On a related note, hereās the paste of last nightās lore event! You can find more on the thread below, as well as an invite link if youād like to attend the next event!
Purity of Essence 
Origins, Part 2:
Alpha Prime and the Druids of the Scythe
Story
Introduction
I have had the good fortune to learn not from old parchment, but from word of mouth. From people that were -there-. Well, perhaps I should say not -just- from parchmentā¦ I have here with me a book. A copy of the Purity of Essence, written by the very first worgen.
He holds up the book, and it looks old indeed, but how old exactly was impossible to tell. Scholars among the audience may be able to tell it was of Gilnean print, and the title did indeed read Purity of Essence.
My tale tonight, ladies and gentlemen, takes us back over nine thousand years. Before worgen, and looong before Gilneas.
Recap
At this event two weeks ago, I introduced Goldrinn the wolf god. I told how the kaldorei empire began from trolls, how they paved nature and how their greedy magics attracted the Burning Legion. I told how Goldrinn, and the other Wild Gods, died to defeat the legion, and how the elves were forced to face the remaining demons hundreds of years later.
This was called the War of the Satyr, after the enemy the elves now faced alone. The crippled elven nation was forced to work together, sentinel, priestess, and druid alike. The druids came in all shapes and sizes, worshipping different wild gods in return for their forms. One such was the Druids of the Pack who worship Goldrinn, and take the form of a wolf.
23:19:43 Nualar-WyrmrestAccord doesnāt notice the eyes directed to her. Her own luminescent sight is directed to the speaker - a brow quirked in interest as he told his tale.
23:20:16 Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord , without warning, drops to all fours, and fur soon covers every bit of his skin, overtaking his armor. Just any other druid, his transformation is gradual, and leaves a wolf standing in his place.
23:21:39 Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord , just as quickly as he had, turns away from the crowd, and you can see some kind of internal struggle, as the man inside grapples with the beast. Moments later, he stands once more, picking up that wolf mask and returning it to his face.
This formā¦ The Pack Formā¦ was by far the strongest in battle against the satyr. Perhaps too strong. Many, including Malfurion Stormrage, could not control its raw fury. It even got people killed, and he banned it.
His pupil at the time, Ralaar Fangfire, obeyed, reluctantly, as Malfurion even went so far as to borderline demonize Goldrinn. But when -not- using the form got his best friend Arvel killed, Ralaar left Malfurionās side, in search of the many others who had done the same.
Druids of the Pack
Ralaar found the other Druids of the Pack in a sorry state. They had with them the Fang of Goldrinn, left over from the fallen wolf godās body. They had obsessed over it, growing addicted to the pack form. He bested each of them one by one, and, once he had, scolded them for their foolishness.
It was then, seeing them, that he realized Malfurion was correct. Although it was the perfect weapon against the Satyr, The Pack Form is far too powerful for any mortal to wield for any long duration. It was said that the moon goddess - Elune - had long wished Goldrinn to master his rage. Perhaps she wold help them to the same? Taking the Fang of Goldrinn, he reached out to a friend, a priestess of Elune named Belysra Starbreeze. If anyone could and would speak to Elune on their behalf, it was her.
The Scythe of Elune
Belysra Starbreeze brought with her the Staff of Elune, and Ralaar brought with him the Fang of Goldrinn. Together, with the Druids of the Pack, they met atop a hill, and turned to Elune for the answer.
And answer she did.
Vines came forth from the ground, holding the Fang and the Staff in place, as moonlight shone down upon those gathered and the objects. When the moonlight dimmed, Ralaar and his Pack found Belysra holding not a staff and a fang, but a Scythe.
To this day, Ralaar and his people call it the Fang of the Father. But to Belysra and her people, it was known as the Scythe of Elune. Ralaar was eager to see Eluneās answer. Another pack form perhaps? He took Pack Form, and came before the Scythe, allowing it to imbue him with Eluneās magics.
The Grand Awakening
And he -screamed-. He howled in pain, yelling that something was wrong. That Goldrinn was rejecting the Moon Goddess. Yet, as his lupine body changed, the shock subsided, and he found himself standing upon two legs, with the power of the wolf coursing through his veins.
Elf form had been too weak, but Pack Form had been too strong. But thanks to the moon goddess - the goddess of balance - he now stood as the perfect balance between. He praised the form, and his followers were eager to follow after him,
Belysra watching as one by one they too took to their wolf forms, and Elune turned them into wolfmen.
Their prayers had been answered. This was exactly the kind of weapon the kaldorei nation needed, if they were to survive the demon onslaught.
But the elves had treated Ralaar and his pack so badly, spoken so ill of the Wolf God they adored, that many cared little about the other elves. A good number of Malfurionās followers thought the same, and he would notice as many would disappear to join Ralaar in the woods in the following three days. Ralaar who renamed himself Alpha Prime, the first worgen.
Druids of the Scythe
The kaldorei nation gathered that night outside a Satyr stronghold, determined to lay siege, no matter how many casualties it cost them. Malfurion knew that it may take days, even weeks to claim victory, especially with so many of his druids gone missing, but they attacked regardless.
It was then that Alpha Prime and his men arrived. Dozens of ferocious wolfman, with the blessing of Elune and fury of Goldrinn, tore into the satyr horde. On two legs they scaled the battlements, and with claw and fang they ripped the Satyr stronghold to the ground in mere hours. A seige that would have taken perhaps weeks without them.
And what was their thanks? Did Malfurion thank his students for saving so many lives, that night? Did he ask them who had given them such a form?
No. Malfurion was appalled, calling Alpha Prime and his men abominations. Freaks of nature. Even monsters.
Alpha Primeā¦ had had enough. It was because of THIS man that his best friend - Arvel - died rather than save himself with pack form. It was because of THIS MAN that the elves now regarded Goldrinn - who had died to save them - as a monster to be feared.
Alpha Prime attacked Malfurion. His pack of wolfmen followed after, wolfman and sentinel shedding blood on the very same battlefield of their joined victory.
This was not an accidental friendly-fire, like one might in the Pack Form. This was war. Alpha Prime and his worgen were in their right minds, and fought back. Not unlike the Gilneans that fought back in the Northgate Rebellion.
The War of Three Armies
At this point, the War of the Satyr became a war of three armies. Malfurion lead the elves against demonic satyr and what he saw as the monstrous wolfmen. Alpha Prime lead his packs against the satyr, and what he saw as the traitorous kaldorei. And the Satyr, of course, were basically screwed.
Kaldorei bitten by these āDruids of the Scytheā were seen to become wolfmen as well. But whereas it takes days to turn today, it took mere moments back then, when the Gift was new. It was seeing this, and seeing her friends turning on eachother, that Belysra reached out the Malfurion Stormrage.
Fearing what her friend Ralaar had become, even if it was to avenge her slain lover Arvel, she gave Malfurion Stormrage the Scythe of Elune.
With it, he founded the an order, putting him in charge of all matters of druidism. An order that allowed him to make sure nothing like this would happen again. An order he called The Cenarion Circle. And as his first act, he devised a plan, a clever plot.
Malfurion's Betrayal
He had Belysra send word to Alpha Prime that he was ready to make amends. But when Alpha Prime and his worgen arrived at the meeting place, his true intentions became known. Using the Scythe - which was as connected to Goldrinn and Elune as the worgen themselves - he tore a rift in reality, a rift to the Emerald Dream. He banished the worgen to the Emerald Dream, trapping them there, intending for them to sleep for all time, peaceful. A sentence thatā¦ as it turns outā¦ was neither peaceful, nor eternal.
But regardless, his former students were no longer in his way. And with them out of the picture, the kaldorei made short work of the Satyr, who had been devastated by the worgen for the last few weeks.
The Nine Thousand Year Dream
Thousands of years pass, and over time, the worgen are forgotten. Alpha Prime and his brothers suffer in the dream, in their slumbering state, which turned out to be eternal torture for beings meant to run and hunt.
Over those thousands of yearsā¦ the wolfmen are only seen in the fanciful imaginings of the young, or the folktales of the old. As humanity bloomed, the notion of a wolfman was regarded as a myth. A folktale. A creature humanity called a āworgenā.
It was not until the work of the Archmage Ur, a scholar of the otherworldly, that humanity discovered the truth behind the myth. Or at leastā¦ a glimpse at it. Ur looked into another world, nightmarish and dark, where the worgen made battle with the Lords of the Emerald Flame. Satyr.
Years laterā¦ an Archmage by the name of Arugal will discover this manās findings. What he does with this knowledge, and why, I will be covering in the next event in two weeksā time. (You can click here to add this and more to your ingame calendar) [Join: The Wolf Cult Events]
Conclusion
00:10:46 [Aayan-WyrmrestAccord]: āAck! Right at the good part.ā
00:11:24 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: It is -all- the good part. Sadly there is no better stopping point, than at the end of an era, and the beginning of the next.
00:11:26 Baelryn looks at Aayan.
00:11:41 Baelryn claps excitedly for you.
00:11:49 Kaicyre cheers at you.
00:11:50 Lautner-WyrmrestAccord stands up and gives a small bout of applause, āIt was entertaining and mostly accurate. I mean, kind of fetishized the guy who ruined Gilneas but I suppose Iāll have to just wait two weeks before you address that, huh?ā
00:11:52 Lautner claps excitedly for you.
00:11:59 Silvana claps excitedly for you.
00:12:12 Roseleyne claps excitedly for you.
00:12:18 Berthower-WyrmrestAccord clapped his hands politely, smiling as he leaned back in a stretch.
00:12:20 Aayan-WyrmrestAccord gives some applause.
00:12:27 You bow down graciously.
00:12:45 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: The tale of the worgen is a long one, full of anger, betrayal, and tragedy. I mean to do each chapter justice by giving it the attention it deserves.
00:12:58 Baelryn-WyrmrestAccord also stands, paying no attention to the fact that his rear now blocked the large worgan behind him. āGreat story, bud. Appreciate it.ā
00:13:07 Aayan-WyrmrestAccord gets up and dusts the grass off himself.
00:13:15 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Now, before we all depart, do you all have any questions?
00:13:29 Lautner-WyrmrestAccord raises a hand.
00:13:37 You nod at Lautner.
Trivia
The First Worgen were sane
Many believe that the original worgen went mad, and āattacked friend and foe alikeā. In reality, they were in their right minds. They attacked the elves just like the Defias brotherhood attacked Stormwind, or the Northgate Rebels attacked Gilneas. It was a conscious act of rebellion against the force they believed had wronged them. Read all this and more in Curse of the Worgen.
Tal'doren is not "the wild home"
An elf in the starter zone claims Talādoren was once home to the druids of the pack. This was never the case. In fact, no elf had ever seen Talādoren, and were confused when Malfurion spoke of its spiritual counterpart, Daralānir. The only reason Mal knew of this was because of Cenarious. When Malfurion tried to use the Pack Form, he did not have as much control as Ralaar, and Cenarius took him to Daralānir to help him. When the Druids of the Pack became worgen, Malfurion used the scythe to banish them to this part of the Emerald Dream. (See quest The Wild Home. See Curse of the Worgen issue 3.)
"Worgen" is a human term, from human mythology
The elves never called Alpha Prime and his men anything, other than abominations. When the human Archmage Ur discovered them in his studies, he claimed that humans had only seen worgen in myths and nightmares, but that they were real. When Alpha Prime is in Gilneas, the humans there refer to him as a worgen, and he accepts the term. Because why not? (See Ur. See Curse of the Worgen issue 1.)
Some worgen woke up on their own
We have evidence that not all worgen stayed asleep the whole nine thousand years. For one, when Ur discovered the worgen āhomeworldā (the Emerald Dream they had been banished to) he saw it as a nightmarish place, where the hellish worgen made battle with their eternal enemy, the Lords of the Emerald Flame. Curse of the Worgen then reveals that these are Satyr, who called themselves Lords of the Emerald Flame. Second, there are three āFeral Worgenā NPCs in Valāsharah, who - when cured of the worgen curse by the Balance Druid Adventurer - say that they awoke in the Dream, traveled, and wound up in Valāsharah. Not all the worgen awoke in the Dream, however. When Arugal gets his hands on Urās research, he sees the same are in a dormant state, and rouses and summons them. Including Alpha Prime.
Questions
Where did you get that book?
00:13:49 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Yes sir, you with the swords?
00:13:41 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āWhereād you get the book?ā
00:14:26 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Ah, the Purity of Essence? It was written by Alpha Prime during his time in Gilneas, and mass produced by his followers. Many copies were distributed and found their way around Gilneas, Duskwood, and beyond.
00:15:34 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: The tome includes the full history of the worgen from Alpha Primeās account, including passages Malfurionās people have removed from their chronicle. Butā¦ you may yet find one in Gilneas, if you look hard enough. (Also see Curse of the Worgen, by Blizzard and DC Comics!)
00:16:00 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āMm. So itās biased reading material, but still an interesting perspective.ā
00:17:03 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Aye. But you could say the same about the elf-written material, or the human-written theories. I have read its contents, as well as the others, and confirmed everything it has to say, even with those who were there to see it.
00:17:45 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āCanāt argue with that. And if I somehow stumbled across the diary of Arthas Menethil, Iām sure it too would be interesting.ā
00:18:22 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: I have had the pleasure of speaking with Kaldorei Worgen in both the Bloodfang and Nightbane Packs, who were there during the War of the Satyr, some even during the War of the Ancients. And while there are mixed opinions on Alpha Prime, they all agree on who really created the gift.
What do you know about the Duskwood Worgen?
00:18:34 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Yes sir, you in the hood?
00:18:45 [Aayan-WyrmrestAccord]: āYou know anything about the Worgen in Duskwood?ā
00:19:04 Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord smirks, and gives a nod. āI do.ā he answers. āWhat would you like to know?ā
00:19:37 [Aayan-WyrmrestAccord]: āYeah, howād them boys get in Duskwood?ā
00:20:25 [Aayan-WyrmrestAccord]: "Just asking because not too long ago, I had some rather -fun- experiences with those that stalk the woods.
00:21:02 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: The origin of the Nightbane Pack is a chapter all its own, which I will be covering not next event, but the event after. In shortā¦ the Scythe of Elune was hidden away by Malfurion Stormrage, as he sought
00:21:02 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: to hide that the worgen even happened. Elune, however, had other plans. She revealed the Scytheās location to a Sentinel, Velinde Starsong, in Felwood.
00:21:39 [Aayan-WyrmrestAccord]: āJust asking. Personal beef is all.ā
00:22:36 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Using it, she summoned forth some of the banished druids, unleashing their fury upon the demons. But she could not control themā¦ she journeyed to the Eastern Kingdoms in search of Arugal. But on her way, she died in Duskwood, where the Scythe was then discovered by the Defias Brotherhood.
00:23:58 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Long story shortā¦ which is why I devote a night to telling thisā¦ they happen upon the scythe, and accidentally unleash MORE of the kaldorei worgen upon the world, to Duskwood. There, the worgen make contact with Alpha Prime in Gilneas, and form the Duskwood branch of The Wolf Cult.
00:24:13 [Aayan-WyrmrestAccord]: āRight.ā
00:24:22 [Aayan-WyrmrestAccord]: āWait, arenāt you representingā¦?ā
00:24:52 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Representing what? Iām just a storyteller.
00:25:10 Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord is innocent. Totally.
00:25:17 [Aayan-WyrmrestAccord]: āRight rightā¦somethingās justā¦Hmm.ā
Is the Pack Form still possible?
00:24:58 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āThis guyās just representing history in all itās perspectives. That and a little druidic magicks? Or was that shamanism earlier?ā
00:26:09 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Aaah, good question. That was druidism, The Pack Form, granted by worshipping Goldrinn. The Pack Form is banned by the Cenarion Circle - Malfurionās attempt to control all druidism - but it IS still possible.
00:26:55 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āSo that was an authentic transformation earlier. I didnāt know anyone could- Me?ā
00:26:20 You raise your eyebrow inquisitively at Lautner.
Is being a worgen really a "Curse?"
00:25:56 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āBleh, just show up in two weeks from now and learn what a bunch of shs the wolf pack were. Cursed an entire nation, plotted with zombies for itās downfall, all that juicy drama. They got what they deserved, buncha d*s.ā
00:26:33 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Good sir, may I ask -you- a question?
00:26:40 You look at Lautner.
00:27:03 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Aye.
00:27:23 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āYeah. I, too, enjoy reading. I put it right up there next to hunting and running wild and free.ā
00:27:28 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āAsk away.ā
00:28:16 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Beyond heightened sensesā¦ beyond being able to sense aurasā¦ beyond being able to fight off a score of demons and hunt your own foodā¦ do you know the greatest perk of the worgen ācurseā?
00:28:58 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āWhat?ā
00:29:24 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Immunity.
00:29:46 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Do you know, immunity from what?
00:30:17 Lautner-WyrmrestAccord nods once, āI fought in the fourth, I think I know what youāre getting to. Immunity to undeath, yeah?ā
00:30:51 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āIf we were immune to curses, Drustvar wouldnāt have been so hellish. Remember when I almost ate you?ā
00:31:46 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: The Worgen āCurseā is connected to the goddess of balance, and a god of life. One of its greatest perks is that unlike humans, who even become undead if you poke their grave too hard, are immune to the Banshee Queenās control. Where humans must suffer to see their loved ones raised and mind controlled, worgen have the gift of freedom, even in death.
00:32:38 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: You can call the gift a curse if you would likeā¦ you can claim that the worgen were a curse upon Gilneasā¦ but the Forsaken were beating at the door. The only reason they got into Gilneas was when the Cataclysm struck, and the coral reef
00:32:38 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: broke, allowing their ships to enter via sea.
00:32:42 Lautner-WyrmrestAccord tilts his head to the side, āWell, Iāve never thought to test the rumors about our immunity. Itās hearsay from my perspective, but I have seen a worgen Death Knight. Soā¦ā
00:33:54 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Had Alpha Prime and his Wolf Cult not attacked Gilneas, with the goal of biting as many people as possible, Gilneas would have been pure human by the time the Forsaken arrived. And they would have fallen to Sylvanas, fuel for her
00:33:54 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: undead war machine. Just like those poor Gilneans that remained trapped in Stoneward Prison, only to be used as scrap material for their abominations.
00:34:13 Lautner-WyrmrestAccord wrinkles his nose, "I donāt see my gift as a curse. I see the circumstances around receiving this blessing a massive tragedy, and if he hadnāt already rotted away to nothing, Iād take it out on the Alpha who began transforming Gilneans out of jealousy Ā»
00:34:13 Lautner-WyrmrestAccord Ā» of Malfurion."
00:34:33 Lautner-WyrmrestAccord 's temper rises drastically.
00:35:18 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Curse the worgen responsible all you wishā¦ but you -are- alive, thanks to them, whether you like it or not.
00:35:19 [Lautner-WyrmrestAccord]: āGilneas was a proud country. We could have beaten the Forsaken back ten times over if we hadnāt had that spat with the rebels and -then- Alphaās invasion.ā
00:35:23 Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord looks up and around.
00:35:29 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: Next question?
00:36:38 Lautner-WyrmrestAccord 's eyes narrow into slits, his muscles twitching, expanding. His chest swells as he walks away from the drama enciting speaker, just as his form shifts to strain at his fancy duds.
00:40:11 Lautner-WyrmrestAccord wasnāt hearing any of it. In the corner of his mind, a repetitive irritating pulse beat faster and faster. His vision tinged red as his massive clawed fists balled up. For a moment he just stood there, half embaressed to have gotten so mad to the Ā»
00:40:11 Lautner-WyrmrestAccord Ā» point of transformation, half relieved to be back in his natural state. Instead of storming away, he just rocked from heel to paw, the long nails of his toes ripping through the grass.
00:40:29 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: (Before we close for tonight, a couple things! All this and more you can fact check on Wowpedia, or read it for yourself in Curse of the Worgen. And if youād like to hear more, join the community here for calendar alerts for the next events!
00:40:29 [Raedolf-WyrmrestAccord]: <3 [Join: The Wolf Cult Events] )
Next Event
The next event will be Wednesday, March 11th at 8pm PST, and will continue the story to reveal why exactly Genn Greymane had Alpha Prime and the original worgen released in Gilneas.
Main Thread
š {A/H} Purity of Essence - Worgen Lore Night [Event 6/7] 8pm
Click here to add this to your ingame calendar!
https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/invite/E0GezwZiEg?region=US&faction=Alliance
Acceptable
Powerful
Personal
Half worgen form, half Pack Form
Curse of Omen
Titans are responsible for the creation of the titan-forged, which includes several metallic races. The titans themselves are different colors, and so are their creations. When the Curse of Flesh began to change their soldiers and workers, they became the humans, dwarves, and gnomes we know today.
Gold (Loken, Auriaya)
Brass (Eonar, Aggramar, Khazāgoroth, Sargeras)
Light Grey (Maiden of Valor)
Dark Grey (Amanāthul, Fallen Avatar)
Blue (Argus)
Charcoal-Purple (Golganneth, Norgannon)
Humans have already had some skin color variation, in the form of pale and dark humans. Humans are descended from the Iron Vrykul, made by the titans.
Brown (Rajh)
Dark (Setis, Setesh)
Dwarves have a rocky history. Literally, with Earthen - exactly what it sounds like - for ancestors. These Earthen come in a variety of colors, and dwarves have been seen to as well.
Gnomes have a metallic past as well, having been created as the robotic mechagnomes, which also come in color variations.
Sinādorei are likewise seen to be fair skinned ingame, and they have no relation to the titanforged, so metal types is no excuse here. However, that does not mean there canāt be dark skinned elves, and there are a few good explainations available I have seen around. Time in the sun over thousands of years, residual kaldorei genetics attributing to darker tones, both are reasonable, but attributing it to human genetics - who have had a dark option from the start - is the best of the three, and would explain the recent appearance.
Extended Exposure is a popular suggestion. Sinādorei are descended from kaldorei, which are descended from trolls, which are by nature incredibly physically adaptive to their environment, even becoming sandy or frosty. Even if elves have not inherited this trait, extended exposure does darken skin color. I have known friends who were born pale, and are in the sun so often and are so genetically predisposed that they appear dark. Sinādorei live for quite a long time, giving time for extended exposure for certain outdoor lifestyles such as architectural or agricultural fields. Besides the sun, elves have been known to be highly susceptible to adaptation through magic influence as well, be it arcane or otherwise, and exposing themselves to magic is something the Sinādorei in particular do best.
Kaldorei genetics have been suggested, even going as far back as the darker skinned Dark Trolls the kaldorei came from, and could be a possible explanation for players as well. Though Chronicle says the Sinādorei gradually lost their purple hues - which included some dark purple tones - there are several cases in real life were genetics skip a generation in the form of recessive genes, or even remain from the olden days, such as the appendix or the pinkie toe.
