World of Warcraft
Exile in the Nether
Outland greeted Illidan with barren lands and broken people. No armies, no allies, no purpose waiting for him. Only a shattered world drifting through the twisting nether. Broken islands, fel storms, and a sky torn apart by old battles. It looked like a dead end. For Illidan, it was a second wind.
He arrived wounded and barely standing, but not alone for long. Lady Vashj and her naga followed him into this ruined place, loyal to the end. They knew what he was trying to become, a ruler strong enough to stand against the Legion. Outland had no order, no defenses, and no hope. Illidan decided to change that. He claimed Black Temple, drove out the Legion remnants infesting the land, and began turning Outland into something new. A fortress, a training ground, and eventually, his own army’s birthplace. He shaped it in his image.
The Lord of Outland
Once Illidan secured Black Temple, everything changed. Outland became his kingdom. A broken land ruled by demons and chaos, now slowly falling under his control.
Lady Vashj managed the naga forces, carving paths through Zangarmarsh and the Coilfang territories. Kael’thas Sunstrider arrived soon after with his blood elves, offering loyalty and strength in exchange for purpose. Illidan accepted without hesitation. He needed armies, and they needed someone who actually had a plan.
Piece by piece, they pushed the Legion out of Outland. Demons who once ruled its skies now hid in caves or were hunted down. Illidan broke their gateways, seized their forges, and took their strongholds for himself. By the time his banners flew over the Black Temple, Illidan was no longer a fugitive. He was exactly what the Legion feared. A ruler who understood their power better than they did.
The Demon Hunter’s Path
Outland gave Illidan something he never had before, followers who understood him. Not night elves bound by old traditions, nor judging his methods. But warriors willing to walk the same path.
Some of the blood elves and night elves who joined him chose to embrace the fel the way he did. They burned out their own eyes, bound demons within themselves, and learned to fight with the same brutal clarity Illidan carried since the War of the Ancients. These were the first true demon hunters, forged through pain, sacrifice, and purpose, not corruption.
Illidan never forced anyone. He trained them. He taught them how to use the Legion’s power against the Legion. Each student became a weapon the demons couldn’t predict.
In Outland’s wastelands, the Illidari were born, a faction shaped by necessity, loyalty, and the belief that someone had to fight the war no one else would.
The Fall of the Betrayer
Illidan’s rule in Outland didn’t go unchallenged. While he built armies and hunted demons, old enemies followed him across worlds. Maiev Shadowsong, who had hunted him for millennia, finally found her opening. And this time, she wasn’t alone.
Inside Illidan’s own fortress, tension grew. Akama, leader of the broken draenei, served Illidan only out of fear. He hated Illidan for taking Black Temple from his people, and Kil’jaeden used that resentment well. Secret deals were made. Doors were left unguarded. Whispers spread through the halls.
When adventurers from Azeroth arrived at the Black Temple, Akama guided them straight to Maiev. Together, they stormed the temple from within. Room by room, Illidan’s forces fell.
At the top of the temple, Illidan faced his hunters. Outnumbered, betrayed, and exhausted from years of holding Outland together, he was finally brought down. His words carried the heavy weight of truth.
“You are not prepared.”
His words meant we were not prepared for the legions’ next arrival.
The Return of the Demon Hunter
Illidan’s story didn’t end at the Black Temple. His body was taken by the Wardens, sealed away deep beneath the Broken Isles. For years, he existed in a strange stasis. His Illidari imprisoned beside him. Dead to the world, but not entirely gone.
When the Burning Legion returned in full force during the Legion expansion, everything Illidan warned about finally happened. Demons poured into Azeroth, old armies fell, and even the strongest leaders were overwhelmed. We were truly not prepared for this. The Wardens, desperate for any edge, released the Illidari, the demon hunters he trained in Outland. They carried his teachings, his scars, and the same fel fire he once embraced.
Eventually, Gul’dan from the Warlords of Draenor timeline, resurrected and tried to claim Illidan’s body for the Legion. Instead, his spirit returned and rose stronger than ever. As the one person who truly understood what the Legion was capable of.
Illidan was back, and this time, everyone finally understood why he said those famous words.
Personal Thoughts on Illidan Stormrage – The Necessary Evil
Illidan’s return during the Legion war was the final piece of a plan he had carried since the War of the Ancients. Everything he built in Outland, every harsh choice, every demon he consumed, was aimed at one goal: reach Sargeras and end the Legion for good.
When the armies of Azeroth stormed Argus, Illidan took the lead against the Titan’s servants. In the final battle, as Sargeras was finally imprisoned by the Pantheon, Illidan made his last decision. He stayed behind as the one warden strong enough to stand in front of a Titan.
It was the ending he always walked toward, even when no one else understood him.
For me, this is what makes Illidan special. He wasn’t a hero, and he didn’t pretend to be. He took the path no one else would touch and paid the price without asking for praise. In a world full of champions chosen by destiny, Illidan Stormrage was the one who chose the destiny himself. And honestly, I respect that more than any prophecy.
My favorite line of his, when the Light tried to consume him, and he rejected it. Thus destroying Xe’ra, the Prime Naaru in the process. This is still the one that defines him:
“I am my scars!”
