User:GoldenYak/Dreadlords Citadel

The Dreadlords Citadel is a raid instance in the Into The Void Expansion Concept. It features 10 bosses and is the first of two raids in the Void-1 raid tier, preceeding the Darkvault. The Dreadlords Citadel is the base of operations for the nathrezim, built upon the ravaged demon world of Xoroth within the Twisting Nether.

Background
Through the Xoroth Gate in Nachitar lies Xoroth, a world in the grip of the Burning Legion and ruled by the sinister nathrezim - the dreadlords. The dreadlords' leader, Mephistroth, rules his evil kin from his throne in the heart of this fiery stronghold. Destroying Mephistroth would strike a grievous blow against the Legion's most diabolical servants, and might serve to finally drive them completely from the Voidlands.

Atrociton the Hatemaster
A terrifying annihilan Hatelord, unleashed upon the invading forces by the nathrezim. This bloodthirsty demon will not stop until every mortal invader is in pieces.

Rakkah the Houndmaster
The disciple of the fiendish Hakkar, this anarchaon commands the hunting hounds of the nathrezim, some of the deadliest felstalkers in the Twisting Nether. His prized beast is the monstrous Argus-bred felhound, Zurg.

Diableri the Horsemaster
A mighty vethrezim, Diableri's duty is to guard the stables of the dreadsteeds, legendary demon mounts of the Burning Legion. He rides astride a particularly massive and terrifying variety, a ruinsteed known as Despair.

Excrutius, the Dread Warden
This enormous observer has gorged on both fel energy and the pain and suffering of the hapless inmates of the Doom Pits. Charged to watch over the prisoners by Mephistroth himself, nothing escapes the gaze of Excrutius.

Mal'Ganis the Death-Weaver
Once the right-hand of Tichondrius, lord of the nathrezim, Mal'Ganis has fallen out of favor since his failure to properly control the Lich King Ner'zhul and the Undead Scourge. Mal'Ganis barely survived having his essence devoured by the runeblade Frostmourne, and his plan to take revenge upon the new Lich King Arthas was thwarted by the Alliance and the Horde. Returning to Xoroth in disgrace, Mal'Ganis has been given one opportunity by Mephistroth to redeem himself - destroy the intruders invading the Dreadlords' Citadel or be condemned to imprisonment within the Doom Pits forever.

Scarmagli, Master Crafter of the Citadel
Considered completely insane, even by the strange and alien standards of the demons, the tothrezim Scarmagli is the architect behind the new forms of infernals that have been crafted using the mineral wealth stolen from Nachitar. Ending this mad genius' creative spree would be a blow to the Legion.

The Gogganite Colossus
A titanic infernal carved from gogganite stolen from the Voidlands, perhaps the largest ever crafted by the Legion, towering above even the mighty fel reavers. This giant may only be the first of many such infernals crafted if the Legion cannot be driven from the Voidlands.

Vok'Nar - Terror of the Void
A monstrous Void Terror that accompanies Void forces assaulting the Citadel.

The Dreadlord Triumverate
The three Dreadlords Varimathras, Detheroc, and Balnazzar, once the Legion's generals in the lands of Lordaeron, now driven from Azeroth and back into the Twisting Nether. These mighty demons hunger for the chance to return to Azeroth and wreak their revenge. In the Dreadlords Citadel they are at their mightiest, but are also vulnerable - if they can be slain here, they will be utterly destroyed and can never threaten Azeroth again.

Mephistroth, Lord of the Nathrezim
Leader of the Nathrezim after the true death of Tichondrius and the failure of Anetheron, Mephistroth intends to hold his throne no matter the cost. Fueled by energies drained from the Voidlands, Mephistroth's power currently exceeds that of any other Dreadlord living or dead, and he will be even more lethal now that he is cornered - there will be no return for any demon who falls within the Twisting Nether. Mephistroth must kill or be killed.

The Blasted Plains

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Adventurers enter the demon world of Xoroth through the Xoroth Gate in Nachitar. Hellish winds howl across the burnt and ashen wasteland-plains of Xoroth, a world devoured by the corrosive power of fel. The imposing Citadel of the Dreadlords looms nearby. Standing guard at the gate is the monstrous Atrociton, the Hatemaster. An annihilan hatelord of great and terrible power, Atroicton has been bound to the service of the nathrezim and forced to become their citadel guard. The annihilan would love nothing more than to rampage freely and destroy everything, and turns all of his burning fury upon the mortal invaders. After defeating Atrociton, the monstrous demon detonates in an apocalyptic blast that breaches the gates of the citadel.

The Infernal Court

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The nathrezim citadel is both a fortress for the Legion's demonic armies and a sanctum for the dreadlords themselves to indulge in the dark pursuits afforded them by their infernal majesty. The renowned dreadsteeds of Xoroth can be found within the Dread Stables, where the demonic steeds and shod and broken and bartered to mortal and demon warlocks across the universe in exchange for services to be rendered to the nathrezim. The vethrezim Diableri is the master of the cruel steeds and defends the stables at the command of Mephistroth himself. Elsewhere are the infamous Xorothi Fel Kennels, where felhounds and other demonic beasts are trained to become pets and guardians for demons across the nether. The monstrous anarchaon Rakkah the Houndmaster trains the most ferocious of these creatures, having surpassed his former master Hakkar. No nathrezim ever expected one of their fortress worlds to be invaded by mortals, and so these amenities are now vulnerable to the invading adventurers. If they are destroyed, it would be a setback for the nathrezim and their network of influence.

The Doom Pits

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The nathrezim have sealed the citadel against further incursion, but there is one avenue they would never imagine the mortal invaders to take - the Doom Pits, the dungeon-levels of the citadel. Acting as a place of punishment for those who have failed the dreadlords, demons who fell in ignoble fashion on mortal worlds and reconstitute within the Twisting Nether are bound here, suffering correction for their failures. The inmates have been driven mad by their torments, and will gladly share their suffering with any would-be mortal rescuers. All prisoners within the pits are watched over carefully by the demon Excruitius, called the Dread Warden. He ensures that the torture of the prisoners extracts the perfect amount of suffering and torment.

Some demonic inmates even hope to win back the favor of the nathrezim by destroying the invaders. Within the most terrible part of the Doom Pits, the Cage of Adjudication, languishes Mal'Ganis, the dreadlord having fallen greatly in favor for his failures on Azeroth. The nathrezim's only hope to escape the Doom Pits is to slay the adventurers.

The Infernal Forge

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Emerging from the Doom Pits, adventurers will find themselves in the Infernal Forge, the war foundry of the Legion on Xoroth. Great fel-iron forges blaze with emerald flame, enormous bellows made of demon-skin seethe and roar, stoking the flames higher. Demonic industry churns out weapons, armor, and war-machines for the great Burning Crusade against the living universe. Tothrezim sculpt harvested voidstone into shells for infernals, while gan'arg and mo'arg assemble great siege engines.

The chief architect of the tothrezim, Scarmagli, has used both voidstone and the black ore called gogganite harvested from Nachitar to create a colossal infernal. Its immense shell seething with dark energies, this Gogganite Colossus stirs to life during the mortal assault upon the Forge. The gogganite that constitutes its body resonates with bloodshed and violence, granting the colossus a sinister intellect and a capacity for destruction that exceeds normal infernals. Even as it is damaged, its broken fragments stir to life and continue to attack.

The Umbral Incursion

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As the Infernal Forge falls, massive dark rifts open across the Dreadlords' Citadel, disgorging the shadow armies of the Void who seek to punish the Legion for trespassing into their domain. The dark entities begin attacking the demon forces, seeking to consume Xoroth. Atop the citadel's parapet, Void Primarch Ahriman himself appears from a portal to oversee the incursion. The Primarch eventually unleashes the colossal void terror Vok'Nar to complete the onslaught. After slaughtering a pack of vethrezim, the Voidborn beast turns upon the adventurers.

Hall of Shadows

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After driving away the Void incursion, the adventurers are able to make their way into the heart of the citadel, the Hall of Shadows. Within, they face the dreadlord triumverate that commands the forces of Xoroth - Varimathras, Detheroc, and Balnazaar. These nathrezim were defeated on Azeroth and retreated to the Twisting Nether to plan their vengeance, and now they have the opportunity to exact it on the mortals of the world they despise so much.

The Sanctum Sinister

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At the pinnacle of the dreadlord's citadel is the Sanctum Sinister, the throne of the nathrezim's power on Xoroth. Mephistroth, lord of the nathrezim, awaits within, confident of his power to destroy the adventurers. Mephistroth will employ all of his terrible fel powers in the battle - clouds of crawling vermin, brutal Infernal constructs, illusion and mind-trickery, and the vampiric consumption of one's very life-force. Only a monumental effort on the part of the mortal adventurers will bring down this mightiest of nathrezim.

Aftermath

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With the destruction of the dreadlords, the power base of the Legion in Xoroth is broken. The demons slain are destroyed permanently, their souls negated with no possibility for them to return. As the adventurers and their allies contemplate the future of Xoroth, the stormy skies overhead are swallowed in darkness. Void entities begin manifesting in greater and greater numbers, and clouds of darkness roll across Xoroth's burning planes, swallowing herds of dreadsteeds. Demons are engulfed in darkness and destroyed. Void Primarh Ahriman and his servants, the Noctarchs, appear, and overhead in the sky-swallowing darkness a terrible visage with burning eyes takes shape. The adventurers and their allies are forced to retreat immediately through portals as the power of the Void consumes Xoroth, breaking it apart and dragging it down into darkness. Ahriman promises that all worlds, all dimensions, all things in the universe will soon be swallowed by the darkness of the Void. Not even the Twisting Nether will be immune. Soon, all existence will serve the Lords of the Void.

The Doom Pits

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Lingering deep within the Doom Pits is also a blighted horror born from the demonic alchemy of tothrezim craters in the Infernal Forge. Born from the black blood of an Old God mixed with the fel pollution of Legion industry, this Echo of Malevolence will turn its frightful mutant powers upon anything, mortal or demon, that draws its attention.

The lowest area of the Doom Pits, where the Echo can be found, can be accessed after the defeat of Mephistroth on Mythic difficulty. A secret passage behind Mephistroth's throne leads back to he entrance of the citadel, and a floor grate within the tunnel that leads into the depths of the Doom Pits will be opened, allowing players to confront the horror in the depths.

Boss Encounter - Echo of Malevolence
The nathrezim harvested great quantities of voidstone from the worldshard of Nachitar. Several mining operations also discovered a strange black ore within the most remote mountains, a substance that resonated with anger and hatred and emitted a potent dark energy. The tothrezim harvesters transported it back to the citadel on Xoroth to conduct experiments on it. The demonic alchemy of the tothrezim refined the mineral into a powerful substance they dubbed gogganite, and the demons began incorporating it into their infernal designs.

The polluted run-off of the tothrezim alchemy has collected in the depths of the Doom Pits, the black ooze and fel poison merging together in the depths into a massive mound of corruption. Sensing the approach of mortals, the corruption manifests itself as a towering abomination, a creature of metal bones and slimy muscle, screaming curses and insane hatred.