(For over a year now I have only been subscribed to World of Warcraft midway through a month, every other month, because of a general disinterest in Dragonflight and to save money. As a result, I have lost my Trust Level 3, as one of the requirements is to have visited the forums on at least 50% of last 100 days. So unfortunately I will not be able to embed supporting images for clarity as I have in the past, but I will leave map image links for assistance nonetheless.)
A topic that obviously frequently comes up is the Kaldorei Empire vs. the Troll Empires. Until Patch 8.1 “Tides of Vengeance” it had always been clear that the Night Elves were able to expand so easily thanks to the Highborne’s use of the Well of Eternity. But then the Alliance side introductory questing to the Darkshore Warfront and later the book Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdor added new historical information stating that the Night Warrior had been involved in the Night Elves’ spread across the world.
We do not have a definitive lore answer to how these two factors interacted, and I am not sure the upcoming Chronicle IV will clarify the ancient history found in the first volume. So the following is my attempt to piece together the information we have.
Azshara's Expansion of the Kaldorei Empire
https://www.imgur.com/AWkEmDC.jpg
From Chronicle I, page 95:
- Under Azshara, night elf civilization blossomed into a sprawling empire, a dreamscape of gilded spires, vast cities, and other marvels that would not be seen again even in the modern age. Networks of luminescent causeways, limned by the silver light of Elune, radiated out to the far corners of Kalimdor.
At Azshara’s behest, expeditionary forces set out to explore the world and also spread the empire’s borders. They often returned to Zin-Azshari with samples of exotic flora and fauna, and tales of the mythical dragonflights that ruled the roof of the world. The expeditionary forces also founded dozens of outposts and repositories, such as Shandaral in the icy northern forest of Moonsong, Then’Ralore in the lush central wilds (later known as the Barrens), and Eldre’Thalas in the southern jungles of Feralas. The queen herself oversaw the building of a wondrous new temple to Elune, a sprawling expanse of gem-encrusted bridges and effervescent lakes at the western edge of Kalimdor. Upon its completion, she named the mesmerizing grounds Lathar’Lazal, or “Seat of the Sky.”
Not since the Black Empire in ages past had a territory grown so vast in size and scope. The immense influence Azshara held over the world and its denizens eclipsed even Lei Shen’s wildest dreams of power.
There was, however, one location Azshara and her forces avoided: Mount Hyjal. The spirits and demigods who roamed the sylvan forests unsettled the queen. She knew in her bones that Hyjal was somehow beyond even her influence. It was a place steeped in ancient magic, a wild, untamable, and unchangeable land that stood in stark contrast to her vision of a new Kalimdor. Publicly, Azshara prohibited expansion into Hyjal out of respect for the night elves’ ancient kinship with the forests. In truth, she despised the mountain and the harmony it represented.
Azshara’s views on Hyjal were well known to Cenarius. With growing unease, he had watched the night elf empire expand. Year by year, he became increasingly frustrated with the hubris and thoughtless actions of the sorcerous Highborne. The majority of night elf society continued honoring the old ways of revering the wilds. The fact that these folk still lived in harmony with the land warmed Cenarius’s heart, but he knew that they had no influence over Azshara and her arrogant followers.
What I find most interesting here is the four cities that Azshara’s expansion specifically was noted to have established: Shandaral, Then’Ralore, Eldre’Thalas, and Lathar’Lazal. None of these cities were within territories that were held by the Troll Empires, though Sandaral did come right up to the Drakkari’s borders.
https://www.imgur.com/gGJrPNf.jpg
The Troll Compendium stated the following:
- The night elves developed along the shores of the Well of Eternity, and so they were strengthened by its energies. Despite the trolls’ attempts to keep this new race from claiming further territories, the night elves built up a mighty empire that expanded rapidly across Kalimdor. Wielding fierce magics never before imagined by the trolls, the night elves soon threatened the two greatest empires in the world.
The night elves systematically dismantled the troll’s defenses and supply chains. Unable to counter the elves’ destructive magics, the trolls buckled under the onslaught. The territories of the Gurubashi and Amani empires fragmented within only a few years, and the night elves’ shockingly quick victory incurred the trolls’ eternal hatred.
https://warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Troll_Compendium/Early_Troll_Civilization
Chronicle I, page 98 similarly describes:
- Only the openly hostile troll nations drew the full attention of the elves. Small, sporadic battles ignited between the two sides. On every occasion, the trolls buckled before the devastating magics wielded by the night elves. Azshara, however, was not interested in conquest. In her eyes, the trolls were a minor nuisance, their battle lust a symptom of primitive and unenlightened minds. Ultimately, the queen struck an accord with the Zandalar tribe, which held immense influence over all other trolls. In exchange for ending troll incursions into night elf territory, the Zandalari would be allowed—by Azshara’s grace—to keep the sacred Zandalar Mountains south of the Well of Eternity.
The trolls begrudgingly agreed, fully aware that they stood no chance against their enemies’ arcane powers. This shameful acquiescence fostered the trolls’ deep resentment toward night elves, a bitter hatred that would carry on for generations to come.
With the trolls no longer a threat, Azshara continued expanding her dominion.
Two lines from the above passages - “the trolls’ attempts to keep this new race from claiming further territories” and “troll incursions into night elf territory” - suggest that the Troll Empires took notice Azshara’s western and northern expansion, likely especially of Shandaral so close to Gundrak, and had attempted to stop it, only for Azshara to expand her empire even further after defeating the Trolls.
There are two things about all of the above that caught my attention the most. The first being that Azshara’s initial expansion efforts had been mainly towards the west, not the east where the bulk of the Gurubashi and Amani Empires were. The second thing was that Suramar was nowhere mentioned in any of this.
It is a little odd that Azshara would have to expand west, given that the Dark Trolls that would become the Night Elves had originally come from Mount Hyjal, and the Night Elves had returned there to further commune with Cenarius. It might have been that Azshara did not need to expand east, as the Night Elves might have already done so generations before Azshara became queen.
The Original Kaldorei Night Warrior
We have the following descriptions give by Maiev and Zekhan:
- Maiev Shadowsong says: Legend says that long ago, Elune bestowed her fury upon our greatest warriors to secure Kalimdor.
Maiev Shadowsong says: In a sacred ritual, the strongest among them became her avatar–the Night Warrior. Our victory was swift.
https://www.wowhead.com/quest=53990/in-darkest-night
- In ancient times, the Night Warrior carved out stretches of the kaldorei empire, taking lands from people like my ancestors.
This is all we have to go on, so all of the following is speculation built on these simple statements.
Zekhan might have been talking about “my ancestors” tracing all the way back to the Trolls from the Zandalar Mountains, but given he is Darkspear, he might have been talking about the Gurubashi. Oddly, Suramar was founded in what was part of the Amani Empire, not in Gurubashi territory. However, there is a really long stretch of the Kaldorei Empire that goes south from Suramar all the way to the ocean.
https://www.imgur.com/EDjRqnN.jpg
This big track of land was taken from the Gurubashi, as seen in the following overlap in blue, in contrast to the overlap in red that was taken from the Amani:
https://www.imgur.com/dssZilf.jpg
Chronicle I, page 94 did give us the following description of Suramar:
- The city of Suramar became the center of night elf worship and home to the Sisterhood of Elune. This order, composed of female night elves, dedicated itself to venerating the moon goddess. The Sisterhood’s priestesses had a hand in nearly all aspects of early night elf civilization, from acting as spiritual leaders to helping defend their burgeoning territories from outside threats.
Suramar was not alone in the east, as the location had two Temples of Elune - Suramars and Val’sharah’s - as well as the Shaladrassil - which predated the War of the Ancients - but most importantly Black Rook Hold.
We have the following description from the first book in the War of the Ancients trilogy, The Well of Eternity, on page 274:
- For more than a generation–and the generations of night elves were longer than those of most races–servants of the Ravencrest line had continually carved out the clan stronghold, gradually building from solid rock a fortress like none had seen among their kind. Black Rook Hold, as it quickly became known, was an ominous, uncolored place which spread its influence over much of the night elf realm, becoming second only to the palace. When conflict arose between the night elves and the dwarves, it was the power of Black Rook Hold that tipped the balance.
Side note:
(This wasn’t a conflict with the flesh and blood Dwarves we know today, as those did not awaken until seven-thousand-and-five-hundred years after the War of the Ancients, but rather “Dwarf” was a Kaldorei word for Earthen, as described in the third book in the War of the Ancients trilogy, The Sundering, through pages 14-15:
- More astoundingly, he was made of stone, not flesh.
His rough-hewn skin appeared to be a gray granite, his squinting eyes glittering diamonds. The beard was actually an intricate series of mineral growths that even made it look as if the figure was graying with age.
The dwarf–for that was as Malfurion knew his kind–reached into one of his any belt pouches and removed a clay pipe and tinder box.
“Dungard Ironcutter, speaking for the clans of the Earthen,” was all he said, dwarves not much on conversation.
The Earthen. Malfurion made certain to remember the last.
Curious that the Dwarves ended up calling themselves Dwarves as well, but this might have to do with Elune teaching the Night Elves Titan words that lead to the development of the Darnassian language:
- Mesmerized by their discovery, the dark trolls settled along the Well of Eternity’s shores. Over generations, the energies radiating from the lake suffused the trolls’ flesh and bones, elevating their forms to match their graceful spirits. They transformed into highly intelligent and virtually immortal beings. These former trolls gradually abandoned their ancient heritage and traditions. The tribe’s mystics began worshiping the moon goddess, Elune, who they believed was bound to the Well of Eternity itself. They claimed that the deity slumbered within the fount’s depths during daylight hours.
The former trolls also discovered the name “Kalimdor” and other titan-forged words from communing with Elune and investigating strange artifacts scattered around the Well’s periphery.
Chronicle I, page 93.)
While Azshara’s name is obviously famous, it is surprising that the name of the Night Elves’ original Night Warrior is not commonly known as far as we’ve seen. It is for this reason that it may be likely that said Night Warrior was from generations before Azshara’s time, to the point of the Night Warrior’s name being largely forgotten. Combining all of this - Suramar being a center of worship to Elune - that there were likely even two Temples of Elune in that area - that Black Rook Hold in the same area that had developed over extensively long generations - and the peculiarly large swath of the Gurubashi’s land in the east that was taken by the Night Elves - that I find it likely that the Night Warrior had expanded the Night Elves’ territory to the east long before Azshara had come into power.
Though the question the comes to why the Night Warrior would have marched upon Zekhan’s ancestors. That we don’t know. But we do know that every instance of the Night Warrior we have seen has been about retaliation:
- Tyrande Whisperwind says: Elune! Make me the instrument of your vengeance!
https://www.wowhead.com/quest=53990/in-darkest-night
The Stonewright:
- After I was granted Elune’s dark gift, I fed my rage with my losses and then with my victories. I protected my people. I killed the ones who harmed us.
Khaliiq:
- My people were preyed upon. Exploited. I asked Elune for vengeance.
Thiernax:
- To fight a great evil which had slain many.
A coalition of champions had formed to kill the dark god who’d landed on our world.
https://www.wowhead.com/quest=64042/rituals-of-night
And Elune herself makes reference to this as well:
- Tyrande invoked me. She must choose. Vengeance or renewal?
https://www.wowhead.com/quest=63682/the-power-of-elune