And welcome to a new experiment. Simple videos to go with my lore articles. Enjoy!
Origins
In ancient times, a tribe of nocturnal trolls settled near the Well of Eternity, a lake formed from the life-blood of the worldsoul of Azeroth herself. These trolls were affected by such powerful magic, and over time, it began to change them. They became stronger, taller, more intelligent, and naturally attuned to magic and the arcane.
This new civilization named themselves the Kaldorei, a Darnassian word that means “children of the stars”, and they began to worship the Moon goddess Elune. The Night Elves also caught the attention of the Wild God Cenarius, who taught them about the natural world and how to live in harmony with nature.
War of the Ancients
The Night Elf empire grew to stretch across all of old Kalimdor. At the height of their power, they were ruled by Queen Azshara, who was said to exemplify the most coveted traits of her people.
Noble, beautiful, and extremely gifted in the arcane, Azshara was adored by her people, who, in her honor, renamed their capital city Zin-Azshari, or “the Glory of Azshara”. Here, Azshara and her Highborne tirelessly studied the Well of Eternity, determined to unlock all its secrets. As their power grew, so did their arrogance, and they began to recklessly abuse the arcane power they possessed.
Eventually, Azshara’s arrogance and lust for power led to her agreeing to a deal with the fallen Titan Sargeras – she would help summon him and his Burning Legion to Azeroth, and he would help rid the world of all they considered to be inferior – which included many Night Elves. Once the world had been “cleansed”, Aszhara and Sargeras would rule Azeroth together – or so she planned. Aszhara and her Highborne began to work on corrupting the Well of Eternity, transforming it into the only portal powerful enough to allow Sargeras and his Legion through.
Though disturbed by the Highborne’s lust for arcane power, Cenarius still believed the Night Elves could live in perfect harmony with nature. He taught the young Malfurion Stormrage to become the first Druid, and it was through these newfound abilities that Malfurion discovered the reason why demons had begun to appear in Azeroth, and how the Kaldorei’s beloved queen had betrayed them.
A Night Elf resistance was formed, led by Malfurion Stormrage and his love, Tyrande Whisperwind, the high priestess of Elune. Malfurion’s brother Illidan, who also loved Tyrande but who she rejected for Malfurion, seemed to betray the resistance when he joined the Highborne and accepted the powers of a Demon Hunter – however, Illidan was working as a double agent, determined to defeat the enemy from within.
In the war now known as the War of the Ancients, the Night Elf resistance was supported by many allies, including Cenarius and the Dragon Aspects. It was during this war that Deathwing revealed himself, betraying his fellow Aspects and nearly decimating the Blue Dragonflight.
The Sundering
In the end, the Well of Eternity became so unstable with power that it imploded in a world-shattering event known as the Sundering. This ancient disaster tore the world apart, splitting Old Kalimdor into the continents as we know them now, and leaving a great, neverending storm known as the Maelstrom where the Well had once been.
The world’s population was absolutely decimated. Those Night Elves who remained gathered in Mount Hyjal, a sacred land, home to many Wild Gods and largely untouched by Azshara’s empire.
Before the Well was destroyed, Illidan Stormrage had managed to collect three vials of its water. Wanting to preserve the Night Elves’ arcane power, Illidan poured one of these vials into a lake in Mount Hyjal, transforming the waters and effectively creating a new Well of Eternity.
This act infuriated the other Night Elves. They blamed the War of the Ancients and the Sundering on the Highborne’s greed for the power they got from the old Well of Eternity, and viewed Illidan’s creation of a new Well as nothing less than treason.
And so it was that while Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind became the new leaders of the Night Elves, Illidan Stormrage was condemned to imprisonment deep below Hyjal, where he was guarded day and night by the Wardens, led by Maiev Shadowsong.
In addition, the Night Elves outlawed all arcane magic, condemning it as inherently dangerous – a ban that remained in place for thousands of years, until very recently. However, the new Well of Eternity remained a threat.
Nordrassil – the First Major World Tree
It was the Sundering that caused the Dragonflights to leave the Dragon Isles. By now, even the Aspects were badly affected by the War. Deathwing had betrayed them, and Malygos, who’d lost nearly his whole flight, had isolated himself and was slowly going mad. But when Alexstrasza, Nozdormu, and Ysera visited the Night Elves, it was these three who had a solution for the new Well.
Alexstrasza brought a seed from G’Hanir, the tallest tree in the Emerald Dream, and she planted it within the Well. This seed grew into Nordrassil – the first World Tree – regulating the Well’s energies and protecting it from ever being abused, or from being used to summon Sargeras’s Legion again. Ysera bound the tree to the Emerald Dream, so that all Night Elf druids could wander the Dream at will. Finally, Nozdormu blessed the tree – for as long as it stood, the Night Elves would have the gift of immortality.
The Third War
In the centuries that followed the Sundering, the Night Elves never again became a world empire. Instead, they remained mostly isolated, at one with nature, apart from the mortal races.
This all changed during the Third War. First, Orcs arrived from across the sea and began to fell the trees of Ashenvale. Furious at this desecration of their forests, the Night Elves attacked. In the ensuing conflict, the Orcs managed to kill the Wild God Cenarius, a great blow to the Night Elves. Worse, the Legion had returned, and brought with it the undead Scourge.
When Tyrande saw that the Legion was once again a threat, she released Illidan Stormrage, believing him to be their best bet against the demons. As before, Illidan worked as a double agent, feigning allegiance to the demon army while intending to betray them. But in the end, Illidan was forced to flee to Outland, where he began to create an army of Demon Hunters – the Illidari – and devoted himself to his plans to finally destroy the Burning Legion once and for all. Eventually, still viewed as a villain, Illidan would be killed by players during the events of the Burning Crusade.
Back on Azeroth, determined to claim the power of the Well of Eternity, the demon Archimonde launched an attack on Nordrassil. To save their world from the Legion once again, Malfurion Stormrage made a terrible decision. He summoned thousands of wisps – the spirits of fallen Night Elves – that swarmed around Archimonde and the World Tree before detonating. The explosion destroyed Archimonde and the Legion threat, but it also destroyed Nordrassil, along with the Night Elves’ immortality.
Teldrassil – the Second Major World Tree
Over time, Malfurion Stormrage became trapped in the Emerald Dream. When this happened, a faction of druids led by Fandral Staghelm took the opportunity to grow a new World Tree in the hopes that it would restore their immortality – a plan that Malfurion had opposed. This tree was named Teldrassil, or “Crown of Earth”. However, Nozdormu did not bless this tree and the Night Elves remained mortal. Worse, Teldrassil was tainted by corruption from the start.
Even so, Teldrassil, with its capital city of Darnassus, became the Night Elves’ new home. For World of Warcraft players, Teldrassil is the first home that most Night Elves will have known. The Night Elf race’s starting area was on Teldrassil, the first major city they would have visited was Darnassus.
When Malfurion was finally freed from what turned out to be the Emerald Nightmare, he discovered that Fandral was working with Xavius, the Nightmare Lord, a former Highborne who joined the Legion and became the first satyr. Teldrassil was corrupted because Fandral had grafted a fel-tainted branch onto the World Tree. This corruption linked Teldrassil to the Emerald Nightmare, but Malfurion was eventually able to remove the branch. In the end, the now seemingly corruption-free tree was blessed by Alexstrasza and Ysera, but still not by Nozdormu.
As it turned out, Teldrassil remained tinged with corruption – removing it completely would destroy the tree – but though the corruption sometimes caused problems, Alexstrasza and Ysera’s blessings helped keep it contained. Malfurion, now awakened, enjoyed many years at Tyrande’s side. In time, even Cenarius returned – awakening after a period of rest, as Wild Gods do.
Illidan’s Return
Though Illidan was killed at the Black Temple, his Demon Hunter abilities meant his soul was sent to the Twisting Nether. His body, meanwhile, was guarded by Maiev and her Wardens.
During the Legion’s third invasion of Azeroth, Maiev Shadowsong made the decision to release Illidan’s Demon Hunters – to help in the fight agains the demons. The Illidari revealed Illidan’s true plans and joined the Alliance and Horde, now as allies. The Naaru Xe’ra, believing Illidan to be the destined “child of Light and Shadow” who would end the age of demons, planned to return Illidan’s soul to his body. The warlock Gul’dan, meanwhile, sought Illidan’s body to use as a vessel for the spirit of Sargeras.
The Nightmare Lord, Xavius, also made a return, and once again, planned to trap Malfurion in the Emerald Nightmare. While Tyrande and Ysera fought to save him, Xavius managed to corrupt the Green Dragon Aspect, transforming her into a creature of the Nightmare. In her final moments, Ysera was forced to fight against her friends, and Tyrande was one of those forced to kill her.
Upon Ysera’s death, Elune reached down and cleansed her, leaving a dragon constellation in the sky. Ysera’s spirit was sent to Ardenweald – the Death realm of Elune’s sister, the Winter Queen – to rest within a wildseed.
Eventually, Xe’ra’s plan to return Illidan’s soul to his body was successful. But, though still dedicated to destroying the Legion, Illidan rejected Xe’ra’s gift of the Light. Xe’ra responded by chaining Illidan in light, trying to force her “gift” on him, but Illidan broke free – killing Xe’ra in the process.
In the end, though it came at a cost, Azeroth won the war against the Legion. The Titans imprisoned Sargeras at the Seat of the Pantheon, and Illidan remained behind as Sargeras’s jailor. Illidan left behind a message for both Malfurion and Tyrande, finally accepting their relationship with his blessing, and asking that they take care of each other.
The Burning of Teldrassil
The end of the Legion should have brought peace to the Night Elves. Sadly, it was not to be. The Horde’s new Warchief, Sylvanas Windrunner, started an aggressive campaign to capture the continent of Kalimdor for the Horde. Known as the War of Thorns, the Night Elves found themselves once again facing Horde invaders in their lands.
Sylvanas strategized to attack and capture Teldrassil, officially so that the Horde could control the flow of Azerite from Kalimdor to the Eastern Kingdoms. However, Sylvanas was secretly working for the Jailer – and her true intension behind the war was to send as many souls to the Maw as possible – thus empowering the Jailer for his upcoming bid to control the Shadowlands.
During the war, on the beach of Darkshore, a dying Delaryn Summermoon told Sylvanas that she would never be able to kill hope. In seeming retaliation, Sylvanas ordered the immediate burning of Teldrassil, destroying the World Tree and wiping out its Night Elf population.
Unknown to mortals at the time, the goddess Elune, a goddess of Life, has a sister in Death – the Winter Queen of the Shadowlands. At the time of the Burning of Teldrassil, the Winter Queen had called out to her sister for help. No souls were coming into her realm of Ardenweald, and with nothing to sustain it, it was withering away. Therefore when so many Night Elves died in Teldrassil, rather than leave them to their transformation into wisps, Elune tried to send their souls to her sister. Unknown to her, the souls were siphoned to the Maw instead.
Not all Night Elves who died in the War of Thorns burned with Teldrassil. Some, like Delaryn Summermoon, were raised into undeath becoming Forsaken Dark Rangers.
Those Night Elves who survived became refugees. Once again, their World Tree home had been taken from them.
The Fourth War
The Burning of Teldrassil kicked off the events of the fourth war between the Alliance and Horde. Tyrande Whisperwind, furious that such an atrocity had been committed against her people, furious that Elune did not seem to care to help, and furious with what she felt was a lack of support from the Alliance, performed an ancient ritual that would transform her into the avatar of the Night Warrior.
As the Night Warrior, Tyrande was the incarnation of Elune’s wrath. It gave her great and terrible powers, but came at a cost. No one who has ever performed the ritual before has survived.
Tyrande led her people to fight fiercely against the Horde, specifically the Forsaken in Darkshore. After Sylvanas was ousted as Warchief, the Alliance and Horde finally signed a peace treaty – much to Tyrande’s fury. For the Night Elves, the war was still on, and Horde was warned to stay out of their lands.
Tyrande eventually cornered and killed Nathanos Blightcaller, Sylvanas’s champion, but she failed to reach Sylvanas before the Banshee Queen tore the veil and left through the gateway into the Shadowlands.
Shadowlands
Still determined to get her revenge. Tyrande followed Sylvanas to the Shadowlands. Meanwhile, her adopted daughter, Shandris Feathermoon, had grown increasingly worried for Tyrande and what the Night Warrior powers were doing to her.
Tyrande finally faced Sylvanas, but just as she was about to finish her, Elune seemed to abandon her, draining her of the Night Warrior’s powers. She fell unconscious and it seemed she might die. To save her, Shandris and Ysera sought the help of previous Night Warriors, whose souls rested in Ardenweald.
In the end, Elune herself was drawn down into Tyrande’s body. She made peace with her sister, the Winter Queen, who didn’t know Elune had tried to send the Night Elf souls to her. Elune also revealed that the Night Elves were her favorite children, and that she only intervened to stop Tyrande from dying – if Tyrande continued to choose vengeance instead of renewal, the Night Warrior powers would kill her.
Deciding to focus on the Night Elves’ future rather than avenge their past, Tyrande chose renewal. Her choice balanced Elune’s powers, allowing Tyrande to wield them without losing herself, or her life. Elune and the Winter Queen created the Sister’s Tear, a powerful artifact resembling a seed.
Over time, the Night Elf souls were rescued from the Maw, and sent to Ardenweald as previously planned. Here, they were welcomed by the Winter Queen, and offered the eternal tranquility of an afterlife in her forests.
Instead, the souls chose to invest in the Night Elves’ future. In a scene that resembled the wisps that saved the Azeroth by destroying Nordrassil, these souls swarmed around the Sister’s Tear, infusing the seed with their very selves. The Winter Queen gifted the seed to Tyrande. It would be the start of a new World Tree.
Now long-since free of Sylvanas’s influence, those Night Elves who had become undead Dark Rangers were also given a choice. They could remain Forsaken, or return to the Alliance. Some chose to return, the first official undead Alliance members.
Amirdrassil – the Third Major World Tree
After the reawakening and return to the Dragon Isles, Tyrande and Malfurion used the Green Dragonflight’s portal in the Ancient Bough to bring the seed to the Emerald Dream, where they planted the new World Tree: Amirdrassil.
This World Tree symbolizes the future for the Night Elves, but it is also vulnerable as it grows, and when Primalist forces attacked the Ancient Bough, Tyrande and Malfurion traveled to Ardenweald to beg Ysera return to Azeroth and help protect the Dream. But Ysera could only return if another soul took her place in Ardenweald – Malfurion Stormrage would have to stay behind.
At first, Tyrande would not hear of it, but Malfurion convinced her to leave him behind. Once Ysera is no longer needed, she will return to Ardenweald, and Malfurion will awaken once again. Before the lovers parted, Tyrande told Malfurion how tired she was. After centuries of conflict, trauma, and pain, Tyrande – and all the Night Elves – are truly exhausted. They need a home, a place to rest. They need Amirdrassil.
As Iridikron works on his own plans, he wants us distracted, and he’s chosen his distraction well. The fire Primalist Incarnate, Fyrakk, has his sights set on the still-vulnerable Amirdrassil. If the Night Elves have any hope for the future, the growing tree needs to survive the coming onslaught.
Nordrassil was destroyed by Night Elf wisps, sacrificing themselves and the tree to save the world. In contrast, Amirdrassil is infused with Night Elf souls, devoted to saving their people’s future. Teldrassil was corrupted, then burned, destroyed by fire. In contrast, Amirdrassil will face Fyrakk’s shadowflame – a terrible blaze that corrupts and burns everything it touches.
In many ways, Amirdrassil represents the Night Elves’ final hope in the face of their greatest fears.
