World of Warcraft
In the center of the ancient supercontinent of Kalimdor, there was a lake. But calling it a lake would be an insult. It was a font of immense, volatile, and arcane power. It was the Well of Eternity.
Every major event in Azeroth’s history, the War of the Ancients, the great Sundering, the creation of the High Elves, the Burning Legion’s invasions, all traces back to this single location. But what exactly was it? Where did it come from? And was it a gift from the gods, or a curse in disguise?
The Ancient Wound, Origins
Most people would assume the Titans built the Well like a fountain. That is not true. The Well of Eternity was created by infliction. Eons ago, when the Titans arrived on Azeroth, they found the planet infested by the Old Gods. The strongest of them was Y’Shaarj. The Titan Aman’Thul, seeing the corruption, reached down from the heavens and physically ripped Y’Shaarj from the surface of the world.
While this killed the Old God (its dying breaths created the dark energy remnants in Pandaria known as the Sha), it caused a catastrophe. Y’Shaarj had rooted himself so deep that tearing him out ripped a massive wound in Azeroth’s crust, like a leech. The planet began to bleed. That volatile, glowing arcane energy was the lifeblood of Azeroth (the nascent Titan soul within the planet). The Titans, realizing their mistake, rushed to cauterize the wound. They built magical wards around the bleeding scar to calm it. The result was the Well of Eternity.
Evolution, From Trolls to Gods
This is the part that some players hate to admit (elves), but lore is lore. Before Elves, there were Trolls. Specifically, the Dark Trolls. A tribe of these nocturnal, primitive trolls settled along the shores of the Well.
Over generations, the immense arcane energy radiating from the Well changed them. It smoothed their tusks, made them stand upright, turned their skin into shades of violet and purple, and granted them immortality and immense intelligence.
They began to worship the moon goddess Elune, believing she slept within the Well’s shimmering depths during the day. They abandoned the name “Troll” and called themselves Kaldorei (Children of the Stars). The Night Elves were born. With the power of the Well, they built an empire that rivaled the stars.
The Beacon, Addiction and Sundering
Under the rule of Queen Azshara and her Highborne (Quel’dorei), the Well became more than a source of life, a drug, an addiction. The Highborne recklessly studied the Well, manipulating its energies to build glorious cities and twist the laws of nature. They built a glorious capital around the Well, named Zin-Azshari (The Glory of Azshara). It was the jewel of the world, bathed in the Well’s eternal light, until it was swallowed by the sea.
Magic acts like a beacon in the twisting nether. The reckless use of such massive power sent ripples through the cosmos. It was like lighting a flare in a dark forest. In the darkness, Sargeras, the Dark Titan, saw the light and set his gaze upon Azeroth.
I covered the war itself in the “War of the Ancients” article, so I will not repeat the events here. But the fate of the Well is crucial. To sum up, Sargeras manipulated Azshara to turn the Well into a portal. He wanted to use Azeroth’s own lifeblood to fuel his entry into the world.
To stop him, Malfurion Stormrage realized the Well of Eternity had to be destroyed. Using the Dragon Soul, the portal was destabilized. The result was catastrophic, the Well imploded. A massive release of energy shattered the supercontinent of Kalimdor. The sea rushed in to fill the void. Where the glorious Well once stood, now there is only a furious, swirling vortex of water and raw energy, The Maelstrom. The wound itself was still there, in a different form and name.
The Vials of Eternity
The original Well is gone, but its water survived. Illidan Stormrage, fearing a future without magic, filled seven magical vials with water from the Well before it exploded.
These vials are the seeds of modern Warcraft lore. In Mount Hyjal, Illidan poured three vials into the lake atop Mount Hyjal, creating a second (smaller) Well of Eternity. This is where the World Tree Nordrassil looms over today. Without the new Well at Hyjal, Archimonde and the Burning Legion could not have been defeated in Warcraft III by wisps. Lastly, the Sunwell. As I explained in my Dath’Remar Sunstrider article, one vial was used by him to create the Sunwell in Quel’Thalas, giving birth to the High Elves (later Blood Elves).
Personal Thoughts on The Well of Eternity
Players actually got to see the Well in all its glory (and chaos) during the Cataclysm, within a dungeon inside the Caverns of Time (Tanaris). Seeing Mannoroth and Azshara in their prime gave us a glimpse of just how massive this event really was.
When you look at the history, the Well of Eternity is one of the main characters of this universe. It created the Elves. It brought the Legion. It broke the world. It birthed the Sunwell. Sometimes I wonder, was Aman’Thul right to pull Y’Shaarj out? Or did saving the planet back then doom it to a cycle of eternal war? With the latest Worldsoul Saga expansions of the game, I think we will finally find out when ‘‘The Last Titan’’ expansion drops as the final part.
One thing is certain, that “wound” in the center of the map is a constant reminder that Azeroth is alive, but as for the true nature of her soul, whether she is good or evil, we have yet to find out.
