Quick Overview
Quel'Thalas began when high elf exiles traveled north from the lands of the night elves and founded a kingdom around the Sunwell. During the Second War the high elves joined the Alliance against the Horde, sending rangers and other forces into the conflict. The destruction shattered high elf society and left survivors to mourn a homeland they could no longer preserve as it had been.
Full History
Quel'Thalas began when high elf exiles traveled north from the lands of the night elves and founded a kingdom around the Sunwell. The new source of magic sustained their civilization but also drew enemies. Forest trolls remembered the lands as their own and fought the elves for generations, while relations with the neighboring human kingdoms were shaped by the shared struggle against troll armies.
During the Second War the high elves joined the Alliance against the Horde, sending rangers and other forces into the conflict. The invasion of Quel'Thalas revealed how vulnerable even an ancient magical kingdom could be when its enemies reached the forests around Silvermoon. The greater disaster came during the Third War, when Arthas led the Scourge into the kingdom, killed its defenders, and used the Sunwell to restore Kel'Thuzad as a lich.
The destruction shattered high elf society and left survivors to mourn a homeland they could no longer preserve as it had been. Prince Kael'thas named his remaining people the blood elves in memory of those lost. Quel'Thalas remained a wounded kingdom whose history could not be reduced to an intact homeland. Its ruin shaped the elves' struggle to recover their identity and place among other peoples.
The Living Archive · Subject Chronicle
Through History
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