Third War #8: the night elves

September 10, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Third War" series — Third War #8. The story of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, from Medivh's prophecy to the Battle of Mount Hyjal. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

The death of Cenarius in Warcraft 3 opens the night elf campaign, called Eternity's End. The demigod of the forests fell to the orcs, and soon after the Burning Legion and the Scourge reached Ashenvale. The Sentinels alone could not hold back the invasion. This chapter of the campaign tells how Tyrande Whisperwind woke the druids, freed a prisoner of ten thousand years and saw that prisoner become half demon.

The Sentinels and the death of Cenarius

The night elves had spent ten thousand years isolated in Kalimdor. While the druids slept, the forest was protected by the Sentinels, led by Tyrande, high priestess of Elune.

The chapter begins in Ashenvale, after Mannoroth's death. Human and orc troops had entered the forest to see if any demons were left. Tyrande sensed a dark presence approaching. Her lieutenant, Shandris Feathermoon, suggested it was the orcs who had killed Cenarius. Tyrande thought it might be something worse.

For the elves, Cenarius was more than an ally. He was the demigod who had taught the druids and who had protected the forests since the War of the Ancients. His death at the hands of the orcs marked the whole people. From then on, the orcs became enemies, and that grudge would still weigh on Tyrande's decisions at the end of the campaign.

Enemies at the gate

Tyrande attacked the human and orc camp and killed its commander, the paladin Duke Lionheart. Right after, fire fell from the sky. Legion demons and Scourge undead crushed the humans, the orcs and then the elves themselves. Tyrande ordered a retreat into the trees. Her forces could not cope.

Daughters of the moon

At the foothills of Mount Hyjal, Tyrande was cornered. Archimonde and Tichondrius hunted the priestess with demons (Doomguards) and undead. The two archers who were with her died.

Tyrande escaped by melding with the shadows, the racial ability WoW calls Shadowmeld. She crossed the forest at night, avoiding patrols, and saw humans and orcs fighting the undead along the way. When the sun rose, she lost the cover of the shadows and had to fight her way to Shandris' outpost.

There she told them that the Burning Legion had returned and that the Scourge was its work. The conclusion was a single one: "We must awaken the druids."

The awakening of Malfurion

The wisest and most powerful of the druids was Malfurion Stormrage, who in Warcraft III is called Furion. He slept in a barrow, the Barrow Den, near Moonglade, with his mind in the Emerald Dream.

With Cenarius dead, only the call of the Horn of Cenarius could wake the druids. The horn lay on an island in Moonglade, guarded by three ancient guardians. To get there, the Sentinels also had to destroy an orc settlement that blocked the way.

Tyrande defeated the guardians and sounded the horn. Malfurion woke just as the undead reached the barrow. He said he had come "as promised", smelled the corruption in the land and turned the nearby trees into Treants, which destroyed the Scourge outpost.

The druids arise

Malfurion and Tyrande headed for the valley of Winterspring. There, they faced satyrs sent by Tichondrius, corrupted Ancients and a furbolg tribe driven mad by a tainted well. At the end of the valley, Malfurion sounded the horn and woke the Druids of the Talon.

The Druids of the Claw were still missing. They slept in the Barrow Deeps, deep caves under Mount Hyjal.

Brothers in blood

The Barrow Deeps also held a prison. Inside was Illidan Stormrage, Malfurion's twin brother, imprisoned since the end of the War of the Ancients. The prison was guarded by the Watchers, commanded by the warden Maiev Shadowsong.

Tyrande wanted to free Illidan to fight the Legion. Malfurion forbade it. The two split up: Malfurion went after the Druids of the Claw, whom he found in a feral state and brought back with the horn. Tyrande entered the prison alone.

Maiev and her lieutenant Naisha were not there at that moment. Tyrande cut her way through the Watchers and freed Illidan. He was moved to hear her voice after ten thousand years. He said he would hunt the demons because of what he felt for Tyrande, but that he owed nothing to her people. He regretted nothing.

Malfurion wanted nothing to do with help from his brother. To him, Illidan could doom them all.

The Skull of Gul'dan

Free, Illidan went alone to the corrupted forests now called Felwood. He was angry because Malfurion still treated him like a villain.

There Arthas appeared, the Lich King's death knight. He taunted Illidan by asking if he was sure his will was his own. Then he said that Tichondrius led the undead and that the artifact corrupting the forest was the Skull of Gul'dan. He suggested Illidan steal it.

Illidan destroyed the demons guarding the skull and consumed its power. He became a being half night elf, half demon. With that strength, he attacked Tichondrius' base and killed the dreadlord.

Illidan banished

Malfurion and Tyrande arrived soon after. Illidan revealed who he was, and Tyrande was horrified. Malfurion, outraged that his brother had sold his soul, ordered Illidan to leave those lands forever.

Illidan answered with a short line: "So be it... brother." And he left.

What this changes in the story

This chapter brings the night elves to the center of Warcraft. The druids wake, and elven society changes: Malfurion starts sharing leadership with Tyrande, which later leads to the creation of the Cenarion Circle and Darnassus.

Illidan's release changes even more. With the skull's power, he becomes the character who goes to the Frozen Throne, to Outland and to the Black Temple. And his escape from the Barrow Deeps sends Maiev on a hunt that begins in the Frozen Throne.

Episode timeline

The Legion and the Scourge attack Ashenvale.
Tyrande escapes Archimonde and Tichondrius at the foothills of Hyjal.
Tyrande sounds the Horn of Cenarius and wakes Malfurion.
Malfurion wakes the Druids of the Talon and the Druids of the Claw.
Tyrande frees Illidan from Maiev's prison.
Illidan consumes the Skull of Gul'dan and kills Tichondrius.
Malfurion banishes Illidan.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Tyrande Whisperwind | The high priestess of Elune and leader of the Sentinels. | | Malfurion Stormrage | The greatest of the druids, woken by the Horn of Cenarius. | | Illidan Stormrage | Malfurion's brother, imprisoned for ten thousand years. | | Maiev Shadowsong | Illidan's warden, away when he was freed. | | Shandris Feathermoon | Tyrande's lieutenant in the Sentinels. | | Tichondrius | The dreadlord who guarded the Skull of Gul'dan. | | Arthas | The death knight who showed the skull to Illidan. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Ashenvale: the forest where the campaign begins, still patrolled by the Sentinels.
Moonglade: the druids' refuge, where Malfurion slept.
Winterspring: the valley where the Druids of the Talon were woken.
Felwood: the forest corrupted by the Skull of Gul'dan and by the Legion.
Darnassus: Tyrande and the Sentinels at the top of Teldrassil.