The Netherlord

Mistress of the New Fire

The Netherlord, a self titled megalomaniac, has been a force to recon with for those in Kalimdor for over a year now, and she has shown no sign of stopping. Her form is nebulous at best, and she has a tendancy to use homunculi instead of her own physical presence, or otherwise to send intermediaries to to her bidding. Paranoid, power-mad and petty, she's caused chaos from Ashenvale to Outland.

A History of Appearances

The 'Netherlord' first became known to the wider world in an engagement with the Dirge of Teldrassil, in the waning months of the Fourth War. During a routine patrol and purge of Felwood, they came across a band of cultists looking for relics and artifacts of power, under the direction of this powerful warlock. For what purpose, none yet knew, but she had already gathered a great deal of items for her goal. Whilst this operation was disrupted, the 'Netherlord' herself managed to escape, promising revenge.
Revenge was quick to come. Seeking to destroy this threat to her growing power, she began a massive summoning ritual, deep in her lair in Felwood. The Dirge cut their way through demonic minion after demonic minion, until they finally managed to confront the 'Netherlord'. She herself was stabbed repeatedly by Sir Crowton Blakemore and Ilistria Moonglow, whilst her summoning portals were destabilised. The resultant explosion buried her alive, if indeed she was alive, along with her lair, and her threat to Felwood was thought ended.
But this was not to be. Giving into the lure of fel magic, she used the chaotic energies unleashed by the portal destabilisation to teleport herself to Outland, a realm already connected to Azeroth. Landing in Shadowmoon Valley, she immediately began seeking out new allies and sources of power. Her life was spared, and her power even grew, but at a terrible cost. No longer was her form intact, now her skin was sloughing off, her limbs became brittle and her very core burned with felfire. Her eyes were burned away, leaving nothing but blistering cavities, and she had her eye-sockets carved with fel runes to allow her to see. But she lived, and for her, that was all that mattered.
One of her new allies was a satyr, Xal'navir who she tasked with breaking into Dire Maul. Within those haunted hauls lay a treasure trove of magical lore and arcane artifacts, and she was determined to take them. Xal'navir set to work, corrupting the local Ogres, and using them as a vessel to break into the vault that was saught. Perhaps he even thought to take the power for himself, but this attempt was once again defeated, although entirely by accident, by the Dirge of Teldrassil. They had come to Dire Maul to investigate the strange goings on of the orges, and by defeating them and solving an ancient riddle, had forced Xal'navir to flee back to the 'Netherlord', empty handed. She was most displeased by this turn of events, but forgave her minion, for his loyalty, however dubious, remained.
Her next attempt to take a source of power involved her truly faithful imp, Imp-Captain Dur'galth. He was sent to drain a scared flame, in a temple ruin in Feralas. Whilst he too was unsuccessful in practice, he managed to taunt and torment the Dirge into trying to hunt the 'Netherlord', and would ultimately help her clean house. For she had tired of Azeroth for now, her plans foiled repeatedly, and so sought a break from the chaos, and to achieve this, she needed to tie up lose ends.
Eventually, the Dirge tracked Xal'navir to Felwood, and part of the 'Netherlords' rebuilt lair. He, along with a felsworn Illidari, were attempting once more to gather powerful artifacts for her, and in a violent battle, Xal'navir was left by the 'Netherlord', to be slain by Ayleris Greenshadow. As he was surrounded, she promoted Dur'galth to Imp-Commander, and opened a portal to leave. But Fenaeth Briarheart, the nemesis of Dur'galth, stuck the 'Netherlord' from behind, and severely wounded her, and forced her to seek other means to extend her power.
To achieve this end, she made a deal with the Void Lord Az'ankret. She sent one of her own students, a failure, to 'tap' a Mana-Forge in Netherstorm. The Dirge, trying to track down the 'Netherlord', disrupted this, and 'banished' Az'ankret. But he was not defeated. His manifestation was just temporay, and his dispersal allowed him to reform within the mana forge, fully coming into this reality. In return for this, the 'Netherlord' earned his favour, and so she gained a vital enforcer.
For now, she and her forces have remained distant, occasionally striking at useful relics and other targets when they can. The 'Netherlord' has sent agents to try and control Twilight Dragons, holy sites and ancient tomes of occult knowledge. But with the breaking of the sky, who knows what comes next...