Blood Oath - Preface

Blood Oath

PREFACE

Thousands of years ago, the high-borne followers of the night elven Queen Azshara helped their queen plumb the darkest secrets of sorcery. Their pride and curiosity eventually lured the Burning Legion to Azeroth, and the resulting war was catastrophic. Though granted amnesty, the surviving high-borne were exiled from their homeland of Kalimdor and sailed across the sea for new frontiers in the east. Reimagining themselves as "high elves," they built the kingdom of Quel'Thalas in the forests of the northeast. They created a mystical Sunwell which supplied them with all the magic they needed.

Over the millennia, they would battle many foes, and the forest trolls and eventually orcs devastated their homeland, but none committed so heinous a crime as the undead Scourge. Led by Prince Arthas, the Scourge stormed Quel'Thalas and desecrated the Sunwell. Its powers were lost to the high elves.

With King Anasterian Sunstrider dead in the attack, his son, Prince Kael'thas, took up the torch and led his people against the Scourge elsewhere. He renamed them "blood elves" as a tribute to their fallen comrades. As time passed, he and the other elves noticed an emptiness within themselves. It was only until a prejudiced human commander forced them to ally with the naga Lady Vashj that it was revealed that over the centuries, the high elves had grown addicted to magic. Without it, Vashj assured Kael, they would surely die.

Vashj and Kael led his contingent of blood elves to the broken world of Outland, where they began to serve the renegade night elf Illidan Stormrage. With his new allies, Illidan was quick to seize power in Outland, toppling the Pit Lord Magtheridon and taking up the mantle of Lord of Outland.

However, after Magtheridon's defeat, the lord of the Burning Legion - Kil'jaeden - arrived and demanded that Illidan return to Azeroth and put an end to the Lich King. Illidan, Vashj, and Kael travelled to Northrend and battled the Lich King's endless armies of the Scourge. Eventually, Illidan and Prince Arthas were forced to battle each other. Arthas was victorious. Illidan was severely wounded, and he and his forces retreated to Outland.

Furious with Illidan's failure, Kil'jaeden declared war on the night elf. Since then, Outland has been the battleground for this war.

Both sides, however, had more enemies than merely each other. The enigmatic naaru arrived in Outland in an interdimensional fortress known as Tempest Keep. These strange energy beings then spread through Outland, rallying forces to fight the Burning Legion. With Tempest Keep all but unguarded, Kael led the blood elves in a daring raid to claim it. The automated defenses were bypassed and they claimed the Keep and its satellite structures as their own.

Enraged by this indignity, the Aldor - a group of draenei led by the Prophet Velen, and faithful of the naaru - began striking out against the blood elves. Kael and his followers, however, managed to hold the Keep.

Blood Oath

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