The War of the Ancients was a foundational conflict in the prehistoric history of Azeroth, taking place on the ancient supercontinent of Kalimdor approximately 10,000 years before later historical eras. It represents the first complete confrontation between the inhabitants of the world and the transdimensional demonic force later known as the Burning Legion. The war’s causes, major developments, and consequences profoundly shaped the structure of the world, the evolution of its intelligent races, and the future balance of arcane power.
Prior to the outbreak of war, the Kaldorei (commonly referred to in modern texts as night elves) had emerged as a dominant civilization centered around the Well of Eternity, a vast natural reservoir of arcane energy located on the southern shores of the central landmass of Kalimdor. The Well’s power accelerated growth and longevity among the Kaldorei and served as a focal point for their culture, religion, and political influence. As the Kaldorei empire expanded, its Highborne caste, specialists in arcane magic, increasingly employed the Well’s energies for feats of power and prestige, fostering both technological advancement and internal social stratification. These practices, while enabling great achievements, also created vulnerabilities by drawing external attention to the Well’s immense energies.
Simultaneously, the Burning Legion—a vast host of demonic entities bent on the annihilation or subjugation of all life—had been formed in the Twisting Nether, a dimension of chaotic energies bordering the physical cosmos. The Legion’s ultimate goal was the eradication of mortal civilizations and the consumption of world-souls to fuel their cosmic crusade. The arcane energies seeping from the Well of Eternity acted as a beacon to these forces, alerting them to Azeroth’s existence and to the potential utility of its world-soul, the intrinsic life-force of the planet.
The War of the Ancients began when Sargeras, leader of the Burning Legion, orchestrated an invasion of Azeroth. Sargeras’ strategy involved corrupting influential members of Kaldorei royalty and nobility, promising power, immortality, and the realization of their desires in exchange for cooperation. These efforts found receptive allies among the Highborne, particularly Queen Azshara, whose ambition and mastery of arcane magic made her susceptible to demonic influence. Through subtle manipulation and secret rituals, the Legion succeeded in establishing a portal to Azeroth close to the Well of Eternity, enabling the first wave of demonic incursions.
The opening campaigns of the war were marked by the sudden appearance of legion forces—demons of varying forms, brimming with fel fire and destructive intent—on the plains and forests surrounding the Well. These demonic armies encountered the defenders of the Kaldorei empire, initiating pitched battles that tested the martial and magical capacities of elven forces. Documentation of these clashes emphasizes the ferocity of combat and the initial inability of traditional Kaldorei military doctrine to respond effectively to the unprecedented threat.
As the invasion escalated, dissent grew within Kaldorei society over how to address the demonic threat. A faction of leaders, including prominent druids who sought harmony with nature rather than dominion over it, began advocating for a refocusing of elven power away from arcane excess. Illidan and Malfurion, figures later central to both the war and subsequent cultural evolutions, emerged during this period as leaders with divergent approaches to confronting the Legion. Malfurion, in particular, emphasized the cultivation of druidic magic drawn from natural forces rather than the Well’s arcane currents, a distinction that would later influence Night Elf society profoundly.
Meanwhile, other races and entities indigenous to Azeroth—most notably the Dragon Aspects, powerful dragon leaders entrusted with stewardship over elemental and magical domains—became directly involved in the conflict. The Dragon Aspects marshaled the strengths of their respective flights to counteract the Legion’s incursions, coordinating defenses at strategic locations and providing crucial support in key engagements. This cooperation between dragonkind and Kaldorei defenders signifies a rare convergence of disparate species against a mutual existential threat.
Multiple major engagements characterized the middle phase of the war. Among these was a series of battles near the Well of Eternity itself, in which defenders sought to repel waves of demons attempting to widen the portal and secure a permanent foothold. At the same time, stratagems to sever the Legion’s connection to Azeroth were explored, including efforts to disrupt or destroy the portal apparatus. Accounts suggest that these efforts initially met with limited success, as the number and ferocity of the Legion’s forces continued to escalate.
The climactic sequence of the war involved a decision by Azeroth’s defenders to neutralize the Well of Eternity as the source of the Legion’s access. This course of action required extraordinary magical exertion and risked destabilizing the landmass itself. In the culminating engagement—referred to in chronicled sources as the implosion of the Well—combined forces of elves and dragons succeeded in collapsing the arcane reservoir. The resultant cataclysm shattered Kalimdor’s singular landmass into multiple continents and vast seas, an event that permanently altered Azeroth’s geography.
The end of the War of the Ancients did not entail the complete destruction of all Legion forces but did mark the successful expulsion of the majority of demonic hosts from Azeroth. The immediate result of the conflict was the reconfiguration of the planet’s surface, the reduction of arcane dominance in Kaldorei society, and the ascension of druidic orders as central custodians of natural and magical equilibrium. The Kaldorei, having witnessed the destructive potential of unrestrained arcane practice, largely abandoned such pursuits in favor of druidism and other forms of balanced magical study.
New political and cultural divisions emerged among elven lineages, most notably between those who renounced arcane magic entirely and the remnants of the Highborne who continued to practice it. These divisions later contributed to migrations and the eventual formation of distinct elven subcultures. Other races and species formerly allied or neutral during the war reevaluated their relationships to the Kaldorei and to each other in light of the new world order shaped by the conflict’s outcome.
Because many accounts of the War of the Ancients derive from narrative traditions, literary reconstructions, and retrospective compendia, precise dates and specific troop movements can vary among sources. Core consensus supports the broad chronology described above (invasion, major battles, collapse of the Well, and resulting cataclysm), but details such as order of individual engagements and the roles played by secondary figures sometimes differ across texts.
The geological and sociopolitical upheaval concluding the War of the Ancients set the stage for the next transformative epoch in Azeroth’s prehistoric history. The fragmentation of the ancient supercontinent and the lingering scars of arcane and demonic conflict precipitated The Great Sundering, an age defined by tectonic realignment, climate shifts, and the redistribution of life across newly formed continents. This sundering reshaped both the physical world and the destinies of its peoples.