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The Sundering of the
World
Heartbroken by his brother's betrayal, Malfurion led
his companions into the heart of Azshara's temple.
Yet as they stormed into the main audience chamber,
they found the Highborne in the midst of their final
dark incantation and Azshara, having received
Illidan's warning, more than prepared for them.
Nearly all of Malfurion's followers fell before the
mad queen's powers including, Tyrande (though she
did not die). When Malfurion saw his love fall,
though, he went into a murderous rage.
The ensuing battle between Malfurion and Azshara
threw the Highborne's carefully crafted spellwork
into chaos. The unstable vortex within the Well's
depths shook, rocking the temple to its foundations
and sending massive quakes ripping through the
tortured earth. As the horrific battle between the
Legion and the night elves' allies raged around and
above the ruined capital city, the surging Well of
Eternity buckled in upon itself and imploded -
shattering the earth and blotting out the skies.
As the aftershocks from the Well's implosion rattled
the bones of the world, the seas rushed in to fill
the gaping wound left in the earth. Nearly 80% of
Kalimdor's landmass blew apart, leaving only a
handful of separate continents surrounding the new,
raging sea. At the center of the new sea, where the
Well of Eternity once stood, was a tumultuous storm
of tidal fury and chaotic energies. This terrible
scar, known as the Maelstrom, would never cease its
furious spinning. It would remain a constant
reminder of the terrible catastrophe... and the
utopian era that had been lost forever.
Somehow, Queen Azshara and her Highborne elite
managed to survive the ordeal. Tortured and twisted
by the powers they had released, Azshara and her
followers were dragged down beneath the raging sea
by the Well's implosion. Cursed -- transformed --
they took on new shapes and became the hateful
serpentine naga. Azshara herself expanded with hate
and rage, becoming a massive monstrosity, reflecting
the wickedness and malice that had always hidden
within her core. There, at the bottom of the
Maelstrom, the naga built for themselves a new city,
Nazjatar, from which they would rebuild their power.
It would take over ten thousand years before the
naga would reveal their existence to the surface
world.
Mount Hyjal and Illidan's Gift
The few night elves that survived the horrific
explosion rallied together on crudely made rafts and
slowly made their way to the only landmass in sight.
Somehow, Malfurion and Tyrande had survived the
Great Sundering and led their fellow survivors to
establish a new home for their people. As they
journeyed in silence, they surveyed the wreckage of
their world and realized that their passions had
wrought the destruction all around them. Though
Sargeras and his Legion had been ripped from the
world by the Well's destruction, Malfurion and his
companions were left to ponder the terrible cost of
victory.
There were many Highborne who did survive the
cataclysm unscathed. They made their way to the
shores of the new land along with the other night
elves. Though Malfurion mistrusted the Highborne's
motivations, he was satisfied that they could cause
no real mischief without the Well's energies. As the
weary mass of night elves landed upon the shores of
the new land, they found that the holy mountain,
Hyjal, had survived the catastrophe. Seeking to
establish a new home for themselves, Malfurion and
the night elves climbed the slopes of Hyjal and
reached its windswept summit. As they descended into
the wooded bowl, nestled between the mountain's
enormous peaks, they found a small, tranquil lake.
To their horror, they found that the lake's waters
had been fouled by magic. .
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