The Epic History of the Blood Elves (Part II)

In Part I we learned a little bit about what we might expect of the "Burning Crusade." In Part II I want to share with you some excerpts about the Blood Elves.

Night Elf Queen - "Azshara, the night elves' beautiful and gifted queen, built an immense, wondrous palace on the" Well of Eternity.

Has her priests study the "Well" - "Sharing her priests' curiosity towards the Well of Eternity, Azshara ordered the Highborne to plumb its secrets and reveal its true purpose in the world." "The heedless Highborne had stumbled upon primitive magic and were now resolved to devote themselves to its mastery."

Transformed by the Magic - "As their powers grew, a distinct change came over Azshara and the Highborne. The haughty, aloof upper class became increasingly callous and cruel towards their fellow night elves."

The Magic was felt by Sargeras - "The Highborne's reckless use of magic sent ripples of energy spiraling out from the Well of Eternity and into the Great Dark Beyond. Sargeras - the Great Enemy of all life, the Destroyer of Worlds - felt the potent ripples and was drawn to their distant point of origin. ...Sargeras was consumed by an insatiable hunger. The great dark god of the Nameless Void resolved to destroy the fledgling world and claim its energies as his own."

The Queen Lets Him Through - "Queen Azshara, overwhelmed by the terrible ecstasy of her magic, fell victim to Sargeras' undeniable power and agreed to grant him entrance to her world. Even her Highborne servitors gave themselves over to magic's inevitable corruption and began to worship Sargeras as their god. To show their allegiance to the Legion, the Highborne aided their queen in opening a vast, swirling portal within the depths of the Well of Eternity."

The Invasion - Thus "Sargeras began his catastrophic invasion of Azeroth. The warrior-demons of the Burning Legion stormed into the world through the Well of Eternity and laid siege to the night elves' sleeping cities." "As the night elves' allies converged upon Azshara's temple and the Well of Eternity, all-out warfare erupted. "

The Queen Awaits - "As the titanic battle raged around Azshara's capital city, the delusional queen waited in anticipation for Sargeras' arrival. The lord of the Legion was preparing to pass through the Well of Eternity and enter the ravaged world. As his impossibly huge shadow drew ever closer to the Well's raging surface, Azshara gathered the most powerful of her Highborne followers. Only by linking their magics together in one focused spell would they be able to create a gateway large enough for Sargeras to enter."

The Well Collapses - "As the horrific battle between the Legion and the night elves' allies raged around and above the ruined capital city, the surging Well of Eternity buckled in upon itself and collapsed."

New Society - "As the centuries passed, the night elves' new society grew strong and expanded throughout the budding forest that they came to call Ashenvale. Many of the creatures and species that were abundant before the Great Sundering, such as furbolgs and quilboars, reappeared and flourished in the land."

Yet some Desired Magic - "However, many of the original Highborne survivors grew restless." The Night Elves "decided to exile the reckless Highborne from their lands...and warned the Highborne that any use of magic would be punishable by death."

"High Elves" Exiled - "The Highborne, or Quel'dorei, as Azshara had named them in ages past, would eventually set shore upon the eastern land men would call Lordaeron. They planned to build their own magical kingdom, Quel'Thalas, and reject the night elves' precepts of moon worship and nocturnal activity. Forever after, they would embrace the sun and be known only as the high elves."

Renamed the Blood Elves - A perfect lead in to Blizzard's intro to the new Horde race where we learn that some would later rename themselves from the "High Elves" to "Blood Elves."

These excerpts give you the general story, but I recommend reading the full Well of Eternity Lore so you can get the whole picture. The betrayal by a brother; the dragon that went mad during the battle; the blotting out of the skies; the creation of the Naga... good stuff!