The Long Vigil

Full History

After the Sundering, the night elves turned away from imperial expansion toward a long guardianship of their remaining lands. The Sentinels protected the forests while many druids spent great stretches of time within the Emerald Dream. Tyrande Whisperwind carried a central responsibility in the waking world. The Long Vigil defined a civilization that sought to guard against the return of the dangers it had once helped unleash.

The old kaldorei empire had used the Well of Eternity to build cities and sustain an elite class of arcane practitioners. The Legion's invasion shattered that order and left survivors wary of the magic that had drawn demonic attention. Their answer combined martial watchfulness, devotion to Elune, and druidic care for the natural world. The forests of Kalimdor became both homeland and responsibility, protected by people who remembered the cost of failing to recognize a threat.

The Vigil lasted across ages of change elsewhere, but it was not an unbroken peace. Newcomers and enemies eventually reached the woods, and the Third War brought the Burning Legion back to Kalimdor. Tyrande had to awaken the druids, bringing Malfurion's long withdrawal to an end. The old system of guardianship proved important but insufficient by itself. The night elves would survive only by confronting a world that had moved beyond their secluded watch.