Xal'atath the Harbinger is an ancient and malevolent being of the Void, able to manifest in any form she chooses.[3] For most of known history, her spirit was trapped inside the Blade of the Black Empire,[4] a Void-attuned sacrificial dagger[5] originating from the Black Empire.[6] The dagger and the entity inside it passed through many hands throughout history, sowing death and chaos across Azeroth by whispering to and manipulating her wielders. She was involved with causing the ancient war between trolls and aqir, with Modgud's curse on Grim Batol during the War of the Three Hammers, and with Natalie Seline's study of the Void during the Second War.[7] A shadow priest adventurer wielded Xal'atath during the third invasion of the Burning Legion, before it was used to drain the Sword of Sargeras and was thereafter discarded, like the other artifact weapons.[8] Xal'atath didn't die, however, and released herself from the blade during the Fourth War by possessing the corpse of the high elf Inanis,[9] before concluding a pact with N'Zoth granting her freedom.[10] She subsequently allied herself with the Primal Incarnate Iridikron, who gave her a relic, the Dark Heart.[4] She assumed the role of Harbinger of the Void to usher in a new era of the Void's machinations, and allied with the nerubians of Azj-Kahet, in Khaz Algar,[11][12] to form an army to claim the Worldsoul of Azeroth.[2] First appearing as the artifact weapon [Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire] in World of Warcraft: Legion, Xal'atath is the main antagonist of World of Warcraft: The War Within. Alleria Windrunner serves as her main foil, with the unique rivalry between the two defining the conflict of the expansion.[11][12]