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Outworld Destroyer
About
Associated With
Heroes Earthshaker minimap icon Earthshaker
Factions Dire
Places The Void
The Outworld
Characters Kanna
▶️ Their sanity I'll shatter, their dreams of conquest I'll destroy.
Harbinger overrides both sanity and ambition with his powerful intellect and bad news

An eerie visitant to our realm from the outer dark, Harbinger, the Outworld Destroyer (or Outworld Devourer) arrives to our world to bring dark tidings and unswayable omens that only he could hope to avert. He originates from the World on the Rim, a crystalline fortress afloat in the cold nameless space between the stars and planets. Although he is very powerful and intimidating on his own, he is merely an omen for worse things that await all of creation.

Biography[]

Outworld Destroyer minimap icon Harbinger, the Outworld Destroyer
One of a lordly and magisterial race, Harbinger prowls the edge of the Void, sole surviving sentry of an outpost on the world at the rim of the abyss. From this jagged crystalline Outworld, forever on guard, he has gazed for eternities into the heavens, alert for any stirring in the bottomless night beyond the stars. Imprinted deep in the shining lattices of his intellect lies a resonant pattern akin to prophecy, a dark music implying that eventually some evil will wake out there, beyond the edges of creation, and turn its attention to our world. With his whole being focused on his vigil, Outworld Destroyer paid little attention to events closer in to the sun. But at last the clamor of the Ancients, and a sense of growing threat from within as well as without, sent him winging sunward to visit the plains of war. Harbinger's place in our own prophecies is unambiguous: he must be considered an omen of worse things to come. But his arrival in itself is bad enough.


Harbinger is the sole surviving member of an unnamed magisterial race, whose sole remaining member has sentenced himself to an eternal vigil on a vantage point known as the Outworld. On this crystalline fortress, Harbinger anticipates the evil that was foretold in the prophetic music of his mind, its rhythms implying that eventually this evil from the edges of reality will awaken and turn its attention to our world with an ineffable but certainly dark intention. Harbinger paid little attention to the events across the solar system containing the planet housing the warring Ancients, but a sense at the edge of his consciousness tells him that the war of the Ancients itself might serve as the catalyst of a darker force that may very well be the same evil that he has been anticipating for eternities.[1]

Although he once trivialized this war, a change of mind has dispatched him towards the mundane planet to end the conflict between both Ancients in the hopes that at least this evil may be averted for the time being. But his arrival is not to be heralded as a messianic presence, but rather an explicit omen with warnings and bad news awaiting those who need to hear it—that is to say, all of existence.

Artifact[]

Deep in the cold space between the stars and the planets, Harbinger has anticipated Kanna's rise to power and the induction of the Earthshaker as her champion. What he does not sense, however, is her acceptance of an authority figure's guidance as she has disowned her mother. And so he goes, his stony wings aloft, towards the celestial body housing the warring Ancients. He aligns with the hordes of the Dire and presents himself as Kanna's very own seneschal, filling up the void that her mother left behind. Little does she know that Harbinger has already set the cornerstone for her eternal servitude towards him. And nothing can prepare them for whatever he plans to do with her next...[2]

Personality and Mannerisms[]

  • As an embodiment of an omen and as someone who has foreseen what it will bring, Harbinger frequently speaks of fate, prophecies, and the grim future that he has foreseen.
    • With that being said, he also claims to be indirectly responsible for his actions. Just like how a black cat, a common omen and catalyst for bad luck, is indirectly responsible for the ill fortune that a person crossing its path will receive.[3][4]
  • Harbinger's foresight, otherwordly intelligence, and expansive view on existence (as well as the bad things that will happen to it) has given him a very disconnected view of reality, at least to his perspective. Concepts like currency,[5] the suffering of others,[6][7][8] and the earthly wars fought for the Ancients are insignificant to him, unless Harbinger senses that there is something very concerning in them.[1][9]
    • When successfully destroying an Ancient, he will celebrate and say that his existence has meaning, implying that it didn't have any before. It is likely that his gloomy view on existence made him say this, since he knows that his existence has no meaning for eventually, everything is just going to come to an end.[10]
    • When meeting Harbinger, Queen of Pain minimap icon Queen of Pain will point this out in a rival line for him.[11]
  • Harbinger has no qualms about manipulating others for his own ends. He willingly joins the Dire as a servant, but secretly plans to control their leader for reasons unknown.

Relationships[]

Allies[]

Harbinger is one of the few heroes of Dota 2 to have an unambiguous alignment with an Ancient and its armies. In the card game Artifact, he has allied himself with the forces of Dire, including the likes of Kanna and Earthshaker minimap icon Earthshaker who was recruited by the former.

Enemies[]

It is only natural for a Dire hero to be ill disposed towards the Radiant. Harbinger protects Kanna from her own mother, Prellex, who is a priestess of the Radiant. He also seeks to kill her while claiming that her daughter is right about something that she said.

Powers and Abilities[]

Physiology[]

Harbinger's head and the upper surface of his body are coated in dark stones with veins that flow with green energy. The rest of his body appears to resemble that of a griffin's, with extremities that resemble the talons of eagle, save for the appearance of fingernails on his hands. The stone that covers his body might be the same material that can be found in his Outworld homeland, since a self-assembling crystal and a species of crystalline tree, both native to the Outworld, share a similar composition with his gritty body.

The rocky material that covers his body serves as armor impregnable to the piercing rays of the evil forces from the outer dark.[12] He may also wear an armor that's forged from the plasmic residue of a star named Dragon, which is said to be much more durable than dragon hide.[13]

His wings produce a strange sound whenever they beat.[14] This may be the so-called rhythms of eternity that he refers to.[15]

Powers[]

As an eldritch being, Harbinger's powers are based on his superior intelligence and mastery of the arcane energies. He is also one of the few heroes who have the ability to foresee the future, but he doesn't rely on scrying or foresight. Instead, he relies on the dark music in his mind that, according to his biography, plays a resonant pattern akin to a prophecy.

Harbinger's outworldly knowledge allows itself to access the ebb and flow of all spiritual energy, infusing it into his being to project a powerful Arcane Orb icon Arcane Orb. This so-called ebb and flow of spiritual energy may be a synonym for mana, as it is often described as a spiritual or ethereal energy.[16][17][18]

Astral Imprisonment icon Astral Imprisonment is an ability where Harbinger banishes an unfortunate victim into the pocket between "this world" (presumably the material plane) and the Outworld, where they realize their infantile knowledge and vulnerability to death. Some of Harbinger's unused voice lines imply that this pocket is named "the Outer Dark" or "the Abyss",[19][20] likely referring to the same Void mentioned in his biography and in his signature card in Artifact.[21]

Essence Flux icon Essence Flux allows him to replenish his energy reserves by channeling the the arcane energy produced by the Outworld's crystals through any of his rifts, causing it to flow into his being regardless of his location. This essentially makes him a living mana dispenser, except that the energy he dispenses is reserved for him alone.

Lastly, when Harbinger ruptures an Outworld crystal, it unleashes a Sanity's Eclipse icon Sanity's Eclipse that releases powerful energies to blot out the minds of those caught in the blast. Such is its power that its reverberations can be felt across dimensions.

  • The last sentence may be a reason why this ability can hit those affected by Astral Imprisonment icon Astral Imprisonment, since it banishes them to another dimension.

Outside of his gameplay abilities, Harbinger has some powers in his lore. If necessary, Harbinger may call upon a dark power to protect the "inmost shells of creation" from the evil incomprehensible forces bent on destroying it. Besides being described as symmetrical, nothing else is said about this power.[22] He also possesses a staff made of self-assembling crystals from Outworld that can imprison opponents inside them.[23]

Friendships and rivalries[]

Allies meeting Outworld Destroyer

  • ▶️ Dark Willow minimap icon r Look, I don't know if they have gold where you're from but in case they don't, the little metal coins laying around are useless. Just let me collect them.
  • ▶️ Dark Willow minimap icon r Let's lock 'em down.
  • ▶️ Dawnbreaker minimap icon r I did not think to find one of your kind here, watcher. Are there more of you to call on?
  • ▶️ Gyrocopter minimap icon r Outworld eh? Ah, can't say's I've been there.
  • ▶️ Medusa minimap icon r Let's drain these fools of mana.
  • ▶️ Medusa minimap icon u Outworld Destroyer, let's see who steals them first.
  • ▶️ Meepo minimap icon u Hey Destroyer, what are you made of? And what's it worth?
  • ▶️ ▶️ Monkey King minimap icon r Just so you know, I have a strict no-Astral-Imprisonment policy.
  • ▶️ ▶️ Monkey King minimap icon r Stop looking at me like that.
  • ▶️ Pangolier minimap icon r So what do they do for fun where you come from?
  • ▶️ Pangolier minimap icon r It's my first time working with whatever it is you are. Anything I should know about?
  • ▶️ Puck minimap icon r What the Outworld represents, and why one would destroy it, is now a quandary that intrigues me.
  • ▶️ Snapfire minimap icon r I thought I'd been places...
  • ▶️ Snapfire minimap icon r Oh, come on now. You're just stringing a whizzer on me.
  • * ▶️ Void Spirit minimap icon r Does the old road go unguarded?

Enemies meeting Outworld Destroyer

Enemies killing Outworld Destroyer

  • ▶️ Arc Warden minimap icon You devour your last.
  • ▶️ Axe minimap icon u Your name is not Axe-world Destroyer!
  • ▶️ Bloodseeker minimap icon My blades can scarcely bleed this one, but still the essence flows.
  • ▶️ Dark Willow minimap icon r You never should have come here!
  • ▶️ Dark Willow minimap icon r Go back where you're from!
  • ▶️ Enigma minimap icon Gravity brings you down.
  • ▶️ Gyrocopter minimap icon Ah go waste your omens on someone younger.
  • * ▶️ Hoodwink minimap icon r Heard you were some kind of big hullabaloo. I didn't come here to prove anything, but I guess I just did.
  • ▶️ ▶️ Legion Commander minimap icon Never trust a--what are you anyway?
  • ▶️ ▶️ Lone Druid minimap icon u I will outlive your omens, Destroyer.
  • ▶️ Mars minimap icon r You're just a glorified guard dog.
  • ▶️ Meepo minimap icon Ain't you a cheerful one.
  • ▶️ ▶️ Monkey King minimap icon r Hadn't you heard? Imprisoning me just makes me stronger.
  • ▶️ Pangolier minimap icon r I don't do well with authority figures.
  • ▶️ Pangolier minimap icon r You should have stayed on the sidelines.
  • ▶️ Snapfire minimap icon r Tell the truth, I'm not even sure he's really dead. What if he's pan-dimensional?
  • ▶️ Snapfire minimap icon r That'll put ya up a tree. They got trees where you're from?
  • ▶️ Tiny minimap icon I thought you were made of rock like me, but I guess it was only chalk.
  • ▶️ Tiny minimap icon Whatever rock you're made of seems to be delicate stuff.
  • ▶️ Vengeful Spirit minimap icon Grounded.
  • ▶️ Viper minimap icon Clipped your wings.
  • ▶️ Visage minimap icon u You are powerless here, Destroyer.
  • ▶️ Void Spirit minimap icon r The fall of the last guardian and no one left to recognize its import.
  • ▶️ Winter Wyvern minimap icon u Stone wings?
  • ▶️ Winter Wyvern minimap icon Stone wings? An abomination!

Enemies dying to Outworld Destroyer

  • ▶️ Gyrocopter minimap icon So that's what you were warning me about.

Others

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Astral Drift description.
  2. Artifact Card: Outworld Devourer
  3. Outworld Destroyer response: ▶️ I'm not always oblique.
  4. Outworld Destroyer response: ▶️ I was only indirectly responsible.
  5. Artifact - Outworld Devourer response: The coin of man is useless to me, but instrumental in their own undoing.
  6. Artifact - Outworld Devourer response: Your suffering is mundane.
  7. Artifact - Outworld Devourer response: Existence is painful enough.
  8. Artifact - Outworld Devourer response: It is foreseen, this shall give you some small comfort.
  9. Outworld Destroyer biography.
  10. Outworld Destroyer response: ▶️ At last my existence has meaning.
  11. The Eminence of Ristul response: ▶️ r Do you spend too much time alone, or were you always this way?
  12. Heart of the Inauspicious Abyss description.
  13. Dragon Forged Armor description.
  14. Outworld Destroyer's movement sounds.
  15. Outworld Destroyer response: ▶️ My wings beat with the rhythms of eternity.
  16. Mana Burn description.
  17. Diffusal Blade description.
  18. Artifact Card: Mana Drain
  19. Outworld Destroyer response: ▶️ u To the outer dark.
  20. Outworld Destroyer response: ▶️ u To the abyss.
  21. Artifact Card: Astral Imprisonment
  22. Auspex of the Inauspicious Abyss description.
  23. Shards of Exile description.
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