Conquest of the Horde

A Miscellany of the Mythological and Matter-of-Fact

As Penned by K.R. Dawnsend

The following is a collection of various works, from cultual studies to essays, that bear the purpose of better familiarizing the common man and woman with not only the natural but also the supernatural presences of our world.

The Seen and Unseen: Religious Beliefs of Azeroth and Beyond
Orcish Words of Wisdom and History
Humans: From Tribes to Towns
A recollection of Quel’dorei History and the Transition to a Child of Blood
The Draenei Exodus
Gnomish Works, Widgets and Wonders
A brief detail of the Plague of Undeath and the Forsaken Plight
A reading to drink to: A summary of the Three Hammers of Dwarven Society
Trollish Tales since the Turning of Time
Of Suns and Stars: A collection of Kaldorei legends and heroes
Drums of the Earthmother: An examination of the Nomadic Tauren
Miscellaneous Tales, Legends, and Heroes of Times Well Passed
Ghosts, Ghouls and other Rotted Things
Dragon's Breath: A synopsis of Draconic Lore

An excerpt from the first book - The Seen and Unseen: Religious Beliefs of Azeroth and Beyond

“... Chapter Seven: Eonar the Lifebinder

It is, without a doubt, that Eonar is one of the most well-known of the Titanic pantheon, yet even with such there is a shroud of mystery surrounding her person. From what we do know Eonar belongs to the Vanir tier of the pantheon and is commonly depicted as a bronze-skinned woman that takes a motherly tone. As her title ‘Lifebinder’ implies, Eonar is the mother to all that is life and nature as we know it. She herself is believed to be responsible for two of the five great dragon aspects that we know of today: Alexstrasza and Ysera. It is said that the great Titan split her spirit into two different powers. The first was given to the great red wyrm Alexstrasza, whose Red Dragonflight was charged with the task to fight the forces of chaos and defend all of Azeroth’s life. With this great boon came also the title of her mother ‘Lifebinder’. The second half of Eonar’s spirit was pieced out to Alexstrasza’s sister, Ysera ‘The Dreamer’. Where the Red dragons looked over and continue to look over the life of every individual mortal, their cousins of the Green Dragonflight looked more to defending nature and maintaining the balance between the mortal races and the ever-evolving world. The roots of Ysera’s title ‘The Dreamer’ comes from her mother Eonar as well. Beyond our conscious realm of existence lies the Emerald Dream. On Eonar’s whim Ysera took her place in both the physical and dream worlds as a guardian of nature...

...As for the Titan’s personality there is much to yearn for still. We lack a solid depiction of her mindset, but it is clear that she carries a motherly air to her. To reenforce this motherly theory there are a number of Dwarven oral traditions that implies she is a consort to Aman’Thul, the Highlord of the pantheon. She holds a great care for the life that she has created and thusly shies away from combat, though it is said that she can be quite formidable if brought to blows. While she cares for Life, it is without a doubt that she holds a fiery hate for the undead as they are but a perversion of her own works...”

An excerpt from the first book - The Seen and Unseen: Religious Beliefs of Azeroth and Beyond

"... Chapter Twelve: The Light

A faith forged tens of Thousands of years prior to human priests, the Draenei are the race to have first cultivated the warming beams of magic that we know today as the Light. Never the less what comes into question is not the Light’s physical manifestation currently, but how exactly one manifests it. Primarily the Light’s belief is one that does not center upon one direct deity but instead refers to the Light as a sort of mass communication with the rest of creation as we know it. Though, it seems we are at a time of change for the Church of the Holy Light. Common these days seems to be a cropping belief that the Light in itself is an all-powerful and granting deity.

While I am no Theologian I would point out that this counters the original teachings of the church that I had memorized some one or two decades prior.

The Light in it’s original teaching is not a deity and, in matter of fact, does not entirely exist at all. The Light as we know it is but a power that connects us all as a universe. By this belief the Light is not some conscious, omni-potent power but a neutral and natural force.

With that established one may wonder why it is that some such as paladins and priests can lose their faith if there is no higher power to remove it. Not entirely true. The paladin’s faith is based off of the concept that whatever they do they are doing such for the better of the whole world. While there is no conscious power we are still connected to one another through the Light. Thusly what would forsake a paladin or priest from the Light is a consciousness of that they have done wrong to the others that they are thusly connected to by the Light.

As with everything there seems to be a fine example of something or someone that breaks these natural rules. The Scarlet Crusade is a fine example of this, a force known for it’s blind zealotry and aggressive nature. One may wonder why men of such violence can act as they do and still call upon the light. The answer to that is simple: They are not conscious to their actions. The Scarlet Crusaders see no wrongs in their actions but instead necessary pains in order to achieve a greater good. ..."

From ‘A Recollection of Quel’dorei History and the Transition to a Child of Blood’

Chapter 8 - From ‘High Birth’ to ‘Blood’

Sub Article #1 - The Biology behind the Transition

Before we delve too far into the happenings of the Third War and the sundering of the Sunwell we must first grasp the definite differences between a Quel’dorei and a Sin’dorei because they most definitely do exist.

Flesh - For the sake of this study the term ‘flesh’ will refer to mostly to skin as well as the fat and muscle attached to it. When observing a Quel’dorei we find that they are normally of a pale complexion, rarely going further than a light tan. As well they tend to be composed of more lean muscle. To oppose their biological cousins, the Sin’dorei are usually composed of darker skin complexions more mimicking the color of blood, however they are not limited to these colors necessarily as fair-skinned Sin’dorei seem to be as common as darker skinned elves. Speculation for the separation in color is centered in the mutating fel as the corruptive magic of demons brings a number of mutations. Some of these lesser mutations tend to be both darkening of the skin as well as a transition towards a reddish hue. In terms of muscle Sin’dorei also seem to be composed more of bulk muscle than the Quel’dorei, though even then they are fairly athletic.

Hair - Putting the various dyes of Silvermoon aside, we once more seem a separation of fair and dark between the Sin’dorei and the Quel’dorei. The HIgh Elves tend to favor a fairer color hair to match their pale skin. Sin’dorei, on the other hand, tend to have a variation of hair colors from anywhere in the color spectrum, though once more they tend to prefer darker complexions. For the moment there is little information to back if there is a biological reasoning or if it’s another cultural divide between the two cousins.

Eyes - We all know what eyes are. If you do not you must either lack them or the intelligence to be reading this. Never the less, one of the key differences being the color of the eyes. An interesting trait that the elven people as a whole seem to have adapted is the ability for their eyes’ color to change depending upon the influx of magic in their system. Quel’dorei adopted their blue eyes from their frequent use of arcane while Sin’dorei have adopted their green eyes from the Fel magics absorbed. There are rumors and speculation of other eye colors explained in this same way. Such as the tales of blood elf Magisters who have absorbed naga magic, and thusly adopted a more purple hue to their eyes. This, however, is still nothing more than rumor and speculation.

Addiction - By nature both High and Blood Elves are races shackled by addictions. The basis for this addiction is found in the magical fountain named ‘The Sunwell’ (Most likely named by the first Quel’dorei to spite their Kaldorei cousins and their various Moonwells) The Sunwell was a source of pure arcane for the entirety of the populace of Quel’Danas. To them the drug they so desired was in the very air they breathed, which made addiction simple. However with the Sunwell’s destruction in the Third War many of the Quel’dorei found their will too weak to bear the pains and subjected themselves to Demonic Fel. A common sight was for mothers and fathers to begrudgingly feed these powers to their children, who suffered these pains far worse than any trained adult could. (Which is a primary reason that Quel’dorei children have become so rare) However the addictions of fel did not sate the arcane addictions but instead multiplied them, thusly requiring an almost constant influx of fel crystals and sources into Silvermoon. Simply existing near these sources was enough to turn a High Elf into a Blood Elf, even if it were against their will. With the restoration of the Sunwell shortly after the Outland Campaign the sources of Fel have become mute as the Well is once more the prime source of magic.

From ‘Dragon's Breath: A synopsis of Draconic Lore’

Precursors to the Modern Flights - The Protodragons

There were many oddities to be found within the frozen north, however none may be as shocking as the development found in the research of draconic history. For eons the history of the flights had been kept under proverbial lock and key, the secrets kept well out of reach of us mortal kind. However with the expansion to Northrend we bear witness to the living fossil, a breathing, missing link in their evolutionary tales: The Proto-flight.

Much like the flights we have come to know in the recent years, the protodragons come in a variety of colors, and with their different breeds they bear different abilities that are almost chillingly similar to their titan-blessed predecessors. Red protodragons conjure great, searing flames where those of blue color spew a frosty breath very possibly thanks to some natural inclination to the arcane. Those of green color have developed a sort of poisoned breath, similar to that which the Green Dragonflight has ocassionally made use of in wartime. What may be the most brow-raising is the ability of time-manipulation within the rare examples of bronze protodragons. It would make little sense if they were able to traverse through time prior to their titanic blessing, however because of the nature of their abilities, it is possible that a few number of bronze proto-dragons have been instead blessed by modern bronze dragons in order to act as agents within land that is nearly too harsh for Azeroth's fleshy races to tend to such as Icecrown or the Storm Peaks.

An interesting trait shared by protodragons that doesn't seem to have carried on to their more modern children is the ability to intermingle between the colors. According to scrolls of lore the five great aspects of the five great flights were all born from the same protodragon - Galakrond. There seems to be some sort of evolutionary leap made from Galakrond- who was defined as the most chief of protodragons- to his children. One could surmise that once the five had slain their father who threatened to destroy all of Azeroth and thus received the titanic blessing they evolved thanks to the surplus of power and strength, either rapidly or gradually over the eons, to create the flights recorded in history. It is possible that through this evolution into the modern dragon, the aspects had developed such diverse abilities that changed them on a biological level, forcing them to mingle only of those of similar nature. That, or perhaps with their newfound intellect the flights also developed a sense of racial purity and do not intermingle merely for the sake of image.

There is much to be seen on the development of dragons still, however the discovery of the protoflight we have drawn ourselves that much closer to understanding our world.

Krilari

Krilari

Krilari

Krilari

Krilari