The Mawsworn | |
---|---|
Main leader | Zovaal the Jailer † |
Secondary leaders | None |
Formerly |
Anduin Wrynn (forced) Sylvanas Windrunner Kel'Thuzad † Helya (banished) |
Race(s) |
Mawsworn Shade Kyrian Nathrezim Venthyr Maldraxxi Automa Soul |
Capital | Torghast, The Maw |
Theater of operations | Shadowlands |
Sub-group(s) | Various allies |
Affiliation | Independent |
Status | Active |
The Mawsworn are minions who serve Zovaal the Jailer in the Maw. They bring pain and punishment to the most wicked of souls.[1] These soldiers are the very worst the damned have to offer: the result of the Jailer torturing mortal souls until only a mere shade of their former glory remains and they willingly serve their tormentor for eternity,[2][3] all begin as empty suits of armor forged at Zovaal's Cauldron, and then are infused with a decrepit shade to be brought to "life".[4]
The size of the Mawsworn army rivals that of the Burning Legion, and with the soul-river Gorgoa overflowing, their ranks continue to swell.[5][6] The Mawsworn's weapons and armor were designed by the Runecarver against his will.[7]
Background[]
In the deepest depths of the Shadowlands lies the inescapable Maw. The wretched souls imprisoned in this hopeless realm are the unforgiven and irredeemable.[8] They are imprisoned forever and suffer without end,[9][10] until they are twisted into a mere shade of their former glory. It is then that the tormented willingly serve their tormentor as the Mawsworn.[11]
After she committed suicide at Icecrown, the soul of Sylvanas Windrunner was sent to the Maw and tortured by the Mawsworn until Zovaal intervened and revealed himself to her.[12] Years later, when Zovaal instructed Sylvanas to start unleashing death and destruction on Azeroth,[13] she complied and used her position as warchief to plunge Azeroth into the Fourth War, causing mass casualties and thereby feeding the Maw with even more new souls that could be conscripted into the Mawsworn army.[14]
With the role of the Lich King having been ended by Sylvanas, the Mawsworn sent Herald Dalora to bring the message of the Jailer, and to embolden both the Scourge and the Cult of the Damned.[15] To aid their offensive into Azeroth, Mawsworn Soulbearers raised fallen Scourge champions from the past in Icecrown.[16] At the same time, a group of them captured Thrall, Baine Bloodhoof, Jaina Proudmoore, and Anduin Wrynn and took them to the Maw. The Mawsworn also attempted to capture Tyrande Whisperwind, but she slew her attackers.[17] During the resurgence of the Scourge, both factions were supported by the Argent Crusade and the Knights of the Ebon Blade which led the offensive against them, and enlisted the aid of Horde and Alliance champions to fight against the Cult of the Damned.[18] Seeking to strike a definite blow against the Mawsworn, Azeroth's heroes confronted and killed Herald Dalora in the Cathedral of Darkness.[19]
When the heroes of Azeroth entered the Shadowlands, the death knights of the Ebon Blade who accompanied them were scattered, and their forces were already depleted after only mere moments there,[20] losing a large number of their troops during their advance against the Mawsworn forces.[21][22][23] After the adventurers saved the leader, they began charging a waystone to leave the Maw, an effort that was noticed by the Jailer and prompted him to send his Mawsworn armies to stop them. When the party was about to be overwhelmed, Anduin called down a barrier of holy magic which held off the Mawsworn long enough for the champions to escape to Oribos.[24]
In order to claim the sigil of the Winter Queen, the Jailer sent his Mawsworn—led by Sylvanas herself—to invade Ardenweald. The covenants ultimately pushed the Mawsworn out of Ardenweald,[25] but the dominated Anduin managed to breach the Heart of the Forest and steal the Winter Queen's sigil.[26] Meanwhile, the Jailer's forces assaulted Oribos to claim yet another sigil, that of the Arbiter, but the covenants and the Knights of the Ebon Blade managed to hold off the attackers.[27] After successfully claiming four of the five sigils, Zovaal began enacting his plan to escape the Maw, and Sylvanas personally commanded the Mawsworn defenses against the Maw Walkers who attempted to breach the Sanctum of Domination.[28]
When Zovaal entered in Zereth Mortis, his Mawsworn quickly spread across the realm like a plague in search of a way into the Sepulcher of the First Ones.[29] The Mawsworn initially laid siege to the Enlightened village of Haven, but the Jailer personally arrived to call off the attack since he believed that the place was of no consequence.[30][31] They later used Domination to take control of automa, the realm's caretakers, and destroy the obelisks protecting the Forge of Afterlives.[32][33]
Following the death of Zovaal at the Sepulcher of the First Ones, the Mawsworn remains active but leaderless, as Sylvanas confront them during her penance to free all souls of the Maw.[34][35]
Type of forces[]
- Maw guard
- Maw caster
- Mawsworn Shadowcasters in the Maw are powerful magic wielders, Mawsworn Shadowcasters lob powerful bolts of dark energy to destroy those who oppose the Jailer’s will.[1]
- Mawsworn kyrian
- Mawsworn Avengers in the Maw circle the skies above, these winged warriors use their spears to impale intruders.[1]
- Charred behemoth
- Death elemental
- Shade
- Shadehound
- Soul seeker
- Soul eater
- Maw necromancer
- Maw fog beast
- Husk
- Crawling hand
- Bone wraith
- Death elemental
- Mawsworn construct
- Automa
In Azeroth, the Scourge and the Cult of the Damned were emboldened by the message of the Jailer brought by Herald Dalora.[19]
Allies[]
- Venthyr, Stone Legion stoneborn, and nathrezim formerly under Denathrius
- Mueh'zala's forces including spriggans, boggarts and skeletal trolls
- Forsworn forces formerly under Devos and Helya
- Helsworn forces under Helya
- Maldraxxi forces
- House of Rituals forces first under Margrave Sin'dane and then under Kel'Thuzad
- House of Constructs forces formerly under Margrave Gharmal
- House of the Chosen forces formerly under Margrave Vyraz
- Certain broker cartels collaborating with the factions above
Members[]
Named[]
- Herald Dalora
- Soulrender Dormazain
- Painsmith Raznal
- Fatescribe Roh-Kalo
- Dausegne
- Rygelon
- See [Better to Be Lucky Than Dead]
Gallery[]
Various sketches by Matthew McKeown.
References[]
- ^ a b c Shadowlands Preview: The Maw
- ^ The Art of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, pg. 175, pg. 190
- ^ [50] An Undeserved Fate
- ^ [60W] Soulless Husks
- ^ [50] The Path to Salvation
- ^ [60WG] Forces of Perdition
- ^ Cutscene after returning 15 Runecarver Memories
- ^ The Art of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, pg. 169
- ^ worldofwarcraft.com - Shadowlands
- ^ The Art of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, pg. 180
- ^ The Art of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, pg. 174
- ^ World of Warcraft: Sylvanas, chapter 21
- ^ World of Warcraft: Sylvanas, chapter 25
- ^ World of Warcraft: Grimoire of the Shadowlands and Beyond, pg. 140
- ^ [50] Secrets in Shadows
- ^ Death Rising#Rares
- ^ [50] Cause for Distraction
- ^ [50] Return of the Crusade
- ^ a b [50] Only Shadows Remain
- ^ [50] A Fractured Blade
- ^ [50] Ruiner's End
- ^ [50] Mawsworn Menace
- ^ [60 Daily] A Monument to Vengeance
- ^ [50] Stand as One
- ^ [60] The Battle of Ardenweald
- ^ [60] The Heart of Ardenweald
- ^ [60] Report to Oribos
- ^ [60] Storming the Sanctum
- ^ [60] Long Lost Firim
- ^ [60] Defending Haven
- ^ [60] Destroying the Destructors
- ^ [60] Scour the Sands
- ^ [60] Harmony and Discord
- ^ World of Warcraft: Sylvanas, epilogue
- ^ [60] Silent Vigil