The Hunt for the Betrayer

Full History

Maiev Shadowsong had guarded Illidan Stormrage for ages, and his release during the Third War renewed her purpose. When the escaped prisoner allied with naga and sought the Eye of Sargeras, Maiev led her Watchers in pursuit. The hunt crossed seas and ruins of old night-elven history. It became a conflict over whether Illidan's dangerous power could ever be trusted outside confinement.

Illidan had assisted against the Burning Legion, but his use of the Skull of Gul'dan and his transformation divided the night elves. Lady Vashj's naga then joined him, bringing forces whose own origin lay in Azshara's sunken empire. Maiev pursued him through the Broken Isles and beyond, refusing to accept his departures as the end of her charge. Her campaign drew other night-elven leaders into choices between the immediate enemy and the memory of past betrayals.

The hunt did not return Illidan permanently to his old prison. Instead, his alliances and ambitions drew him toward the shattered remains of Draenor and eventually the campaign against the Frozen Throne. Maiev's story is one of duty carried beyond the institutions that defined it. Her determination reveals how ancient punishments still shaped the politics of a world transformed by the Third War.