World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 (8 page)

The greatest creatures to emerge from these enclaves were colossal animals known as the
Wild Gods. Freya adored and cared for these majestic beings as if they were her very own children. She often wandered the physical world with the Wild Gods at her side, vibrant forests and grasslands blooming in their footsteps. Yet there was one place she and the Wild Gods frequented more than any other: a massive forested peak called
Mount Hyjal.

T
HE
D
REAMING
W
ORLD

Some believe that Freya wove the Emerald Dream into being from nothing. Others claim that this strange place had always existed in some form, a dream born from Azeroth’s slumbering
world-soul. It is said that Freya tapped into this realm and molded what would become known as the Emerald Dream as a way to commune with the nascent titan
.

T
HE
W
ILD
G
ODS

Among the greatest Wild Gods were:

Malorne—the honorable White Stag

Aessina—the Mother Wisp

Agamaggan—the Razorboar

Aviana—the Mistress of Birds

Ursoc and
Ursol—the colossal Bear Lords

Tortolla—the Wise

Goldrinn—the Great Wolf

Chi-Ji—the Red Crane

Niuzao—the Black Ox

Xuen—the White Tiger

Yu ’lon—the Jade Serpent

It was on the slopes of Hyjal that Freya bound the spirits of her beloved Wild Gods to the Emerald Dream. Inexorably tied to the ethereal realm, they would come to symbolize the health and vitality of Azeroth itself. Forever after, Hyjal would remain a refuge and sacred place to the Wild Gods.

As Freya’s creations explored the world, they came across a number of other strange life-forms. These creatures had emerged from Azeroth’s elemental past of their own free will. When the keepers had sealed off the
Elemental Plane, some stragglers had escaped banishment. The fury of these spirits had ebbed over time, and they had become creatures of flesh and blood. It was from these former elementals that some forms of wildlife, such as
proto-dragons, came to be.

In time, the keepers and their servants stabilized Azeroth’s main landmass, a continent that teemed with plants and creatures of every kind. Twilight fell as the titan-forged surveyed the world they had shaped, and they named the primary continent
Kalimdor
: “Land of Eternal Starlight.”

T
HE
P
ILLARS OF
C
REATION

The
Pantheon bestowed wondrous artifacts on the keepers to aid them with ordering the world. These relics were known as the
Pillars of Creation. Ages after the keepers had completed their grand work, the artifacts would become lost and scattered across the lands of Azeroth
.

GIANTS SHAPING THE LANDS AND SEAS OF AZEROTH

P
leased with the keepers’ efforts and assured that the slumbering
world-soul was in good hands, the Pantheon prepared to venture back into the Great Dark. The discovery of Azeroth was proof that other nascent
titans could exist in the universe, and the titans were eager to renew their search.

The keepers mourned the imminent departure of their makers, but they also brimmed with pride at being given the honor of safeguarding Azeroth. To commemorate the Pantheon’s departure,
Loken and
Mimiron crafted a set of enchanted artifacts called the
Discs of
Norgannon, which would transcribe history as it unfolded on Azeroth. If ever the Pantheon returned, they would possess a record of what had come to pass in their absence.

In his final act before departing,
Aman’Thul commissioned the
constellar
Algalon the Observer to serve as the world’s celestial guardian. The possibility that the world-soul could become corrupted was one the titans could not ignore. Should that come to pass, Algalon had the power to initiate a procedure that would activate the
Forge of Origination, purging the world of life and any corruption that was present.

With that, the Pantheon bade the
titan-forged farewell and disappeared into the stars. The titans had done everything possible to heal Azeroth and assure the world-soul’s maturation. All that remained now was to wait—and hope that the world-soul would one day awaken.

I
n the ages after the Pantheon left Azeroth, myriad life-forms flourished across the surface of the world. The most savage and cunning were the
proto-dragons, who dwelled in the frozen north of Kalimdor. The various proto-dragon species had a wide array of strengths and abilities. Some were gigantic winged beings of incredible fortitude, their spirits tied to the world itself. Others had unknowingly tapped into the latent elemental energies that permeated the newly ordered world.

But there was one proto-dragon whose brutality and devastating power overshadowed the rest of his kind. His name was
Galakrond, and he was the largest proto-dragon who had ever soared across Azeroth’s skies. So mighty was the enormous creature that the beating of his wings could flatten entire forests. Strength, however, was not his only weapon. He possessed a preternatural cunning that made him an exceptional hunter.