"The History of the Expansions" series — The War Within, part 1. The story of World of Warcraft told expansion by expansion, with the patches that changed it. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.
The first part of The War Within is the fall of Dalaran. A call coming from the heart of Azeroth, the Radiant Song, leads the heroes to the continent of Khaz Algar, and the city of mages is teleported there. But Xal'atath was already inside it, disguised as an archmage. She attacks with the nerubians and uses the Dark Heart to destroy Dalaran, in a disaster that swallows even Khadgar.
What the Radiant Song is
Since the tree Amirdrassil took root at the end of Dragonflight, many people in Azeroth have started having visions and hearing something like a voice calling from the heart of the world. Thrall, Jaina, Anduin, Wrathion, Vereesa and Lady Liadrin are among those who heard it.
This call is the Radiant Song, and everything suggests it comes from Azeroth's own worldsoul, as a warning or a plea for help. The visions grow stronger over time. Curiously, Magni Bronzebeard, the Speaker of Azeroth, does not hear it, and Alleria Windrunner receives visions of the Void instead.
The ethereal Locus-Walker has a frightening theory: his planet, K'aresh, received a similar call before it was devastated by the Void Lord Dimensius. To him, the Song may be the sign that Xal'atath wants to give Azeroth the same fate.
Read more: Locus-Walker, Alleria's ethereal mentor and K'aresh, the world destroyed by the Void Lords.
Why Khaz Algar
Magni discovers that Khaz Algar, a continent unknown until then, is a titan facility and is in danger. It is from there that the path to the center of the planet begins, where the worldsoul lies. To take the heroes there, the Kirin Tor teleports the whole of Dalaran to the coast of Khaz Algar, over the Isle of Dorn.
Read more: Khaz Algar: the underground continent and the four biomes of The War Within.
Xal'atath inside the Kirin Tor
Alleria had been hunting Xal'atath for a long time. When she found out Xal'atath had entered Dalaran, she went after her inside the city. The truth was worse than anyone imagined: Archmage Drenden, a member of the Kirin Tor, was Xal'atath herself in disguise. The real Drenden had been dead for years.
Unmasked, Xal'atath launched the attack. The nerubians, the spider people who live beneath Khaz Algar, invaded Dalaran and began kidnapping its residents.
Read more: Xal'atath in the cosmology.
The Dark Heart and the fall of Dalaran
Khadgar faced Xal'atath and lost. She then used the Dark Heart, a Void artifact that had been in the making since the end of Dragonflight, to bring the city down. Dalaran came apart and exploded, leaving only a mass of broken rock.
The survivors had two fates. Some were hastily teleported to the Isle of Dorn. The others were captured by the nerubians and taken to the depths of Azj-Kahet, the kingdom of the spiders.
Read more: Dark Heart: how Dragonflight paved the way for The War Within.
And Khadgar, did he die?
The cinematic of Dalaran's fall is ambiguous: Khadgar's hand seems to come apart. In truth, he was absorbed by the Dark Heart. Before that, he teleported Alleria to the Isle of Dorn.
Khadgar did not die. Later, Alleria hits the Dark Heart with an arrow, and he escapes in the form of a raven. He explains that he turned himself into pure arcane energy before being captured. The spell left him bound to an arcane wheelchair made by Modera, and he reappears in the Foundation Hall of Dornogal.
Where to see it in WotLK
- Dalaran, in Crystalsong Forest: it is the same city, at its peak, as the neutral capital of the war against the Lich King.
- Violet Hold: the Kirin Tor prison, inside Dalaran.
- Azjol-Nerub and Ahn'kahet, in Dragonblight: the nerubian kingdom of Northrend, cousin of the Azj-Kahet empire that attacks Dalaran.
- Khadgar in Shattrath: in TBC, he is the one who welcomes the heroes to Outland.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Dalaran in The War Within?
Xal'atath, disguised as an archmage, attacked the city with the nerubians and used the Dark Heart to destroy it, after Dalaran was moved to Khaz Algar.
Did Khadgar die in The War Within?
No. Khadgar lost to Xal'atath and was absorbed by the Dark Heart in the fall of Dalaran. Later, Alleria damages the artifact and he escapes alive.
What is the Radiant Song?
It is a call that many characters have heard since the end of Dragonflight. Everything suggests it comes from Azeroth's worldsoul, as a warning or a plea for help.
"The History of the Expansions" series
← Previous: Episode 11: Khaz Algar: the underground continent and the four biomes of The War Within Next → The War Within, part 2: The Earthen and Isle of Dorn
- Episode 1: WoW Classic at a glance: major conflicts and faction reconstruction
- Episode 2: The Burning Crusade in order: Illidan, Kael'thas, Vashj and the fate of Outland
- Episode 3: WoW History: Wrath of the Lich King
- Episode 4: Cataclysm and the return of Deathwing
- Episode 5: WoW History: Mists of Pandaria
- Episode 6: WoW History: Warlords of Draenor
- Episode 7: WoW History: Legion, the Full Expansion
- Episode 8: The Fourth War in brief: how Azerite reignited the conflict between Horde and Alliance
- Episode 9: WoW History: Shadowlands
- Episode 10: The awakening of the Dragon Isles and the return of the Aspects
- Episode 11: Khaz Algar: the underground continent and the four biomes of The War Within
- The War Within, part 1: The Radiant Song and Dalaran (you are here)
- The War Within, part 2: The Earthen and Isle of Dorn
- The War Within, part 3: The Ringing Deeps
- The War Within, part 4: The Arathi Expedition
- The War Within, part 5: Azj-Kahet and Ansurek
- The War Within, part 6: The War for Khaz Algar
- The War Within, part 7: Undermine and Gallywix
- The War Within, part 8: Ghosts of K'aresh
- Episode 12: Midnight: why Quel'Thalas became the center of the war against the Void
- Episode 13: The Last Titan: what we know about the end of the trilogy
Posts Recomendados
Khaz Algar: the underground continent and the four biomes of The War Within
Khaz Algar turns Azeroth's interior into narrative geography in The War Within: each zone is an argument about titans, survival, faith and invasion.
Dark Heart: How Dragonflight Paved the Way for The War Within
Dark Heart turns Dragonflight's ending from epilogue into prologue. Learn why patch 10.2.7 is the direct bridge to The War Within and the Worldsoul Saga.
Xal’atath in cosmology
Xal’atath is not just a charismatic Void villain: she acts as the strategic intelligence of a cosmic force that once seemed too distant to have a voice.
Magtheridon: the pit lord of Hellfire Citadel
Who is Magtheridon: the pit lord who ruled Outland, lost the Black Temple to Illidan and became the blood source for fel orcs in Hellfire Citadel.