So, in the typical fashion of a mad man, I went ahead and rewrote the entirety of WoW’s narrative (plus a bit more) based on how I would have approached it (obviously with the knowledge we have now, 15 years later).
In total, it clocks in at about 109 pages (110 if you count quarter pages), and stacks at 29,514 words. So, if you feel like wasting your afternoon..
Emerging into the universe in its formative stages, massive celestial beings, known as the Titans, began to awaken. Originally the souls of great and powerful worlds, when the Titans awakened, they began to wander the universe, seeking out a purpose. Eventually, the Titans came to find one another, and forged the Pantheon, elevating themselves to be the shapers of the universe.
The Titans began to seek out new, unborn Titans, and nurture them until they woke. This consisted of shaping the worlds that protected their soul, forging mountains and oceans, forests and plains. They also created countless races to watch over these sleeping Titans, building vast facilities within the cores of the world in order to monitor the health of their future siblings.
At the same time, aspects of the Light, and the Void, made their way into the universe, coming in the form of the Naaru, and the Old Gods, respectively. Both entities were cast deep into the universe, and settled upon worlds - beginning to spread their influence.
As the Pantheon continued to wander the cosmos, searching for new life, one of their most powerful champions, Sargeras, came across the first of the demons, chaotic entities that sought only destruction.
Sargeras set himself to hunting down and destroying the demons. He imprisoned them all within a world called Mardum.
In his crusade, however, he began distraught, unable to comprehend the nature of such evil and chaotic begins, in a universe that they were trying to order and balance.
Affected so deeply by this chaos, and the influence of the demons, Sargeras began to fall to madness, which chipped away at his sense of morality.
Eventually, he came to believe that it was the Titans themselves who were responsible, and that all of creation was doomed because of their inability to create beings that would not fall to corruption and evil.
Resolving to unmake the universe, Sargeras began to transform into a thing of pure evil; his skin broke and fire emerged from his body, and he became evil incarnate.
Sargeras set free all the demons he had imprisoned, binding them to his will and forging what he would call The Burning Legion.
Turning to his own brethren, Sargeras struck down the Pantheon, slaughtering them all. Many of the souls of these Titans were cast out into the universe, but some were imprisoned.
Year -25,000 : Rise of the Eredar
The Eredar of Argus rise to power, becoming some of the universe’s most powerful sorcerers. Velen, Archimonde, and Kil’jaeden serve as the leading triumvirate, and guide their people to a prosperous utopia.
Sargeras, the mad Titan, lures and corrupts both Archimonde and Kil’jaeden into a pact which begins to downfall of the Eredar, and their servitude to the Legion.
Velen refuses this pact, and gathers many of the Eredar, now called Draenei (Exiled Ones), and seeks a way to escape.
The Naaru arrive aboard the ship called Genedar, and aid Velen and his Draenei in escaping Argus, leaving the Eredar to fall to the Legion, and become some of its most powerful sorcerers.
Kil’jaeden swears revenge on Velen and his people for their betrayal.
The Draenei travel across the universe in search of refuge, all the while being hunted by the Burning Legion.
Year -16,000 : Dominance of the Troll Empire
Trolls rise to prominence on Azeroth, and battle back the Aqir, securing dominance over Kalimdor.
The Aqir retreat to their respective regions, forming hives and dens, such as Manti-vess, Azol-Nerub, and Ahn’Qiraj.
Year -15,000 : The Curse of Flesh
Vrykul and other Titan creations, such as the Mogu and the Tol’vir, are affected by the Curse of Flesh, which causes their descendants lose their stone forms and become fleshlike.
This results in the Mogu fighting endless wars amongst themselves to secure a leader amongst their people.
Lei Shen, the Thunder King, reigns victorious and establishes the Mogu Empire, starting to spread across the region known as the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
The Trolls, living on the edge of the Well of Eternity, are transformed by the fount of magic’s power, and evolve into the Kaldorei over several generations.
The Highborne, a ruling cast of magic users within the Kaldorei, secure their elevated place in society and begin to shape an empire based around the Well.
Year -12,200: The Fall of Lei Shen
The Mogu Empire, under the Thunder King, attempts to invade Uldum, but is slain by the guardians (the Tol’vir) and the region is made desolate and barren as they activate the Forge of Origination in an effort to defend the region, and the technology within their halls.
The Mogu Empire continues on under several other emperors.
Year -11,900 : The Zandalari Wars
The Zandalari, who allied with the constantly shifting Mogu Empire, attempt to take over parts of Pandaria which, under the pact with Lei Shen, were promised to them in return for aid.
The Order of the Cloud Serpent works to drive back the invasion, and the Zandalari’s efforts fail.
Year -10,000 : War of the Ancients
Using the Well of Eternity, Sargeras contacts Queen Azshara and her Highborne of the Kaldorei Empire, and turns them to serve his Burning Legion. They use the Well of Eternity to summon the armies of the Burning Legion, which invade Azeroth.
Many Highborne who receive the power of the Legion come Satyrs.
Malfurion Stormrage and other heroes of the Kaldorei struggle to form a resistance.
Neltharion, the Aspect of Earth and head of the Black Dragonflight, comes together with the other Dragon Aspects and convinces them to put them power into an artifact called the Dragon Soul, which he then unleashes upon them during battle, decimating the ranks of the Dragonflights, and forcing them to scatter, leaving the defenders of Azeroth without aid.
Neltharion had been corrupted by the Old Gods, buried deep within Azeroth.
Malfurion and the resistance drive back the Legion, destroy the Well of Eternity, and halt the invasion, effectively severing Sargeras’ gateway to Azeroth.
The destruction of the Well of Eternity causes the Sundering, where much of Kalimdor is destroyed, and sunk to the bottom of the sea.
Azshara, with most of her people drowning, makes a pact with N’Zoth, one of the Old Gods, and vows to serve as his Queen.
Her people, the Highborne, and transformed into the hideous Naga, and they begin to forge an empire beneath the waves.
Using water from the Well of Eternity, captured before its destruction, Illidan Stormrage creates a new Well of Eternity at the top of Mount Hyjal.
Furious that his brother would so recklessly create another potentially catastrophic fount of magic, Malfurion banishes his brother to a prison deep within a barrow den, and tasks Maiev Shadowsong with serving as his warden for the next ten thousand years.
Year -9,400 : Regrowth
In the centuries following the Sundering, the Kaldorei spread out into the slowly healing wilds of what remains of Kalimdor, in the west. They create several organizations, such as the Sentinels, to protect and guard the remains of their society; Malfurion trains other druids, and many of them turn to Ysera, the Aspect of the Green Dragonflight, in the Emerald Dream.
Year -9,300 : War of the Satyr
The Satyr, Kaldorei who were gifted power by the Legion centuries before, and thus transformed into hideous demons, emerge once more and seek to wage a war of all out destruction against the Kaldorei.
Many druids embrace a new Pack Form, becoming the first Worgen, in an effort to battle back the Satyrs.
The Worgen are truly primal and feral, and deal just as much damage to the Kaldorei as they do to the Satyrs.
Malfurion Stormrage, Tyrande Whisperwind, Shandris Feathermoon, and many other heroes fight against the Satyrs, which ends with the defeat of the demon kind.
The Satyrs scatter into small pockets across the continent.
Malfurion banishes the Worgen into the Emerald Draem, where they would sleep for thousands of years, temporarily brought to peace and rest.
Year -7,300 : Exile of the High Elves
Found to still be practicing the “dangerous” arcane magics that had led the Burning Legion to Azeroth, and resulted in the Sundering, the Highborne survivors are looked down upon by the Kaldorei, and forbidden from using their magics.
Dath’Remar, one of the leaders of the Highborne, publicly mocks the druidic ways, claiming that magic is the Kaldorei’s to wild by right. They continue to use their magics, and in a show of defiance, unleash a powerful and devastating magical storm on Kalimdor’s forests.
Unable to kill off so many of their own people, Malfurion banishes the surviving Highborne from the continent.
The Highborne, also known as Quel’dorei, settle across the sea in a place later to be called Lordaeron.
The Quel’dorei vow to cast aside the Kaldorei’s practices and culture, and come to embrace the sun, instead of the Night.
Severed from the magic of the Well of Eternity, and so far from it now, the Quel’dorei struggle to survive in this new land; many die of starvation and withdrawal.
The Quel’dorei are also hunted by the Amani Trolls, who also survived the Sundering and settled in the north. Hostility between the two races drives the Quel’dorei further north.
Since retail is a big pile of steaming garbage to me, I’m heading back to the point of origin! I’ll be playing and roleplaying on the Bloodsail Buccaneers (RP) server.
Can poke me here, on Discord (Silvertongue#5400), or in game on the character Halstead (human prot warrior).
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