History of the Night Elves Part 3: War of the Ancients

Welcome back to another episode of the Lost Codex, a channel dedicated to the people,
places and histories of Azeroth’s Universe.
In the previous episode we explored the rise of Night Elf Society, the dark forces Queen
Azshara allied with and the Night Elf resistance that moved to oppose her.
We carry on today with the continuation of the War of the Ancients.
As Cenarius summoned the Wild Gods of Hyjal to aid the Night Elf resistance, Malfurion
beseeched the aid of the Dragon Aspects.
Alexstrazsa the Lifebinder summoned her fellow aspects to their ancient safe haven located
far in the frozen wastes of Kalimdor.
There,at Wyrmrest Temple, Neltharion the Earthwarder proposed a plan that would give the Night
Elf resistance and defenders of Kalimdor a chance for survival.
He proposed that each of the Dragon Aspects sacrifice a portion of their power into an
artifact of his own creation called ‘the Dragon Soul’.
With a portion of their essence empowering the artifact, they could use this new weapon
and turn it upon the forces of the Burning Legion.
Unbeknownst to the Aspects, Neltharion had more sinister plans for the artifact.
During his stewardship as the Aspect of Earth, the allfather of the Black Dragonflight had
fallen to the maddening whispers of the Old Gods.
Although they were imprisoned far beneath the earth, their influence seeped into the
very stones surrounding their prison.
Neltharion’s unique bond with the earth and stones of the world made him a prime target
for the Old Gods, allowing them to ensnare the once noble Dragon in their grip.
With the Dragon soul empowered with each of the Dragon Aspects essence, Neltharion carried
the artifact with him just as the Aspects arrived during a momentous clash between the
Demons and the Night Elf resistance.
Holding the weapon aloft, Neltharion unleashed the Dragonsouls power, tearing through the
ranks of the Burning Legion.
Without warning, the Black Dragon turned the artifact upon the Night Elf ranks and upon
his own kind, slaughtering them in the same horrific way as he had the Legion.
Malygos the Spellweaver and his Blue Dragons moved to intercept the deranged Earthwarder,
prompting Neltharion to turn the artifact on them, slaughtering them by the thousands.
Although Malygos would survive the encounter, the Spellweaver would never again be the same;
his grief would haunt him for thousands of years and send him spiraling into a long age
of depression.
The use of the Dragonsoul had also affected Neltharion.
Raw torrents of power coursed through the Black Dragon which slowly started to tear
him apart.
As his scales split and sundered, rivers of magma began to pour from his wounds.
Howling in agony, Neltharion would flee the battle with the Dragonsoul in hand and retreat
into his lair.
Neltharion’s betrayal had shattered the unity of the Dragon Aspects, which would forever
change the future of Azeroth.
From that moment on, Neltharion, the Earthwarder of Azeroth would be known by a new name that
would terrify both mortals and dragonkind alike: He would now be known as Deathwing
the Destroyer.
The Earth Warder’s betrayal had dealt a terrible blow to the Night Elf resistance.
On all fronts, the Kaldorei suffered heavy losses.
One such loss was the death of the resistance leader, Kur’talos Ravencrest, who was assassinated
on the orders of Queen Azshara’s newest chief advisor, Captain Varo’then.
Although Ravencrest’s death was tragic, his legacy would forever live on in the hearts
of the Kaldorei resistance.
The mantle of leadership was taken up by Jarod Shadowsong.
Unlike Ravencrest, Shadowsong did not come from the noble caste of Night Elf society
and as such, he did not harbor the close-minded ideals that many noble-born Kaldorei held.
Because of this, Jarod Shadowsong was quick to cast aside the xenophobic thoughts of his
people and invited the neighbouring races of the stone-skinned Earthen, the Ursine Furbolg
and the noble Tauren into the resistance.
Their presence would help change the tide of war in a fight the Night Elves were not
winning so easily.
As the Night Elf resistance grew in numbers with new allies flocking to their ranks, so
too did Azshara’s forces.
Although Azshara’s former High Councillor Xavius had been destroyed by the Druid Malfurion,
his role in the war was not yet over.
Infuriated with Xavius’s failure, Sargeras, the Lord of the Burning Legion, tortured the
Night Elves spirit for some time, before extending a hand of mercy.
The Demon Lord decided to give Xavius another chance and return him to the land of the living,
only this time he would be given a new form befitting an agent of the Burning Legion.
Xavius’s form was disfigured and twisted into the first Satyr, a demonic race with
deadly horns and cloven hooves.
Blessed with his new found powers, Xavius set out to bolsters the Legions numbers and
transform more Highborne into the Satyr.
While the both sides gathered new allies, some of Azshara’s loyal Highborne began
to question their Queen’s actions.
The Highborne of Suramar watched as their surrounding lands burned in the wake of the
Legion’s march and eventually decided to save themselves by breaking ties with Azshara.
As the Legion moved to turn the city’s beloved Temple of Elune into a staging ground for
a new Demonic portal, Suramar’s Elite struck out.
Using a group of artifacts known as the Pillars of Creation, the Suramar Highborne pushed
the Burning Legion presence out of their temple and moved to secure their city from any outside
threat.
A different group of Highborne also cut ties with Azshara.
Lead by Dath’remar Sunstrider, these Highborne had come to realize that their Queen’s new
allies would bring ruin to the world, prompting them to reach out and ally with the resistance.
Despite these Highborne deserters, Azshara ’s army continued to grow as one of the
wars most influential heroes turned cloak and joined the Queen.
Illidan Stormrage would pledged himself to Queen Azshara and her Legion allies and was
soon granted an audience with Sargeras himself.
Illidan’s loyalty and secret plan to steal the Dragonsoul pleased Sargeras, who rewarded
the Young Night Elf with a blessing of exceptional power.
The Lord of the Burning Legion would sear Illidan’s body with Fel tattoos before burning
out his eyes and replacing them with fel-fire that allowed Illidan to see all kinds of magic
made manifest.
Empowered with the gift of the Burning Legion, Illidan would set out and steal the Dragonsoul
from Deathwing, before returning it to Queen Azshara who planned to use it to open an enormous
gateway in the heart of the Well of Eternity.
As Azshara and her demonic allies made final preparations to bring Sargeras, the Lord of
the Burning Legion, into Azeroth, the Kaldorei resistance made one final push to save their
planet.
With Cenarius and the Wild Gods now at their side, Jarod Shadowsong and his armies charged
towards gates of Zin-Azshari.
The Wild Gods were unlike anything the Demons had yet faced.
Some Wild Gods, like the White Wolf Goldrinn, Aviana the Mistress of Birds and the bear
brothers Ursoc and Ursol tore through the ranks of Demons with tooth, talon and claw.
Other Wild Gods like Agamaggan the Razorboar, Malorne the White Stag and Tortolla the Wise
charged through the Legions forces like battering rams as the demons threw themselves against
their colossal forms before being trampled beneath their feet.
As both armies clashed and fought within Zin-Azshari, the surrounding land trembled.
Azshara and her minions were close to finalizing their ritual and soon, the portal within the
Well would be stable enough for the Demon Lord to cross through.
The final hour of the War of the Ancients had come and the future of Azeroth and all
of its people rested on the Heroes of this legendary battle.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Lost Codex!
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If you enjoyed this segment in the History of the Night Elves chapter, don’t forget
to like, comment and subscribe.
If you missed Part 1 in the series, click on the video on the left.
If you missed our second segment, click on the video on the right.
The end of the War of the Ancients and the events that follow will continue in part four
of the series soon ™. Stay tuned for Part Four: The Sundering!

History of the Night Elves Part 3: War of the Ancients

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