Warcraft History

Introduction to Azeroth

Azeroth is the setting of Blizzard Entertainment's highly successful and extremely popular real-time strategy series, Warcraft. It is a land ravaged by war and violence, with the central story focusing on the conflict between the forces of the Alliance and those of the Horde. The Alliance is composed of the Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes, and they are the true children of Azeroth who have found themselves in a desperate battle to defend their precious homelands. Battling against them for domination of Azeroth are the forces of the Horde, consisting of the Orcs, Tauren, Trolls, and Undead.


The series begins with Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, when the Orcs are let into the world of Azeroth by means of a magic portal opened by a foul sorceror. Driven by a demonic bloodlust, the Orcs begin a savage rampage through the lands of Azeroth. The Alliance is forced to quickly muster their forces to fight off these fiends. Although the forces of the Horde are eventually contained, this bloody campaign was to become the first of several that would begin to shape the destiny and fate of Azeroth...


Under new leadership, the Horde launches a second and more devastating attack against the forces of the Alliance in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Azeroth shakes from the clashes of the two titanic forces, who both demonstrate a terrible efficiency in the crafts of war. The savagery reaches an all time high as both sides unleash previously unseen magics and machines of war. It is only by the ultimate sacrifice of the Alliance's mightest hero that the Horde's butchery is finally put to an end, and the Dark Portal which had brought the Orcs into the world is destroyed. But peace has always been fleeting in these lands...


In Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, the Orcs re-open the Portal from their homeworld of Draenor, once again threatening the lands of Azeroth. Understanding that without appropriate action this threat will always exist, the Alliance decides to marshal its armies and launch an invasion through the Portal to destroy the Orcs once and for all. The two armies clash in a series of terrible battles, which ultimately lead to the destruction of both the Portal and the world of Draenor. With the remaining Orcs in Azeroth imprisoned or on the run, the Alliance begins to stagnate and fall to internal strife...


But an ancient evil is fast approaching the lands of Azeroth. As the curtains open on Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, a mysterious prophet visits the leaders of the various ruling factions, warning of an impending doom. The Burning Legion, an army of ferocious other-world demons, is bent on the destruction of Azeroth, as they have destroyed countless worlds before. Through insidious scheming, they spread chaos throughout the inhabitants of Azeroth, pitting every race against the other in an all-time pitch of butchery and killing. It is only in the end, when the Alliance and the Horde forge an unholy alliance, that the forces of the Burning Legion can be defeated...


With the Burning Legion defeated, the races of Azeroth scramble to rebuild their nations from the ashes of war in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Alliances are broken and reshaped, as each nation struggles to secure their own place in the world. Conflict erupts again, as the heroes and villians of the Warcraft saga lead their factions in epic battles to reforge their destinies...

The dark clouds of war once again darken the horizon. In the distance, the steady rumble of orc war drums can be heard. In the deepest and darkest crypts, evils are awakening and stirring. The ringing of hammers sound out in majestic castles, weapons of war being forged and prepared. Soon, fate will give birth to new heroes and villians, as the epic conflict continues in World of Warcraft...

Continue on to Timeline: Part 1

http://wowvault.ign.com/?dir=history

Azeroth is the setting of Blizzard Entertainment's highly successful and extremely popular real-time strategy series, Warcraft. It is a land ravaged by war and violence, with the central story focusing on the conflict between the forces of the Alliance and those of the Horde. The Alliance is composed of the Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes, and they are the true children of Azeroth who have found themselves in a desperate battle to defend their precious homelands. Battling against them for domination of Azeroth are the forces of the Horde, consisting of the Orcs, Tauren, Trolls, and Undead.

The dark clouds of war once again darken the horizon. In the distance, the steady rumble of orc war drums can be heard. In the deepest and darkest crypts, evils are awakening and stirring. The ringing of hammers sound out in majestic castles, weapons of war being forged and prepared. Soon, fate will give birth to new heroes and villians, as the epic conflict continues in World of Warcraft...

But an ancient evil is fast approaching the lands of Azeroth. As the curtains open on Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, a mysterious prophet visits the leaders of the various ruling factions, warning of an impending doom. The Burning Legion, an army of ferocious other-world demons, is bent on the destruction of Azeroth, as they have destroyed countless worlds before. Through insidious scheming, they spread chaos throughout the inhabitants of Azeroth, pitting every race against the other in an all-time pitch of butchery and killing. It is only in the end, when the Alliance and the Horde forge an unholy alliance, that the forces of the Burning Legion can be defeated...

In Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, the Orcs re-open the Portal from their homeworld of Draenor, once again threatening the lands of Azeroth. Understanding that without appropriate action this threat will always exist, the Alliance decides to marshal its armies and launch an invasion through the Portal to destroy the Orcs once and for all. The two armies clash in a series of terrible battles, which ultimately lead to the destruction of both the Portal and the world of Draenor. With the remaining Orcs in Azeroth imprisoned or on the run, the Alliance begins to stagnate and fall to internal strife...

Under new leadership, the Horde launches a second and more devastating attack against the forces of the Alliance in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Azeroth shakes from the clashes of the two titanic forces, who both demonstrate a terrible efficiency in the crafts of war. The savagery reaches an all time high as both sides unleash previously unseen magics and machines of war. It is only by the ultimate sacrifice of the Alliance's mightest hero that the Horde's butchery is finally put to an end, and the Dark Portal which had brought the Orcs into the world is destroyed. But peace has always been fleeting in these lands...