Ancient guardians enter the battle

Full History

Ancient guardians joined the mortal defenders as the Burning Legion threatened Kalimdor. Cenarius, Malorne, Aviana, Ursoc, and Ursol appear in the original-era account of the War of the Ancients, making the resistance more than an army of soldiers and spellcasters. The conflict drew in beings long associated with the natural world and its protection.

The war began in the imperial heartland, where Highborne magic was preparing the way for Sargeras. As the Legion's assault spread, the defense of living lands became inseparable from the fate of the kaldorei. The guardians' arrival answered that larger danger. Their presence also showed the gulf between the powers aiding Azshara and those standing with Malfurion's resistance: one coalition sought to bring a demonic master into the world, while the other fought to keep the world from being destroyed.

The aid of these guardians came at a cost. Malorne's death at Archimonde's hands was among the war's losses, and the Sundering changed the lands they defended. In later night elven history, reverence for Cenarius and the ancient protectors endured alongside the druids' guardianship of Kalimdor. The ancient war was remembered not as an uncomplicated victory, but as survival purchased through terrible sacrifice.