Sign inThird War
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The Third War was the Burning Legion's second great attempt to conquer Azeroth, fought a few years before World of Warcraft begins. It started with a plague of undeath in Lordaeron, destroyed the human kingdom and the high elf homeland, and ended when orcs, humans and night elves fought side by side to kill the demon lord Archimonde at Mount Hyjal. The war, told in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002) and its expansion The Frozen Throne (2003), set up almost everything players find in Classic.
Background
After the Second War, the orcs sat in internment camps, sick with a lethargy that turned out to be withdrawal from demonic magic. A young orc raised as a slave, Thrall, escaped, reunited the clans and freed the camps.
Meanwhile, the demon lord Kil'jaeden had turned the orc shaman Ner'zhul into the Lich King and imprisoned him in the Frozen Throne in Northrend. The Lich King's task was to spread a plague that would clear the way for the Legion. A Dalaran archmage, Kel'Thuzad, founded the Cult of the Damned to serve him.
The war
The plague and the fall of Lordaeron
The Cult of the Damned spread plagued grain across northern Lordaeron. Prince Arthas Menethil and Jaina Proudmoore investigated. Arthas killed Kel'Thuzad at the village of Andorhal, then ordered the culling of Stratholme, slaughtering its citizens before they could rise as undead. Uther the Lightbringer and Jaina refused to take part.
Arthas then sailed to Northrend, took up the runeblade Frostmourne and became a death knight of the Lich King. He returned home, murdered his father, King Terenas, and turned Lordaeron's people into the undead army called The Scourge. He later killed Uther, marched on Quel'Thalas, raised Kel'Thuzad as a lich using the high elves' Sunwell and killed Sylvanas Windrunner, who was turned into a banshee.
With the Scourge's help, Archimonde arrived in person and destroyed Dalaran.
Kalimdor
A mysterious prophet, really the returned spirit of Medivh, urged Thrall and Jaina to sail west to Kalimdor. There:
- The tauren of Cairne Bloodhoof joined Thrall's Horde.
- The Warsong clan of Grom Hellscream began logging Ashenvale and clashed with the night elves. Grom drank the blood of the pit lord Mannoroth again, killed the demigod Cenarius and fell back under demonic control.
- Thrall and Jaina freed Grom. In a canyon in Ashenvale, Grom killed Mannoroth and died from his wounds, ending the blood curse on the orcs.
Mount Hyjal
Tyrande Whisperwind woke Malfurion Stormrage and the druids, and Malfurion freed his brother Illidan Stormrage. Humans, orcs and night elves agreed to a truce. They held off the Legion on Mount Hyjal long enough for Malfurion to call on the spirits of the forest, which destroyed Archimonde at the foot of Nordrassil. The World Tree's power was spent in the process.
Aftermath and where players see it in Classic
The Third War ended only a few years before Classic, and its results shape every faction's starting story.
Lordaeron and the Plaguelands
The Western Plaguelands and Eastern Plaguelands are what is left of northern Lordaeron. Andorhal (Ruins of Andorhal) lies in ruins, Uther's Tomb honors the fallen paladin, and Stratholme is now a dungeon split between the Scourge and the Scarlet Crusade. Kel'Thuzad's floating citadel, Naxxramas, hangs over the Eastern Plaguelands.
Undercity
The Undercity lies beneath the ruins of the royal capital, Ruins of Lordaeron. A Children's Week quest, Lordaeron Throne Room, has an orc orphan ask to see the throne room where "the evil Arthas took his own father's life." Sylvanas, freed from the Lich King's control, now leads The Forsaken from there.
Durotar and Orgrimmar
Thrall's Horde settled Durotar, named for his father Durotan, and built Orgrimmar. The pact between Thrall and Jaina survived the war but not without strain: in Vanquish the Betrayers, Gar'Thok in Razor Hill tells Horde players that Admiral Proudmoore broke "the Warchief's pact made with Jaina Proudmoore in order to defeat Archimonde," and sends them to Tiragarde Keep. Jaina herself rules Theramore Isle in Dustwallow Marsh.
Ashenvale
Ashenvale still carries the Warsong clan's war with the night elves. The Horde's Warsong Lumber Camp keeps cutting down the forest, and Demon Fall Canyon holds Mannoroth's remains and a monument to Grom. During the Harvest Festival, Horde players bring offerings there in Honoring a Hero.
Hyjal and Teldrassil
Mount Hyjal (Hyjal) is closed to players in Classic. With Nordrassil weakened, the night elves planted Teldrassil, and Crown of the Earth in Shadowglen explains that "Nordrassil lies a pale shadow of what it once was, its power used to defeat Archimonde." The corruption of Felwood is another scar from the Legion's presence in Kalimdor.
Later history and retcons
- Wrath of the Lich King (2008) let players replay the culling of Stratholme in the Caverns of Time and finished Arthas's story.
- The Burning Crusade (2007) added a Battle for Mount Hyjal raid, also in the Caverns of Time.
- Warcraft III: Reforged (2020) remade the campaign and changed some dialogue and scenes to fit later lore. Some of those changes were controversial, and the original version is what Classic's quests were written against.
Sources
Categories: Lore