The @Illidari is a powerful, multi-racial coalition of elite warriors, sorcerers, and demons bound by a singular allegiance to its supreme master: @Illidan Stormrage, the Betrayer. The seeds of the faction were sown during the climax of the Third War. After consuming the energies of the Skull of Gul'dan to defeat the demon lord Tichondrius, @Illidan Stormrage was permanently transformed into an @Angelic Demon himself and subsequently banished from @Night Elf society by his brother, @Malfurion Stormrage.
Hunted by the Warden @Maiev Shadowsong and coerced into service by the dreadlord Kil'jaeden, @Illidan Stormragerealized he required a dedicated army if he was to survive the wrath of the @Burning Legion and achieve his ultimate, secret goal: the total destruction of the Legion and the defeat of Sargeras. Fleeing Azeroth, @Illidan Stormrage arrived on the shattered, floating world of @Outland —the remnants of Draenor. There, he overthrew the Legion's local ruler, the pit lord Magtheridon, and claimed @The Black Temple as his sovereign throne, laying the foundation for the @Illidari empire.
The @Illidari is defined by a complex, pragmatic union of disparate races, each joining Illidan out of desperate survival, shared vengeance, or political convenience:
The @Naga : Led by @Lady Vashj, these mutated descendants of the ancient Highborne night elves were the first to pledge their loyalty to @Illidan Stormrage. They acted as his elite vanguard, securing waterways and constructing massive pumping stations in Zangarmarsh to drain Outland's scarce water supplies, consolidating @Illidan Stormrage's absolute economic control over the realm.
The @Blood Elf People: Following the devastation of the @Kingdom of Quel'Thalas by the @Scourge, Prince @Kael'thas Sunstrider led his magically starved people to @Outland in search of a new source of power. @Illidan Stormragesated their addiction by teaching them how to siphoning fel magic from demons, securing @Kael'thas Sunstrider's fierce allegiance and adding elite magi, spellbreakers, and dragonhawk riders to the @Illidari war machine.
The Ashtongue Deathsworn: A faction of Broken—mutated, tragic descendants of the @Draenei—led by @Akama. Believing @Illidan Stormragewould liberate their homeland from the @Burning Legionand restore their sacred temples, @Akama pledged his stealthy assassins to the Betrayer's cause, though he secretly harbored deep resentment as @Illidan Stormrage rule grew increasingly tyrannical.
At the absolute core of the Illidari’s military strength is the Illidari Demon Hunters. Frustrated by the strategic limitations of his mortal allies, Illidan undertook the unprecedented task of training night elves and blood elves into specialized anti-demon shock troopers, utilizing the ritualistic methods he himself had undergone.
The training regime was brutally unforgiving, with the vast majority of candidates dying or losing their minds in the process. To become a Demon Hunter, a recruit had to hunt down a powerful demon, rip out its heart, and consume it. This ritual trapped the demon's chaotic soul within the mortal’s body. To contain the raging beast within, candidates gouged out their own eyes with ritualistic daggers, replacing their sight with a supernatural, magical "spectral sight" that allowed them to perceive the flows of arcane and fel energy.
Those who survived were branded with intricate, glowing runic tattoos to suppress the demonic corruption, granting them the ability to manifest demonic wings, wield twin curved warglaives, and channel devastating eye beams of pure fel energy against their foes.
To fuel his grand plans of assaulting the @Burning Legion homeworlds, @Illidan Stormrage forced the native populations into harsh labor camps, weaponized the violent Fel Orcs of Hellfire Citadel using Magtheridon's corrupted blood, and allowed his forces to pillage the land.
This aggressive tyranny ultimately backfired. @Illidan Stormrage's secrecy and desperate methods blinded his allies to his true intentions. Believing him to be no better than the demon lords he overthrew, a grand, unprecedented coalition comprising the native Naaru of @Shattrath City (the Sha'tar), the forces of the Alliance, and the armies of the Horde launched a massive, multi-front invasion of his territories.