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Deathwing the Destroyer

Deathwing was originally Neltharion the Earth-Warder, and is one of the five Dragon Aspects, leaders of the five Dragonflights, created by the Titans and given specific powers, to lead their Dragonflights and watch over ancient Kalimdor and its evolution.

Since his creation Deathwing has been a factor in the world of Azeroth in many ways and in several guises and I have detailed those in this post for readers to enjoy the Warcraft Lore surrounding this formidable Dragon who will be the Ultimate Evil in the new Cataclysm Expansion.

The Dragon Aspects :-

Nozdormu, the Timeless One

The bronze dragon was chosen by the Titan Aman’Thul to guard time and police the ever-spinning pathways of fate and destiny.

Alexstrasza, the Life-Binder

The red dragon was chosen by the Titan Eonar to safeguard all living creatures on the world.

Ysera, the Dreamer

The green dragon, Alexstrasza’s younger sister, was also chosen by the Titan Eonar to watch over the growing wilds of the world from the Emerald Dream.

Malygos, the Spell-Weaver

The blue dragon was chosen by the Titan Norgannon as the guardian of magic and hidden Arcanum.

Neltharion, the Earth-Warder

The mighty black dragon was chosen by the Titan Khaz’goroth and given dominion over the earth and the deep places of the world.

Early History

In peaceful times, Neltharion’s wisdom and power were renowned, he was known as a great protector of the land. Then came the madness that destroyed Neltharion’s mind and changed him forever, this was caused by some unknown crisis in the distant past. The inner-voices of the Old Gods continually whispered him and eventually further twisted his mind and convinced him that he could have power beyond his imagination if he served them.

The Old Gods convinced Neltharion to create the Dragon Soul. With the help of Goblins, Neltharion created a simple golden disc made of Neltharion’s blood and forged in the Goblin’s cauldrons and anvils deep beneath the earth.

Empowered by Neltharion’s magic, the Dragon Soul was shielded magically so that the other Dragon Aspects couldn’t see the taint of evil of the Old Gods in the disc. With the help of Malygos, Neltharion convinced the other Dragon Aspects to give a portion of their powers and their Dragonflights to the Dragon Soul. Neltharion told them that the Dragon Soul disc could be a weapon of great power to destroy the Demons of the Burning Legion who were invading Azeroth in the War of The Ancients.

Neltharion, the Dragon Aspects and their Dragonflights flew toward Zin-Azshari where the Night elves held the Demons at bay. Seeing the sky full of Dragons, the Night elves thought they would now win the war. Neltharion took the Dragon Soul and by channelling his destructive power through it destroyed most of the Demons with one swing of radiant magic. The Dragon Aspects watched in horror as Neltharion also killed hundreds of Night elves and other allies along with the Demons.

Neltharion was the only one who did not give his powers to the Dragon Soul. Now with the disc at his command he wanted all races and the Demons to see his power and to bow before him. The Dragon Aspects attacked Neltharion in an attempt to take the Dragon Soul from him and to reason with him in hopes of determining the cause of his treachery.

Malygos’ Blue Dragonflight surrounded Neltharion, but with a swing of the Dragon Soul most of the Blue Dragons perished. The next swing of the Dragon Soul paralyzed all Dragonflights and the Dragon Aspects in mid-air, rendering them unable to move or speak. Only the intervention of Korialstrasz, Alexstrasza’s consort, allowed the Dragons to counter attack. Deathwing struck out at the Dragon Aspects and their Dragonflights but despite decimating most of there numbers, the combined power of the Dragonflights forced Neltharion to retreat into hiding.

Thus was Deathwing the Destroyer born, and the Dragon Soul was renamed: the Demon Soul.

War of the Ancients

The ultimate goal of the Old Gods when they manipulated Neltharion into creating the Demon Soul was to try and create a way for them to be freed. They knew that Sargeras would be told of the Demon Soul and that he would try and acquire it to power a gateway that would allow him entry into Azeroth. By using the Demon Soul to amplify the gateway, the three Old Gods hoped that they would be able to escape their prison beneath the planet.

There plan was foiled by Malfurion Stormrage who stole the Demon Soul from the Black Dragons lair. Malfurion could hear the voices of the Old Gods coming from within the Demon Soul, asking him to wield the power. The more Malfurion used the Demon Soul’s power, the more tainted he became with the voices. Malfurion finally broke away from the corrupting thoughts, and put the Demon Soul away, so he wouldn’t be tempted to use it.

Later Illidan and Varo’then captured Malfurion and took the Demon Soul to Mannoroth the Destructor, the general of the Legion’s armies. It was used to power up the portal that would allow Sargeras to enter Azeroth. However Malfurion escaped and led a group into the temple and managed to disrupt the carefully crafted summoning spell. The unstable vortex within the Well of Eternity’s depths exploded and ignited a catastrophic chain of events that would sunder the world forever.

Rise of the Destroyer

After the Burning Legion was defeated, the Dragon Aspects sealed the Demon Soul with their energies, and now Neltharion may never use the Demon Soul. The artefact was hidden in an undisclosed location by Malfurion at the request of the Dragon Aspects. No longer in possession of the artefact and now unable to use it, Neltharion vowed to destroy most life and to wreak havoc on the planet. With his powers over earth, Neltharion caused volcanoes to rise along with the destruction already caused by the Well of Eternity’s implosion, sinking most of Kalimdor below the ocean. THE CATACLYSM

Aftermath

Lord Daval Prestor

For a time during and after the Second War, Deathwing disguised himself as a human nobleman named Lord Daval Prestor and attempted to gain control over the nation of Alteracby marrying Calia Menethil, the daughter of King Terenas.

Using subtle magic, he was able to ensnare the minds of the human leaders and forced them to grant him the title of King of Alterac. His ultimate goal was to obtain a high level of power and influence within the Alliance, so he could destroy it from within. He attempted to begin his campaign against the Alliance by pitting the kingdoms of Lordaeron, Stromgarde, Gilneas and Kul Tiras against the Kirin Tor of Dalaran - who Deathwing considered threats to his new identity.

Day of the Dragon

Sometime during the Second War, Deathwing discovered the Demon Soul’s location. Although he couldn’t wield its power because of the enchantment placed upon it by the Dragon Aspects, he realized that he could manipulate someone else to do so.

Deathwing manipulated the Orc Warlock Nekros Skullcrusher into doing his bidding. Nekros convinced his Chieftain, Zuluhed the Whacked, that he would have more luck in using the Demon Soul than the Shaman himself had. Although Nekros had no clue as to the power he was wielding, he was able to tap into enough of its power to kidnap Alexstrasza, her elder consort Tyranastrasz and some of her eggs. Nekros became Alexstrasza’s warden in Grim Batol, and used the Demon Soul to inflict horrendous pain to make her co-operate and produce offspring for the Horde to use in there battles.

Deathwing used his many pawns to try and manipulate himself into a position close enough to the Dragonqueen to either capture her himself or kill her. Deathwing tried to frighten the Orcs into believing that the humans were attacking, so that they would move Alexstrasza, and more importantly her eggs, north to Dun Algaz; this left her open to attack and her eggs vulnerable. Deathwing wished to steal Alexstrasza’s latest cache for himself to create a new Dragonflight, which although bearing the crimson scales of the Dragonqueen, they would be raised by Deathwing and carry his hatred for the mortal races.

His attack however failed. Rhonin, a Kirin-Tor mage, discovered the weakness of the Demon Soul and managed to destroy it, releasing all the powers of the Dragons who had given their power ten thousand years earlier. Deathwing was sent retreating with four very angry, fully-empowered Dragon Aspects on his heels, though he managed to elude them in the end.

When Deathwing was forced to go into hiding, he was no longer able to keep up the disguise. Lord Prestor mysteriously vanished, and Deathwing’s influence over the nobles disappeared along with him, although his daughter Onyxia followed in her father’s footsteps taking the Prestor name to attempt to also manipulate the Alliance.

Though long believed to be dead, Deathwing currently resides deep within the abandoned Wildhammer stronghold of Grim Batol, experimenting with his latest creations - the Twilight Dragonflight.

Brain Hacker

There’s not a lot to say about this item really.

Brain Hacker is a two-handed axe with a damage proc that also lowers the Intellect of your target, making it a very effective weapon against spell casters.

The end of this massive axe is jagged and irregular, with a single jutting spike that resembles the metal end of an ice pick. The back end of the axe blade is covered in convoluted lumps of metal arranged so as to resemble a human cerebrum. The brain hacker is specially designed to slay arcane spell casters.

I picked this up in a Stratholme run on my rogue and won it on a greed roll as no one needed, not being able to use it I put it on the Auction House and made 250g that was a huge amount to me at the time.

I really liked the design so decided to make it a Warcraft Gift Pendant, also it celebrated my windfall on the AH

Someone told me that they thought the name Brain Hacker was a reference to The Matrix but I cant find anything to confirm that.

The Third World of Warcraft War

The Third War was fought between the mortal races of Azeroth and the Burning Legion. Unlike the previous wars, the Third War took place across both the continents of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. It was during the Third War that the ancient Night Elves were reintroduced to the world.

The Birth of the Lich King

After their defeat in the Second War, the Horde’s Original Warchief, Ner’zhul was captured by Kil’jaeden. As punishment for his failure to defeat Azeroth, Ner’zhuls body was destroyed, and his spirit tortured until he agreed to serve the Legion again and this time deliver what the Orc Horde had failed to do, a broken Azeroth. To enable this Kil’jaeden had Ner’zhuls soul encased in a suit of armor and bound to the Frozen Throne, Kil’jaeden then hurled his creation towards Azeroth where it smashed into Icecrown Glacier. Thus the Lich King was born, and essentially the start of the Third World of Warcraft War.

Once on Azeroth, the Lich King started his creation of the Undead Scourge, his task was to use the Scourge to weaken the world to prepare the way for the Burning Legion. The Lich King used his powerful psychic abilities to enslave the local population and the Plague of Undeath that spread from the Frozen Throne transformed them into the Scourge, and with each soul he devoured the nourishment from this made the Lich King grow stronger.

The Nerubians of the ancient Kingdom of Azjul-Nerub were immune to the effects of the Undeath Plague but after a war lasting 10 years they were defeated and although immune to the Undeath their corpses were re-animated to serve the Scourge. During this period the Lich King established control over most of Northrend. He was then urged by the Dreadlords, sent by Kil’jaeden to watch over him, and in particular Dreadlord Tichondrius, to continue with the plan to prepare for the Invasion of the Burning Legion.

Attack on Lordaeron

The Lich King used his psychic powers to search Azeroth for any dark souls who would hear his call and summoned them to him. The Necromancer Kel’Thuzad, a once powerful mage of the Kirin’Tor, heard this call and with his thirst for power he was quickly ensnared by the Lich King and became the first of The Cult of the Damned, and along with the Dreadlord Mal’Ganis, he was instructed to take the Plague of Undeath to Lordaeron.

After months of preparation, Kel’Thuzad struck the first blow in the war by releasing the Undeath plague on Lordaeron. Despite the efforts of Lordaerons finest, including Uther Lightbringer, the plague continued to spread and many of Lordaeron’s northern most settlements were totally consumed. As the ranks of the Undead swept across Lordaeron, King Terenas‘ sent his only son, Prince Arthas Menethil, to take up the fight against the Scourge, this was the Lich King’s intention all along. Despite Arthas killing Kel’Thuzad the numbers of the Undead ranks grew ever larger with every soldier that fell defending the land. Frustrated by the seemingly unstoppable enemy, Arthas took increasingly extreme steps to drive them out eventually ordering the slaughter of everyone in Stratholme that had been infected by the plague to prevent Mal’Ganis from adding them to the army of the dead. This was the start of Arthas losing his hold on his humanity.

After Mal’Ganis made his escape from Stratholme, taunting Arthas to follow, Arthas tracked the plague’s source to Northrend. There he met his long-time friend, Muradin Bronzebeard, brother to the Dwarven King Magni, and with his help he found the legendary but cursed weapon Frostmourne which he hoped would help him combat the Scourge. Arthas, despite pleading from his friend to the contrary, took up the cursed Runeblade and although the sword did grant him great power, the cost was high: Muradin (or so Arthas believed) lay dead, and Arthas began to lose his soul. The curse of the sword made him more susceptible to the Lich Kings tremendous psychic powers and Arthas was transformed into the first and greatest of the Lich King’s Death Knights. Arthas under the influence of the Lich King exacted revenge upon Mal’Ganis, slaying him and thereby removing one of the Lich King’s more dangerous “jailers” and completing the unholy transformation. With his soul cast aside and his sanity shattered, Arthas led the Scourge against his own Kingdom of Lordaeron murdering his own father, King Terenas, and crushing Lordaeron, even Uther Lightbringer and the Order of the Silver Hand fell to the power of Arthas.

The Fall of Quel’Thalas

After the fall of Lordaeron, Arthas took the Scourge north towards the High Elf Kingdom of Quel’Thalas to resurrect Kel’Thuzad who was to carry out the summoning of Archimonde.

The High Elves stood no chance against this onslaught. Despite the mighty Elf gates, the destruction of an important bridge and many well trained rangers under the command of Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner causing some problems to their progress, the Scourge ploughed their way through Quel’Thalas’s defences on their way to Silvermoon. Before Sylvanas could warn Silvermoon of the Scourge invasion, her camp was raided and she was taken prisoner. Arthas tortured her and before giving her the peace of death, used his power to turn her into the first banshee, making her a slave to the Scourge. With its defences destroyed, the Scourge entered Silvermoon and slaughtered all the High Elves in the city. Arthas then continued on to the Isle of Quel’Danas and the Sunwell where he placed Kel’Thuzad’s remains in the enchanted waters, turning him into a Lich and corrupting the Sunwell. Arthas then had the Scourge kill the remaining High Elves of Quel’Thalas.

Archimonde The Defiler

With Kel’Thuzad revived the Scourge travelled south to Dalaran to obtain the Book of Medivh to use it to summon Archimonde to Azeroth. The Kirin’Tor used their most powerful magic, but failed in preventing the Scourge from stealing the spellbook. With it, Kel’Thuzad was able to summon Archimonde and the Burning Legion to Azeroth. Archimonde’s first order of business when entering the world was to single-handedly destroy Dalaran with his great power. He also took away control of the Scourge from the Lich King and gave it to Tichondrius.

The Night Elves and the Battle of Mount Hyjal

Archimonde and his Burning Legion ploughed through the nations of Lordaeron, devastating all. However, Tichondrius soon found that the Orcs were missing, having been warned by the spirit of Medivh, Thrall had taken the Orc tribes to Kalimdor. The Legion followed them across the sea, where they found not only the Orcs but also, the vile Night Elves who had banished them millennia before.

Archimonde, Mannoroth, and Tichondrius came up with a plot to re-enslave the Orcs and use them to destroy the Night Elves‘ demigod Cenarius. The plan was partially successful. Mannoroth corrupted Grom Hellscream and the Warsong Clan and drove them to slay Cenarius. However, Hellscream later broke free and sacrificed himself to destroy Mannoroth, thus severing the Legion’s control over the Orcs permanently. Despite Mannoroth’s death, Archimonde had achieved what he wanted - the destruction of Cenarius. He launched the invasion of Kalimdor and openly confronted his Night Elf enemies; his plan was to destroy Nordrassil, the World Tree at Mount Hyjal.

Despite no longer having control of the Undead the Lich King Ner’zhul still had plans to free himself. Using Arthas as his agent he manipulated Illidan by showing him the great power of the artefact the Skull of Gul’dan. Illidan took up the skull, which transformed him into a powerful Demon, and used its vast energies to destroy Tichondrius. Without support from Tichondrius, Archimonde’s attack on Mount Hyjal was greatly undermined.

Tyrande, leader of the Night Elf Sentinels, upon hearing of the Legions return knew she had to awaken Malfurion. Tyrande defeated the guardians of the Horn of Cenarius and used this to awaken Malfurion the Arch Druid leader of the Night Elf Druids. Immediately Malfurion knew what Archimonde was after and devised a plan to use the Horn of Cenarius to awaken the Druids of the Claw to help protect the World Tree and use the power of the World Tree itself to destroy Archimonde. To prepare for the Demons’ attack, three camps were built around Mount Hyjal. Archimonde and his forces first tore their way through the Human base, and then through the Orcs. With the two bases destroyed, Archimonde stormed through the Night Elf gate protecting the summit. With Archimonde at the World Tree, Malfurion used the Horn of Cenarius to call on the ancient spirits in the area to attack the Demon. In an instant, they detonated into a massive explosion that destroyed the Defiler, much of his Demon army with him, and the World Tree. The price for this defeat however was the Night Elves‘ immortality, but the Third War was over.

The Rise of Arthas

Kil’jaeden, angered by the defeat and the treachery of Ner’zhul, struck a deal with Illidan, now corrupted by the power of the Skull of Gul’dan, whereby, for destroying the Lich King, Illidan would receive untold powers. Illidan agreed and immediately set out to attack the Frozen Throne. The Lich King summoned Arthas to his aid, and despite being embroiled in a civil war in Lordaeron against the Undead led by the Banshee Sylvanas Windrunner, Arthas was forced to leave the uprising to be dealt with by his lieutenant Kel’Thuzad. This ended with victory for Sylvanas and the Forsaken Undead who then claimed the capital city Lordaeron as their home and renamed it The Undercity.

On reaching Northrend Arthas and his Undead Nerubian allies battled through the forces of Illidan to reach the doors of the Frozen Throne, where Arthas confronted and defeated Illidan. Arthas continued towards the Frozen Throne and his destiny, with voices sounding in his head Arthas reached the icy cask which encased the suit of armour, he then heard “Return the blade…complete the circle…release me from this prison!” and with one mighty blow shattered the icy prison and the Frozen Throne exploded and Ner’zhuls helm fell at Arthas’s feet. Arthas picked up the powerful artefact and placed it on his head, at that moment he heard Ner’zhuls voice say “now we are one” and Ner’zhuls and Arthas’s souls were merged into one of the most powerful entities on Azeroth.

Aftermath of Third war

The political scene of the current Azeroth was greatly influenced by the Third War. Under Warchief Thrall, the Orcs,Taurens, and Darkspear Trolls were brought together on Kalimdor to become the new Horde, to which the Forsaken and the Blood Elves would later join. A peace agreement was made between the Horde and the Alliance after the war, and Thrall has made it his job to ensure that nothing happens to break this already stressed pact.

Without Lordaeron, the rebuilt city of Stormwind became the base of the Alliance, with the Ironforge Dwarves becoming their closest geographical allies. The Gnomes of Gnomeregan had been unable to help in the Third War as they were dealing with a Trogg invasion of their city. In the end they were forced to flee Gnomeregan and their King Gelbin Mekkatorque settled in Ironforge with the Dwarves.

Due to the loss of their immortality, and having been exposed to the world outside their forests once more, the Night Elves decided they would have to make alliances with the wider world. Because of the animosity with the Orcs for killing Cenarius, the Night Elves in the end joined the Alliance.

The Third War left Lordaeron destroyed and the Night Elves mortal, and the High Elves almost driven to extinction. No large group of humans would ever regain control of Lordaeron.

Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider of the High Elves returned to his ruined city and renamed his people the Blood Elves in memory of their fallen comrades. The Blood Elves eventually retook much of Quel’Thalas, and eventually reactivated the power of the Sunwell.

After the war, Sylvanas broke free of the Lich King’s control, and formed the Forsaken. The Forsaken then took over the City of Lordaeron, making their home in its sewers, calling it the Undercity.

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.

First war –The Orc Invasion of Azeroth

The First War was fought between the Orcs and Humans following the arrival on Azeroth, through the First Dark Portal, of the Orcish Clans:-

Kil’jaeden, a lieutenant of Sargeras in the ranks of the Burning Legion, deceived Ner’zhul, a prominent Orc Leader, into believing the Draenei were plotting against them. He promised in return for serving the Burning Legion to give the Orcs the power to defeat their enemies. To receive this power the Orcs would have to drink the blood of the Demonic Pit Lord Mannoroth.

This act however put the Orcs under the Blood Curse, and with their aggression heightened and their spirits twisted by this, the once peaceful and honourable Orc tribes of the planet Draenor, turned on their neighbours the Draenei. The slaughter that followed united the Orcs under a single banner for the first time, and drove the surviving Draenei from their home planet.

Ner’zhul found out about Kil’jaeden’s betrayal and sought to free the Orcs from his grasp but his apprentice Gul’dan informed Kil’jaeden, who stripped Ner’zhul of any power and placed Gul’dan at the head of the Orc tribes.

The problem now for Gul’dan however, was that with no enemies left to fight the Orcs started to turn on each other. Gul’dan realized that unless he found a new enemy for the Horde, it would be in danger of destroying itself.

It was soon after this that Gul’dan was contacted by the powerful but corrupted and possessed human mage known as Medivh, he offered the Orcs a way to invade a world called Azeroth, which according to Medivh was ripe for the picking. The force that possessed Medivh was Sargeras a corrupted and disillusioned Vanir Titan and leader and creator of the Burning Legion, who wanted revenge on the humans of Azeroth for thwarting his previous attempts to conquer the planet.

Medivh with the power of Sargeras and the help of the Orc Shadow Council, created a Dark Portal connecting the two worlds of Azeroth and Draenor, the portal on Azeroth is located in Blasted Lands with the Draenor side in Hellfire Peninsula.

Once the portal was large enough, Gul’dan used it to usher his massive Horde army of Orcs through, along with the only loosely termed allies that the Orcs had at that time, the Ogres. This event heralded the start of the Hordes Invasion of Azeroth and the start of the First Great War.

Despite warnings from the Shadow Council of caution, the Orcs having encountered little resistance initially and under the influence of the Bloodlust expected an easy victory against a weak opponent. Led by Cho’gall and Kilrogg Deadeye they rushed to attack the fortress of the strongly garrisoned Stormwind Keep, but their vast numbers were no match for the Azerothian soldiers shield wall and then when the Knights of the Brotherhood of the Horse charged their flanks the Orcs, having never encountered cavalry before, broke and were routed and chased relentlessly by the Knights. The Orcs suffered a massive defeat with few surviving the initial battle, and the remainder were forced to flee back to Draenor.

After this defeat the Horde rallied under their Warchief Blackhand the Destroyer who was a great tactician and a respected warrior. Blackhand was egotistical and had a thirst for power this made him an easy target for Gul’dan and the Shadow Council to manipulate. Under Blackhands leadership the Orc Horde pushed forward again into Azeroth with renewed success until finally they were once again at the gates of Stormwind.

Just before the final assault took place, while Gul’dan was in a coma, having tried to penetrate Medivhs mind to find out the location of the Tomb of Sargeras as Medivh was killed by Lord Anduin Lothar. Orgrim Doomhammer one of Blackhands generals, took advantage of the situation to slay Blackhand the Destroyer and take control of the Orcs, he also broke the power of the controlling Shadow Council, killing most of them and declaring all Warlocks traitors.

Doomhammer led the Orc tribes in the attack on Stormwind Keep, this time the city struggled to hold off the full might of the Horde. During this second assault King Llane Wrynn I was assassinated by the half Orc Garona Halforcen, an act that signalled the fall of Stormwind. The Human Kingdom of Azeroth was almost completely destroyed, and the few survivors including the new heir to the throne Varian Wrynn, led by Anduin Lothar, were forced to flee north to Lordaeron where they sought shelter and aid from King Terenas Menethil II who was a long time ally of Stormwind.

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.

Blood Elf Mage

This World of Warcraft Gift was a one off made for a friend who had decided to make his main a Blood Elf mage although why he switched to the Horde I will never understand lol, probably so he could whip me in Battlegrounds:).

He had seen some of the WoW Crests I had made and thought it would be cool to have a Warcraft Gift pendant for himself. This was made up from a drawing produced from a screen shot of his character the piece measures approx 2.5” inches long by 1.25” wide.

I have also added here, along with the picture of this Warcraft Gift, a brief summary of Warcraft Lore about the Blood Elves

The Blood Elves ( Sin’dorei - meaning “children of the blood”)

Some 10,000 years before the First War they were originally the Highborne Elves under the reign of the night elf Queen Azshara. Due to their reckless use of the power of the Well of Eternity they drew the attention of Sargeras and The Burning Legion and this started the War of the Ancients which ended with the destruction of the Well and the release of this power blasted Kalimdor apart. After this Great Sundering the surviving Highborne were exiled from Kalimdor and founded the Kingdom of Quel’Thalas in the Eastern Kingdoms and it was here they formed the Sunwell and called themselves High Elves.

During the Third War, most of the High Elves were eradicated and the Sunwell corrupted when Prince Arthas led his army of the Scourge against them. In remembrance of their fallen brethren, most of them renamed themselves the Blood Elves, or Sin’dorei, and swore to avenge their fallen race. Desperate for aid the Blood Elves allied with the Naga. This was seen as treachery by the Alliance and they were sentenced to death.

Original drawing

Blood Elves feel betrayed by the Alliance and are enemies of both humans and the Night Elves and their only real allies are the Naga although they do work with the Forsaken as they have the same goals.

With the promise of the return of Kael’thas, the Blood Elves have a renewed purpose; they have rebuilt the city of Silvermoon, and now focus on regaining their strength.

Orc Crest - Icon Of Battle

After having written this blog it has re-ignited my passion for Wow Jewellery and the Warcraft Lore behind the designs so I have decided that I will post a complete set of all the WOW Racial Crests, with the intention that I will have designs for all of them sketched and made up into items for Warcraft Gifts in the future.

The obvious next one for me to do is the “Old Enemy” the Orcs.
The Orcs were born on the world of Draenor, they came to Azeroth through the Dark Portal and started the First World of Warcraft War against the humans while under the influence of the Burning Legion.

The Orcs were once a noble, shamanistic society on Draenor but were corrupted by the Burning Legion and used as pawns in the Legion’s invasion of Azeroth. The Orcs managed to rebel, however, and they were ultimately, during the Third World of Warcraft War, able to help turn the tide against their Demon masters. Led by the Warchief Thrall, the Orcs have reclaimed their strength and honour and have settled in Kalimdor where they have founded the nation of Durotar.

The concept of honour is the most important element of Orcish society for an Orc, honour is as important as his Clan, and most will die defending either Clan or personal reputation. Orcs now have embraced a life of wisdom, honour and the values embodied in the leadership of Thrall.

Now, the Orcs stand ready to fight not for the sake of conquest, but for their very right of survival in their new adopted world.

The Orcs racial crest is The Icon of Battle. The wolves represent the Frostwolf Clan, as well as the Orcs‘ kinship with wolves, and the crossed axes symbolize their skill in battle. The Symbol of the Horde at the centre of the shield represents the Orcs in the Horde Racial Crest.

I had this piece of Wow Jewellery made because I thought that in the game it was one of the best models at that time for a weapon and now i think they would make great Warcraft Gifts for anyone who had this sword in the old WoW. The Phantom Blade is a ghostly white almost translucent blade which was the bane of Rogues everywhere especially in Battlegrounds as it could prevent them from stealthing away, even if they used Vanish.

Phantom-Blade

I still remember my joy at getting this weapon, both on my Paladin and, as main hand on my Rogue, what a cool looking weapon it was and at that time would last you well on into the mid level 50’s or higher, unless you were fortunate to get Thrash Blade from Maraudon, even then I think the Phantom Blade just looks so much better I would still be tempted to keep it. That’s probably why I never went to Maraudon .

It was also one of the few weapons that when sheathed is placed on your back not your side, that looks really nice.

The World of Warcraft Lore attached to the weapon is really interesting to. During the last war, the Lich King outfitted some of his incorporeal Undead Warriors with special armor, making them difficult to deal with. In response, Human craftsmen developed the Phantom Blade to combat this. These longswords are a translucent white colour, and seem to disappear almost entirely in sunlight.

Phantom Blade Sketch

The process of commissioning the Human Crest started with me speaking to a good friend of mine who is an excellent artist to see if she would do some scale sketches. As she also was a WOW addict she readily agreed, I will attach some of her sketches to future posts for you to see and link to her website for you to see samples of her work.

Night Elf Moonglaive

The next stage was for me to contact some of the companies I knew from my time in the Jewellery business and see if I could get one of them to do a one off Warcraft Gift as a favour to me without charging the earth for it. Once the sketches were completed I then sent these to the company that I had spoken to for them to assess. They came back with several queries over the size required and the weight, also on which areas of the Icon of Courage should be highly polished which should be darker etc, we finally decided on the details and they then produced a mould and from that mould they produced a sample Human Crest Pendant which they sent to me and I must say I was highly delighted with the quality and detail. The Icon of Courage, as with all Warcraft Gifts, is produced in .925 silver which is the sterling silver standard, and I wear it with a leather cord which has a sterling silver fastener.

Some friends, who also played WOW, have asked me from time to time if they could have a pendant made for them, either for their own use or as a Warcraft Gift for someone. If it was an item that the mould had already been made for it was easy, and the cost was kept down to a reasonable level. Occasionally they wanted a piece that I didn’t already have a mould for so this entailed having to go through the process of producing sketches and a new mould all over again, but even though it turned out fairly expensive for them they invariably still had the piece made. I suppose in relation to the hundreds of hours you commit to a character on World of Warcraft then the cost of a one off unique piece of Wowjewellery as a special Warcraft Gift doesn’t seem too bad.

Night Elf female

Over the next few years of playing World of Warcraft I have levelled every class to lvl 70 apart from a warlock and every race apart from a gnome to at least lvl 40, and now in WOTLK I have so far 3 lvl 80’s. I have at certain times during this period commissioned other pieces of Wowjewellery when it seemed appropriate to mark a particular event or the progress of a character.

The Lore behind the pieces of Wowjewellery was something I became very interested in as I researched the items I was having manufactured and, if you want to explore in detail the World of Warcraft Lore, I have researched and written an article where I have tried to pull together the main facts about the history and make up of the World of Warcraft world that we play in.

In my next posts I will list the items that I have had made, each one representing a particular milestone or event in my World of Warcraft journey, I have also put a brief history where applicable about the Warcraft Lore behind the item.