On March 15, 2016, Blizzard Entertainment and Dark Horse Comics will publish World of Warcraft Chronicle: Volume 1. The book is a compendium of lore and background information from the game that has received little or no attention over the decade plus of WoW’s existence. Interestingly, it fills in gaps in the lore that fans and players have long theorized about and argued over for a long while.
The Legion expansion swirls around many of WoW’s iconic moments including Illidan, Queen Azshara, the Pillars of Creation, the Old Gods, the Titans and many others. Chronicle Volume 1 offers a bit of insight into several of these pieces of history, some of which we will share over the course of the week and that will have relevance when Legion launches later in 2016.
The following comes from World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 1*see citation below
LORE: The Pillars of Creation
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.
LORE: Suramar & the Pillars of Creation
As battles raged across central Kalimdor, one group of Azshara’s servants grew increasingly concerned for their own future. This small sect of Highborne sorcerers acted as an extension of the Queen’s will. From their headquarters in Suramar, they engaged in covert activities aimed at securing Azshara’s rule and strengthening the Empire.
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Of the many duties that these Highborne performed, they excelled at hunting down and acquiring artifacts of great power. Most of these relics were stored in the Vault of Antiquities, a vast repository located in Suramar. Among the greatest archaeological discoveries made by this group of Highborne were long-lost Pillars of Creation, an extraordinary set of relics that the ancient keepers had used to shape and order Azeroth in ages past.
Though Suramar’s elite Highborne had pledged their undying loyalty to Azshara, their views on the queen began to shift as the war dragged on. The group’s leader, Grand Magistrix Elisande, feared that the Legion did not have the Highborne’s best interests in mind. The monstrous demons had already destroyed much of the Night Elves’ glorious empire and poisoned the surrounding land with their fel magics.
Elisande’s distrust of the Legion only deepened when she discovered that demons were planning to transform Suramar into a new staging ground for the war. Legion agents had begun forming a gateway to the Twisting Nether within the city’s most prominent structure, the Temple of Elune. Once open, this portal would allow the Legion’s reinforcements to storm into Azeroth and crush the Night Elf resistance on a second front.
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Yet Elisande thought that such a portal would likely destroy Suramar and everyone who dwelled within. Thus the grand magistrix and her followers formed a plan to sabotage the Legion’s efforts. They severed their ties with the other Highborne and moved to seal the demons’ new portal. To do so, Elisande and her allies sought out the potent artifacts they had gathered over the years. In particular, they knew that the Pillars of Creation possessed the raw power they would need to neutralize the Legion’s portal.
With these artifacts in hand, Elisande and her Highborne led an assault against the demons in Suramar. Just as the Legion’s new portal began roaring to life, the sorcerers channeled their magic through the Pillars of Creation. They wove a great spell that closed the howling gateway and locked it with a set of unbreakable seals.
Though they had thwarted the attempt to create a new portal, the rebellious Highborne had no plans to join the Night Elf resistance and continue fighting the Legion. Fearing calamity, Elisande and her followers worked to fortify their holdings in Suramar. They harnessed the Eye of Aman’Thul, one of the Pillars of Creation, to create an immense fount of arcane magic. Known as the Nightwell, this source of power would nourish the sorcerers and protect them from future threats. In the millennia to come, the fount would also change Elisande and her allies, transforming them into a new race called the Nighborne.
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The Pillars of Creation and Legion
Players in Legion are tasked with finding and gaining access to or possession of the scattered Pillars of Creation. These ancient artifacts are scattered throughout the Broken Isles, the setting for Legion, and it is up to the player to beg, borrow, or steal the Pillars or to broker a deal with whatever group currently maintains possession of them. All of this is required to, at least according to information given, stop the Burning Legion once and for all.
Along the way, players will encounter the Nighborne, including their leader Elisande, and will see the Nightwell for themselves. Queen Azshara and her Highborne Naga will also be present.
Lastly, according to Blizzard’s Lead Game Designer Ion Hazzikostas, “All roads lead to Suramar, an ancient elven metropolis at the heart of the Broken Isles. The corrupted Nightwell fuels the nightborne elves and provides them the sustenance they need to survive. Those who are cut off from it live as nightfallen, their bodies wasting away as they search desperately for magical energy to sustain them. Atop the palace of Suramar, deep within the walls of the massive city, the warlock Gul’dan plots the next step of the Legion’s grand scheme.”
World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 1 is scheduled for release on March 16, 2016 and is available from many online book retailers as well as through Blizzard Gear.
[1] Metzen, C., & Brooks, R. (2015). World of Warcraft Chronicle (Vol. 1). Dark Horse Comics, pp 40, 103-104 ©Blizzard Entertainment
