World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 (27 page)

During this time, the Highborne witnessed members of the blue dragonflight using spells to crystallize living things and draw power from them. Although the dragons performed these acts out of mere curiosity, the elves saw the technique as a means to end their suffering forever.

Attempts by the Highborne to interact with the dragons were ignored or, in some cases, met with open hostility. Out of desperation, a group of Highborne sorcerers infiltrated the blue flight’s wondrous lair, the
Nexus. The Highborne succeeded in learning the dragons’ techniques, but greed also drove them to take more than they had come for. The elves pilfered some of the powerful relics stored in the Nexus. In doing so, they triggered magical wards, sending the blue dragons into a frenzy. Although the Highborne thieves escaped with their lives, they knew full well that the dragons would seek retribution.

That day soon arrived. Dozens of blue dragons descended on Shandaral, seething with indignation at the theft of their precious relics by the “lesser” Highborne. The elven sorcerers, desperate to drive away their enemies, gathered on an icy cliff overlooking Moonsong. There, they agreed to use the techniques they had acquired from the Nexus. As one, the Highborne sorcerers focused their power, hoping to crystallize a small portion of the forest and use its energies as a weapon to annihilate the dragons.

The spell proved disastrous. The Highborne’s reckless casting set off a blinding explosion visible from as far away as Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. The roaring torrent of energy instantly crystallized the entire forest of Moonsong. The blue dragons, sensing the impending spellwork, escaped before disaster struck. The physical forms of every other living creature in the region were shattered by the release of energy. Their spirits, although warped by the powerful spell, were left intact, cursed to mindlessly wander the haunted land that would become known as
Crystalsong Forest.

W
hen the Sundering tore through Azeroth, the tectonic devastation rattled the captive
Old Gods and weakened their keeper-wrought prisons. The apocalyptic event also stirred the malign entities to new degrees of deadly awareness. Over the millennia that followed, great tendrils of corruption spilled from the Old Gods’ damaged prisons and gradually seeped to the world’s surface. Northrend, where
Yogg-Saron was imprisoned, saw some of the most severe effects. Festering blooms of a strange new mineral,
saronite, spread throughout the crust of the land and sapped the life of native flora and fauna.

Upon discovering saronite, a small group of druids from the
Cenarion Circle decided to eradicate it. They reasoned that if the life-giving energies of the World Tree could heal the lands around
Mount Hyjal, another great tree could do the same in Northrend. The group’s leader,
Fandral Staghelm, soon became obsessed with the idea.

Some druids advised him to seek the guidance of the
Dragon Aspects. Their knowledge and blessings had allowed
Nordrassil to flourish; without them, planting another great tree could have unforeseen consequences. Yet Staghelm believed there was no time to wait. Saronite was spreading unchecked throughout Northrend and even in other parts of the world. Rather than waste time in endless debates, Staghelm moved to act—without consulting the Aspects or the rest of the Cenarion Circle.

BLUE DRAGONS DESCEND ON THE HIGHBORNE IN THE FOREST OF MOONSONG

Fandral and his closest followers secretly cut six enchanted branches from the boughs of Nordrassil. With the branches in hand, they traveled the world to locations where
saronite blooms had sprung to life. One by one, the druids planted the branches in these regions, hoping to thwart the corruption. The areas where Fandral and his allies left their mark included
Ashenvale,
Crystalsong Forest, Feralas, and two remote regions in the Eastern Kingdoms that would later be known as Duskwood and the Hinterlands.

The branches quickly took root and became new trees. Together, they acted like conduits, channeling the powers of the
Emerald Dream into the waking world, strengthening the nearby wildlife, and scouring the saronite deposits. Heartened by their success, the druids planted the last and greatest of the branches in the mountains of Northrend, over the largest growth of saronite. This new World Tree—named
Andrassil
, or “Crown of the Snow”—grew with astonishing speed, and the benefits were almost immediate. The spread of saronite ceased, and wildlife flourished anew.

Malfurion and the rest of the Cenarion Circle became furious upon learning that these branches had been planted without their approval. They did, however, agree that the plan seemed to have worked. For several decades, Andrassil towered over Northrend, and all seemed well.

Yet in time, circumstances changed. Bloody battles erupted between the
taunka and the forest nymphs of Northrend, two races not known for their warring ways. The fighting was sudden and shockingly vicious, filled with barbarism and unspeakably vile acts. Word slowly reached the druids, and the Cenarion Circle launched an expedition to investigate the source of the violence.

What the druids found chilled them to their marrow. Andrassil’s roots had reached so deep into the earth that they had touched
Yogg-Saron’s subterranean prison. The Old God had infused the tree with its foul energies, and thus all living creatures in the area were slowly being driven to madness.

The Cenarion Circle knew that, without the blessing of the Aspects, Andrassil was vulnerable to corruption. They were also aware that there was no way to spare the World Tree or ease its suffering. The Cenarion Circle sorrowfully decided that the only recourse was to destroy Andrassil. With heavy hearts, they felled the great tree. It slammed down onto the icy surface of Northrend with a deafening boom that echoed even through the ethereal forests of the Emerald Dream. Forever after, the druids would refer to the fallen World Tree as
Vordrassil
, or “Broken Crown.”

Although killing Andrassil had been a heartbreaking task, the Cenarion Circle was pleased it had stopped the growth of saronite. Yet unbeknownst to the druids, something dark had taken root in the Emerald Dream.

Yogg-Saron had used the trees planted by Fandral as a doorway into the Dream—a doorway through which the other Old Gods could grasp the ethereal domain as well. Small seeds of corruption were spread throughout
Ysera’s realm. In time, these seeds polluted the dreamways. This marked the beginning of what would become known as the
Emerald Nightmare.

A
s wars raged and new civilizations arose across the surface of Azeroth, the
earthen largely kept to themselves. They were unconcerned with the activities of the world’s other races. Some earthen remained isolated underneath the icy mountains of Northrend. Others, who came south with Keeper
Archaedas and the giantess
Ironaya in an earlier age, slumbered within the catacomb vaults of
Uldaman. Only a small number of these earthen had chosen not to be placed in stasis, deciding that they would watch over and maintain the facility alongside their mechagnome companions.

During this period, Archaedas and Ironaya grew distant from their servants. They became ever more obsessed with trying to cure the
curse of flesh. Archaedas and Ironaya often retreated into the lowest chambers of Uldaman, spending years in quiet contemplation. Eventually the two colossal
titan-forged would disappear from sight and settle into a long period of hibernation. Centuries passed without word from either of them, and the mecha
gnomes and earthen were left to manage Uldaman on their own.

When the
Sundering tore through Azeroth, many of the active earthen reeled from the catastrophe. They felt the pain of the broken world as their own. They tunneled deep within Uldaman and locked themselves away within the hibernation chambers alongside their sleeping brethren.

Only the
mechagnomes remained to watch over the facility. Yet they, too, eventually succumbed to the curse of flesh. The affliction caused many of them to degenerate into fleshy beings later known simply as gnomes. Physically and mentally debilitated, these creatures lost all sense of purpose and abandoned the halls of Uldaman. They fled into the surrounding mountain peaks and caverns. Only a handful of mechagnomes stayed in the facility, still driven by their titan-forged imperative.

The first generation of gnomes carved out an existence in the snowy mountains to the west of Uldaman. Lacking natural strength and defenses, the frail gnomes struggled to survive amid the harsh elements, barbaric ice
trolls, and other threats that roamed the land. They did, however, retain their natural intellect and ingenuity. As generations passed, the gnomes dedicated themselves to technological advancement and discovery; these would be their only means of sustaining themselves in the savage new world. To this end, the gnomes eschewed record keeping and oral storytelling, considering them immaterial to survival.

In only a few generations, the gnomes lost all knowledge of their titan-forged heritage. What they gained, however, was a new society. Their ingenious engineering and sciences had helped them overcome hardship after hardship. The gnomes carved out a series of highly fortified dwellings deep within the cold mountains of what would become known as Dun Morogh.