Kael and Vashj join Illidan in Outland

Full History

After Arthas devastated Quel'Thalas, the blood elves followed Prince Kael'thas into an uncertain struggle for survival. Garithos's hostility toward Kael's troops, and his refusal to tolerate cooperation with Lady Vashj's naga, broke the remaining ties of trust between the prince and the human forces fighting in Lordaeron. Vashj offered escape and directed Kael toward Illidan, who was gathering followers beyond Azeroth. For Kael, the choice was bound to the fate of a people whose old home and source of magical sustenance had been lost.

Outland was no refuge of peace. It was the remnant of Draenor, torn apart by Ner'zhul's portals and contested by the pit lord Magtheridon. Illidan sought to replace that ruler, but his followers initially lacked the numbers to defeat an army supported through several demonic gateways. Kael's disciplined blood elves and Vashj's naga provided different strengths, allowing the coalition to attack across land and waterways and protect Illidan while he disrupted the gateways.

The campaign also exposed Kael and Vashj to the plight of the surviving draenei. When they helped relieve a village under attack by fel orcs, Akama and his followers pledged assistance. The alliance that marched on the Black Citadel thus joined exiles from Quel'Thalas, naga from Azeroth's seas, and draenei whose home had been ruined. Their shared enemy did not erase their differences, but it made coordinated action possible.

These events belong to Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. They illuminate Kael's political break with Garithos and explain how Illidan assembled a coalition on the way to his confrontation with Kil'jaeden. The account ends with the original campaign rather than projecting later developments onto the uncertain beginning of World of Warcraft.