Plot
Book One - The Well of Eternity
Many months have passed since the cataclysmic Battle of Mount Hyjal, where the demonic Burning Legion was banished from Azeroth forever. But now, a mysterious energy rift within the mountains of Kalimdor propels three former warriors into the distant past - a time long before orcs, humans or even high elves roamed the land. A time when the Dark Titan, Sargeras, and his demon pawns persuaded Queen Azshara and her Highborne to cleanse Azeroth of its lesser races. A time when the Dragon Aspects were at the height of their power - unaware that one of their own would soon usher in an age of darkness that would engulf the World of Warcraft.
In the first chapter of this epic trilogy, the outcome of the historic War of the Ancients is forever altered by the arrival of three time-lost heroes: Krasus, the dragon mage whose great powers and memory of the ancient conflict have inexplicably diminished; the human wizard Rhonin, whose thoughts are divided between his family and the seductive source of his growing power; and Broxigar, a weathered orc veteran who seeks an honorable death in combat. But unless the unlikely allies can convince the demigod, Cenarius, and the untrusting night elves of their queen's treachery, the Burning Legion's gateway into Azeroth will open anew. And this time - the struggles of the past may well spill over into the future...
Book Two - The Demon Soul
Led by the mighty Archimonde, scores of demonic soldiers now march across the lands of Kalimdor, leaving a trail of death and devastation in their wake. At the heart of the fiery invasion stands the mystic Well of Eternity—once the source of the Night Elves' arcane power. But now the Well's energies have been defiled and twisted, for Queen Azshara and her Highborne will stop at nothing to commune with their newfound god: the fiery Lord of the Burning Legion... Sargeras.
The night elf defenders, led by the young druid, Malfurion Stormrage, and the wizard, Krasus, fight a desperate battle to hold back the Legion's terrible onslaught. Though only embers of hope remain, an ancient power has risen to aid the world in its darkest hour. The dragons—led by the powerful Aspect, Neltharion—have forged a weapon of incalculable power: the Demon Soul, an artifact capable of driving the Legion from the world forever. But its use may cost far more than any could have foreseen.
Book Three - The Sundering
The valiant night elves have been shattered by the loss of their beloved general. The black dragon, Neltharion, has claimed the Demon Soul and scattered the mighty dragonflights to the winds. Above all, the demonlord, Archimonde, has led the Burning Legion to the very brink of victory over Kalimdor. As the land and its denizens reel from this unstoppable evil, a terror beyond all reckoning draws ever nearer from the Well of Eternity's depths...
In the final, apocalyptic chapter of this epic trilogy, the dragon-mage Krasus and the young druid Malfurion must risk everything to save Azeroth from utter destruction. Banding together the dwarves, tauren and furbolg races, the heroes hope to spark an alliance to stand against the might of the Burning Legion. For if the Demon Soul should fall into the Legion's hands, all hope for the world will be lost. This then, is the hour... where past and future collide!
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a high fantasy real-time strategy computer video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment released in July 2002. It is the second sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, after Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, the third game set in the Warcraft fictional universe, and the first to be rendered in three dimensions. An expansion pack, The Frozen Throne, was released in July 2003. Warcraft III is set several years after the events of Warcraft II, and tells the story of the Burning Legion's attempt to conquer the fictional world of Azeroth with the help of an army of the Undead, led by fallen paladin Arthas Menethil. It chronicles the combined efforts of the Human Alliance, Orcish Horde, and Night Elves to stop them before they can corrupt the World Tree.
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne is the expansion pack for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, a real-time strategy video game by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released worldwide on July 1, 2003 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The Frozen Throne builds upon the story of Reign of Chaos and depicts the events after the main game's conclusion. The single-player unfolds from the perspective of two new protagonists—the Night Elf warden Maiev Shadowsong and the Blood Elf prince Kael'Thas—as well as returning protagonist Arthas Menethil. Additionally, the expansion contains Act I of a separate Orc campaign that is independent from the main storyline with Blizzard releasing Acts II and III via patch in December 2003, taking in player feedback of Act I when developing these chapters.
Warcraft is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of five core games: Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, World of Warcraft, and Hearthstone. The first three of these core games are in the real-time strategy genre, where opposing players command virtual armies in battle against each other or a computer-controlled enemy. The fourth and best-selling title of the franchise is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), where players control their character and interact with each other in a virtual world. The most recent title is Hearthstone, a digital collectible card game. Warcraft is one of the highest-grossing video game franchises of all time, having grossed $11.2 billion in lifetime revenue, as of 2018.
Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal is an expansion pack developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Cyberlore Studios, published in 1996 by Blizzard Entertainment for the real-time strategy video game Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Beyond the Dark Portal requires a full version of the original game to run.
Warcraft: Day of the Dragon is a novel by Richard A. Knaak based in Blizzard Entertainments Warcraft Universe. It was published by Pocket Books.
Warcraft: The Last Guardian is a novel by Jeff Grubb set in the Warcraft Universe. It is the fourth book and the third paper book released in the Warcraft Universe.
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade is the first expansion set for the MMORPG World of Warcraft. It was released on January 16, 2007 at local midnight in Europe and North America, selling nearly 2.4 million copies on release day alone and making it, at the time, the fastest-selling PC game released at that point. Approximately 3.53 million copies were sold in the first month of release, including 1.9 million in North America, over 100,000 copies in Australasia, and nearly 1.6 million in Europe.
Richard A. Knaak is the author of Dragonlance novels, Dragonrealm, six novels for Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo series, and ten works in the Warcraft universe. He has also written five non-series fantasy books.
In many works of modern fantasy, elves are depicted as a race or species of pointy-eared humanoid beings. These depictions arise from the álfar of Norse mythology influencing elves in fantasy as being semi-divine and of human stature, whose key traits are being friendly with nature and animals. However, this differs from Norse and the traditional elves found in Middle Ages folklore and Victorian era literature.
The game of World of Warcraft, or WoW, is set in a fictional world known as Azeroth and in the expansion The Burning Crusade extended the game to another world called Outland. The expansion Wrath of the Lich King added Northrend, the frigid northern continent of Azeroth. In the expansion Cataclysm, the classic continents of Azeroth were drastically changed as some zones were destroyed and new ones were unveiled. The expansion Mists of Pandaria added the southern continent, previously hidden behind a perennial mist cover, Pandaria. The expansion, Warlords of Draenor added Draenor, which is an Outland was before its partial destruction. The expansion Legion adds the Broken Isles, an island chain near the Maelstrom in the middle of the Great Sea, and the damaged planet Argus, the headquarters of the Burning Legion. The latest expansion Battle for Azeroth adds 2 new continents to the center of the map of Azeroth and introduces 8 new races called Allied Races.
Illidan Stormrage is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. Born a night elf and sorcerer, his pursuit of power led him to commit several horrific acts against his own people, which earned him the nickname "the Betrayer" and to become the first Demon Hunter. Self-proclaimed the Lord of Outland, he also defected to the Burning Legion and became a partial demon himself. The character is one of the most notable and popular in the Warcraft franchise and has received positive critical reception from video game players. Illidan was voiced by Matthew Yang King in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion The Frozen Throne, and by Liam O'Brien since World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.
Tyrande Whisperwind is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. First appearing in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, within the games, she is the chosen High Priestess of the goddess Elune, and along with her husband Malfurion Stormrage, the leader of the night elves. The character has received mostly positive critical reception from gamers, and is a popular character in Warcraft lore. She is voiced by Elisa Gabrielli.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is the third expansion set for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Wrath of the Lich King. It was officially announced at BlizzCon on August 21, 2009, although dataminers and researchers discovered details before it was officially announced by Blizzard. The expansion was officially released on December 7, 2010.
The fantasy setting of the Warcraft series includes many fictional races and factions. Most of the primary protagonists of the series belong to either the Horde or the Alliance. However, there are a variety of neutral races and factions, who are either friendly or hostile to both the Horde and the Alliance. In World of Warcraft, all player characters belong to either the Horde or the Alliance, with a character's faction decided by its race. One exception is the pandaren, who can choose to become members of either faction.
Warcraft is a 2016 American action fantasy film directed by Duncan Jones and written by Charles Leavitt and Jones. Based on the video game series of the same name, the film stars Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Robert Kazinsky, Clancy Brown, and Daniel Wu. The film portrays the initial encounters between the humans and the orcs and takes place in a variety of locations established in the video game series.
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor is the fifth expansion set to the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Mists of Pandaria. It was announced on November 8, 2013 at BlizzCon 2013. The expansion was released on November 13, 2014.
Jaina Proudmoore is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. Within the games, she is the most powerful sorceress alive. She is currently Lord Admiral, ruler of the Kul Tiras kingdom. Jaina was formerly the leader of the Kirin Tor, a faction of mages ruling over the city of Dalaran. She swore to defeat the Burning Legion and its sinister agents any way she could and helped defeat and banish the demons. Once a diplomat, she advocated for peace between the Alliance and the Horde, and she later joined the Alliance after the destruction of her city of Theramore at the hands of the Horde. The character has become one of the most iconic and noted characters in Warcraft lore, and has received positive critical reception from gamers. Jaina was voiced by Carrie Gordon Lowrey in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and World of Warcraft, and is currently voiced by Laura Bailey in the subsequent World of Warcraft expansions, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm.
World of Warcraft: Legion is the sixth expansion set in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Warlords of Draenor. It was announced on August 6, 2015 at Gamescom 2015. The expansion was released on August 30, 2016.
In the novel World of Warcraft: Illidan, written by William King and published by Del Rey Books on April 12, 2016, more details are revealed about Illidan Stormrage's actions and intentions than was revealed in The Burning Crusade.
World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth is the seventh expansion pack for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Legion. It was announced at BlizzCon on November 3, 2017. In contrast to previous expansions, which went live at midnight in each time zone, Battle for Azeroth had a simultaneous release for all regions, corresponding to midnight Central European Summer Time on August 14, 2018.
