Zovaal, The Jailer

We know that Zovaal is the big bad of Shadowlands, but not much else is really known about him. The Jailer is an eternal one who rules over the Maw. He rules from the Sanctum of Domination in Torghast. The Jailer has powerful domination magic and he is the absolute master of the Maw.

He used to be the Arbiter and then he tried to steal the sigils from the other covenants, so the others stripped him of his power and cast him into the Maw. A new Arbiter was created to replace him. When Zovaal was the arbiter he was responsible for judging every soul that joined the afterlife. That is the job of the Arbiter.

The Maw’s absolute master is Zovaal and it constantly alters itself to his whims. He observes everything in the Maw through a magical eye. The souls who arrive become tortured and twisted until they serve as his Mawsworn soldiers. He expects them to serve him for an eternity.

The Creation of The Lich King

The Jailer never stopped scheming and he worked with allies in the Shadowlands as well as the world of the Living. He imprisoned his own brother, The Primus. He forced Primus to create The Helm of Domination and Frostmourne. Those names are familiar to everyone. Zovaal intended that the Lich King would be a herald so he could reach the mortal world of Azeroth, however, all three lich kings would reject that idea.

Zovaal and Sylvanas

After he initially failed at getting the Lich Kings to work with him, he allied with Sylvanas. Sylvanas thought that the end goal was to tear down the current unfair system of the afterlife. Tearing it down, they would be able to replace it with one that was just and fair. The Arbiter became dormant and all the souls who went into the shadowlands then started to pour into The Maw instead. This would empower the Jailer and isolate the rest of the Shadowlands, other zones such as Ardeanweald would start to wither due to a lack of anima.

The Sigils

The Jailer started to obtain the sigils from the Eternal Ones including the one from the Arbiter. After claiming that final sigil he finally revealed his true objective. That he would unmake reality and forge a new one. In this new one, everyone would serve him. Sylvanas turned against him remembering Arthas’s voice at that moment.

Ancient Times

The Jailer is older than reality. Zovaal once stood with his fellow Eternal Ones and was the one responsible for judging mortal souls. He and his siblings were granted sigils that symbolized their covenants purpose. Zovaal believed that the designs of the first ones were flawed, and he defied there will then proceeded with plans to unmake the cosmos. He believed that the keys to forbidden knowledge were locked in the Sepulcher of the first ones, but his siblings defeated him.

Zovaal essentially became punished and was stripped of his power and his sigil, which was then used to create a new arbiter. They would then bound Zovaal to the Maw and make him the Jailer. The Primus inscribed runes of Domination upon his flesh. The Heart of The Forest in Ardeanweald is what made the Maw inescapable. We know how this will end up, Zovaal will likely be defeated. What do you think will happen next? Let us know in the comments below.