C'thun

“	My dreaming ends. Your nightmare begins.	„
	~ C'thun

“	Your friends will abandon you.	„
	~ One of C'thun's many haunting whispers.

C'thun is one of the Old Gods from the Warcraft universe and is the Old God of Chaos. He is one of the main antagonists in the original World of Warcraft. He was the first to appear in World of Warcraft as the final boss of the "Temple of Ahn'Qiraj" raid dungeon from patch 1.9.

C'thun, like the rest of his horrific kin, is an interdimensional parasite of unfathomable power and evil. Eons ago, when Azeroth was still young, he and the other Old Gods ruled the entire world through the Black Empire.

History[]

The Old Gods are parasitic eldritch horrors that come from The Void. They are sent out into the cosmos by the Void Lords to seek and corrupt planets that have a World Soul in them. Should a World Soul ever fall victim to this corruption, it would give rise to a being of darkness that is so powerful it could bring about the end of all creation. This dreadful entity's power is so feared, that upon witnessing the possibility of one, Sargeras went insane, and would eventually form The Burning Legion in a hellish crusade to stop this from ever happening.

C'thun, Yogg-Saron, N'zoth, and Y'shaarj made their way to the newly forming Azeroth and slammed into the surface of the planet, then proceeded to root themselves in to begin spreading their madness and evil. These four primordial beings of corruption would give rise to their empire, The Black Empire, and rule ancient Azeroth, endlessly warring with one another to further bring ruin to the world.

C'thun is the controlling force behind the Qiraji race, which he created based on the previously existing Silithid race of insects. When fought, C'thun initially appears as a giant eye, but when that it destroyed his true form is revealed as a bizarre tentacled mouth creature with enormous fangs. Players can also hear him "whisper" to them whenever they are in the Ahn'Qiraj dungeons.

An Old God that looks exactly like him also makes a cameo appearance in one of the Burning Crusade quests, where a cult of Arakkoa are trying to summon it in Shadowmoon Valley. It is unknown whether it is C'thun or another Old God.

Trivia[]

It is the only villain in the game where in-game lore fully credits its defeat to the players; in most cases, records give primary credit to whatever NPC orchestrates the event.
Its name is an obvious reference to Cthulhu, one of the most well-known entities in the works of H.P. Lovecraft. An entity named K'thun was also mentioned in Lovecraft's Horror at the Museum, but no description was given.
The Dark Edge of Insanity is a magic weapon associated with this villain, which can be looted from it if defeated. If equipped, the player occassionally hears ominous goading from C'thun, such as "Your friends will abandon you", and "You will betray your friends". This reflects the tendency of the beings in Lovecraft's works causing madness to anyone who deals with them.
The Deathdealer's Vest and Striker's Hauberk are also associated with this being. Both include the description, "At his dwelling in Ahn'Qiraj, dread C'Thun awaits in slumber". This is a reference to a phrase frequently chanted by Cthulhu's cultists in Lovecraft's stories, "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming".

Navigation[]

Villains

Old Horde/Iron Horde
Blackrock Orcs (Blackhand, Orgrim Doomhammer, Rend Blackhand, Jubei'Thos) | Warsong Clan (Grommash Hellscream) | Shadowmoon Clan (Ner'zhul, Dentarg, Teron Gorefiend/Gorefiend) | Stormreaver Clan/Shadow Council (Gul'dan, Garona Halforcen) | Bleeding Hollow Clan (Kilrogg Deadeye) | Shattered Hand Clan (Kargath Bladefist) | Dragonmaw Clan (Zuluhed the Whacked, Nekros Skullcrusher, Nek'rosh Skullcrusher, Overlord Mor'ghor) | Burning Blade Clan (Azuka Bladefury) | Bonechewer Clan | Amani Empire (Zul'jin) | The Twilight's Hammer

Knights of the Ebon Blade
Darion Mograine | Sally Whitemane | Nazgrim

Illidan's followers/Illidari
Illidan Stormrage | Kael'thas Sunstrider (Sunfury) | Lady Vashj | Mekgineer Steamrigger | Mennu the Betrayer

True Horde
Garrosh Hellscream | Nazgrim | Malkorok | Warlord Zaela | Siegecrafter Blackfuse

Pandaria
Pandaren: Taran Zhu | Suna Silentstrike | Widow Greenpaw
Mogu: Lei Shen | Shan Bu | Meng the Demented
Mantid Empire: Grand Empress Shek'zeer
Sha: Sha of Hatred