The Black Dragonflight’s Legacy
The eighth and final chapter of Embers of Neltharion takes place after the events of the Aberrus raid. We re-enter the raid with Wrathion, Sabellian, Ebyssian, and Emberthal – four characters who represent the legacy of the Black Dragonflight, each a child of Neltharion in their own way. The cutscene begins with Emberthal leaning over a fifth child of Neltharion – Sarkareth – the end boss of Aberrus.
A Flame, Extinguished
Despite everything, Emberthal seems saddened by Sarkareth’s death – a reaction that surprises the ever-brash Sabellian.
Emberthal: May his name be ever remembered.
Sabellian: After what he has done, why treat him with such respect?
Though her response is about Sarkareth, it’s clear that Emberthal’s words are hitting home with both Sabellian and Wrathion. Since coming to the Dragon Isles, both Black Dragons have been fiercely competing for the role of the Black Dragon Aspect – a competition that has only since journeying to Zaralek Caverns.
However, in Aberrus they saw firsthand what it would mean to truly follow in Deathwing’s footsteps – as the Echo of Neltharion used flattery and promises of power in an attempt to convince them to commit acts that they knew were wrong. Both refused, and by the end of the raid, knew Neltharion to be the deceiver. While Sarkareth never learned the lesson of Deathwing’s fall, Wrathion and Sabellian have.
Emberthal: He was dracthyr, and his memory will be a lesson.
Emberthal: Instead of helping our people heal, he led many to despair and ruin.
Emberthal: Chasing the illusion of Neltharion’s power.
Ebyssian: if only Sarkareth had taken Deathwing’s tragedy to heart.
Ebyssian: and understood that his legacy was poisoned long ago.
The Dracthyr’s Legacy
From the start, the Dracthyr’s story has been inherently linked to that of the Black Dragonflight – as Neltharion’s creations, they are as much his children as any Black Dragon – and Neltharion created him to be his soldiers. Since their reawakening in the Forbidden Reach, the Dracthyr have been in conflict about where they will go from here.
On the one side, Sarkareth and the Sundered Flame chose to embrace their original purpose – if they could no longer serve under Neltharion, they would reclaim his legacy as their own. Neltharion’s design relied on the Dracthyr never gaining their own free will, and Sarkareth was even willing to re-inflict this on his fellow Dracthyr – all for the sake of following his father’s wishes.
On the other side, Emberthal has acted as leader for Dracthyr who have been finding a purpose outside of Neltharion’s vision. Though also once a loyal soldier, Emberthal has found purpose in caring for her fellow Dracthyr, even those who joined the Sundered Flame, and that has meant having the courage to break away from Neltharion’s legacy – to embrace the free will that Neltharion worked so hard to keep from them. Emberthal is ready to lead her people on a new path – inspired, in part, by the conversations she’s shared with Ebyssian.
Emberthal: It is time for the dracthyr to make our own path.
Ebyssian: Where do you hope it will lead?
Emberthal: Far from the shadows of the past that have haunted us.
Emberthal: And free to build a legacy of our own.
Emberthal: To a future you inspired me to believe in, Ebyssian.
Ebyssian: Even the most painful moments have something to teach us.
Confronting Neltharion
Until now, Sabellian and Wrathion have been competing to claim Neltharion’s power – and therefore his legacy – as their own. Yet for the first time since the start of Dragonflight, they seem to be confronting that legacy itself – what it really means to follow in the footsteps of Deathwing.
Sarkareth considered it unthinkable for the Dracthyr’s legacy to be anything but inherently linked to Neltharion. As Sabellian’s “teacher, father, and commander”, Neltharion has dominated everything Sabellian believes about how the Black Dragonflight should be lead. And while Wrathion never knew Neltharion, Deathwing’s shadow has always haunted him – the fear that Wrathion himself would also fall to corruption so strong it could easily turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
But Sabellian turns and reassures Wrathion, his brother, and in that moment, Neltharion’s hold over the Black Dragonflight is broken. In the same way that Ebyssian has found purpose in her fellow Dracthyr, the Black Dragonflight will find purpose in their family. No longer defined by Neltharion, or Deathwing, but by each other.
Sabellian: Neltharion was my teacher. My father and my commander.
Sabellian: I aspired to lead the flight as he would have.
Sabellian: Unable…or perhaps, unwilling…
Sabellian: To acknowledge the true malignancy of his vision.
Wrathion: I never knew Neltharion. Only Deathwing.
Wrathion: Invading my nightmares. Reveling in the certainty that I would become as twisted as he was.
Sabellian: That is not who you are…my brother.
A Legacy No Longer Needed
Perhaps inspired by Emberthal and the Dracthyr choosing to break free from Neltharion’s legacy and how that’s contrasted with Sarkareth’s attempts to claim it for his own, Wrathion and Sabellian have also come to realize they no longer seek the role of Black Dragon Aspect.
Neltharion believed that in order to be an effective leader, he had to have complete and utter control. He did not allow the Dracthyr free will. He did not share anything that he didn’t have to with his fellow Aspects. He hoarded all the power he could for himself. In contrast, Wrathion has come to see that he does not need to have complete and total power – the position of Aspect – to guide or help his flight. In fact, Wrathion has done plenty without an Aspect’s power. Whether or not he deserves the role is no longer the question. What matters is that he does not need it.
As for Sabellian, he too realizes he no longer covets the role of Aspect – perhaps he would be too similar to Neltharion, which isn’t what the Black Dragonflight needs right now. However, it seems likely he will also still stay around and help guide the flight as it builds its new legacy – just not as Aspect.
Wrathion: I thought my destiny was to guide our flight to its future.
Wrathion: And I shall, but simply as myself…not as an Aspect.
Sabellian: Nor shall I seek that mantle.
A New Aspect
In the end, the one chosen for Aspect is the one who never sought it out – one who was never in the race to begin with. Ebyssian has no ambition, and no taste for power. While he’s a proven leader and a dutiful one, he doesn’t incite the sort of loyalty and following that Wrathion and Sabellian do.
Perhaps that’s the point. As the Black Dragonflight finds its legacy, it needs a leader whose personality does not threaten to overtake the entire flight’s identity the way that Neltharion’s once did. And under his leadership, the Black Dragonflight can finally truly forge its new legacy.
Emberthal: It would seem your days of hiding are over for good.
Ebyssian: I am…humbled.
Ebyssian: May your trust and faith in me guide my ever step.
Ebyssian: For today, we emerge from all the shadows that sought to sow doubt and shame within us.
Ebyssian: The Black Dragonflight’s legacy is ours to create.
