Queen Sylvanas Windrunner

Sylvanas was a member of the prominent Windrunner family of the High Elves. Her siblings were Alleria, Vereesa, and at least two other brothers. Her family lived at Windrunner Spire in the tranquil forests of Quel’Thalas. Sylvanas joined the rangers and eventually became their leader, rising to the rank of Ranger-General of Silvermoon, military leader of all High Elven forces.

During the Third War, Arthas led a Scourge army into Sylvanas‘ homeland, Quel’Thalas, in order to use the Sunwell’s powerful magic as a means to raise the fallen necromancer Kel’Thuzad. Sylvanas valiantly fought against the Scourge, but Arthas managed to defeat her in battle. Instead of allowing Sylvanas to die a quick death, however, Arthas ripped the Ranger-General’s soul from her body. He then converted her soul into a banshee and forced Sylvanas to assist the Scourge as they defiled Quel’Thalas and slaughtered many of the kingdom’s inhabitants.

Sylvanas later regained her freedom following Illidan’s assault on the Frozen Throne. Illidan’s attack had widened an existing crack in the throne, this weakened the Lich King’s control over some of the Scourge. Sensing that she was no longer chained to the will of her dark master, Sylvanas reclaimed her body and plotted to avenge her death. She nearly achieved this goal when a group of banshees loyal to Sylvanas led Arthas into an ambush. During the attack Sylvanas paralyzed her nemesis with a poisoned arrow, but Kel’Thuzad intervened and saved Arthas.

Following the assassination attempt, Arthas journeyed to Northrend and merged with the Lich King. Meanwhile, Sylvanas gathered other renegade Undead, now known as the Forsaken, and established the Undercity beneath the ruins of Lordaeron’s capital. With the Forsaken under her command, Sylvanas went to war against the Scourge and eventually joined the Horde. This partnership benefited both parties: the Forsaken’s relatively small forces required assistance in their offensive against the Lich King, and the Horde desired a foothold in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Recently Sylvanas dealt with an uprising by a group of Demons and rebel Forsaken led by the Dreadlord Varimathras and Grand Apothecary Putress. During a joint Horde and Alliance attack on the Wrath Gate in Northrend, Putress unleashed a new plague that killed friend and foe alike, and Varimathras and his loyalists seized the Undercity. Sylvanas defeated her enemies and retook the Undercity soon afterward, a victory that was possible only due to assistance from the Horde.

Under her leadership, the Forsaken have managed to not only fend off the Scourge, but also the Scarlet Crusade. She has mastery of leadership, military strategy, and the bow. She is also adept at Demon magic, having the ability to drain life, create skeletons, and use mind control. Sylvanas is the best archer on Azeroth, she claimed she could hit a flying bird in the eye. She wields Sunstrider’s Longbow, once owned by Dath’Remar Sunstrider, it was passed on to Sylvanas when she became Ranger-General.

Despite setbacks and distractions, Sylvanas remains focused on her end goal, revenge. Now that the Forsaken and the Horde are beginning their assault on the Lich King’s fortress, Sylvanas believes that her destiny is close at hand.

Jaina Proudmoore

In anticipation of Jainas part in the upcoming Icecrown Citadel Patch, here is some history on her.

Jaina Proudmoore is the leader Theramore Isle. She is the daughter of Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, sister of Tandred Proudmoore and Derek Proudmoore. She is also the most powerful human sorceress on Azeroth.

Born during the Second Warcraft War, Jaina is the youngest daughter of Daelin Proudmoore. At a young age, Jaina’s magical talent was discovered and she was sent to Dalaran to learn under the great Antonidas, eventually becoming one of the few female wizards in direct service to Dalaran.

Because of their mutually royal heritage, it was inevitable that Jaina and Prince Arthas, the heir to the throne of Lordaeron, would meet. They began seeing each other regularly, and their relationship, over time, developed into something of a love affair. However, both Arthas and Jainas public duties and the public attention they were getting made things very difficult, and so they broke off contact, but remained good friends.

Jaina accompanied Arthas on his investigation of the Undeath plague that was sweeping the land and worked alongside the young prince in his unsuccessful attempts to stop the Undeath. Along with Uther Lightbringer, Jaina was horrified at Arthas slaughter of the innocent people of Stratholme whose only crime was to be infected, and would have nothing to do with it, and walked away from Arthas forever.

Jaina and Uther returned to Stratholme’s burning ruins after Arthas had finished with it. Both were appalled at what they saw. It was here that Jaina was visited by the Prophet Medivh who urged her to take the people she could with her to the west to Kalimdor, fleeing Lordaeron and her home. She realized that he was right, Lordaeron could not be saved, and Jaina decided to follow his words, and made preparations. She left just as the invasion of Lordaeron began, saving thousands of citizens from a terrible fate.

On arriving at Kalimdor, Jaina fought several battles with the Orcs before confronting Thrall and Cairne. The battle was about to commence when they were all confronted by the Oracle, the Prophet Medivh who had already given them advice that had saved countless of there peoples lives. The Prophet Medivh implored them all to ally with each other, telling them that they would not survive alone against the might of the Burning Legion.

Jaina agreed to ally her forces with Thrall’s. Jaina gave Thrall a Soul Gem, which he used to capture Grom’s essence as the invasion of Kalimdor began. Then, she helped him purge Grom of the demonic curse that had gripped him and Grom was then able to destroy Mannoroth one of the legions main Captains, weakening there invasion force.

Later Thrall received a vision. Jaina followed him to where he was instructed to go, where they found the leaders of the Night Elves, Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind. The Prophet appeared and again implored the Humans, Orcs and Night Elves to join forces against the Legion, or they would fall alone. They all agreed to defend Mount Hyjal together.

Jaina used her teleportation spells to scout out the surrounding area, and found that Archimonde and his doom guard were quickly making their way up the mountain. The defenders instituted three bases going up the mountain in an effort to halt his ascent.

Jaina’s base was the first in Archimonde’s path, and so it was the first to go, but before he could kill her, Jaina spirited herself out of Archimonde’s clutches. The next base to go was Thrall’s, and Jaina used her remaining energy to teleport Thrall from his base before Archimonde destroyed him, so that they could live to fight another day.

Following the Legion’s defeat on Mount Hyjal, Jaina took her refugees to an island outpost off the eastern coast of Kalimdor, the newly named Theramore.

Wrath of the Lich King

After the death of Bolvar Fordragon, King Varian Wrynn prepared the forces of the Alliance for all-out war against the Horde.(It appears that in 3.3 patch Bolvar didnt die..see below)

Jaina was desperate to avoid a Fourth War and teleported to Orgrimmar to uncover the truth. There she learned from Sylvanas Windrunner that an uprising had broken out and that Varimathras had taken control over the Undercity. Thrall assured Jaina that the Horde had no official interest in a war against the Alliance and that he would take care of the traitor. Jaina agreed to try to stop Varian, but warned him that it would not be easy- the late Highlord was like a brother to the king.

Jaina’s assessment proved correct as the forces of Thrall (attempting to regain control of Undercity) and King Wrynn (attempting to raze it) clashed at Undercity. Refusing to allow the Horde and the Alliance to descend into open war, Jaina stopped the Alliance army cold (literally) and teleported all of them back to Stormwind.

Blizzard Update for Icecrown Citadel Patch

It appears that in 3.3 patch Bolvar didnt die at the hands of the forsaken but was taken prisoner and is now in the hands of The Lich King who is trying to break him and make him turn on his enemies…will he resist long enough to be rescued ???

Currently the Horde and the Alliance are engaged in an all-out war in Northrend against the Lich King, who had earlier merged with Arthas to become one being. The offensive is gaining momentum, and Jaina occasionally attempts to act as a mediator between the Horde and Alliance factions. Most recently she tried to quell a fiery encounter between King Varian Wrynn and Garrosh Hellscream when they were discussing the ominous discovery of an Old God under the Titan city of Ulduar.

Maintaining peace between the headstrong leaders of these two factions is not easy, but Jaina is dedicated to focusing their energies on defeating the Lich King. For Jaina this imperative is more than just her duty to defend her people: it is personal. Perhaps in her heart she believes that the Arthas she knew from her past still exists somewhere deep inside the Lich King, awaiting freedom.

Formation of The Alliance of Lordaeron and the Horde

Alliance of Lordaeron

The survivors of Stormwind led by Anduin Lothar made their way to the northern Kingdom of Lordaeron to ask for aid from King Terenas Menethil II. Terenas called for an emergency council of war to discuss the Orcish threat.

King Terenas managed to enlist the support of the human kingdoms of Gilneas, Stromgarde, Dalaran, Alterac, and Kul Tiras. They also managed to gain the allegiance of the Bronzebeard Dwarves of Ironforge, the Wildhammer Dwarves of Aerie Peak, and the Gnomes of Gnomeregan. Attempts to gain the allegiance of the High Elves of Quel’Thalas had limited success as the Elves seemed initially uninterested and sent merely a pittance of their forces. These forces resulted in the Alliance of Lordaeron.

The Horde

In the last days of the First War, Orgrim Doomhammer successfully took control of the remaining Horde forces and began to bolster the Orc armies with Trolls and Ogres from beyond the Dark Portal. With Trolls, Ogres and Orcs fighting side by side, it was not long before the enterprising Goblins saw the potential profit in aiding them. The Horde gained support from Goblin machinists and mercenaries, and through use of the Demon Soul, an ancient powerful artefact the Horde managed to enslave the Red Dragon Alexstrasza and use her brood to fight for them, giving them valuable air support.

When Gul’dan awoke from his coma and found himself without allies, he “swore” allegiance to Doomhammer and began creation of the first Death Knights by instilling the souls of the dead Shadow Council into the corpses of the fallen Knights of Stormwind and creating a legion of Unholy Warriors in the service of the Warchief. These combined forces were the beginning of the Horde.

The Horde Offensive

In the 6th year after the fall of Stormwind, the Horde began their northern offensive with two simultaneously launched primary assaults. The first was a land offensive launched out of Blackrock Mountain which moved north to the Dwarf holdings in Khaz Modan. The second was a naval assault launched from the ruins of Stormwind, which sailed north taking the islands of Zul’dare, Tol Barad, and Crestfall and establishing them as naval bases. From these launching points, the Horde landed troops along the coasts of the Wetlands, the Arathi Highlands, and most importantly the southern coast of Lordaeron. Southern outposts such as Southshore, Tarren Mill and Hillsbrad were assaulted, and the Horde squeezed a large amount of troops into Lordaeron this way, assisted by the nation of Alterac who, under the leadership of Lord Aiden Perenolde, secretly provided them with maps and secret routes in return for the promise of power.

Zul’Jin, a powerful Warlord and Chieftan of the Amani Forest Trolls, and some of his champions were discovered by Horde scouts in a makeshift prison near Tarren Mill. When he heard the news, Doomhammer immediately ordered the rescue and release of the Trolls. Now in Doomhammers debt, Zul’Jin agreed to form a pact with the Orcish Horde, they agreed that the plains and valleys of Lordaeron would belong to the Horde, while the Trolls would take back their ancestral forests from their mortal enemies, the High Elves.

The Horde’s land assault proceeded to lay waste to Loch Modan, pushing the outnumbered Dwarf and Gnome forces into the city of Ironforge, who sealed themselves from the outside threat. The Bleeding Hollow Clan attempted several raids on the mighty dwarven city, to no avail. For the most part, Dwarves and Gnomes were cut off from the rest of the Alliance, apart from air support. Following the ravaging of Loch Modan, the Horde pushed further north into the Wetlands, taking Dun Algaz, Dun Modr, and Grim Batol and converting them into fortresses for the Horde. Grim Batol became the primary base for the land offensive, and was also converted into a hatchery for the enslaved Red Dragonflight. Thandol Span was a pivotal battleground in the Second War, constantly shifting in possession between the two factions.

Finally, owing to a diversion of Lord Lothars main army at Aerie Peak, the Horde succeeded in penetrating Quel’Thalas through the cliffs undetected. Together with the whole of the Amani tribe under Zul’Jin, Doomhammers troops slashed and burned their way through the Elven forests, and made it as far as Eversong Woods before the Alliance reinforcements could arrive.

Alliance counterattacks

Enraged at the attack on their borders, the Elves finally put forth their full strength in the war effort. This included the deployment of Elven Destroyers south to the Hinterlands and to the shores of Lordaeron. In Lordaeron and Quel’Thalas the Alliance managed to push back the majority of Horde forces to the shores of Hillsbrad, but not before Gul’dan was able to acquire High Elven Runestones to use in his effort to create Ogre-magi for the war effort. With support from the Elves, the Alliance was able to launch an attack on Zul’dare and end the invasion of Lordaeron. Though Hillsbrad and Southshore were nearly obliterated, the Horde navies were driven back to the shores of the Wetlands, Crestfall, and the ruins of Stormwind.

Following the victory in the north, the Alliance concentrated on pushing back the ground offensive on the edge of the Arathi Highlands on the great bridges of the Thandol Span. The first step was a bloody retaking of the Horde fortress on Tol Barad for use as a staging point for an invasion upon Dun Modr, the primary base of support for the attacks upon the Thandol Span. With naval support from Tol Barad, the Alliance ground forces were finally able to push across the Thandol Span and reclaim Dun Modr. The Alliance continued to push south, taking the base at Dun Algaz. Though they were unable to completely take the cursed fortress of Grim Batol, they effectively shattered the armies of the Horde forcing them to retreat from Khaz Modan.

After the defeat of the Horde forces in Khaz Modan, a brief pause in open combat ensued. The Horde attempted to gather more troops from the south, including the newly completed Death Knights. The Alliance began to turn their sights northward to the remnants of the Horde forces in northern Lordaeron, and to that end they sent Uther Lightbringer and his newly formed Knights of the Silver Hand to lend aid to the victims of the war. However, a minor peasant riot in Tyr’s Hand led to a discovery of a plot from Lord Perenolde of Alterac, who was attempting to destroy the Alliance from within. Learning of Perenoldes plot, the Alliance forces obliterated the small, treacherous kingdom.

Final Victory

The Siege of Lordaeron

Despite the disruptions on the home front, the Alliance continued to move south toward Blackrock Spire. While the Alliance forces found themselves outnumbered, exhausted, and in the harsh territory, the Horde forces continued to gain fresh reinforcements through the magic’s of Gul’dan and from beyond the Dark Portal. Doomhammer used the lull in combat caused by Lord Perenoldes betrayal to prepare a massive assault that would tear through the assailing forces of the Alliance and push through all the way to Lordaeron. It was a daring plan, and by sheer force of numbers it surely would have succeeded.
However, on the eve of Doomhammers planned offensive, Gul’dan, finally learning the location of the Tomb of Sargeras, took nearly half of the Horde’s forces in an attempt to raise the Tomb from the sea and claim the demonic powers for his own. Doomhammer with half his standing forces suddenly gone had no choice but to retreat. He withdrew his forces to pursue Gul’dan, in an effort to terminate his treacherous Stormreaver Clan and Twilight Clan allies. The Alliance jumped on this opportunity and proceeded to mop up the Horde’s remaining standing troops in Lordaeron, who were in shambles and without air support. Many of his troops were also cut off from the siege by Stromgardian troops under Thoras Trollbane, preventing any reinforcements from aiding the trapped warriors. The Stormreaver and Twilight’s Hammer Clan were destroyed by Doomhammers forces, and Gul’dan himself was destroyed by demons released from the tomb when it was opened.

The End of the Second War

With his forces thus weakened, Doomhammer fell back to the fortress of Blackrock, where the Alliance laid siege. In order to break the siege, Doomhammer and what followers he had left charged out of the Spire and attacked Lord Lothar and his Paladins. Doomhammer clashed with Lothar on the battlefield and after a titanic conflict that left both warriors drained, the Warchief was able to slay the Regent of Azeroth. Lothars death however did not have the effect that Doomhammer intended, rather than being demoralized; the Alliance led by Lothars lieutenant Turalyon, rallied and fought with a frenzy that shocked the Warchief himself and crushed Doomhammer’s forces, chasing them back to the Dark Portal.
Ragged and broken, the remaining Horde forces attempted a defence of the Dark Portal. In what has been described as the bloodiest battle of the Second War, the Orcs were eventually defeated, their leaders rounded up, and Doomhammer himself taken in chains. Shortly thereafter, the wizard Khadgar, flanked by the brave warriors of the Alliance, destroyed the Dark Portal. With the destruction of the Dark Portal, the Second World of Warcraft War was ended.

Introduction to The Three WoW Wars

Have you ever wondered about the Wars that took place and structured the geography and populations of World of Warcraft, what were the main events and who were the main characters that shaped the world that we play hundreds of hours in? Have you ever asked yourself why the Alliance was formed? Or who were the different races that made up the Alliance and the Horde and what were the Three Great Wars about?

Who were the Heroes or Villains in each of the major wars and what was the outcome and how does it affect World of Warcraft now? What is the symbolism behind the Racial Crests on each of there Battle Banners?, where did the Orcs come from originally and what was it that brought them from their world to Azeroth on a quest for conquest and destruction? Why are Night Elves with the Alliance and Blood Elves with the Horde?

There are so many questions about the characters and events that have formed the world where we play World of Warcraft but we tend to take this environment for granted and in doing so I feel we miss out on the chance to add another level of enjoyment to our WoW experience.

If you’re anything like me then you probably only paid attention to these facts as a fleeting interest as they were encountered while questing as you level up, or when you meet some of the famous names as bosses in that instance or raid, who is Jaina Proudmore? What part did she play in the Alliance and why does she stand next to the King of Stormwind? I wonder what the “L” on the Human Crest stands for?

The difficulty I had was that, when my interest was sparked, I could never easily find the answer, or it would be fragmented over several different locations or given in such a long winded article that I got bored reading before finding out what I wanted, so I would give up looking or only look far enough to gain a superficial explanation.

The Three World Of Warcraft Wars forged the worlds we play in now and the events and NPCs of those times have laid down the background and history that give World of Warcraft the depth and richness that make the game the best MMO out there, and I feel they are well worth knowing about and are sources of enrichment of your Gaming experience.

To that end I have pulled together under one heading everything I think you would want to know about the World of Warcraft Lore relating to those events. This is obviously not original material but what I have attempted to do here is gather this information together in one place and present it in a summarised and easily accessible and understandable format.

I hope you get as much enjoyment out of the WarcraftLore on these posts as I did in researching the subject matter, and I am sure it will enrich your World of Warcraft experience and open up a whole new outlook on the different lands and peoples of the World of Warcraft Universe as you interact with them on your travels.