Lorekeeper's Den

    CHAPTER II : THE NEW WORLD

I - THE FOUNDING OF QUEL'THALAS

(6 800 years before Warcraft I)

Led by Dath'remar, who had taken the name Sunstrider (He who walks the day), the High Elves' fleets wandered the wreckage of the world for long years, seeking out places of considerable ley power upon which to build their new Homeland.

They finally landed on the beaches of the Kingdom that men would later name Lordaeron. Forging inland, the High Elves founded a settlement within the tranquil Tirisfal Glades, but their stay was short there, after a few years many of them began to go mad. The theory was never proven true, but it was said that something evil slept beneath that part of the world.

They packed and moved northward, seeking another land rich with ley power.

Their journey became increasingly perilous... Being cut off from the energies of the Well of Eternity, many of them fell ill or died due to climate or from starvation, but the most discomferting change that happened to them was that they were no longer immortal or immune to the elements.

They also shrank somewhat in height, and their skin lost its characteristic violet hue. Despite their hardships, they encountered many wondrous creatures that had never been seen in Kalimdor. They also found tribes of primitive humans who hunted throughout the ancient forestlands. However, the direst threat they encountered were the voracious and cunning forest trolls of Zul'Aman.

These moss-skinned trolls could regenerate lost limbs and heal grievous physical injuries, but they proved to be a barbaric, evil race. The Amani empire stretched across most of northern Lordaeron, and the trolls fought hard to keep unwanted strangers from their borders. The elves killed the vicious trolls on sight whenever they were encountered.

After many long years, the High Elves founded the kingdom of Quel'thalas deep within the northern forests of Lordaeron. Unfortunately they soon learned that Quel'Thalas was founded upon an ancient troll city that the trolls still held to be sacred. Almost immediately, the trolls began to attack the elven settlements en masse.

The stubborn elves, unwilling to give up their new land, utilized the magics which they had gleaned from the Well of Eternity and kept the savage trolls at bay. Under Dath'Remar's leadership, they were able to defeat the Amani warbands that outnumbered them ten to one. Some elves, wary of the Kaldorei's ancient warnings, felt that their use of magic might possibly draw the attention of the banished Burning Legion. Therefore, they decided to mask their lands within a protective barrier which would still allow them to work their enchantments. They constructed a series of monolithic Runestones at various points around Quel'Thalas which marked the boundaries of the magic barrier. The Runestones not only masked the elves' magic from extra-dimensional threats, but helped to frighten away the superstitious troll warbands as well.

With time, Quel'Thalas became a shining monument to the high elves' efforts and magical prowess.  Quel'Thalas had become the shining jewel that the elves had longed to create. The Convocation of Silvermoon was founded as the ruling power over Quel'Thalas, though the Sunstrider Dynasty maintained a modicum of political power. Comprised of seven of the greatest high elf lords, the Convocation worked to secure the safety of the elven lands and people. Surrounded by their protective barrier, the High Elves remained unmoved by the old warnings of the Kaldorei and continued to use magic flagrantly in almost all aspects of their lives.