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The Curse of Flesh is a curse suffered by some of the descendents of Azeroth's seed races, notably the dwarves and gnomes.[1] The curse changed the structure and appearance of these races from their original stony/metallic forms into the fleshy forms we know of today.

The Curse of Flesh is revealed to have been created by the Old Gods early in Azeroth's history to "facilitate assimilation". The titans attempted to remove the curse (and the Old Gods), but found that the Old God infestation had grown too severe to remove without completely destroying Azeroth. Instead they bound the Old Gods within Azeroth.

Direct mentions of the Curse of Flesh

Brann Bronzebeard

A dialogue triggered by Brann Bronzebeard in Ulduar gives most of the details of the curse and the connection to the Old Gods.

Fizzcrank Fullthrottle

In the quest The Mechagnomes, a dialogue with Fizzcrank Fullthrottle details the removal of the curse from several gnomes by Gearmaster Mechazod which transformed the gnomes into "mechanical beings". The dialogue mentions that all creations of the titans eventually fell victim to it.

Sjonnir the Ironshaper

Sjonnir The Ironshaper mentions the curse when engaged.

Indirect mentions of the Curse of Flesh

Discs of Norgannon

While the Lorekeeper's Knowledge in Uldaman doesn't mention the Curse of Flesh by name, it clearly refers to the same events that are later described by the Tribunal of Ages. Interestingly, this dialogue was written during the original World of Warcraft, indicating that either this plotline has been planned for many years or has been built out of existing lore.

Jotun

Jotun's title suggests that he is cursed, or bears a curse to others (which could be believed to be the Curse of Flesh).

Archavon

In Archavon's Log, for the Day 1051213, Archavon wrote "Archavon wake up, notice face feel soft. Not important. Go back to sleep." This could hint that he was, more or less, affected by the Curse of Flesh.

General Bjarngrim

While General Bjarngrim in the Halls of Lightning does not directly utter the name of the curse, he does refer to it during the fight. His quotes imply that he compares himself with the player. Apparently, he also considers killing lifeforms affected by the curse to be the the solution of removing it.

Afflicted races

Earthen/Dwarves/Troggs

The Tribunal of Ages dialogue reveals that it was the curse that caused the transformation from stony earthen to fleshy dwarves (and presumably troggs) while they were asleep in Uldaman.

Gnomes

If Gearmaster Mechazod is to be believed, prior to the curse, gnomes appeared as mechagnomes.

Vrykul

Sjonnir the Ironshaper appears as a vrykul with metallic skin. As such, it is possible that the vrykul also had an original, more stony, appearance and also suffer from the curse. However, the 'iron' races were seemingly constructed separately then the other titan creations.

Humans

Based on the quests A [71] The Echo of Ymiron and A [71] Anguish of Nifflevar, it can be speculated that the birthing of humans is a severe side-effect of the curse on the vrykul.

Aesir, the storm giants

Questionmark-medium
This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

The storm giants of Northrend may be aesir who have succumbed to the curse. Aesir is the titan word meaning "storm giant".

References

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