The Rise of the Kaldorei

In the ages after the titans left, Kalimdor was a single great continent. Trolls led by the Zandalari fought a long war against the insect-like aqir, remnants of the Old Gods' servants, and drove them to the far north and south of the land, where their descendants would become the nerubians and the qiraji. In victory the trolls split into rival empires such as the Gurubashi and the Amani.

One troll tribe chose a quieter path. It settled on the shores of the Well of Eternity, and over generations the Well's power changed it: its people grew taller and longer-lived, revered the moon goddess Elune and called themselves kaldorei, 'children of the stars'. Guided by the demigod Cenarius and other ancient spirits of the wild, they soon outshone their troll cousins.

Their greatest ruler was Queen Azshara, adored by her people and served by the Highborne, an aristocracy of sorcerers who drew ever more power from the Well. Her palace at Zin-Azshari stood on its shore, and her empire spread across Kalimdor. The Highborne's hunger for magic, however, sent ripples far beyond the world, and something vast in the Twisting Nether felt them.