As the seemingly endless ages passed, the Night Elves' civilization expanded both territorially and culturally. Their temples, roads, and dwelling places stretched across the breadth of the continent. Azshara, the Night Elves' beautiful and gifted queen, built an immense, wondrous palace on the Well's shore that housed her favored servitors within its bejeweled halls. Her servitors, whom she called the Quel'dorei or "Highborne," doted on her every command and believed themselves to be greater than the rest of their brethren. The Quel'dorei devoted themselves to exploring the powers of the Well of Eternity -- eventually learning to harness its powers -- creating magic.
As their powers grew, a distinct change came over Azshara and the Highborne. The haughty, aloof upper class became increasingly callous and cruel towards their fellow Night Elves. A dark, brooding pall veiled Azshara's once-entrancing beauty. She began to withdraw from her loving subjects and refused to interact with any but her trusted Highborne priests. A young scholar named Malfurion Stormrage, who had spent much of his time studying the primitive arts of druidism, began to suspect that a terrible power was corrupting the Highborne and his beloved queen. He was right. The Highborne's reckless use of magic sent ripples of energy spiraling out from the Well of Eternity and into the Great Dark Beyond where they were felt by Sargeras -- the Great Enemy of all life, the Destroyer of Worlds who resolved to destroy the fledgling world and claim its energies as his own.
What began then would later be referred to as "The Ancient's War." Queen Aszhara and her followers, aided by Sargeras's demons, warred against the rest of the Night Elves. The Night Elf forces were led by Malfurion who, along with his Highborne brother Illidan and his great love, the priestess Tyrande, eventually convinced the druid demigod Cenarius and the ancient dragons to lend their aid against the Queen and the Burning Legion. The war that raged was terrible beyond imagining, unleashing ancient powers that killed millions.
Unfortunately, despite the strength of their newfound allies, Malfurion and his colleagues realized that the Legion could not be defeated by martial strength alone. Even as they fought around Azshara's capital city, the delusional queen was working on her last, greatest spell -- a gateway that would allow Sargeras to pass through the Well of Eternity and enter the ravaged world. Even worse, Malfurion's forces would suffer two more terrible betrayals. The first was when Neltharion, the Dragon Aspect of the Earth, went mad during a critical engagement against the Burning Legion and switched sides. Renaming himself Deathwing, the burning dragon and his followers turned on his brethren and drove the rest of the dragons from the field of battle.
The second was when, devastated by the loss of the dragons and watching his forces falling before the Legion, Malfurion came up with a desperate plan. The Well of Eternity, the demons' umbilical link to the physical world and the source of the Highborne's powers, would have to be destroyed. His companions, knowing that the Well was the source of their immortality, were horrified by the notion, but knew he was right. Unfortunately, Malfurion's brother Illadan, terrified at the thought of death and the loss of his powers (and jealous of his brother's love for Tyrande) switched sides again, rejoined the Highborne and warned the Queen about Malfurion's plan.
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