World of Warcraft
Whispers from corners unseen reach into your ears. You disregard it at first, thinking it’s just a thought crossing your mind. They continue. Each telling you things you know, and evolve into things you have no way of knowing. Some, even incomprehensible to your mind, making no sense as to their truth. You continue on, but after a while it becomes invasive. You shouldn’t be knowing these things, let alone hearing them as there is no source. You start to become disoriented, slowly descending into a panic state with no way of going back. An invisible force has claimed your mind and sanity. You can now only hope that your existence ends early enough to end the suffering that is now your life.
Origins and Early History of Azeroth
Azeroth, the world that would later become the stage for countless conflicts, began as a chaotic planet, filled with raw elemental energies and untamed magic. The Titans, colossal god-like beings dedicated to bringing order to the universe, discovered the planet during their cosmic expeditions and determined to shape it into a bastion of stability. Upon arrival, they began a process of world-shaping that involved raising continents, forming oceans, sculpting mountains, and regulating elemental forces. Azeroth’s internal magma flows, storms, and tectonic activity were bound and stabilized, while its life-giving energies were gradually organized into systems that would support future ecosystems.
The Old Gods’ Influence and the Titans’ Struggle
The Titans’ work was constantly challenged by the Old Gods, ancient entities of the Void that had already established a presence deep within Azeroth’s core. These four entities, C’Thun, Yogg-Saron, N’Zoth, and Y’Shaarj, sought to dominate the planet and warp it to their chaotic will. The Old Gods’ influence extended to corrupting the elemental forces, twisting creatures, and even manipulating mortal-like beings that would eventually arise. Their power often manifested as madness, mutation, and the creation of servile monstrous races, all intended to destabilize Titan designs.
To combat this, the Titans launched an extended campaign to purge the Old Gods’ influence. They imprisoned the Old Gods beneath the surface in massive, subterranean fortresses. These prisons would later become known as Ahn’Qiraj (C’Thun), Ulduar (Yogg-Saron), and other deep locations tied to their containment. Notably, Uldaman, while a Titan-forged city, was not constructed as an Old God prison; it instead served as a settlement and operational stronghold for the Titan-forged. In conjunction with these imprisonments, the Titans created the Titanforged, powerful constructs and races designed to enforce order across the planet, and appointed the Titan-keepers, immense and immortal agents, to maintain Azeroth’s balance. Notable Keepers include Tyr, who would oversee law and justice, and Eonar, who would guide natural growth and life cycles.
The Elemental Lords and Mortal Civilizations
While the Titans reshaped the surface, elemental lords arose from the residual elemental chaos. These lords, being Ragnaros (fire), Al’Akir (air), Neptulon (water), and Therazane (earth), held dominion over the raw forces of nature and were both allies and challenges to the Titans’ plans. They were tasked with maintaining the stability of their respective elements, but their independence sometimes led to conflicts that resulted in catastrophic elemental upheavals, shaping the early geography and climate of Azeroth.
During this period, early mortal civilizations began to emerge. The tol’vir, an intelligent humanoid race shaped from stone and sand, constructed monumental cities in southern Kalimdor and recorded much of the world’s early history. Night elves appeared in northern Kalimdor, establishing settlements in forests and learning to harness druidic powers from the natural energies of the world. Proto-draenei, known for their affinity to arcane and Light-based magics, also appeared on Azeroth during this time, though their influence would later wane following their eventual exodus. The Titans’ influence guided these civilizations indirectly, through the Keepers, the organization of natural laws, and the stabilization of land and climate.
The Corruption of the Old Gods and Catastrophic Events
Despite the Titans’ efforts, the Old Gods continued to exert influence. Y’Shaarj’s corruption, in particular, spread throughout northern and central continents, manifesting in natural disasters, monstrous creations, and the awakening of sentient beasts. Yogg-Saron, imprisoned beneath the mountains of Northrend in Ulduar, influenced the minds of mortal leaders and elemental lords alike. C’Thun, later known as the Old God of Ahn’Qiraj, subtly guided the qiraji and other servants to prepare for future uprisings. N’Zoth’s reach extended beneath the oceans and into shadowed corners of the continents, where his agents awaited opportunities to resurface.
Several catastrophic events punctuated this era of early history. The titanic struggle to contain Y’Shaarj’s corruption caused massive land disruptions, creating deserts, swamps, and mountains. Conflicts between the elemental lords led to storms of fire, floods, earthquakes, and lightning storms, which reshaped continents and created regions later known as the Badlands, the Maelstrom, and Un’Goro Crater. These early disasters forged the elemental landscapes that adventurers would later traverse, leaving behind traces of ancient power and danger.
The First Mortal Conflicts and the Death of Y’Shaarj
The first great mortal conflicts were often linked to the Old Gods’ manipulation. The tol’vir occasionally fell under their influence, building temples in honor of unknowable and chaotic entities. Night elf tribes sometimes descended into internecine war due to nightmares and whispers propagated by Old Gods, which foreshadowed later corruption of Azeroth’s sentient races. These early conflicts were significant for shaping early alliances and enmities, setting cultural patterns that persisted across millennia.
The death of Y’Shaarj marked a turning point in Azeroth’s primordial era. During the Titans’ campaign to purge the world, Y’Shaarj was slain, and its heart was removed and preserved by the Titans. This act neutralized a major source of chaos, but remnants of its essence persisted, creating lingering corruption in localized regions. Similarly, the Titan-forged campaigns against the other Old Gods left lasting effects on mortal civilizations, particularly in the form of fortified sites, magical artifacts, and the continued influence of the Keepers. Sites like Ulduar and Ahn’Qiraj remained centers of Old God influence even after their imprisonment.
The Titans’ Withdrawal and the Rise of Mortal Civilizations
The Titans eventually withdrew from Azeroth, leaving the Keepers and Titanforged to manage the balance. Over time, the direct influence of the Titans diminished, allowing mortal civilizations to rise more prominently. Night elves developed druidic societies centered around the Well of Eternity, tol’vir societies in the deserts flourished under arcane and engineering mastery, and early humanoid kingdoms began forming along rivers and fertile plains. The Old Gods’ lingering corruption continued to influence natural disasters, nightmares, and the evolution of intelligent species, but the framework of order left by the Titans provided a foundation upon which civilization could develop.
By the end of this era, Azeroth had become a planet of contrasts: elemental fury tempered by Titan design, mortal ambition balanced against Old God corruption, and nascent civilizations shaped by both natural forces and ancient powers. Key sites such as the Well of Eternity, the Pillars of Creation, and the first Titan observatories served as focal points for magic, life, and governance. This formative history set the stage for the later arrival of the Burning Legion, the rise of mortal empires, and the eventual confrontations between heroes and the Old Gods that would define Azeroth’s continuing story.
