Al'Akir


 * At first you see only a whirling cyclone, with flickers of lightning dancing it. Then you realize this is more than just a rapidly approaching windstorm. Looking more closely, you see the silhouette of a winged serpent within the swirling winds, its eyes regarding you through flashing bolts of electricity.

Al'Akir the Windlord is absolute ruler over the skies, air and storms. He is the weakest of the four Elemental Lords of the Old Gods. His domain is the sky over the Elemental Plane, which touches all of the other elements. Consequently, it "...interacts with them more than any other, and yet he is the most capricious and aloof of all the Lords. He is as likely to stir up trouble one day as he is to casually ignore incursions the next." His mood can quickly change, much like the weather. He is revered by all air elementals and creatures that fly. It is said that he is aware of all air spells that are cast anywhere throughout the multiverse - although this might be true, he rarely becomes personally involved in their resolution unless they affect him directly.

War with the Titans
The Old Gods' armies were led by the most powerful elemental lieutenants: Ragnaros the Firelord, Therazane the Stonemother, Al'Akir the Windlord, and Neptulon the Tidehunter. Their chaotic forces raged across the face of the world and clashed with the colossal Titans. Though the elementals were powerful beyond mortal comprehension, their combined forces could not stop the mighty Titans. One by one, the elemental lords fell, and their forces dispersed.

The Pantheon shattered the Old Gods' citadels and chained the four elemental gods far beneath the surface of the world. Without the Old Gods' power to keep their raging spirits bound to the physical world, the elementals were banished to an abyssal world known as the Elemental Plane where they would contend with one another for all eternity. With the elementals' departure, nature calmed, and the world settled into a peaceful harmony.

The Shattering
Following the Shattering, the boundaries of the Elemental Plane were ruptured, causing chaotic elementals to emerge into the world of Azeroth, presumably weakening Al'Akir's prison. He has become one of the Destroyer's staunchest and most powerful allies, and called the Conclave of Wind, ancient wind elementals nearly as powerful as Al'Akir himself, to aid in the elemental invasion of his former home. When players fight him in Throne of the Four Winds, he is aloof as ever, but generally conducts himself more honorably than his elemental ally Ragnaros. As Al'Akir is slain in his plane, the Skywall, he is forever dead. This makes him the first of the Elemental Lords to die.

Skills and abilities
Al'Akir uses his great speed to his advantage in battle. He strikes first at those foes who fly and thus present the greatest challenge to his mastery of the air. Climbing into the sky to attack him can be a dangerous proposition. Once all flying foes have been dealt with, he generally employs his whirlwind ability to sweep up creatures on the ground, holding them as long as possible before dropping them in whatever manner deals the most punishment to those who would challenge his might.

Although he is the weakest of the Elemental Lords, the others are hard pressed to attack him on his own turf. He rarely attacks them directly, choosing instead to wreak whatever havoc he can before retreating in the face of determined opposition.

The thunderhead
Al'Akir has the power to transform himself into a tireless and raging thunderstorm when outdoors. This transformation completes within a relatively short time, "during which he swiftly shifts into a massive, roiling black" 250-foot by 250-foot by 1,000-foot "cloud bank with lightning dancing within." It can last up to one full hour, while also standing a few hundred feet off the ground. While within this form, he has greater power to manipulate the air, such as being able to loose multiple and powerful lightning bolts, each at a different target within approximately 500 feet in any direction he wishes. He also has the ability to slam creatures beneath him or within one hundred feet of the thunderstorm. Furthermore, he can create a single whirlwind underneath his cloud shape that must remain directly below his cloud body. If any other air elementals are in the vicinity, they also can form whirlwinds (at their own power level) that can last for as long as the thunderstorm. There are limits to these abilities; Al'Akir cannot use them with conjunction of the whirlwind, or with other whirlwinds caused by the wind elementals under his command.

His whirlwind
Al'Akir can transform himself into a whirlwind every 10 minutes, and remain in this form for a fairly long duration. Gargantuan or smaller creatures may be injured when caught in the whirlwind, and/or lifted into the air. A creature that can fly has a higher chance than others to escape the whirlwind. It too, will very likely be injured. He can eject any creatures whenever he wishes, depositing them wherever the whirlwind happens to be. He prefers doing this over the sides of cliffs, or from very high altitudes.

If the base touches the ground, it creates a swirling cloud of debris, known to most as a tornado. This cloud is centered on the elemental, and it will obscure all vision. It is difficult to cast a spell from near or within the tornado.

Trivia

 * The helmet of Wind Dancer's Regalia, the Tier 11 rogue set, looks similar to the headgear of Al'Akir.
 * "Al Akhir الأخير", or romanized "Al Akir", means literally "The Last" in Arabic.
 * One of the European realms in World of Warcraft is named Al'Akir.

Speculation
Thunderaan, Prince of Air, may be one of Al'Akir's children. Also Prince Sarsarun might be Al'akir's second son and Thunderaan's brother, given to his title of Prince.