War of the Ancients and Land of Starlight

Azeroth—a wondrous world, where all that is born shall be unique and magnificent.

The Titan kin of the Pantheon had come here countless ages ago. Azeroth, in the Titan tongue, means "Land of Starlight."

But reality was ever cruel. When the Titans arrived, they were delighted to discover this unborn sibling—only to be enraged by the unmistakable signs of Void corruption.

Old Gods. Several of them, scattered across the continents, with the most powerful one, named Y'Shaarj, at the very center.

Thus the Titans began their war of salvation, also known as the War of the Ancients.

Because the Titan gods themselves were few in number, and if they had to handle everything personally, they would never be done, they fell back on an old trick they had used on other worlds: if there are no people, make people.

The Pantheon created several Lesser Titan Keepers to serve as leaders of the orderly army, and also churned out a vast force of cannon fodder: Iron Vrykul, Iron Mogu, and Iron Dwarves (also called Earthlings).

The Titan army launched an all-out assault on the Old Gods. The Old Gods, too, had their cannon fodder—the Aqir.

These corrupted, flesh-and-blood insects were endless in number. Their massive, fleshy hives stood tall across their dark empire, commanded by the direct creations of the Old Gods: the Faceless Ones.

This super-massive war, which swept across the entire continent, ended in a complete and final victory under the personal leadership of the Titans.

But the Titans discovered, to their immense fury, that the Old Gods had already sunk their roots deep into the planet Azeroth, successfully parasitizing this beautiful, pure world.

So the confident Father of Gods, Aman'Thul, decided to play a game of pulling carrots. He grabbed the most powerful Old God, Y'Shaarj, right in the middle of the continent (Y'Shaarj: "Damn it, I'm going to die!"), and yanked him out by force.

As for the result? Y'Shaarj was indeed successfully pulled out, then tossed to the Pantheon's army, who hacked him to pieces.

But there is always a "but."

The pit where Y'Shaarj had been became the most grievous wound on the planet Azeroth, even directly injuring the sleeping Azeroth within the planet's core. This indefinitely delayed her awakening and birth.

A great torrent of divine blood surged from underground, gathering more and more, eventually forming a lake—a lake of boundless power: the Well of Eternity.

Realizing they had done wrong, the Titans desperately healed the wound, finally managing to control the damage and save Azeroth within the planet's core.

As for the remaining Old Gods scattered across the continents, the Titans truly dared not kill them. Touching them would wound Azeroth again—or even kill her.

So they could only seal them.

Thus the Pantheon completely sealed the remaining Old Gods deep underground where they lay, building them an airtight subterranean prison to prevent them from influencing or spreading outward.

At the same time, the Titans left behind their creation army, commanding them to stand eternal guard over the Old Gods until the day Azeroth hatched.

The eternal prison of Ulduar, the myriad-sealed Ahn'Qiraj, the Old God research facility of Uldir, and the maddening abyss at the bottom of the deep sea—N'Zoth's Lair.

The Lesser Titan Keepers who had once commanded armies would oversee each Titan facility, with vast legions of iron constructs under their control. Should any uncontrollable situation arise, the Keepers would send the emergency code Alpha to notify the Pantheon.

After the war, the Titans of the Pantheon left Azeroth, layering the planet with heavy protections to prevent it from being discovered again by the minions of the Void.

A golden age began. The Lesser Titan Keepers left behind faithfully carried out the Pantheon's orders, constantly monitoring the prisons of the Old Gods, while also turning their attention to the affairs of the mortal world.

They discovered a native creature called the proto-dragon.

But this was not a good thing.

Galakrond, the proto-dragon king—his cruelty, his world-shattering power—was so far beyond even the countless other proto-dragons that none could compare. Among all the proto-dragons soaring through Azeroth's skies, not one could match his size.

And his strength was such that a single beat of his massive wings could flatten entire forests.

Nor was brute force his only weapon. What made him an unstoppable hunter was his incredible, unnatural cunning.

Driven by greed, Galakrond began to recklessly prey on other proto-dragons—even devouring their dead corpses.

This consumption of proto-dragon remains twisted both his mind and body, warping him into an undead horror. His massive frame became covered in malformed limbs and countless eyes.

Death energy seeped and scattered across his rugged dragon hide, reanimating the dead one after another. Galakrond's victims, infused with this necrotic power, rose again as mindless, abominable creatures.

A Lesser Titan Keeper named Tyr discovered this situation and selected the five strongest and smartest proto-dragons from among all the rest to help him hunt down Galakrond.

But when Tyr and the five proto-dragons were locked in fierce battle with Galakrond, the other Keepers, finally roused from their numbness, arrived belatedly.

Too late. The threat posed by this corrupted giant beast was something they, as Keepers, had realized far too late—and this would seal their fate.

Yet in this battle, the determination shown by Tyr's winged allies stirred their hearts, and they could not help but feel shame at their own indifference.

Even so, Tyr did not rebuke his colleagues. Instead, he led them to work together, and they finally killed Galakrond forever in the wilds of Northrend. In the bloody struggle, Galakrond bit off one of Tyr's arms, and so Tyr forged himself a Silver Hand.

After the battle, Tyr convinced his fellow Keepers to grant the five proto-dragons the power of ascension, so that they might protect the lands of Azeroth.

The compassionate Freya called upon her Titan creator, Eonar, to bestow power upon the proto-dragon Alexstrasza: the Red Dragon Queen Alexstrasza, meaning the Life-Binder, who oversees life and death in the mortal world and guards the essence of life.

Freya also asked Eonar for the blessing of nature's command, granting power to the proto-dragon Ysera: the Green Dragon Queen Ysera, meaning the Dreamer. Dreams and nature intertwined to form a mirror world—the Emerald Dream. In this pristine realm, Azeroth remains forever as it was at the beginning, filled with nature and boundless life.

The Keeper Loken called upon his Titan creator, Norgannon, to bestow upon the proto-dragon Malygos the earth-shaking power of arcane: the Blue Dragon Aspect Malygos, meaning the Master and Monitor of Arcane, who governs the flow of magic across the world and prevents any catastrophic magical disasters.

At the same time, Loken also prayed to the Father of Gods, Aman'Thul, to grant the proto-dragon Nozdormu the power to travel through the sands of time: the Bronze Dragon Aspect Nozdormu, meaning the Eternal One, who guards the correctness of Azeroth's timeline and corrects deviant timelines in time to reintegrate them into the main timeline.

Finally, the Keeper Azdahas petitioned his creator, asking the Titan Khaz'goroth to bestow a fragment of his majestic power upon the steadfast proto-dragon Neltharion: the Black Dragon Aspect Neltharion, meaning the Earth-Warder, who commands the continent's majestic mountains and deep caverns, and is himself the embodiment of the world's power.

Thus, the Lesser Titan Keepers could focus on monitoring the Old Gods, while the peace of the mortal world was entrusted to the five Dragon Aspects.

The Five Great Dragon Aspects were elevated by the Titans' blessing, evolving from proto-dragons into true dragons, forever distinguished from their former kin and establishing their own dragon lineage.

And so the world continued to function normally. All things lived in peace, multiplied, and thrived.

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