trusted Gorelix, he could not risk the axe falling into enemy hands.

Legion
During the Burning Legion's third invasion of Azeroth, Vereesa Windrunner and a hunter of the Unseen Path narrowly escaped Gorelix on the portal world of Niskara, after retrieving Thas'dorah, Legacy of the Windrunners. Later on, a detachment of Knights of the Ebon Blade led by Margrave Dhakar were dispatched to Niskara to kill Gorelix and claim the Maw of the Damned. However, the attempt failed and most of the knights were slaughtered, with the exception of Margrave himself, Dagnar Stonebrow and Minerva Ravensorrow, who were taken captive. A blood death knight chosen by the Lich King is sent to Niskara to join Baron Sliver and succeed where the previous group failed. As the champion and Sliver make their way across Niskara, rescuing one of the captive knights along the way, Gorelix continuously taunts them. As the three knights reach Gorelix's citadel, they find Margrave tied to a rock formation just as the Fleshripper appears, leaps down from a cliff and kills Margrave with a single blow from the Maw. After a vicious battle, the death knight champion succeeds in killing the mo'arg and claiming the axe for themselves, though with his dying breath Gorelix curses them by saying "Netrezaar take you".

Quotes

 * Stage 4
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell


 * Stage 8
 * yell
 * yell


 * Stage 9
 * Aggro
 * yell


 * Death
 * say

Objective of
He needs to be killed for the ninth stage of The Dead and the Damned.

Trivia

 * Gorelix is voiced by Ian James Corlett.