Warcraft Fan Fiction ❯ World of War in War ❯ Prelude ( Prologue )

World of War in War.

 

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Baran Sunheart.

 

Notes: This is my take on the fantastic universe of “World of Warcraft”.

 

 

Prelude

 

 

A brief overview of theThird War...and the foundingof the New Age.

 

Though the history of Azeroth is rife with tales of war and unending struggle, the invasion of the demonic Burning Legion (a society of magic-consuming demons from another dimension) stands as the most destructive conflict ever known.

 

The Legion meticulously planned its return to the mortal world over the course of many long centuries.

 

Not so long ago, their grand design came to fruition at last.

 

The Scourge of Lordaeron

 

A generation past, the lords of the Burning Legion attempted to destroy the kingdoms of Azeroth by loosing the orcish Horde (the Horde would later enter the Troll, Tauren and Undead under the same flag) upon the world. Ultimately their plans were undone when the corrupt Horde buckled in upon itself due to incessant infighting.

 

Undaunted, the demons surmised that a new and more unified force was necessary to sew chaos and disorder across the mortal world.

 

To this end, the demon Kil'jaeden the Deceiver (second-in-command of the Burning Legion under the command of the Dark Titan Sargeras, now in charge after the destruction of their chief) created the Scourge - a vast army of undead warriors, united under the singular will of the dread Lich King (Ner'zhul, a former shaman orc corrupted by the Burning Legion, responsible for the shattering of the orcs' original world, then captured by Kil'jaeden and transformed into the Lich King). With the Lich King as his puppet, Kil'jaeden was able to rally the Scourge and prepare it to annihilate human civilization for all time. The Lich King and his mortal servant, Kel'Thuzad (human archmage corrupted by Ner'zhul), planned to spread a terrible plague across the human lands, thereby swelling the ranks of the Scourge with newly risen undead warriors. Once their preparations were made, Kel'Thuzad and his Cult of the Damned struck the first blow against civilization by releasing the plague upon northern Lordaeron.

 

Uther the Lightbringer (founder of the Knights of the Silver Hand), one of humanity's most famous heroes, investigated the infected regions in the hope of finding a way to halt the plague's progress. Despite his efforts, the plague continued to spread and threatened to tear the Alliance (union of the Dwarf, Gnome, human and later Night Elf races under one banner) apart. As the ranks of the undead swept across Lordaeron, the king's only son, Prince Arthas, took up the fight against the Scourge. Arthas succeeded in killing Kel'Thuzad, but even so, the Lich King's forces grew with every soldier that fell in battle. Frustrated and stymied by the seemingly unstoppable enemy, Arthas took increasingly extreme steps to hold back their advance. Finally Uther warned Arthas that he was losing his hold on humanity.

 

Arthas' fear and resolve proved to be his ultimate undoing. He tracked the plague's source to the arctic land of Northrend, intending to end its threat forever. Instead, he fell into the Lich King's trap when he took up the cursed runeblade Frostmourne in the belief that he could use it to save his people.

 

The sword did indeed grant him unfathomable power; however, it also stole his soul. His spirit lost and his sanity shattered, Arthas was transformed into the greatest of the Lich King's death knights. He willingly led the Scourge against his own kingdom, slew Uther in battle, and murdered his own father, King Terenas. Caught off guard by Arthas' unthinkable crimes, Lordaeron was crushed under the Lich King's iron heel.

 

Sunwell - The Fall of Quel'Thalas

 

Though he had defeated all of the people he now saw as his enemies, Arthas was haunted by the ghost of Kel'Thuzad. The ghost told Arthas to bring Kel'Thuzad's remains to the mystical Sunwell (second incarnation of the Well of Eternity, the tainted source of all Arcane Magic on Azeroth and hidden under Nordrassil, the World Tree), which was hidden within the high elves' kingdom of Quel'Thalas.

 

Accordingly, Arthas and his Scourge invaded Quel'Thalas and laid siege to the high elves' crumbling defences. Sylvanas Windrunner, the Ranger-General of Silvermoon, put up a valiant fight, but Arthas eventually wiped out the high elf army and won through to the Sunwell. In a cruel gesture of his dominance, he even raised Sylvanas' defeated body as a banshee, cursed to mindless undeath in the service of Quel'Thalas' conqueror.

 

In due course, Arthas submerged Kel'Thuzad's remains within the holy waters of the Sunwell. Although the potent waters of Eternity were fouled by this act, Kel'Thuzad was reborn as a sorcerous lich. Resurrected as a far more powerful being, Kel'Thuzad explained the next phase of the Lich King's plan.

 

By the time Arthas and his army of the dead turned southward, not one living elf remained in Quel'Thalas. The glorious homeland of the high elves, which had stood for more than nine thousand years, was no more.

 

Archimonde's Return and the Flight to Kalimdor

 

Once Kel'Thuzad was whole again, Arthas led the Scourge south towards Dalaran. There the lich would obtain the powerful spellbook of Medivh (archmage from the past, corrupted by the spirit of Sargeras who used him to forge the Dark Portal between Azeroth and Draenor) and use it to summon the demonlord Archimonde the Defiler (chief of the very first invasion of the Burning Legion) back into the world. From that point on, Archimonde himself would lead the Legion's final invasion. Not even the wizards of the Kirin Tor (ruling council of Dalaran) could stop Arthas' forces from stealing Medivh's book, and soon Kel'Thuzad had all he needed to perform the summoning. After ten thousand years, the mighty demon Archimonde and his host emerged once again upon the world of Azeroth. Yet Dalaran was not their final destination.

 

Under orders from Kil'jaeden himself, Archimonde and his demons followed the undead Scourge to Kalimdor, bent on destroying Nordrassil, the World Tree.

 

In the midst of this chaos, a mysterious prophet appeared to lend the mortal races guidance. This prophet proved to be none other than Medivh (still struggling with the soul of Sargeras and still being the Guardian of Tirisfal), the last Guardian, miraculously returned from the Beyond to redeem himself for past sins. Medivh told the Horde and the Alliance of the dangers they faced and urged them to band together. Jaded by generations of hate, the orcs and humans would have none of it. Medivh was forced to deal with each race separately, using prophecy and trickery to guide them across the sea to the legendary land of Kalimdor. The orcs and humans soon encountered the long-hidden civilization of the night elves.

 

Led by their young warchief, Thrall (formerly a slave of the humans, he managed to gather the free orcs into the Horde and brought back their shamanic roots), the orcs suffered a series of setbacks on their journey across Kalimdor's Barrens. Though they befriended Cairne Bloodhoof and his mighty tauren warriors, many orcs began to succumb to the demonic bloodlust (result of the corruption by the Burning Legion) that had plagued them for years. Even Thrall's greatest lieutenant, Grom Hellscream, betrayed the Horde by giving himself over to his baser instincts. As Hellscream and his loyal Warsong warriors stalked through the forests of Ashenvale, they clashed with the night elf Sentinels.

 

Certain that the orcs had returned to their warlike ways, the demigod Cenarius (an ancient being, son of the only true goddess of Azeroth, the Moon-Goddess Elune) came forth to drive Hellscream and his orcs back. Even so, Hellscream and his orcs, overcome with supernatural hate and rage, managed to kill Cenarius and corrupt the ancient forestlands. Hellscream later redeemed his honour, however, by helping Thrall defeat Mannoroth the Destructor, the demonlord who first cursed the orcs with his bloodline of hate and rage. With Mannoroth's death, the orcs' blood-curse was finally brought to an end.

 

While Medivh worked to convince the orcs and humans of the need for an alliance, the night elves fought the Legion in their own secretive ways.

 

Tyrande Whisperwind, the immortal High Priestess of the night elf Sentinels, battled desperately to keep the demons and undead from overrunning the forests of Ashenvale. Tyrande realized that she needed help, so she set out to awaken the night elf druids from their thousand-year slumber. Calling upon her love, Malfurion Stormrage, Tyrande succeeded in galvanizing her defences and driving the Legion back. With Malfurion's help, nature herself rose up to vanquish the Legion and its Scourge allies.

 

While searching for more of the hibernating druids, Malfurion found the barrow prison in which he had chained his brother, Illidan (Highborn of the past, addicted to magic and responsible of the creation of the Sunwell). Convinced that Illidan would aid them against the Legion, Tyrande set him free. Though Illidan did aid them for a time, he eventually fled to pursue his own interests.

 

The night elves braced themselves and fought the Burning Legion with grim determination. The Legion had never ceased in its desire for the Well of Eternity, long the source of strength for the World Tree and itself the heart of the night elf kingdom. If their planned assault on the Tree was successful, the demons would literally tear the world apart since as the source of all magic in Azeroth, the Well of Eternity was the primary anchor of the whole world.

 

The Battle of Mount Hyjal

 

Under Medivh's guidance, Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore - the leader of the human forces in Kalimdor - realized that they had to put aside their differences. Similarly, the night elves, led by Malfurion and Tyrande, agreed that they must unite if they hoped to defend the World Tree. Unified in purpose, the races of Azeroth worked together to fortify the World Tree's energies to their utmost. Empowered by the very strength of the world, Malfurion succeeded in unleashing Nordrassil's primal fury when the whole night elves race poured and thus sacrificed their immortality within the mighty tree, utterly destroying Archimonde and severing the Legion's anchor to the Well of Eternity. The final battle shook the continent of Kalimdor to its roots. Unable to draw power from the Well itself, the Burning Legion crumbled under the combined might of the mortal armies.

 

The Betrayer Ascendant

 

During the Legion's invasion of Ashenvale, Tyrande released Illidan from his barrow prison, where he had spent ten thousand years of captivity. Initially he sought to appease his comrades, but soon he reverted to true form and consumed the energies of a powerful warlock artefact known as the Skull of Gul'dan (orc apprentice of Ner'zhul, responsible of the Warlocks and Necromancers, killed by the demons unleashed when he raised the Tomb of Sargeras from the sea). By doing so, Illidan developed demonic features and vastly magnified power. He also gained some of Gul'dan's old memories - especially those of the Tomb of Sargeras, the island dungeon rumoured to hold the remains of the Dark Titan, Sargeras.

 

Bristling with power and free to roam the world once more, Illidan set out to find his own place in the scheme of things. However, Kil'jaeden confronted Illidan and made him an offer he could not refuse. Kil'jaeden was angered by Archimonde's defeat at Mount Hyjal, but he had bigger concerns than vengeance. Sensing that his creation, the Lich King, was growing too powerful to control, Kil'jaeden ordered Illidan to destroy Ner'zhul and put an end to the undead Scourge once and for all. In exchange, Illidan would receive untold power and a true place amongst the remaining lords of the Burning Legion.

 

Illidan agreed and immediately set out to destroy the Frozen Throne, the icy crystal cask in which the Lich King's spirit resided. Illidan knew that he would need a mighty artefact to destroy the Frozen Throne. Using the knowledge he had gained from Gul'dan's memories, Illidan decided to seek out the Tomb of Sargeras and claim the Dark Titan's remains. He called in some old Highborne debts and called the serpentine naga from their dark undersea lairs. Led by the cunning sea-witch, Lady Vashj, the naga helped Illidan reach the Broken Isles, where Sargeras' tomb was rumoured to be located.

 

As Illidan set out with the naga, Warden Maiev Shadowsong began to hunt him. Maiev had been Illidan's jailor for ten thousand years and relished the prospect of recapturing him. Nevertheless, Illidan outsmarted Maiev and her Watchers and succeeded in claiming the Eye of Sargeras despite their efforts. With the powerful Eye in his possession, Illidan travelled to the former wizard-city of Dalaran. Strengthened by the city's ley power lines, Illidan used the Eye to cast a destructive spell against the Lich King's citadel of Icecrown in distant Northrend. Illidan's attack shattered the Lich King's defences and ruptured the very roof of the world. At the final moment, Illidan's destructive spell was stopped when his brother Malfurion and the Priestess Tyrande arrived to aid Maiev.

 

Knowing that Kil'jaeden would not be pleased with his failure to destroy the Frozen Throne, Illidan fled to the barren dimension known as Outland: the last remnants of Draenor, the orcs' former homeworld floating within the Twisting Nether. There he intended to plan his next moves while evading Kil'jaeden's wrath. After they succeeded in stopping Illidan, Tyrande and Malfurion returned home to Ashenvale Forest to watch over their people. Maiev, however, would not quit so easily, and followed Illidan to Outland, determined to bring him to justice.

 

Rise of the Blood Elves

 

At this time, the undead Scourge had essentially transformed Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas into the toxic Plaguelands. There were only a few pockets of Alliance resistance forces left. One such group, consisting primarily of high elves, was led by the last of the Sunstrider dynasty: Prince Kael'thas. Kael, an accomplished wizard himself, grew wary of the failing Alliance, which treated its elven allies with suspicion and hostility. The high elves grieved for the loss of their homeland and decided to call themselves blood elves in honour of their fallen people. Yet as they worked to keep the Scourge at bay, they suffered considerably at being cut off from the Sunwell that had empowered them. When the Alliance ordered the blood elves to fight against nearly impossible odds, the naga offered assistance that turned the tide of battle. Unfortunately the Alliance learned of Kael's association with the naga and condemned him and his people as traitors. Imprisoned and condemned to death, the blood elves were rescued by Lady Vashj.

 

With no other place left to go, Kael and his blood elves followed Lady Vashj to Outland. Together they sought out Warden Maiev Shadowsong, who had recaptured Illidan. It was only a matter of time until the combined naga and blood elf forces managed to defeat her and free Illidan from her grasp. According to Illidan, there was no cure for the blood elves' racial addiction to magic. Illidan had a different proposal in mind: in return for the blood elves' loyalty, he would grant them all the magic they could desire. It was an offer Kael had to accept: he was certain his people would die without either a cure or a new source of magic.

Kael embraced his people's Highborne ancestry and joined the naga. Based in Outland, Illidan gathered his redoubled forces for a second strike against the Lich King and his fortress of Icecrown.

 

Civil War in the Plaguelands

 

Ner'zhul, the Lich King, knew that his time was short. Imprisoned within the Frozen Throne, he suspected that Kil'jaeden would send his agents to destroy him. The damage caused by Illidan's spell had ruptured the Frozen Throne, and the Lich King was losing his power daily. Desperate to save himself, he called out to his greatest mortal servant: the death knight who now called himself King Arthas.

 

Meanwhile, Arthas had become embroiled in a civil war in Lordaeron. Half of the standing undead forces, led by the banshee Sylvanas Windrunner, staged a coup for control over the undead empire. As the Lich King's strength waned, so too did Arthas' powers. Alerted to the Lich King's peril, Arthas struck out for the north and left the Scourge in the hands of his lieutenant, Kel'Thuzad, as the war escalated throughout the Plaguelands.

 

Ultimately Sylvanas and her rebel undead (known as the Forsaken) claimed the ruined capital city of Lordaeron as their own. Constructing their own bastion, far beneath the wrecked city, the Forsaken vowed to defeat the Scourge and drive Kel'Thuzad and his minions from the land.

 

Weakened, but determined to save his master, Arthas reached Northrend only to find Illidan's naga and blood elves waiting for him. Arthas and his nerubian allies raced against Illidan's forces to reach the Icecrown Glacier and defend the Frozen Throne.

 

The Lich King Triumphant

 

Even weakened as he was, Arthas outmanoeuvred Illidan and reached the Frozen Throne first. Using his runeblade, Frostmourne, Arthas shattered the Lich King's icy prison and thereby released Ner'zhul's enchanted helm and breastplate.

 

Arthas placed the unimaginably powerful helm on his head, and Ner'zhul and Arthas' spirits fused into a single mighty being, as Ner'zhul had planned all along. Illidan and his troops were forced to flee back to Outland in disgrace, and Arthas became one of the most powerful entities the world has ever known.

 

Currently Arthas, the new and immortal Lich King, resides in Northrend; he is rumoured to be rebuilding the citadel of Icecrown.

 

His trusted lieutenant, Kel'Thuzad, commands the Scourge in the Plaguelands. Sylvanas and her rebel Forsaken hold only the Tirisfal Glades, a small portion of the war-torn kingdom.

 

Old Hatreds - The Colonization of Kalimdor

 

Though victory was theirs, the mortal races found themselves in a world shattered by war. The Scourge and the Burning Legion had all but destroyed Lordaeron, and had almost finished the job in Kalimdor. There were forests to heal, grudges to bury, and homelands to settle. The war had wounded each race deeply, but they had selflessly banded together to attempt a new beginning, starting with the uneasy truce between the Alliance and Horde. Thrall led the orcs to the continent of Kalimdor, where they founded a new homeland with the help of their tauren brethren. Naming their new land Durotar after Thrall's murdered father, the orcs settled down to rebuild their once-glorious society. Now that the demon curse was ended, the Horde changed from a warlike juggernaut into more of a loose coalition, dedicated to survival and prosperity rather than conquest. Aided by the noble tauren and the cunning trolls of the Darkspear tribe, Thrall and his orcs looked forward to a new era of peace in their own land.

 

The remaining Alliance forces under Jaina Proudmoore settled in southern Kalimdor. Off the eastern coast of Dustwallow Marsh, they built the rugged port city of Theramore. There, the humans and their dwarven allies worked to survive in a land that would always be hostile to them. Though the defenders of Durotar and Theramore kept the tentative truce with one another, the fragile colonial serenity was not meant to last.

 

The peace between the orcs and humans was shattered by the arrival of a massive Alliance fleet in Kalimdor. The mighty fleet, under the command of Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore (Jaina's father), had left Lordaeron before Arthas destroyed the kingdom. Having sailed for many gruelling months, Admiral Proudmoore was searching for any Alliance survivors he could find.

 

Proudmoore's armada posed a serious threat to the stability of the region. As a renowned hero of the Second War, Jaina's father was a staunch enemy of the Horde, and he was determined to destroy Durotar before the orcs could gain a foothold in the land.

 

The Grand Admiral forced Jaina to make a terrible decision: support him in battle against the orcs and betray her newfound allies, or fight her own father to maintain the fragile peace that the Alliance and the Horde had finally attained.

 

After much soul-searching, Jaina chose the latter and helped Thrall defeat her crazed father. Unfortunately Admiral Proudmoore died in battle before Jaina could reconcile with him or prove that orcs were no longer bloodthirsty monsters. For her loyalty, the orcs allowed Jaina's forces to return home safely to Theramore.

 

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And through all this, Elune continued to observe and help Azeroth.

 

The Kaldorei (who would spawn the whole elf races) venerated Elune, the moon goddess, even before they discovered the Well of Eternity ten thousand years ago. They revered her fellow Ancients, honouring them highly, but reserved their true adoration for the Lady they believed slept within the Well of Eternity during the daylight hours.

 

She has earned the right to be called a goddess, as she is the most powerful of Azeroth's Ancients Beings. She lives in the Emerald Dream (a world which is the mirror image of Azeroth minus all the corruption and the mark of any civilization, a nature paradise) and she has protected the world throughout the ages, guiding her children and calming violence. She refuses to raise her hand in anger, and fights her battles by using her magic to force all around her to lay down their arms.

 

Her power was formidable, and she guided all races well until arcane magic tainted the world and brought the Burning Legion to the land. She watched in horror as arcane magic perverted her children and allowed demons to nearly destroy the world that she had nurtured. After the war, she helped to heal the land, working with the night elves in seclusion to protect the forests. Her work was destroyed again with the coming of the Horde and the return of the Burning Legion, and no one knows if she will attempt to help Azeroth a second time.

 

Night elves revere her unconditionally, and other races are beginning to recognize her as the one power that could bring peace to the world. Races such as the furbolgs and even the tauren respect her power even if they follow other paths of faith. Some Alliance races are joining the night elves to follow the path of Elune, seeing that she is the path to peace.

 

Unfortunately, the Goddess realized at the beginning of the New Age that she couldn't protect and heal her beloved world by herself. Even the Heroes of each race seemed to do little but to slow the advance of the Burning Legion. It was then that she felt something happening within the Twisting Nether.

 

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The Twisting Nether surrounds all the layer of Creation which held Azeroth, though it remains invisible and unknowable. It is a realm of chaos, where coloured, misty clouds and bright streamers mingle into a muted form that teases mortal minds. Innumerable worlds, including Azeroth, exist within the Twisting Nether, and many speculate that its protean energies are the stuff that creates existence within this level of Reality. Arcane currents are strong in the Nether, for it is arcane magic's birthplace.

 

Demons have their genesis in the Twisting Nether. They alone control its secrets and master its energies, using it as weapon, armour and cloak. They fly through its madness, invading planes and whispering dark things to mortals on countless worlds. Some say that the Titans, responsible of the shaping of Azeroth and most of this part of Creation, also live in the

Twisting Nether, but if this is true they seem content to let the Legion run wild. Other creatures, made of energy and lunacy, also stem from the Nether's winds.

 

Within the Twisting Nether is Outland, the shattered remains of the orcs' original world. Outland is important to the Burning Legion because, shortly before Draenor's destruction, the orc shaman Ner'zhul constructed several Dark Portals to other worlds. The demons use these portals to invade other planets and fight their eternal war.

 

But, in their greed and thirst for power and magic, the demons touched a plane that they shouldn't have…

 

Something in the Great Dark Beyond…

 

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Notes: As incredible as it seems, I do not have nor ever played World of Warcraft. I have only access to the various guides and I have the RPG created after the game.

 

I can only call on your indulgence if you read some flagrant errors. Any reviews in that sense are welcome.