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the centuries passed
Illidan, having also survived the Sundering as well,
had reached Hyjal long before Malfurion and the
night elves. In his mad bid to maintain the flows of
magic in the world, Illidan had poured vials
containing waters from the Well of Eternity, into
the mountain lake. The Well's potent energies
quickly ignited and coalesced into a new Well of
Eternity. The exultant Illidan, believing that the
new Well was a gift to future generations, was
shocked when Malfurion hunted him down. Malfurion
explained to his brother that magic would inevitably
lead to widespread corruption and strife. Still,
Illidan refused to relinquish his magical powers.
Knowing full well where Illidan's ruthless schemes
would eventually lead, Malfurion decided to deal
with his power-crazed brother once and for all.
Malfurion sealed Illidan within a vast underground
barrow prison, where he would remain chained and
powerless until the end of time. Concerned that
destroying the new Well might bring about an even
greater catastrophe, the night elves resolved to
leave it be. However, Malfurion declared that they
would never practice the arts of magic again. They
began to study the ancient arts of druidism that
would enable them to heal the ravaged earth and
re-grow their beloved forests at the base of Mount
Hyjal.
As the centuries passed, the night elves' new
society grew strong and expanded throughout the
budding forest that they came to call Ashenvale.
Many of the creatures and species that were abundant
before the Great Sundering, reappeared and
flourished in the land. Under the druids' benevolent
leadership, the night elves enjoyed an era of
unprecedented peace and tranquility under the stars.
Many of the original Highborne survivors grew
restless. Like Illidan before them, they were
tempted to tap the energies of the Well of Eternity.
Dath'Remar, the brash, outspoken leader of the
Highborne, began to mock the druids publicly,
calling them cowards for refusing to wield the magic
that he said was theirs by right. Malfurion and the
druids dismissed Dath'Remar's arguments and warned
the Highborne that any use of magic would be
punishable by death. In an insolent and ill-fated
attempt to convince the druids to rescind their law,
Dath'Remar and his followers unleashed a terrible
magical storm upon Ashenvale.
The druids could not bring themselves to put so many
of their kin to death, so they decided to exile the
reckless Highborne from their lands. Dath'Remar and
his followers, glad to be rid of their conservative
cousins at last, boarded a number of specially
crafted ships and set sail upon the seas. Though
none of them knew what awaited them beyond the
waters of the raging Maelstrom, they were eager to
establish their own homeland, where they could
practice their coveted magics with impunity. The
Highborne, or Quel'dorei, as Azshara had named them
in ages past, would eventually set shore upon the
eastern land men would call Lordaeron. They planned
to build their own magical kingdom, Quel'Thalas, and
reject the night elves' precepts of moon worship and
nocturnal activity. Forever after, they would
embrace the sun and be known only as the high elves.
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