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The Birth of Azeroth 2
As the seemingly endless ages passed, the Night
Elves' civilization expanded both territorially and
culturally. Their temples, roads, and dwelling
places stretched across the breadth of the
continent. Azshara, the Night Elves' beautiful and
gifted queen, built an immense, wondrous palace on
the Well's shore that housed her favored servitors
within its bejeweled halls. Her servitors, whom she
called the Quel'dorei or "Highborne," doted on her
every command and believed themselves to be greater
than the rest of their brethren. The Quel'dorei
devoted themselves to exploring the powers of the
Well of Eternity -- eventually learning to harness
its powers -- creating magic.
As their powers grew, a distinct change came over
Azshara and the Highborne. The haughty, aloof upper
class became increasingly callous and cruel towards
their fellow Night Elves. A dark, brooding pall
veiled Azshara's once-entrancing beauty. She began
to withdraw from her loving subjects and refused to
interact with any but her trusted Highborne priests.
A young scholar named Malfurion Stormrage, who had
spent much of his time studying the primitive arts
of druidism, began to suspect that a terrible power
was corrupting the Highborne and his beloved queen.
He was right. The Highborne's reckless use of magic
sent ripples of energy spiraling out from the Well
of Eternity and into the Great Dark Beyond where
they were felt by Sargeras -- the Great Enemy of all
life, the Destroyer of Worlds who resolved to
destroy the fledgling world and claim its energies
as his own.
What began then would later be referred to as "The
Ancient's War." Queen Aszhara and her followers,
aided by Sargeras's demons, warred against the rest
of the Night Elves. The Night Elf forces were led by
Malfurion who, along with his Highborne brother
Illidan and his great love, the priestess Tyrande,
eventually convinced the druid demigod Cenarius and
the ancient dragons to lend their aid against the
Queen and the Burning Legion. The war that raged was
terrible beyond imagining, unleashing ancient powers
that killed millions.
Unfortunately, despite the strength of their
newfound allies, Malfurion and his colleagues
realized that the Legion could not be defeated by
martial strength alone. Even as they fought around
Azshara's capital city, the delusional queen was
working on her last, greatest spell -- a gateway
that would allow Sargeras to pass through the Well
of Eternity and enter the ravaged world. Even worse,
Malfurion's forces would suffer two more terrible
betrayals. The first was when Neltharion, the Dragon
Aspect of the Earth, went mad during a critical
engagement against the Burning Legion and switched
sides. Renaming himself Deathwing, the burning
dragon and his followers turned on his brethren and
drove the rest of the dragons from the field of
battle.
The second was when, devastated by the loss of the
dragons and watching his forces falling before the
Legion, Malfurion came up with a desperate plan. The
Well of Eternity, the demons' umbilical link to the
physical world and the source of the Highborne's
powers, would have to be destroyed. His companions,
knowing that the Well was the source of their
immortality, were horrified by the notion, but knew
he was right. Unfortunately, Malfurion's brother
Illadan, terrified at the thought of death and the
loss of his powers (and jealous of his brother's
love for Tyrande) switched sides again, rejoined the
Highborne and warned the Queen about Malfurion's
plan. .
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