World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 (29 page)

K
ing
Thoradin kept a careful watch over the intensifying war between the high elves and the trolls. Scouts returned to
Strom with tales of smoke rising along Quel’Thalas’s borders, of brutalized elven corpses littering the once-tranquil grottos of the northlands. Clearly, the trolls were winning, but Thoradin clung to his stubborn belief that intervening in the conflict would put his people at unnecessary risk.

However, Thoradin’s opinion changed when a group of high elven ambassadors sent by King
Anasterian Sunstrider suddenly arrived at Strom. With growing horror, Thoradin listened as the messengers related firsthand accounts of the Amani’s stark brutality and the otherworldly demigods who fought by their side.

The Amani threat was far greater than Thoradin or his advisors could have ever imagined. The high elves argued that without assistance from
Arathor, the trolls would soon destroy Quel’Thalas. After that, the Amani would launch the full might of their blood-crazed warbands against Strom itself.

Following the meeting, Thoradin consulted with his advisors. They agreed that allying with the elves was prudent, but they also knew that Arathor did not have the forces required to fight an open conflict with the trolls. Thoradin and his advisors debated well into the night before coming to a conclusion. If
humans were taught magic, it might give them the edge they needed to truly make an impact in the war.

Elven magic was legendary among humans, but they had never learned its secrets. Although Thoradin harbored a deep suspicion of sorcery in all its forms, he knew that his forces would require it in order to vanquish the Amani. The next day, Thoradin returned to the ambassadors with an offer: in exchange for military aid, the high elves would teach humans magic.

The high elves dispatched messengers to consult with King Anasterian. Like all of his kind, he knew well the dangers of unchecked magic. Teaching the arcane arts to humans could easily lead to disaster. Yet as much as this possibility troubled Anasterian, his own people were facing extinction. Knowing he had little choice, he agreed that the high elves would tutor one hundred humans in the rudimentary ways of magic.

Before long, elven magi journeyed to Strom and hastily began their mentorship of humans. Over the course of many months, the tutors observed something remarkable in their students. Although the humans lacked grace and subtlety in their castings, they possessed a startling natural affinity to magic.

Meanwhile, Thoradin ordered his generals to establish a stronghold at the base of the
Alterac Mountains. This would act as a staging point for their future offensive against the trolls. Thoradin’s generals also erected other crude forts in the
Eastweald, a large stretch of fertile foothills east of
Tirisfal Glades. However,
Alterac Fortress would remain the humans’ most important northern holding.

Once the elves had finished tutoring the human magi, Arathor began its offensive. Over twenty thousand human soldiers gathered at Alterac Fortress. From there, Thoradin himself led his forces toward Quel’Thalas. He did not, however, bring the human magi with him. They would remain
behind the walls of Alterac. If things progressed as Thoradin hoped, the magi would play a part later in the war …

Generals
Ignaeus and
Lordain acted as the vanguard of Arathor’s armies. Riding days ahead of the advancing Arathi host, they cleared the way north and slaughtered any troll scouts and raiding parties they could find. After weeks of hard marching, the full might of Arathor’s armies finally reached the outskirts of Quel’Thalas and smashed into the southern flank of the Amani. In coordination with the Arathi, the high elves launched a counterattack from the north and laid waste to the trolls’ front lines.

The Amani now found themselves fighting a war on two fronts. Yet
Jintha remained confident the trolls would emerge victorious. The elves’ decision to ally with the primitive humans reeked of desperation. The Arathi had a reputation as fierce warriors, but they lacked the magic powers and battle discipline of the elves. The crude humans were a minor nuisance—one that Jintha would quickly eradicate. Intent on destroying Arathor’s armies, he turned his warbands south to crush the humans. Once he had slaughtered them, Jintha would refocus his forces on Quel’Thalas and exterminate the elves for good.

On Thoradin’s orders, the humans began a slow retreat back toward Alterac. Weeks of brutal and bloody fighting followed as the overconfident Amani chased Arathor’s armies to the mountains. As the humans moved south, the high elves emerged from Quel’Thalas and marched for Alterac as well. They constantly harried the northern flank of the Amani, slowly whittling down the trolls’ rear guard.

Upon finally reaching Alterac Fortress, Thoradin was pleased to find that the Amani were still in pursuit. He readied his forces for the attack that he knew was soon to come. One morning, as a thick fog enveloped the Alterac foothills, the Amani fell upon the human army. Although outnumbered, the Arathi fought back with unexpected tenacity. The battle raged on for days with neither side giving ground. Before long, the high elves arrived from the north and assailed the Amani on a second front.

When the humans and elves were confident they had worn down the Amani ranks, they unleashed their secret weapon: the one hundred human magi. Throughout the recent days of fighting, Thoradin had kept them hidden within Alterac Fortress. Now, it was time to test their mettle in battle.

Alongside the elven sorcerers, the human magi called upon their vast newfound powers. Instead of attacking individually, the magi did something unprecedented: they pooled their power and wove a single terrible spell. The Alterac Mountains heaved and trembled as torrents of fire lashed down from the blood-red sky. The energies engulfed the Amani ranks in a searing conflagration. These sorcerous flames burned
loa and troll alike from the inside out.

Among the first of the Amani to be consumed in the enchanted flames was Jintha. Without their leader, the surviving trolls broke ranks and retreated north. The elves and humans hunted them down like game, slaughtering every Amani combatant they could find.

The disastrous battle floored the
Zandalari emissaries. Once so confident of victory, they skulked back to their island home in disbelief and shame. For them, the defeat marked a dark turning point in troll history, one from which their beleaguered race might never recover.

Yet for Quel’Thalas and Arathor, the war was the beginning of a glorious new era. For months after the cessation of the conflict, celebrations graced the streets of Strom and
Silvermoon City. The grateful elves pledged their undying loyalty to Arathor and to Thoradin’s descendants.

HUMAN MAGI UNLEASH THEIR POWERS ON THE AMANI TROLLS

T
HE
S
ACRIFICE OF
L
ORDAIN

During the retreat to Alterac, the Amani began gaining on the humans too fast, threatening to flank and overwhelm Arathor’s armies. To avert disaster, General
Lordain volunteered to waylay the trolls, knowing full well he would not survive. He and five hundred of his bravest warriors held off the Amani host in a narrow valley while the rest of the Arathi army continued retreating south. Lordain and his warriors paid the ultimate price, but their valiant stand helped secure victory for humans and elves alike. Lordain’s legacy of pure selflessness and sacrifice would live on among his people in the coming millennia
.

A
fter King
Thoradin’s reign had ended, new generations of humans expanded the nation of Arathor in size and power. Many of the first human magi tutored pupils in the ways of the arcane. Within a few decades, the number of spellcasters within Arathor had increased dramatically.

Protected from natural threats by these powerful magi, enterprising humans founded new Arathi settlements in the frontier lands. Some claimed the verdant pastures of the
Eastweald, territories once lorded over by the trolls. Others migrated to Alterac Fortress as well as to the smaller forts that had been built during the Troll Wars. These fortified holdings soon flourished into bustling trading outposts.

The most coveted and fertile lands were located in
Tirisfal Glades. There, the Arathi established a stronghold to protect their farmsteads from gnolls, kobolds, and other dangerous wildlife. Many former soldiers settled in this region, which they renamed
Lordaeron in honor of the late general Lordain.

Other Arathi expanded to the coastal region known as
Gilneas, where they constructed a series of robust harbors. The settlers fished the waters and engaged in rigorous trade with other parts of Arathor. The boldest of these sailors ventured into the open waters around Gilneas. In time, they discovered a large island to the south that was rich with metal ores and other valuable natural resources. Some of the sailors stayed on this island and founded a mighty maritime outpost named
Kul Tiras.

Over the decades, these new cities continued to grow and develop their own unique customs. The ruling powers in Arathor’s capital,
Strom, were ever wary that these settlements would become
too independent. Despite these rulers’ attempts to retain control over the kingdom, many cities did eventually gain more autonomy. The first and most notable example of this was the trading outpost of
Dalaran.

Established in the heart of Arathor, Dalaran quickly became a trading center of great import and influence. Citizens from across Arathor flocked to the city in a quest for wealth and new opportunity. One of these immigrants was a brilliant and eccentric mage named
Ardogan. He won the admiration of Dalaran’s populace and was elected as its ruler.

Under Ardogan’s governance, Dalaran would continue expanding in power and would ultimately evolve into an autonomous city-state. It would also become a much needed haven for Arathor’s magi—a population that the kingdom’s citizenry increasingly viewed with suspicion and wariness.