High Elves Warcraft: Encyclopedia II - High Elves Warcraft - Backstory

High Elves Warcraft - Backstory

In the Warcraft Universe, the Highborne were Night Elves who were favored by Queen Azshara. They experimented with primitive but powerful magic and eventually drew demons into Kalimdor. After a devastating war, the surviving Highborne were allowed to live, but they felt the addiction of the magic they were now forbidden to practice.

Their leader, Dath'Remar Sunstrider, argued that arcane magic could be used if practiced with restraint; however the druids who now dominated Night Elf society stated any use of arcane magic would be punishable by death. In an ill-fated attempt to persuade the druids, the Highborne unleashed an arcane storm across Ashenvale, and as a result they were banished, forced to leave Kalimdor to find a new land.

They eventually found the continent of Lordaeron. After travelling for centuries, the Highborne slowly began to look less and less like the other Night Elves on Kalimdor, owing to evolution and the harsh conditions they faced in their new home. Though they initially settled in the Tirisfal Glades, they eventually found a land in northern Lorderon reminiscent of Kalimdor, where they founded the kingdom of Quel'Thalas and the capital city of Silvermoon. There the Highborne renamed themselves the High Elves and, using a vial from the Well of Eternity, they created their own source of Arcane Power, the Sunwell.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Backstory", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki