| “ | All of your friends are dead. | „ |
| ~ One of the quotes the Heart of Y'Shaarj will whisper |
| “ | All that you have accomplished, all that you have won, yet still you lick the boots of kings. | „ |
| ~ One of Y'Shaarj's whipsers |
Y'Shaarj (pronounced Yah-Sha-Raj) is an Old God appearing in the Warcraft series, being one of several malefic beings created from the Void that were sequestered by the Titans during Azeroth's primordial ages and is the Old God of Rage. Located in what is now Pandaria, the mantid race worshiped his seven heads. The Titans slew Y'shaarj, but with his dying breath he cursed Pandaria by infesting it with "shadows of his former self" known as seven prime Sha — Anger, Hatred, Violence, Fear, Doubt, Despair and Pride.
The official title of Y'Shaarj is "Rage Unbound", which is the nickname rumored throughout Azeroth. Y'Shaarj is fervently worshiped by the mantid, a race of violent, expansionistic insectoids who dwell in the lands west of the Serpent's Spine wall. The mantid seem to believe Y'Shaarj may return someday, and if so, they will ally themselves with him. It was notoriously known as the most evil and powerful of the Old Gods, who's corruption and wickedness was so profound it took Aman'Thul himself reaching down from the heavens to kill it.
Y'Shaarj serves as the overarching antagonist of Mists of Pandaria expansion despite Garrosh Hellscream is its final boss.
History[]
Alongside his fellow Old Gods, including Yogg-Saron, C'Thun and N'Zoth, Y'Shaarj was the physical manifestation of void power appearing above the surface Azeroth. The Old Gods were created by the Void Lords in order to corrupt the entire Azeroth. Y'Shaarj was the most powerful of the four Old Gods to plummet into Azeroth from the Great Dark Beyond, and the greatest bastion of the Black Empire was built around its gargantuan bulk.
As the battle between the titan-forged and the Black Empire waged across primordial Azeroth, the Pantheon became concerned that their forces might be overwhelmed by Y'Shaarj. Aman'Thul himself intervened, grasping Y'Shaarj's body and tearing it from the surface of Azeroth. Although this killed the old god by tearing its body apart, Y'Shaarj's tentacles had bored deeply into the crust of Azeroth. This inflicted wounds upon Azeroth itself, causing arcane energy and the lifeblood of Azeroth to flow out across the world. This irreversible damage was not enough to destroy Azeroth, but it became apparent the remaining Old Gods could not be killed in the same fashion, as the resulting wounds would destroy the world.
Eventually, after the remaining old gods were imprisoned, the titan-forged labored long and hard, creating magic wards around the wound to prevent the volatile energy from leeching out and consuming Azeroth over time. The result of their labors became known as the Well of Eternity.
Sometime after the fall of the Black Empire, the titan-forged keepers of Azeroth began using the Forge of Wills to give life to Azeroth. During an expedition to southern Azeroth to install the Forge of Origination, Highkeeper Ra discovered that fragments of Y'Shaarj's corpse had fallen, scattered across the landscape when it had been ripped apart. These fragments had infused the land with evil. The largest piece was the Heart of Y'Shaarj. Ra built a subterranean vault to contain and neutralize the evil void energy which emanated from the icy heart, instructing the Mogu to keep watch over the heart and the surrounding lands.
Sha[]
The Sha
The Sha are a type of elemental beasts and major antagonists in the latest World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria: they embody the dark energies of Pandaria and as such can be considered similar to the Western concept of demons albeit with a fantasy "Orient" basis.
The Sha are a curse on Pandaria that occurred when the Titans actually killed a seven-headed Old God named Y'Sharrj. Sha are major antagonists for several dungeons and raids in Mists of Pandaria. Sha are physical manifestations of negative emotions. There are different varieties of Sha such as lesser Sha which act as regular mobs and manifest from negative emotions. There are also the Sha Primes such as the Sha of Fear, which act as bosses in dungeons and raids. These extremely powerful Sha were sealed away millennia ago but were released when they fed off the Alliance-Horde War.
Heart of Y'Shaarj[]
The Heart of Y'Shaarj was all that was left of the Old God Y'Shaarj after he was killed by the Titans and their Mogu army. It was placed in the Vault of Y'Shaarj after Y'Shaarj's death and left alone for millions of years.
At the command of Garrosh Hellscream, goblin engineers began excavations in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms to find a mysterious artifact, but found more than they bargained for. With the mining crew terrorized by an ancient power in the depths, adventurers were called in to retrieve whatever remained of the excavation. After clearing the mine full of the Blood of Y'Shaarj, adventurers blasted their way into an underground room. Inside the Vault of Y'Shaarj was found a chest, suspended from chains, which contained the Heart of Y'Shaarj.
Garrosh eventually absorbs all the powers of the Heart to battle the Adventurers, leaving it as a dried up husk, but is still defeated. The power then leaves Garrosh and but instead of reentering the Heart, it becomes the Fading Breath. When the Fading Breath vanishes from existence, Y'Shaarj was truly dead, ending the curse of the Sha.
List of Sha Primes[]
- Sha of Doubt - The first Sha to be encountered, It was released when the Jinyu and the Hozen, lead by Admiral Taylor and General Nazgrim respectively, engaged in battle outside the Temple of the Jade Serpent. It was reimprisoned when It was defeated in combat inside the Temple.
- Sha of Despair - The second Sha to be encountered, It was released along with the other Sha when the Alliance and Horde began their war on Pandaria. It was reimprisoned when defeated in combat by Anduin Wrynn and his allies inside the Temple of the Red Crane.
- Sha of Violence - The third Sha to be encountered, It made Its domain in the Shado-Pan Monastery and assisted the Sha of Hatred in corrupting Taran Zhu, leader of the Shado-Pan Clan. It was reimprisoned when defeated in battle inside the Monastery.
- Sha of Hatred - The fourth Sha to be encountered, It possessed Taran Zhu and commanded him to battle the group of brave adventurers who had arrived to liberate the Monastery. The Sha of Hatred, after being forced out of Taran Zhu's body, was later encountered multiple times before being imprisoned once again after Its defeat in Sik'vess.
- Sha of Anger - The fifth Sha to be encountered, It reemerged from prison in Kun-Lai Summit. It was later defeated in combat by a large army of adventurers.
- Sha of Fear - The sixth Sha to be encountered, It reemerged from prison along with the other Sha and made Its home in the Terrace of Endless Spring. There, It corrupted the Grand Empress of the Mantid, Shek'zeer. The Sha of Fear is set to be a future raid boss three weeks into the expansion, a week after Shek'zeer's release.
- Sha of Pride - The seventh Sha to be discovered, it was the only one of the Sha Primes that was not fully imprisoned by Emperor Shaohao, the last of the Pandaren Emperors. This was due to Shaohao's prideful belief that the Pandaren were better than the other races of the world and that they could solve their own problems, which cloaked the land in mists. The Sha of Pride has remained within the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, but when Garrosh Hellscream unearthed the heart of the dead Old God, Y'Shaarj, this powerful Sha emerged and destroyed the Vale. The Sha of Pride is set to be the fourth boss encountered in the "Seige of Orgrimmar" raid instance.
The Klaxxi[]
Upon reaching exalted with the Klaxxi, a faction of mantid that have turned against their queen, players may speak to Kil'ruk the Wind-Reaverω ϖ who will tell them the story of the mantid's origins and Y'Shaarj.
[name], your deeds have earned you the trust of the Klaxxi.
You are to be rewarded. Walk with me.
We mantid are an elder race. The pandaren you associate with, they are but children. They have their role to play.
Each cycle, our young swarm their walls. The pandaren slay the weak. The strong return.
With each generation, we grow ever stronger.
Before your history began, our empire was vast. We shared this world with our sister kingdoms, Ahn'Qiraj and Azjol-Nerub.
Our gods were many and powerful. We mantid worshiped the Seven Heads of Y'Shaarj.
Great was the Old One, and terrible was his wrath. He consumed hope and begat despair. He inhaled courage and breathed fear.
When the Usurpers came, the ones you call Titans, Y'Shaarj was destroyed.
His last terrible breath has haunted this land ever since, but the shadows he left behind are mere whispers of his former glory.
I tell you now because you have earned this warning.
Our gods are not YOUR gods, outsider.
If the Old Ones ever return, we mantid will once again stand by their side.
The wisest among you will do the same.
That is all that needs to be said. Come, take your reward, and remember what you have learned today.
This story foreshadows the events that took during the Siege of Orgrimmar, as the Paragons of the Klaxxi ultimately sided with Garrosh Hellscream, who managed to uncover the Heart of Y'Shaarj and even wield its power to some extent.
Trivia[]
- Y'Shaarj is the first known Old God that is confirmed deceased completely.
- Sha (煞, shà) is Chinese for "evil spirit."
- Based off the "black goat with seven eyes" quote from the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron, it is possible that Y'Shaarj is a reference to H.P. Lovecraft's Shub-Niggurath, who was known as "The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young". However, it is not completely certain if the goat is in fact Y'Shaarj.
- Y'Shaarj has several distinct similarities with the dragon Tathamet from Blizzard's Diablo universe. Both Y'Shaarj and Tathamet are seven-headed entities of evil who were slain by godlike beings countless millennia ago (Aman'Thul and Anu, respectively), and both of them left behind seven entities of darkness, each embodying a different negative aspect, after their death (the seven prime sha and the seven Great Evils, respectively).
- A small remnant of the power of Y'Shaarj that spawned the sha, a single Drop of Y'Shaarj can magnify emotional states for thousands of yards, causing entire towns to shut down in fear or doubt.
- Some theories state that Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire was crafted from a claw of Y'Shaarj, ripped from the Old God's monstrous form and bestowed upon its servants for use in ritual sacrifices.
- The mogu lore object Shadow, Storm, and Stone and Dave Kosak described Y'Shaarj being killed by the mogu. Later, Chronicle Volume 1 described Aman'Thul reaching down and killing Y'Shaarj himself.
- Y'Shaarj is voiced by Keith Ferguson.
- Y'Shaarj appears as a legendary card in the Whispers of the Old Gods expansion for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. Its flavor text reads: "When he's working out, he binds all that rage back into a ponytail."
- There is also a common Druid spell called Mark of Y'Shaarj. The flavor text reads: "Y'shaarj had three sons: Mark, Theodore, and Chris."
- Y'Shaarj's Strength is one of the two spell effects that can be chosen when playing the Mire Keeper card.
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