After speaking briefly with Anne Stickney of WoW.com the other day, it was mentioned that there's still a great level of confusion regarding the evolution from night elves to blood elves and how it all happened. While I know she'll have her own summary up soon (if it's not already), I figured I'd support the effort and help tackle this topic as well. Specifically, I wish to cover in detail the Kalimdor side of these events.

Children of the Stars

The night elves originally referred to themselves as "kaldorei," or "children of the stars." They mostly lived on the shores of the Well of Eternity, the powerful source of arcane magic on the singular massive continent known as Kalimdor. Because of this proximity, magic permeated almost every aspect of kaldorei society, building it to impressive heights and allowing the nocturnal elves to achieve great miracles in their time.

As a people, the night elves were ruled by their beloved queen, Azshara, a wondrous beauty and powerful practitioner of magic in her own right. Indeed, it is said that there were no others in the world who could match her strength in the arcane. To Azshara herself, this meant that there was no one in the world worthy of her attentions or affections.

There were those, however, whom she favored amongst those who served her. These "quel'dorei", or "people of noble birth," were elevated in status above the others, and were given special treatment. Arcane magic became even more a part of the lives of these "highborne" kaldorei, to the point that they became recognized as the strongest wielders of magic among the night elf race.

It's important to note here that the highborne were not necessarily physically different from their non-highborne brethren. At first glance, telling a highborne and a non-highborne apart would be difficult, as the primary differences fell pretty strongly upon caste lines. Being a highborne was more of a social difference that came from the perception that you were born to a greater status.

The Sundering

The desire for power naturally found within those who believe themselves superior lead the highborne to delve deeper into the swirling arcane vortex that was the Well of Eternity. It was here that Queen Azshara finally discovered a being that she believed was worthy of her affection—the Dark Titan, Sargeras.

Azshara, having been made to believe that Sargeras was a god of great power, sought to rule by his side. She thus instructed her highborne servitors to open a portal using the potent magics of the Well itself in order to link Azeroth with the Twisting Nether. It was through this portal that the Burning Legion first stepped through.

However, not all demons that fought during the invasion came through the portal. It was Sargeras himself who reconstituted a new body for Azshara's defeated advisor, Xavius, and bestowed upon him the dubious honor of being the first of a new type of demon. Indeed, he even gifted Xavius with the ability to reshape other kaldorei into his image, and thus were born the vile satyr.

The War of the Ancients that accompanied the Burning Legion invasion saw the death of a great number of night elves, regardless of social class. In the end, however, the Well of Eternity was destroyed along with the portal. The palace of Zin-Azshari, Azshara's seat of power, was shattered, and a great number of the quel'dorei loyal to her fell to the bottom of the sea with their queen.

Not all the quel'dorei were in the palace, however. A few, lead by Dath'remar Sunstrider, were able to escape the madness within the palace and find safety amongst the other survivors. It would be these highborne who would become the ancestors of those we would eventually know as "high elves."

The Exile

Years after the Sundering, as night elf society was still rebuilding, the surviving highborne began to chafe under the ban against arcane magic that had been a consequence of the war. Those who still considered themselves loyal to Dath'remar Sunstrider executed a defiant demonstration of their abilities to prove, once and for all, the power of the arcane. They unleashed a great arcane storm upon Ashenvale forest to prove their point.

Malfurion Stormrage, archdruid and leader of the surviving night elves, was infuriated at this dangerous display. But he and the other druids were unwilling to put so many of his people to the death required by the ban, and so the highborne were instead exiled from what remained of Kalimdor.

The exiles proudly took their boats and fled across the sea, past the Maelstrom that marked the grave of the first Well of Eternity, and founded a new society on the shores of what we would eventually call the Eastern Kingdoms.

Eldre'Thalas

The highborne capital, second only to the great palace of Zin-Azshari, was known as Eldre'Thalas. Modern times have renamed the ruined location Dire Maul, a name more befitting the foul dangers that lurk within. In its heyday, however, Eldre'Thalas was a grand city that held some of the queen's most prized secrets.

Those known as the Shen'dralar were Queen Azshara's more revered arcanists, a sect of quel'dorei who were the custodians to the arcane secrets within Eldre'Thalas itself. The Sundering left these men and women hidden and isolated from the rest of their world, and the ruins of their city became lost and forgotten within the thick rainforests of Feralas.

Because of this, the Shen'dralar never knew of the exile of their brethren, and they continued to survive within the shattered remnants of their once great city. They are the last remnants of ancient highborne society left in a world that has almost forgotten their kind, but they yet persist.

The Naga

When the first Well of Eternity was destroyed, the great palace of Zin-Azshari, and most of the surrounding capital city, fell to the bottom of the sea. Above the waters formed the Maelstrom, the eternal chaotic storm that serves as warning to any passing by ship. But below them formed something entirely different.

Queen Azshara and her highborne servitors did not drown beneath the waves. No, they were offered a deal from beings of greater power. The exact nature of the deal is unknown, but what is known is the monstrous shape that these sunken highborne took for themselves.

They all became the serpentine naga, a mysterious reptilian race feared by sailors the world over. Azshara herself also took a new visage, but what that is has yet to truly be seen...

...or has it? (image courtesy of Shadows and Light)

Last week saw Blizzard release its preview of the upcoming Mount Hyjal zone for Cataclysm. For those of us who enjoyed the climactic events of Warcraft III, this preview has been eagerly awaited for many years. Since the launch of the game, one of the only ways we've been able to gaze upon the legendary boughs of the World Tree, Nordrassil, was to sneak into the unfinished Hyjal zone in-game. Those who braved such restrictions were treated to the eternal image of Archimonde's remains entangled within the roots of the healing tree.

But I began to notice a trend bubbling up through Twitter after the preview was announced. While there was a healthy amount of excitement about the new content preview, there were a lot of folk who seemed less-than-impressed because they had no idea about the significance of Hyjal or the major lore figures mentioned in the preview itself.

So to all of you, I dedicate this article. It's a short romp through the history of Mount Hyjal, Nordrassil, and those legendary characters that Blizzard may ... or may not ... be bringing back to the forefront come Cataclysm.

Mount Hyjal

For years, Mount Hyjal and the wounded World Tree, Nordrassil, have remained cut off from the rest of Azeroth. Sealed away within a protective field of dense foliage by Malfurion Stormrage, Nordrassil has been slowly recovering from the devastation of the Third War, when Malfurion called upon the tree's power to destroy the archdemon Archimonde and repel the forces of the Burning Legion and Scourge.

Mount Hyjal is one of the most sacred locations for the night elf people. Indeed, it can almost be considered their home, as most of Northern Kalimdor itself either exists on the slopes of the immense mountain, or lurks within the shadows of its summit.

After the Sundering that ended the War of the Ancients and shattered the original Well of Eternity over 10,000 years ago, Hyjal was one of the few places that endured. It became a refuge for those who survived the great conflict. Indeed, even Illidan Stormrage saw an importance in Hyjal. Fearing what would happen to his people after the loss of the arcane magic that the original Well of Eternity provided, he scaled Hyjal's summit to pour its captured waters into a lake found near the peak. It was to be a gift—a restoration of their powers lost.

The magical waters of the original Well of Eternity coalesced into a new Well, once again providing a source of arcane magic to the beleaguered kaldorei. Of course, tampering with the original Well is what attracted the Burning Legion to Azeroth in the first place, and not everyone was thankful for Illidan's "gift." It was not long after that he was imprisoned into a barrow den across the span of the Long Vigil.

Nordrassil

In order to mask the arcane emanations of Illidan's new Well of Eternity, Alexstrasza herself used an acorn from G'Hanir, the fallen Mother Tree of Aviana, to create massive "Nordrassil," or "Crown of the Heavens." This immense tree became blessed by three of the five dragonflights. Alexstrasza's blessing was simple:

"I give Strength and Healthy Life to the night elves, for so long as the tree stands."

Ysera's blessing was slightly different, but no less important:

"To the night elves, who have lost their hopes, I give forth the ability to Dream again. To Dream, to Imagine, for in that is the best hope of rebuilding, of recovering, of growing... And to those who follow the path of one held special by me—and mine—I grant him and the other druids to come the path into the Emerald Dream, where, even in their deepest sleep, they may cross the world, learn from it, and draw upon its own strength...the better to guide Kalimdor's health and safety throughout the future."

But it is perhaps Nozdormu's blessing that is most remembered, because it was also the one that was lost years later after the Third War:

"Time will be on the night elvesss' side once again, for I grant them continued Immortality, forever a chance to learn, for asss long asss the tree stands..."

Nordrassil stood strong for the 10,000 years of the Long Vigil, until the Burning Legion invaded once more during the Third War. As the dread archdemon, Archimonde, scaled the slopes of Hyjal and approached the World Tree during the Battle for Mount Hyjal, the archdruid Malfurion Stormrage summoned forth thousands of forest spirits to assault the approaching beast. It was then that Nordrassil sent out a shockwave that destroyed one of the great lords of the Burning Legion in a wave of fire, sacrificing not only the forest spirits, but also the immortality given by Nozdormu's blessing.

It is said that Nordrassil will heal in time, but until then it must be protected.

Aviana

Amid the chaos, the Druids of the Talon will need players' assistance to resurrect the goddess of winged creatures.

While not specifically named in the preview, it is believed that the "goddess of winged creatures" mentioned is a reference to Aviana, the Lady Raven. Aviana was once merely a raven, until she was chosen by Elune to become a messenger to her son, Cenarius.

It was believed that Aviana was killed during the War of the Ancients. G'Hanir, the Mother Tree that was Aviana's domain, was also believed to have died when its mistress was apparently slain. However, the truth is uncertain in this matter, for there are sources that claim that Aviana was merely injured, and that she still serves as a messenger between gods and mortals to this day.

Indeed, some of her most faithful followers can be counted among the Druids of the Talon.

Malorne

It's even rumored that Malorne has been spotted in the wilderness. Perhaps further investigation is necessary....

Malorne is the father of Cenarius through a union with Elune herself. He is the White Stag and was a great protector of nature, and was said to have been able to stop great conflicts by merely appearing to the warring factions. To take a quote from Shadows and Light:

The enormous stag is a white so pure that he radiates a soft glow, like moonlight. He stares at you with eyes that are silver pools of deep and ancient wisdom, and his mere presence gives off an aura of calm, safety, and peacefulness.

As the ancients go, Malorne is perhaps one of the oldest. Some even claim that he may be older than Elune. The first known record of him is in the tauren myth The White Stag and the Moon, which tells the tale of how Elune fell in love with the great beast and helped save him from being hunted by the Shu'halo (tauren) themselves. It was from this love and union that Cenarius was born.

However, during the War of the Ancients, Malorne sacrificed himself to save his son, Cenarius, from an onslaught of demons. Malorne's appearance may have turned the tide of battle, too, had not Archimonde appeared and battled the White Stag. While the struggle became the stuff of legend, it also became the stuff of sorrow.

Archimonde, with great strength, grasped Malorne's immense antlers and snapped the demigod's neck.

(from Blizzard's fanart pages)

But some say that Malorne escaped death and that his spirit still wanders the Emerald Dream. Could it be that he has found a way to return to Azeroth's material realm? We'll see come Catacylsm...

Cenarius?

Your successes in Hyjal will ultimately lead you to the assembly of the Ancients, who have set a plan in motion to bring a powerful ally and demigod back into this realm.

Cenarius, son of both Elune and Malorne, fought bravely during both the War of the Ancients and the Third War. He is believed to be the father of druidism as we know it, having taught Malfurious Stormrage himself. Indeed, there is a reason they are known as "Cenarion" druids.

But Cenarius fell during the Third War under the axe of Grom Hellscream and his chaos / fel orcs. Empowered once again by the blood of Mannoroth the Destructor, Grom and his Warsong clan assaulted the demigod in Ashenvale Forest and were victorious.

But words from Malfurion himself would suggest that Cenarius, too, did not truly die. His connection to nature, much like his father's, seems to allow him to still exist within the Emerald Dream. When Remulos asks Malfurion about the fate of his father, the archdruid's response is "Cenarius fights at my side."

Could we be seeing Cenarius's return to the mortal realm come Catacylsm? Could the great demigod himself once again walk the ancients forests of Kalimdor and Hyjal?

Conclusion

There are a few others names mentioned in the Hyjal preview, including Aessina, Tortollus, and Goldrinn. Goldrinn, believed to be known in orcish as "Lo'gosh," may be the great wolf spirit for which Varian Wrynn was nicknamed. But as an ancient with distinct ties to night elves and druidism, could Goldrinn also be somehow tied into the worgen backstory?

The Hyjal preview hints at so much more than just a return to the sacred mountain. It hints at a return of some of the most powerful beings Azeroth has ever known...