World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 (25 page)

A
s the centuries passed, the burgeoning night elf society expanded into the dense forests of
Ashenvale, south of
Mount Hyjal.
Tyrande Whisperwind, high priestess of the
Sisterhood of Elune, led the night elves in rebuilding their society. Her order was uniquely positioned to fill the power vacuum among the night elves, for it had emerged from the
War of the Ancients relatively unscathed.

Tyrande deftly positioned the Sisterhood as the leaders of both the night elf government and the military. She also forged a new fighting force: the
Sentinels. Composed of devout and highly trained warrior women, this order dedicated itself to protecting the emergent night elf society. The Sentinels set out to patrol their misty forest home, befriending the native creatures of the land and standing guard against any threat.

Meanwhile, Malfurion continued fostering a culture of druidism among his people. Having abandoned arcane magic, many former sorcerers embraced Malfurion’s teachings and devoted themselves to living in harmony with nature. These early druids lacked the stringent militaristic codes and hierarchy of the Sentinels. Malfurion’s followers were free to explore the depths of the Emerald Dream at will. They also experimented with the art of shapeshifting, taking on the forms
of mighty bears, lithe nightsabers, swift-winged crows, and many other animals that roamed the woodland deeps.

S
HANDRIS
F
EATHERMOON

The Sentinels included a number of night elves who had fought bravely during the War of the Ancients. Chief among them was
Shandris Feathermoon. Orphaned during the Legion’s invasion, she was taken under Tyrande’s care. Young Shandris distinguished herself in combat time and again throughout the conflict. Her heroics earned her a place at Tyrande’s side thereafter, and when the Sentinels were forged, Shandris was named captain of the fledgling order
.

The druids regularly entered long periods of hibernation as they journeyed through the Dream. This aloofness frustrated Tyrande and her Sentinels. Though they often sought the druids’ help to safeguard night elf lands, few of Malfurion’s followers were ever awake to answer the call.

As these changes in night elf society took shape, an old foe was gathering strength in Kalimdor. Following the War of the Ancients, the remaining
satyrs stayed hidden in the dark corners of the world, waiting to strike back at the night elves. Eventually one of the horned aberrations,
Xalan the Feared, gave his brethren this chance. He rallied the satyrs and girded them for war.

Xalan’s rise also drew the attention of the
Burning Legion remnants trapped on Azeroth after the
Sundering. Doomguard and other wicked beings emerged from dark warrens, drawn to the satyr’s call. As one, this demonic army launched its first brutal assault on the night elf stronghold of Night Run, plunging the fragile society into war once again.

I
nitially, the night elves suffered terrible losses from the satyrs’ assaults. Yet the tide of battle soon changed when Tyrande’s adopted daughter, the captain of the Sentinels, Shandris Feathermoon, proposed a new strategy to fight the demons. She suggested that the druids be called from their sojourns in the Emerald Dream so they could be used as a fighting force.

Upon seeing how Xalan had corrupted the night elves’ forests, Malfurion agreed to Shandris’s request and summoned the most powerful druids of Kalimdor to his side. As one, the druids and Sentinels struck into the heart of satyr territory. Shandris’s brilliant guerrilla maneuvers led the night elves to overcome many of their enemies, including Xalan himself.

But while the night elves made gains in the war, a new threat emerged from within their ranks. A group of wayward druids seeking to harness the fury of the Wild God
Goldrinn had adopted savage wolf forms. Led by Ralaar Fangfire, these druids became known as worgen. Ralaar and his ferocious companions were slaves to their own rage, and they tore through friend and foe alike amid battle. Night elves bitten by the wolf-beasts contracted a virulent curse that transformed them into worgen as well.

WORGEN, SATYRS, AND NIGHT ELVES CLASH DURING THE WAR OF THE SATYR

The
worgen catastrophe forced Malfurion to reflect on the state of druidism. Without some form of regulation, he concluded that individuals like
Ralaar would inevitably go too far in their application of druidic power. Malfurion and his followers therefore created the
Cenarion Circle, a harmonious order that would guide and keep watch over the world’s druids and their practices.

The Cenarion Circle’s first great task was to deal with the worgen threat. Seeing no other recourse, Malfurion reluctantly banished Ralaar and his worgen to the Emerald Dream. There, Malfurion believed that they would enter a peaceful eternal slumber beneath the enchanted tree known as
Daral’nir.

After the worgen’s banishment, any hope the satyrs had of achieving victory was lost. The night
elves cut deep into their enemy’s domain until most of the forests had been cleansed of corruption. The few remaining satyrs retreated into the shadows. Never again would they pose so great a threat to night elf society.

I
n the centuries after the
Sundering, the surviving
Highborne attempted to assimilate in the new night elf society. Yet many of them struggled to do so. They found the temptation to delve into arcane magic irresistible, despite the strict laws banning sorcery.

Over time, these Highborne were warned again and again to stop meddling with the otherworldly powers—the penalty for repeat offenders was death. Despite this extreme punishment, the Highborne could not stop. The call of arcane energy was simply too strong to ignore.

A revered Highborne elf named
Dath’Remar Sunstrider chafed at the restrictions and punishments that weighed on his kind. He eventually proclaimed that arcane power was the birthright of the Highborne and that anyone who feared it was a coward. He and his followers began to practice the arcane arts without fear or restraint, daring the other night elves to act.

For Dath’Remar and the other Highborne, using arcane magic was more than just an act of rebellion. They had always believed that night elves were destined for greatness. Though these Highborne did not wholly condone the evils of
Azshara, they knew in their bones that night elf society could once again flourish into a mighty empire. Yet to do so, they would need to revive the study and use of arcane power.

The Highborne’s reckless defiance was as sudden as it was startling. In the end, the other night elves could not bring themselves to sentence so many of their brothers and sisters to death. Instead, they barred the Highborne from setting foot on
Hyjal ever again. Dath’Remar and his followers were exiled, cut off from the
Well of Eternity’s energies.

Most of the Highborne happily accepted their banishment. They were finally free of the other night elves’ constraints. Under Dath’Remar’s guidance, the Highborne built a fleet of mighty ships.
They then set sail, leaving Kalimdor for whatever lands might lie beyond the churning
Maelstrom. The Highborne’s determination was rewarded when they made landfall on a new continent some years later. This region, filled with lush wildlife and woodlands, would one day become known as the Eastern Kingdoms.

T
HE
S
UNSTRIDER
D
YNASTY

Dath’Remar Sunstrider hailed from a long line of illustrious Highborne, all of whom had served the night elf throne. Their namesake was something of an oddity among their moon-worshipping race. Dath’Remar’s ancestors had chosen “Sunstrider” to symbolize their penchant for delving into the unknown, for breaking expectations and throwing caution to the wind in their search for greatness. Like his bold progenitors, Dath’Remar carried on this tradition with pride
.